5 Ownership Models that Change Everything
Over the course of a thirty-year career in this industry I have worked for a large listed corporation with properties across three continents, a smaller regional operator running a handful of properties in markets that most of the industry had not yet noticed, and a family-owned single property where the owner’s opinion of a particular […]
The Reinvestment Trap
There is a particular kind of meeting that most senior casino people have sat through more times than they would like to admit. An offer is on the table for a player everyone in the room knows well enough. His host speaks warmly about him, as hosts do. His theoretical, if anyone ran it honestly […]
The Business of Human Weakness
Hungary votes on 12 April. I am Hungarian, which is one reason this subject does not feel abstract to me. If you have watched Orbán’s system long enough from the inside, one thing becomes very clear. It was not built mainly on policy detail, administrative brilliance or some magical understanding of the national soul. It […]
The Cost of Dishonesty in Casino Reporting
There is a particular kind of report that looks perfectly respectable right up until the moment it becomes expensive. It arrives on time. The numbers are all there. The language is calm. The rough edges have been sanded off. A weak result is wrapped in context. A repeated problem is presented as if it has […]
International VIP Play: A Business Few Casinos Really Understand
Bombay’s retrenchment in Tallinn has value for one reason only: it exposes a mistake the industry keeps making. The public facts are serious enough. The group is cutting more than half its staff, and management has admitted that daily table games and parts of the gaming operation were not economically justified. Once a casino starts […]
When a Casino Moves from Good to Excellent
Most casinos that have been operating for a few years settle into a rhythm that feels solid. The numbers are respectable, the staff know what they are doing, the regulators are satisfied, and ownership is not calling every week. From the outside there is little to criticize. The building runs, the payroll is paid, the […]