For a while while the thread about being backroomed was pretty active,
I was itching to post a message about how casinos can use VP as part
of their marketing strategies.
It makes little doubt that the success of blackjack can be traced to
the publication of books which created a notion that it's
theoretically possible to beat the house. Most people don't, and those
who do what it takes to beat the house aren't really welcome in
casinos; that was the subject of several long threads in the last few
weeks, so let's not discuss it again.
Now, what does Wynn gain from having dollar FPDW?
-They gain bragging rights for having one of the most positive
machines in [the strip, vegas, nevada, US], possibly even the
absolutely most positive ones (OK, someone will probably point to
another machine somehwere). That's 3.8 cents per perfect game, on
average. It might not be the best play for an advantage player (the
machines could be slow, or they could earn no points or even negative
points), but bragging rights are good for marketing.
-If they manage to attract more players to their VP machines than
other casinos do, it gives them some marketing possibilities based on
the way the officially reported return rate of slot machines includes
both VP and reels: they can either lower the return on their reel
machines without it showing in the official reports, or they can
attract many reel players by showing high reported return rates.
-Being friendly to the best players will also give them positive
marketing: word of mouth spreads. If Wynn gets the reputation of
having the best VP in town, they'll attract players.
-They only plan 10 machines. People who go there in order to play VP
and find that all 10 machines are busy might have a snack, play
something else, see a show, i.e. spend some money.
-Worst case for them, if the 20 machines are played perfectly as
dollar FPDW 24/7 at 800HPH, the average cost will be $2.6M over a
year. Certainly not pocket change, but their marketing department must
have figured that the move will bring them enough in other profit to
compensate. And if things go wrong they can easily revert to another
pay table.
JBQ
···
On 8/10/05, John J Canney <jcanney@comcast.net> wrote:
Is the reason that there is no reply to this message total shock on members parts? .. or total disbelief?
