Casino suffering extraordinary string of bad luck

[Okla-homey]

I'm no rocket surgeon, but seems to me the odds of this are very long.
I'd say they oughtta keep an eye on the back door and search the help when they go off shift and head home.


Casino Blames Income Drop On Gamblers' Luck

POSTED: 9:35 am EDT August 1, 2008

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Mohegan Sun officials said the casino's net income in the third quarter dropped 89 percent compared with the same period last year, and they're placing some of the blame on gamblers' extraordinary luck.

The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority reported net income of $5 million Thursday for the three months ending June 30.

Mitchell Etess, Mohegan Sun's president and chief executive officer, said the casino had an extremely long streak of bad luck.

Gamblers played about $611 million at table games during the quarter, a 6.4 percent increase. The casino kept about 11.6 percent of that gambling money, nearly 5 percent less than it did during last year's quarter.

Table game revenues dropped more than 25 percent to $75.3 million in the third quarter from the year-ago period

[AlbqSooner]

I read an article on that. One additional factor is that the casino is undergoing a multimillion dollar expansion. Much of the revenue is being plowed into funding that. However, they did hit a string of losses to their high-end, rated play. The odds on it are indeed long, but it is possible to flip a coin on heads 99 times out of 100.

With Mohegan Sun being in the New York City population market, the advertising value of those losses at the tables and slots is almost incalculable. At every barber shop, beauty shop, golf pro shop and bait shop in the area people are talking about the guy who lit up the dice table or the number of jackpots that someone won on slots. The guy who hasn't been to the casino in the past year will think that maybe he needs to go get in on some of the winnings. That will go a long way to curing the 25 percent drop in revenue.

Economic times are a big factor. With a 25 percent loss of gross revenue and a 5 percent loss in hold percentage, the numbers add up quickly in a casino the size of Mohegan Sun. This is not so much an employee shrinkage issue. Besides, I can virtually assure you that management has long kept an eye on the back door and searched those employees who have brief cases, tote bags and such. That, combined with the extensive surveillance camera network in any casino makes employee shrinkage a minor factor in losses of this nature.

[Okla-homey]

I read an article on that. One additional factor is that the casino is undergoing a multimillion dollar expansion. Much of the revenue is being plowed into funding that. However, they did hit a string of losses to their high-end, rated play. The odds on it are indeed long, but it is possible to flip a coin on heads 99 times out of 100.

With Mohegan Sun being in the New York City population market, the advertising value of those losses at the tables and slots is almost incalculable. At every barber shop, beauty shop, golf pro shop and bait shop in the area people are talking about the guy who lit up the dice table or the number of jackpots that someone won on slots. The guy who hasn't been to the casino in the past year will think that maybe he needs to go get in on some of the winnings. That will go a long way to curing the 25 percent drop in revenue.

Economic times are a big factor. With a 25 percent loss of gross revenue and a 5 percent loss in hold percentage, the numbers add up quickly in a casino the size of Mohegan Sun. This is not so much an employee shrinkage issue. Besides, I can virtually assure you that management has long kept an eye on the back door and searched those employees who have brief cases, tote bags and such. That, combined with the extensive surveillance camera network in any casino makes employee shrinkage a minor factor in losses of this nature.

I hear ya bro, but I still think there are shenanigans afoot. I'm not going into it but there have been some pretty large "shrinkage" problems I've looked into in this neck of the woods. The scam that was most often employed involved cashiers giving cousins and friends their winnings and letting them keep some or all of the chips, which are cashed in repeatedly. Ditto on slot jackpots when the winner turns in his ticket printed by the machine for cash.

Some of the smaller casinos in Oklahoma don't have a lot of security bells and whistles nor regular audits that correllate table play and chip count to cashier pay-outs.

[StoopTroup]

There's nothing wrong there...I like that place.

[AlbqSooner]

I hear ya bro, but I still think there are shenanigans afoot. I'm not going into it but there have been some pretty large "shrinkage" problems I've looked into in this neck of the woods. The scam that was most often employed involved cashiers giving cousins and friends their winnings and letting them keep some or all of the chips, which are cashed in repeatedly. Ditto on slot jackpots when the winner turns in his ticket printed by the machine for cash.

Some of the smaller casinos in Oklahoma don't have a lot of security bells and whistles nor regular audits that correllate table play and chip count to cashier pay-outs.

So you are telling me I need to do some consulting in Oklahoma? The scenarios you describe are unforgiveable and fairly easy to make detectable. I kinda doubt that Mohegan Sun has that type of problems due to their size and the amount of time they have been at it. If anything, I would suspect a dealer/player collusion to do false shuffles and such. I really think they just hit a series of streaks that are a players' delight and had the misfortune of having it occur at the high limit tables.

[SanJoaquinSooner]

I doubt the skimming takes place at the tables. I suspect it's in the back room where they "account" for the take.

casino management attracts schemers as much as scheming couples who manage storage facilities.

[AlbqSooner]

I doubt the skimming takes place at the tables. I suspect it's in the back room where they "account" for the take.

casino management attracts schemers as much as scheming couples who manage storage facilities.

You apparetnly misapprehend the level of regulation of Indian Gaming. Indian Gaming is more heavily regulated than Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi or any other venue.

[StoopTroup]

Anything is corruptable.

[colleyvillesooner]

Except Batman

[Okla-homey]

You apparetnly misapprehend the level of regulation of Indian Gaming. Indian Gaming is more heavily regulated than Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi or any other venue.

not necessarily true of Class II. IMHO, NIGC is content to accept the internally prepared reports at pretty much face value as long as they are submitted on time and are formatted properly.

In the end, its up to the tribe's gaming bureacracy to guard against flim-flammery.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Screw em; i hope they go broke the bastards

[Mixer!]

I thought this thread was about Vet cleaning all the marks out again until I clicked the link. ;)

[AlbqSooner]

not necessarily true of Class II. IMHO, NIGC is content to accept the internally prepared reports at pretty much face value as long as they are submitted on time and are formatted properly.

In the end, its up to the tribe's gaming bureacracy to guard against flim-flammery.

They must also be accompanied by a check for the appropriate amount of NIGC fees. THEN they are pretty much accepted at face value.

While I agree that as to Class II, there are much greater opportunities to engage in flim-flammery, Class II does not generate the kinds of losses that Mohegan Sun has experienced.
Additionally, those reports are not internally prepared. They must be audited by an independent CPA or CIA firm.

[mikeelikee]

Some might call this Karma.