PLAYERS TALK

WHY DON’T YOU PRINT CASINO NAMES?

...And Whose Side Are You On Anyway?

Hi, I have a simple question. Why do you always edit out the casino names in your Q & A section with complaints? Are you on the side of the casinos or on our side? Dave Edmund—Peoria, AZ

Thanks for your great question. And, by the way, looking at our magazine from your perspective, we understand your concern as to what side we are on. However, please take a minute to evaluate our position.

Our mission is to provide readers with information regarding casino games and the casino industry based on facts. We don’t print guesses, hunches, feelings, and bad information. Are we capable of mistakes? Sure, we’re human. But we don’t intentionally mislead, write articles based on BS, or create spin with “fake news.” You can go to plenty of so-called casino news sources and “casino/slot experts” all over the internet and get misinformation. But not here. And, please don’t get us started about video channels or social media “personalities.” Can you say: Fake, False, Unethical, and Liability, in the same sentence?

So, based on our simple mission, with all the reader comments we receive about the casinos, we have to take them at face value. Many describe events which happened in the not so recent past and may have only happened in passing between two people. Furthermore, many pertain to situations a casino has no control over.

For example, a reader complaint we received stated another patron accidentally spilled a drink on the reader “last week” and the patron did not apologize. The complaint then elaborates the casino the reader was at “only” apologized for the incident. First, if we believe the story to be true, how could we possibly be investigative journalists and confirm the story? Second, what can the casino do beyond apologize? Give out a steak dinner and dry clean clothes every time a drink is spilled? Third, this is a random incident that could also have happened in any shopping mall’s food court. This incident isn’t really all that significant and specific to casinos. So, even if we were to print it, how would it be fair to single out one casino?

So, let’s examine a reader letter that is discussing the increasing noise levels in a specific casino. Well, this is definitely something which affects the casino industry in general. Sure, noise levels all around us are increasing, but it been really obvious in casinos. All of them. Again, how is it fair to discuss loud slots, loud guests (screaming, fighting, cursing, hitting slots with fists and other objects, etc.), loud music, and loud announcements at one casino when so many of them now “pump up the volume?”

And, one person’s “loud” is another person’s “fun.” Afterall, the hard rock band AC/DC didn’t make a name for themselves purely based on their catchy melodies, singalong choruses, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics! They’re loud. Really loud!

Ultimately, regarding the issue of noise in casinos, you know where we stand. It’s getting beyond loud for our staff. We read the complaints about noise from readers. We hear patrons complaining about the intolerable noise levels to each other when we walk into a casino. This isn’t made up, it’s a real issue. But plenty of casinos are apparently following the logic “more is better” when it comes to volume and loudness. The only way to really get to the bottom of the issue would be to measure the decibel levels daily across several months in each casino across the state using a scientific study to “prove” which casino is “the loudest” based on the results. That we could print. But, that’s not really in alignment with our mission either.

But back to taking a reader’s comment at face value. If we choose to print the casino's name along with it. Then, in all fairness, we have to reach out to the casino and get their side of the story. We can do that, but then we’d be a “Casino 60 Minutes” or “Casino 20/20” news outlet doing “Gotcha!” news. That’s not really our mission, presenting the “reader said, casino said,” narrative. And, it’s not much of a story if you only are able to provide half of the story when a casino chooses not to respond.

We do know casino executives across many different departments read our magazine. So, they hear what our readers are saying. In fact, some of our articles have changed casino policies. One issue that really sticks out was regarding hand pay/ jackpot limits being set way too low and needing to be moved up to the taxable threshold for a variety of reasons. Most of those reasons benefitting the casino, and some benefitting the player. Several casinos immediately informed us they would be changing their rules based on our article.

Hopefully this gives you some insight as to how and why we do what we do. You are the reason we started this magazine. And, we appreciate all of our loyal readers and fans, many of you from the very first issue in 2009. Keep your comments coming! Until next month, have fun and good luck! $