Panel brings operators, suppliers together
Operators who are using 6:5 blackjack to drown player advantage in the pit are entering dangerous ground when extending this revenue-raising strategy to the higher-end player, according to operations officials and top suppliers who came together in a panel discussion last week at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The panel was featured in the third of six episodes in 2019 for the UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Series, produced by the UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and Casino Connection International, publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine, along with Applied Management Strategies.
The third episode, “Table Games & ETGs: Setting the Bar” (sponsored by Konami Gaming), examined the growing trend, particularly on the Las Vegas Strip, of squeezing revenue from the table game department via operator-friendly odds and rules—particularly 6:5 blackjack, which is now being spread to higher-limit tables by some Strip casinos.
6:5 means blackjack pays $6 for every $5 bet, or 1.2:1 odds. In 3:2 blackjack, the $3 payout for every $2 bet is 1.5:1 odds.
During the panel discussion, held at the Stan Fulton Building of UNLV’s International Gaming Institute, John Hemberger, senior vice president of table game products for supplier AGS, was joined by operators including London Swinney, vice president of casino operations at MGM Grand, and Colin Skidmore, director of table games for Harrah’s Southern California in a discussion of value vs. house advantage on table games.
Hemberger commented that casinos are entering “a dangerous area right now” when substituting 6:5 payouts on blackjack for 3:2 blackjack payouts on higher-limit tables.
“In my opinion, long term it has to stop,” Hemberger said. “I understand where it comes from. The reality is so many casinos are publicly traded, and there’s an incredible amount of pressure on operators to keep growing revenue.”
Hemberger said he is surprised at the spread of the 6:5 variation. “I was back East a few weeks ago and saw $50 games on the floor for 6:5, and to me that is chasing people off people,” Hemberger said. “There’s a danger where it hurts a certain experience.”
Also on the panel was consultant Vic Taucer, president of Casino Creations, who added that “old-school” operators may value 6:5 games because it chases out players who could beat the casino, while promoting business from younger players with the operator-friendly odds tilted even farther toward the house through entertaining side bets.
MGM’s Swinney said she was surprised that 6:5 games spread so quickly, concluding that player-friendly odds are not a priority for a wide group of players. “I was wrong,” Swinney said. “Not everyone who walks into the casino thinks like we do. They are there to be entertained.”
Swinney also said the growth of side bets and the tighter odds have not run good players off the game, as Hemberger cautioned earlier.
Skidmore of Harrah’s Southern California noted that his casino—which he noted serves a “hybrid” market of locals and destination tourists—uses the 6:5 game to offer tables with lower minimums.
The UNLV session’s three panels were moderated by author and gaming consultant Bill Zender. In the second panel, Hemberger was joined in a discussion of the electronic table game sector by other suppliers including John Connelly, CEO of Interblock; Roger Snow, senior vice president, tables & utility products Scientific Games; Brandon Knowles, executive director of table games for Aruze Gaming; and Steph Nel, general manager of TCSJohnHuxly America.
In the third panel, Swinney, Taucer, Snow and Skidmore returned for a discussion of player comps and rewards, and accurate rating in the pit. The panelists said comps and rewards remain an important part of player marketing, and that technology has allowed increases in the accuracy of rating players in the pit.
