Oyo is doing away with all tables games at the end of Oct.  This place was known to have a shitty hotel/rooms, broken elevator and not notify anyone, and $1 blackjack.

Oyo is doing away with all tables games at the end of Oct.  This place was known to have a shitty hotel/rooms, broken elevator and not notify anyone, and $1 blackjack.

Interesting that it's called Oyo (On your own).

I would think they should call themselves Yoyo (You're on your own).

In high school we used to call people or things yoyos if we felt they or it were a joke.

Rio claims that they're "re-opening" their $3 craps today.  I didn't know that they ever had this.  I know Fremont had during certain hours only and precovid.  I've asked the pitboss if Mrs. CMO can bet $3 mins cause she's not comfortable during a non $3 gaming hours and they always said OK.

Rio claims that they're "re-opening" their $3 craps today.  I didn't know that they ever had this.  I know Fremont had during certain hours only and precovid.  I've asked the pitboss if Mrs. CMO can bet $3 mins cause she's not comfortable during a non $3 gaming hours and they always said OK.

I remember years ago I was playing at a $3 table at Fremont at around 5am.  There were a lot of local old time players playing and they kinda knew I was a tourist and they just tolerated my newbie behavior.  I was still new to the game and wasn't comfortable playing like them. 

I'm not very good at math so I just kept playing at the $5 level because it's easier for me to understand and know the payouts.  Fremont had less than a dollar denomination chips for the $3 table.

I found out that these players get up early every morning to come play a couple of hours before they head off to work.  By 7 am they were gone.

They bet small, win small, buy-in small.  All they want to do is play because they love the game.

I remember years ago I was playing at a $3 table at Fremont at around 5am.  There were a lot of local old time players playing and they kinda knew I was a tourist and they just tolerated my newbie behavior.  I was still new to the game and wasn't comfortable playing like them. 

I'm not very good at math so I just kept playing at the $5 level because it's easier for me to understand and know the payouts.  Fremont had less than a dollar denomination chips for the $3 table.

I found out that these players get up early every morning to come play a couple of hours before they head off to work.  By 7 am they were gone.

They bet small, win small, buy-in small.  All they want to do is play because they love the game.

The old timers / experienced players understand something about gaming that many never seem to get: 
Place the smallest min bet you can afford to lose.  That might be $2, $3, $5 or $25 depending on your personal savings and earnings.  That way you will have more chances to hit that one-in-a-miliion roll for over an hour or two.

You can't win if you don't play. But higher minimums take your money faster if you're what the video called a "low quality player".  It's why the minimums are usually higher, often double, on the Strip on weekends -- to sheer the "low quality" sheep faster. 

For every $3 bet you make, that's $2-$7 you weren't force to bet which can keep you in the game longer.  If the minimum is $10, you'll need about 3 or more times your previous bankroll to sustain the loses.

Then again, maybe they are all degenerates who only go to work to pay for their gambling habit!   

 

I initially couldn't see how Vegas was still making money but I'm beginning to see how they crunched the numbers.

It's a tightrope formula with very little leeway.  A combination of investing in the whales and giving them whatever they want while cutting services and accommodations to the middle and lower tier visitors by reducing maintenance, security, and housekeeping services.

Contract out the food concessions to reduce expenses and gut the player loyalty program to the bare minimum.

Meanwhile introduce parking fees, kitchen fees, resort fees, use the toilet fees, charge $18 for Lake Mead Water, concert ticket fees, thinking of going to a concert fee, trying to get a concert ticket fee, looking at the Sphere fee, walking the Strip fee, hanging around the Fremont Canopy fee, waiting for oxtail soup at the Market St. Cafe fee, check-in fee, check-out fee, checking out chicks fee, looking at the CW boobs fee, looking at the CW a$$ fee, free cocktail drink fee, pissing in the pools fee, fart neutralizing ventilation fee, and a fee for the fees above.

By God, it does work.

What I'd like to see is the whales forsake Vegas for other destinations like Macau, Hong Kong, and other places.

I initially couldn't see how Vegas was still making money but I'm beginning to see how they crunched the numbers.

It's a tightrope formula with very little leeway.  A combination of investing in the whales and giving them whatever they want while cutting services and accommodations to the middle and lower tier visitors by reducing maintenance, security, and housekeeping services.

Contract out the food concessions to reduce expenses and gut the player loyalty program to the bare minimum.

Meanwhile introduce parking fees, kitchen fees, resort fees, use the toilet fees, charge $18 for Lake Mead Water, concert ticket fees, thinking of going to a concert fee, trying to get a concert ticket fee, looking at the Sphere fee, walking the Strip fee, hanging around the Fremont Canopy fee, waiting for oxtail soup at the Market St. Cafe fee, check-in fee, check-out fee, checking out chicks fee, looking at the CW boobs fee, looking at the CW a$$ fee, free cocktail drink fee, pissing in the pools fee, fart neutralizing ventilation fee, and a fee for the fees above.

By God, it does work.

What I'd like to see is the whales forsake Vegas for other destinations like Macau, Hong Kong, and other places.

Not only have low quality players changed their travel habits and found other things besides gambling to spend money on, those who still want to gamble have many more options now.  Cruise ship gambling has seen a significant increase as their cruise prices have dropped and Vegas has continued to cost more and more.

I'm sure the Vegas casinos are sorry to see those dollars go elsewhere, but it should have been anticipated.when they started charging for everything, including for resort fees even when there are no resort amenities!  Cruises give you all the amenities, food, drinks, and live entertainment of a casino, plus the excitement and relaxation of being on the ocean and making stops at various ports.  Oh, and they have gambling, too.  Some even hold slot tournaments, etc.

A lot of food vloggers are also asking their viewers what they think about the current conditions in Vegas.

Lot of commenters are saying that the food vloggers don't really want to paint a dismal picture of Vegas since it is their bread and butter but almost all of them are venturing off-strip to find great food deals to share.

I'm seeing more and more "deals" coming about.  IMO, they aren't "deals", well a good one anyways.  A good deal saves you money.

Example: 1 slice of pizza and a fountain drink for $12.99 or 2 pizzas and a drink for $20.99.

Prefix meal for $59.99 and the portions given are much smaller than the regular food items.   So are you really getting a good deal?

IMO, it seems more like marketing than a deal.  Or maybe, I'm just used to the precovid deals.  1 slice pizza and a drink for $6.99.

But off strip at Station Casinos seem like a good deal. Burger and fries for $5.99; but late night only.  But since this is at their cafe and not a private food vendor, I guess they can lose some money on the cheaper food in hopes one gambles and loses.

 

What no make sense to me is that if the Vegas corporations are going the fewer is better route, meaning it's more profitable to cater to the whales than the masses,

then how are these Vegas corporations going to justify:

All the mostly empty mid-tier and economy hotel rooms (upkeep and maintenance)

The mid tier restaurants and "food halls" all over the place (Whales don't go to Steak and Shake)

And the biggest and most obvious of them all:

The 100,000 to 300,000 square feet of casino space crammed with penny slot machines, quarter, nickel, and dime slot machines, and table games that the whales would thumb their noses at.

That's a lot of casino space for a few hundred "regular" people throwing a twenty here and there.

Seems like a drain on their profits keeping those thousands upon thousands of empty slot machines blinking, twinkling, and glittering with no one sitting in front of it.

What no make sense to me is that if the Vegas corporations are going the fewer is better route, meaning it's more profitable to cater to the whales than the masses,

then how are these Vegas corporations going to justify:

All the mostly empty mid-tier and economy hotel rooms (upkeep and maintenance)

The mid tier restaurants and "food halls" all over the place (Whales don't go to Steak and Shake)

And the biggest and most obvious of them all:

The 100,000 to 300,000 square feet of casino space crammed with penny slot machines, quarter, nickel, and dime slot machines, and table games that the whales would thumb their noses at.

That's a lot of casino space for a few hundred "regular" people throwing a twenty here and there.

Seems like a drain on their profits keeping those thousands upon thousands of empty slot machines blinking, twinkling, and glittering with no one sitting in front of it.

Sounds like the casinos have adopted the makor airlines' philosophy of customer appeasement.

I had a co-worker who, in a previous job, flew all around the Pacific.He traveled enough to earn the million mile level on several airlines.

His company wouldn't pay for first class seating, and he is a rather big & tall type man.  Not fat at all, just really tall and the rest proportional.  Trying to get comfortable in a coach or business class seat just wasn't easy.

Somehow he was able to convince one airline that he'd do all his flying on their airline whenever possible.  In return, he asked that they reserve a second empty seat next to him.  That gave him enough space to not sit the entire way with his knees under his chin.

On one particular flight, the plane was booked solid.  When he complained that he wasn't provided the second seat (which was in his customer record to be provided), he asked for whoever was the top airline official on site.  That was the company VP at that airport.

Once he made his case, the VP pointed at the plane waiting for him to board and told him, "There are only 20 passengers on that flight that I give a shit about.  They are all in the first class cabin."  He was upgraded to first class on that trip to make up for the mistake, but it let him know where his coach ticket placed him in the grand scheme or airline appreciation.  I guess they still had a first class seat available.

I once flew to Korea on a 747 where the 7 of us in my group had the entire rear section of the plane to ourselves.  It was on Korean Airlines.  I'm guessing with it being a 747, it had many more first and business class seats sold in order to cover the cost.  Probably the most comfortable flight to or from Hawaii in my life.  Coach seating, and first class service.

The point is, there are fixed costs, and there are variable costs.  As long as the casino can cover its fixed costs and the variable costs per customer, empty rooms as a rule are not a problem.  If nobody is in the room, there's no cleaning, maintenance, water, electricity, front desk services (checking in/out) or accounting cost associated with it like there is in an occupied room.  So, if they leave it vacant, the cost might not be more than air conditioning.

During special events when rooms are hard to get, I'm sure the higher room rates and higher occupancies help balance out the lost revenue from vacancies.

Just like the airlines, if the casinos are focusing on the people who do more to pay the bills and salaries, maybe that's the smartest course.  Getting the low quality visitors who barely put $20 in a slot machine over an entire weekend won't cover the cost to have them stay there.

You have to ask yourself why every property has a player's club and how they can afford to give away free game play, food, drinks, rooms, shows, etc.  By rewarding the guests who spend more time on the games, they increase the casino revenue which covers the comps and everything else the guest costs the hotel.  The rewards also keep them returning to the properties they get the best rewards from -- customer loyalty.

There's an old saying: you might be staying in a comp'ed room, but you're paying for the casino!

Sounds like the casinos have adopted the makor airlines' philosophy of customer appeasement.

I had a co-worker who, in a previous job, flew all around the Pacific.He traveled enough to earn the million mile level on several airlines.

His company wouldn't pay for first class seating, and he is a rather big & tall type man.  Not fat at all, just really tall and the rest proportional.  Trying to get comfortable in a coach or business class seat just wasn't easy.

Somehow he was able to convince one airline that he'd do all his flying on their airline whenever possible.  In return, he asked that they reserve a second empty seat next to him.  That gave him enough space to not sit the entire way with his knees under his chin.

On one particular flight, the plane was booked solid.  When he complained that he wasn't provided the second seat (which was in his customer record to be provided), he asked for whoever was the top airline official on site.  That was the company VP at that airport.

Once he made his case, the VP pointed at the plane waiting for him to board and told him, "There are only 20 passengers on that flight that I give a shit about.  They are all in the first class cabin."  He was upgraded to first class on that trip to make up for the mistake, but it let him know where his coach ticket placed him in the grand scheme or airline appreciation.  I guess they still had a first class seat available.

My cousin is a flight attendant and on 1 flight a guy was getting rude and loud during boarding.  A gentleman approached him and asked what's going on and his reply was "who TF are you?  Mind your own f--in business and sit down".  The reply back was I'm the president of the airline, get off my plane.

Back to topic: I would like to see the breakdown of revenue from various levels of betting.  Like the $4 a spin vs $25/spin and the $15 tables vs $25.  I would like to see if volume would beat amount.  But I have a feeling that amount wins as the casinos run the numbers on how to maximize profits.

And theres that "average theoretical daily" that they use to justify comps.  So if you're being comp'd well, assume they expect you to lose a lot.  As in you're not lucky or a very good player.  I know guy with higher status than me for Venetian/Palazzo and I get more room comps than they do.  I'm only tier 2 (3,000 pts) and they're tier 3 (20,000 pts).  So it's a big difference in play.

When I used to go 3 to 4 times a year my comps were usually just free rooms.

Not even free play or food vouchers. 

Now I go once a year, play and spend the same way I always do and now I get free room, food vouchers, and even free play.

WTF.  They trying to get me to come more often so they can cut the food vouchers and free play, lol!

When I used to go 3 to 4 times a year my comps were usually just free rooms.

Not even free play or food vouchers. 

Now I go once a year, play and spend the same way I always do and now I get free room, food vouchers, and even free play.

WTF.  They trying to get me to come more often so they can cut the food vouchers and free play, lol!

I think the change I saw at the Cal and other Boyd's casinos is they started treating table game regulars just like the slots players.  Before, the table players got the free rooms and so forth by calling the casino and having your main game's pit supervisor.  They would book your room after they had time to review your play history.  You'd then call back after a day or 2 to get your room reservation confirmation number.  During my visit, when i was hungry, i asked for a comp ticket, and they would usually make it a certain max amount and specify with or without alcohol based on my preference.

Now, they send you offers for rooms, food, and free play just like they do for slot's players.  i guess there's no slots supervisor to give you personal service, so it was always handled like this.  depending on the tier of player's club you qualify for, the rewards could be a discounted room up to free rooms, etc.

I think the last time I went, i still called the BJ pit, and that time I gave them my offer codes.  They reserved an upgraded room and included a 3-day food voucher for my 7-day visit.  I was doing a 5-day Front Sight class, so I didn't think I could use more food coupons than that.  I grabbed Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru one my way to Pahrump, something light/quick at the FS compound for lunch, and dinner at the hotel.  They had 24 hour breakfast, so those were good for dinner -- I love pancakes for dinner!   

One supervisor in particular greeted me by name no matter how long since my last visit.  When i first met him, it was on a trip with my wife to celebrate her birthday.  The room was at The Cal in the tower were the elevators are next to the Buddha in the lobby.  We complained that the bed was uncomfortably firm for us, and Jeff took 10 minutes to change our room and handed us our new keycards.  The new room was a corner suite in the other tower with a living room, bar, massive bath area with whirlpool tub, couches, ....  and a view of the mountains.

Nothing like a human being taking care of you instead of an automated system that spits out periodic offers using nothing but math.

 But Just like the Rest of America, Democrat-Run Vegas is in Decline.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/wayne-root-las-vegas-isnt-dying-just-like/

But Just like the Rest of America, Democrat-Run Vegas is in Decline.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/10/wayne-root-las-vegas-isnt-dying-just-like/

Interesting article. IDK if it's a DNC/GOP issue, but more of a ivy league/number cruncher attitude about how to squeeze out max profits vs. OG attitude of taking care of your guest.  I would be surprised if those who make the decision have ever been to the casino floor and played or spend a good amount of time watching people play.

I know a bunch who work at Venetian/Palazzo, which was the last of the mom n pop owned casinos on the strip. Everyone referred to the owner as Mr. Edelson.  Never by first name or both first and last name.  This was not only on property, but wen off property and we're eating together or doing something else.

I think it's a sign of respect that he took care of his workers and guest.  Many stated free parking is what he wants, even after he died, his family kept the free parking until they sold to the hedge fund corp.

Same concept when I saw the roast of Tom Brady.  He referred to the Patriots owner as Mr. Kraft.  Never by first name or both first and last name.   He even stepped in when the roasters were almost going overboard when roasting Mr. Kraft.  Tom isn't playing anymore so he doesn't need to be nice to keep playing or to get paid by the Patriots.  Yet he shows respect.  Even Julian Edleman did the same. 

It would make sense that Station Casinos lean GOP as when Kirk was assassinated, all their digital billboards outside had a picture of Kirk on them.