Slow times hurt N.J. casino comps

[Mr. T]

Here is an article you guys may be interested in

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...ess&id=6064183

[shadroch]

Thanks for posting this,but I've got to give a rebuttal here.
That article is very misleading. It says comps are down,implying that it is harder to get them. The actual reason why comps are down is that when people aren't in a casino,they can't get food or drinks. Tropicana is the best example of this. People have abandoned it in droves when the new management cut its staffing to a minimum. At one point,they had five slot techs and seven beverage workers a day on payroll.With over 5,000 machines and 150 tables,its pretty hard to get a drink with an average of two waitresses a shift.They also eliminated their bathroom attendentants,whch resulted in bathrooms akin to a bus station.
While comps in AC declined slightly overall,the number of visitors declined higher,so the reality is that for those who go to casinos(except the Trop),comps are actually easier to obtain.
Two other changes in casino policy come into play here ,as well. For years,Harrahs(the major player in AC) used to pick up the room tax on comped rooms. It stopped last year. Now each comped room cost $11 a night. Multiply that by some 5,000 rooms and it adds up pretty damn quick.
Yet Harrahs overall comps don't reflect anything near those savings,so they were passed on to its clients in other ways.
Speaking for myself,comps in AC are easier to obtain and better than ever. Drink service has declined a bit at Ballys,but rooms and cashback are better than ever.
The Trop has lost its license and is on an austerety budget,and Trump has never gotten its act together as far as runnung a casino goes.Its been in and out of bankruptcy so many times,it is no longer a major player in AC.

[EasyRhino]

Yeah, I was going to blame the Trop drop more on its implosion rather than anything else, but it had "only" a 5% drop rather than the 7% drop of Trump Marina. The story even said Trop increased cash offers.

Harrah's numbers actually were increased, according to the news story.

It seemed hard to figure any real pattern. It seems the only thing we really know is that AC might be slightly less interested in the senior citizen bus trip.

[shadroch]

Yes,the Trop increased its cash offers,but people aren't playing there,and those that do can't get free drinks with an average of two servers for the entire casino.
The Marina spent a decade marketing itself as the cool,young alternative to the Boardwalk,but lost its crowd almost instantly when Borgata opened up.

[21forme]

Trop was kinda crowded last time I checked it out a few weeks ago, or maybe it just seemed that way because they had so few tables open...

Trump Marina is the only casino in AC I've never been inside, and from what I know, I'm not rushing to change that.

[shadroch]

Now that Columbia Sussex is out as owner of The Trop,and the casino is being run by a state appointed manager,staffing has increased. They actually clean the bathrooms now and business picked up a bit last quarter.