First, a little theory
The root of the Croatian word for “gambling” is the word for “die” (Proto-Slavic kost-ka), whose original meaning is “bone”. In ancient social games, bones were thrown, specifically ankle bones, instead of dice.
The concept of “gambling” appears in Ancient China around 2300 BC, and it is thought that the Great Wall of China was built partly from its proceeds. As well as the Chinese, the Etruscans and subsequently the Romans left written records of “gambling”. Throughout history, gambling revenues continued to be used for the needs of citizens: Harvard and Yale, the world’s most respected and best-known universities, were founded on gambling revenues.
Now, a little practice
The scale and importance of the casino industry are illustrated by the fact that it generated annual revenue of US$450 trillion in 2016, while Forbes estimates that more than 150 million people visit the best-known casino destinations each year.
To provide the best possible introduction to the casino story, I will set out the main categories of venues where games of chance may legally take place: casinos, gaming machine clubs, poker clubs, betting shops, and hospitality venues with betting terminals. A casino includes live gaming, in which croupiers take part; gaming machines, known as slot machines, and electronic roulette; betting terminals offering in-play betting; and food and drink services. A gaming machine club includes slot machines and electronic roulette, betting terminals offering in-play betting, and may include food and drink services. Poker clubs are more private venues, operating more like closed membership associations, and offer live games with croupiers. Betting shops offer betting on sporting events, as well as on participants in various political and other contests, and slot-machine games, with the number of machines regulated by law and kept to a minimum. Since they are often connected to a hospitality venue or located right beside one, we can say that they frequently offer food and drink as well. Hospitality venues with betting terminals as an additional amenity are simply incidental places to gamble.
The essential prerequisite for a casino to operate successfully as part of a hotel is that it complements the hotel’s character. Besides being luxurious, the hotel must under no circumstances be oriented towards, for example, family tourism, because this creates a conflict between the character of the hotel and that of the casino. As a rule, a family guest is not only unlikely to be a casino guest but does not even want to be near casino guests. Casino guests, meanwhile, are disturbed by children’s screams and generally prefer to be surrounded by guests with similar preferences. If these identities clash, marketing in source markets is also extremely difficult: in practice, you need to “hide” the existence of the casino when promoting the hotel, or hide the hotel brand when promoting the casino. As an exceptionally rare case, I would mention Italian guests who travelled to Međugorje on a charter service and visited the casino on their return.
The casino is certainly the most comprehensive and central venue for games of chance and is distinctive in many ways. As someone who has managed a casino within a luxury hotel, I will try to give a vivid picture of a casino from the inside, and of everything needed for it to operate successfully.
The casino manager is responsible for the operation of the entire casino and generally reports to the hotel manager or to the company’s chairman of the management board, who is also the superior of both the hotel manager and the casino manager.
Because of legal requirements intended to prevent the admission of minors, “dirty money” and “money laundering”, every guest must register at casino reception, where they are welcomed by receptionists who report to the front desk manager. The guest’s registration remains in the system and, besides fulfilling a legal obligation, provides the casino with an excellent tool for tracking each guest’s spending and behaviour. Indeed, in some casinos it is impossible to play without presenting a membership card, whether at a live game or on a machine.
Security guards employed externally by an authorised security company are always stationed in front of reception and are responsible for maintaining order inside and immediately outside the casino. They report to the casino manager as well as to their own supervisor.
The shuttle service is responsible for bringing in and taking home all guests who do not have direct transport to the casino. The front desk manager is also responsible for the operation of this service.
Video surveillance technicians, commonly known as the CCTV team, monitor every part of the casino, from reception and the live gaming tables to the cashier’s desk. Experienced casino staff generally work in the surveillance rooms so that they can detect any kind of cheating or fraud.
The head cashier is responsible for the operation of the cashier’s desk, while the cashiers accept money as stakes and pay out money when guests win.
The slot manager is responsible for the operation of the slot machines and electronic roulette, while slot operators act as the link between the machines and the players.
The live gaming manager, covering punto banco, American roulette, blackjack, Russian poker, Oasis Poker and Extreme Texas Poker, is responsible for all games involving croupiers or dealers. There may also be separate areas for cash games and a poker room where poker tournaments are held. Croupiers or dealers deal cards in card games and place chips on numbers in roulette. They rotate at set intervals so that they do not lose concentration and to break players’ winning streaks. Pit bosses supervise the croupiers and are responsible for a certain number of live gaming tables. Depending on the size of the casino, they may also manage the entire live gaming shift.
Turning to hospitality, a casino may offer food and drink, and the F&B manager heads this department. An F&B supervisor is generally responsible for the operation of one shift. If the casino serves food, this is usually a buffet within the casino, or food is delivered from the hotel restaurant.
As the food offering is generally limited and suited to casual eating while playing, the kitchen hierarchy is very simple: a head chef, a sous chef, and a kitchen porter who also washes the dishes. The bar hierarchy is similarly straightforward, consisting of bartenders or mixologists and waiting staff.
The housekeeping department is very simple and consists of cleaners. The maintenance department consists of one or two handymen, while the IT department generally has one IT specialist.
The head of finance, legal affairs and human resources is responsible for the operation of these three departments, with administrative staff carrying out the day-to-day tasks. Depending on the relationship with the hotel, these functions may form part of the hotel’s shared services.
The sales and marketing manager is responsible for shaping the “product” and promoting and selling it, assisted by sales and marketing staff and a graphic designer. This function can also sit within the hotel’s sales and marketing department, but the distinctive nature of the casino market means that the two are very often separate.
Promotional activities can be divided into digital promotion through social media, the website and Google advertising, and offline outdoor advertising using banners, billboards, large-format billboards and wallscapes, as well as advertising in print, on radio and on television.
The first is that we are largely talking about slot-machine and electronic roulette players, because the stakes are generally lower. They are attracted by various promotions: dice games at the casino entrance, slot-machine tournaments, reward points, birthday vouchers, vouchers for bringing another guest, and prize draws offering mobile phones, laptops, motorcycles and cars.
The second is the importance of shuttle transport to successful operation in the local market, bringing guests in from nightlife venues and taking them home after their time at the casino.
The third concerns events held inside the casino, such as fashion shows, concerts and boxing events. It is important to understand that true casino guests are gamblers at heart and that playing in the casino is all that matters to them. Events inside the casino therefore generally serve to promote it to the market we are targeting, while casino earnings do not necessarily increase during events. Sometimes they even fall, because casino guests do not like being seen, let alone photographed during an event.
The fourth is that events outside the casino are intended to attract guests to it. These include promotions in nightclubs, popular daytime cafés, sporting fixtures and similar events.
The fifth is that a domestic casino guest must never be underestimated on the basis of appearance. Their sole interest is playing in the casino, and that is where they spend all their money, so they very often look very modest, unkempt and exhausted. Clothes certainly do not make the true domestic casino guest. These are very often people whose jobs provide part of their wages or tips in cash, and they regularly leave that money in the casino. The social assistance payments received by guests very often end up here too.
The sixth is that some people practically live in the casino, supported either by casino guests or by the casino itself. These are long-standing visitors who can convince a casino guest that they bring good luck, so the guest, out of superstition, always gives them a portion of their winnings. A casino may also engage such people to persuade guests to increase their spending, usually rewarding them with gaming vouchers.
When discussing overseas markets, I would like to mention several facts.
The first is that air travel is very cheap in summer, while accommodation is very expensive, creating an opportunity cost. In winter, accommodation is very cheap, while air travel is very expensive. This makes the cost of bringing in guests very high.
The second concerns political decisions that are extremely damaging. The most damaging decision for the casino industry was the introduction of visas for Russian guests, which led Russian players to move en masse to the Montenegrin market.
The third is that casinos in Istria, especially near the border with Italy, have a major comparative advantage over casinos in other parts of Croatia, because they are suitable as weekend destinations accessible by car or coach. I always found it fascinating when a coach full of elderly women arrived from Italy and played the slot machines and electronic roulette with incredible passion.
The fourth is the highly distinctive nature of each market. Italians, for example, trust only Italian agents known as “porteri”, and it is almost impossible to attract them without the involvement of these intermediaries.
The fifth is that various packages are available when bringing in foreign guests. A guest’s travel, accommodation and food costs can be covered in return for a commitment to a minimum daily stake. It is also possible to agree to give the guest a specified daily gaming allowance or an agreed total amount, on the condition that they stake the same amount again, or twice as much, of their own money.
The sixth is the importance of casino staff speaking the guest’s language and of the casino having a shuttle service to connect the guest with their home destination or the airport, or to take them on agreed excursions.
The seventh is that groups focused on playing slot machines and electronic roulette are called junket groups.
I would single out poker tournaments held in poker rooms within casinos, which may be local, international or a combination of the two. The number and nationalities of participants depend on the tournament entry fee and the size of the prizes. In general, the casino takes a percentage of the money collected, while indirectly benefiting from the money tournament guests spend gambling in the casino during the poker tournament.
As further points of interest, I would mention that casinos have no clocks or windows, and that soundproof rooms are increasingly being installed. When a casino guest wants to deceive someone calling their mobile phone, they enter a soundproof room and turn on background sounds of an airport, a market or a playground.
Casino guests’ superstitions are a subject in their own right. Guests can often be seen always asking for a machine with the same number, wanting their cards to be dealt by the same croupier, lighting a cigarette on the sixth attempt, stepping over every kind of line within the casino, and wearing lucky clothes and shoes. They regularly attribute their losses to a curse cast by another guest or a member of staff.
It is important to say that a casino is a very interesting form of entertainment when enjoyed in moderation. When it turns into an addiction, however, it becomes a serious problem for the casino guest and their family. Banning casinos would only strengthen the black market in gambling, with all the negative consequences it brings.
Financially, a casino has a relatively large workforce and substantial payments to the state. These are divided into monthly charges, comprising a percentage of the money from live gaming tables, a percentage of the money put into slot machines, a percentage from cash games and a percentage from poker tournaments, and annual charges: a concession fee of 500,000 kuna, and 3,000,000 kuna for an online casino. It can operate successfully only through considerable efforts in both local and overseas markets.