The Casino Industry
Enter the glittering and deceptive world of the gambling casino at your own peril. Here you will find excitement and distractions to challenge the eye, distort the mind, deaden the ear, inebriate the brain and gently, sweetly, but deftly, separate you from your hard-earned wages. No wonder Las Vegas is nicknamed, "Lost Wages." All this will happen, unless you learn from the mistakes of the inveterate gambler
Like any other business, casinos are owned by individuals, partnerships, and corporations. In the last two decades, many major casinos have been acquired by large corporations and some of these have seized upon the opportunity to gobble up many of these money-making ventures. New casinos have been built by major corporations because this kind of construction now costs upwards of $50 million. Principal among the corporate tycoons was Howard Hughes, followed by Del Webb, Caesars World, Hilton International, Resorts International, Bally, Golden Nugget, Playboy, Kirk Kerkorian (MGM), and Bill Harrah.
The four major areas to play in are: Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Las Vegas can be described as two separate places; Downtown and the Strip. Lake Tahoe is basically two areas; the North Shore and Stateline (South Shore). Reno is the most compact area, with casinos located in nearby Sparks, or a few short miles away in either Virginia City or Carson City. Atlantic City has developed rapidly with new construction proceeding at a frenzied pace. If the wild success of Resorts International and Caesars is any indication, Atlantic City will become (if, indeed, it is not already) the Las Vegas of the East.
Howard Hughes' Nevada Operations control four casinos in Las Vegas and one, Harold's Club, in Reno. With the exception of the Silver Slipper and Harold's Club which deal single-deck games, all the Hughes' casinos deal multiple-deck (mainly, four-deck) Blackjack. Occasionally, you will find one or two single-deck games. The other Hughe's casinos include the Desert Inn, Frontier, and the Castaways. The Sands and The Landmark were sold by the Hughes Corporation after his death. The Sands was returned to the Hughes Organization in 1983.
The Del Webb Corporation owns The Mint in Downtown Las Vegas, The Claridge in Atlantic City, the High Sierra on the South Shore, the Riverside in Laughlin. The Hilton Hotel chain owns the gigantic International, the Flamingo Hilton and the Reno Hilton. The MGM Grand, owned principally by Kirk Kerkorian, has split into separate corporations (one for films and one for its very successful casino operations.) There are MGM Grand Hotels in Las Vegas and Reno.
The late Bill Harrah, well known for his famous auto collection, had two major casinos in Reno and at Stateline, both called Harrah's. Harrah suffered some major losses to early system players and because of that was quite wary of them. Dealers were instructed to reshuffle the deck at about thirty cards in Harrah's. All things considered, he probably lost more money by slowing down the action than by allowing a few system players to win small sums. Holiday Inns has since acquired all of Harrah's properties, and expanded with additional gaming operations, including two casinos in Atlantic City and the Holiday Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Golden Nugget, directed by Steve Wynn, has casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Look for this active group to continue to grow.
Resorts International, as the first casino in Atlantic City, was an immediate success. It operates two casinos in the Bahamas as well.
Caesars World has casinos in Las Vegas, Caesars Palace; Tahoe, Caesars Tahoe; and Atlantic City, The Boardwalk Regency.
Bally, the world's premier slot machine manufacturer, opened its first casino in Atlantic City. Although there are no current plans for another casino, keep your eyes on this well-placed company.
Remember one is safer playing in a major casino, and should avoid the small, out-of-the-way places. Since there are constant changes in the rules, you will have to do your own research to keep pace with these changes.