After a year of transformative renovations, Comanche Cache Casino will reopen its doors on Friday, Feb. 21, unveiling an expanded gaming floor and new amenities as part of its Phase II development. The following week, the property will open Oklahoma’s first Wahlburgers restaurant on Thursday, Feb. 27.
“The reopening of Comanche Cache Casino represents a major step forward for our property, delivering more entertainment, dining and convenience to our guests,” said Steven Doyle, CEO of Comanche Nation Entertainment. “The addition of Wahlburgers marks a historic moment for us as we introduce this family-friendly restaurant to Oklahoma for the first time.”
Casinos make a lot of money from gamblers who don’t play very smart based on the mathematics of a particular game. Sometimes that is based on ignorance and at other times on that powerful force known as superstition.
So you’ll see casino patrons often play triple-zero roulette when double-zero would give them so much more play for their money. You’ll see them play 6-5 blackjack when 3-2 is more than twice as good. Play 95% video poker (with perfect play) when 99% games may be in the same gambling market.
Casinos take this sub-optimal playing strategy all the way to the bank. And today I’m going to argue that this is a bad thing for the casinos and that they should do something about it before some governing body mandates that they do.
I believe it’s time for the first responsible casino to post the house advantage on every bet that you can make there.
Yes, it’s time to see signs like, “This slot machine has an average return of 95%,” “this blackjack game has a .8% advantage with perfect basic strategy and 2% for an average player,” “This keno machine has a 10% house advantage.” You see what I mean. Even if you think I’m crazy.
Casino owners and executives would argue that it’s not their responsibility to inform players how thoroughly (or how fast) a casino bet will take a player’s money. That players can find that out for themselves. That it’s their “choice” to play or not play a particular game. That governing bodies already approve and oversee every game that hits a casino floor and would certainly do something if a game or bet were egregious, or deceptive, or unfair.
So why should casinos post, essentially, how fast each available bet takes a player’s money?
Here’s why. I believe that eventually, some regulatory or government entity will make them do it. This may happen because of public pressure. It may come from some newly formed consumer-protection group. It may be the result of some scandal, perhaps having to do with problem gambling. It may come from a class-action suit alleging deceptive practices.
The tobacco industry ignored the harmful effects of its product on customers for a long time. It now has health warnings on its packages and strict advertising restrictions. The fast-food industry now posts nutritional data at its stores. Sugary beverage companies are fighting restrictions on their products and the content of their advertising. Alcoholic products now carry warnings in some states. All of these restrictions occur because society has determined that these products can do harm to unwary consumers.
The gambling industry is no different. It has the capacity to win all of its customers’ money. And relatively quickly.
Signage encouraging casino customers to gamble responsibly is a good start. Providing information on problem-gambling resources is also helpful. But none of that is the same as providing “truth in advertising” detail on every bet. If the beer industry can list a beer having an alcohol content of 5.26%, I don’t see why the casino industry can’t inform its customers that a double-zero roulette game has a house advantage of 5.26%.
So what might happen if casinos’ games, now shrouded in some form of secrecy, became open books as to what bets are better or worse for the player? I can already hear the naysayers in the casino industry stating that this would be burdensome and costly, when it’s not even being requested by players. But here’s what I think would happen and I believe it would be a huge long-term positive for casinos.
First of all, for many players, it would essentially amount to nothing. In the fast-food industry, eaters still gobble up unhealthy meals of 2,000 calories or more. Drinkers still overdrink or don’t care about the alcohol content of their favorite beer or whiskey. Smokers still risk cancer, no matter what’s listed as a warning on the packaging.
Similarly, gamblers will still gamble sub-optimally and superstitiously even if they know that the house has an average win of $1 on a particular $10 bet. They don’t want to know, they don’t trust the casino’s information, they believe that somehow they can overcome this casino advantage, or they just don’t care.
But the opportunity for casinos with this truth-in-product approach lies with a significant and growing number of other gambling customers who would soon come to appreciate this transparency and the fact that the casino is actually helping them make their gambling-entertainment dollars go further. It would do this by increasing the time on device that they’re always clamoring for; helping them avoid paying too much for the same exact bet (e.g., bets on the 6 or 8 on the crap table that pay even money, 7-6, or 6-5; blackjack games paying even money, 6-5, or 3-2; identical slot machines in the same casino that may give back an average of 92% or 94% without knowing which ones they are; etc.). It would help build trust in a low-trust industry. Wouldn’t that allow casinos to say, “We honestly want to help improve your experience at our casino?” Wouldn’t it really create customer loyalty, but this time through transparency rather than bribery?
I’m not naïve enough to think that any casino, much less the whole industry, will do something like this anytime soon. But you might as well start planning for it before it becomes mandated for you by some bureaucratic entity that believes you really should be more open and honest with your customers.
