kelly, Author at Casino Schedule Ease Blog

9 Ways Online Employee Scheduling Software Saves Casinos Money

If you’re fed up with all the annoyances and inefficiencies of your casino’s scheduling process, we feel you. Paper-based scheduling, excel sheets, and all the other piecemeal, Frankenstein-esque, wrong-tool-for-the-job scheduling processes used by casinos (and other businesses) just don’t get the job done or make anyone happy.

Online employee scheduling software offers a better way.

Here are 9 ways the best online employee scheduling software will help your casino reduce time spent on scheduling, slash errors down to near-zero, make employees and managers happier because they get along better, and save money you’re currently hemorrhaging on these sorts of problems.

1. Employees Can Check Schedules from Anywhere

If your casino’s scheduling system requires your employees to call someone, check their email, or come in to work to see their schedules, you are losing time to scheduling inefficiency and creating all kinds of avoidable problems and delays.

Most online employee scheduling software systems let employees check their schedules using their phones. They log in to their account and see their upcoming schedule for days, weeks, or months in advance.

Employees LOVE this feature. They don’t need to wait for the schedule to ‘come out’ like before. It just shows up on their phone and they can view it at any time, from anywhere. It could not be easier.

2. You Can Adjust Quickly to Mis-Scheduled Shifts

If a particular shift is overscheduled because the crowds you were expecting aren’t showing up, you can quickly adjust your casino floor employees’ schedules. Maybe you were expecting big crowds for a basketball or baseball playoff game, but the series ends in four games and you were expecting a crowd for game 5.

You can adjust that by sending messages to your employees who were scheduled and whose shifts you want to move.

Or, perhaps a shift is underscheduled and a big crowd shows up. You can quickly see your part-timers who are available for extra shifts so you can avoid calling people who might trigger overtime for that week.

With online employee scheduling software, you can do this on the fly. It takes just minutes to make big on-the-spot scheduling decisions that directly affect your bottom line.

3. Employees Can Easily Make Shift Swap Requests

As a casino manager, you can set up your online scheduling software so that you get to approve every change request. For casinos, this is critical because there may be certain employees you do not trust to work with certain other ones or on certain shifts or locations.

And, you also want to be sure you have highly skilled employees distributed across your table games areas during all the most important shifts. Typical employees may not realize how important that is when they make shift swap requests. But with scheduling software such as Casino Schedule Ease, you can quickly determine if their swap will cause problems or not.

4. You Can Map Out the Schedule Weeks or Months in Advance

With employee scheduling software, you’ll be able to schedule as far out as you want. For instance, maybe you have a big event coming up in a few months. You may not schedule every day between now and then,
but you can schedule the dates clustering around that big event to be sure you are adequately staffed with your best people on those high-revenue days.

You don’t want your best people taking vacations when you need them most. Especially your most high-skilled table game employees!

Scheduling software also allows you to respond factually and confidently to shift swap requests. You won’t have to guess. You won’t risk making the employee feel unfairly treated. You will know if the swap will work because you can see the whole department’s schedule weeks in advance, whether it’s table games, food and drink service, security, housekeeping, or any other department.

5. Employees Can Easily Make EO Requests

When there’s a slow shift or a worker has something come up in their personal life, online employee scheduling software enables them to
make early out requests quickly and easily.

Most casinos are big places. Sometimes it can take forever to track down the person you need to talk to. And if the scheduling manager isn’t in the office when an employee needs him, frustration mounts.

Just like the shift swaps, employees can make EO requests from their phone, right where they are, and you can approve or deny it, or ask to discuss it by sending back a personal message.

6. Easily Plan Ahead for Anticipated Busy Days

Being understaffed is a terrible thing for a casino. Online employee scheduling software allows you to be ready for the big days you know are coming. Whether that’s weekends, certain holidays, special times of year, or dates with big events in town, your software will help ensure your table games and other key money-making departments are ready for prime time.

7. Staff Can Access Their HR Data

It’s not just your scheduling managers and operations people who will love online employee scheduling software. Your HR people will love it too. They don’t like fielding calls asking “How much vacation time do I have? What? That’s it?”

Calls regarding FMLA, accrued vacation, overtime, and other schedule-related HR information can all be accessed through each employee’s scheduling software portal. And if you get the best casino employee scheduling software, that data will be stored securely in the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about a room full of servers to guard with your life.

8. Staff Can Select Shift Preferences

With the hundreds or sometimes thousands of employees working at casinos, you have a great diversity of people on your staff. Parents will have different needs than part-time students. You’ll have people who hate working days, people who hate working nights, people who don’t care, people who can only work certain days, certain hours on those days, and everything in between.

With online employee scheduling software, all that preference information will be right at your fingertips once it has been uploaded, and you can use it to craft the perfect schedule.

9. You Can Automate the Entire Scheduling Process

The eight previous reasons are more than enough to justify scheduling a free demo of our casino scheduling software.

But this last reason is the best one of all so far.

When you read #8 and started thinking about “crafting” the perfect schedule, it might have crossed your mind that, if you had to do all that work yourself, making the schedule would still be a challenge. Yes, it would. Creating a schedule still won’t be easy in terms of who to assign where, and when.

Yes, you’ll have all this information at hand, but you’ll
still have to navigate it all to produce a workable schedule.

Wouldn’t it be so much simpler if a computer could produce the
schedule instead? Isn’t this the age of technology?

Yes! And the best online employee scheduling software will empower
you to automate your entire scheduling process. The computer considers all the known variables, including each employee’s preferences and history, and creates a schedule that in theory will work – for everyone. And it can do this at the touch of a button.

If you’re still creating schedules the hard way, again – we
feel for you. But now is the time to look into making a change.

Not all Online Employee Scheduling Software Products Are Equally Good

Casinos are not restaurants. They are not hotels. They are not bowling alleys. Casinos are more like small cities. The big ones have restaurants, AND hotels, AND all kinds of games and activities, AND so much more.

Beyond all this, your revenue is tied to the skill levels of particular employees. You can’t just put any dealer at the high-roller tables.

Casino Schedule Ease was created specifically for casinos.
Though there are hundreds of online employee scheduling software options out there, almost none of them were built for casinos, and they will struggle to achieve what you really want and need, particularly in the area of employee skills.

One thing that sets Casino Schedule Ease apart is what we call ‘assignment-based scheduling.’ This means, our system ranks each employee on their skill level, so you can be sure your best skilled workers are all staffed on the right days and the right shifts – but also at the right spot. Same with average skilled workers and brand new hires.

And yes, this too is automated. Once the data is uploaded, the system creates the schedule – including the very important skills-based factor.

Schedule a Free Demo of Casino Schedule Ease Today

You have nothing to lose, and a much easier and less stressful workplace to gain.

Casino Employee Fraud – 10 Strategies to Protect Your Profits

The 2016 Report to the Nations found an average loss of $2.7 million in revenue to employee fraud and theft. That represents 5% of total revenue, every year, for each company in their study.

That is a staggering sum of money considering how much your casino or other type of business also spends on taxes, expenses, employee payroll, and other costs. Eating up 5% of your total revenue just to fraud means you’re losing a much greater percentage of your net profits.

In other words, that 5% of total revenue lost to employee fraud is 100% taken from what would have been your profits. For example, if your net profit after all taxes and expenses would have been $10 million but you lose $2 million to fraud, now your net profit is only $8 million – a 20% loss. If your net profit would have been $2.5 million but you lose $2 million to employee fraud, you net only $500,000 – an 80% profit loss.

For a little more detail on the numbers in the study, the median loss was $150,000. That means half of companies in the study lost less than that, and half lost more. So, a smaller number of huge losses due to employee fraud are bumping up the average. The report states that 23.2% of the cases in their study lost $1 million or more.

But to a small business, losing $150,000 can be far more catastrophic than a large business losing $1 million. Again, 100% of these losses come from your profits – money you would have gotten to keep.

To protect your casino from employee fraud, begin implementing the strategies below as soon as possible. Or, if you’re already using them, revisit and strengthen them across your entire casino operation. Also, see 7 warning signs an employee may be engaging in theft, or considering it.

Delegate Tasks Among Multiple Employees

For casino employee fraud that happens behind closed doors, such as with vendors or on computer screens in your accounting department, what often facilitates that fraud is one person having too much control over sensitive data.

By splitting up certain tasks, such as having one employee review bank statements but another employee sign checks and make payments online, you reduce the likelihood that one person can set up their own little fraud scam to fleece your profits.

Reducing casino employee fraud is in large part accomplished by minimizing the opportunities to commit it.

Get Documentation for Every Signed Check

When you start considering all the checks your casino writes to vendors and contractors for all the zillion things it takes to run a casino, you will realize that your vulnerability to employee fraud isn’t just confined to the casino floor, table games, food and beverage, and slots. Contracts with vendors, where one employee and a vendor team up to steal from your casino, are a major problem area.

Insist on documentation and receipts for all purchases that include details about exactly what was purchased.

Cameras Cameras Cameras

This one isn’t new of course, and these days, every casino uses surveillance cameras. However, the challenge arises when the time comes to access and utilize the reams of data all your surveillance systems are collecting.

With video recordings now stored in the cloud, it actually takes longer to export the videos you want to view than it does to record them. So if you’re looking for video of a certain employee’s actions for the past six months, you will have a major challenge simply accessing and viewing all the relevant data.

It is critical that all your cameras and other technological surveillance systems can talk to each other. You need to be able to integrate the times for when things happen. For instance, if a bartender is skimming on drink profits, can your payment processor link up its times with your surveillance cameras? That’s what you’ll need if you want to produce ironclad proof of their theft.

Use Identity Verification Software when Hiring

Most people who want to work at casinos are fine people. But some want in because they want to be around all that money. And some have records. So they falsify their identities. Catching the liars and imposters before you hire them is essential.

You can get software that aids in verifying a new hire’s identity so you can be sure you aren’t about to hire someone who has been blacklisted by the Gaming Control Board. If they’ve lost their registration because of fraud, you want to know it. Here’s one identity verification software service (Casino Schedule Ease has no affiliation with this company and offers this just as an example, not an endorsement).

Conduct Frequent and Publicized Audits

This is one of your most powerful deterrents against casino employee fraud.

Conducting audits of your finances and security systems in secret may help you catch fraud after the fact. And that’s good. But it’s better to prevent it from happening in the first place. Make it well-known that you conduct frequent unannounced audits at irregular intervals.

When employees know that not only is someone always watching on surveillance cameras, but that someone is also looking closely at financial transactions at all levels of operations within the casino, the majority of employees who might have considered trying to steal from you will choose otherwise.

Nothing beats the fear of getting caught. The Report to the Nations referenced at the start of this article found that only 5.2% of employee fraudsters had prior convictions. And only 8.3% had been previously fired for fraud. There is no doubt substantial overlap between those two groups.

That means the vast majority of employee fraud is committed by first-time offenders. Doing it the first time is always the scariest. So, the more fear you can put into them that they will be caught, the fewer who will attempt to steal.

Have and Enforce an Employee Code of Conduct

When expectations are known and communicated, behavior improves. The Report found that where controls such as a code of conduct and frequent audits are present, financial losses to employee fraud were 14.3-54% lower, and people were caught 33.3-50% more quickly.

You will lose a lot less money to fraud and you’ll catch the thieves faster, if you implement the strategies on this list.

Create a Healthy Company Culture – with Integrity

Leadership plays a big role in preventing fraud. When employees feel unknown, uncared for, and devalued, they start to consider doing things they normally would not. A lack of communication is a breeding ground for resentment.

You must make it a priority to keep your team engaged and informed. There is a ton written about creating healthy and positive company cultures. If your casino staff, departments, and managers all feel isolated in silos and unappreciated, make it a top priority to start fixing this now.

Casino Schedule Ease is a terrific way to start changing your company culture. Employees frequently have schedule change requests, early out requests, and inquiries about vacation time, family medical leave, and so much more. All these requests burden your systems and personnel. But delays and lack of communication can infuriate your employees.

With our scheduling software – built specifically for casinos – your team can access everything on their mobile phones. They can make change requests and EO requests and get answers quickly. Employees love our software, and they will appreciate you for providing them with this convenience. Try our 90-day free trial.

One caveat about company culture is that your leadership and supervisors must also abide by the cultural values you create. Integrity across all levels is critical, or the culture breaks down. You can’t get angry at a bartender for skimming profits if the bartender’s supervisor gives free drinks to a pretty lady or a best friend.

Create a Multimedia Reporting Hotline

In the Report, businesses with no reporting hotlines were only 28.2% likely to catch employee fraud, whereas ones with hotlines were 47.3% likely. That’s a huge difference for something this simple.

All you have to do is create a phone hotline for employees to use if they see or learn about employee fraud or other abuses taking place. To increase employee buy-in, create an online form and a dedicated email address as well. In other words, make it easy to report abuses and fraud. You should be doing this anyway for reasons other than just fraud, like employee safety.

People who care about honesty and a good reputation will report abuses and fraud – but ONLY if they feel safe in doing so. Make it easy and safe for your whistleblowers to take action.

Require Management Certification of Financial Statements

This is another way to combat backroom employee fraud and theft. Again, the more people who are looking at your financial statements, the harder it will be for someone to set up fraudulent scams. With managers looking at statements, you would need at least two people to set up a recurring fraud.

If you also delegate different tasks to different people as mentioned earlier, now you’d need three or more people to get away with it. Opportunity for theft decreases exponentially the more you can set up your operations in this manner.

Train Your Managers and Surveillance Teams

How many managers and surveillance staff at your casino have ten or more years of experience? How many know what to look for to spot employee fraud on the casino floor and table games?

Do they know how to spot the false shuffle? Do they know the signs that a dealer is colluding with a friend at their table? Your managers and surveillance teams need to be trained to spot fraud. Working with security firms can help you elevate the skillsets of your critical staff to prevent on-floor employee theft and fraud.

How Else Can We Prevent Casino Employee Fraud and Theft?

In addition to implementing the above strategies, it also helps to know the warning signs that an employee might be considering stealing from you.

The good news is, you can spot at least seven warning signs relatively easily if you know what to look for. Some warning signs are evident before the person decides to steal. Other warning signs are indications that fraud and theft are already occurring.

See 7 warning signs of casino employee theft

7 Warning Signs of Casino Employee Theft

How to Spot Employees Who Have a Higher Chance of Stealing

Casino employee theft is a major problem in the gaming industry. Estimates have found that 5-7% of revenue is lost to theft every single year. That’s a huge amount of money to lose for nothing. If you can figure out how to reduce or eliminate employee theft, it will make a huge difference in your net profits. You should start by learning how to spot the warning signs of an employee who may be prone to stealing.

In many ways, it is the smaller casinos that get hurt even more from employee theft. Across all industries, 33% of business bankruptcies happen because of employee theft. Therefore, learning to spot employees who may have a higher chance of trying to steal from you isn’t just gratifying, but good business.

You begin by understanding why employees steal in the first place, from any business.

Why Casino Employees Steal

Global Gaming and Business Magazine explained the driving forces for casino employee theft in terms of a triangle – the fraud triangle.

The potential for theft greatly increases the more parts of the triangle are in play. The three aspects of the fraud triangle are:

Motivation for stealing – the reasons employees do it despite the risks
Rationalization – how they convince themselves their actions are justified
Opportunity – the ease with which they believe they can get away with it

The third part of the triangle – opportunity – is the piece of the triangle you have the most ability to combat. You can’t do much about rationalization, but being aware of how employees justify their thefts helps you spot possible culprits, as you’ll see in a bit.

As for motivation for why employees steal, GGB boils this down to the 4 B’s – beer, boobs, betting, and borrowing. In other words, substance addictions, sexual deviancy and addictions, gambling, and perceived or real financial desperation.

Here’s an example of some economic rationalizations for casino employee theft: In a down economy, desperation increases. People justify theft because they “need” the money. In good times, casinos are very busy, and opportunity increases because it’s easier to hide in the bustle of the crowds. And employees will rationalize theft this time because since your business is making so much money, you can afford to lose a little extra and no one gets hurt.

Warning Signs Your Employees Are at Risk of Turning to Theft

These 7 warning signs are where you begin to combat casino employee theft. Look for these behaviors among your staff – and not just your low-level employees. As you’ll see in a bit, managers and supervisors can fleece you too.

1. Territoriality

Have you ever re-assigned an employee to a new task or
department, or changed their routine in some way, even an insignificant one? An employee who is scamming you will resist these kinds of changes, often vehemently.

They will lie about the reasons why your changes upset them, because the real reason is that these changes will mess up their little operation. Watch out for employees who hoard their duties and tasks and resist any changes to processes and systems.

2. Living well beyond their means

You know what you’re paying people. If a guy making $50k per year is driving around in brand new luxury cars, wearing $5000 watches, and always has a well-dressed lady by his side, something might be off.

3. Financial complaints and difficulties

Employees who frequently complain about financial trouble will be more likely to take advantage of an opportunity to steal if they see it. Desperation is a primary motivation that leads to rationalization. (See how that triangle works?).

Be on the lookout for employees frequently complaining about their finances.

4. Refusing vacation time

This is especially true in your bookkeeping and accounting departments, but also your table games, money counting, and other areas. If an employee has a scam going and knows how to hide it, being gone for a week or two and having a temporary person replace them risks having their scam discovered.

Employees who never take vacations, or who always cash out their vacation time, are ones to keep your eyes on.

5. Reluctance to train, delegate, or share duties

This is another form of territoriality. An employee who is stealing doesn’t want to train anyone new because that person will probably discover their scam. Delegating tasks that are critical to their coverup causes the same risks, as does newly sharing duties they used to do on their own.

This is one way to fight employee theft. Change your systems and processes now and then, and see who gets the angriest about it. If their reasons don’t quite make sense, take a closer look at whatever they have control over. It is actually your longer-term employees who are more likely to consider stealing, because they will learn to spot the holes and gaps – the opportunities.

6. Too cozy with vendors or customers

Many casino theft situations involve non-employees. Vendors are a prime source for theft, because both parties can agree on the scheme and work together to falsify the paperwork. Keep an eye on any casino employees who just seem a bit too friendly with non-employees.

7. Family problems

Divorce is expensive. Family-related medical or legal costs, or education expenses, can be crippling. The stress from these expenses will motivate some employees to try to cover the costs using your profits.

And let’s be clear: Many warning signs on this list can occur for all kinds of reasons. No one is guilty simply because they have family trouble. People can refuse vacations for all kinds of reasons. System changes can truly make someone’s work harder and it isn’t wrong to complain about that.

But security experts have seen these issues crop up repeatedly in employee fraud cases. If you want to head off employee theft before it costs you, keep your eyes and ears tuned to these warning signs.

How Many Thieving Casino Employees Have Prior Records?

A large and detailed study that looked into employee theft across multiple industries found that only 5.2% of employees who steal had prior records, and only 8.3% had been previously fired for theft.

While that may be surprising, the fact remains that the vast majority of employees who steal are first-time offenders.

That’s why figuring out how to systemically monitor for these seven warning signs is so important. You want to dissuade employees from making bad decisions – things they have probably never done before.

Types of Scams Run By Casino Employees

Any employee with access to your computer systems who also can convert points, reward, or chips for cash has a greater opportunity to steal. They can do things like generate replacement player cards for themselves and their friends, and cash the points. Others can create multiple accounts to get free play money.

Managers who have access to drop box storage rooms have been found pre-counting cash before the count team arrives. If that manager also controls surveillance, they have a higher chance of success. Again – opportunity.

Scheming dealers can pay out money to their friends even for losing hands.

Other scams, as mentioned earlier, will involve vendors, such as rewarding contracts to someone in exchange for a kickback, over-billing, and other methods of skimming cash. Here’s an article with more types of casino theft scams caught by security and law enforcement.

Real Examples of Casino Employee Theft

There are countless stories of casino employee theft to be
found online and in the news. But each one offers another glimpse into the methods and the motives for how and why employees might try to steal from your casino.

This casino theft involved an employee who printed false vouchers, and got away with $14,500 before getting caught.

Here’s a huge scheme involving eight people that netted $5.2 million before they got caught.

In this one, two table game staff stole an unknown amount of money, and got sued by the casino’s insurance company for over $800,000.

And here are two casino thefts masterminded by higher ranking employees, a slot supervisor in one case, and a VP of player development in the other. These cost the casino tens or hundreds of thousands in losses.

There is plenty more where these came from.

The point is – yes, you should be focusing your security on preventing customer thefts. But your employees need to be watched too, because they actually have far more opportunity to steal than your customers do. If they get motivated past the breaking point by any of the 4 B’s, it won’t be long before they rationalize whatever thieving schemes they dream up and decide to try it, despite the risks. The Nevada Gaming Control Board says that about 20% of their arrests are casino employees.

What Can You Do to Minimize Employee Theft from Your Casino?

See 10 strategies for combatting casino employee theft

5 Online Casino Scheduling Hacks Every Casino Needs to Be Using NOW

With casinos forced online to survive, your scheduling system needs to perform at 110%. There’s no room for error. See 5 keys to online employee scheduling.

How Scheduling Software Can Help Your Online Casino Get Through Covid

The casino industry has taken a beating. Probably the worst in history. You’ve probably had to lay off a lot of valuable, proven, loyal, and expert employees because of the response to the covid-19 pandemic. And if you haven’t done so already, you’re probably looking at online gambling as a way to keep your casino afloat until this crazy time finally ends.

Other casinos have already made the switch, and now generate large portions of their revenue from online gambling. And unlike pure online casinos, you don’t intend to stay here forever. Your in-person gaming, hotel, and food and drink service will return.

But what about your employees?

How are they getting through this time, and how will you bring back everyone else when normal life finally resumes? (A bit later, we’ll show you how the Resorts casino in Atlantic City recalled over 300 employees in a matter of hours.)

When it comes to scheduling, managing a team of employees to facilitate mostly online gambling is quite a different task than managing scheduling for all the departments it takes to operate a real casino.

Here are five ways scheduling software can get your online casino through this pandemic:

1. Simplify the Schedule Creation Process

With an online casino, most of the customer service is done virtually. This means it can be done from home, and in theory, anywhere in the world. So whether you’ve hired people from other countries or have scheduled your regular employees so you can serve online customers 24 hours a day, you need to always be sure your online casino is fully staffed to answer questions and serve customers.

There are a ton of online casinos people can choose from.

If they get bad service and slow responses from your team, they’ll just go find another online gambling site.

It is therefore absolutely imperative to always have your customer service team fully staffed and ready to go.

With casino scheduling software, you can map out your schedule weeks or even months in advance. You can be sure all 24 hours of employee shifts are covered every day, and that there is always an ‘expert’ support person working in case a situation becomes too complicated for your front-line service reps.

2. Always Have Staff on Hand to Serve VIP Customers Even in Online Casino Scheduling

With the right casino scheduling software, you will always know which VIP caretaker will be on duty to make sure your high rollers receive the extra attention they expect.

In an online casino, you simply can’t afford to miss opportunities due to unavailable staff. It can cost you a customer – for life.

High rollers spend far more than average customers ever will. Imagine one of these high-value gamblers having a question and not getting an answer for several minutes, whether from a live chat window or a phone call. Depending on the situation, they might give up and leave the site.

You don’t have any food and beverage revenue to fall back on right now. Lose that customer, and all their money is lost with them.

Scheduling software will assure you that your VIP staffing needs are secured, weeks in advance. No last minute panicking.

3. Respond to Schedule Change Requests and Surprises via Mobile Device

Imagine one of your best VIP caretakers gets forced to self-quarantine, which often happens with no advance warning.

You need a system that can quickly rework that person’s schedule and shift the other employees around so your casino service continues uninterrupted.

Whether it’s a VIP caretaker, a regular customer service rep, or an administrator, changes and switches will happen. You’ll get vacation and holiday requests. EO requests. Family and medical leave requests. You need a system that can quickly adapt to changing realities.

And even more, you need a system you AND your employees can engage with entirely online through their mobile devices.

So, not only can you rework the schedule of specific employees at a moment’s notice, but your employees can submit their own requests for changes. And you can approve or deny them, all online, all remotely.

Suppose an employee requests a shift swap with another rep. You can quickly look at each person and see if the change will cause any problems on your end, like bumping someone into overtime. Then, you can approve or reject the change.

Employees love this system because it gives them ownership of their schedule. They can see all their shifts. They can see their data like accrued vacation time. They can communicate with you and quickly get answers – all remotely. Scheduling software will keep your employees happy and your online casino running smoothly.

4. Prioritize Your Team so the Best Employees Serve the Best Customers

Suppose you have 8 VIP caretakers on your online casino staff. Which of those 8 are your best people? Which ones would you want serving the wealthiest or most famous clients who might show up at your online casino?

You need a system that does more than just schedule weeks in advance. Pretty much any scheduling software can do that (though not all can do it easily and as flexibly as some). But you also need a system that ranks your employees based on their skill levels so you can differentiate the best of the best, on down to the newest person.

You probably have a good idea of when your most valuable customers show up, even in an online setting. With Assignment-Based Scheduling, you will always have the most highly skilled reps available when your most valuable clients are online.

Match up your best with your most valuable customers.

Only scheduling software built for casinos enables you to do this. Casino Schedule Ease is the only software that can do all five tasks on this list, because it’s the only one built specifically for the casino industry – including online casinos.

5. Automate Everything!

Lastly, you’re going to have a tough time learning and keeping up with all the new tasks required of online casinos. It’s not the same as before.

With a schedule that gets created automatically, only requiring a quick look from you and perhaps some minor adjustments, you will save invaluable time and be able to work harder at keeping your casino business afloat.

Casino Schedule Ease is designed so that, once you have your schedule routine in place, you can create new schedules with the click of a button.

When other customers see how easy and effortless our system is to use, they never want to leave. See what some of our customers have said.

After the initial Covid lockdowns ended, Barbara Hulsizer from Resorts in Atlantic City suddenly had to recall over 300 employees all at once. Here’s how she describes it:

We were faced with recalling over 300 employees at one time after Covid, and wondered if there was a way we could do this with Schedule Ease. With their assistance, we were able to recall over 300 employees within a matter of hours. It was shocking. Once we saw that, we realized this is how we need to do business going forward.

Want to see how Casino Schedule Ease will help your online casino?

We have greatly expanded the flexibility of our pricing to work with any and all sized casinos through this pandemic.

Sign up for a free demo

October Las Vegas News Round-Up

Las Vegas Sands Corporation Possible Move

Las Vegas Sands Corporation Possible Move

It’s been nearly five months since Nevada casinos reopened. As the initial enthusiasm has worn off, it’s becoming evident that this is far from a normal operating environment. With the global pandemic creating uncertainty in the Las Vegas convention business, the main focus for casino owners is what economic recovery will look like in the near future. For one of Las Vegas’s wealthiest owners, the future may no longer be in Sin City. Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. is exploring the sale of its casinos in Las Vegas and could possibly mark the mogul’s exit from the U.S. gambling industry in order to focus more on the Asian markets.

As the world’s largest casino company, Sands is interested in selling off the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the Palazzo and the Sands Expo Convention Center, which together could potentially fetch around $6 billion. All of these properties are all connected along the city’s famous strip. This sort of sale would concentrate Sands’ casino portfolio entirely in Macau and Singapore, two larger casino markets for Adelson, who ranks as one of the world’s richest people, with a fortune estimated at $29.7 billion. According to a gaming expert in Macau, the U.S. is a small and shrinking part of Adelson’s business, accounting for less than 15% of revenue last year but roughly 80% of regulatory pain and burden.

A renewed focus on the Asisan markets makes sense when taking into account that the recent recovery in Asia from Covid-19 has helped improve Sands’ operating results in the third quarter. Though Macau’s recovery from Covid-19 has been slow, there are signs gamblers are starting to return in volume as a visa backlog clears and China has lifted travel restrictions forming a travel bubble with the gambling hub. It should be noted that talks of selling these properties are only in very early discussions and that nothing has been finalized yet.

More Las Vegas Layoffs Expected

This year’s holiday season might be a lot less festive for hundreds of resort workers in Las Vegas. According to notices made public on Monday, hundreds of resort jobs in the Las Vegas Valley are facing potential layoffs in December. M Resort Spa Casino, operated by Gaming and Leisure Properties inc. and Penn National Gaming, are reportedly anticipating laying off 236 of its employees from December 21 through January 4. This follows Tropicana Las Vegas, which permanently laid off 828 employees earlier this month and plans to lay off an additional 132 workers over two weeks beginning December 23.

The notices were filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. This 1988 U.S. labor law is meant to protect employees, their families, and communities by requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs of employees. Both companies cited Covid-19 as the reasoning for these layoffs. According to VP for Tropicana Las Vegas “These layoffs at Tropicana Las Vegas, Inc. are the unfortunate result of COVID-19 related business circumstances that were sudden, dramatic and beyond our control. The impact on our business was not reasonably foreseeable until now…These significant drags on our business will likely continue for the foreseeable future.”

These layoffs will not only impact families right before the holiday season, but they will contribute to Nevada’s rising unemployment problem. Last month, the state’s unemployment rate was 12.6 percent, up 8.9 percent from 2019. Nevada’s rate comes in higher than the national unemployment rate of a seasonally adjusted 7.9 percent.

Raiders Offer to Host Super Bowl

The Las Vegas Raiders, along with the city of Las Vegas, have offered to host Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. The vacancy in the NFL’s Super Bowl calendar was created when the league elected to postpone the next Super Bowl in New Orleans until 2025 because of a conflict with Mardi Gras. That conflict wasn’t originally an issue under the previous CBA when the NFL had a 16-game schedule. However, with the addition of a 17th game to the schedule and an extra week to the regular season, the game would now run concurrently with the annual event in New Orleans. Though the league will not make any announcement about a replacement city until 2021, anonymous sources within the NFL have said that Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium will be well-received as a candidate for the 2024 Super Bowl.

However, in their first year as an NFL city, Las Vegas has already faced major disruptions because of COVID-19. The NFL Draft in April was scheduled to be held on the Las Vegas Strip before it had to be cancelled and hosted virtually instead. The 2021 Pro Bowl set to be held at Allegiant Stadium has also been cancelled. Not to mention that the team’s debut season in its new city has been devoid of fans because of ongoing restrictions. Nevertheless, the team is hoping to capitalize on its status as an entertainment city to host the Super Bowl for the first time in history. If Las Vegas is chosen, you can expect it to be both the biggest sporting event and the biggest sports betting night of the year.

Updating Casino Security

Now that casinos have started to reopen and adjust to a reduced number of patrons, it is a perfect time to rethink and update security and other administrative practices at casinos. Switching to Casino Schedule Ease will help businesses run more efficiently and smoothly while also simplifying the chaos of scheduling and managing a staff 24/7.

This next-generation casino and table game scheduling software delivers the most flexible, user-friendly, customizable, and mobile-accessible experience found anywhere. Utilizing the cloud, this scheduling software hosts, maintains, and backs up all records so casinos are not forced to use their own network resources. Furthermore, Casino Schedule Ease relies on BioStation T2, a state-of-the-art system that requires employees to clock in and out using their fingerprints and takes a photo of the employee so that exact clock in and out times cannot be misrepresented. Casino Schedule Ease is the best thing that could happen to your casino operations.

Sports Betting and the 2020 Election

Betting on Presidential Debates and the Election

As with any presidential election, the run up to Election Day is eventful. Whether it is the Presidential or the Vice-Presidential debates, sports betting is allowing people the opportunity to win cash on it all. According to DraftKings, their Sportsbook is giving bettors located in certain states the ability to win in a free-to-play $50k pool during the first Presidential debate on September 29.

Broadcast on several prominent networks across the country, this debate, which will be held in Cleveland, offers the candidates their first face-to-face opportunity to address several of the country’s most pressing issues. These issues will range from the coronavirus to the economy to the integrity of the election. The 2020 Presidential Debate pool at DraftKings Sportsbook will require no entry fee, is available to users of the sportsbook and will pay out over 4,000 winners. Sportsbook users will have an opportunity to make wagers on 10 different questions and can lock in their answers right up until the start of the debate. According to DraftKing, all prize money, which will total up to $50,000, will be distributed on Wednesday, September 30.

While it is still illegal for betting in the United States to occur for the actual presidential race, earlier this month the betting average at UK books showed the race rather close. The most recent betting rates show Biden holding a 53 percent chance of winning, to Trump at 46.3 percent. PredictIt, a New Zealand-based prediction market and online betting exchange that offers prediction exchanges on political and financial events, has the Democratic candidate a heavier favorite. These recent betting rates take into account national polls released each week. For example, in an ABC News/Washington Post national poll released this weekend, Biden was favored by 54 percent of likely voters, with Trump at 44 percent.

Support of Voters

With the Nov. 3 election just a few weeks away, there are continuing warnings from the hospitality sector about the impact from the pandemic. MGM Resorts has already permanently laid off some 18,000 positions nationwide and more industry layoffs are likely. Tribal casinos also report financial challenges. But neither presidential candidate has made it a top priority to bail out casinos. Rather, Presidential contenders Donald Trump and Joe Biden are more focused on trying to capture the support of voters concerned with the gaming industry. Each candidate’s positions differ though based on who they are reaching out to: casino owners or union members.

Casino owners are concerned about revenue and bringing back lost business. Casino workers on the other hand are more concerned about their safety. President Trump, the Republican incumbent who used to own several gaming properties, wants all businesses, including casinos and related venues, to reopen as quickly as possible despite coronavirus risk. Therefore, from the point of view of casino owners, Trump is preferable. This has led to many wealthy casino owners donating to President Trump’s campaign.

According to recent FEC filings, high-profile casino owners such as Las Vegas Sands billionaire Sheldon Adelson and Red Rock Resorts owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III are major donors to the Republican Party and to the Trump campaign. On the other hand, Biden, the former Democratic vice president, has proposed another lockdown if COVID-19 sees a resurgence in the winter. This has made Biden the preferred choice when looking from a worker safety point of view. Several powerful casino unions, such as Nevada’s influential Culinary Union, have endorsed Biden. Biden has even called upon Station Casinos and its parent company Red Rock Resorts to negotiate immediately with union workers at several Nevada casinos.

Election and the Online Gaming Industry

According to gaming experts, as far as brick-and-mortar commercial gaming properties are concerned, the presidential election will have minimal direct impact on the land-based casino industry. This is the result of the industry as a whole moving past its pariah status and having both political parties respect the rights of the individual states to determine whether to have land-based casinos and how to best regulate them. More likely than not though, the choice of president could impact the regulatory and legal climate for online casinos and gambling.

The Wire Act, a United States federal law prohibiting the operation of certain types of betting businesses in the United States, is at the center of this debate. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Wire Act prohibition on the transmission of wagers applies only to sports betting and not other types of online gambling. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the meaning of the Federal Wire Act as it pertains to online gambling. In an opinion issued in November 2018 and published in January 2019, the Department of Justice stated that the Federal Wire Act applies to all gambling and not just sports betting. However, as recently as June of 2019, a District Court Judge issued a summary judgment that the Wire Act is limited to sports gambling and set aside the 2018 DOJ opinion.

During President Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has argued in court for harsher restrictions on online betting and continues to oppose the rights of states to offer internet gambling. These efforts have continued to fail in court. With the DOJ’s continued failure in court, many states have completely disregarded President Trump’s efforts to restrain online gambling and close to 17 states have started offering online sports wagering. In contrast to President Trump, Joe Biden told a Culinary Union audience in December of 2019 that he opposed adding “unnecessary restrictions” to the gaming sector and these comments were taken to be in reference to the Wire Act.

Updating Your Security

With the upcoming election and the rise of sports betting in many states, it is a perfect time to rethink and update security and other administrative practices at casinos. Switching to Casino Schedule Ease will help businesses run more efficiently and smoothly while also simplifying the chaos of scheduling and managing a staff 24/7. This next-generation casino and table game scheduling software delivers the most flexible, user-friendly, customizable, and mobile-accessible experience found anywhere. Utilizing the cloud, this scheduling software hosts, maintains, and backs up all records so casinos are not forced to use their own network resources. Furthermore, Casino Schedule Ease relies on BioStation T2, a state-of-the-art system that requires employees to clock in and out using their fingerprints and takes a photo of the employee so that exact clock in and out times cannot be misrepresented. Casino Schedule Ease is the best thing that could happen to your casino operations.

Sports Betting News and Updates

Rise of Sports Betting in Colorado

Last November, voters in Colorado passed Proposition DD, which legalized sports betting in an attempt to shore up gaps in the state’s water budget. The initial expectation was that sports betting in Colorado would eventually generate $10 million to $20 million in annual revenue for water needs. When it was officially launched on May 1 of this year, receipts show that the state has a long way to go before sports betting could hit that expected amount and adequately help the water budget.

The low receipt numbers for the month of May were not due to a lack of interest though. The coronavirus pandemic had shut down all US sports that would traditionally be in-season during the month of May. This, understandably, led to a slow start in revenues as gamblers were relegated to obscure offerings such as table tennis, Korean baseball, and lower-tier international soccer leagues. However, things are starting to look up as many of the major domestic sports leagues returned in June and July. According to the Colorado Division of Gaming, once major domestic sports returned, there is a noticeable upward trend of Coloradans embracing the new form of regulated entertainment during the pandemic.

During the past two months, sports betting in Colorado has jumped nearly 55 percent. This is due to the return of the NHL’s Avalanche and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the return of the PGA Tour and a fuller slate of NASCAR and UFC events, the return of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, and the Colorado Rockies taking to the field as Major League Baseball (MLB) kicked off its 2020 campaign. Overall, July has marked the best of the three months thus far that sports wagering has been live and legal in the state and August is predicted to almost certainly be better than July’s, particularly if the Avalanche and Nuggets can extend their playoff pushes. Likewise, the arrival of the NFL season next month could be a boon for Colorado’s sports betting revenue, because the Denver Broncos are the state’s most popular professional franchise.

You may be asking yourself though, why are gaming companies so interested in Colorado? Well, there are numerous reasons why the Centennial State is such an alluring market for gaming companies. Colorado has a built-in infrastructure of more than 30 commercial and tribal casinos, many of which are already or will eventually be homes to retail sportsbooks. The state also has teams from all four of the major US leagues, several universities competing in Division I sports, and the state is considered one of the fastest growing in the country. Furthermore, Colorado offers geographic insulation as just one of the six states it shares a border with, New Mexico, offers legal sports betting.

Postponement in Playoff Games

Sports betting for many of the major domestic sports leagues were put on hold after the halt and postponement of numerous playoff games earlier this month. In the NBA playoffs, which are taking place in the Orlando Bubble, the teams decided to boycott a number of their games to stand against racial injustice and police brutality; especially in the wake of the shooting of a black man by Kenosha, Wisconsin police. Shortly after, a series of similar protests across other professional sports took place. The Milwaukee Brewers refused to play their game against the Cincinnati Reds. Two other Major League Baseball games, as well as the full slate of WNBA and MLS games, were postponed. The cancellation and boycotting of games in the wake of shootings in Wisconsin has also made its way to the NHL. The league announced the postponement of games originally scheduled for the end of August.

While trivial compared to the protests, according to many of the major online sports betting sites these postponements had an immediate impact on sportsbooks that took action on the games. BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, and PointsBet have already announced that they would void all bets made on the postponed NBA games. No word yet on bets made for the other major sports leagues. Not all sportsbooks have decided to void the bets because of the postponements. USBookmaking, which operates sportsbooks for the Isleta Resort Casino in New Mexico, and Sky Ute Casino Resort in Colorado said that they will honor the bets regardless of the day the games are played.

Sports Betting and Media Deals

Australian sportsbook operator PointsBet reportedly scored a $500 million deal with Comcast’s NBC Sports to become the broadcaster’s official sports betting partner. Under the terms of the deal, PointsBet will become the official sports betting partner of all NBC sports properties, including NBCSN, the Golf Channel, and regional sports networks (RSNs). This partnership between PointsBet and NBC, which broadcasts Sunday Night Football, is the latest in a series of arrangements between sportsbook and media companies. Earlier this year, Penn National Gaming scored a deal to acquire 36 percent of Barstool Sports for $163 million. Experts predict that that price tag could eventually grow to $450 million if the casino operator decides to take full ownership of the sports and pop culture media site. Less than a month later, ViacomCBS and William Hill announced an agreement under which the British bookmaker will be the official data and sports betting partner on all CBS sports platforms.

Updating Your Security

Now that casinos are starting to reopen and adjust to a reduced number of patrons, it is a perfect time to rethink and update security and other administrative practices at casinos. Switching to Casino Schedule Ease will help businesses run more efficiently and smoothly while also simplifying the chaos of scheduling and managing a staff 24/7. This next-generation casino and table game scheduling software delivers the most flexible, user-friendly, customizable, and mobile-accessible experience found anywhere. Utilizing the cloud, this scheduling software hosts, maintains, and backs up all records so casinos are not forced to use their own network resources. Furthermore, Casino Schedule Ease relies on BioStation T2, a state-of-the-art system that requires employees to clock in and out using their fingerprints and takes a photo of the employee so that exact clock in and out times cannot be misrepresented. Casino Schedule Ease is the best thing that could happen to your casino operations.

July Gambling News Round-Up

Las Vegas Recovery Update

It’s been nearly two months since Nevada casinos reopened for gambling. As the initial enthusiasm wears off, it’s becoming evident that this is far from a normal operating environment. Besides the implementation of current safety measures, the main focus for casino owners is what economic recovery will look like. Earlier this month, the second-quarter results came in for Las Vegas casinos and it was reported that there has so far been a year-over-year revenue drop of 45.6 percent and a 61 percent decline in revenue when compared with the same month in 2019. Overall, it could be a while before Las Vegas looks like it did prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people in the casino industry believe that the return to normalcy is tethered to efforts to develop a vaccine that will vanquish the virus. However, casino owners are facing increased pressure because they are unable to control the timeline of an available vaccine. Even though numerous pharmaceutical companies are making progress towards a vaccine, a safe antidote to the coronavirus is likely still several months away.

Most health officials believe that at least one of the vaccines currently being developed will be finished by December or early 2021. If this is correct, it would still take several months before the product could be widely distributed. If Las Vegas hopes to financially rebound and reach capacity levels from previous years, they will most likely not be able to until the second half of 2021 or even early 2022.

Tribal Casinos Update

As Native American tribes start to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, many tribal casinos are still trying to figure out the best regulations and precautions to implement in order to welcome back guests safely. In Iowa, for example, four major casinos — the Blackbird Bend Casino, Meskwaki Bingo Casino, Prairie Flower Casino, and WinnaVegas Casino Resort — have reopened in the last two months and have added new rules for patrons to follow. Among the new precautions is face mask requirements and a ban on smoking and vaping inside the gaming venues.

When asked about the new smoking and vaping ban, the chairman of the Ponca Tribe, which owns Prairie Flower Casino, said that allowing smoking would have conflicted with the venue’s face covering requirement. Though some visitors disagreed with the ban, the tribal casino has set up a smoking area, approximately 50 feet from the entrance, for smokers. WinnaVegas Casino Resort in Sloan, owned by the Winnebago Tribe, also has been smoke-free since early June. With masks required inside the venue, the casino’s marketing director has stressed that their first priority is the safety of the guests, team members, and community members. Similarly to Prairie Flower Casino, WinnaVegas has allocated a designated outdoor smoking area located 20 feet away from the entrance.

In other tribal casino news, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has reached a deal with American iGaming operator Golden Nugget Online Gaming Incorporated to enter the online casino and sports betting market in Michigan. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is currently responsible for Ojibwa Casino-branded venues in the small northern Michigan communities of Baraga and Marquette. With this new deal, the community would be able to offer a variety of online casino, gambling and sports betting entertainment options.

Although Michigan legalized sports betting and online casino gambling late last year, the state has not yet awarded any casino an iGaming license. If the Michigan Gaming Control Board approves this license soon, it is believed that this iGaming enterprise could go live as soon as the end of October. However, due to the state’s lack of movement around license approval and the coronavirus, it is likely that they will have to wait until next year before launching.

Sports Gambling News

With the return of major US sports, including the NHL, there has been a return in sports betting. In Colorado, where it has only recently become legal, there is increased optimism about the trajectory of sports betting within the state. According to recent data, even with a shortened sports calendar, there was a 49 percent increase in sports betting in Colorado during the month of June when compared to May. These figures come from the business conducted by six internet operators and one retail sportsbook location operating during the month. Overall, Colorado’s online sports wagering market, which is expected to drive growth there, is attracting more retail and online operators and therefore lead to an increase in revenue and taxes in the months ahead.

In other sports betting new, DraftKing has been named the first “Official Betting Partner” of the PGA Tour. This deal gives the sportsbook rights to use PGA Tour trademarks, opportunities to advertise within the tour, and content and video distribution privileges. Though DraftKings became the PGA Tour’s first official betting partner in July of last year, the two entities are now furthering their partnership. According to DraftKings, golf is the fourth most-wagered-on sport and activity has only increased since the PGA Tour resumed their tournament last month. When it returned last month, DraftKings reported more gambling than it ever had on the first day of the four-day tournament.

Updating Your Security

Furthermore, Casino Schedule Ease relies on BioStation T2, a state-of-the-art system that requires employees to clock in and out using their fingerprints and takes a photo of the employee so that exact clock in and out times cannot be misrepresented. Casino Schedule Ease is the best thing that could happen to your casino operations.

June Casino News Round-Up

Casino Coronavirus Update

As of early June, casinos in nine major US gaming jurisdictions, including Nevada and Pennsylvania, have begun to open back up. As more casinos open their doors, state officials are imposing limitations to ensure the safety of visitors. The most notable limitations include restricted occupancy levels, additional safety measures, and available gaming capacity. These limitations could impact Las Vegas’s push to reopen all of their hotels, restaurants, casinos and shops in time for the Fourth of July weekend.

Besides the implementation of current safety measures, the main focus for casino owners is what economic recovery will look like. Many analysts are warning that recovery for the gaming industry will not be the V-shaped recovery that many are hopeful for. Instead, casinos have been told to expect the recovery to stretch out over the next three years. This forecast is based roughly on the expectation that reopenings will be slowed by economic headwinds and travel restraints caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, destination spots, such as Las Vegas and Macau, will have the slowest recovery in comparison to more regional casinos. This is due to destination spots having a greater reliance on tourism, air travel, and convention whereas regional spots can advertise as being a local, drive-in location.

For some states, implementing safety measures are not enough for government officials to grant casinos the ability to reopen. No reopening date has been set for Atlantic City’s nine casinos. Many are pointing at New Jersey as having the second-highest number of virus cases in the nation as the reason for the delayed reopening. While the casinos may still be closed, many establishments have taken advantage of Governor Murphy’s recent easing of virus restrictions and are offering outdoor dining. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City and the Landshark Bar & Grill at Resorts Casino Hotel have opened their outdoor deck for food and drinks.

Tribal Casino Reopening News

As Native American tribes start to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, many tribal casinos are trying to figure out the best way to welcome back guests while also protecting everyone. Earlier this month, the Cherokee Nation announced that they would welcome back guests to its 10 casino properties throughout northeast Oklahoma. Based on the success of these 10 openings, the remaining 7 properties in the state will open. All properties will operate at a reduced capacity with enhanced health and safety protocols in place. Those protocols include physical distancing, enhanced cleaning and sanitization, facemask requirement, and noninvasive temperature screenings for both team members and guests. Anyone with a temperature above 100.4 F will not be permitted to enter the building. Furthermore, each casino floor will be closed to the public from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. everyday to accommodate deep cleaning and sanitization.

In comparison to the Cherokee, the Navajo Nation has decided to wait until July to reopen their casino operations in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. In preparation for their opening next month, the Navajo have taken additional steps to ensure the safety of all visitors and workers. This includes deep cleaning and sanitizing all of their properties. These additional steps not only apply to their casinos but were implemented across their entire reservation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

Sports Betting Debate

As casinos and gaming establishments attempt to recover from the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, one mode of gambling may show some promising results. Globally, sports betting is seen as an engine for economic recovery this year.

In the United States, sport betting is now available in a number of new states. DraftKings, a sports betting and gaming provider that operates in at least nine states, has expanded into more networks. In early June, they announced a partnership with Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Michigan to enter into a new market access deal that will hopefully bring the U.S’s number one-rated mobile sportsbook to sports fans across the state. According to recent announcements, Michigan presents a number of gaming opportunities for DraftKings and they plan to collaborate with Bay Mills to provide residents with the best-in-class experience. As sports across the United States return, DraftKings aims to provide consumers with an innovative, immersive, and entertaining gaming experience. In addition to mobile and online sportsbook access, the partnership will allow Michigan sports fans to place sports bets in person at a retail betting location at Bay Mills Resort & Casino.

In Brazil, sports betting has recently been increasingly seen as an avenue for economic growth. This hasn’t always been the case though. Brazil has traditionally resisted most forms of gambling expansion, including sports betting. However, momentum has been building towards legalizing commercial casinos in recent months. In May, Brazil’s Federal Deputy called for casinos as a way to revitalize the Brazilian economy. However, even with this recent policy change, combined with the pandemic and the realities of any bidding process, the implementation of sports betting in Brazil is expected to be delayed and most officials believe that 2021 will be a more realistic goal for making this available in Brazil.

Updating Your Security

update casino security and administrative practices

Reopening Plans of U.S. Casinos

Casinos have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Places such as Las Vegas, San Diego, and coastal Louisiana, which normally rely on tourism, conventions, and other mass gatherings to drive foot-traffic, have seen their sources of revenue completely disappear. Many major casino operators – such as Caesar, Wynn Resorts, and even MGM Resorts International – have had to find alternative revenue for the past two months. For many, that has involved opening up their restaurants to serve local residents via delivery and takeout options.

Hope is on the horizon though. As the national infection rate begins to slow down, many states, and casinos, are starting to reopen again. To discover what reopening will look like within the casino industry, we have decided to look into the reopening plans for the major casino operators in Las Vegas. Let’s briefly examine a couple of the casinos that have already opened this month, and touch on the closing of some casinos due to the coronavirus.

Las Vegas’s Reopening Plan

All across Las Vegas, casinos are trying to figure out the best solution for their guests’ safety. Earlier this month, MGM Resorts International unveiled a “seven-point safety plan” to reopen its Las Vegas casinos and hotels. This safety plan included the closure of all buffet-style meals, the new additions of plexiglass barriers and handwashing stations, and enforced physical distancing at slot machines and card tables. One other aspect of MGM Resorts’ plan includes the implementation of touchless ticketing for entertainment shows and virtual check-in and check-out for their hotels.

It is important to mention how the current proposed reopening protocols mostly address the safety needs of employees and guests, and do not directly address how the Las Vegas casino will protect entertainers who perform on its stages. Many casinos are expecting guests and hotel employees to screen themselves for coronavirus symptoms before entering. Once inside, employees will be required to wear protective masks and gloves.

Along with rivals Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts is using their Macau casinos as a reopening model and implementing strict coronavirus screening and social distancing protocols. In all of the Wynn casinos, there will be strict rules regarding how many players can play at the same time. They will be removing some seats in the casinos, rearranging machines, or even turning some off. In addition, hand sanitizer will be offered to players at table games.

It is predicted that many of the casinos in Las Vegas will struggle to make money under these conditions. While it is not a return to normal, it is a baby step toward that. In theory, this will help many of the major casino operators cut their losses and bring back some customers. It will however be a long road back to normalcy.

Some Casinos Have Already Opened

While casinos in Las Vegas finalize their reopening plans, many casinos elsewhere in the United States have already started reopening this month. In Louisiana, state casinos were permitted to reopen their doors beginning May 18th. This marked the largest reopening so far among U.S. casino markets hampered by the coronavirus shutdown. Casinos will be limited to 25% occupancy for the time being and the games must be spaced appropriately to abide by social distancing guidelines. Louisiana’s reopening is important for another reason. Most of its gaming venues are considered regional properties, the type that is expected to rebound quicker in comparison to destination markets such as Las Vegas. Additionally, Louisiana has a history of luring customers and tourists from Texas, where there are no traditional casinos.

In addition to Louisiana, Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos in North Carolina has begun a gradual reopening. As North Carolina begins to lay out a framework for easing restrictions relating to the pandemic, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and its casinos are looking forward to a return to operation, but with extensive health and safety precautions in place for the safety of employees and guests. Areas where social distancing can be practiced, such as the gaming floor, hotel and some restaurants, were the first to open.

Areas where social distancing is not possible, such as the spa, valet, poker, buffet and concerts, will remain closed until it is appropriate to reopen. Furthermore, access to the casinos is going to initially be by invitation only. During this initial phase, only invited guests will be able to make hotel reservations, or access the properties. It is expected that the number of invitations will increase over time.

Casinos Closed Permanently

While most casinos in Louisiana and the United States are coming up with their reopening plans, there is at least one casino that has decided to shut its doors for good. The DiamondJacks casino in Bossier City announced earlier this month that they would permanently stay closed due to the economic devastation brought forth by the coronavirus. Officials with DiamondJacks have stated that there are currently no plans for it to switch owners or for a new investor to reopen the casino. DiamondJacks is at least the second US casino to announce its permanent closure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced all US tribal and commercial casinos to shut down as federal and local governments sought to control the spread of the coronavirus. The Lakeside Inn in Nevada announced its permanent closure in April. Only time will tell if more casinos will follow the path of MGM International and Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos or fall victim to the coronavirus and join the ranks of DiamondJacks and Lakeside Inn in permanently closing.

While we may not yet know whether there will be a second wave of the coronavirus, we are able to track the casino industry’s response and future plans. As more and more U.S. casinos continue to open, many are eagerly awaiting to see what the new normal will look like in these entertainment meccas. To stay on top of the latest casino and gambling news, be sure to keep visiting the Casino Schedule Ease blog.