In many of the major hotels and resorts in Las Vegas, gambling is not just a special feature, it is a major, and I mean major source of revenue for the hotel. The Gambling Commission reports that the top six hotels on the strip made at least 2.58 million dollars a day during July 2007 to the 30th of June 2008. You might be asking yourself, what has this got to do with anything with information technology? Without a doubt, information technology has a lot to do with the many different ways hotels keep track of their most prosperous customers.
Over the last ten to fifteen years, computer systems have changed the way card games are being played. With the introduction of Player Cards, MGM Grand is able “see who the serious gamblers are”. There are five types of Player Cards; NOIR, which is only offered by invitation, and then the remaining types are all arranged according to the amount of “Tier Credits” you attain. The other four are Sapphire, Pearl, Gold, and Platinum. The Tier level is determined by the overall amount of credits you accumulate.
The process of swiping your player’s card works just like swiping a credit card. The dealer will scan your Players Card into the computer system before you begin to play any of the table games. With the swipe of the card, the system automatically brings up basic information about the player, such as name, city, and state. The system is able to track how much money you are betting, how long you spend gambling at each of the different table games, and it will show an average bet per hour (most of the pit bosses are interested in this). All of the major gambling hotels have this type of computer system, and not just the ones in Las Vegas, but in the entire world.
Special promotions and discounts have all been handled out because these computer systems can keep track of certain customers, and market there special promotions to those players who meet the hotels requirements. Certain hotels will give out airfare discounts, great ticket packages to shows, and will even try to negotiate with the player to meet his or her requests. All of these gambling casinos have one thing in common, the huge computer systems that manage all of the information, and provide management all of the necessary information to make the casino stay very prosperous.
leefoster.photoshelter.com
I understand the business perspective of this IT usage to help them keep track of patrons and to better serve them. However, I would prefer to not have someone keeping tabs on what I do, how long I spend, and how much money I spend. What ever happend to just putting a few coins in a machine or sitting at a table with chips? Just like on the Internet I prefer what I search to not be recorded, which is the new strategy in some online marketing to better serve our advertising needs.
ReplyDeleteThat raises a good point, but the only way the hotel or resort keeps track of how much money you spend, or how long you spend gambling is when you swipe your player scard. If you do not wish to be monitored, simply chose not to swipe your players card. If you are not the type of serious gambler and just plays for the fun of it, then maybe having a players card is not a right option for you.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of this, it is one of the most clever ways of promotion out there. It is looked upon skeptically becasue it is tailored around an addictive hobby, but it is a reward system similar to that at food lion or kohls. Except at the Casinos since the rewards are propotionate to the money spent, they can often be very extravegant rooms, and hey if you just lost 10 grand at the craps table a comped room heals the wound at least a little.
ReplyDeleteAlex Herko