The Evil Empire: Harrah's Corporation's values

This discussion of Harrah's business model was sparked by the review recently posted on this site of the flagship Harrah's casino.

>I didn't know there was any Gaming regulation prohibiting that.
I'm sure he knew. Its merely an example of the arrogance of Harrahs.

>coffee maker, a rarity in Vegas
Someday I'd like to see just why these hotels (Harrah's properties and non-Harrah's properties alike) enjoy annoying their customers by making them trek down to the lobby-area Starbucks for their morning coffee. Is it that the mba types have decreed coffee grounds are too time consuming for the housekeeping staff to clean? Is it that mba types think if a man has to get up and get out of his room early for coffee he will head to the casino with his money rather than head back to his room with a cardboard tray laden with coffee and patries for his wife? I think the two most common complaints involve lack of a coffee maker and the presence of a previous guest's 3:00am alarm setting!

>I think they could be spending more on maintaining the roof.
Probably not enough money left over from the various executive salaries and leveraged buyouts for them to repair the roof. The asset is the corporate shares, not the roof.

>59% of blackjack tables at Harrah’s are the dreadful 6 to 5
>That increases the house edge to 16.67% on both. Ouch!
An ouch felt only by a knowledgeable player. How many of those would be at Harrahs? Ofcourse there are probably a few non-Harrahs casinos that seem to lack knowledgable players.

>the video poker at Harrah’s is pretty stingy.
Here again, that is simply something that Harrahs can get away with. Most players won't notice, those that do will be too snockered to care and besides... its a real long walk to a non-Harrah's property.

>Stimulus 10 3.37%
>Stimulus 9 13.04%
>the expected return is 3.37%, or a house edge of 96.63%. Jeez!
Well, a sucker born every minute! And Harrah's Corp wants to shear them all.

>Harrah's Total Rewards
>Despite bothering at least a dozen employees in the casino,
>I still do not understand all of what should be available to the public,
That right there is the essence of the Harrah's business model. Even after talking to 12 employees you still don't know what they are doing.

>Never in my entire life have I played so hard to get so little in return.
>It was the biggest display of chincyness I have ever witnessed in any casino.
>It is par for the course to get back 40% of expected losses I got 2% back.
>If I were a legitimate player, I would never return after that insulting experience.
There again, that is Harrah's goal. They know there will be an endless stream of tourists who will think that 2 percent is a good deal, just as there will be an endless stream of tourists who fall for the "6:5" absurdity.

Don't play at Harrah's properties if you even in the slightest bit a big player. They don't like high-rollers. I can't stress that enough. They don't even like medium-rollers. If you aren't a minnow don't give your gambling business to the Harrah's enterprise. They have built their empire on the low-volume, high-margin player.

Edit: Of course they LOVE stupid, mega-whales like Terry Watanabe. If you are dumb, drunk rich guy who tips well, I'm sure Harrah's would be glad to accomodate you.

If you are low-end gambler however, the Harrah's series of casinos are a great way to stay mid-strip at very low rates. I mean, if you can pull in a promotion at the Paris for $50/night and do the $20 trick to get the Bellagio fountain views, you're mid-strip for about $200 for 3 nights. I play once a year with a gambling budget of about $1,000 and I still get the promotions for the $37/$67 weekend nights at the Paris. If I want to stay at Harrahs or Rio, it's usually free.

The last time I was at a Harrahs property (I was a diamond player), the comps credited was so small for the amount of action given, that I complained loudly. I will not play in a Harrahs property any more. Let them treat someone else so shabbily.

Oh, boymimbo, I absolutely agree with you. They are great for getting free/discounted rooms. I have gotten more than my fair share from them. The only problem is that they cut you off once they realize that:
(a) you aren't giving them any play in LV when you stay there because their games suck.
(b) you are a knowledgeable player who only plays low-margin games and you don't make enough money for the house.
(c) you give them more action than they want to accept
And then you start getting treated like the poster above and the Wizard's at Harrah's.

I stayed at a Harrah's property last year and will likely do so again this year. The prices you get online by logging in with your Total "Rewards" card are just too good (for me at any rate), and the location is really good. I can also speak highly of the Harrah's shuttle service. I took the Paris to Rio trip and back twice in one day with a minnimum of waiting (at that it might ahve been faster to use public transportation, but the shuttle is free). All four drivers were curteous and helpful.

But I've noticed I lose all my points every year, not that I accumulate many to begin with, and their games mostly suck, as has been pointed out. In any case the only Harrah's casinos I really like are Paris and Caesars. IP's too noisy, and the others are unremarkable in every way.

So for a long craps session I'm plannign this year, I think I'll head to the Stratosphere for the 10X odds, or Main Street Station for the 20X. I know Casino Royales offers 100X, but I don't like their casino much. I would have anyway, since all other strip and Downtown casinos pretty much offer only 2,3,5X at best. But I'm open to suggestions on where to send my VP and slot allotment.

Eastside Cannery is 100x odds also though I understand its off somewhere well away from the strip. Good luck.

Quote: Nareed

I'm open to suggestions on where to send my VP and slot allotment.

Palms.

Quote: FleaStiff

Eastside Cannery is 100x odds also though I understand its off somewhere well away from the strip. Good luck.

More importantly they will give you 100X on a $3 bet, whereas Casino Royale wants $5. It is right next door to Sam's Town about 6 miles from the strip. It is actually a very nice looking casino with a rooftop bar.

Cannery owns two properties in Vegas, manages one, and manages a racino outside of Pittsburgh.

Harrah's drop from $3.6 billion to $2.6 billion from 2007 to 2009 is pretty severe. In the last 25 months slot revenue has dropped 21% while TWENTY ONE revenue has dropped 32% on the strip. I think Harrah's has a lot to do with that. They are increasing house edge but trashing the game.

Quote: pacomartin

Harrah's drop from $3.6 billion to $2.6 billion from 2007 to 2009 is pretty severe. In the last 25 months slot revenue has dropped 21% while TWENTY ONE revenue has dropped 32% on the strip. I think Harrah's has a lot to do with that. They are increasing house edge but trashing the game.

If The Evil Empire is so skilled at shearing its sheep but still attracting additional sheep to visit their various shearing sheds is Harrahs really trashing the game. I don't mean just blackjack, but all table games?

Some people have used the phrase Too Big To Fail in relation to Harrahs, but I wonder. If you bleed the entire industry as well as your own customers does that improve the prospects for a disguised failure?

Is the Deutsche Bank owned casino, The Cosmopolitan, an example of a failure?
Its commercial featured Cougars, Half-naked waiters, a woman atop a piano, chickens and kittens ... and nary a shot of a craps table or blackjack table. Cosmopolitan did not want gamblers. Cosmopolitan certainly did not get gamblers. They have put all their emphasis into hotels rooms, events, pool parties, Night clubs and Day clubs. The money for the new and well-appointed Cosmopolitan is equivalent to that of the Riviera, a dump. There Secret Pizza gets more publicity than their slot program.
Has Vegas already failed and Deutche Bank acknowledged this secretly by trying to make money running a hotel and nightclub and not really making any effort in their casino. They've got the yuppies and twitterers, they've got the glitterati types.

The real gamblers in Vegas are the investors in Harrahs. And I think perhaps Harrahs may demonstrate that they are once again the world's number-one shearers.