Impact of Inflation

Inflation is being felt all over: gas pump prices, groceries, utilities, store shelves.

Casinos?

As you see new changes in casinos that are linked to casinos dealing with inflation, how about listing them here?

It's been a couple of weeks for me since I've been in a casino and I haven't seen anything that really stood out.

But the first thing I'm expecting is a change in menu prices and cocktail service.

With the EU poised to boycott Russian oil after the French election, assuming Macron wins (not Omicron), the price of oil is being touted as to shooting up to $185/barrel, or an 85% increase over the $100/barrel of today. So a $4/gallon east coast pump could see a rise to around $7-$8/gallon and a $6/gallon west coast pump could see a rise to $11+/gallon. I expect traffic will disappear from the roads and people won't show up to work because they've been priced out of their transportation to get there. This can happen imminently, so maybe stock up on a month or two of food.
20% of shipping boats are stranded waiting at ports, so supply chains from other countries and especially China are going to be severely disrupted.

That's about the most dire forecast as I've seen but I cant say it wont happen. I never thought $5 gas would be widespread but in early April it was in Vegas.

Shortages definitely contribute to inflation.

Generally inflation can be either demand driven or supply driven. When supply driven it means there isnt enough supply to meet demand. When demand driven it means demand outstrips supply. They might sound like the same thing but they're not. The difference is the normal amount of the supply base.

Right now the supply is below the base.

Enough of economics 301.

Back to casinos. Those of you with casino employment history: when do casinos lower or raise bets to adapt to player attendance? I'm assuming now that inflation will affect casino attendance.

Do they raise table bets when attendance grows which is what we see on Saturday nights? Or will they raise bets when attendance drops as we saw during the pandemic?

I would expect table minimums will go from $15 to $25 so people can win their gas money back. That might apply to the minimum wage too.

Quote: ChumpChange

I would expect table minimums will go from $15 to $25 so people can win their gas money back. That might apply to the minimum wage too.
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The pandemic killed $5 and $10 tables at many casinos, and inflation might kill $15 tables next.

I need a $1,000 buy-in for a session at the $25 Blackjack table, a $2,000 buy-in at the $50 Baccarat table, and a $4,000 buy-in at the $100 Baccarat table.

If I get a couple more $2,000 stimmy checks, I'll probably replace a couple of 10 year old computers with them.

Gas prices have been slowly creeping down where I live. Groceries aren't really much more expensive, if at all. I've been spending $100-$120 a week on average for years now, buying mostly the same stuff over and over again. I hear people talking about how their grocery bill has doubled, and I'm thinking they're full of ****.

I'm only seeing about a 30% grocery price increase vs a year ago so far.
Early days.

I think it depends what you’re buying, what sort labor and fuel involved to get it into the store. Cost of blue collar labor and fuel has definitely spiked in most places it’s tough to argue that.

Walmart avocados have went from .68 to over 1.1 in less than a year for a specific. Not long ago those were the organic prices.

I get almost all my food delivered from amazon and two meal delivery programs so I don't go to the grocery store too much. I went this week and it seemed like everything had gone up a dollar.
A case of water had been 2/$6 now it was 2/$8. An 8-piece chicken had been $4.99, now it was $5.99. Eggplant were 2/$3, now 2/$4. Eggs were $1 more, pasta that had been 3/$4 was now 3/$5.
Safeway charges full price and then subtracts sale prices and discounts. I'd been expecting my order to come out to around $100 and was surprised to see it at $143 before discounts. I ended up spending $122.
Butch Box, where I get about half my meat, just raised the price of their boxes from $125 to $137.
Gas seems to have peaked. I think the worst price was $4.72, but most places are now $4.30-$4.45. I have about two weeks worth of gas so I'm hoping my next fillup sees a significant drop. Gas in Mexico is heavily subsidized so it is well under $4 a gallon but crossing back into the USofA is a hassle.

I'm on a "fixed diet" because I had a kidney/pancreas transplant. I avoid salads and fruits because of possible contamination. I don't cook and I'm more of a grazer.

Because of my "fixed diet" I know to the penny how much my groceries have changed.

I will give you examples of things I buy all the time. The first price is pre Ukraine war and the second price is current. I'm not listing package sizes but the package sizes havent changed.

Gatorade $1.00 $1.50
Powerade $1.00 $1.00
Swiss cheese $1.49 $1.79
Yogurt $.79 $1.00
Cookies $1.19 $1.49
Lean Cuisine $1.79 $2.29
Canned Soup $1.79 $1.79
Tortillas $1.39 $1.49
Plastic spoons $1.19 $1.99
Tapioca pudding $1.79 $2.49
Macaroni salad $1.79 $3.49
Toilet paper $1.09 $3.59
Paper towels $.59 $1.19
Pasta $.99 $1.19

To be honest I eat out a lot. I think restaurants havent raised prices since the war started but menu prices are up about 10% from pre-pandemic levels.