Gaming and Casino Operations Management Commons^™

Twin River Worldwide Stepping It Up.”, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Research

Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. (TRWH) announced that it was acquiring three casino resorts from Eldorado Resorts Inc. and Caesars Entertainment Corp. The two gaming companies are in the process of consummating a merger.

Sin City: How To Shut Down A City That Never Closes, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Research

The casino closures that swept through the United States were entirely unprecedented. Never before had an entire hospitality industry been shut down overnight. While we don’t know when Americans will be free to gamble in casinos once more—or, indeed, what casino operations will look like when casinos reopen—the simple fact that casinos are closed gives us plenty to think about.

Where Women Stand In Tribal Vs. Non-Tribal Gaming Leadership, Toni Repetti, Shekinah L. Hoffman

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Tribal casinos operate for the economic development and self-sufficiency of their members so additional profit generated directly benefits their communities. Gender diversity has been shown to increase firm performance across different types of business so if tribal casinos have gender diversity in management they may be able to increase their profits. This study evaluates casino management positions in 405 tribal and 567 non-tribal casinos in the United States. Results indicate that women in tribal gaming only make up 37.8% of all management positions and while they represent about half of managers, the percentage decreases as the position increases. When compared …

What Predicts Esports Betting? A Study On Consumption Of Video Games, Esports, Gambling And Demographic Factors, Joseph Macey, Brett Abarnabel, Juho Hamari

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

The parallel media related to sports, gaming and gambling are expanding, exemplified by the emergence of esports and game-related gambling (e.g. loot boxes, esports betting). The increasing convergence of these phenomena means it is essential to understand how they interact. Given the expanding consumer base of esports, it is important to know how individuals’ backgrounds and consumption of game media may lead to esports betting. This study employs survey data (N = 1368) to investigate how demographics, alongside consumption of video games, esports and gambling can predict esports betting activity. Results reveal that both spectating esports and participation in general …

Why Change In The Gaming Industry Should Never Surprise Anyone, David Schwartz

Executive Vice President & Provost Faculty Research

There has been a great deal of change in the news lately for the gaming world. After more than a decade as head of MGM Resorts, Jim Murren is stepping down. The Chinese coronavirus outbreak has sent Macau gaming revenues into a tailspin. On a happier note, a big brand name is returning to a Las Vegas casino, with the announcement that Hilton will be operating three hotels as part of the Genting Group’s Resorts World development. Change is in the air. But that’s nothing new, and nothing the industry shouldn’t be expecting.

Regulated Sports Betting: A Nevada Perspective, Becky Harris

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

This article discusses the impact Nevada has had on legal regulated sports betting for the past seventy years. First, an overview and history of Nevada's sport betting regulatory framework will be presented; and, second, lessons learned and issues to consider for states wishing to embark on legalized regulated sports betting such as, integrity, why states and not the federal government should regulate sports betting, how tax rates and fees impact the legal and illegal markets, why technology is critical component of legal sports wagering, why multiple avenues for consumer protection are essential, and finally how cooperation among all stakeholders is …

Value Relevance Of Financial And Non-Financial Information: Evidence From The Gaming Industry, Lisa Goh, Kevin Ck Lam, Hong Weng Lawrence Lei

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Using financial and non-financial data from casino gaming firms listed in the United States from 1999–2017, we explore two research questions: (1) Is financial information value relevant to financial markets in the casino gaming industry? (2) Does non-financial information have incremental explanatory power over financial information? In general, we find that accounting numbers can explain a firm’s market value and stock returns in the casino gaming industry, except for accounting accruals, which may behave differently compared to other industries. We also find that non-financial information, such as the number of table games, number of slot machines, and their relative proportion, …

Nipped In The Budd? Assessing The Wisdom Of The Gambling Review Body’S Recommendations In Relation To Problem Gambling, Daniel Waugh, Tom Grant

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The convening of the Gambling Review Body (the ‘Review Body’), between 2000 and 2001 was the most recent attempt by the British Government to consider fully policy objectives for the operation of its licensed gambling market. It followed in a tradition of comprehensive Government-sponsored reviews of gambling (carried out in the twentieth century by Royal Commissions) approximately every 20 to 25 years. The publication of its report in 2001 had a strong influence on the drafting of the Gambling Act 2005 (the ‘2005 Act’), Britain’s principal piece of gambling legislation.

In 2019, Britain’s gambling laws are under review once more. …

Reinventing The Wheel: Comparing Family Friendly Vegas And Adult Friendly Vegas Revenue Growth, James Vaughn

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The one constant for Las Vegas is change, always looking for the Next Big Thing™. In the 1990s, Las Vegas engaged in a grand experiment: roller coasters, amusement parks, family pools and shows. In the 2000s, Las Vegas reinvented itself back to its roots: condo not amusement parks, sensual not swashbuckling shows, topless European ultra-pools not kiddie pools. While the house always wins, did the casinos of the 1990s or 2000s beat the ultimate house, going beyond nominal revenue growth into the jackpot of real revenue growth?

Gamesense Interactions: Improving Guest Experience With Responsible Gaming, Richard Taylor

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

How do conversations about responsible gambling impact the employee and guest experience?

With the implementation of GameSense and its strong ties to our loyalty marketing program, M life Rewards, MGM Resorts endeavors to answer that very question. Through focus groups research, interaction surveys, and on the ground conversations with casino employees, we are learning a lot about our innovative approach to responsible gambling.

During this lightning talk, Director of Responsible Gaming, Richard Taylor, will provide a typical GameSense interaction, and a very brief summary about GameSense and why it's critically important to make RG a focal point of guest experience.

Female Leadership In Gaming: Where Are They & Where Are They Missing?, Toni Repetti, Shekinah Hoffman

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Women account for over half the gaming workforce, but there is still a gap in leadership. Men continue to dominate casino executive and board positions and this is not representative of the front-line workforce. This presentation uses a database of 10, 950 management positions in 972 United States casinos to evaluate the facts, not perceptions. The database consists of 567 commercial and 405 Native American casinos, which are evaluated separately and in combination. Results show women hold 35.5% of manager and above positions when evaluated overall, but there is a significant difference when evaluated by type of operations. Commercial casinos …

Sports Betting And Indian Gaming: Overcoming Barriers To Market Entry And Integration Of Sports Books Into Tribal Casinos, Steve Light

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Abstract

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision In Murphy v. NCAA (2018) permitting states to legalize sports wagering, the biggest brand-names in gaming worldwide were positioning themselves to capitalize on the fan base for America’s most recognizable sports leagues.

Sports wagering already is up and running in five states; analysts predict that more than half the states will legalize it within five years. Many will be among the 29 states that currently have casinos owned and operated by American Indian tribes in this $32.4 billion market segment.

There is no firm sense and little data pointing to …

Current Problem Gambling Countermeasures And Responsible Gaming Dissemination Issues In Japan, Naoyuki Nishimura Phd Md

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Activities such as pachinko, pachi-slot and public sports race betting make up Japan’s unique gambling culture. When the “the Gambling Addiction Countermeasures Act” and “the Integrated Resort (IR) Development Act” were passed by the Japanese Diet in July 2018, gambling in Japan has begun the move to a new stage. In preparation of IR developments, there will be measures enacted at the national government level on problem gambling from existing activities, and discussions have started on how to prevent the negative influence created from casinos in the IRs. The problem gaming countermeasures which just started in Japan face many issues …

Tribal Gaming Leader Strategies Toward A Sustainable Future, Janie A. Hall, Patricia I. Fusch, Janet M. Booker

The Qualitative Report

One aspect of leadership strategy is the need to account for the core values of the organization.The purpose of this case study was to explore the tribal gaming leader strategies used toward sustainability, an action that leads to tribal economic development and stability. The conceptual framework of situational leadership theory was used to guide the scope and analysis of this study. Six tribal gaming leaders from Oklahoma participated in a focus group session; 7 additional tribal gaming leaders from the same gaming organization participated in individual interview sessions. Member checking was used to strengthen the credibility and trustworthiness of the …

Expert Commentary On Sports Betting Post-Paspa, Becky Harris

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

Becky Harris, appointed by former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (2011-2019), served as the first female Chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board from January 2018 to January 2019. Harris was the first Chair to propose regulations addressing workplace sexual harassment. Prior to serving as Chair, Harris served in the Nevada Legislature for the 2015 and 2017 legislative sessions.

From Casino Wars To Casino Capitalism: Sovereignty And Gaming In Macau, Tim Simpson

Occasional Papers

In 1999, after nearly half a millennia of administration, Portugal returned the citystate of Macau to the People’s Republic of China, and it was designated a Special Administrative Region under the PRC’s “one country, two systems” regime. Less than a decade after the handover Macau was transformed into the world’s most lucrative site of casino gaming, and today the city is visited by more than 35 million annual tourists, the majority of whom are from mainland China. Macau’s remarkable economic expansion may be in part attributed to the city’s ambiguous sovereignty, an endemic characteristic which dates to the city’s founding …

The Examination Of Entertainment Product Performance In Macau, Jian Ming Luo, Chi Fung Lam

ICHRIE Research Reports

Macau surpassed Las Vegas as the top gaming destination many years ago. Entertainment is a crucial element in many gambling destinations. Associating entertainment and gambling helped create a more appealing image and package of gambling destination. This study investigated the performance of entertainment products in Macau. This study used convenience sampling to collect 300 usable questionnaires from three tourists’ departure spots. Respondents were asked to evaluate the importance and performance of seven categories of entertainment products. The most important entertainment products were Family Fun and Show. Most people did not think Beauty and Wellness, or Sports and Recreation were important. …

Strategies To Customize Responsible Gambling Messages: A Review And Focus Group Study, Sally M. Gainsbury, Brett L. L. Abarbanel, Kahlil S. Philander, Jeffrey V. Butler

Research & Economic Development Faculty Research

Background Responsible gambling messages are widely used as a tool to enable informed choice and encourage appropriate gambling behavior. It is generally accepted that gamblers have different levels of risk of developing gambling problems and require various harm minimization tools and resources. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that responsible gambling messages should be customized and target specific groups of gamblers. This project aimed to understand hypothesized differences between cohorts of gamblers and receive qualitative feedback on archetypal targeted messages used to increase use of responsible gambling tools. Methods Focus groups were held to test messages for specific cohorts: young …

Book Review: The Strip. Las Vegas And The Architecture Of The American Dream., Marta Soligo

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Book Review: The Strip. Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream

Luck Of The Land: The Growth Of Tribal Gaming, Kim Manh

Occasional Papers

In this paper, I examine the factors that influence tribal decisions regarding gaming policy. First, I look into past accounts of the causes of gaming diffusion and attempt to overcome some of their shortcomings. In particular, previous research has neglected the limited role of federalism, geography, and the impact of gaming during undetermined legality. By collecting data from gaming expansion on tribal lands in California, I provide increased nuance to the story of gaming diffusion. I argue that proximity to major population centers will have the strongest impact on the success of tribal casinos. Only when there is an appropriately …