The corporate takeover of the casinos is well documented but, now there are independent third party companies who are taking over management of the sportsbook.
I was lucky enough to spend the last two weeks in Las Vegas and have the following perspective on Cantor...a company that runs the book at the M and the Trop (among others).
I had previously visited the M where they push their in-game, real time betting system.
The biggest issues I faced were:
1) limited wagers on the board (no quarters or halves for most games, no NHL moneylines, no props, no NCAA women)
2) everytime you ask a question, the response is check with the hotel. The book is now disconnected from comps compiled and earned in the casino.
3) staffing, example follows
4) drinks...I visited the M before and had no trouble getting drink tickets for horse wagers. This time, my wife first went up to wager $15 on a race and they said the limit was $20. I went up and bet $45 on a race and the ticket taker said they couldn't give drink tickets anymore. He turned to the supervisor who then looked at me (no smile or greeting) and said the limit was $75. The supv then went to the back room and they gave me a handful of tickets.
Following the last Thursday night game, a long line formed to cash tickets. Cantor had one guy on the machine. All night they have two "managers" in the center section who, regardless of the line, never took or paid out a bet.
Later I talked to an employee who told me the thought is that if the line is long enough to cash tickets, some people will drop out and come back tomorrow when they may make additional bets (when the lines are up) with their winnings. This is of course a sound business strategy.
All in all, no one wants to hear about the good old days but, I think we can anticipate losing the level of service that once was the standard at the books as they tried to build reputations and relationships.
We like the M but, the Palms have been after my business so now seems the right time to move...at least for the Racebook. I actually told my wife that there really is limited reasons for making my usual 3-4 trips during football as I can bet online, watch multiple games at once and eat/drink for free at home. It's getting very hard to justify the expense of the trip anymore.
I was lucky enough to spend the last two weeks in Las Vegas and have the following perspective on Cantor...a company that runs the book at the M and the Trop (among others).
I had previously visited the M where they push their in-game, real time betting system.
The biggest issues I faced were:
1) limited wagers on the board (no quarters or halves for most games, no NHL moneylines, no props, no NCAA women)
2) everytime you ask a question, the response is check with the hotel. The book is now disconnected from comps compiled and earned in the casino.
3) staffing, example follows
4) drinks...I visited the M before and had no trouble getting drink tickets for horse wagers. This time, my wife first went up to wager $15 on a race and they said the limit was $20. I went up and bet $45 on a race and the ticket taker said they couldn't give drink tickets anymore. He turned to the supervisor who then looked at me (no smile or greeting) and said the limit was $75. The supv then went to the back room and they gave me a handful of tickets.
Following the last Thursday night game, a long line formed to cash tickets. Cantor had one guy on the machine. All night they have two "managers" in the center section who, regardless of the line, never took or paid out a bet.
Later I talked to an employee who told me the thought is that if the line is long enough to cash tickets, some people will drop out and come back tomorrow when they may make additional bets (when the lines are up) with their winnings. This is of course a sound business strategy.
All in all, no one wants to hear about the good old days but, I think we can anticipate losing the level of service that once was the standard at the books as they tried to build reputations and relationships.
We like the M but, the Palms have been after my business so now seems the right time to move...at least for the Racebook. I actually told my wife that there really is limited reasons for making my usual 3-4 trips during football as I can bet online, watch multiple games at once and eat/drink for free at home. It's getting very hard to justify the expense of the trip anymore.
