Of sleaze and goldmines

As regular readers know, it is important to keep up on international perceptions of the gaming industry, which are often quite different from those of the US. Americans are used to spin doctors planing the edges off of pretty much everything. Not so in the foreign press. Take, for example, this article from the Manila Times:

The Philippines and the rest of Asia belief that casinos are underground crime and sleaze is preventing casino operators from turning the region into a potential gold mine, a conference on the industry was told on Tuesday.

Japan and Thailand are just two nations moving to make casinos legal in the next two to four years while others are expanding current legalized operations as they hope to cash in on rising personal incomes and a projected tourism boom sparked by low-cost air travel, the experts said.

Legalizing casinos would also allow governments in the region to grab a share of the lucrative underground gambling industry, estimated at $13 billion a year.

The Philippines is pushing for legislation that would allow joint ventures with foreign casino operators, while South Korea hopes to expand the number of casinos where locals are allowed to enter from only one currently.

Legalization is expected in Thailand, Japan and Taiwan before 2008; Singapore is studying the possibility of setting up a casino on one of its islets.

But one of the key challenges is overcoming a deeply rooted perception among Asians that casinos are synonymous with mobsters and prostitution, the experts told an Asian Gaming conference and exhibit organized by Dutch bank ABN-Amro.

The Manila Times Internet Edition | TOP STORIES > Casinos have image problem

So Asian governments have to choose between embracing an industry linked to "underground and sleaze" in order to tap into the goldmine. Articles like this make everything seem so blissfully uncomplicated.

Speaking of image problems...

The New York Times Magazine published an article about IGT's hold on the slot machine-playing public. You can get a feel for the tenor of Gary Rivlin's take on slots from the opening paragraphs:

When Anthony Baerlocher makes his monthly visit to the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, Nev., he always starts with a ritual he calls ''taking inventory,'' walking several laps around the casino's sprawling 32,000-square-foot gambling floor and noting which machines sit unloved, vainly burping out their come-hither sounds, and which machines have captured players' attention. The Atlantis is home to more than 1,400 slot machines, but so vivid is the mental snapshot that Baerlocher, 35, carries in his head that he immediately registers the presence of a new machine on the floor. Although Baerlocher is a trained mathematician, his interest is far from academic. He is the chief game designer for the country's largest maker of slot machines, International Game Technology of Reno. At the first sign of a new slot machine from a competitor, he goes into action. ''Give me 30 minutes and $60,'' he says, ''and I can tell you pretty much anything you want to know about another company's machine.''

At 8 p.m. on a warm midsummer's night, Baerlocher watched a woman dressed in green polyester pants and a yellow-and-white-striped short-sleeved top play a slot machine he designed called ''The Price Is Right.'' At first, the woman's body language was noncommittal: she stood half-turned from the game, as if no more than mildly curious about the outcome of her wager. ''Price'' is what slot pros call ''a cherry dribbler,'' a machine that dispenses lots of small payouts while it nibbles at your stash rather than biting off large chunks of it. ''You want to give the newbie lots of positive reinforcement -- to keep 'em playing,'' Baerlocher told me. As if on cue, the woman hit a couple of small jackpots and took a seat. ''Gotcha,'' Baerlocher said softly under his breath.

The Tug of the Newfangled Slot Machines(registration required)

It's a solidly written piece, and definitely worthy of your time. You also might want to take a peek at the forum discussion on America's Gambling Culture.
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posted by Dave at 4:28 PM

Of sleaze and goldmines

Speaking of image problems...

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