CHAPTER 10Analytics for Gaming

The laws of probability, so true in general, so fallacious in particular.

—Edward Gibbon, English historian

In previous chapters, I have discussed analytic applications that are useful for both casinos and hotels. The analytics that can be used for operations, marketing, sales, revenue management, and performance analysis in casinos are very similar to those for hotels, with the nuances that I mentioned in those chapters. There is, obviously, one area in casinos that is drastically different from hotels, and that is the operations of the casino floor. The casino floor is the primary and most profitable source of revenue for gaming companies—moving the needle even a little bit there can have a big payout.

In this chapter I will talk about specific analytic applications for managing and optimizing the performance of the casino floor. Hotel executives may still be interested in the problems I describe here, and find some inspiration in the analytical solutions. Plus, some find a certain glamor to this industry, and always enjoy hearing about the inner workings of casinos. I know I do.

The gaming industry has been expanding and evolving since the late nineties. Traditionally, casinos were located in destination markets like Las Vegas, but recently the number of local markets has been increasing dramatically, as states within the United States, and increasing numbers of countries outside of it, begin to issue gaming licenses. This has intensified competition ...

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