Watching a Foxwoods Resort Casino shift change is a lot like watching a newly docked ship empty its crew.
Food and beverage workers were first off the buses running between the remote employee parking lot Saturday morning. Then, dealers started entering the mix of passengers bundled against the chill and wind. A subsequent bus deposited a load of valets in their insulated jackets identifying them as such.
Finally, in the tradition of ship stokers of years past and Navy submarine nukes of today, the engineering staff emerged from buses, a final set of stragglers with some still clad in their poopy suit coveralls. They are fresh from the bowels of the casino's mechanical plant where they have spent the last eight hours or so tending to the systems that keep the buildings running.
The waves of departing workers ebbed within minutes. They ducked into cars for the ride home and left the lot waiting for the next tide.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Lemme get your digits...
At the middle of each month, Connecticut's two casinos send spreadsheets to the state’s Division of Special Revenue.
They are, at first glance, intimidating in an accounting way that makes non-mathies’ eyes glaze over, their jaws go slack and a puddle of drool form on the floor. Others, intimidated by strings of as many as 12 numbers in a row, flee screaming and are never really able to pull themselves together again to the point where they can balance a checkbook without large doses of Valium.
And, each month, newspapers report the basics from these spreadsheets — the total amount of money played by visitors (also known as the “handle”), the amount of money played not paid out (also known as the “win” or “keep”), the average number of machines in play for the month and, of course, the number everyone wants to know, just how much Connecticut will see out of that win.
Poke around a little more and you’ll see another story in the numbers. A story of an economic engine most in Connecticut, even our part of the state, don’t often stop to think about.
In September, the 1,633, 1-cent machines at Mohegan Sun had the highest handle - $179,119,531.74. That’s $2.54 going through each machine every minute of the month.
At Foxwoods Resort Casino, the 1,995, 25-cent machines saw the highest play with $156,269,601.09. So, for every minute of September, $1.81 went through each of those machines at Foxwoods.
Combine the two categories of machines and that’s the equivalent to the price of a large Dunkin’ Donuts Coolatta being played in each every minute for a month.
Of course, only about 1 percent to 15 percent of that money played is kept by the casinos....And, of that, Connecticut municipalities see only 25 percent — or, on average, 9 cents made every minute at every machine in those two categories.
Every month it changes. The numbers are never the same. Better grab your calculators, Nov. 15 is just days away.
They are, at first glance, intimidating in an accounting way that makes non-mathies’ eyes glaze over, their jaws go slack and a puddle of drool form on the floor. Others, intimidated by strings of as many as 12 numbers in a row, flee screaming and are never really able to pull themselves together again to the point where they can balance a checkbook without large doses of Valium.
And, each month, newspapers report the basics from these spreadsheets — the total amount of money played by visitors (also known as the “handle”), the amount of money played not paid out (also known as the “win” or “keep”), the average number of machines in play for the month and, of course, the number everyone wants to know, just how much Connecticut will see out of that win.
Poke around a little more and you’ll see another story in the numbers. A story of an economic engine most in Connecticut, even our part of the state, don’t often stop to think about.
In September, the 1,633, 1-cent machines at Mohegan Sun had the highest handle - $179,119,531.74. That’s $2.54 going through each machine every minute of the month.
At Foxwoods Resort Casino, the 1,995, 25-cent machines saw the highest play with $156,269,601.09. So, for every minute of September, $1.81 went through each of those machines at Foxwoods.
Combine the two categories of machines and that’s the equivalent to the price of a large Dunkin’ Donuts Coolatta being played in each every minute for a month.
Of course, only about 1 percent to 15 percent of that money played is kept by the casinos....And, of that, Connecticut municipalities see only 25 percent — or, on average, 9 cents made every minute at every machine in those two categories.
Every month it changes. The numbers are never the same. Better grab your calculators, Nov. 15 is just days away.
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