Has a crack developed in the foundation of gaming?

The history of humanity, as we know it today, travels back in time many thousands of years—many scientists say 50,000 years—since “upright” mankind began appearing on this earth.

True or not, the first exactly recorded dated year is 4241…guessing that the history books describe it as 4241 B.C.

That was the year that our calendar of 365.25 days in a year was introduced with events described “in time” before and, of course, after, given yearly numbers.

Scientists have been able to put together a rough timeline of events like “ages” (Bronze Age), Sumerian Civilization, the settlement of Phoenicians, the reigning of kings Zoser, Gilgamesh, Cheops and Mis-anni-padda (the King of Ur) and the many dynasties that followed before reaching the year 1 A.D., leading up to today’s date.

That short history lesson brings us to today’s modern civilization—including our modern forms of gam(bl)ing, including our beloved pari-mutuel racing, the lottery, the slot machine, poker, bingo and sports betting, to name a few.

It’s almost certain that some kinds of gambling took place since the dawning of mankind…but the earliest evidence was in ancient China where “tiles” were unearthed and discovered for a game of chance. That was, literally, thousands of years ago.

These tiles may have been used for some sort of lottery game and there is also evidence that, some 2,600 years ago, there were “keno slips” found that, quite possibly, profits from these games may have been used to build the Great Wall of China.

In Grecian history, dice were mentioned more than 2,500 years ago with some found in an Egyptian tomb even before that…5,000 years ago.

The ancient Greeks and Romans loved to gamble but it was forbidden within the City of Rome with stiff penalties imposed for those caught.

This led to the phenomena known as the “chip,” with those ancient brethren claiming that they were playing for “chips” and not real money.

Playing cards first appeared in China in the ninth century (the 800’s), though they bore little resemblance to our 52 card decks of today.

Baccarat, the earliest game still played in casinos today, first came to light in the 1400’s.

Blackjack was featured in a book written by Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. around the year 1600 and was known back then as Ventiuna, (Spanish for 21).

There were similar games, too, like “trente-un” (31) or “quince” (15).

The first casinos were in Italy—the first in Venice being the Risotto in 1638 and then they began to pop-up all-over Europe, especially in the 1800’s.

There were some going up and down the Mississippi River—steamboats, of course—and the “illegal” numbers racket was prominent in a number of major cities throughout the U.S.A…that is until the States found out that they could make a fortune from the same racket and made it LEGAL.

Roulette, meaning small wheel in French, began in France with one “z-e-r-o,” leaving us here in the U.S. stuck with “00,” giving the casinos an additional edge.

Poker was “foaled” here in around 1829 but, a century before, John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, was said to play poker and, indeed, the “sandwich” was invented as he didn’t want to get anything wet or greasy on the cards while eating so he put two pieces of bread around the “meat” of what became known as the Sandwich!

Slots then came into play featuring cards for symbols with other versions using bells and other symbols with the first video slot introduced in 1976.

So, why the history lesson here on Mane Attraction?

The answer, ironically, is with another question…Has a slight “crack” developed in the foundation of the gaming industry?

Penn National’s Sports Book facility in Freehold, New Jersey, has shut down without explanation…just as the most lucrative part of the sports book season—the NFL—is set to kick off.

On top of that, the Hollywood Casino, owned by Penn National, is removing 169 slot machines from their casino. (Note: To be considered a “Category 1 casino in Pennsylvania, the minimum number of slots required is 1,500 and this reduction leaves 1,532 on the floor,)

Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino removed 302 slot machines earlier in the year.

The culprit might be the evolution of “skill games,” requiring player interaction and becoming popular in the State(s).

As these games become more widespread, will this have a detrimental effect on this eerie industry?

The gaming dollar is spread so thin now that any negative trend in slot revenues across the land could put the entire industry in peril.

MGM Resorts is the biggest casino owner with over $16 Billion—with a “B” in revenue, followed by Caesars with $11.5 Billion.

The problem becomes even more dire as many casinos have shareholders—publicly held companies—that demand performance and the casinos have to show results to protect their market cap.

Pennies make a difference these days.

Oh, not so much in the casinos to the average gamer, but to the casino, itself, as it means more “credits in”…we hear of patrons graduating from 50 cent slots to 60…then to 68…the 75…then 88…then $1.00…bleeding from their pocketbook’s pennies at a time.

As we have pointed out before, if the payout is advertised at 92 percent and you have a $100 bill in the machine, theoretically, one would have $92 after as many spins on that particular machine, i.e. 200 spins on a 50-cent slot machine or 166 spins on a 60-cent machine.

Another round and your down to $84…then $77…then $71…$65…$60…$55…$51…all the way down to zero…but the place can still brag about an 92% payout.

In searching minimum payouts allowed for slot machines, that number seems to be 80% but competition keeps that number significantly higher.

In Florida, for example, there are eight casinos that are non-Indian that generated over $10 Billion in “credits in” for 2023—$10,331,124,880.

That generated $690,887,190 in net revenue to the State—no small potatoes! (The Indians, of course, added much more.)

In 2024, things look similar with only a minor downtick (-0.44%), thus far.

While Pompano had the highest market share—19.12%—their payouts, or HOLD, 8.5% was significantly higher than the other seven casinos with the State average being 6.69%

By far, they had the most slot machine units—1,258—but were out-gunned by several competitors, one of which was Magic City Casino, whose patrons poured $1,897,794,207 credits in WITH ONLY 802 SLOT MACHINES—their HOLD a significantly less 6.36%

Harrah’s Pompano had $1.55 Billion with Miami Jai Alai just a “nose” back of Pompano with $1,549,126,489 with an average of 997 units—HOLD 6.24%

Hialeah Park Casino, with only 794 slot machines, had strong revenue of $1,469,792,429—HOLD 6.88%

Gulfstream Park’s Casino, with their emphasis on racing, has only about 550 slots these days had a HOLD of just 6.09% last year and has similar numbers thus far in 2024.

It’s ironic that Dania Beach Casino, with the lowest HOLD of 5.85%—a 94.15% payback—is next to last last in slot machine revenue and number of slots, which has just increased by close to 10%.

It’s notable that Pompano has lost about 10% of its market share over the past two months, another worrisome sign.

“Stretch a rubber band too thin,” said one person, “and it will break and become useless.

“I ain’t no professor or nuttin’”, said he, “but even I know that if you have a gallon jug of water that’s full, if you try and pour more water in it, it will spill over and be wasted.

“There’s only so much money to go around and these gamers can’t be at two places at once!

“We have a gambling buffet in Florida and can’t stand any more. IT’S FULL!”

Smitty, the retired school principal from Chicago, thinks the infrastructure off the industry is just beginning to crumble.

“It’s amazing to me that the lottery has put the biggest bite on things with their huge takeout…but they are offering the biggest jackpots for just a little money—a dollar or two or 10 or, even 20, but that has little effect on gamblers. They expect to lose but always have hope for the big hit—even with the odds 300 million to 1!

“It’s really ingenious and can be seeded with a nice, juicy number for a jackpot to kick off. It’s like starting with a carryover in racing when nobody hits.

“Casinos do the same thing, in a way, with big jackpots and bright lights highlighting a $10,000 jackpot…or $20,000…for 60 cents, 75 cents, $1 or two.

“That’s why people love them so much. They are hypnotic…They offer hope as they drain your credits a sip at a time!”

Huey pointed out that “it’s been a blessing that these 30 or 40 tracks have closed. If they hadn’t, we the people would be stuck with three and four horse fields, and we would have died a long time ago!”

He has a very valid point!

When Las Vegas opened to the world, casinos became the hub with some 30 casinos having frontage on the strip—a monopoly? Yes, then…Not now!

There may be as many as 2,200 casinos in the United States now…all vying for our recreational dollars.

More than 40 States have casinos now and the saturation point is beginning to have an effect on those folk with heavy mortgages, overdue credit card debt and saddled with usurious interest rates of 30% or more.

When legislatures are looking for ways to meet budgets, in most States, sans Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, one of the first places they look to snip funding is harness racing, which has become important to the very few…as much as we hate to hear it or admit it!

We are in our own little world…not worried one iota about tomorrow and the tomorrows that follow.

When casinos see their bottom lines shrink as the saturation point begins to take its toll, where will be the first cuts?

Our industry, as much as we love it, needs to have a strategy again to walk on its own, instead of relying on our two crutches for continued support.

Is there a solution?

Mane Attraction has one…

Create a national lottery for harness racing involving all States ceded with a $50,000,000 Pick 10 held on Wednesdays and Saturdays—just like Powerball, offered in 45 States, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Large fields would be required with tickets costing $1 to $2 overseen by a Multi-State Lottery Association with these weekly events held at different tracks, preferably The Meadowlands, Hoosier Park, The Meadows and Northfield Park, covering different sized tracks and guaranteeing weekly games.

Could that not lead to a $500,000,000 or $1 Billion jackpot.

Would that not give our sport a legal shot in the arm for survival?

Place betting with the $3.20 payoffs…Show betting with their $2.10 payoffs…and other wagering types that provide little excitement need to be replaced with something really exciting…and enveloping all walks of life…just like the way of the lottery offerings of today.

Remember, everyone is trans-fixed by TIME these days on the racetrack.

But harness racing has relatively little time to save itself from extinction.

May The Horse Be With You!

by John Berry, for Harnesslink