STATESIDESTATESIDE
Sharon Harris is making up for lost time and enjoying the music of her youth…
Stateside I Stateside
Sharon Harris asks what can be learned from recent events in Las Vegas
t was unimaginable that on the very week our global gaming industry converged on Las Vegas for G2E, the unthinkable could happen. As many had already arrived, or were arriving, a madman shattered the Las Vegas allure on October 1.
While 22,000 were enjoying an outdoor concert
at the chic Mandalay Bay, shots peppered the crowd from the 32nd floor. Within minutes, dozens lay dead and hundreds were wounded, some with lifetime injuries.
Wynn called Las Vegas a “target rich” environment in November 2015 and recruited top law enforcement and military
consultants to formulate a security plan
With tens of thousands of G2E attendees in town, a
large group probably stayed at the Mandalay Bay. How does one react or prepare for this type of nightmare?
Over time, we have learned this mass shooter, who
killed himself rather than be caught, methodically planned every detail of the carnage. A rich, heavy gambler, he did not fit any “standard“ profile.
Ironically, my
Casino International article in September‘s G2E issue specifically focused on casino crimes. Ex-FBI agent Tom Raftery, one quoted source, warned that many within the gaming industry have not adequately addressed possible onsite terrorism.
Tragically, the
Mandalay Bay learned otherwise and has now hired a
8 OCTOBER 2017 H
New York crisis management public relations firm. The lawsuits against them are just beginning to determine possible negligence by security personnel.
It is long overdue for casinos to incorporate
resulting in plenty of empty seats. I was most disappointed at the absence of the paper playbill. I enjoy reading about the singers and musicians. Instead, The Pops forwarded an online pre-concert playlist link. Whether to save money or prevent personal contact, I am saddened that paper may never return. I thought of live performance businesses we consider
terrorism preparedness into employee training. This killer brought guns into his hotel suite and installed cameras that monitored his room and the hallway. He then used heavy-duty hammers to smash the windows and take aim. Not that guests’ luggage or drawers be searched, but dozens of weapons take up a lot of space.
Many question the relative ease in getting such an
essential, like writing, producing, printing and distributing these mini-magazines. Are they potentially irrelevant? Will Broadway face a similar scenario that is permanent? Historically, industries have disappeared when new
arsenal to his suite. Conditions will certainly change since the bar altering our very behavior keeps shifting. So far, gaming has pretty much escaped these events, which is amazing considering these 24- hour businesses have dozens of open doors and entry points that never close.
styles and operational methods emerged. For example, the once giant John B. Stetson Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1865 as a men’s hat manufacturer. By 1968, styles had changed and men tossed their hats
aside. Sales declined and the enormous factory closed in the early 1970s, leaving a neighborhood void of labor and economic growth.
This memory made me compare yesterday’s casino
floors with current gaming spaces. Remember the change cashier who pushed a cart around to provide change to players? How about customers filling special paper cups with coins as they went from machine to machine. They cashed out for bills when leaving. Today, fewer customers have an interest in coins and bills that dirty the hands, so both the cart and cup manufacturers are probably gone. Many of those suppliers may have shut down without transitioning and evolving. Maybe the smart ones geared up to produce modern vouchers, chips and payout tickets. I recently attended Bally’s Atlantic City’s reopening
ceremonies. New owners, Rhode Island’s Twin Rivers, spent tens of millions to redo the aging property. New player’s card applicants, including me, received $25 free slot play.
Image: Fannyes/Adobe Stock
My friend and I played different types of machines and both won money. My $10 fell short of her $100. We
8 JUNE 2022
appily, live entertainment is again filling casinos’ summer schedules. I’m making up for lost time myself and recently enjoyed a concert in Philadelphia. The Philly Pops is the ultimate strings, brass and piano orchestra.
Nothing reflects 1920s/1930s Americana music like composer George Gershwin and his lyricist brother Ira. Think Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, to name a few. Sadly, the long hiatus took its toll on the arts,
spiritofamerica/Adobe Stock
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