Truth in advertising has always been something I see on television as an oxymoron. When you know something to be false about what is seen on television as the truth, it makes me wonder. For instance, since the inception of casinos in Oklahoma there has always been a rash of who can outdo the other casino with an ad that will bring the happy gamblers in by the hundreds or thousands. What makes me an expert about this truth in casino advertising? I worked the floor in one of Tulsa's largest casinos as a drop team lead for a year and a half. In that time I seen the type of people casinos draw in and I also got to sit back and watch their television commercials be made. With this I can say that there is no truth in casino advertising in this part of the state. If casinos were to show and tell the truth about what goes on inside the doors, their "guests" would most likely decline in numbers. But then, I can't see that happening either, even if the people going to them knew the truth. Do you think you know what goes on inside a casino? Let me tell you, there is a perception to life inside a casino that each person has. They see it in movies, news clips and reality shows. I can sit back, grin about it and tell you straight up...."it's all crap"!
Casino commercials to start with are nothing more than a scheme to get you in the doors of their establishment so you will spend your money and make their financial holdings larger than the day before. They will show you good looking people, smiling, joking around and waving their hands in the air, all the while as they smile and deceive those by flashing an array of large bills in their hand after they win a jackpot.
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| This is what they want you to think happens inside . |
It was a rare sight to see anyone that resembled these ladies of bogus advertisement. If there was one on the floor they were either there escorting a well off John or they came later in the evening looking for one. The casino I worked at was full of "other types" of people. Most of them were the night time special kind. Since my workday started at 4:30 am, I got to see the real guests of the casino world. They included, tweakers, thieves, gang members, prostitutes, homeless people and the poor to average guests that would spend every dime they got just to get something in return. There was a section in the corner of the casino that I would refer to as "tweakers corner". It was where the meth heads would spend their money playing games. I could always tell when one of the tweakers was coming down from their high. They would get a cup full of ice, fill it with Mountain Dew and fill it with packets of sugar. This was to prolong the high until they could get outside and get more drugs. A "tweakers nest" was an ashtray full of sugar packets. They were a common sight in the casino. Gang member usually came into the casino to launder their money through the machines cashout and bank system. They would come in groups of three or four and were easy to spot since they stayed in a certain section of the casino and only played certain machines Ticket tramps would walk around the casino looking for cashout tickets hanging from machines or laying on the floor. When they gathered enough tickets they would cash them in at the bank and get money in return. Prostitutes were common on the weekends. They usually showed up with the high rollers going to the Black Jack tables.The high roller would usually give them money to run around the casino and play the machines till he was ready to leave. This isn't anything like the commercials portray. During my time there I seen lots of money lost and little won. How much you might ask? A slow day at the casino meant they would only bring in about a half million dollars. A good day would be around $800,000. The most I ever seen collected in one day was 4.5 million dollars. I've seen people win up to $24,000 and lose it within hours. I was asked once by one of the new security officers why I wore gloves all the time while I was on the floor working. Here is why.... people are nasty. They don't care about cleanliness or the safety of others when it comes to touching slot machines. Here are some things I've observed while working the floor.
- Picking their nose and wiping it on the machine screen
- Scratching their butt and crotch inside their clothing and touching or rubbing the machine
- Sick people coughing and sneezing on the machines
- Spitting on the machines
- Peeing in the chairs
These are just a few of the reasons to wear gloves. Casinos can also be an addiction. I got to know guests by first name and know what time they would show up and know what machine they were going to play. There was one instance where I was approached by a young man. He asked me what time it was, I told him the time. he stood there for a second and then asked, what day it was. I told him Saturday. His eyes became huge and a look of fear came over his face. He cried out "OH MAN, I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE THURSDAY, MY WIFE IS GOING TO KILL ME"! This was one of the times that I wish the casino would have made a commercial of a real reaction of a guy screaming and waving his hands around like he won the big jackpot. I never saw him again as long as I worked there.
As the Steve Miller Band would sing "go on, take the money and run". He did...but he was empty handed.
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