It's been a big week in the news for Harrahs' brand Caesars Palace with an online casino launch and litigation against one of their former high rollers.
The launch of Caesars Palace Online marked somewhat of a milestone in the development of the online casino gambling industry. It is the first major US based casino company to take one of its brands online.
Opponents of online casinos have, since the industry's inception, bemoaned not only the addictive dangers of a mode of gambling that enters the homes of Americans, but also the legitimacy generally of an industry plagued by small, unregulated and sometimes unscrupulous operators.
Regulatory developments in Europe and the presence of many large respected brands subject to strict probity requirements and codes of conduct has helped give the industry credence. But the fact remains, it is still a largely unregulated industry with many operators having no regard to player welfare.
The entrance of a US casino giant, long respected and trusted by Nevada Gaming Control, corporate America, and players alike for decades is a welcome addition to online gambling. They should bring a new level of operating professionalism and dedication to the ethos of responsible gambling to the realm of internet play right?
Well if you ask Terrance Watanabe you may well get a different opinion. If you haven't already read about Mr Watanabe and his now infamous relationship with Harrahs and their Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in Vegas, the story is summed up here.
But in a nutshell, in the space of only 12 months (2007) he lost around $125 million at Las Vegas casinos. The lions share of it was at Caesars Palace and the Rio. Now in dispute are markers (around $14 million) that remain unpaid - Caesars is suing for their unpaid winnings, Watanabe alleges the casino plied him with pain killers and alcohol to keep him gambling and thus he shouldn't have to settle.
A couple of interesting side points to the story are:
1. Watanabe is/was known as a 'house' player because he played games with a high house edge like slots and roulette. Typically high rollers will play the skinny house edge games like baccarat and blackjack that afford a much better chance of winning. His game choice and playing style have been described as boneheaded and clearly evidencing problem gambling.
2. Following sessions at Steve Wynn's casino, Watanabe's play was very quickly identified and flagged as compulsive and Wynn himself had Watanabe barred from the casino.
So here you have a player clearly out of control, dropping multi-millions of dollars in single sessions playing in a manner that can only ever result in handing over piles of cash to the casino. And Caesars Palace, far from taking the Wynn approach and closing the doors, keeps them open and (allegedly) tries a couple of strategies to keep him at their tables for as long as possible.
So will Caesars raise the bar on the quality of offering online? Well they are unlikely to go bust and disappear into the Caribbean sunset somewhere with your $100 still in your playing account. But aside from this, on consideration of ethical operating practices, I doubt it.
(Photo courtesy AP)
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