# American Casino on Discovery Channel: Is This How Casinos Are Run? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592 "2004-07-17T16:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/1 "2004-07-17T16:22:19Z")
This thread is not so much about a TV show, _American Casino_ on The Discovery Channel. Rather, it’s about how this viewer perceives casino management based what I’ve seen in the show. So GQ it is. Anyway, I’ve seen some behavior and attitudes from casino employees on that show that have made me: 1) Vow to never patronize Green Valley Ranch, and 2) wonder if this is how Vegas casinos are truly run. One thing I’ve noticed is that management seems to think nothing of requiring employees to work 24 hours or more, straight, if the situation requires it. One scene in particular stood out: one of the marketing employees had been walking the casino floor for about 18 hours, waiting for a patron to hit a big jackpot. Bleary-eyed and exhausted, the guy decided to go home for a few hours. On the way out he’s stopped by a manager, who basically gives him a “You’re free to go home, but you’d better not, if you get my point” speech. So back to the casino floor it is. Another thing I’ve noticed is that some of the managers seem oblivious to reality. In last night’s (7/16/04) episode, it was April and they were hiring lifeguards for the pool. However, since it was April, and most lifeguards are high school students, finding help was tricky. One of the managers, unaware of the situation, said in an exhasperated sigh “It can’t be that hard to find lifeguards. The pool manager must not be working hard enough.” Finally, it seems that the managers expect the impossible of their employees on that show. Back to the teenage lifeguards - it looked like management expected the lifeguards to run surveillance on the pool to make sure locals or other non-guests weren’t crashing the pool. I think expecting teenage lifeguards to double as security agents is a bit ambitious. Also, I notice that last night’s episode opened with the words “In memory of Michael Tata, 1971-2004.” This [tribute](http://media.dsc.discovery.com/fansites/americancasino/tribute/tribute.html) on the Discovery Channel website doesn’t mention how he died. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/2 "2004-07-17T16:29:35Z")
Printed in the Las Vegas Sun: > [@](#): > > Michael Tata, 33, was found dead in his Henderson home July 6. Investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, which could take four to 12 weeks to be completed. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_D\_oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/3 "2004-07-19T12:49:34Z")
Having not seen the show, I can’t say yes or no. I can address specific issues from me experience. Here’s my take - > [@HeyHomie](#): > > …One thing I’ve noticed is that management seems to think nothing of requiring employees to work 24 hours or more, straight, if the situation requires it. One scene in particular stood out: one of the marketing employees had been walking the casino floor for about 18 hours, waiting for a patron to hit a big jackpot. Bleary-eyed and exhausted, the guy decided to go home for a few hours. On the way out he’s stopped by a manager, who basically gives him a “You’re free to go home, but you’d better not, if you get my point” speech. So back to the casino floor it is. I’ve done more than a few 24 hour stints. I have had pleanty of notice before these marathon days though, so I was ready. Well, as ready as you can be for 24 or 36 hour days. The remark about leaving was incredibly unprofessional. I don’t know the exact circumstance of it though. (If the marketing guy’s job is to monitor the big payoffs, then he should be there for it, or make arrangments for someone else to be there when he isn’t. If I said I was going to be on the floor for a shift and decided in the middle of it that I wanted to go home, that would be job abandonment and it would cost me my job. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > Finally, it seems that the managers expect the impossible of their employees on that show. Back to the teenage lifeguards - it looked like management expected the lifeguards to run surveillance on the pool to make sure locals or other non-guests weren’t crashing the pool. I think expecting teenage lifeguards to double as security agents is a bit ambitious. Casino’s do not have a monopoly on stoopid managers. They are everywhere. I think the lifegard hiring situation is just a case of people not thinking things through. I will tell you that pools that have lifeguards generally have them do some type of monitoring of who is using the pool. Either a sign in sheet, showing a room key or some type of ID. That’s not an unreasonable request. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/4 "2004-07-19T16:03:38Z")
> [@Jane D'oh!](#): > > I’ve done more than a few 24 hour stints. I have had pleanty of notice before these marathon days though, so I was ready. Well, as ready as you can be for 24 or 36 hour days. The remark about leaving was incredibly unprofessional. I don’t know the exact circumstance of it though. (If the marketing guy’s job is to monitor the big payoffs, then he should be there for it, or make arrangments for someone else to be there when he isn’t. If I said I was going to be on the floor for a shift and decided in the middle of it that I wanted to go home, that would be job abandonment and it would cost me my job. And in additional defense of the manager… during the conversation where he was talking about going home, the assistant _didn’t_ say he was going home because he’d been there 18 hours; he said he was leaving because he had “a hot date”. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/5 "2004-07-19T16:04:18Z")
I think the “overwork the employees” attitude might be coming from two places. One, they are on TV, probably for the first time, and want to look impressively busy and hard working. Second I guess it comes from the crappy work situation out there right now. People are scared to lose a job once they get one because they are so hard to find. Employers generally know this and take unfair advantage of it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/6 "2004-07-19T17:49:03Z")
I love this show – and there are a lot of bad management techniques on display. The two facts are not necessarily contradictory. I’ve never been in a staff meeting (and I’ve been in, oh, 1,000) where my manager chewed out anyone the way Ninya chewed on her staff. Wayne Shadd seems to be a real jerk. Uneasy about his relationship upwards; and micro-managing and uncommunicative downwards. Totally unprofessional when socializing with his clients; but that may be part of his job. No clear definition of lifeguard job responsibilities. The kids probably thought they were hired to rescue drowning people; then they get yelled at for not acting like bouncers. Michael Tata (may he RIP) seems to only manage through sarcasm. You’ve got the slot manager pissed off at the restaurant manager (on St. Patrick’s Day) – could’ve been prevented just by having both present when the decisions were made. But the GM seems like a nice guy. Security, food & beverage seem to be ok places to work. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/7 "2004-07-19T18:50:59Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Anyway, I’ve seen some behavior and attitudes from casino employees on that show that have made me: 1) Vow to never patronize Green Valley Ranch, and 2) wonder if this is how Vegas casinos are truly run. > > One thing I’ve noticed is that management seems to think nothing of requiring employees to work 24 hours or more, straight, if the situation requires it. Generally speaking, the poker chips have more rights than employees in Las Vegas. Employers know that there’s a steady stream of people hoping to get a job at a casino, so they freely exploit employees and dump anyone who complains, knowing they can have another person working that position by the end of the day. I’ve got friends in both Las Vegas and Reno that all agree casinos are horrid employers. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-casino-on-discovery-channel-is-this-how-casinos-are-run/255592/8 "2004-07-19T23:26:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Michael Tata (may he RIP) seems to only manage through sarcasm. Yeah, the episode where the guy at the desk made a mistake and Michael called him into his office (with Ninya present) specifically to make fun of him … man, I wanted to kick his ass right there. I was hoping that the guy would tell him to shove his job right there.