There’s a classic montage in the 1995 film Casino, where Robert De Niro’s Sam Rothstein character explains how in a casino, everybody is watching everybody, from the floor people to the pit bosses to the casino manager to the “eyes in the sky.”
But in the 16 years since, it turns out that some of those eyes aren’t needed anymore as video and technological surveillance has advanced.
And that could spell doom for another classic Atlantic City job — that of the pit boss.
New rules from the Division of Gaming Enforcement eliminate the requirements for table games supervisors such as pit bosses and provide casinos with more flexibility in staffing, a change long sought by the industry.
The move is another of a series of attempts to deregulate the city’s casino industry sought by Governor Chris Christie as the city continues to face down stiff competition from Pennsylvania casinos and struggles with a slumping economy.
And it comes as the city has reported yet another month of declining revenues. Casino revenues for March were down 6.7 percent for the month compared to last year.
Losing pit bosses could save casinos millions according to reports. While the new regulations no longer require casino pit bosses, they also do not limit the casinos, which could still opt to employ pit bosses, or perhaps other titled floor positions.
Several local casino spokespeople, speaking to Atlantic City’s daily newspaper, said the casinos will have to study their options before making personnel changes.
Roger Gross, publisher of the Las Vegas-based Global Gaming Business Magazine, says that the rule changes should do just that, allow the casinos to make their own decisions on staffing.
“It does bring Atlantic City more in line with other gambling markets,” says Gross in a phone interview with Atlantic City Weekly. “There really aren’t regulations in other markets telling casinos how many floor people they need to employ. My guess is that the casinos will figure out what they need from their floor people and assign them accordingly. They may not call them pit bosses — because then they’d have to pay them more — but there will still be supervisors on the floor.”
However, Gross also pointed out that advances in video surveillance have also allowed casinos to operate with fewer floor personnel.
Pit bosses, for example, keep their eyes on dealers and players.
“We highlight these advances every year,” he says. “We're at a point where a camera can be mounted at the table and a computer program can keep track of everything, from card counts to payouts and so on. It really is amazing.”
So, like coin count and change personnel for slots in the ‘90s, another classic city casino job could disappear.
The new regulations take effect April 13.
Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation today to create an Atlantic City Tourism District and announced a breakthrough in the Revel Casino project.
Gov. Chris Christie Wednesday signed legislation to allow for two “Boutique” casinos to be built in Atlantic City. The legislation allows for two casino projects to be built with a minimum of 200 hotel rooms, lower than the 500 now required. Christie says he signed the bill as part of ongoing efforts to spur Atlantic City’s economy and create jobs. “This bill will provide a boost to the engines of Atlantic City and the regional economy, bringing badly needed jobs to the area and signaling the re-emergence of world-class entertainment,” said Christie is a press release. “While this is an important step in meeting our commitment to revitalize Atlantic City as a premier destination resort, we have more work to do in laying the foundation for growth in this critical area of our economy.” Several other measures to help the city are scheduled to be voted on by the state Assembly in coming days including the creation of a state-run tourism district in the city (to be run by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority), allowing online gaming, limited to state residents, and streamlining casino regulations and oversight. The bill allowing for smaller casinos, S-1866, “revises State law to authorize the Casino Control Commission to issue...
On a sizzling hot Boardwalk Wednesday Governor Chris Christie did his best to say that the state was looking to help Atlantic City, not take over. “I’m here to extend the hand of partnership to the city,” Christie said. "We are entering into this public private partnership because we have to remake ourselves. We want to make Atlantic City a place where families and businesses want to be and want to come back to again and again.”
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1. Bobsled said... on May 11, 2011 at 12:39PM
“It is all about the money... Having spent over 3o in the business, it has changed for the worst. The business is a people business, that's what keeps them coming back to a property. Surveillance, ask anyone, they only catch 10%. Most of the time it's the floor or Pits or even customers that blow the whisel. Many have poor or outdated equipment. When it comes to budget, surveillance is the last to benfit, it's the step child of the business.”