Casino news source: Sun Sentinel - http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Mardi Gras casino trip has winners and losers
Seniors object to long lines, but will return
BY Kathleen Kernicky
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted January 27 2007
It looked like a winning hand for Century Village residents eager to play the new slot machines at the Mardi Gras Racetrack & Gaming Center in Hallandale Beach: complimentary bus service, a free lunch and bonus play cards.
Instead, adventure turned to anxiety as about 100 seniors complained about cold lunches and two-hour waits to get their player's club cards last week.
"All these people were carrying on. People were wild," said Ruth Tanenbaum, a member of the Coney Island Club at Century Village in Pembroke Pines, the first group to be bused over.
The players were asked to turn over their driver's licenses and "were afraid they weren't going to get their IDs back. They were yelling that they wanted their driver licenses back immediately," Tanenbaum said.
The casino learned its lesson, said spokeswoman Marcia Slow-Sandler. New procedures will be in place starting Thursday, when buses resume door-to-door service by request for groups of 35 to 60 people in Broward and Palm Beach counties. One of the new steps is for groups to provide identification for each member a week in advance of the visit. The casino plans to bus two groups a day, four days a week, and the group packages are "booked solid through June," with 109 group reservations, Slow-Sandler said.
"It's one condo group told another, and they told their friends, and this is what is happening," she said.
Condominiums started booking visits even before the Mardi Gras opened on Jan. 6. But when the Coney Island Club visited this month, "they just weren't prepared for us," Sylvia Van Tosh said. "People were coming in droves."
Seniors represent the fastest-growing segment of gamblers, according to Keith Whyte, executive director of the nonprofit National Council on Problem Gambling in Washington, D.C. While gambling provides social activities for seniors, it also poses risks, he said.
"Gambling is the most popular entertainment activity among seniors. It makes sense because this generation of seniors not only has disposable income and is staying active longer, they also are filling the midday, midweek time slot" at casinos, Whyte said.
Still, "gambling can be an escape from grief or loss issues, as well as boredom, not having anything else to do and getting sucked into playing these games. The financial issues are devastating, especially for seniors on a fixed income," Whyte said.
The seniors at Century Village were excited about hitting the slots and furious that it took so long to get their player's club cards, which allow them to earn bonus play, points and free giveaways.
They also weren't crazy about the food.
"The lunch [sandwiches and tuna salad] wasn't that great," Tanenbaum said. "I was disappointed that they didn't serve coffee."
"Some of them thought they were getting a gourmet lunch," Lorraine Brod said. "Anybody who complains, they're going to complain anyhow. I happened to like it. It was nice and clean. The bathrooms were meticulous. They give you a piece of candy when you're in there."
Despite the problems, the seniors said they'll come back.
"The machines were wonderful," said Tanenbaum, who won $650 during the trip. "Once everybody settled down, it was fine. They seemed to be having a good time."
Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood also offer various group package deals, depending, in part, upon the number of people. Neither provides free bus or shuttle transportation, although private operators can make their own arrangements.
"Some of the private condos contacting us have their own buses," said Jenni Dodd, Gulfstream's casino marketing manager.
Kathleen Kernicky can be reached at 954-385-7907 or kkernicky@sun-sentinel.com. |
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