Hosts can offer private jets, exclusive hotel suites, expensive bottles of alcohol, Cuban cigars, and just about anything the player wants.
Getting a great player to decide to bet big requires a delicate dance between the casino, the person and the host: the person in charge of attracting these players to bet big (and lose big). This can include private jets, exclusive hotel suites, expensive bottles of alcohol, Cuban cigars, and just about anything the player wants.
Last month, Hollywood mogul Ron Meyer lost about $ 100 million, in part, thanks to the ‘help’ of a vice president of a casino who was his host, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
“Most of these players if they lose, they want more; if they win, they still want a lot,” a host who worked with Meyer told ‘The Post’. “Ron is my nicest whale. He would bet $30,000 or $40,000 on a roll [at the craps table] and eat ham and eggs for breakfast. Win or lose, he was the same guy”, collects ‘New York Post’.
Meyer’s story has focused on the world of the “whales” – casinos speak for the highest risk players – and how far the hosts will go to keep them happy.
French bulldog puppy
A host at one of the major Las Vegas casinos reported satisfying one of his whales with a French bulldog puppy with special eye color and searching for a hard-to-find purse for someone else’s wife.
Hosts confirm that they are willing to do whatever they can to pursue and retain a customer. Steve Cyr, author of ‘Whale Hunt in the Desert’ admitted that he once rummaged through the trash to grab a competing casino’s high rollers mailing list.
“In the 1990s I wanted a particular client. I gave him $ 100,000 in promotional tokens,” Cyr told ‘The Post’. “That was a good investment. Over the years, in a single casino with me, he lost 11 million,” he added.
Prostitution and drugs
It is a system designed to lure the wealthy and risk-loving into situations where they are mathematically willing to lose. “There was a host who paid for prostitutes and drugs with his players’ promotional dollars,” said a fellow host, referring to the credits that would be used at the casino. “The six-figure players got prostitutes and cocaine. That worked very well until the police found out,” he said.
For some players, lines of credit are everything. “When you have a gambling problem and someone is giving you millions of dollars in credit, you will go anywhere to get it,” one high roller told ‘The Post’. “The host’s job is to take every dollar from you. After they do, they won’t want to meet you. They go on to the next person. They are not your friends,” he added.
