25 Things Casino Owners Don’t Want People To Know

Most people have never been to a casino, while others have maybe experienced it once or twice in their lifetime. But if you’re ever planning a visit, it’s best to know what to expect before entering. This list may help you to get an understanding of how these gambling establishments work. Created using the answers provided by former employees of casinos in response to a Reddit question asking those in the industry to reveal secrets that go on behind the scenes, this info may be just what you need to know before your next trip to Vegas.

#1 Security has to constantly wander the parking lots to see if there are any babies or dogs being left in the car. Real bad if security doesn’t notice in time.

Image source: a_humblesnail, Evija Daukste

#2 The security cameras are *scary* good. Like can read your name off your badge hanging off your waist good. You aren’t doing a damn thing the camera can’t see.

Image source: thattoneman, Thomas VEILLON

#3 The father of a friend of mine was robbed and stabbed in the parkade of a local casino in the late 90s, after he won big.

Image source: BrokenArmsFrigidMom, Inzmam Khan

It never made the news, and a friend of mine who worked at the same casino 5 years later swore I was making it up because she had never heard anything about it. After talking to a few security guys she finally had someone give her an off the record, wink/nod confirmation that it did happen, but they went the extra mile to keep the story buried.

#4 Used to be a blackjack dealer, in NV. To me, the most disgusting thing was watching people I knew, who were struggling to feed their families, come in and feed their entire paycheck into a slot machine, or gaming table. And, I was never allowed to say anything. Not on or off the job. I ended up quitting, as it was so depressing.

Image source: Feisty_Diet_478, Anna Shvets

#5 Not *totally* hidden from the public since I, a member of the public, was shown it… but major casinos in Vegas have an armory room, stockpiles of weapons and tactical gear.

Image source: Asleep_Onion, cottonbro studio

Was staying at a casino on the main strip, and had a number of guns with me for a meetup at a nearby shooting range, and asked the front desk if they had somewhere I could keep them since I didn’t really like the idea of leaving them unattended in my room or car. A security guy came out and said “follow me to the armory”, and led me to an extremely secure room full of all kinds of rifles and vests and whatnot, pointed to an empty locking cabinet I could put my stuff in, and gave me a claim ticket to pick them back up again later.

#6 At this casino, employees were only allowed to gamble there 1 day a month. You’d think it’d be money right back into the casino’s pocket, but they don’t want the risk of an employee being heavily in debt.

Image source: thattoneman, Anna Shvets

#7 If you drunkenly break into the kitchen to make a quesadilla, they let you eat it before having someone take you back to your room.

Image source: rmg18555, ROMAN ODINTSOV

#8 The number of kids who are left alone at a casino so Mom and Dad can gamble. Not on the floor, but gift shops or food courts. It’s pretty sad.

Image source: SnorkyB, Mikhail Nilov

#9 I knew someone who hit the jackpot on a slot. It was around $200,000. The casino managers came out to verify, but they said the machine malfunctioned and it didn’t count. How is that legal?

Image source: holdholdhold, Pavel Danilyuk

#10 How safe casinos are for kids in a weird way. I had a young relative experience distress in LV and told her to get into any casino ASAP. Security intercepted her in a second and she was helped.

Image source: MissFred, Meruyert Gonullu

#11 When the MGM Grand opened in Las Vegas, you walked through a giant Lion’s mouth to get to the front door. Many Asian gamblers saw it as a sign of bad luck so they wouldn’t go in. Now it’s a smaller statue.

Image source: DriedUpSquid, MDGovpics

#12 Not sure about western casinos, but this is for Asian casinos. Asians generally subscribe to the supernatural and definitely the superstitions that go along with gambling. casino owners tend to “hire” ghost babies, toyols or kumantongs (aborted baby spirits) to kind of “curse” players into losing. superstitious players will bring candies, toss them under tables so the ghost babies leave them alone because of the candy bribe and let them win.

Image source: 10ballplaya, Stella Sofia

#13 I don’t know if this is still done but…

Many years ago I worked at Sahara Tahoe and in our paycheck envelopes the management would put 5 “drink tokes” that were good for 5 free drinks. It was introduced as an employee benefit. But you could only use the drink tokes in the casino bars, not in the restaurant or the hotel bars.
Now here’s the kicker –
If you CASHED your paycheck at a casino cashier (again not at any of the hotel or restaurant cashiers) they would give you 10 MORE DRINK TOKES.
So what you would have on payday is many of the staff with a bunch or drinks under their belt and thousands of dollars in their pockets wandering around the casino.
It wasn’t hard to see what the hotel wanted us to do with the cash…

Image source: skprew

#14 A couple are not hidden, but not obvious to the average casino goer. Some casinos add scents to the air (they do not pump in extra oxygen in as some people believe). They also keep the temperatures on the cool side to keep people from getting sleepy. No clocks on the walls and, in general, no windows with views to the outside.

Image source: HardRockGeologist, Chuma A

#15 The employee dining room is an entire buffet and convenience store with good quality at great prices.

Image source: Soft_Construction793

#16 Anyone getting a job within the casino itself is getting background checked, especially for bad credit and outstanding debts. If you’re a guy down on his luck, with some maxed out credit cards and you want a job to get back on your feet, the casino doesn’t want you. You’re a liability, you’re not worth the risk.

Image source: thattoneman, cottonbro studio

#17 If you like to play slot machines never play penny slots. Those are the machines that make the casinos their most money. Play quarter or dollar machines you spend just as much or less each spin and they tend to have better payouts. But your brain says penny slots are cheaper but they have machines that you can hit $20 a spin and higher. Where I used to work penny machines had a 14% hold while quarter and dollar machines had an 8% hold. The hold is how much the machine will win over the lifetime of the machine the higher the hold the more you are likely not to win.

Image source: Icuivan, Vinícius Vieira ft

Also, a machine is never due. They use random number generators that act the moment you hit the spin button or pull the arm. The machine already knows if you have won or not and everything you see in front of you is for your entertainment.

Always use your player’s card. Yes, they track your play and try to lure you back based on how you play but it’s also how they determine if they give you things.

Every casino has its own scent. They want you to associate that smell with the casino subconsciously. It’s like going to the movies and you smell the popcorn and your brain is ready for the experience.

#18 Just how much money goes unclaimed/uncollected. I worked in the accounting department at one of the main gaming conglomerates and was tasked with cleaning up their unclaimed property accounts. There were players aka “whales” who’d deposited millions and just forgot about it for years.

Image source: Swole_Troll, Tima Miroshnichenko

#19 My cousin works at a Casino, and depending on what table he is working, requires a uniform/vest/cumber/tie/clip change. There is a large employee room with hundreds of lockers. He shares his with 2 others that usually work different shifts/areas than him. In the locker are 6 hooks (2 for each person), a top cubby with 3 sections (for water bottles, etc), a lower section with 3 sections (for boots/change shoes), and above the footwear section a 3 section ‘mini locker’ that you bring your own lock, where you put your wallet, valuables, etc that you can’t have on your person when you are on the floor. The lockers are large enough to keep your “section” clothes if you need to swap during your shift.

Image source: mollymuppet78, Ivan Samkov

He only very rarely runs into a locker buddy, unless they’ve picked up an extra shift, or if there is a special event.

He is super short and his locker mates are a very tall man and an average height woman. He thinks locker mates are chosen very specifically to avoid thefts, minimal contact, etc, though he can’t prove that.

#20 Fire Rock Navajo Casino has the best Pozole and Fry Bread I have ever tasted! I’m Mexican and I may just make a trip to eat their pozole!

Image source: theoracleofdreams, Scott Dexter

#21 How much waste there is – tons of food, paper products, stuff like soaps, shampoos, lotions, key packets/folders… It’s obscene. We’ve got a lot of rats here in Vegas that appreciate it, though.

Image source: hypothetical_zombie, Markus Spiske

#22 Casinos actively work with the police to assist in apprehending persons with warrants.

Image source: THE_GHOST-23

#23 90% of casinos have private areas for the high rollers, politicians, gangsters, and other vips. I was able to deal cards at one of those events. I was literally tipped $500 by some guy for keeping the water ‘liquid’.

Image source: Hairy-Ganache-7457, Allison Saeng

#24 In Atlantic City there are a lot of unused stairwells and corridors especially now that the casinos are not as busy. Many homeless people find their way into them and live. A friend of mine told me about a time they were using a stair well to move furniture and drywall for a remodel. They found two landings with beds and clothing there and one “resident” claimed he had been there over a year.

Image source: le_fez, Ave Calvar Martinez

#25 My aunt worked at one in Palm Springs, and she said they basically had a room full of extra stools. Old people were sure they were about to hit, and they’d just [pee] and [poop] themselves instead of giving up their machine.

Image source: Raidriar06, Miikka Luotio