Locals casinos in Las Vegas often cash paychecks, which can be viewed as a convenient amenity or an inducement to gamble, depending on your humor. Since they don’t do this in New Jersey, it’s a practice I’ve always looked askance at, but what do I know? Here, Adam Goldman of the AP dissects the issue:
It’s payday and a long line has sprouted at the casino’s cashier cage, where tellers dole out bundles of money.
Nearly all the folks waiting this afternoon inside the Boulder Station casino are clutching paychecks. A waitress offers free margaritas to the growing crowd beneath catchy banners — “Just cash your check, spin and win?” “Everyone’s a winner … Guaranteed!” and “Free drink with every paycheck cashed.”
Many in the line leave the casino without spending a penny of their hard-earned money. But others drop dollar after dollar into the ubiquitous slot and video poker machines.
Some lose everything.
“I come and leave,” said John Humphrey, 35, an electrician who said he once lost his entire $1,400 paycheck playing the slots after cashing it at a casino. “It hurt on bills. I don’t do that anymore.”
Check cashing is business as usual Friday at many Las Vegas casinos, where residents flock to exchange their payroll or government checks for cash at no charge. The service puts people and their money inside the casinos but it also draws some criticism from those in and out of the industry.
Patrons come to avoid the fees of check cashing centers and account requirement of banks.
Unlike banks, casinos lure their customers with free booze and an array of gimmicks. People can win food and more money by playing games, such as Poker Payday, Paycheck Bonanza Plus and Paycheck Poker.
Some of the biggest practitioners of this time-honored Nevada trade are Wall Street darlings like Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming, companies that own casinos popular with residents.
At Boulder Station, testimonials hang above the cashier cage from Gilbert, Michael and Dietmar, the last claiming he doubled his paycheck.
The Orleans casino boasts the Paycheck Party Machine that allows players to pick their favorite game: poker, slots or Keno and “Win up to $250,000.”
On its massive parking deck, the Palms hotel-casino displays a scantily clad woman holding wads of money with the slogan: “Win up to $10,000 instantly.” The casino also advertises in the local newspaper.
Arizona Charlie’s tempts workers with the words “Dream Big!” and a free big-screen television.
The biggest companies in the industry — MGM Mirage, Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment – do not partake in the longtime tradition in or outside Nevada. In Las Vegas, these gambling goliaths depend on tourists rather than residents to drive their earnings.
Many people might have a visceral negative reaction to casinos giving out free drinks to people waiting in line to cash paychecks, but Nevada allows the practice. I agree that, unless the authorities decide to stop paycheck cashing across the board, casinos are not compelled to do so, but personally I find it hard to be sanguine about this kind of promotion.
On the other hand, people do have freedom of choice, and no one forces them to gamble after cashing paychecks. If we start with the paternalistic state deciding where people can cash their paychecks, what is next? This is one of those issues that mixes together corporate responsibility, state oversight, and personal liberty in an interesting way. There are no easy answers.