Interesting piece in the Philly Inquirer about a pay-to-learn-to-gamble service:
As far as Roberta Pickett is concerned, it was $100 well spent.
“When I left,” said the 53-year-old Myrtle Beach, S.C., resident, “I really felt I could play craps.”
Pickett was referring to her recent dice-shooting lesson at Trump Taj Mahal with Assisted Casino Entertainment Services’ ACES, the Taj-based gambling school that is unique to Atlantic City.
Free gaming lessons have been offered for years by other casinos, but ACES’ tutorials are a far cry from those available elsewhere.
“This is a unique setup,” explained Christiaan Van Buuren, the South African native who is the company’s director of operations.
According to Van Buuren, the key differences are ACES’ one-on-one lessons as opposed to the group classes at other gaming halls, and that they include play at “live” tables once the instructor and client believe the latter is ready to gamble with cash.
And, he said, “We don’t just teach the games, we make people feel as comfortable as possible. We teach them casino etiquette – where to sit, where not to sit, how to get a players card, where to cash chips . . .
“The most important part of our lesson takes place before we go out on the casino floor, in what we call the pre-play interview. It’s where we get to know the student; we ask them what their expectations are.”
During her recent visit to the Taj, Pickett had hoped to learn what appeared to be an impossibly difficult and complicated game. Craps is a breeze once you master the basic, easy-to-grasp fundamentals.
…
Pickett noted the $100 fee was pretty much irrelevant, because ACES provided her with $50 in “match play” vouchers as well as other casino premiums.
via CasiNotes: Taj Mahal’s gambling classes take students ‘live’ | Philadelphia Daily News | 06/04/2010.
Interesting concept. Obviously there’s a small market for this kind of thing, and ACES is filling it. It makes you wonder why casinos don’t do this themselves.