Legislation enacted in 2001 cleared the way for private gambling rooms that can be reserved by high rollers and closed to the public, but the rooms have had limited success.

Spurred by a sputtering economy, the state is looking at revamping the rules established in 2001 in an effort to make the rooms more attractive to the whales.

The rooms’ initial success was extremely limited, and Mandalay Bay, for example, did away with the private salon all together. In 2005, Steve Wynn suggested that the minimum wager requirement of $500 a hand might be part of the problem. Another potential problem is a requirement that players carry a minimum line of credit of $500,000.

The rules were established so that only the true high-rolling elite could use the rooms. It was a tradeoff that opened the doors to a select group of whales privileged enough for the state to eliminate the requirement that all gambling be conducted in public.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board will look at changing those rules at an upcoming meeting to allow casinos to set their own minimum wager amount, and to lessen the required credit line to $300,000 or allow a cash deposit of the same amount to use the private salons.

Bill Bible, president of the Nevada Resort Association, said removing the minimum wager requirement would make it easier for managers to explain why they have to bet a certain amount of money.

In a licensing hearing in 2005, Wynn asked why the Gaming Control Board would want to micromanage the private salons, and told a story of a player who lost $8 million playing $150,000 a hand at baccarat for 15 hours, then, after a pause, he started betting $50 a hand.

“It’s none of your business, as far as their attitude toward us is concerned, what they bet,” Wynn explained. “We don’t allow people to go into the salon that don’t risk hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour… the market takes care of that.”

By Casino Connection Staff