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First, the end of the story:
On my recent trip to Las Vegas, I, “Mr. actually reads the fine print before signing anything,” pulled out $30 from my wallet and handed it willingly to a guy on the street. And no, he didn’t slip me a baggie of white powder in exchange. In fact, he didn’t give me anything. How did it happen?

Relationship marketing. Thanks for reading.

Oh, you want details? OK, let’s go back to the beginning.

I was standing in line for the Duce (a double-decker bus that runs up and down the strip) when the old guy in front of me struck up a conversation. Given the location and his unsavory attire, I kept my initial answers short and tried to avoid eye contact. “Where are you from?” “How long are you in town?” “First time in Vegas?” My “he’s about to ask you for money” alarm was blaring like a fog horn.

And then mentioned that he was from Boston and headed home that night.

Hearing that put me at ease. I figured if he was a fellow tourist that I could probably let my guard down. So, I did - a little. We grumbled together about the wait for the bus. We talked about our games of choice (his was sports betting – and he lost about 5K this trip) and where we were staying. He told me about how he’d been coming here for 30 years and about the old Vegas.

Then, about 5 minutes into the conversation, he asked if I wanted some comped show tickets that he wasn’t going to be able to use. The scamometer started rising again. However, I sure as heck didn’t want to blow potential tickets to Blue Man Group and David Copperfield – so I played along. He was very insistent that if he gave them to me that I wouldn’t let them go to waste. I told him I would definitely go see those shows for free.

It was a done deal. He said he’d give them to me. I still wasn’t holding my breath, but I couldn’t help but imagine that there was a very slight chance that I had hit the jackpot just for being in the right place at the right time.

Our small talk continued. We talked about some of the new casinos on the strip. I asked him what he did back in Boston. (“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. My brother is the biggest bookie in Boston. I work for him.”) We talked about the recent performance of the Cubs and White Sox.

The bus finally came.

As we rode along, he asked me where I was getting off. I told him I was out wandering, so I’d just follow him back to the Bellagio to get the tickets transferred to my name. He said he had already checked out and wasn’t going all the way back there. So, we got off together in front of the Mirage, and he said he’d just call and take care of it.

My fading skepticism kicked back in – secretly of course. He asked to use my cell phone, but instead of dialing himself - just gave me the number. I dialed, and in an attempt to debunk the scam – put the phone to my ear instead of handing it over right away.

“Bellagio. This is Mary. How can I help you?”

Whoa. It was them! A little surprised (and a little excited that it could all be legit), I handed him the phone.

“Hi. Can you transfer me to John Nicks on the floor?”
“John, it’s me - Mike.”
“Not good at all. I busted. It’s okay though, I’ll be back in a few months.”
“No, I’m done. I already checked out. You can close me out.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, can I have those show tickets transferred to someone else?”
“I want to split them – one and one to Blue Man Group and Copperfield for tomorrow and Thursday night.”
“R-A-U-C-H (he looked to me for guidance at this part). David”
“OK.”
“Yeah, I feel like Santa Clause. Haha.”
“OK. Photo ID and pickup by 5:00.”
“Uh-huh.”
“OK. Thanks. I’ll see you in a few months.”
“Alright. Bye.”

After hanging up, he told me the show times and rows that I’d be sitting in. He told me how important it was that I picked up the tickets by 5:00 the next day.

At this point, he had me. I mean, he hadn’t asked for anything – so why wouldn’t it be real? I thanked him a few times as we continued walking. He continued to downplay it saying he had seen the shows many times and wasn’t able to use the tickets anyway. “It’s no big deal. If you couldn’t use them, wouldn’t you give them away?”

And, just as I was starting to explain how my wife would be jealous of me seeing Blue Man Group without her – it happened.

“Hey, I’m kind of embarrassed to ask, but I busted everything at the sports book today. Think you could spot me a little cash for a cab to the airport?”

The “I just scored $300 in free show tickets” bubble popped.

My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to get out of the situation. I had just chatted it up with this guy for the last 25 minutes. He supposedly just gave me multiple hundreds of dollars worth of show tickets. Did I have the guts to tell him no? What if…what if the tickets were real? If I walked away without helping him I could kiss them goodbye.

I stalled by asking questions cleverly designed to trip him up. I offered to walk back to Bellagio with him. I asked where his luggage was. He had a story for everything – and I couldn’t quite get him to stumble.

So, I admitted my skepticism. “Mike,” I said “I’ve been waiting this whole time for you to ask me for money. The fact that you just did makes me skeptical. Don’t take it personal, it’s just my nature.”

He countered by telling me A) not to be so skeptical, B) he had just given, not sold, me the show tickets, and C) if it was a problem that I didn’t have to worry about it - he’d get it somewhere else.

Ugh, the guilt trip. We strolled on as I thought though my options. Before long I had decided; I was just going to give it to him. After all, I rationalized, I was up $150 at the tables and there still was a slight chance he was telling the truth. And, assuming this was a scam – he earned it.

So, I gave him $30 (for a cab and a pack of cigarettes). We talked a few more minutes about where I should go check out next – and then said goodbye. I returned to the tables and he continued his apparent hunt for someone in the area that owed him money.

Deep down I knew it was a scam, but I couldn’t help but checking the show times online when I returned to my room. Sure enough, one of the start times he told me was wrong. Just to be sure though, I decided to try to claim the tickets the next day. I wasn’t about to walk to the Bellagio to do it in person - so I called the box office. Surprise….nothing.

So what’s the lesson here?

Despite being a lying sack of %@#, Mike’s sales tactic was perfect. He engaged me in conversation and talked about things I was interested in. He invested time in the relationship. He gave me something (supposedly) for free. And, he did it all before asking for anything in return. Then, when the time came, I just handed over my money.

I think we can all take a page out of his book. Not the “focus on dumb tourists and watch the money roll in” page, but the importance of building relationships with prospects and customers. Sometimes you have to give a little up front (non-existent show tickets not recommended) on good faith. People love to do business with people and companies they know, and a solid relationship can often trump a low price or a slightly superior product.

So there it is. Once again, my mistake has become free advice for you. Want to thank me? I’ve always wanted to go see the Blue Man Group…

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Thanks to Redbox’s Free Movie Mondays, last night I brought home the the poker flick All In.

I over paid….by roughly two hours.

The poor acting and cheesy dialog (”Is you in, or is you out?”) - forgivable. The ridiculous yet predictable plot (pre-med student finds herself at the final table of the PartyPoker.com™ All In $5 Million Tournament playing against her cold hearted-scam running-doctor nemesis AND her compulsive gambler-navy seal-supposedly dead since she was ten-father) - overlookable.

Naming the movie after a poker term that the writers didn’t understand - inexcusable. Here’s the scene that put me over the edge:

She had 90% of the chips. Her opponent had 10% of the chips. He calls “all in” (which, for any non-poker players, is just a dramatic way of betting the amount that you have left). She answers with her own “all in.” At this point, the announcer let’s everyone know that both players were “all in” and that this hand would determine the winner.

What? That’s like saying she was putting up $90 to cover his $10 bet. It makes no sense. If he won (which he didn’t…surprise) she would have still had 80% of the total chips.

At this point in the movie I went from being train wreck amused to just annoyed. Clearly, as poker hit its peak of popularity a couple years ago, the producers (probably over a few drinks) decided it would be a good idea to crank out a movie about it. Ugh.

It reminds me of companies that jump on every bandwagon regardless of how well it fits with their product. People don’t buy into these attempts because they clearly lack authenticity. It’s going green just to fit in. It’s starting a Facebook page for your facial wash. It’s the kind of thing Seth talks about all the time.

Customers will excuse a lot of things if you’re sincere. Small businesses especially can get the benefit of the doubt if they treat their customers well and run the company with integrity. When you cross the line though, it’s obvious. The collective wisdom of the crowd is much more than you can expect to fake out. Don’t try it.

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According to a press release by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Nevada sports books lost over 2.5 million dollars combined on the outcome of the Super Bowl. The total amount wagered was 92 million - meaning that they had a return on investment of -2.8%.

Interestingly enough, this is the first state wide sports book loss on the Super Bowl in at least 10 years. As a point of reference, they won 13 million (13.9%) last last when the Colts destroyed the Bears.

Also interesting (at least to me) is that the total amount wagered has been pretty stable over the last three years. Prior to that, the total had been growing healthily. In 2001, there was only 69 million bet on the game.

Anyway, it just goes to show that anything can happen. I wouldn’t worry about the casinos too much though. In 2007 the Vegas strip alone had gaming revenues of $6.8 billion. Not to shabby.

According to the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, the game of craps had a combined win percentage of 13.46% statewide for the year ending Nov 30th, 2007. Simply put, of the collective amount gamblers wagered on craps, the casinos kept 13.46 percent.

As a craps player, I initially found this alarming; the most common bet (pass line) has a house advantage of only 1.41%. If you take single odds (also pretty common) it drops to just under .85 of one percent. Sure, there are worse bets (the worst is “Any 7″ at 16.67%), but the majority of the action at the table happens around the pass line.

So how could the win percentage be so high?

I tossed around a few theories, but quickly decided it had to do with the way the figure was calculated. I would guess that the casinos report the denominator as the as the total amount brought to the table, not the total amount bet. The difference? Money brought to the table can be bet multiple times during a session.

Let’s say I bring $100 to the table and average $20 per bet. If I make 50 bets during my session, then I bet a total of $1000. So, if I was making bets with a 1.41% house edge, I would be expected to lose $14.10 (according to long term probability). However, since the casino saw me bring $100 to the table, they are probably calculating the win percentage at 14.1%

What’s the point of all this?

There’s not really a point. I was reading though the NV SGCB gaming revenue report and thought that figure was interesting. If you really want an application though, it could be a lesson in evaluating customer value.

A casino’s goal is to keep me gambling for as long as possible. Essentially, every bet I place is another sale. They recognize that even though I’m only betting $20 at a time (expected profit of 28.2 cents), I’m not a $20 player. Even though I bring $100 to the table, I’m not a $100 player. My value to them accounts for the length of my play which, in the case of my example, makes me a $1000 player. Essentially, I’m a high roller.

When you look at it that way, who are your high rollers?

In craps, you make a lay bet by betting on a negative outcome. Essentially, you’re betting that the shooter (person rolling the dice) will fail to roll what is needed for everyone else to win…

Anyway, I’ve decided to launch a blog. I know, I know…”You, and about 100 million other people.” Cut me some slack. It’s not like my head has been in a hole since 1999; it’s just that the other places I write are more personal than anything else. I wanted a place to record my more business related thoughts. So, here it is. Check back for my thoughts, ideas, and occasionally lessons on my favorite casino game.

Regular updates? I’d lay that bet. Then again, I may just surprise you…