let's get the facts straight: poker makes money

[Moneyline]

I've played a few sessions of poker with the former manager of a small poker room that was in a more-or-less locals casino in Vegas. He claimed the room netted a little less than 500K a year in profit, and that was with less than 10 tables and a $3 max. rake.

There's no way that particular casino would have made more money if they replaced the poker room with slots and video poker, as there are at any time already dozens of unoccupied machines in the casino. Poker is clearly profitable and good for the financial health of casinos.