let's get the facts straight: poker makes money

[John Kilduff]

[ QUOTE ]
in vegas the majority of people dont choose which casino to go to coz of its poker room.

you guys r hilarious.

look at it this way how many, percentage wise, go to vegas to play poker.

and of this small amount how many take entourages....lol.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure what your point is...what has that got to do with the matter under discussion, may I ask?

Does anyone think that Mirage poker room ran for ~10 years before Chris Moneymaker arrived on the scene, yet didn't manage to show a profit during all those years? Or that Commerce and Bicycle Club don't make a TON of money off poker?

A full (or nearly full) running poker table pulls in over $100 per hour for the house. Do the math and please explain how expenses are greater than that?

"Loss leader" is not the right way to look at poker because it is not a loss for the house. At most it is just less profitable than they might otherwise earn if they could more effectively otherwise utilize that available space. For some casinos, poker might not be so great because their space or resources are severely limited, or because they don't get many customers for it. For other casinos, it is just additional profit to add to the take from table games and/or slots.

If you own a fine and profitable restaurant, and at the checkout counter where people pay their bill you decide to add a glass case and offer for sale some cartons of fancy chocolates, mints and cigars under glass, that doesn't mean you are losing money on the extra items. Yes, it may take up some extra room and it will delay the checkout hostess a bit, but it is still extra profit: it just probably isn't as profitable as serving a Chateaubriand dinner for four. But unless you are severely limited for space or hired help, you might as well be selling both as long as the market will support it.