This study aims to examine how differences in the casino advantage (i.e. price) of otherwise identical slot machines affect their revenue production, when the price is hidden from…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how differences in the casino advantage (i.e. price) of otherwise identical slot machines affect their revenue production, when the price is hidden from the players. The study aims to identify the ability of players to recognize differences in the concealed prices of paired machines, over time. Both items are paramount to slot revenue optimization.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 274 daily observations, paired-samples t-tests examined whether live performance metrics were affected by the differences in the casino advantage (namely, par) of the paired games. Time-series regression analyses were conducted to understand whether players shifted their play away from the high-par games, over time.
Findings
The results indicated that increased casino advantages produced increased revenue, with no evidence of diminished play on the high-par games.
Practical implications
The results contradicted the inveterate wisdom of the industry by demonstrating that players are not hypersensitive to increased prices/pars, and that such increases can actually lead to increased revenue, despite egregious par gaps.
Originality/value
Added valuable results to a nascent research stream aimed at understanding the effects of obfuscated price/pars. Expanded the gaming literature by increasing the differences in the prices/pars of paired game titles over an increased sample period. Both conditions increased the chances of observing changes in revenue performance, and play migration to the low-par game. Both manipulations have been previously cited as meaningful extensions of the literature.
Details
Keywords
Valentini Kalargyrou, A.K. Singh and Anthony F. Lucas
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of onsite restaurant business volume on slot machine gaming volume at a Midwestern racino property. The results provide…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of onsite restaurant business volume on slot machine gaming volume at a Midwestern racino property. The results provide management with critical estimates for use in determining the overall value of the restaurant space. Additionally, operators are able to examine whether it makes sense to operate restaurants at a loss, based on the notion that the dining outlets are contributing to gaming volumes.
Design/methodology/approach
Time series multiple regression analysis is used to analyze daily performance data, providing an estimate of the change in the dollar amount of slot wagers resulting from a one‐unit increase in the dollar value of restaurant sales.
Findings
The theoretical model advanced herein explained 81 percent of the variation in the aggregate, daily dollar value of slot wagers. A one‐dollar increase in the variable representing overall restaurant sales produced a $91 increase in slot wagers (or $7.44 in slot win).
Research limitations/implications
Regression analysis does not prove cause and effect. The result was produced from a single data set. Operators are encouraged to examine their own data via the method and model advanced herein.
Practical implications
The results provide management an opportunity to examine whether the slot win associated with the restaurant operations exceeds the operating losses incurred by the restaurants, and, if so, by how much.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine empirically the relationship between restaurant and gaming business volumes at a racino. Specifically, no published study includes statistically derived estimates of the impact of changes in on‐site restaurant volume on a racino's slot wagering volume.
Details
Keywords
S. Ray Cho, Anthony F. Lucas and Ashok K. Singh
This study aims to understand how free-play credits affect risk-seeking behavior in slot players. Extant results suggest they encourage risk aversion, counter to the primary aim…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how free-play credits affect risk-seeking behavior in slot players. Extant results suggest they encourage risk aversion, counter to the primary aim of increasing spend per visit. The results inform operators as to the effectiveness of what has become the primary play incentive for casino marketers within many of the world’s markets.
Design/methodology/approach
Within a quasi-experimental grouped design, 365 days of player-level performance data from four different casinos were analyzed to determine whether player losses (casino revenues) and time played differed on visits that included free-play redemptions from those that did not. Hypotheses were tested via paired-samples t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests.
Findings
On balance, neither player losses nor time played were significantly different on the free-play visits. Neither the house money effect nor the endowment effect was supported. The results were most consistent with the prospect-theory-with-memory editing rule. No findings indicated increased risk-seeking behavior associated with the free-play offers.
Practical implications
Casino operators are afforded insight related to how costly free-play campaigns affect gaming spend and playtime. Both are critical to understanding the impact of free-play on the gambler’s experience.
Originality/value
The 365-day samples extended existing research by analyzing the impact of free-play offers on risk-taking behaviors within the scope of a perpetual/ongoing campaign. Comparisons of observed daily behavior/outcomes were made between separate tiers of like-kind gamblers from each of four different casinos. Quasi-hedonic editing rules were applied to a multistage decision framework.
Details
Keywords
Gabriel S. Ferreira, Tulio O. Guedes, Lucas F. Melo, Márcio S. Gonçalves and Roberto Pimentel
In reinforced concrete (RC) structures, an evidence of damage is the presence of cracking. In order to evaluate the effect of damage on cracking pattern and natural frequency in…
Abstract
Purpose
In reinforced concrete (RC) structures, an evidence of damage is the presence of cracking. In order to evaluate the effect of damage on cracking pattern and natural frequency in RC slabs, two of such structures with different dimensions and reinforcement ratios were tested, in which cracks were induced through application of static load, followed by modal tests using impact excitation. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The gradient of the fundamental natural frequency along the decay, the crack opening rate and also a global damage index based on changes of the fundamental natural frequency were evaluated.
Findings
The behaviour of the aforementioned gradient was distinct for both slabs, increasing monotonically with the cracking level for the slab with lowest reinforcement ratio, and increasing until 33 per cent of the collapse load and then decreasing afterwards for the slab with the highest ratio. Changes of the gradient were consistent with changes of the crack opening rate. Both results of gradient changes and cracking pattern brought evidence that the balance between open (old) and breathing (new) cracks differed between the slabs, and may be responsible for such differences.
Originality/value
Damage assessment in RC structures using vibration tests is mostly concentrated on beams. In this work, an advance is made by investigating slabs. The lack of a unique pattern of changes of the gradient implies that its absolute value is not generally suitable for the association with the damage level. However, the impact tests can be effectively used to detect early damage on slabs using this proposed parameter.
Details
Keywords
Today Lionel Penrose is recognised as the co-author of one of the two leading indices of power in voting legislatures – a field of study that game theory in general, and…
Abstract
Today Lionel Penrose is recognised as the co-author of one of the two leading indices of power in voting legislatures – a field of study that game theory in general, and cooperative game theory in particular, has been reclaiming from sociology and political science since the 1950s. The main claim of this paper is that Penrose developed his index so as to tackle questions that go vastly beyond the narrow domain of voting; namely, acute social issues during the Cold War such as the outburst and propagation of panics, the ideological susceptibility of populations, the escalation of military conflict and the successful installation of authoritarian regimes. Furthermore, by revisiting the history of the Penrose power index, the paper re-evaluates some of its key underlying assumptions: assumptions that have been heavily – and unfairly, as the paper argues – criticised over the last decade.
Details
Keywords
JACK McCARTHY reports in New york on the problems United States manufactures have in placing the prodcts in right market position.
The purpose of this study was to determine not-yet-tenured university library faculty members’ views of 27 methods their department chair may use to support and enhance the…
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine not-yet-tenured university library faculty members’ views of 27 methods their department chair may use to support and enhance the faculty member's professional development. The methods were derived from earlier qualitative research on department chairs in higher education. While academic teaching department chair roles have been the subject of the research literature for many years, little research has addressed library faculty perceptions of the department chair's role. The survey instrument used consisted of two parts: (1) a demographics section, consisting of five questions; and (2) a researcher-developed survey of faculty perceptions of the department chairs’ role in faculty development. Survey participants were asked to rate the importance of methods chairs may use in enhancing the professional activities of faculty. According to the not-yet-tenured library faculty members responding to this study, a chair engaging in the most important practices to enhance their faculty's professional development would be one who utilizes good communication, while acting as an administrative advocate.
Islam Elbayoumi Salem, Rehab El Gamil, Osman Ahmed El-Said and Marwa Youssif
Hotel management and academia are increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and charismatic leadership. In this context, the present study examines how…
Abstract
Purpose
Hotel management and academia are increasingly interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and charismatic leadership. In this context, the present study examines how charismatic leaders affect employee quality of life through CSR practices in hotels.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey encompassed employees working at either three-star or five-star hotels in Oman. The model was tested using data gathered from 396 hotel employees.
Findings
Results showed that charismatic leadership positively affects CSR-induced intrinsic and extrinsic attributions. CSR positively affected task significance and intrinsic quality and negatively affected turnover intention. Quality of life predictors had a considerable impact, with intrinsic quality and turnover intention standing out. There was no significant effect of task significance on quality of life. The relationship between charismatic leadership and CSR was stronger for employees in five-star hotels and weaker for employees in three-star hotels. The CSR role mediates the relationship between charismatic leadership and quality of life.
Practical implications
The results indicate that charismatic leaders exert a substantial impact on employees’ attributions of CSR. Upper-level management must emphasize fostering the cultivation of charismatic leadership attributes among non-charismatic leaders as a means to enhance employees’ perceptions of CSR.
Originality/value
Few studies have focused on analyzing employees’ perceptions of CSR activities on a micro level. Investigating CSR phenomena in the context of internal stakeholders, especially employees, is very rare.
Details
Keywords
Siavash Ghorbany, Saied Yousefi and Esmatullah Noorzai
Being an efficient mechanism for the value of money, public–private partnership (PPP) is one of the most prominent approaches for infrastructure construction. Hence, many…
Abstract
Purpose
Being an efficient mechanism for the value of money, public–private partnership (PPP) is one of the most prominent approaches for infrastructure construction. Hence, many controversies about the performance effectiveness of these delivery systems have been debated. This research aims to develop a novel performance management perspective by revealing the causal effect of key performance indicators (KPIs) on PPP infrastructures.
Design/methodology/approach
The literature review was used in this study to extract the PPPs KPIs. Experts’ judgment and interviews, as well as questionnaires, were designed to obtain data. Copula Bayesian network (CBN) has been selected to achieve the research purpose. CBN is one of the most potent tools in statistics for analyzing the causal relationship of different elements and considering their quantitive impact on each other. By utilizing this technique and using Python as one of the best programming languages, this research used machine learning methods, SHAP and XGBoost, to optimize the network.
Findings
The sensitivity analysis of the KPIs verified the causation importance in PPPs performance management. This study determined the causal structure of KPIs in PPP projects, assessed each indicator’s priority to performance, and found 7 of them as a critical cluster to optimize the network. These KPIs include innovation for financing, feasibility study, macro-environment impact, appropriate financing option, risk identification, allocation, sharing, and transfer, finance infrastructure, and compliance with the legal and regulatory framework.
Practical implications
Identifying the most scenic indicators helps the private sector to allocate the limited resources more rationally and concentrate on the most influential parts of the project. It also provides the KPIs’ critical cluster that should be controlled and monitored closely by PPP project managers. Additionally, the public sector can evaluate the performance of the private sector more accurately. Finally, this research provides a comprehensive causal insight into the PPPs’ performance management that can be used to develop management systems in future research.
Originality/value
For the first time, this research proposes a model to determine the causal structure of KPIs in PPPs and indicate the importance of this insight. The developed innovative model identifies the KPIs’ behavior and takes a non-linear approach based on CBN and machine learning methods while providing valuable information for construction and performance managers to allocate resources more efficiently.