Last week we told you how employees at Dan Gilbert’s emporium of Three-card Monty were heading for the doors in waves for a variety of reasons — pay, tips, schedules, culture shock, etc.
Folks weighed in on both sides, some backing up the claim that Horseshoe management isn’t helping their cause to retain the some 1600 people they hired to staff the casino, others saying this is just casino life and nothing out of the ordinary. Rock Gaming piped up to let us know that ship-jumping was to be expected and they overstaffed in preparation.
The notes continue to filter into our inbox, and a lot of them sound like the one excerpted below. Seems it’s not all business as usual, unless business as usual includes stiffing your employees on their checks and reminding them how expendable they are.
Yes, people are quitting in droves. And there is extreme hostility. This is coming from all groups. A couple dealers I’ve spoke with are somehow happy, but many are leaving.
They are VERY hard to deal with and give me nothing but “BS” and now have made my life quite hard for continuing to ask and bother them for my pay.
The place is utter chaos, with rules changing daily. Most of what we hear from our coaches (who are also quitting) are threats as to how easily they will fire us. They are hiring 20 more security officers to make up the 30 or so that have left.
This is ABSOLUTELY the most disorganized and chaotic company I’ve ever worked for. And it shows in their management styles.
The employee also says they’ve been stiffed on their paycheck, with the casino owing over 100 hours of backpay. Paychecks are wrong, often shorting dozens of hours, and when you’re piling up 12 or 14-hour days 14 days in a row, that’s not how you expect to be treated.
Any upsides?
At least we could eat there on credit in the employee cafeteria.
This article appears in May 30 – Jun 5, 2012.
Hey this is not a place im taking my family if this stuffs going on ..I`ll take my family back to new york state to gamble if this craps going on here.. my money is good any wear..
Just like a job I had in 1996-98. Except they fired people over the smallest infraction, especially backtalk, and singled out some while BLATANTLY playing favorites.
They know who they are, so if you’re reading this… Thanks.
Pshhh….Mountaineer is only 1.5 hours away and WAY better…I knew this was going to be a Clusterphuque…
not only r they stiffing their employees they r stiffing their patrons!!! in paigow they make up their own rules to win and then change them the next hand to win again!!! i asked for the gambling commission to come down and see what cheats they are and they REFUSED to call them!!! well i aint gambling there anymore!!! they r crooks and i hope everyone else boycotts them!!!!!!
As one poster commented that their money spends anywhere, this is true. The casino is new and its a business. Surely, there are going to be some problems that have to be worked out. There are going to be some winners and some losers. Perception is key. Different people have different experiences. As far as the employes are concerned, management should treat its employes with respect and pay them for their work. There must be guidelines for employes to follow. It is management’s responsibility to manage the business according to these guidelines. There is a grievance process if things happen otherwise. On every job there is a weeding out process, its call probation period. If management does not focus on who and what is right for their business or there will be no business. Gamble responsibly. Don’t get mad because the odd are not falling your way. Gambling is a game of chance and if you can afford to take the chance maybe you shouldn’t gamble. So, lets not jump ship too fast. Yes, there are other options and individuals have a right to choose. Support Cleveland’s casino but do so wisely. Everyone wants to win but in reality we know chance doesn’t work that way.
This is hardly a surprise. I love casinos but there’s no way in hell I’d ever work for Caesars. Caesars is considered to be one of the worst run casino companies in the world and with good reason. They aren’t high class at all, no matter how hard Gilbert and Loveman try to spin it. They are heavily in debt and treat their employees badly- when they have enough of them. There’s nothing new about Caesars employees getting the shaft – it happens at all of their casinos. I feel bad for the people who thought they were getting a high class, high paying job, that’s just not the way that Gary Loveman does business.
Of course–it being Cleveland–it’s all screwed up. They can’t get anything done right here!
Still love this city though!
I’m sorry to say that the people leaving in droves are expecting the the world on a platter and there not going to get it until they pay there dues I have worked at a casino dealing and tending bar it took at minimum 6 months to get into a routine as for the rules your dealing with thousands of dollars at your finger tips and until you have that on your back and security and pit bosses on your back you will never no the pressure I would work Dan Gilbert’s casino anyday of the week
Funny how people with actual casino experience are commenting that this employee bruhaha is nothing unusual — a simple weeding out process of people who were unaware of the rigors of working at a casino, and customers who are angry because the casino is obviously crowded and they can’t get money simply by pulling the slot lever. Rock Gaming could have easily brought in more workers from out of town and avoided a lot of problems, but is taking a chance on local workers.
What is going on with treating workers poorly is not unique to the new casino but a reflection of how a lot of Cleveland service industry businesses treat their employees. The scene was set before the casino came along.
What is with all of you bitchin about Cleveland? SOmthing good comes to town and you still complain.. Maybe you need to find a new place of residence. Like any business a casino needs to iron out the wrinkles.
Give it a chance. Before you start sticking up for one side, maybe you need to get all 3! For those of you who don’t get it.. there are 3 sides to every story!.. yours, theirs and the truth
Donald – if this were truly Dan Gilbert’s casino I’d agree with you but it isn’t. All Dan and his buddies did was put up the money. They aren’t running the place or handling day to day management. That’s the problem. Gary Loveman and his cronies are running the place. The Cleveland media needed to focus on them more and should’ve spent more time doing background on them. What’s happening here goes on at all of their casinos. Go search for it if you don’t believe me. Loveman is a disaster and many analysts see Caesars going bankrupt in a year or two. Loveman is an economics guy, not an entrepreneur or a casino guy what so ever. He doesn’t know how to properly run a casino and that’s why Caesars is looked at as such a poor performer even though they are strong regionally and have the best players club in the industry. Total Rewards is their saving grace. Without it, Caesars would really be in some trouble.
misneron: If was Dan Gilbert who handpicked Caesars to run his casino after the people approved Gilbert’s state constitutional amendment. I agree that the PD needed to have much better reporting on Caesars. It was only on the eve of the casino opening that we even learned that Caesars was billions in debt, for example.
I feel sorry for the employees at the casino. I think most of them read in the PD that there would be fun jobs and good opportunities there. Sure they were naive, but it was our major newspaper that misled them.
Robert – You’re spot on. I was extremely excited about this casino until Gilbert signed with Caesars. I believe he did it based on a few things. 1 – Total Rewards which is the one thing I give Caesars mad props for. Its a great built in player driver. 2 – Caesars has lots of experience running regional casinos. 3 – The other major gaming companies don’t normally do partnerships. MGM, Landry, Wynn, Sands, Ameristar, Pinnacle and Boyd rarely have partners. They own and run the entire thing. Caesars is doing this as a necessity to keep growing. Loveman even said as much at the Horseshoe opening. They can’t afford to grow on their own so they are doing in Boston what they did with Gilbert. At the same time, they are selling casinos they solely own to raise money. The other companies don’t need partners to grow, they can raise liquidity on their own and are doing so.
I don’t think Caesars casinos are all bad, but they pale in comparison to their competitors. From performance to pay, they underperform. If Gilbert really wanted to go all in and high class, he needed to lure someone like Wynn but there’s also no way he would’ve settled for a 20% stake in a regional casino. Perhaps Gilbert should’ve tried to do it himself since Quicken is such a strong performer especially when it comes to making employees happy. I’m sure there were many experienced people out there who would love to work for Gilbert.
Insightful post, misneron. I read something analyzing Caesars’ strategy in Bloomberg Businessweek. They pointed out what you say, that Caesars didn’t have money to sink into projects so they looked for a partnership. What that article also said was: “The asset-light expansion strategy, similar to the way hotel companies expand by franchising, may be emulated by other gambling firms, according to Michael Paladino, a debt analyst with Fitch Ratings.” It made it sound like it was the wave of the future for the industry. But now I’m getting the feeling Cleveland got stuck with a bad company to run our casino for the reasons you say. I didn’t see anything about this stuff in the Plain Dealer. We were presented so much hype, and Gilbert acted like he chose Caesars because he felt they were the best people. I know next to nothing about the casino industry, but maybe down the line Rock Gaming will get another company to run our casino?
For that article, google up “Caesars Targets Cleveland as Local Cash Eases Debt Burden”.
Bottom line…Everyone can agree on this business philosophy… A happy well adjusted employee will do anything to promote and make a company successful. Pay your employees a decent wage and they will be there for you. Shaft them and they will run.
Management needs to look at some of the the applicants files not all of the best were hired in. A smile should not have sealed the deal in some cases but rather work records and experience.
Although there may be some truth to the complaints, you need to take them with moderation. Shorting people on paychecks is against the law, and if there is any truth to this, it will be investigated and prosecuted. What you are all forgetting is that every employee thinks they are a good employee, and it just might be that the people that are bitching are only telling one side of the story. Have you ever heard anyone say – “I am the laziest, crappiest worker at my company”? Of course not, but we all kknow people who are shitty co-workers. Honest, self evaluation is difficult – it’s much easier to deny any responsibility and to write letters to Scene to bitch.
Dan Gilbert has amassed much of his fortune by selling something (Rock Finanicial) to an outsider who doesn’t have the skill or deep pockets to run it (Intuit/Quicken) and then buying it (Quicken Loans) back at fire sale prices. If Caesars goes under Dan Gilbert will buy them out for pennies on the dollar.
Ok, I love a good casino. We go to Vegas, Presque Isle & Mountaineer. I couldn’t wait for the Horseshoe. I even tried going there twice. Both times, same story – can’t get a drink, can’t even win something small. So, why aren’t the slot attendants getting tipped? Nobody’s winning! Why aren’t the waitresses hustling? Nobody’s winning. Simple plan Horeseshoe…you’ll make your money. It doesn’t have to be in the first quarter. Loosen thing’s up a bit to make your customers enjoy themselves. When they’re winning something, they treat your staff better & you’ll keep your employees. Until you fix that problem, I’ll take the 2 hour drive to a casino that knows how to treat their customers.
I still have not visited the casino yet because I treat it like all the new software or products that come out. Everyone rushes to get the new stuff, then they hit into all the bugs, glitches, and problems. Meanwhile, I wait it out, and then go once the crowds have died down and the kinks are worked out.