Bill Mulvey,
Any discussion of "casinos" claims must begin with why they were categorically denied in the first place. Overall quality of the group would be next, followed by the most efficient way to determine validity
1. We are given to understand that denial began with the notion that the casino industry was "unaffected".
Our casinos are experienced marketers, sensitive enough to different economic indicators to stay ahead of the curve. When a downturn is indicated, a number of procedures kick in. Many more coupons and promotional chips are sent out. These are counted as revenue when they are played. A house with $100,000 per time frame last year may show $105.0 this year from $95.0 actual plus $10.0 promotional. Fewer real dollars, lower tips.
Casinos constantly work to implement attractive game variations that increase percentage. This drives more revenue from fewer players. More revenue, fewer players, fewer tips.
BP oil clean-up people filled the hotels for these same months. They were, for the most part, inexperienced gamblers with loose money. Winners tip more, non-winners tip less. Revenue up, tips down.
The real challenge for all of us here is to completely put aside this first notion and view our people with totally new eyes.
2. Honesty and Integrity
The Mississippi Gaming Commission conducts extensive background checks before issuing a gaming badge. Licensed casino employees must have an absolutely clean record to begin with. Any hint of impropriety can result in job loss, no questions asked. Any one of a number of misdemeanor offenses can result in loss of gaming badge. Badged employees have many years of experience living very clean lives.
After Hurricane Katrina, insurance companies came in and hired literally thousands of casino employees to train as adjusters, processors, input, and office people. Why? Because we are known for our integrity, honesty, intelligence, and dependablity.
No one here is asking for anything more than we have actually lost. Hundreds of Table Games dealers, using a hundred different methods are all coming up with very similar loss numbers. Almost all are within the $4,000 - $8,000 range for the year. Very statistically significant.
3. GCCF has already established a very efficient method to determine eligiblity.
Comparing '08 and '09 W2's with '10 income, projected from nine months of pay stubs, is a very simple and efficient way to establish loss. Many tipped casino employees have established charts showing very definite drop-offs of income relative to the Blow-Out. When "casinos" claims are evaluated by these GCCF parameters, they will prove to be the most accurate and well-documented group the GCCF has received on the entire Gulf Coast. This is a matter of simply evaluating with the same eyes as others before, not requiring any more burden of proof than has been required from any previously paid groups.
We must note that claims here have been paid for grocery stores, convenience stores, landscapers, trucking businesses, beauty salons, retailers of building materials and furniture, laundry services, electricians, plumbers, and cleaning services. These groups are down largely because our casino employees, a major economic engine of the Gulf Coast, have been down. If these groups have shown a direct link to the oil spill, then certainly we have as well. We are all inter-related. We can't imagine what burden of proof they have provided that we have not. Guests come here for ultimate hospitality; beaches, fishing, spas, golf, and casinos. Our casinos are built on or over the water. Oil is under us, and on our beaches to this day. Two comparisons are appropriate. New Orleans servers have been paid generously, though they are more than fifty miles removed from oil or beaches. Atlantic City casinos are suffering because they offer nothing but gambling. We succeed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast only because of the synergy among all hospitality businesses. To pay one and deny another is simply unconscionable.
Supporting our claims, we have the Mississippi Attorney General's office, the Mississippi Casino Operators Association, letters from our employers, editorials from our local television station, and constant support from our local press.
We very much look forward to meeting you and moving forward with this process in a timely fashion. We understand that information packets for Interim Claims should be received this week by all claimants, and that Interim Claim processing teams should be in place at local offices next week. Given that Interim Claims quarterly must be filed by Dec 31, this gives us a very small window in which to work, especially given the Season. It would seem that our main challenge here is to inform as many claimants as possible to file Interim Claims before the end of the year.
Thank you, and please call or write, ...
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