Las Vegas Weekly

Casinos speak the language of money (but some have bilingual dealers now!)

Primm is counting on bilingual dealers to be a boon in a tough economy.

Photo: Steve Marcus

Primm Valley Resorts’ new strategy for luring Hispanics from Southern California with bilingual gaming tables and a Latin-music concert series has been praised as brilliant business, but perhaps more importantly it raises a good question: What’s the deal with language barriers at casinos?

“There is a built-in hurdle when it comes to these things,” says Stuart Richey, vice president of marketing for Primm Valley Resorts. “We had to go through the Gaming Control Board. There’s a control mentality in the industry that, when you sit down at a table, you gotta speak English.”

That control, not surprisingly, is all about the money. Jeff Voyles, a UNLV professor and expert in casino operations, explains, “It’s always about protecting the asset. We can’t have any leaks in our structure, and language is a big part of that. Pits have to be carefully built out—the player, the dealer, the supervisor especially. They have to be able to understand what’s going on.”

So when bilingual employees are spread out on the casino floor, resources are limited in terms of allowing players to speak alternate languages, which is why many casinos have pits specifically dedicated to alternate languages—usually Asian ones. It’s not about being separate-but-equal, but instead about making sure nobody succeeds at pulling one over on the casino.

Establishing Spanish-speaking tables inside Buffalo Bill’s required no additional hires, Richey says, only rescheduling and rearranging current employees. With little cost investment but potentially major gains—both financially and in customer satisfaction—to consider, Richey says he believes other casinos with access to large Hispanic demographics—such as locals’ casinos in Vegas—might follow suit.

Voyles agrees. “This is a copycat industry. When something works at one casino, others say, ‘Good for you. Now I’m going to do it.’”