Opinion: Why Are Slot & Table Games APs Treated Differently By The Casinos?

A question that I’ve been asked is why do casinos treat advantage table games players differently from advantage slot players?

The difference is stark in that advantage table games players are treated with far more disdain than the slot hustlers. Stories of casino security detaining table game AP’s & taking them to mysterious back rooms to interrogate, intimidate, rough up & confiscate are fairly well-known. It’s this treatment that has often led to several lawsuits from the table APs.

Stories of slot APs being treated roughly by casino security may be out there. There are thousands of casinos worldwide after all but I’ve never heard of one. Usually when a casino has had enough of a slot AP, they’re usually approached by a couple of security guards, perhaps one of the higher-ups as well & told something along the lines of “your business is no longer wanted.” They are then escorted off of the premises & that is that.

Generally speaking table game APs can rake in a whole lot more in a short period of time than slot APs. So it’s my assumption that while the folks hustling tables can make somewhat of an impact on a casino’s profits, we slot hustlers are for the most part just a minor annoyance to them. Yes, there’s the recent stories of the slot AP team who had a couple of great scores in New Jersey online casinos. But for the most part, slot hustling has historically been a grind & that’s even with many of our favorite advantage machines coming out lately in higher denominations.

Another common argument is that table game APs take directly from the casino when they beat their games whereas slot APs are taking money that someone has to be paid out regardless. An example of this being a must-hit progressive machine. Paying out a progressive at a random point is a built-in function of the machine. If someone were to regularly play these progressives when they run high, then so be it. The casino will typically have already made their money off of the machine through the normal course of play. That isn’t to say that the progressive hunter won’t or will never get kicked out. Every casino has a particular tolerance but it’s safe to say the slot hustlers have a significantly longer leash.