Catering to the whales

Back in 2001, the Nevada Legislature authorized Nevada casinos to create exclusive private gaming rooms, or "salons," to cater to the privacy desires of high-rollers, known in the trade as "whales."

The step was seen as allowing one more inducement to celebrity gamblers who might otherwise draw an unwelcome crowd.

The change in law was necessary because gambling rooms in Nevada had always been required to remain open to the public.

The private salons are still under observation by gaming regulators, via high-tech video systems. Casinos are required to advise regulators when the salons are in use.

To make sure the exception wasn't abused, the Legislature stipulated strict limits. To gain access to such a private salon, gamblers would have to show they had $500,000 in cash, credit, or a combination of the two, and each bet placed in the private salons -- whether on a live game or a slot machine -- has to be at least $500.

Only a few resorts on the Strip operate such private salons. But seven years of experience show betting patterns which now justify relaxing some of those state limits, according to state Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander.

Experience shows some high-rollers would prefer to switch from bets of tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per hand to much smaller sums to run through all the cards in a deck, in hopes of improving their luck with a reshuffled deck.

Also, relaxing the limits could allow guests of such gamblers, who might not be playing at the same level, to join in, making lower-stakes wagers. The rule change currently proposed would also allow such companions to keep gambling in the salons for up to six hours if the high-roller took a break.

The concern, of course, is that the proposed rule changes could allow entire casinos to be closed to the public.

But that's hardly likely. The changes -- endorsed by the state Gaming Control Board and expected to go before the state Gaming Commission in November -- would now require gamblers to show a reduced $300,000 in cash -- or the old $500,000 in credit and cash combined -- to gamble in one of the salons. And while casinos could now set their own minimum bets on live games, the minimum of $500 per pull on a slot machine would remain.

Hardly an appealing prospect for the average young couple on a weekend junket.

"What this does is to relax the regulation without relaxing the appropriate regulatory oversight," Control Board member Randy Sayre said following the board's vote for the eased standards, last week. "Nevada casinos must be able to compete in a world market" for the high-rollers.

All the more so, these days.