It seems to me that players patronize a certain brick-and-mortar casino for some pretty basic reasons, the primary one being location. If your state or country allows casinos, you probably play mostly at the one that is closest to you and if they offer poor-paying games, well, that's the price of convenience. If you don't have any casinos close to you, then travel is indicated so a player's choice of casino may be highly influenced by what accommodations are available, whether or not they'll comp you to a room, etc. But in that situation, I think it's fair to say that knowledgeable players will also take into consideration the types of games offered, so they can concentrate their play at the "host" casino in order to feed the comp machine, thus continuing to get those free rooms and meals.

But location is not a big factor in the choice of an Internet casino, because they all come to you. Yes, someone may prefer to play only at casinos "located" in Antigua or Australia, for example, but mostly it's what the casino offers, not where they're located that influences players' choices. Any Internet casino can offer "enticements" to potential players, such as:

- A selection of fair and honest games

- A wide variety of ways for players to deposit and withdraw funds

- A reputation for quick, accurate payouts

- A player "loyalty" program (we call them 'slot clubs')

- A sign-up bonus in the form of $$$

Of course there are many others, but those listed above will serve to make my point. Perhaps I should have listed sign-up bonuses in the #1 spot because at this moment in time, that seems to be where the emphasis is for both casinos and players, but I put it at the bottom because I think it should be the first to be eliminated as the Internet gambling business evolves.

Horrors! Eliminate bonuses? No, that's not what I said. What I'm suggesting is that sign-up bonuses be eliminated or at least reduced to some sort of token bonus that allows a player to get a "feel" for the games; something in the $25-$50 area.

Casino owners, listen to me: He who lives by the bonus dies by the bonus. I know you all believe that your operation is the best and a player needs to experience your casino only once to decide that this is the place they will play at for evermore, but that's not how it usually works. The fact is, your casino is just one of over a thousand out there and there are only a few differences between all of you. What separates the "great" from the "others"? Here's a list:

- A selection of fair and honest games

- A wide variety of ways for players to deposit and withdraw funds

- A reputation for quick, accurate payouts

- A player "loyalty" program (we call them 'slot clubs')

You'll immediately notice that this is the same list, except that the sign-up bonuses have been removed. Now, some readers here are undoubtedly thinking, "eliminate the bonuses and I won't play at most Internet casinos". So be it, but hear me out.

There are few, if any, brick-and-mortar casinos that offer a "sign-up" bonus. Most want to see your "action" before they'll give you anything, but once you've qualified, so to speak, what you can get is almost beyond imagination. Go to a Las Vegas Strip casino, play craps for three or four hours a day with an average bet of $1000 per roll and you can have almost anything you'd like. But what would that get you at an Internet casino? Maybe $3 per roll in cash rebates at a few casinos and $0 at most. Believe me, I'm not knocking a 0.3% cash rebate, because at an Internet casino where the game can proceed at a rate of 200 decisions per hour, that could mean $600/hour. But that's also $200,000 an hour in total "action". At a brick-and-mortar casino, there may be 60 decisions per hour, so the total action is "only" $60,000. But if that brick-and-mortar casino uses a "theoretical" win percentage of just 1.5% on their craps game and they rebate 40% of that in the form of comps, then the player can expect to "earn" $360 an hour. If, in one way or another, the player ups his or her total action to $200,000 an hour, the brick-and-mortar casino comps would rise to over $1000 an hour, which puts the $600/hr. from the Internet casino into perspective. Yes, I realize that it's different to "pay" a player in the form of a hotel room that might otherwise be unoccupied that night rather than in cold, hard cash, but I also want to point out that the brick-and-mortar casino has basic expenses far beyond that of an Internet casinos in the form of dealers, mortgages, state taxes in the 6-13% range and so forth.

The point is simple: most brick-and-mortar casinos lavish attention on their established, loyal customers and most Internet casinos don't. Please remember that I'm saying "most", not "all", but what happens if you go to an Internet casino and win a $50,000 jackpot? Well, if it's a Unified Gaming-powered casino, you may wait two months to get paid (see our "Blacklist Page" for more details), or you may be subject to an audit, or you may have to take your payment in monthly installments of $5000 or less. Hit a $50K jackpot at a brick-and-mortar casino and they'll be all over you with offers to "stay and play" because they want their $$$ back!

The Internet casino business seems to have a knack for driving winners away, while their brick-and-mortar counterparts (who have a lot more experience) do all they can to keep the winners coming back. Admittedly, brick-and-mortar casinos will tolerate winners at certain games like Blackjack for only a little while, which is why I hide my identity, but there are very few games on the Internet where a player can get an edge, so I don't understand the problem.

Ah, maybe the problem is the sign-up bonus! Give me a 20% sign-up bonus with a 6x play-through requirement (deposit $500, get a $100 bonus after a total of $3000 in bets), combined with a Blackjack game that has a 0.5% casino edge and I'm going to beat the pants off you almost every time, if you deal an honest game. And, since the bonus is for new players only, when I'm done I'm probably not going to return, because I got all that you offered me. Even worse, if you're an unscrupulous casino owner, you'll subject my play to an audit, or claim I'm on a "blacklist" or am a "bonus abuser" or just close down. Whatever the case, I may not get my $$$ in a timely manner and you can bet I won't forget it.

This is madness and, if the Internet gambling business is ever going to reach its potential, I, for one, think it has to stop. So now all the casino operators reading this are wondering how they are going to get new customers. Here's a list of what you can offer to get new customers:

- A selection of fair and honest games

- A wide variety of ways for players to deposit and withdraw funds

- A reputation for quick, accurate payouts

- A player "loyalty" program (we call them 'slot clubs')

Peoples' opinions, problems and concerns travel quickly around the Internet, primarily via message boards like the one here, or at other sites that are listed on the "GameMaster's Personal Links" page. I'll be the first to admit that good, positive comments travel much more slowly, but as a casino owner, the choices you have are limited: either get a lot of bad publicity or a little positive publicity. A lot of bad publicity can put you out of business and, perhaps, if you get only a little bit of good publicity, you'll still go out of business. But the first choice is almost guaranteed and that simply is not going to change.

Players are getting smarter everyday, so your ability to offer Video Poker with a 96% return is becoming less viable as time goes on. Many players know they can get a better "bang for their buck" elsewhere and even those who don't know the difference find themselves losing so quickly that they think you're cheating and they leave, never to return. I fully realize that Internet casinos have their own special set of problems when it comes to "beatable" games, if for no other reason than the technology that's involved. I have seen a computer versus computer game of Blackjack where a "robot" played perfect Basic Strategy and beat the casino at its own game. However, the robot won, not because of how it played, but because the rules of the game gave anyone who played perfect Basic Strategy - robot or human - an edge in the game. The robot only did it faster. We can agree that it's not feasible for Internet casinos to offer games with returns over 100% (although it's not impossible) but most brick-and-mortar casinos don't offer them either.

So, what can an Internet casino owner do? First, I suggest that you concentrate on satisfying the players you already have by giving them good service. In this business, the customer is King, but some of you think they are stupid suckers and that attitude is going to shut you down. If I win, send me my $$$ quickly. (Hey, I only withdrew it to see if you really pay winners.) When I'm paid quickly, I might return, because you're now my latest "lucky" place. Secondly, find a way to prove to the world that your games are fair and honest. Most major jurisdictions in the U.S. have a way of doing this, so you can do it too. Third, start using some imagination to "promote" your casino. There is plenty of space on my Website to tell about a casino that offers a 0.25% cash-back slot club or to promote a 3x slot club points day every Monday in July, etc., etc.

But most of all, if you will develop a good reputation for your casino, the world will eventually find out about it. (Of course, advertising here can help that along, but that's another issue for another time.) Gamblers, by the loosest definition of the word, are people who want something for nothing. If that's the case, why are you so surprised when you offer them something for nothing and they accept? But many of you have also forgotten that gamblers pay your salary and, while you'll go broke giving them something for nothing all the time, it's not usually a mistake to cater to the whims of gamblers, because they love what they do and, if you're smart, they'll do it at your casino.

-the GameMaster