casinos: the new caste system?

thank g.
the week of corporate comedy is over.
i have time to reflect a bit; won't you come with, dear reader?
all week i stayed at caesar's.

<--- here's the place in question.

it was a good week. i saw a lot of good things. here's some:

<---this is the boardwalk. pretts!

--->this is a creepy guy with a marionette on the boardwalk. he is dressed in a spandex suit (gggrrowl!) and the marionette is dancing to tom's diner, repeatedly. NIiiiiiGHtmAres!

<---this is the sign for a new outlet mall district. this mall kind of ruled. i walked around it a few times, snagged a cashmere sweater from b repub for 14 bucks, and got a coach purse and wallet for 40. by "coach", i probably mean "fell off a truck".

this is a group of people who met each evening in the outlet mall area i strolled to do capoeira. it was super cool and they taught me some nice moves. watch your backs. capoeira is a brazilian dance, i think. or brazilian fight? brazilian wax.

---->

<--last night, i went to the gym. this is a list of rules that was posted on the wall. one of the rules states that service animals are permitted in the pool. what is said service animal? an otter?

and finally, this is the view to my north at night. to my east was the vast atlantic, which was beautiful. --->

i had a great time this week. i'm sure i could go round and round with even myself on this for hours, but i do think this stuff makes a difference - even if it just makes someone's job more tolerable for a short time. these guys are implementing all these games into pre-shift meetings. that's what i'm teaching them, the games to do so, the ones to use. i teach 7 a class/3 times a day, play with and do bits, then explain and give a little moral for each game, or what it's practical use might be in work enviros. i like it, for the most part. it pays the bills, and people laugh a lot. so do i.

part of the time, i felt a little dead inside. here's why: i hated the guy i worked with, the CSD (customer service director). he was a dynamic speaker, a generally fine guy, but i didn't buy for second that he actually cared about the people he was speaking to. that bugged me. i don't know i'd feel that way if i worked for him, really. but since i had a naked eye, i thought he was smoke and mirrors. at one point, people asked if they'd be on the clock for these warm-ups, because sometimes it's hard to get the doubting thomases to play for free. fair. totally fair. what did this guy do? he told me privately it was a touchy matter, even though every other property is doing it on the clock, and said he wouldn't answer. i felt like leading a revolt. way to tend to your devoted family, f-face.

i had great classes. some were more engaged than others, but for the most part, the 30 people per session had ridiculous amounts of fun. get this - believe it or not, are REQUIRED to do these games several times a day before they hit the gaming floor. hilarious.

i've noticed this week that the message of the casino is new. for instance, the message that i don't like that they are spreading is this: in order to get better customer service ratings, they will split their visitors up by a system. that system, for our purposes, is gold, platinum, and diamond. diamonds are the sh*t, y'all. they spend at least 62 grand a year at the casino. holy. because of this, they get quicker service, are treated specially, and have less wait time (WT). the casino i'm working for this time is actually devising a system where people will be scanned and they can tell who you are when you play or even walk in the door. they will always, always take a diamond member in line over a gold, even if there are 55 golds in line. why? because 55 golds "equal" a diamond... well, at least in revenue.

sounds like a caste system, kind of. a million times in class, i heard the word "worth" thrown around, and i cringed every time it was said. the golds aren't worth as much, the casino people said. uh-oh. of course they are just dealing with monetary worth, but i always felt like it was delving into scary territory. they then went overboard in saying that no one was treated differently when it came to friendly-helpful behavior (FH). meaning, you're nice to everyone, but you treat someone with money more quickly. hmm. can i get behind that? ...i...guess...?

i guess you get different treatment everywhere you go or invest. if you go to a restaurant regularly and tip well, maybe get treated with your favorite table. if you fly all the time, maybe you get first-class or upgrades. i get it. i totally get it. but since it's all tied up with your monetary "worth", is it bad? i don't know. i don't know! i guess rewards come to those who invest in product... but whatever happened to treating people best across the board?

the argument can be made that this is a business, i suppose. it's not a friendship, or a

relationship of traditional sorts. still, my mind is somehow repelling this way of thought.

don't tell corporate janey over there. --->