What Stays in Vegas Read Online Free PDF Page B

do, Caesars record how much you typically wager in a day, to the penny if you play electronic games such as slot machines. They know which games you prefer, what food you like to eat, when you like to visit, and whether you would like standup comedy, ’80s rock concerts, or shows where transvestites lip-sync while pretending to be Cher, Dolly Parton, or Madonna. Your personal file may note if you have a favorite hostess at Caesars Palace, whether you prefer the six-foot-tall comely blonde or the diminutive hostess who speaks Chinese.
    Mastering data analytics, and customer data in particular, has given Caesars an edge in a business where rivals compete fiercely with the same games. Every casino offers the same product: the excitement of gambling, the dream of sudden riches. The roulette ball bounces and the cards snap with the same unpredictability everywhere. Scoffing at the instinctive approach of fellow bosses past and present, Loveman fills his executive suites with math nerds from prestigious colleges. He lays down the law with a simple mantra: “Tell me what you know, not what you think.” And personal data—the minutiae of our likes and proclivities, habits and patterns—lies at the heart of the knowing.
    For the former business school professor, the gaming business has become the ultimate research experiment into consumer behavior. He uses cutting-edge technologies to gather personal details on millions of customers—with their consent, even if few understand all the intricacies of what happens behind the scenes. All of this takes place to tweak visitors’ experiences in such a way as to get them to open their wallets just a little more. Within the walls of their casinos, Caesars record everything they can about tens of millions of people. And in doing so, Loveman, now CEO, has become a modern-day emperor of customer information.
    By prospering on the backs of so much personal information, Caesars have inspired companies across the economy. Everyone wants to learn more about customers in hopes of marketing more successfully. Rivals closely watch to see what Loveman and Caesars will come up with next.
    Patti Hart has unusually good access to the biggest casinos and their top management. She is the CEO of IGT, a leading slot machinemanufacturer, so she talks with everyone. A rare woman in the macho world of casino management, she has a keen sense of industry sentiment. Over the years she has developed great respect for Loveman’s leading role. “He sets the pace for everyone else, and he doesn’t always appreciate the fact that everyone else watches him and sets their cadence based on what he is doing. And I think that really is a very tough position to be in, one that he respects and one in which he performs amazingly well,” she says. “Gary is not afraid to live in a constantly innovative world. He will even innovate his own idea. I think that really sets him apart from lots of leaders that I work with in every business. Gary is a person that never sees an end in sight to the innovation.”
    Over the years, Loveman’s rivals not only started collecting data about what clients do in their casinos. Some have also turned to outside data brokers to buy ever more personal information. Data brokers learn where customers have lived throughout their lives, whom they marry and divorce, and how many children they have. Data dossiers detail hobbies, economic situation, and consumption habits. Companies across the economy regularly buy and sell information about us all, a trade largely hidden from those whose data are contained in the dossiers.
    Even if you never set foot in a casino, companies gather data about you at every turn. If you buy a fishing pole online, the details may be recorded to market to you in the future. Depending on its privacy policies, your gym could let others know you are interested in fitness. Magazine subscribers will often receive offers in the mail