I am disgusted with video poker floor people and some of the floor people at Caesars are the worst.
If there is one thing I cannot stand it's to have a floor person come up from behind me and start talking to me as I am playing. These distractions have led to errors.
Even worse is when a floor person from the end of a row of machines, perhaps ten feet away calls my name, which causes me to look up from the play and again opens up the possibility of errors.
But even worse than that -- if you can believe -- is that Sunday night while playing at Caesars a SUPERVISOR not only came over to me while I was playing and started to talk to me, but also TOOK THE SEAT NEXT TO ME and continued to pepper me with questions and making the usual small talk of "hit a royal," "get a royal now," "a royal is coming." Meanwhile I kept playing... but when the remarks continued I hit the cash out button and walked away.
It also happens at Rincon. I never had it happen at Pechanga, nor at Morongo. In Vegas it never happened at Bellagio or Mandalay Bay or MGM or NYNY.
Granted I play a lot at Caesars but that doesn't give floor people carte blanche to get in my face.
I've discussed this several times with my hosts and even wrote about it in the post-trip surveys that I get from Rincon and Caesars. We have also discussed it here, and I know I am not alone.
Here's part of an email I just sent my host at Caesars:
Late Sunday night I left the video poker area when a supervisor sat down next to me to strike up a conversation. First she made the usual small talk and then she actually sat down in the chair next to me to have a conversation and that's when I hit the cash out button and walked away.
I might never play video poker there again. And I would be more than happy to tell every one of your executives to tell the floor people to stop their "happy talk."
There were two other floor people who from ten feet away called my name to say hello. No more.
There are all sorts of problems when video poker players are distracted including losing concentration, making errors in holds, even errors in watching the meters (I carefully check for hands played and credits remaining). There is also the problem of distractions used by crooks who want to steal from players -- either handbags or phones or even cash-out tickets.
This is where the famous "customer service of Harrah's and Caesars" becomes a liability and an inconvenience and even dangerous.
The floor people should be patrolling for problems, not creating small talk with players who are concentrating on their game. I know where the "call button" is.