JG Random Thoughts 8/24/99
Date: 08/24/1999
From: Jim Geary
Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker
Subject: JG Random Thoughts 8/24/99
PGA Ethics
I haven't read every post in the ethics threads, but I
see that some parties have stated that the higher the
limits, the more the wild woolly look out for yourself
at all costs enters. Simultaneously, someone has also
invoked the acronyms USGA and PGA. This would seem to
put to shame the notion that the bigger you play the
more self-interest can outweigh strict playfair
responsibilities. The equivalent scenario as Badger's
played out on the PGA tour would definitely have the
player falling on his sword.
Paying the Dealers a "Fair" Wage
It has been oft stated that players shouldn't be "forced"
to supplement the dealers' incomes by toking; that
the casinos should pay their employees a fair-market
wage. People then counterargue that this would drive
the cost of the rake up to compensate. This simply
is not true. It assumes that the rake(cost of poker)
is at least partially a function of the costs that go
into delivering the product. (Specifically, P*=MC,
equilibrium price goes to the marginal cost to produce
a product). This is probably true for computer
manufacturers. But this is based on an economic model
of a competitive capitalism. By and large, this
model fails for casino poker. There are not an infinite
number of firms vying to sell you poker. In most locales,
poker is run by monopolies or oligopolies. The pricing
is inflated to reflect this. Tricking you into paying
the dealers is just one more implementation of this
monopoly pricing power. If the card rooms were magically
compelled to pay the dealers a reasonable salary and
tipping was prohibited, the effect on the rake would
be minimal. The possibility does exist, tho, that
card rooms would use this information to try to jack up
the rate, but when prices start to abut monopoly levels,
it is already a sign that the sellers think they are
getting you for as much as they can. (I realize that
this line of thought probably will have no outcome on
dealer wages; just thought I'd like to point out
something that I haven't seen expressed here before.)
Last Modified 2/9/00
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