I think they've got the cause and effect backward there. Harrah's low rollers account for so much of their overall action because their casinos are so bad that high rollers avoid them. You can't simply assume that because all of their action comes from low rollers, they are pursuing some sort of brilliant strategy that nobody else is by not courting the high rollers (when they could easily go after both).
I'm guessing the 30% of low rollers that return very frequently are largely locals or near-locals (Harrah's has casinos in damn near every gaming jurisdiction in this hemisphere). Harrah's does a great job of catering to them.
Much of the other 70% would probably be mid-rollers, who I'd call value gamblers. They give the casinos just enough action to get some good freebies and nothing more. They end up spending less than if they had just booked the hotel and paid for food like a low roller does.
Harrah's does comp those two groups much better than anyone else. That also makes them the easiest to abuse comp program on the strip.
You can't simply assume that because all of their action comes from low rollers, they are pursuing some sort of brilliant strategy that nobody else is by not courting the high rollers (when they could easily go after both).
Sure, they could, but then they'd have to spend money to target that group. Is this any different to the high-end/low-end market segmentation of any other business?
I guess one of the reasons that they can open a Harrah's in damn near every gaming jurisdiction (New Orleans and South Lake Tahoe spring to mind as the two Harrah's I've been to) is that they can afford to build a fairly cheap casino without tainting their brand image. Compare that to, say, The Venetian, which can only open a new branch (in, say, Macau) if they're willing to spend the billions it takes to build something comparable to the Venetian in Vegas.
Harrah's has locations in every jurisdiction mostly due to merger and acquisition. They're basically a number of small gaming operators that got rolled into one.
Also, most of their casinos were not cheap when they were built. They are just old. The Imperial Palace (now the laughing stock of that part of the strip and soon to be bulldozed) was one of the nicest hotels around 50 years ago.
In fact, I don't think they've actually built a single casino since Loveman took over.
I'm guessing the 30% of low rollers that return very frequently are largely locals or near-locals (Harrah's has casinos in damn near every gaming jurisdiction in this hemisphere). Harrah's does a great job of catering to them.
Much of the other 70% would probably be mid-rollers, who I'd call value gamblers. They give the casinos just enough action to get some good freebies and nothing more. They end up spending less than if they had just booked the hotel and paid for food like a low roller does.
Harrah's does comp those two groups much better than anyone else. That also makes them the easiest to abuse comp program on the strip.