Jun 30 2022 4 mins
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In our first story this week, a strike by the workers' union could have serious financial consequences for Atlantic City casinos. Unionized casino workers are looking to renegotiate their contracts with their employers, but the other side seems reluctant to sit at the table.
The main issues are the contracts for more than 10,000 casino workers, which expired several weeks ago. The unwillingness of the casinos' management to restart those contracts has triggered a wave of discontent among their employees. Unless their demands are met, the main casino union, Local 54 of the Unite Here, plans to go on strike on July 1. This will coincide with the July 4th weekend, and according to the union's calculations, it could cost casinos around $2.56 million per day.
Next up, casinos in Australia are looking to employ facial recognition technology, but their plan is facing strong opposition. Australia's largest casino and hotel operator, Endeavour Group has been using the technology since October last year, allegedly to combat problem gamblers. Another major industry player, Star Entertainment, also uses facial recognition to restrict casino access to banned visitors.
While the casinos claim to use facial recognition responsibly, the technology itself has been marred in controversy. Australia is yet to fully regulate the use of this technology, which opens the doors for potential abuse. Opponents of facial recognition are worried that the casinos may be using it to infringe on their customers' privacy and to sell and monetize their personal data without consent.
In our next story, Holland Casino and casino workers' unions have reached an agreement over wage increases. After weeks of discussions, the two sides have made a deal that will feature a series of wage increases and one-off payments. Holland Casino has agreed to increase workers' pay by 2.5% starting next month. Plus, the wages will rise by another 0.5% on January 1 next year. The deal also includes a one-time payment of 350 euros for all Holland Casino employees.
In addition to the pay rise, the union and Holland Casino have also agreed on the new minimum wage. All workers are now guaranteed at least 14 euros per hour. The new collective labor agreement will run from July 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023.
In our last story, money has been rolling in Vegas over the past month. Gamblers hit several huge jackpots, but the biggest win came at the Golden Gate casino. The downtown Vegas property paid out a jackpot worth over $1.3 million to one lucky player. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, certainly had the day to remember as he pocketed the life-changing reward.
The jackpot struck on June 2, in the early morning hours. The fortunate customer was playing Wheel of Fortune, one of the most popular slot machines, when the lady luck smiled on him and helped him land the massive jackpot. He took home the prize worth exactly $1,342,414.70. To make the story even better, the big win came after the player staked only $5.