Cat Dealers Live Online Casino
Business Plan
For a Live Online Casino with Cats as Dealers
The information contained within this document is confidential financial
information regarding the business thinking of established online casinos.
For a more details breakdown of the numbers, please contact us for
beginning the process of signing a Nondisclosure agreement (NDA)
The Online Casino Industry
The online casino industry is still truly in its infancy. Because of its youth it can
be contrasted, for the sake of comparison, to well-established industries such as
the telephone industry, the oil industry, and the restaurant industry, to name
just three. The online casino industry has changed dramatically in its adolescent
years; yet, each of the above-mentioned established industries has also
undergone massive changes not only throughout their lifetimes but in recent
years as well.
The telephone industry has gone from one-telephone families with the
telephone attached to a wall and access to the outside world achieved through a
central operator, to high-tech smartphones, themselves bearing advanced
technology that improves yearly. From its humble beginnings until the present,
the telephone industry has been influenced by innovation, competition,
demographics, cost reductions, and the desires of consumers. The same can be
said about the online casino industry.
th
The oil industry also harks back to the 19
century. It too has undergone major
changes, from foreign competition, a dramatic rise in prices, increased demand
by an upwardly mobile world, demand from the two demographic giants, China
and India, new extraction technologies, and the demand for oil-based products
such as plastics and textiles.
The restaurant industry is influenced primarily by two separate phenomena: the
need for cheap, accessible labor and the competition from fast food. Society’s
tastes have also modified or changed. The restaurant that wishes to remain in a
narrow niche must be able to attract customers who specifically desire what the
restaurant can offer. A fast food restaurant, be it for hamburgers, pizza, tacos,
hoagies, chicken, or hot dogs appeals to a different type of customer than a
restaurant with a more varied and eclectic menu.
Looking at the online casino industry through the prisms provided by the three
above-mentioned industries we can see that, as in the telephone industry, the
online casino business is constantly affected by innovation, demographics,
competition, and their customers’ desires. For instance, the online casino
industry must compete with social media literally at one’s fingertips. The
question, therefore, is how to attract gamers in the culture of texting.
Any casino must have a highly-attractive home page to keep the internet surfer
interested enough to stay. For example,
firstwebcasino.com
has a retro theme.
Its home page features a caricature of a toothy fifties television personality and
fifties style rock and roll music plays in the background. It’s hard to leave a page
like that.
As another example, alljackpotscasino.com does not hit you with a hard sell
about jackpots when you land on their home page. Instead they draw you in
with their Welcome Package. Helping keep you on screen is a gorgeous young
lady who is blowing something sparkly in your direction.
As in the oil industry, the online casino business must compete for people’s
disposable income to be spent on entertainment in an atmosphere of rising
costs generally. The primary way online casinos vie for entertainment dollars is
by offering excellent Welcome Packages. Competition is quite stiff in this
specific area so casinos are always trying to improve their Welcome Packages in
some way. As yet another example, wildjackcasino.com offers free money to
new players. The free money begins with a no deposit bonus. No deposit
means they give you the chance to win a jackpot on their dime. Free money also
means no playing restrictions before the player can cash out.
Finally, as with the restaurant business, the online casino business must decide
who its clientele will be. Will an online casino pursue fast-play customers in the
manner of the fast-food restaurant, or will it strive to make its brand broader,
appealing to a wider range of players?
Any online casino striving to reach the top and stay there needs to appeal to as
broad a range of gamers as possible. Even casinos that appear to have a niche,
such as
allslotscasino.com
and
alljackpotscasino.com
which seem to imply that
they are simply all about slots or jackpots, are nothing of the sort. Rather,
allslotscasino.com and alljackpotscasino.com have upwards of 500 games in a
large variety of categories in order to attract and keep a large number of
players.
An online casino must be able to attract a fast-play clientele without appealing
to them exclusively. Online casinos must have a uniqueness that will be talked
about on social media, on the radio while people are driving to and from work,
and in restaurants or pubs where people gather to socialize. This is why
firstwebcasino.com has a retro theme.
The online casino industry is almost entirely dependent on the internet. Online
casinos reach potential and actual players through advertising, email, and
especially through independent, outside affiliates, in-house affiliates, and
through the casino itself. Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a vital role in
the success of any online casino.
Revenues from casino gaming are expected to exceed 35 billion dollars this year.
This is a remarkable sum whether one considers that the online gambling
industry is only 21 years old. It began in 1994 when Antigua and Barbuda
offered licensure for online casinos. Microgaming produced the first gambling
software for online casinos the same year. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission
was established in 1996. The first online poker room set up shop in 1996. From
these humble beginnings, the online gambling industry grew by leaps and
bounds. In only four years, by 1998, there were already 700 real money online
gambling sites.
The online casino market has also had its well-known setbacks. The United
States were effectively removed from the online market in 2006 although there
are still some casinos that accept U.S. players in defiance of the overall legal
atmosphere. The slack has been picked up by gamblers in other countries: many
European countries plus smaller markets such as Canada and Australia. The
giant China is just getting its feet wet in online gambling as is the case with so
much of the industry and trade coming from China.
Because of the extraordinary competition from the many online casinos, plus
the availability of new technology, online casinos continuously look for new
marketing angles that have the effect of publicizing their innovative brand and
generating new revenues. One such marketing tool was the progressive jackpot,
first introduced by Microgaming in 1998. Another was simply adding more and
more games to the casino’s repertoire. To refer back to the casinos mentioned
above, allslotscasino.com has more than 40 blackjack varieties and over 50 video
poker games; alljackpotscasino.com has hundreds of games;
wildjackcasino.com
has close to 600 games and is constantly adding more; and firstwebcasino.com
features as many games as the others plus ballyhoos its mobile games as well.
Having such a large selection of games, means that the casino can “brag” about
its great number of games. We put the term “brag” in quotes because we don’t
intend it to be understood as a pejorative; rather, we see it as a necessary,
healthy, and positive aspect of marketing a casino in this highly competitive
market.
Online Casino Innovations Lead to Live Casinos
The introduction of arcade games was another innovation. These games have
superior graphics and a fun, almost childlike appeal. They also have the highest
house advantage but that doesn’t seem to deter their fans. The fun and
entertainment provided overrides the fact that the player enjoys less return.
Adapting hit movies and television series to slots is another innovation of recent
years. Players can vicariously experience the action in the movie or show.
Finally, established online casinos set up live casinos. Gambling in a live casino
that the gamer reached through an online casino was an innovation that had
immediate appeal.
Although gamblers overwhelmingly say that the general appeal of online
gambling is its convenience, there are other elements as well. Online casinos
have far less overhead than land-based casinos so they can return more of the
monies wagered to the players. Gamblers can play at home in their proverbial
underwear. The cost to the player is far, far less than the cost of travelling to a
land-based casino, paying for lodging, food, transportation, and tips, among
other costs.
Nevertheless, the anonymity of gambling online has its downside. For most
players, when they tire of that session’s gambling they simply leave the casino to
do something else. Others seek out live casinos. They relish the atmosphere in
a live online casino and they enjoy interacting with the dealers and croupiers.
The cost of providing a live casino is relatively high compared to the cost of
providing 100-200 slots games. Most live online casinos offer four games:
blackjack, baccarat, roulette, and poker. These games, collectively, provide less
than half the revenue that an online casino earns from slots alone; and slots are
not offered in the live casino because it would seem ridiculous. Gamblers who
frequent online live casinos do so knowing that the game selection is far less
than if they were to stay anonymously online.
Because the interaction with the dealers was such an important element in the
immediate success of online live casinos, the online casinos’ managers looked
for more exciting and enticing ways to attract gamblers to the online live casino.
One such marketing ploy was to introduce Playboy Bunnies as dealers.
Surprisingly, this has not been as successful as was once hoped it would be.
Therefore, we submit that another marketing scheme for online live casinos
should be sought. We don’t recommend doing away with Playboy Bunnies as
dealers; we recommend augmenting them and the regular live dealers with
something new, bold, extraordinary, and sure to get people’s attention. Our
suggestion will immediately get a huge amount of play on talk radio, social
media, around the office coffee machine or water cooler, at family gatherings,
and, really, anywhere people come together. People who have never registered
at any online casino will be drawn to deposit at our sample casinos,
allslotscasino.com; alljackpotscasino.com; firstwebcasino.com; and
wildjackcasino.com, out of curiosity if for no other reason. People who never
talk about their online gambling will happily and joyfully talk about gambling at
these live online casinos because…we suggest introducing a bevy of cats as
dealers in a ive online casino!
Justification Based on Marketing Needs of the Parent Casino
We understand the shock you must feel at such a seemingly outrageous
suggestion. Be advised that we have researched the matter thoroughly and
make this recommendation fully aware of the difficulty involved in its
implementation. Difficulty and cost aside, we are convinced that it’s an idea
that can work. It has to be kept within a reasonable scale, to be sure. But the
boost it would give to any online casino brand that has the courage to try it
would far outweigh the growing pains of having Whiskers deal the cards!
The boost this brave, even wild, experiment will bring to any casino is simply
increased traffic, increased deposits, and more business generally. As stated
above, the curiosity factor would necessarily bring many new depositors to the
parent casino. From depositing to playing is a simple step. At that point, the
casino itself must sell itself in order to retain said new depositors as loyal repeat
customers. Everything casinos do daily to enhance their brand and keep players
happy will work its magic as always. From a marketing point of view, the cat
dealers would be a major conduit of new money, new players, new chatter, and
a new presence within the industry.
Justification Based on the Trainability of Cats
It goes without saying that for this experiment to work we must think beyond
just “clearly”. It has to be a great success from the outset. This brings us to the
next major subject.
Cats have a well-deserved reputation for being aloof. Playboy Bunnies or other
attractive women and men are anything but aloof! Nevertheless, we will
demonstrate that cats can be trained to be dealers.
It was assumed that the Playboy mystique would prove marketable in live online
casinos. It is a known phenomenon that cats have a unique mystique. It is the
feline mystique that makes them so much fun and so interesting. Mystique is
vital, to be sure, but it is not enough to insure continued success in the live
casino. The success of this project will depend in some measure on how well the
casino takes advantage of peoples’ fascination with cats. The first step is to
properly train the cats to do one or two simple tasks repeatedly and to appear
lovable.
As we said earlier, one major aspect of the learning curve for cats is that the
casino must make sure that the learning sessions are very rewarding. Cats do
not think rationally; they respond to stimuli and learn by experience. The casino
must make sure that the cats’ experience is good. If it is, they will want to
repeat it. The pleasure the cat feels from receiving rewards enhances their
willingness to continue learning. Thus, learning is a function of pleasure and
pleasure is a function of reward. The actual work the cats do must seem to
them to part of the reward-pleasure sequence.
Although some people contend that cats cannot be trained, we submit that
those people are placing their subjective prejudice upon an admittedly
long-term and difficult process. A cat’s nature will make it appear unteachable.
Cats can be very stubborn. Because the big cats don’t exist in tribes in the wild,
the domesticated ones show similar individuality as well. It all comes down to
the same point: training for cats is entirely reward-oriented. If it begins to
become a reward-punishment event, the cat will simply walk away from the
whole enterprise. Cats decidedly are dispassionate with regard to how people
feel toward them. But if the trainer achieves rapport with the cats from the
outset and the cats see the training as a means to receive a desirable reward,
they can and will learn many tricks, not because it makes the trainer smile but
because the trainer rewards them for good behavior.
Humans are far more social than cats so we see the world from that perspective.
If a cat could describe to us how he sees our social gatherings, we might not feel
so good about what the cat would say. Human societies are organized in the
fashion of the particular family, clan, community, etc. Cats have no such social
organization so if a behavior begins to be unrewarding to the cat, he or she will
simply avoid it. Peer pressure is nonexistent among cats.
We recommend beginning training with kittens as young as possible. Despite all
the negative-sounding explanation given above, many people have found that
cats can become almost social if they are “socialized” as kittens. We suggest
training kittens to get along with players, to respond “happily” when a player
wins, and to perform the simple tasks he or she is required to perform, all the
while appearing what humans call “cute”.
Kittens are generally friendlier than adult cats so the casino should give their
kittens ample opportunity to play with and interact with other kittens and
especially with adult humans; and, as we repeat often to reduce other’s natural
sense that this project is kind of silly, it is of paramount importance that every
session, every interaction, every experience our kittens have is positive and
rewarding. The experience the kittens will have includes regular visits by a
veterinarian. The kittens must become acclimating to regular medical, dental,
and grooming activity.
The casino must not rush the learning curve for cats. They will learn in their own
good time. The casino must be patient and vigilant. If they do everything right,
we have full confidence that the cats will learn to do the few things they expect
them to do.
We recommend teaching the kittens and cats one learned activity at a time.
First, cats are still cats, meaning they have limited mental capacity to learn even
though we reiterate that to enter this project means expecting the kittens and
cats to learn. As the kittens master one activity the trainer will introduce
another while continuously reinforcing the already-learned.
There are many breeds of cat, most of which lack the intelligence, friendliness,
curiosity, and desire to please that would make them suitable for this project.
Nevertheless, there are also many breeds that do have the above characteristics
in differing measures, all of which may ultimately be suitable.
Before we discuss the six breeds we suggest are best suited for this bold step,
we should discuss the training of cats generally.
Cats learn to associate reward with specific behavior. Even domesticated cats
instinctively respond best to rewards that most relate to their feline nature.
Here are two terms to keep in mind at all times: instinct and nature. The entire
enterprise of training cats to be dealers, introducing them into the live casino,
and maintaining them in those positions for a long time so that the idea can be
forcefully marketed, require complete acceptance of cats’ unique nature and
instinctive behavior. When we discuss the six breeds we most highly
recommend, we will see that they differ in important ways from other cat
breeds.
Regardless of breed, training cats is not easy. The goals must be expressly
stated so the trainer knows exactly what the casino expects he or she to
accomplish. Regardless of breed, the training process is long. The aloofness we
referred to above is present in all cats. In some breeds it is a friendly aloofness
while in others it is unfriendly, as though the cat were saying “leave me alone”.
All cats respond to both positive and negative reinforcement but they lose their
aloof friendliness when they are physically attacked. Training cats is quite
different than training dogs.
Negative reinforcement means that a cat will quickly learn not to do something
that causes pain, discomfort, or the lack of pleasure. A cat may approach a hot
flame but will learn to stay away if she comes too close and is scalded. Cats love
rewards. Cats also react to likeable smells. Whereas humans would never go to
a barbecue looking for a handout, cats will come back again and again no matter
how many times you shoo them away. It is quite reasonable and plausible that a
room off the casino be provided where the cats can take their “breaks” to eat
some tasty cat morsels and play with their favorite cat toys. Portions of food
must be small so the cats associate good behavior on the casino floor with their
tasty reward.
Elements to Consider in Choosing the Right Cat Breeds
● Trainability
● Attractiveness
● Endurance
● Overall health.
The Most Trainable Cats
There are six leading cat breeds that are most amenable to human touch and
contact. We will list them in no special order of preference. Each brings special
social skills. The casino may decide to use only one breed, it may use more than
one breed, or it may use mixed breeds and not pure breeds. As far as the cats
are concerned, the casino should look for cats whose breed is known to be
friendly and physically attractive.
● The Bengal cat. This breed is highly inquisitive. It can teach itself to do
things in the house that the owner may not want it to do. This problem
won’t exist for the casino as the cats will reside in a large area with no
specific human appurtenances around. The Bengal exhibits intelligence.
It likes toys and games that seem to challenge it. The Bengal may suit the
casino’s needs for a cat that wants to learn and can relate to people.
● The Siamese cat. This breed is also very inquisitive. It can be by itself
without getting into much mischief. It also gets along well with other cats.
The Siamese likes to be the center of attention, a positive trait for these
purposes if it can be held within reasonable bounds.
● The Abyssinian cat. This breed is also very intelligent and loves to
perform. It likes to learn and to do tricks and be rewarded in kind. It is
highly sociable in a family setting, taking to strangers easily, making it one
of the more desirable breeds for the live casino.
● The Savannah cat. This is a sociable cat with apparently a sophisticated
sense of humor. It will push things off the table, turn off the alarm clock,
or turn on the faucet for an impromptu bath, especially when the owner is
asleep. This breed loves being mischievous. If it can be trained to rein in
its mischievous nature it may be very valuable to the project.
● The American Shorthair cat. This breed is the pure breed of the common
house pet which is in all likelihood a mixed breed. The American Shorthair
has many qualities the casino should look for. It has a lot of patience and
its personality is generally quite calm, almost laid back. It is also very
intelligent and loves to watch people. This latter quality may make it the
casino’s number one choice as the people in the live casino will enjoy the
attention they get from the cat and the cat will enjoy the attention it is
getting. This breed more than any other is so special that we recommend
accepting a mixed breed if the other breeds are also highly desirable in
their own right.
● The Maine Coon cat. The Maine Coon evolved as a strong working cat,
able to endure the harsh Maine winters. Despite the environmental
challengers the Maine Coon learned to survive, it also developed a
powerful intelligence and warm disposition. The Maine Coon is perfectly
suited for this project as it develops rapport with humans easily and loves
to serve them.
Costs of Buying and Maintaining Cats
Costs always are a major aspect of any new or continuing business idea. Before
we get into the details, here is a list of the many individual cost line items the
casino will face in this project:
● Purchasing cats
● Trainer
● Veterinarian
● Lawyer
● Shelter
● Shelter guard
● Shelter Fence
● Cat Managers
● Grooming
● Taxes and Licenses
● Spaying
● Uniforms
● Laundry Service
● Technology
● Electricity
● Insurance
● Transportation
● Insurance
● Food
● Water
● Litter
● Cat assistant
● Extra Players
● Toys
● Emergency Fund
● Cost of time needed to find suitable cats, a skilled trainer, the other
necessary personnel, to build the shelter, and finish all aspects of legal
processing.
● Cost of special promotions to new depositors. These promotions will be
directed at retention.
We will discuss costs before discussing trainers because the trainer is a major
part of the overall cost.
● Cats must be bought from reputable breeders. Mixed breed cats may
have hereditary problems that reduce their life span and thus their
long-term value. The cost for a pure breed will run approximately
$1000-$2000 per cat.
● Medical expenses include spaying, flea and tick control, and regular
medical and dental check-ups. Medical check-ups run about $100.
Overall veterinary care for simple maintenance will cost about $500 per
year per cat. A word about dental care is in order here. The cats will be
expected to “smile”. They will bare their teeth in a friendly way. Thus,
their teeth must be kept in good repair at all times. Cat treats should not
be on the sweet side for dental reasons.
● Grooming is an absolute necessity as the cat must look nearly perfect at
all times. Professional groomers know how to maintain the desired look
the cats need to be attractive to our customers. Given that we will
recommend having a sizable number of cats, we may hire a part-time or
even a full-time groomer. The cost will depend naturally on the groomer’s
experience but to budget $40,000 per year for grooming is not
unreasonable.
● Spaying costs about $150.
● Litter costs about $200 per year.
● The cats’ home. If the casino uses the friendliest cats, it should be able to
house them all together. The cats will need a large area to run around
and play in. It is not unrealistic to set aside two acres as the living area for
the cats. We envision a cat run, a basking area, a play area, and a sleeping
area. The large living area will be fenced and a guard will patrol the
grounds.
● Although the cats will be highly trained to perform the desired task of
dealing cards or spinning a roulette wheel, they will want cat toys to play
with during their off hours. Annual cost for toys will be several hundred
dollars.
● Cats that work and are then returned to a large spacious living area will
usually not suffer trauma or injury. However, an emergency fund of
$3000 should be kept available just in case.
● Insurance will be a relatively large cost because the casino will justifiably
want to be compensated if a cat that it trained and maintained is no
longer able to function. The casino will also need to insure all human
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personnel and the cats’ living facility. If the casino transports the cats, it
will need insurance on the vehicle.
The casino should expect to need city licenses for commercial-use cats.
We emphasize that the casino must not overfeed the cats but should also
take special care not to underfeed them either. The cats will learn to
perform and their quid pro quo will be rewards in the form of treats. The
casino needs treats that are nutritious as well as tasty to cats.
The cats will wear uniforms as will the assistant. Laundering, repair, and
replacement will also be in the budget.
We recommend housing the cats next to the studio. If that isn’t possible,
the casino will need a vehicle, a driver, and boxes or some other
non-threatening way to transport the cats.
We anticipate the need for extra players at the blackjack table or the
roulette wheel. These players will interact with the cats. A big element in
the attractiveness of cats as dealers will be their ability to interact with
players, so the casino has to provide those players. We see hiring actors
who we will train to play two roles: gamers and people who enjoy
interacting with the cats.
Cat trainers are called cat behaviorists these days. As self-aggrandizing as
the term is, it results in increased costs for training. The
trainer/behaviorist will work full-time with new cats. Each cat will
undergo training sessions every day until it is ready to make its debut as a
Live Casino dealer. Each cat or breed is different, of course, so the length
of time individual cats will need to go from purchase to performance will
vary greatly. To make the cost of the trainer more cost-effective he or she
will work with a number of cats at the same time.
Choosing the Right Trainer
Cat training at this level is highly specialized. It resembles the training cats
and other animals go through before they can be used in movies, television,
or theater. The main elements cats will need to learn in order to be dealers
are:
● Being comfortable around strangers. A Live Casino will have to have
other gamers beside the dealer and the online players. These extras
will be strangers to the cats until the cats get used to them. This
experiment in out-of-the-box thinking will succeed only if the cats are
comfortable around strangers. Cats’ natural instincts are to fight or
attack. Our preferred breeds are generally quite comfortable around
people, even strangers. This is a very big plus that must not be
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downplayed. Nevertheless, the social side of getting along with others
will minimally have to be honed and maximally learned.
Some cats have a tendency to bite. We hope that our preferred breeds
won’t tend to bite but if one of the cats does bite a human or another
cat it must be removed from the group immediately. The cost of
purchasing it and getting the initial medical treatment precludes simply
getting rid of the cat. Any cat that bites will need more extensive
training to unlearn this instinctive behavior. That is why the casino
should choose only from those breeds that have the least likelihood of
having a biting problem.
After the cats become comfortable being around strangers, they will
have to learn to actively interact with people. Interacting with the
dealer is one of the main attractions today. The pretty girl-next-door
look or the far more voluptuous Playboy look are both intensely sexy in
their own ways. The cats will not be sexy! So the cats have to be
exceedingly cute. They must learn responses to a set of human
statements. For example, the cat will have to learn to show pleasure
when a gamer has blackjack. The cat will probably never learn to
recognize blackjack by looking at the cards, but it can learn to respond
to the player’s happiness. Players can be given a set of responses they
can use. In addition, players will say hit or stick, double, split, and
insurance. The cats will have to learn to look into the camera and act
their part.
Cats will have to wear a uniform. The design of the uniform will
express the cat’s feline nature but must also be in keeping with the
casino atmosphere. Each cat will have a set of uniforms so they can
change clothed in between dealing sessions and so the uniforms can be
laundered. Cats, of course, will have to be trained to wear clothes
without trying to tear them off.
Intelligent cats may learn to recognize the voice of repeat customers.
If the cat can be trained to welcome a repeat customer in an obvious
way so the customer is made to feel special, this aspect of the cat’s
behavior can be marketed. Customers can be invited to bond with the
cats!
How to Choose a Trainer:
It is likely that the casino will have several trainers, some working full time and
some part time. No two cat trainers are the same; cat trainers do not come
from a single mold. The casino will have to evaluate the trainers regularly. This
is obvious for new trainers and trainers working with new cats but it also applies
to trainers who we’ve used for a long time and who have had much success with
cats in the past. The investment is too great to take anything for granted.
There are a few parameters that all trainers must accede to at the outset. Any
trainer who violates our recommended training code should be terminated
immediately.
● Trainers must never use physical violence against a cat. Cats respond very
negatively to physical violence. An untrained cat could become
functionally untrainable if physically abused. A trained cat may revert to
its behavior prior to its training. Thus, physical attacks are a huge red line
that if crossed must be met with immediate, harsh response on our part.
● Verbal “violence” is a far more subjective matter. If the trainer yells at the
cat, or if the trainer merely raises his or her voice, does it warrant
termination? As stated earlier, and being so important that we must be
ever vigilant in this regard, cats respond to positive reinforcement. The
breeds of cat that we would even consider for training don’t need any
negative reinforcement. They are highly sociable, love to show off, are
generally quite bright, and are curious about most things. It is for these
reasons that we have chosen these breeds to recommend for training. So,
what good can come of yelling at a cat of this type? The answer is likely
“none”. The question of verbal reprimands as a training method must
come up in the interview. If the trainer disavows strong verbal negative
reinforcement, and then uses same in training, the casino should
terminate the trainer at once. The casino’s contract with all their trainers
should include a disclaimer that following verbal abuse the trainer will be
fired and will lose compensation in accordance with terms delineated
specifically in the contract. In this way, the term “verbal abuse” can be
explicitly defined in a manner understood and agreed to by both parties.
● Most cat trainers specialize in either addressing a cat’s behavior problems
or teaching cats simple behaviors, such as to sit and stand. This project
does not require a trainer to deal with behavior problems; but it does
need a trainer who can teach a more complex set of behaviors.
● Many cat trainers receive certification through the organization that
taught them the basics of cat training. Such certification will not likely
serve this project’s purposes. The casino should be looking for trainers
who are certified by independent organizations that don’t have any
self-interest in granting certification.
Going this route does not always satisfy the needs of high-level training.
Sometimes the certification process is too subjective even as it is
ostensibly independent of self-interest. The casino should broaden its
criteria to include experience, with emphasis on proven results,
professional review of a candidate’s work, ethical approach to training,
and letters of recommendation.
● Trainers who studied animal-related fields such as animal husbandry,
veterinary medicine or animal therapy should also be given extra
consideration. People who have worked with animals all or most of their
lives can be considered more amenable to the project’s unique needs.
● The personal interviews will be extremely important in the process of
selecting a trainer. There should be a team of interviewers who will ask
questions regarding each of the criteria mentioned above. The casino
should also engage the candidates as to their training methods. Many
trainers will say that they resort to physical violence as a training method
only as a last resort. The casino should be looking for candidates who say
that they never use physical violence even as a last resort.
● We also suggest looking for candidates who regularly take advanced
training courses, attend training conferences, publish peer-reviewed
articles in animal training journals, and generally exhibit a continuing
desire to improve their methods.
In the end, the selection process will inevitably be highly subjective. The casino
will surely do its best to find the best trainer possible, yet the decision may be
between two or three candidates. The casino must then rely on other very
subjective criteria to make its final decision.
● How well does the casino get along with the candidate? This relates
directly to the casino’s sense of the trainer’s understanding of its needs
and his or her willingness to meet them.
● We suggest looking for a trainer who will also be willing to train casino
staff to handle the cats.
● The trainer must be willing to be on call regularly so they can immediately
address any problems that come up.
● We suggest looking for a trainer who can establish rapport with the cats
from the first session. We realize that this is a special skill that not all
trainers have. We therefore see as a major positive, a trainer’s ability to
befriend the cats quickly and to be befriended by them.
● We recommend the casino insist that the candidates allow the casino to
observe them in action. The casino should observe everything the trainers
do extremely closely, looking for both positive and negative moments.
● We encourage the casino to look positively on a trainer who has an animal
nutritionist on staff or on permanent consultancy. The casino should be
very leery of any trainer who claims to also be a nutritionist unless this
was their specialty in University.
● Similarly, the casino should expect the trainers to work with professional
veterinarians, not to assume that role themselves. Even someone who
studied veterinary medicine in University has forgotten much of what they
learned if they have gone into a different field, in this case cat training.
● Finally, we suggest looking askance at any candidate who guarantees
results. Cats are animals and the casino should not expect positive results
every time. The casino has to expect to train several, perhaps many, cats
over time. Guaranteeing results is simply not realistic.
● Conversely, the casino should look positively on a candidate who
guarantees the utmost professionalism at all times.
The Live Casino Setting
Even if the cats do learn to deal cards or turn the roulette wheel, they will not
learn how to handle chips or spent cards. So, there will always have to be a
person at the table to assist the cat. This person must have undergone training
himself or herself, as alluded to earlier in the discussion about the qualities a
trainer must bring to the project. If the human assistant doesn’t know how to
co-operate with the cat, the enterprise could fail. In a real sense, both the cat
and the human will be the team leader. The cat must feel that it is in charge; it
will add to the cat’s willingness to do the work. Nonetheless, the real team
leader has to be the human at the table.
Live casinos run 24/7. If the cat can work for one hour and then must rest, eat,
and play for one hour, we have one cat “working” an 8-hour day, that actually
deals card for only 4 hours. Per day we therefore need 6 cats. There must also
be replacement cats if something goes wrong. Assuming 2 replacement cats per
8 hours brings us to 6 replacement cats per day. Thus far, we have described a
need for 12 cats per day.
Cats cannot work every day. We can assume a 5-day work week for the cats.
That leaves 2 full days unaccounted for. Thus, we recommend having two sets
of cats that work on a two-week schedule where they work five days one week
and two the following week. This gives us a total of 24 cats.
Such a large number of cats leads us to a simple conclusion: the casino shouldn’t
set as its first goal to have cats as dealers for all tables in the live casino. We
recommend training the cats for either the roulette table or the blackjack table.
If the experiment is as successful as we are sure it could be, then the casino can
enlarge the number of cats and enlarge the scope of the cats’ activities in the
live casino.
The human assistant can work a full 8-hour day but also needs a break from time
to time. Thus, the project requires four assistants every day. The sixth and
seventh day present the same difficulty with regard to the assistants as they did
with regard to the cats themselves. We recommend two sets of assistants
working in two-week time periods, five days one week and two the next week.
We can find work elsewhere in the live casino for the assistants during their
short work weeks with the cats.
As stated above, we recommend hiring actors to sit at the table, playing the role
of gamblers and to help the cats entertain the live casino plyers.
The Cats’ Home
Although our cats will be highly domesticated in order to be able to perform in
the live casino, after hours they should be able to run freely. Thus, we
recommend a large living area for them. We suggest providing two acres for the
cats to run in. The effort they will need to patiently press the buttons to deal
cards or spin the roulette wheel will create pent up energy that they will have to
expend. Having a few cat runs on the grounds will serve the cats well. Although
there will be 24 cats living in the space, many of them will be in the casino at any
given time. Others will have already gotten their pent up energy out and are
resting, sleeping, or quietly playing with their toys. At any given time then,
there will be perhaps 8-10 cats running around their grounds.
The cats represent a large investment for the casino so they will need a tall
fence to keep out intruders, a long row of bushes to further hide their existence
from prying eyes, but they will also need a guard. It is conceivable that dogs can
be trained to guard the cats but at the beginning at least the guards will have to
be people.
We should not expect the guards to double as caretakers for the cats, so a
professional caretaker will be necessary for making sure that they have food,
water, treats, shelter from rain or sun, and grooming. In the warmer months,
there should be large fans to cool the cats; in the colder months they will need
warm shelter.
Transportation
If it proves impossible to house the cats next to the casino, the casino will need a
vehicle and drivers. The vehicle must be big enough to hold eight cats
comfortably. The drivers have to be trained to handle the cats gently and
efficiently.
Intended Market
The intended market can be divided in several ways. The casino is looking for
new players, gamers who will register and deposit just out of curiosity if for no
other reason. The live casino has always been marketed to men primarily, ergo
the pretty, young dealers and the sexy Playboy Bunnies. We don’t intend to
analyze that approach; it is outside the scope of this business plan. However,
the idea of using cats as dealers derives from the fact that the live casino needs
more players to become as profitable as was intended. Thus, we suggest
marketing the live casino with cats to men and women equally, as a fun way to
spend some time. Couples who have not played in the live casino up to now,
may be attracted to playing together if the dealers are cats!
Marketing cats as dealers may very well appeal to women more than to men.
For this reason, at the very least, we recommend continuing with the Playboy
Bunnies at a different game, at least during the initial stages of the changeover.
Women will be attracted to the cats in a purely feminine way. We anticipate a
large increase in traffic from women who will register and play just for the kick
of seeing a cat deal the cards or spin the roulette wheel. These women likely
have never deposited money in an online casino before. They must be courted
with female-centric promotions, perhaps to win jewelry, free make-up
consultations, clothing and accessories, or any other feminine promotions the
staff can come up with. The initial deposit period will be critical in retaining
these women.
As the live casino is not yet available on mobile, we don’t suggest marketing
specifically to the young, tech-savvy demographic, but this demographic cannot
be ignored. The marketing plan should address this demographic in other ways,
rather than as tech-happy twenty-somethings. The marketing challenge will
thus resemble, in its own way, the marketing strategy directed at women
depositing for the first time. The Millennials can be promoted with gifts of
high-tech items they may not have yet. That is, rather than ignore the
Millennials, we should include them with the older demographics who also have
mobile devices but are, perhaps, less skilled in using them.
We should also consider those societies that like cats more and those that like
cats less. Any casino considering training cats as dealers, should do market
research in its largest customer base to determine if the innovation would be
welcomed or not.
Financial Analysis