Page 20 - Mississippi/Louisiana Gaming News - Winter, 2022

Contributions & Donations
Small change really adds up to big donations
By Lori Beth Susman
MISSISSIPPI — TITOs, cash-out vouchers, slot vouchers... whatever
your name for them, they are the pieces of paper the slot machine ejects after you hit the cash out button. Sometimes they might show hundreds of dollars won; other times, a few cents, not even enough for another spin.
When they are for a dollar
or more, the general thing
to do is take them to a
cash machine and retrieve
your winnings.
slot vouchers left lying around, said Amy Hudson, director of marketing at WaterView. A donation collection box was put up and now players can leave their uncashed tickets in the box.
“Coin tickets individually are under a dollar each,” Hudson said, but when added together each month, the amount collected to be donated is usually at
decorated bra by placing money and vouchers in the wells. “We decided to make this an ongoing event due to it being so well received. This allows our guests to give their vouchers toward multiple charities throughout the year,” Young said.
An internal committee at the property selects the charities, and donations are made on a regular basis. “Our goal is
to distribute all donations as quickly as possible,” Young added.
In a similar program, at least one Gulf Coast area casino lets guests select which charity they want their donation to help. At Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville, when a guest cashes in their ticket at a kiosk, they are able to collect their dollar amount and then donate their change to charity — picking the charity from a set list of options found on the kiosk.
“Guests appreciate all the ways that Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort gives back to the local community,” said Vicki Haskins, director of promotions, events and entertainment. “This is an additional level in that giving. Scarlet Pearl chooses agencies locally, keeping all funds within our community.”
Currently, guests can select from four charities, including the Human Society of South Mississippi and the Mississippi Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities.
Haskins added this service helps reduce the number of small change tickets found on the casino floor, while helping the local community.
But, what do you do if
the voucher is for a small
amount, say, less than a
dollar, a handful of coins?
Many casinos now offer
a benevolent solution,
accepting the tickets and
using the funds to donate
to charity. Some properties
have been doing this for
a while now, such as
Riverwalk Casino Hotel and
Boomtown Casino Biloxi,
but for others, it has been
more recently. WaterView
Casino Hotel started this past June after putting new cash kiosks on the casino floor.
These kiosks were set to be coinless, meaning guests could get the cash amount in bills, but to get the change, they would have to visit the cashier. Not everyone wanted to do that, and the casino started seeing small-amount
least $1,500. “Our last (donation) was nearly $2,500.”
Hudson added the property’s general manager, Penny Bankston, selects charities that benefit vulnerable people and animals in the Vicksburg and Jackson area.
Horseshoe Tunica has
a number of wishing
wells placed around the property. Guests and team members put gaming vouchers and even loose change in the wells for
the designated charities. Tammy Young, director of human resources at the property, said the vouchers
range from five-cents up to $5 or more. “Sometimes we may get a surprise big amount, but mostly it’s small amounts that go toward a good cause.”
Horseshoe started collecting the cash-out vouchers during their annual Battle of the Bras competition, which is held annually in October. During this event, guests can vote on their favorite
Jackie Banks, swing shift supervisor, shows off the donation box at WaterView Casino Hotel.
School Supply Drive
Beau Rivage team members participated in a school supply drive to help local schools and organizations ahead of the school year. Employees collected 25 total boxes of supplies.
Food Bank Volunteering
Horseshoe Tunica HEROs regularly help support hundreds of families in the Tunica area by volunteering at the Mid-South Food Bank.
20 MISSISSIPPI GAMING NEWS WINTER 2022