Reznet

Another Reason to Be Nice to the Elderly

By Anna Old Elk

SLOAN, Iowa-Walking into the WinnaVegas Casino was like walking into a retirement home: Elderly people played most of the machines, with their canes and walkers propped against the stools they sat on.

"As you walk through the casino and generally eyeball, you'll see that a lot of our clientele are older," said DiAnn Oban, marketing mirector of WinnaVegas.

"The Friendly Casino," as it bills itself, is owned and operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Oban is the only enrolled Winnebago in a management position at the casino.

"About 65 to 70 percent of our clientele are over 70 years old," Oban told visiting American Indian Journalism Institute students Thursday.

"We have buses that come to the casino from local areas, such as Omaha (Neb.), Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Sioux City (Iowa)," she said.

Many casino regulars come from the Midwest region including the states of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, and the central Siouxland region, she said. The casino is the primary employer of small-town residents in the surrounding area, she said.

Pacing the aisles of money machines, an elderly woman sat alone at the end of her row wearing a green latex glove, popping quarters into the slots. Her gloved hand pulled the lever. For about 10 minutes, she seemingly never broke concentration from the machine-and did not win.

On average, customers spend between $180 to $200 per visit, said Oban.

"It's based on play," she said referring to how much an average customer leaves behind. "It obviously trickles down to how long they visit and how often they come."

Oban is among the 22 percent of casino employees who are Winnebago tribal members; 17 percent of the workforce are members of other Indian tribes, and 61 percent are non-Indians, according to Jim Foster, general manager of Winnavegas.

Anna Old Elk (Crow) attends The Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a student at Montgomery College in Rockville, Md.