UNDERSTANDING THE SILVER-HAIRED PLAYERS

The formal term for gambling in the business industry is gaming. Gaming is a very unique form of business. Its income relies mainly on chance. The study tested the hypothesis that silver haired players of casinos are influence by its profile, facility description, facility description, facility features, and facility services contributes to the preferred games of Silver-Haired Players of Casino Filipino. This research was conducted at the different Casino Filipino branches and satellites nationwide. The researcher collected data preferences from players ages 50 and above. Purposive random sampling procedure was used in choosing the respondents. The researcher collected data from 340 respondents. Questionnaire was the data collection technique. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the sample of the study. Given the dichotomous state of the dependent variable and multiple independent variables in this study, the researcher statistically treat the data using the Binary Logistic Regression analysis. The findings shows that the minimum age of senior citizen respondents is 50, the maximum is 82 and the mean age is 60.64 with a standard deviation of 8.080. Majority of the respondents were male. Most SilverHaired Players (SHP) financial source comes from pension and support from family members. Very few SHP responded that they visit casinos on a monthly basis because most of them visit casinos almost every day. Lastly, although having a very small difference, majority of the SHP respondents mostly played table games. The descriptive findings show the facility description preference of Silver-Haired Players. They often prefer casinos that are near the main road and have access to all types of transportation. With regard to casino size, this suggests that SHP sometimes prefer all available sizes of casino facilities which also implies that casino size does not really matter to the respondents. Also, SHP often prefers casinos that are connected to restaurants, hotels and shopping centers. In terms of the facility features, Silver-Haired Players often preferred mild air temperature level, soft background music and well lighted casino premises. Also, the descriptive findings suggests that SHP sometimes preferred all types of scents available in casinos with the exception of the scent of heavy floral perfume which they seldom preferred. Moreover, the respondents often preferred all types of food that are available in casinos such as fruits, vegetables, tea, seafood dishes, steaks, burgers, oriental cuisine, native Filipino delicacies. 1 This is the master’s thesis of Mr. Fortuna under the Master in Management (MM) program of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). Mr. Fortuna is currently connected with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). ICMSIT 2018: 5th International Conference on Management Science, Innovation, and Technology 2018 Faculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (http://www.icmsit.ssru.ac.th) 7 In terms of facility services under the variable food services, it shows that senior citizens often preferred all types of food services preparations namely buffet service, in-seat dining, pica-pica, fine dining and casual dining. They only preferred fast foods and food carts sometimes. With regard to transportation services, SilverHaired Players often preferred all types of transportation services that a casino would. As for the behavior of the front-liners, Most of the SHP mostly preferred casino attendants who are friendly. Lastly, the top entertainment services that appeal a lot to SHP are celebrity shows namely Original Pinoy Music (OPM), Comedic shows and Variety shows. In addition, SHP often preferred acoustic duo/trio nightly performers. The logistic regression computation provides us a proof of causality among the variables considered in this study. The variables that entered in the equation are Sex (beta = 1.212, sig. = .000) in reference to female respondents and Food Services (beta = -.281, sig. = .009) which denotes that both are strong predictors of the dependent variable, types of games mostly played by Silver-Haired Players of Casino Filipino. The variable Sex suggests that female SHP respondents prefer to play slot machines while male prefers table games. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Gambling researchers tend to be very much focused on the here-and-now. It often seems that the entire gambling world began in our lifetime, or certainly within the time frame between the first third of the 20 century and the present. This sense of currency is reinforced by the new casino centers and by new technologies that characterize so much of this quarter trillion dollar a year global industry. But the reality, as the clichés often state, is that gambling has been around as long as humankind. According to Schwartz (2007), gambling is the second oldest profession. Dice were found in the tombs of the ancients. Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ garments at the foot of the cross. Gambling, it seems, has had a role in virtually every civilization, from the earliest of times. It is sometimes important to be reminded of this reality. In a country highly populated with Christians, the term gambling implicates an amoral definition. A study by Vacek (2011) states that, the details of the debate about the costs and benefits of gambling are complicated, but Christians need not remain immobilized in what has become a complex tug of war between supporters and opponents. Concerned Christians, informed by the research reported in books, can find faithful and productive ways to respond to the growth of the gambling industry and the lives it affects. Congregations might decide to attend to the misery created for families by those addicted to gambling. Looking to the political realm, Christians might discover questions to ask of existing and proposed legislation. Reflection might also prompt Christians to consider curtailing their own gaming. ICMSIT 2018: 5th International Conference on Management Science, Innovation, and Technology 2018 Faculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (http://www.icmsit.ssru.ac.th) 8 In a country highly populated with Christians, the term gambling implicates an amoral definition. A study by Vacek (2011) states that, the details of the debate about the costs and benefits of gambling are complicated, but Christians need not remain immobilized in what has become a complex tug of war between supporters and opponents. Concerned Christians, informed by the research reported in books, can find faithful and productive ways to respond to the growth of the gambling industry and the lives it affects. Congregations might decide to attend to the misery created for families by those addicted to gambling. Looking to the political realm, Christians might discover questions to ask of existing and proposed legislation. Reflection might also prompt Christians to consider curtailing their own gaming. Casinos count on the volume of Bets & Deals. Bets and Deals correlate to income and casino winnings. The volume of bets and deals is affected by the players’ period of stay in the casino and the number of times they return to play. And because the elderlies have more spare time than other age segmentation, they are a good target market for casinos. This study identifies the determinants as to why senior citizens chose to spend their gaming moments in state-owned casinos. Background of the Study In the early years of Casino Filipino (CF), its mandate and goals are fully achieved because the government controls casino operations in the Philippines. The business-oriented Casino Filipino is steadily prospering in the absence of true competitors. All of its operation and income is a monopoly controlled by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and is, since then, became a strong arm of the Philippine government in its nation building goals. But with the rise of the Integrated Resorts (IR) in the country, this realization is slowly fading. The Integrated Resorts are privately owned corporations with investors from United States, Australia, Japan and China. These pure-business institutions are well renowned in the international gaming industry and have all the strength and power to bring down any small and medium gaming entrepreneurs in the country. The management principle they adapt is to capture all sorts of market. More so, the gambling market. From 1994 to 2008, Casino Filipino is at its peak of its income generating years and was giving gaming a positive image in the country. Apart from gaming, it offered different kinds of amusement like musicals, concerts, celebrity shows and other entertainment and marketing tools not only for gaming enthusiasts but for the entertainment hungry audiences as well. There was no stopping Casino Filipino from producing more income to finance public infrastructures and other government projects since competition is non-existent. But in 2009, Resorts World Manila, the first of the integrated resorts that came with big signature amenities like hotels, bars, malls and shops, restaurants, cinemas and a grand theater to cater to musicals, pageants, TV shows, and sporting events, existed. It immediately lured the market of Casino Filipino in Luzon ICMSIT 2018: 5th International Conference on Management Science, Innovation, and Technology 2018 Faculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (http://www.icmsit.ssru.ac.th) 9 branches. There is no way Casino Filipino can withstand the strong punch of a largely-funded and strategyloaded private casinos. The blow did not stop. There came the others, the likes of Solaire, City of Dreams, Okada and other private casinos in Angeles, Pampanga and other parts of Visayas. As the years went by, citizens of the Philippines and foreigners residing in the country got more aware of the western type of amusement brought by the Integrated Resorts. Going to their facili