Troyvdh you can I take it would rather invest in Ryman Health, having said that maybe the last couple of lines in your statement could apply to RYM also.
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...if you are being serious...me thinks we are on different planets...
PS...have you looked through SKC...at their clientale...
..pps...have you chatted to folk who live in Ryman establishments....if so fair call...otherwise.,..I remain curious...cheers
I made a living and raised a family out of crime. As a probation officer I had to go into a lot of places worse than the Casino (the only one of those I visited was in Monte Carlo). Sometimes as I made my way about one or the other of HM's hotels I would be addressed through the bars by a guest who would tell me my pedigree in the most colourful terms. If I had time I would ask the gentleman the simple question "how much an hour are they paying you to be here ? - I'm getting $xxx an hour". Believe me - there are no poor people in NZ - just those who are told they are poor and that its your fault. The tiny proportion who suffer genuine misfortune are catered for by a whole fleet of ambulances at the bottom of the hill. The clients of the Casino are mostly fools who would find another pit anyway and those who can afford this kind of thrill and would probably set up cockfighting or something similar if the Casino wasn't there. So ends my rant for the day. disc. hold a couple of thousand SKC and would buy more if I wasn't so poor.
Serious enough to react to your comments, to help put your curiosity at ease, yes I have been to Auckland Sky City, however I am not qualified to make any judgment on the clientele of Auckland casino and nor do I intend to. Secondly I have not chatted to any residents of a Ryman Rest home. But…… my mum was in a rest home run by a religious group, and her
impression was similar to many others that were in the same situation as her, not just her rest home she was in but other homes, had the same view as to your closing sentence “to extra the most dosh out of every person entering the premises”.
I guess that statement would apply to any business, including the IRD.
Disclosure hold RYM and SKC
There is a saying "if you give people what they want,you will get what you want." RYM give people security and safety in their retirement,so RYM may earn a profit.SKC give people entertaiment,excitement and a chance to gamble,so SKC may earn a profit.I stayed away from SKC as an investment for a number of years because I did not want to profit from gambling,until I went to an evening to hear Mark Waller of EBO speak.Also speaking was the CFO of SKC.Alistar .....?..,what a great speaker.He spoke clearly where SKC was,what was happening in the market,and spoke of their growth plans.I was so impressed I forgot my morals and brought the shares.!!!!
I have been a Sky City investor for over a decade. I have always considered gambling as an entertainment and not inherently evil. That is not to deny that there are people with a gambling addiction. A gambling addiction is certainly a problem. Not only to the gambler as often the innocent extended family can be the worst affected. But should you blame Sky City for this?
From p11 of the FY2009 annual report:
“The New Zealand Ministry of Health’s own statistics demonstrate that casinos are not the problem (in causing harm). Yet we are more tightly regulated than gaming machines in clubs and pubs, Lotto and on line gaming operations – a unique situation.”
And page 9
“On 1 July 2009, player information displays (PIDs) became mandatory on gaming machines in New Zealand. Sky City invested over $NZ20m to comply with this regulation. While no discernable machine revenue reduction has been noted to date that can be directly attributed to these new displays, their introduction is certainly not helpful in our endeavour to grow our gaming machine business and compete with our peers (the pubs)”
“According to Gambling Compliance, a UK gaming monitoring company, regulations governing casinos in New Zealand are some of the most stringent in the world – more so than in Australia, the US, Canada and South Africa.”
From AR2007 p49
“At a recent hearing of the New Zealand Gambling Commission it was noted that the Auckland Host Responsibility Programme is “impressive” and by national and international comparison “the best they’ve seen.”
“The harm Minimization Framework draws on the latest research and international public health models. “ “The emphasis is on both preventing harm from occurring in the first place so that customers are able to gamble responsibly, and minimizing harm when it is occurring through early identification and effective host responsibility interactions.”
From AR2007 p50
“This could be something quite informal such as speaking with the customer on a one to one basis – often this is all that is required and customers appreciate the inquiry – to an escalated response when the concern is more serious. This could lead to the customer acknowledging there is a problem and agreeing to be excluded for a period of up to two years.”
Back to p11 in AR2009
“What seems to have been forgotten is that our business is built on enjoyment and fun, not personal and financial stress. It actually makes no sense for us, commercially or morally, to pursue any other than a highly responsible approach.”
To me if we are going to have gambling in NZ, and I don’t see it being outlawed, I think you should have it:
1/ Largely contained and
2/ Administered by an outfit that is big enough to have a host responsibility program over and above what is required by law.
NZ casinos are known destinations. I would much rather see gamblers in professionally run casinos rather than hiding in pubs, TABs and Lotto outlets. I believe that as long as gambling is legal in this country and long may it be so, (I do believe that if gambling was outlawed illegal unregulated underground gambling syndicates would be far worse), Sky City Entertainment is a very beneficial organization to have operating in New Zealand. I feel no moral disquiet in being an investor in it.
SNOOPY
...will post when finish night shift...
If we are going to get into the pros and cons (or morals) of a company, should we invest in power companies that charge a rate that makes the elderly think they need to face a winter without a heater, or an oil company that drills offshore with the associated risks, or a food company whose increasing profit for shareholders is increasing the price of bread?
Anyone who invests in any company is in it for a return. Any return could be lowered for the benefit of the consumer-at the cost to the investor.
I have been in SKC since it was floated to the public. I am not a gambler. I go to Sky City once or twice a year to the theatre for a show. I've had a couple of meals there. Gambling I have spent maybe $10 total. I see a lot of people there having a good night out. The biggest rip-off there is the parking fee, but guess what? I have the option of using another parking building just down the road for a 1/4 of the price-just as people have the option of where they spend their entertainment $.
I have a relation that goes to Sky City everytime she comes to Auckland to play the pokies-loses more than she wins, but enjoys herself. Each to their own.
I haven't seen kids in cars in the carpark. I haven't seen people offering their "services" so they can put a bit more in a machine.
If casinos were shut down tomorrow so be it, but if I can get a return from sensible people having a good night out, then I can sleep okay. There are plenty of systems/support set in place for people that need help. If all past-times that had an element of risk to a section of society's well-being were banned, people would find a way around it. That's human nature. I still occasionally question my investment with SKC, but not for long. I mean, I also have CEN and with the cost of power forever going up and stories of the elderly freezing to save money, I feel worse about owning those.
Grimy, do what I did. Drop CEN and Buy into SKC. Then you can watch your money grow instead if diminishing -it's much more fun. It's not all I own.
Quite a while since anything was posted on SKC. When the interim result is released on 15 February it will be interesting to see what impact the increasing prevalence of online gambling is having on the company. Or are all those ifones etc only used for calling and texting?
;)