Dear Readers,

Well, who's going to Vegas in September for the G2E? I'll be there. Who's going to Vancouver for the Casino Affiliate Conference? I'll be there as well. Want to hook up? Let me know and perhaps we can grab a beer or three.

Speaking of Beer, Casinomeister's Bierfest is going strong and only for a couple of more days. Just sign up at the participating casino (Spin Palace) play the slots and you'll be eligible to win 10 liters of locally brewed BEER or $200, your choice. Check it out here...

Thirstily yours,

Bryan

Intercasino has been listed at Casinomeister for FOUR YEARS! Here's what's up in August!

$100 BONUS IN AUGUST- InterCasino has raised their bonus again!!!! InterCasino's August bonus payments are 100% match on the player's first deposit in August (max bonus $100). Every player gets a 100% bonus on their first deposit of the month, up to a massive $100!

Where's Ryan? Giving away cash in InterCasino every day in August! The casino manager Ryan Harley will be appearing in the casino every single day in August, giving away random free cash to the players he spots. Also throughout August we will be selecting a winner at random each day who will have their prize doubled!

Jackpot payouts - Rags to Riches pays out over $200,000 again! Rags to Riches, InterCasino's record breaking Progressive Slot machine has paid out again! This time 'mikh102' scooped an impressive $244,073.88. "I didn't realise I had won at first!" said an excited 'mikh102', as he joined the ever growing group of people who have won more than $100,000 on progressive jackpots at InterCasino. InterCasino has paid out more in progressive payments than any other internet casino in the world. This year alone they have paid out over $3 million!!

And don't forget, enter for free every day for the chance to win a $50 account with a GoneGambling sponsoring casino here! Winners will be drawn every day, so lodge your entry now. There's no questions to answer and no personal details are required. Just type in your email address and click on the competition entry button and you're in the draw. Couldn't you use a $50 Casino Account?

by Spearmaster

Gambling is, by its very nature, noisy. Sounds of slot machines ringing, people yelling and screaming, chips clacking against each other... let's face it - without sounds, a casino wouldn't be a very interesting place to be. Even gambling online isn't the same with the sound turned off.

Ask a casino staff member a question, and you get an answer, or you are directed to the person who can answer your question. Make a request and it is generally met.

So why is it that, when we ask a question by email, we are met with SILENCE?

Dead silence. You could hear a pin drop at least figuratively speaking. 4 out of 5 casinos will not give you an answer within a day. Some don't even answer at all, or even acknowledge the request - as if you didn't exist.

This is a malady in the Got2bet industry that need to be fixed, and NOW. What is really silly about this situation is that many of the requests precede a gambler's intent to deposit money into a casino. What store do you know of that essentially turns away business by its silence?

Not only operators are afflicted by this malady, but manufacturers as well. I can recall many an instance where a casino software manufacturer, when asked a question, did not respond at all - even if it meant a possible business lead, or a request for information about some new game that I was interested in helping to promote.

Well guess what?

Competition is already tightening. The US market is essentially saturated, and growth has slowed dramatically for casinos who have been around for some time. And increasing concerns about problems with some casinos have caused a domino effect, affecting casino operators with the same software, as well as casusing some concern about the entire industry in general.

I, for one, cannot believe that any casino is so flooded with support requests that they require 24 hours or more to answer them. Just one or two people added to their staff for the sole purpose of handling support requests would do just fine - at low cost when compared to the increase in income an efficient response would generate.

Casino manufacturers, too, cannot be flooded with requests. It just can't be so.

It takes just a couple of minutes of your time to answer an email. And if you are away on a trip, it's as easy as setting your .vacation file on your mailserver, or redirecting to an autoresponder, which automatically replies with a note to the customer that you are not presently available, or will handle their request shortly after your return.

I make it a point to answer every email as it comes in, generally responding within minutes unless I am not at my computer - and even then an answer is always to be had within 12 hours.

Gamblers asking for my help are astounded at the speed of a reply - clearly showing how bad the response times are everywhere else.

Get with it, operators and manufacturers. The silence is deafening. You bitch and moan about players who complain, and yet you cannot handle simple requests efficiently? Do you think this is justified?

Maybe there is something to the refrain from the Simon and Garfunkel song, The Sound of Silence - "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk to you again..." - this is what you will be facing when some other company meets the needs of the consumers.

Thousands - perhaps millions - of dollars thrown away for want of two minutes of your time.

Think about it.