Fly Around the World Reviewing Casinos

Have you ever wondered what it's like to fly around the world with nothing more than a backpack and some jokers?

That's what casino industry veteran Christof creates in his book Fly Around the World Reviewing Casinos. In a way, we can be of service to our readers by giving them insight into this intriguing profession.

Caught up in an era of cutthroat competition, casinos everywhere are fighting a tough battle for customer loyalty. As such, they often turn to marketing experts who specialize in creating unique tours that highlight the most attractive aspects of their destinations.

Tours can range from normal relaxation cruises on which guests enjoy the scenery and take in the local culture at leisure, to more exotic adventure trips around the world that combine travel, gambling, and leisure activities. The choice depends largely on the budget of the tour operator.

Christof took a slightly different approach by focusing on travel alone. He would soon discover that travel was just a means to an end: to gain unique insights into his fellow casino professionals who work round-the-clock in all corners of the globe. His goal was not only to learn about foreign cultures but most importantly: To understand the minds of players who continuously flocked to hotels, casinos and resorts where they could gamble for fun and profit.

Christof found that gambling business has a lot in common with the business world in general. As he pointed out, "They are both highly competitive businesses that exist on the edge of a thin line between profitability and bankruptcy." If he stuck to the old school method of simply observing people and interviewing them, which is generally used in management schools, he had only marginal results. So instead of merely watching people at work for weeks on end, Christof decided to gamble.

Christof states that a typical day for him would start at 6:00 a.m., when there would usually be 20-30 players lined up outside his room waving their hands saying "quick fix". By 7:00 a.m., Christof would be at the airport where he would board his flight to his next destination.

Christof's flight schedule is a lengthy one. But you can easily imagine the kind of bizarre situations and experiences that he has to endure at each stop along the way, as he is regularly traveling across several time zones in just one day. When asked about this, he replied: "It's not like I'm going for pleasure, I'm doing this job ... Everything that happens on my trips is business."

In recent years Christof has visited such exotic places as Israel, India (with permission from the government), South Korea, Macau and Sri Lanka where gambling is legal. Throughout these trips, Christof would absolutely abstain from gambling until the very last day of his trip where he would gamble once more.

When asked why he does not gamble during the course of his trips, Christof replies: "What do you think, that I just wanted to see how casinos worked? Of course I did, but it was not my main job. My job was to observe and study the customers who were gambling."

In Fly Around the World Reviewing Casinos, Christof describes the people who he has met along the way as well as their unique habits, cultures and quirks. There are many lessons to be learned from players in different parts of the world. When asked what he found most surprising about players, Christof replied: "Each country or region has a specific way of gambling. For example in Macau, they don't have the concept of playing with money. Everything is done with credits so they can gamble continuously without worrying about losing their money. It's very different from other places in the world if you think about it."

Another thing that surprised Christof was that people would constantly gamble with more than just their one set of clothes; sometimes even two or three. He explains: "I've seen some people who were filthy rich and when they got up to leave I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw them putting back on the same clothes they had worn throughout their entire stay. I never knew such a thing existed."

Christof also found that many players choose to gamble with customized chips and dice that they themselves design. He states "you can find dice where the numbers are either all black or all red; I have even seen the numbers printed in gold. Players will put on different colors of clothing so they can gamble with customized chips and dice."

After completing his research on player habits and currencies, Christof set out to make specific notes for each country he visited. Most of these notes would be applied to his following visits to other destinations where he would repeat the process in order to gain more insights from different people who gambled in those countries.

Christof is also inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of today's players. He states that the reason why some players become extremely wealthy is because they understand that "the most important thing for them is not winning at all costs but to actually making a significant profit."

After six years of research and gambling, Christof has submitted his first book entitled Fly Around the World Reviewing Casinos which he released on April 5th, 2009. As with his previous experiences, Christof will travel around the world for a period of eight months to gather information on players and their habits in each of the countries that he visits.

Christof believes that travel is much more than a break for travelers. He states: "Travelers are not there to relax, they want to be successful and attain goals in their lives. This is what causes them to behave like gambling addicts. Every single person is an entrepreneur who is constantly traveling around the world in search of success."

Christof has already made the trip around the world but his next adventure will take him all across America where he plans to study the gambling habits of Americans. Christof states: "There are two main differences between people in Europe and America compared to people from other areas of the world. The first is that Americans don't gamble as much but they also gamble with cards, which means that they won't be as influenced by the possibility of winning or losing. The second big difference is that Americans love to gamble on the computer. In America you can find card games created specifically for computer users."

Christof believes that players in America are more advanced than players from other countries and states: "The gambling habits of Europeans and Asians stem from their own cultures but those of some Americans stem directly from their background."

"The difference between people in Europe and America is enormous," Christof said. "To some extent they have separate economies, separate cultures and even separate religions.

Conclusion

Christof's story is a fascinating one. He started his gambling career as an illegal blackjack player back in Germany and was influenced by the casinos of Las Vegas and the rest of the United States. Christof is from a military background and because of this, he can easily travel all around the world. Although he has never been to Las Vegas, Christof has visited many casinos throughout Europe and Asia. He was also able to meet people who gambled throughout North America on two occasions but his real inspiration came from meeting people in Asia where he was able to meet new people who were passionate about gambling related activities.

Christof's story reveals that there are many aspects which influence the behavior of players.