🎤 Interview with Casino Host Steve Cyr

I stumbled upon a nine-month casino hosting internship while at college

I grew up in Kansas and lived at my dad’s motel. We owned a Howard Johnson motel. The original goal was that I was supposed to get a hotel degree and then go back and run the motel. Thank god that didn’t happen!

In my senior year of college, the only A I got was for an internship, which I did for a year at the Barbary Coast. Now it’s called the Cromwell. During that time I learned that I hated the front desk and I screwed up the night audit. I didn’t like the housekeeping and the restaurant part was okay. Then they put me in the crap pit and it was fun. People were drinking and smoking and I loved the casino action.

I was on blackjack, then the sportsbook, and I’d get tips and I’d write on the board. I thought, what a cool job! I get paid to watch sports and people are gambling on it. The last session the owner said firstly, I’m giving you an A. He knew I’d never got an A in a classroom before in college. He took me up to surveillance.

From Kansas motels to the casino catwalks — the early journey of a future casino host unfolds across two contrasting worlds.

Back then we were lying on the catwalks above the casino action. I remember this guy we were watching. We had TV monitors and microphones hanging down, and we had a little squawk box. We were the eye in the sky. I can see the time on your watch. I need to know if that’s a $1 bill, a $10 bill or $100 for protection.

This guy bought in for $4k and in half an hour he was up $80k. That was like millions of dollars for me back then. I couldn’t believe this guy was up $80k shooting craps. This guy comes up in the casino wearing a suit and I could hear him saying ‘wait until you see our rooms, I’m going to take you to Michael’s restaurant’. And in my internship I’d never met this guy, and I go, who’s that?

My colleague says it’s Kevin. I go, what's his job title? He says casino host. He made a call to Caesars Palace. So next thing I remember making a call to my mum like it was yesterday. I said I had accepted the Marriott internship in Omaha for nine months. I’d already given my notice.

I was going to try this casino hosting thing. 

Michael Jordan would gamble $300,000 - I also played one-on-one basketball against him

One of my customers was really good friends with Larry Miller, who was president of Nike and Michael Jordan’s boss back in the 90s and it was pretty easy. I cold called people all the time. Larry set me up so I could call him.

He came to town and I became his host, then I got to play him one-on-one in basketball. I had to work my way into his fantasy camp. He had to be over 35 and I’d just turned 35. That was really my only famous, famous person other than Larry Flynt.

Michael would bring $200k to $300k. He’s a gambler. It’s a miscellaneous number to him. A third of my customers are so wealthy, like Michael Jordan or Larry Flynt when he was alive, that if they lose $100,000 or a million, it’s not going to change their life.

The other third of my customers are young, and as their age and wealth increases, so does their game. Right now I have one $10 million player, and I have some eight or nine million dollar players.

I’m the same age as my $10 million dollar player. We’re the same age, 61. When I met him he was 22 and he used to bring about $20k or $30k to gamble with. His average bet now is about $80k every roll of the dice.

From court-side to casino-side — hosting legends like Jordan and managing high-stakes players became just another day at the office

I negotiated 30 deal points for Michael Jordan - and a villa fit for 140 friends

Back then I was at the Hilton and one thing we had were sky villas. The smallest sky villa was 12,000 square feet, the biggest was 15,000 square feet. It had a private elevator, you had your own butler. You went from one to 31 like that. You had a backyard on the 31st floor that has a swimming pool bigger than my pool here. It’s crazy. So I got Michael over here because of the room. A guy like that wants to be private, to be able to have 40 friends over. You could have 140 friends over in that villa.

If you’re Michael and you’re going to risk millions of dollars gambling, you need a good casino host. I negotiated 30 deal points. It’s not like the movies where somebody walks in and bets a million dollars, that doesn’t happen. But can he split aces four times? Can he double down on any two cards if he loses a million dollars? Does he want to pay a million or $850,000? You’re a businessman, right? But you need a guy like me to negotiate all that.

If he plays wheel roulette is it single zero, or double zero? How much can he bet on the outside? How much can he bet on a split? How much can he bet on a section? All those things are negotiated up front.

Am I going to pick him up on a private plane or does he fly commercial? If he flies commercial, am I paying for his first class airline tickets? This was in 1995, 1996.

For every $100,000 that goes in that box, we win or hold 14% or $14,000. It’s maths. For every 10 people who walk into a casino, three or four are walking out a winner. Five, six or seven are walking out a loser. There are days we don’t want a dollar, but by the end of the year we’re going to hold 14%, in roulette about 20%.

Michael Jordan was nice, humble and easy - but being his casino host was a pain

Jordan is not in my top 100 players. He was very nice, a great guy, humble and easy. Nice to people. But you can’t imagine it! Every five feet that he walks, somebody wants an autograph or a picture. They’re a pain.

Let the guy gamble and have a little fun, leave him alone. So that was what was nice about the sky villa, there was a back entrance. You could go up and down, gamble.

Nobody really knew he was there unless he went out for dinner.

Jordan once lost $400,000… but now he is a billionaire

I’d say the most he ever lost with me was about $350k to $400k. But he was happy to win $40k to $50k, but then he’d lose $300k. This was 1995 and that was a lot! But it’s a miscellaneous number to him, he’s a billionaire now.

He would come probably three or four times a year. This went on for about four or five years. I still have his number now. He’s cool with me and I’m cool with him, but he doesn’t come to Vegas as much as he used to. He slowed down. Michael’s great, he would come in and play. We would have some wine with dinner, but we weren't wild. Wild was more Larry Flynt, who was my client. Although he was a disciplined player.

I’m like a travel agent. I work for casinos, as long as you don’t go inactive, I get paid. You go for New Year’s, Super Bowl or 4th of July. Now most of my players play on credit.

One of my players bets $183,000 on every roll of the dice

My biggest player’s average bet on the dice is $183,000 every roll. He’ll play for 19 hours. In my business model it’s the 80/20 rule, 80% revenue from 20% of my players. But then I have some guys who bring $5k, but they bet 1% of that, so $50 a hand.

From the racetrack to the roulette wheel — curating unforgettable experiences is just another part of the job for this veteran casino host

I have just as much fun with those guys. I’m trying to develop players too. Just like my biggest player. Now his age and wealth has increased, his game has increased. At my level I try to put together fun things. We’re right next to Formula One at Ellis Island, so I took 30 guys go-karting there last week in the F1 go-karts. It was really fun.

I had one player in the early 2000s. This was my deal with him, as long as you bet a million dollars one month, the next month I’ll take you on any trip to do anything you want to do. We went to Super Bowls together, we went white water rafting in Costa Rica. I thought I was going to die.

One guy wanted to go parasailing in Jamaica. One wanted to go swimming with dolphins in Hawaii. One guy wanted to go on a private yacht and go to all the different beaches in Greece, so we flew to Mykonos together. I don’t pay for this, the casino does.

I’ve got the greatest job in the world. I’ve been paid to go to five Super Bowls, Kentucky Derby and the NBA Championships.

I had another player whose son wanted to play tennis. So I got him a private lesson with Andre Agassi. So I can create an experience for you.

I’d rather do business with a construction worker than a celebrity

My star is the player. I’d rather the construction worker with $5k than the star. A star wants me to comp him and get everything because he’s a star. I need action, I want your action. I want the construction worker and I make him feel great.

In Vegas the gambler is the star. Yes you need celebrities. But I have slot players who bring $1,000 a trip.

I have seen a client lose $7 million in one weekend

I’ve seen a client lose $7 million in one weekend. He wasn’t happy and he slowed down a lot after that. He was a $2 million to $3 million player but he won $4 million at another casino. So he’d lost that cheque from the casino plus his existing line.

I don’t want to burn anyone out. If I go out with my daughter and gamble I don’t mind losing $500, we have fun and we might win. But if I ever go out and lose $10k to $20k, I’d be like no.

So I’m very disciplined. A lot of people try to take $100 and win $1,000. My advice is to take $1,000 and win a couple hundred. Most of my players need to break even until Sunday and then win a little right before the limo takes them back to the airport. They want to play. They want action.

Players reach out because they feel they are being ripped off

I’ve been a host for 38 years. So in the first 20 to 25 years, I reached out to them. I got inactive lists. I don’t get paid unless you’re new. So I ask for lists of people who haven’t been in 11 months, an average bet of at least $100.

At this point and at this level of my career, because of the book and because I’ve been on Piers Morgan and ABC, Discovery Channel and so on, players usually reach out to me through my website because maybe they feel like they’re getting ripped off.

I’m independent. So you might have a really good host at Bellagio, so he’s going to make the best decision for the company. I work for me and I work for you, I’m like your attorney. I’m going to make sure you get the best deal. The best betting limits, the best comps.

I gave one client two weeks on a 200 foot yacht in Greece

From sun-drenched Greek islands to the heart of NFL game day — VIP experiences define a decade of unforgettable hosting moments.

Two weeks on a private, 200ft yacht going to all the islands in Greece. That’s probably the best trip I’ve given someone. Even for the local Ellis Island games, we have a skybox at Allegiant Stadium. If you’re my player we go in the skybox, then while the teams are warming up we’ll get a field pass and we’ll go on the field. You have to be on the NFL field while they’re warming up.

You want to make the player feel like they’re getting something. A lot of people win too. You don’t have to lose to get comp. If you come on Friday night, play an hour and win $10,000, I love it. You’re smart. Take it home.

The Las Vegas Hilton paid for the Greece trip. I was there for a decade. That’s the longest job I ever had. I was there for almost 10 years.

Bill Gates was really offended when I kicked him out of his hotel room

When I was at the Hilton we had these three sky villas. 12,000 and 15,000 square feet, and the Consumer Electronics Show was in Vegas. The Hilton at that time was literally connected to the convention centre, and Bill Gates was the keynote speaker.

It was on Thursday to Sunday so Gates had this room, and he was renting it for $12,000 a night. But I had a $1 million player coming on Friday. It was Thursday and he called down and said can you extend my room for three more nights? So I go up there and knock on the door. I say, Mr Gates. My name is Steve, I'm the director of player development here. I’m going to need to move you to a smaller villa.

He goes well, charge me double! Remember, he was the richest man in the world. I said no, you don’t understand, I don’t want the extra money. He goes well, we’ll make it $15,000 a night. I go, Mr Gates, the guy I have coming in here, his first bet will be $20k.

You were supposed to check out today, it’s Thursday. I’m going to help you pack, and the butlers will help you pack, and we’ll get you another sky villa which is nice. And I’m going to give you a deal. I’m going to charge you $8,000 a night instead of $12,000.

He was really offended. How can you treat people like this? I said I treat everyone the same. Then he got it. I said what would you do as a businessman? Then it was cooler, so he packed his stuff and left the room. This was in 1998 or 1999.

Resorts World is the biggest casino I work with now

So Resorts World is where I put my biggest players. Caesars Palace, the Virgin Hotels, the Westgate, which used to be the Hilton. My home base is Ellis Island, which is awesome, it’s a small pub casino. Great odds. The Viejas in California. The Baha Mar in the Bahamas.

The Hippodrome in London, although I don’t send many players there.

One woman made $630,000 from a $20 token

There was a guy who was stuck at $2 million, then ended up winning $5 million in a dice roll. I couldn’t believe he got out. Every week it’s something crazy.

From million-dollar dice rolls to lakeside laughs — building lifelong friendships around the game and beyond the felt.

There was another guy who was on his honeymoon and he wasn’t going to gamble. But we gave the wife a $20 token and she went and hit it. It’s called the Buffalo, she hit it for $630,000.

I have many players who are my friends. I get to see them a few times a year if they come to Vegas. They remember when my daughter was born. She’s 28 now. They’ve watched her grow up. It’s pretty cool. I have a customer that lives in Missouri, he lives on a lake, and we’ll go there and we’ll water ski together.

People get angry because they have gambled too much

Yes, some have become angry with me. It happens because I’m the guy who tells them, you lost, you gambled too much.

My guys want to gamble. They come to play. Yes, the pool is great. Celine Dion is great, Santana too. The shows are great. That’s fun. But they come for the game and the deal.