Company Also Joins Responsible Gaming Partnership
SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 7, 1999–MGM Grand Inc. properties – the MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, New York, New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Primm Valley Casino, Buffalo Bills Resort Casino (Primm, Nev.), Whiskey Pete’s Casino (Primm, Nev.), and the new MGM Grand Detroit Casino – have signed a three-year contract with Global Cash Access (GCA), the country’s largest provider of cash access services to casinos.
MGM Grand also recently joined GCA’s Responsible Gaming Partnership, a program launched this year that encourages patrons to ”Think. Be Responsible.” before making cash access transactions.
”Despite the numerous changes at GCA over the past year, they have always gone beyond the call of duty to meet the high expectations of MGM Grand,” said Mark Whitmore, vice president of cage and credit operations for MGM Grand. ”GCA has always made good on their promise to deliver a superior product and service.”
In addition to signing up for three years of cash access services from GCA, MGM Grand also has joined GCA’s Responsible Gaming Partnership, a multi-tiered initiative to promote responsible gaming. Developed in cooperation with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), GCA launched the program in April of this year.
The program includes an array of point-of-decision messages that encourage gaming patrons to ”Think. Be Responsible.” when gaming. The messages also include the NCPG 24-hour, toll-free help line number to encourage patrons who think they may have a gambling problem to seek help.
More than two-thirds of GCA’s cash access devices are equipped with telephone handsets with direct connection to the company’s 24-hour call center. Patrons who require call center assistance hear a brief pre-recorded program message and are offered immediate, confidential connection to the NCPG help line if they use the code word ”Think” at any time during a call.
”We are extremely proud to have MGM aboard this program,” said Kirk Sanford, chief executive officer of GCA. ”Their endorsement of this program is a major affirmation that we are doing the right thing.”
”GCA has the unique opportunity to reach customers at the point of decision and encourage them to act responsibly when accessing their funds,” said Whitmore. ”The GCA program is a terrific complement to the responsible gaming program we already have in place.”
Formed in 1998 through a joint venture of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC – news), First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC – news) and USA Processing, Inc., Global Cash Access provides a full range of electronic funds transfer and other services to more than 1,200 gaming properties nationwide.