BOONVILLE — The Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel in Boonville is one of the many casinos taking part in a nationwide, weeklong initiative known as Responsible Gaming Education Week.
The 22nd annual Responsible Gaming Education Week is taking place from Sept. 15-21, in an effort to promote dedication to responsible gaming programs.
General Manager of Isle of Capri Casino Heather Rapp said Thursday that while this is an annual event, the casino executes the same ideas on a daily basis.
“We really focus on providing a safe, fun environment for our patrons when they come to game,” Rapp said. “We want them to feel like they have a great, fun experience so they are having a good time, and they feel safe in this environment for whatever the situation may be. Some of the things we focus on during Responsible Education Gaming Week- the underage gaming, the alcohol awareness training, the problem gaming- those are things we do to ensure we can provide our customers a fun, safe environment.”
Rapp said much of the week highlights training that employees go through throughout the year.
“We focus on alcohol awareness, we focus on underage gaming, we focus on problem gaming,” Rapp said. “We train each of our employees in each of those areas. They receive training and orientation, they also receive annual training throughout the year, that completes right before Responsible Gaming Education Week so we are then able to highlight those areas and those potential behaviors again.”
Much of the training consists of helping employees recognize when a guest may need assistance with problem gambling, and Rapp said there are brochures and signs around the casino to help those guests as well.
“This is something we are really committed to and it really showcases industry-wide, all casinos in the state of Missouri. It shows our prioritization in promoting responsible gaming,” Rapp said, regarding every day efforts in the industry.
Good morning from Isle of Capri Casino This week is #ResponsibleGamingEducationWeek, a week dedicated to promoting responsible and safe gaming and gambling @KRCG13
Responsible gaming is executed every day & the week-long initiative looks to draw awareness.
General manager Heather Rapp says a lot of it has to do with employee training—
•Helping guests who need assistance with problem gaming
•Recognize intoxication
•Underage gamblers
Similarly, employees go through training to learn how to identify underage gamblers, in which Missouri has a zero tolerance policy. Rapp said employees are also trained on how to recognize intoxication and when to not over-serve guests who may appear to have drank too much.