I used to work at a casino. It was a 45-minute drive through mountains and past a lake until I arrived at a fortress in the middle of nowhere to begin my work. I was a barback, training to become a bartender. The building was luxurious, but the job was not. I lugged around heavy kegs and cases of beer to keep 7 different bars fully stocked up. Some days I walked over 14 miles in a single 8-hour shift all for minimum wage.

The cafeteria provided free lunch, so it was always packed with employees. One day I struck up casual conversation with a cafeteria worker. I asked how she was doing, and her expression suddenly changed, like she snapped back to reality. Holding back tears, she told me that her application was rejected for a small one-bedroom apartment on the rough side of town for her and her three children. She was sick of renting a single room for her and her children but could not make enough money working full time at the casino. Her options were limited.

I’ve always wondered, if the casino could afford infinite luxury like pools, high-end restaurants, and limitless free alcohol, then why did they decide not to pay their employees a livable wage? You see, there was an issue at the casino. Employee turnover was high, like very high. People would get hired, then leave within a few weeks. I was no exception; I left within a couple months. While I was there, I made friends with some of the new employees hired alongside me. There were 15 of us in my orientation class. After leaving the casino, I returned a few weeks later only to find that 3 of the original 14 employees hired alongside me were still working.

Surely paying employees a few extra bucks would be mutually beneficial right? Job satisfaction would rise, and the casino would have a much better turnover rate. It’s a win-win!

The casino was willing to spend millions of dollars every year replacing employees rather than simply paying them more. Each week there were two orientation classes of roughly fifteen new hires. There were four full days of orientation and training, followed by two weeks spent shadowing another employee. This means that the casino paid new employees a total of 144 hours before they even began working.

That means, before one class of 15 people was independently productive, the casino had already purchased more than 2,000 hours of their labor, costing $35,000 twice a week!

On top of that, there were background checks, orientation instructors, HR, uniforms, and drug screening, which added up to roughly $5,000 per class.

Why would the casino be okay spending $80,000 a week onboarding employees yet accept such a high turnover rate? It seems like such a waste of money.

Paying employees more would not be as lucrative as you’d expect. Five dollars an hour does not sound like much. But for one full-time employee, it is roughly $10,000 more per year. If 300 employees received that same raise, the additional payroll would exceed $3 million every single year.

With $3 million, the casino could onboard 75 classes or 1,100 new employees! And suddenly, constantly replacing employees does not seem so crazy. This casino is located near a heavily populated city with a large pool of potential new hires. The conditions are perfect.

Healthcare also changes the equation. In California, employers contribute an average of $8,700 annually towards single coverage for workers, and $21,000+ for employees with families. That only applies to employees who stay longer than 90 days, which is when benefits kick in.

Now consider a class of 15 people, if 10 leave before the 90 day mark then the casino just saved a minimum of $87,000 in annual health insurance costs. That’s just using single coverage as a benchmark. With two orientation classes a week, throughout the year, that is more than $9 million in annual health insurance costs that never begin. Suddenly, an employee who stays long enough to qualify can become more expensive than one who leaves during the first few months.

And let’s be honest, the casino is a palace built around people’s vices. Gambling, drinking, and smoking are encouraged! As long as everything remains above board and legal, there is little reason to build a reputation as a generous employer. A casino accused of underpaying its workers is unlikely to shock anyone, and more importantly, it is unlikely to stop many gamblers from sliding their hard-earned cash into a slot machine. If better wages does not bring more customers, and worse wages do not drive them away, then good employee PR is another expense the casino can afford to ignore.