The B0.5 IVe star \gamma Cas is of great interest because it is the prototype of a small group of classical Be stars having hard X-ray emission of unknown origin . We discuss results from ongoing B and V observations of the \gamma Cas star-disk system acquired with an Automated Photometric Telescope during the observing seasons 1997–2011 . In an earlier study , Smith , Henry , & Vishniac showed that light variations in \gamma Cas are dominated by a series of comparatively prominent cycles with amplitudes of 0.02–0.03 mag and lengths of 2–3 months , superimposed on a 1.21-day periodic signal some five times smaller , which they attributed to rotation . The cycle lengths clustered around 70 days , with a total range of 50–91 days . Changes in both cycle length and amplitude were observed from year to year . These authors also found the V -band cycles to be 30–40 % larger than the B -band cycles . In the present study we find continued evidence for these variability patterns and for the bimodal distribution of the \Delta B / \Delta V amplitude ratios in the long cycles . During the 2010 observing season , \gamma Cas underwent a mass loss event ( “ outburst ” ) , as evidenced by the brightening and reddening seen in our new photometry . This episode coincided with a waning of the amplitude in the ongoing cycle . The Be outburst ended the following year , and the light-curve amplitude returned to pre-outburst levels . This behavior reinforces the interpretation that cycles arise from a global disk instability . We have determined a more precise value of the rotation period , 1.215811 { \pm 0.000030 } days , using the longer 15-season dataset and combining solutions from the V and B light curves . Remarkably , we also find that both the amplitude and the asymmetry of the rotational waveform changed over the years . We review arguments for this modulation arising from transits of a surface magnetic disturbance . Finally , to a limit of 5 mmag , we find no evidence for any photometric variation corresponding to the \gamma Cas binary period , 203.55 days , or to the first few harmonics .