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Sharon Harris reports back from the US…
Happy New Year. Hopefully, 2011 will be a more profitable, successful year for gaming than the past two. Bringing visitors back to gaming halls will take ingenuity, so the smart operators need to devise methods to get customers into their properties.
In the late 1950s, the Broadway musical Gypsy told the story of 1920s burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee. In the show, early in her career, a “sister” stripper advised Gypsy with the song “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” to succeed. In other words, Gypsy would have to entertain so uniquely that she separated herself from the others.
As gaming expands, individual casino operators must develop their own gimmicks and promotions. In November 1989, Steve Wynn opened the Mirage, and a new generation of architecturally-themed casino concepts appeared within a few years. On the East Coast, Boyd Gaming revolutionized the Atlantic City casino scene in 2003 with the Borgata. Tribal casinos have incorporated their own histories into their designs.
Twenty years later, the evolution must continue. Las Vegas, facing an unprecedented employment and revenue slump since 2008, has charged on with its CityCenter project, which opened in December 2009, and the December 2010 opening of the Cosmopolitan.
In 2011, longtime operator Dennis Gomes aims to transform Resorts Atlantic City, the gaming hall he and financial partner Morris Bailey bought for $31.5 million in early December. Gomes and son Aaron are bullish on rejuvenating the quiet casino floor they confronted upon acquiring the keys. The elder Gomes promises a powerful new vitality and uniqueness. As a veteran of 14 venues, he clearly has the experience and vision to pull it off.
There is already an excitement around Atlantic City. I recently attended a holiday party and met three Resorts employees. All agreed on the new energy felt throughout the building. They claimed everyone is on board with working hard with Gomes at the helm.
Their turnaround plan includes capitalizing on the huge success of HBO television’s new Boardwalk Empire program by rebranding Resorts with a Roaring ’20s theme. Boardwalk Empire is set in Prohibition-era Atlantic City of the 1920s. It very loosely focuses on former local government powerhouse Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, renamed Nucky Thompson for the show. The sets, costumes and design are stunning.
Gomes intends to transform Resorts into a “casino resort” rather than just a hotel with gaming. The guest rooms will be renovated, and they will aim to attract conventions. Also, Gomes plans to introduce a diverse roster of new entertainment.
All should be complete, with new employee costumes and other retheming elements, by late May. All 2,000 employees took pay cuts and had to reapply for their positions. Gomes estimated an 80 percent retention rate.
New Jersey’s own Spectrum Gaming reports that fewer people may visit Atlantic City year round in the future. However, those tourists and locals will spend more on nongaming activities. As a result of increased competition from other gaming states and the recession, the total lost gambling in Atlantic City has dropped 23 per cent since 2007. However, hotel room spending increased by 21 percent; food and drink has risen six percent.
What does that mean? It appears Atlantic City’s future growth area probably go beyond gambling. Las Vegas figured that out years ago. The New Jersey government is in the final stages of passing their “takeover” legislation; more on that when it’s done.
Harrah’s Eastern Division President Don Marrandino acknowledges that while Atlantic City remains the second-largest gaming market in the US, forever losing a billion dollars must change the thinking. To survive and succeed, Atlantic City has “gotta get a gimmick”.
Billboard, the global premier music publication, has named Atlantic City’s historic 14,700-seat Boardwalk Hall as North America’s top grossing mid-sized arena and sixth worldwide. A National Historic Landmark, Boardwalk Hall opened in 1929, recently undergoing a three-year, $90 million renovation.
Thirty-five ticketed shows grossed more than $15 million in 2010, attracting 252,577 attendees. All those people coming to town eat, drink, shop and gamble during their stay.
Congratulations to any jurisdiction that reinvents itself.
Another congratulations goes to the United States Congress. Along with President Obama, they finally got it together on December 17 to pass a new tax law.
All federal tax rates will remain stable for two years. Employee payroll taxes will drop two per cent for two years, while employers will continue to pay full rate. Unemployment benefits will continue for 13 months. While not perfect, everyone now knows their future until tax year 2012, which is vital to any operator, supplier and staff.
Considering that November’s election ousted close to 70 representatives and senators, we must continue educating the newest Congressional members about gaming’s value in each community where it exists.
