NEWS Casino owners head for the racetrack
in a quest for new gaming locations Deals for Pinnacle and Hard Rock will take advantage of customer overlaps
They may historically have been seen as different businesses, but there’s a strong likelihood that consumers interested in sports betting will be potential casino patrons too – and it’s one that casino firms are exploiting in the ceasless search for new places to connect with players. For example, Pinnacle Entertainment is to pay $22.8m for a 75.5% share of Retama Partners, which owns the licence for Retama Park Racetrack near San Antonio, Texas.
Said Pinnacle President and CEO Anthony Sanfilippo:
“We believe Retama Park provides significant strategic value, given the potential approval of gaming entertainment centres at Texas parimutuel facilities and by expanding the reach of Pinnacle’s operations in the region into two key Texas markets, San Antonio and Austin.” The firm already has a racetrack in Ohio as well as its six casinos in Indiana, Louisiana and Missouri.
Cantor
Gaming is going the other way in Las Vegas
Hard Rock International, for its part, is committing to an even bigger investment of $275m in building a gaming and entertainment venue at Northfield Park racetrack in northeast Ohio, though the deal is subject to a successful resolution of legal wrangles over the use of video lottery terminals (VLTs) in the state.
The racetrack operation would join 15 Hard Rock hotel/casino properties that include the two Seminole Hard Rock flagships in Florida as well as others in Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Mississippi, Macau, Pattaya, Bali, Penang, Singapore, and the Dominican Republic. In Las Vegas, meanwhile, Cantor Gaming is going in the
other direction. Best known for running sportsbooks – its most recent opened at The Venetian – and for its mobile wagering systems, it’s now also operating an eight-table Poker room within the sportsbook at The Palms. “Our decision to relocate the Poker room to the new race- and sportsbook was a natural one given the synergies that exist between Poker players and sports betters,” said Palms President Joseph Magliarditi. “There is a natural overlap between sports betters and Poker players,” agreed Lee Amaitis, Cantor’s President and CEO.
Caesars revamps rewards offer Rebranded programme emphasises non-gaming activities across the venues
If casinos are increasingly about much more than gaming, shouldn’t their reward programmes as well as the rest of their marketing reflect that?
That was the thinking of Caesars Entertainment Group when it turned to branding consultancy Siegel+Gale, whose clients include Harley-Davidson, Four Seasons, Aetna and Verizon, with a brief to broaden the reach of its Total Rewards programme. The result is an overhaul of Total Rewards with the new slogan “More of what members want”, allowing consumers to earn credits not just from spend on gaming, but also from shows, shopping and dining. “Visitors to Caesars’ casino and entertainment
MotorCity hit upon a local angle for its loyalty card
6 MAY 2012
properties come for the whole experience,” said Nicholas Lakas, Director of Brand Management at Caesars. “By broadening the reach of Total Rewards, we are rewarding all of our core audiences, not only the gamers, and thanking them for being a loyal customer – no matter what they enjoy at Caesars.”
The makeover included
two new logos, one for the Total Rewards programme itself and the other for Seven Stars, its highest tier. Siegel+Gale also built up a brand photography portfolio, using what is described as “hyper-realistic” images of patrons enjoying themselves at Caesars properties – and again, not just on the gaming floor.
In America’s automotive capital Detroit, meanwhile, MotorCity Casino Hotel hit upon a local connection to differentiate its rewards programme. Its Club Metro loyalty card now lets customers amass MotorCity Miles, which can be redeemed not only for slot play, hotel rooms, spa services, gift shop merchandise and other conventional casino benefits, but also against the lease or purchase of Chrysler, Ford and GM vehicles. “We know what metro Detroiters value for their hard-
earned entertainment dollars, and we also understand how important the continued auto industry recovery is to all of our livelihoods. Not only is our new programme groundbreaking, it’s the perfect investment for us to make in our customers and our communities and to support the auto industry,” said Gregg Solomon, CEO of MotorCity Casino Hotel.
The casino worked with the three auto manufacturers to get special two-year lease deals for its patrons, and has a digital catalogue of eligible cars on its own Website.
INBRIEF
HELP AT HAND Britain’s Responsible Gambling Trust, formed by the merger of The Great Foundation and the Responsible Gambling Fund, was officially launched in April at the nation’s largest casino, Aspers in Westfield Stratford City.
PLEASE VISIT The Atlantic City Alliance is producing a TV commercial aimed at increasing tourist visits to the city, as part of a $20m rebranding campaign.
NO DEAL The Rank Group has ended discussions with Britain’s Gala Coral Group about a potential acquisition of Gala’s casino business.
CANINE CUSTOMERS Dogs are now welcome at the Riviera in Las Vegas.
SIMPLER SECURITY Resort Advantage has developed a system called Incident Report Accelerator that allows casino staff to create and access reports on policy breaches and suspicious activities from their smartphones, tablets or PCs.
HOUR OF DARKNESS MGM International’s Las Vegas properties marked Earth Hour at the end of March by turning off exterior lighting and signage for an hour.
BRITISH BOOST Aspers has won the licence to develop a new casino in Milton Keynes in southern England.
SPEAKING IN TONGUES MicroFirst is to provide slot content including bonuses and marketing messages for Sands China’s five properties in three languages. They will be available to customers in English, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese.
MACAU MADNESS First-quarter gaming revenue in Macau casinos was up 27% year-on-year to $9.9bn.
VIVA L’ESPANA Las Vegas Sands says it is going ahead with plans to develop a “mini Las Vegas” in Spain, featuring 12 resorts and totalling about half the size of the Vegas Strip. It will invest $35bn but has yet to determine the location. Barcelona and Madrid are believed to be among the options considered.
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