Harrah’s calls its Indy-car sponsorship ‘a no-brainer’

Friday, Sept. 24, 1999 | 10:39 a.m.

Las Vegas' hotel and casino industry will be well-represented during the fourth running of the Indy Racing League Vegas.com 500 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

But none of the half-dozen hotel-casinos will play a more prominent role than Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment, which is the primary sponsor of Billy Boat's No. 11 A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Aurora.

Harrah's is the only casino company serving as a primary, full-time sponsor in professional motor sports since signing a three-year, multi-million dollar agreement with Foyt earlier this summer.

Craig Hudson, vice president of brand marketing for Harrah's, said the decision to sponsor an Indy car -- particularly one owned by the legendary Foyt -- was a no-brainer.

"He is very competitive, he's a must-win kind of guy," Hudson said. "Competing isn't good enough, he's got to win and that's something we want to make a bigger part of our culture. We just don't want to have nice casinos, we want to be the leading casino company."

Hudson said he expects to see more casino companies get into motor sports sponsorship because of the natural tie-in.

"There is a thrill and excitement with racing and there's a thrill and excitement with gaming and to me, there's a natural link," Hudson said. "They are both forms of entertainment that people are very passionate about. Of all the things we could have sponsored, this seemed like one of the smartest moves."

And Harrah's venture into the motor sports arena may not end when its agreement with Foyt runs out. Hudson said Harrah's looked into sponsoring a NASCAR Winston Cup car before settling on the IRL.

"At the moment, the top drivers in Winston Cup are taken," Hudson said. "If something opened up one day, I would like to consider (sponsoring a Winston Cup car).

"Also, (the reason we decided on the IRL) is A.J.; his attitude toward winning is what we want to be affiliated with. It wasn't like we sought out the IRL specifically, we started with the driver and the team. If A.J. was in a different league, maybe we would have sought a different league."

In only five races as the primary sponsor on Boat's car, Harrah's already has recognized huge dividends, according to Hudson.

"Even though we've only been a primary sponsor since the first race in Fort Worth, we're number six in media coverage," Hudson said. "We've gotten something like $2.2 million in media coverage and we haven't spent anywhere near that."

Among the other local hotel-casinos that are providing associate sponsorships to race teams this weekend are the Luxor, Las Vegas Hilton, Maxim, Lady Luck and the Orleans.

* FAMILY AFFAIR: Two generations of Houstons will be competing in tonight's Orleans 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at LVMS.

Retired Busch Series star Tommy Houston was a surprise addition to the field. He will drive a second Cat Rental Stores Chevrolet for Addington Racing and will join sons Andy and Marty in the starting lineup.

Andy, 28, was the fastest of the Houstons Thursday, qualifying eighth, while Marty, 31, will start 21st. The "old man" will start 26th.

"Dad will start behind me," Marty said. "If he can get up to me, we can draft to the front but, you know, if we get to the front with 10 (laps) to go just remember: there ain't no relatives on a race track."

* COMP(TON) TIME: Stacy Compton, who won the pole for tonight's Orleans 250, has not finished lower than sixth place this season when he has started from the pole.