Harrah’s officially exits Binion’s management

By Liz Benston (contact)

Thursday, March 10, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

The changes began last night when downtown's landmark casino removed chips, playing cards and table game layouts featuring the name "Binion's Horseshoe" and replaced them with items emblazoned with "Binion's."

The most noticeable change will occur over the next three months when exterior signs will come down and be replaced with "Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel." The iconic, horseshoe-shaped sign and giant letter "H" also will be removed to make way for a neon letter "B."

Midnight marked the official exit of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which had managed the property since it was purchased from Becky Binion Behnen, and the entry of MTR Gaming Group Inc., a West Virginia company that owns the Speedway Casino in North Las Vegas.

MTR Gaming purchased the property for $20 million in March, a three-way deal in which Harrah's Entertainment assumed the property's debt in exchange for the rights to the Horseshoe brand in Nevada and the World Series of Poker, the world's oldest and best-known poker tournament. A few months ago, Harrah's decided not to extend a one-year option to continue running the property. The aging property had lost its luster against increasing competition from the Strip during its rocky tenure under Behnen, when it was losing money and was eventually forced to close for lack of funds.

MTR Gaming Chief Operating Officer Roger Szepelak said the company expects to boost business by improving customer service and attracting local gamblers back to the property.

"We want to get it back to the method of operations when it was kind of the place to go in Vegas," said Szepelak, who also oversees the Speedway. "We want to create good gambling value and friendly service -- all the things that were there when Benny Binion ran it."

Szepelak said Binion's was still considered a locals property when he arrived in Las Vegas in 1987.

"Business has been very good downtown," he said. "The whole Las Vegas market is really booming. We think that's going to continue and we see an opportunity for Binion's to capture some local play."

MTR expects to spend from $6 million to $8 million this year on capital improvements, including the purchase of 150 new "cashless" slot machines that accept and dispense tickets instead of coins. About half of the casino's slots are expected to be cashless machines by the end of the year, Szepelak said.

The company also plans to upgrade software that tracks gambling activity and reopen the race and sports book by April in time for the horse racing Triple Crown, he said. The race and sports book had been closed since MTR bought the property.

Binion's also will reintroduce a hamburger grill that had been located in the property's snack bar to lure back regulars and will tweak its coffee shop menu, Szepelak said. The property's Binion's Ranch Steakhouse, with its penthouse view of Las Vegas, will get a facelift.

Though the World Series of Poker has moved to the Rio and will no longer be a main attraction, the property its working on its own poker tournament using the Binion's brand.

"With the popularity of poker right now, it will be a big part of what we do," Szepelak said. "Binion's is the birthplace of poker tournaments."

As a farewell gesture, the final two days of this year's World Series of Poker is scheduled to be held at Binion's.

Binion's 990 or so non-management workers will stay on but MTR has replaced Harrah's managers, who left the property with the changeover. The new managers include some people from the Speedway Casino and others who were hired from outside the company. About three or four managers who were not Harrah's employees have stayed on at the property, Szepelak said.

Brian Eby, a former manager with Caesars Tunica in Mississippi who has also served with Sahara Gaming and Station Casinos Inc., is the new general manager of Binion's.

Many employees began working at the property 10 to 20 years ago, "when it was really special to work for Binion's," Szepelak said.

The Binion's Horseshoe signs will be donated to downtown's Neon Museum, which is home to an increasing number of salvaged signs from Las Vegas' early years.