Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleGAMING:
Small casinos keep it simple, friendly
Formula aimed at regulars paying off — even in downturn
Sherry Cohen, center, plays slots Thursday with her husband, Glenn, at the Rainbow Club & Casino in downtown Henderson. Larger properties’ pain has been this small casino’s gain.
Friday, Aug. 22, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Longtime Henderson residents Lilly Santos, left, and DeVan Tippetts play the penny slots Thursday at the Rainbow. John Awalt, the casino's general manager, says, "Our restaurant gets people in the door. Service is prompt and the portions aren't skimpy.zz'
Reader poll
Reader poll
With its mirrored ceiling, black acrylic walls and hot pink neon accent lighting, the Rainbow Club & Casino in downtown Henderson resembles a 1980s-era nightclub, only with modern slot machines.
Many of its gamblers, retirees with fixed incomes, remember the days when casinos, for the most part, were budget businesses.
The Rainbow’s only restaurant (“Our meals are deals!” the menu declares) offers $7.95 prime rib and a $7.75 porterhouse steak — prices abandoned long ago on the Strip.
The casino’s determination to cling to the past is paying off at a time when bigger and fancier casinos are hurting in the economic downturn. And it’s not the only one.
A few small casinos across the Las Vegas Valley say they have not experienced the downturn that has affected larger properties such as those of Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming Corp., which owns the Coast chain.
Part of the upswing experienced by some smaller properties is a function of the peculiarities of the business they are in rather than the discovery of a miraculous secret. Small casinos don’t have hotel rooms — first required for new casinos by Clark County in 1991 — and therefore cater to a narrower customer base of gamblers than bigger properties, which have more amenities.
Many bigger suburban casinos were doing well as recently as a year and a half ago, making any decline in earnings appear more dramatic. Relatively speaking, smaller casinos typically experience smaller, if any, improvement over time.
And yet, the increase in business reported by some operators this year stands in direct contrast to the decline in gaming revenue among suburban casinos as reported by the Gaming Control Board — a sign that the downturn is largely passing by those casinos that depend almost entirely on regular gamblers.
One of the Rainbow’s regulars is retired casino worker Jessie Mancha, who has been eating breakfast, lunch and dinner there since his wife passed away three years ago.
In any month, Mancha, 76, might drop hundreds of dollars into the Rainbow’s video poker machines — losing more than he wins, of course.
But he’s happy to do it.
“It’s the nature of the business. I don’t mind giving my money to these people,” he said. “This is the real deal — a locals casino where they know you personally.”
Mancha calls the Rainbow staff a second family.
“I’ve known some of these girls since they were in high school,” he says, pointing to cocktail servers in their 40s and 50s. “I know their children and their grandchildren.”
Casino employees visited his wife in the hospital and attended her funeral. Two employees named their children after him.
Just about all locals casinos claim to get to know their regulars and offer more personalized service than tourist-focused properties. But smaller joints claim to be better purveyors of a “Cheers” atmosphere — where customers are greeted by name.
Jeff Fine, managing partner of the Opera House and Silver Nugget casinos in North Las Vegas, says a personal touch is key for keeping players who have many choices.
“The bigger places are more impersonal, so it’s easier for them to give it up if they have to cut back to four times a month from five,” said Fine, whose casinos are also doing better than last year. “People may have less money to spend but they still want to see all their friends at the smaller casino. Someone’s going to know their name and their drink, and they’re going to share stories.”
Fine, who bought the properties in January 2007, says part of the recent increase might be due to more efficient operating practices and upgrades put into place last year.
Keeping prices low — a strategy that makes maintaining profit margins more difficult, especially during boom times — also appears to be working in small operators’ favor during these leaner times.
Gambling and food deals are keeping regulars happy while attracting new customers, operators say. The Rainbow, for example, has kept menu prices stable while many other properties have raised prices to keep pace with food costs.
“Our restaurant gets people in the door. Service is prompt and the portions aren’t skimpy,” General Manager John Awalt said.
And word has spread: The restaurant now seats about 8,000 people a week.
In May, at a time when Nevada casinos reported their worst decline in gaming revenue in more than a decade, the Rainbow’s business was up 19 percent compared with the same month last year.
Jerry’s Nugget in North Las Vegas has been seeing “quite a few new faces” in recent months, General Manager Jerry DeMangus says.
Profit is slightly up this year, partly because of an upgraded casino floor with new slot machines and walk-up kiosks where gamblers can receive coupons on demand. The casino also started a gambling promotion for senior citizens in July and is offering gas cards to some patrons.
“We’re being aggressive with our marketing. But we haven’t seen the impact” the bigger casinos have, he said.
DeMangus also credits some of that business success to the property’s two restaurants. The cafe, for example, offers a steak and shrimp special for $7.85.
Business is also up at the Skyline casino on Boulder Highway, one of a few casinos that still have slot machines that accept and dispense coins. (The 99-cent shrimp cocktail is another blast from the past.)
These machines aren’t made anymore but the Skyline keeps them by buying replacement slots or components from casinos that go out of business or upgrade their machines.
“Our machines are the most competitive in town. We still see our same regulars,” owner Jim Marsh said.
The Eureka casino on Sahara Avenue has seen business drop from its customers who are Strip casino workers and are making less from tips these days. That’s partially offset by business from others on fixed incomes, owner Greg Lee said.
“We’re doing a better job getting more repeat visits and being the preferred place than before,” partly because the casino invested in new slots and a player tracking system like those offered at bigger properties, he said. Business is up overall, he added.
“We didn’t have the greatest variety before” but now that the Eureka has the slots a bigger casino would offer, there’s little reason why gamblers would go to a bigger place when they can patronize a mom-and-pop property, Lee said.
The Eureka has invested in other upgrades, including a new interior design and a few chandeliers.
As bigger properties upgrade with fancy restaurants and lounges and equally grand prices, the Eureka — like many other small joints — hasn’t lost its Cheers-style ambience.
That’s important to folks like Mancha, who like things just as they are.
“This is a meat-and-potatoes kind of place,” he said of the Rainbow. “You walk into some of these big places and you feel like you’re walking through your mother-in-law’s living room, where you can’t touch anything. This place is just right.”
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Coolican: Henderson officials out of loop on police brutality case, raising red flags
- See mug shots of 16 arrested in stolen-property police sting
- Lumberjacks — ‘Where the Big Boys Eat’ — hiring for North Las Vegas location
- Berkley draws stark contrasts with Heller over immigration
- Howard Miller, prominent lawyer and ‘true Las Vegas native,’ dies at 68
- Short memories may serve president
- Instant Analysis: Debating whether UNLV should continue series with San Diego State
- Two dead after accident in downtown Las Vegas
- Police looking for man in white Ford Explorer
- Superstar Whitney Houston dies at 48
Blogs
The Kats Report
Live color from the scene at Thomas & Mack Center: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8' (4 Comments)
Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Landowner: All roads could lead to Uxbridge casino
Revel reveals smoke-free casino opening
Cirque du Soleil show in Sands China casino to close this month
Meet the woman behind Sheldon Adelson
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
As a visitor from Switzerland, Europe, I must admit that I peronally prefer those locals casinos from all the major Strip resorts, for exactly the reasons mentioned :) To me, a casino does not have to be super clean, but I don't like it too dirty, either. What's more important to me, that's good food at decent prices, some videopoker machines with great pay tables (do not even have to be the newest generation, coin-out would even be fair enough), and a parking garage or spots available nearby the casino floor. I think that's all it takes, and those casinos mentioned in this article perfectly meet my demands :)
Of course, you gotta know the city and have a rental car to get around. And you need a room to stay. Some of those smaller casinos do not have rooms, and that's why I usually stay at some other locals' casino, but I would not want to stay on the Strip anymore.
Keep it up, old style Vegas. That's where it all began, and that's what it's supposed to be. We don't need 5000+ rooms resorts with 7500 slots and 200 gaming tables and 5 parking garages. It's fine to visit a small casino with friendly staff and good food. I think that's the way to go for the locals' casinos.
Thank you :)
What qualifies as a 'high roller'? Are there specific known limits that gets the 'pencil'?
Once you start betting "black-in-action", you will find out sooner than later that you're considered as a mini high roller. Usually, within minutes, you will be asked for your players card and they will then start tracking you. I think that once you played more than 30 minutes or so and keep stacking up your chips (whether it's your money or their's) you will eventually be asked whether you like to have a room or a dinner comp.
Once you start betting with purple or yellow chips, il va sans dire that you are being treated as a high roller and definetely will not have to pay for anything as far as it's hotel or dining related.
Some small casinos, however, prefer your business elsewhere because some of them do not like to take the big swings. The low limit tags on the b-j tables are a clear indicator of such companies. The bigger the limits offered, the more welcome you are as a big shot player.
Let's be real here, how many people can afford to play black (ie with $100 chips)? Probably not to many to begin with. And whatever it was before, it's less now.
But that's what the strip (at least from a gambling perspective) is catering to, and they now have a smaller pool. And now, they've chased away all the red and green chip players. Given the volumns they need to keep their huge facilities going, they've created themselves a problem.
The small casinos are making money picking up the cast off from the big casinos.
I like the concept, but I don't hangout on Boulder HWY or North Vegas.
The problem for visitors to Vegas who fly in is that you have to rent a car to get to these casinos (unless you want to keep taking cabs, which gets very expensive and leaves you less money for gambling). It's also very difficult to get a cab back to the Strip or downtown from these outlying casinos. Getting around Vegas with a rental car is very difficult if you are not familiar with the streets and layout. It is stressful, which is NOT what you want on your vacation. Also, the driver can't drink, which means he/she misses out on one of the main perks Vegas offers. I would love to play at some of these off-strip casinos and would do so if they provided shuttle service to and from the Strip.
How many people in your party, CarolJ? A cab ride can be "split" amongst the group to lessen the cost. As for the return trip, every casino has a "hot line" to a cab company. Admittedly, you may have to wait, but you may also get a comp ride in one of the property's vehicles. Or you can ask the cab driver on the ride to the off-Strip property if he has a personal card. Let him know you'd like to call him back for the return ride.
Renting a car is MORE expensive than taking a cab. You're paying for that car (and the gas!) the entire time you're here and it pretty much sits parked for the majority of your vacation. With a cab, you only pay for the cab rides you take :)
I visit Las Vegas 4-5 times a year. I am a regular at Fitzgeralds on Fremont Street, and am considered a low roller. I budget $600-$700 a visit for gambling. The bartenders call me by name, and some of the floor staff also know me personally. I have been comped for quite a few 4 day 3 night slot tournaments and blackjack tournaments. I pay my own plane fare, but get free call drinks and rooms. I have been comped more times than I can count for the buffet.
My secret? Don't cash in your points on the players card. Just let them build up, and soon you'll get offers for tournaments and free rooms in the mail.
I like your "concept", "I Love Las Vegas". The building points idea works , but only for US and perhaps also Canadian players, as you get the offers in the mail.
International Vegas travellers have it a bit more difficult and we do not get offers in the mail. At best they email me sometimes low room rate offers and such, all things that I can't really use because of my fixed travel schedule. I have about 2-3 weeks prior my vacation to check for the greatest offers. Many times it doesn't work. And I have to look up at hotels.com and other sites....
But there are those Vegas Advisor Coupons etc. These coupons are just as great at the comps and if you plan your trip carefully you can save a lot of money. The weekend room rates are ridiculously high, and that's why I usually spend those nights in Laughlin or, as a test now, in Jean/Primm. It's not too far driving there early in the morning and get some sleep. But the money you can save this way is extreme. I found a deal for 47 Dollars/night , Friday and Saturday, whereas it would cost about 100 or more on the Stip for that weekend. That's 50 Dollars you can spend for gambling and other stuff. Not the worst idea, I would say. But, you're right, you've got to have a rental car, which has always been something important for me in the past 10 years of visiting Las Vegas.
Greetings and Good Luck :)
Carol J:
Look into the various shuttles that go to and from Sam's Town. With Sam's, Eastside Cannery, and the gritty Longhorn, there are a few low roller joints on Boulder.
If a person is going to come to town and say they're expecting to drop a grand while they're here why can't the casino's seem to get that they are going to get the grand - just let the people have a little fun leaving it here. Used to be one could eat and sleep cheap and leave the bulk the money here thru the slots and gaming tables - and people were fine with that because they had enough money (after paying for their bed and for their food) to have some fun, all the while ending up leaving it here. Now so much of their grand is gone (paying for bed and food) before they even hit the gaming floor - now how much fun can THAT be????? Not much you say? I agree. And the irony is that Vegas got the grand - no more, no less - and now the possibility of losing a repeat customer is not so remote at all. If they're (Vegas) gonna get it all anyway why not let people have a few more hours of fun before they get cleaned out? It's pretty down-heartening to see half your vacation bucks gone before you even start doing what you came here for to begin with.