Tournaments gorwing in importance for casinos

Until a couple of decades ago, larger gambling establishments in Nevada relied exclusively on table games, slot machines, free drinks and live entertainment to lure patrons into their casinos.

Not anymore.

A sudden brainstorm John Romero had one day in 1975 forever changed the marketing strategies used by most casino properties.

Today's customers are lured onto the gaming floors with tournaments of all kinds video slots, video poker, blackjack, live poker and, with the Sands Regency, even cribbage.

Tournaments are big, and savvy casino marketing and promotion executives know it.

But when Romero first suggested doing a blackjack tournament, while serving as marketing director for Del Webb's Sahara in Las Vegas, he says the conventional "wise guys" at other Vegas Strip properties scoffed."I knew instantly it was a marvelous idea," says Romero who now lives in Denver but remains a consultant to gaming properties, including Reno's Siena Hotel Spa Casino.

Tournaments target two types of guests the local player and the out-of-town high roller.

Local tournaments are most likely to be held one or two days a week during the year, whereas the larger tournaments designed to put people in hotels and on the gaming floors may be offered only a few times a year.

Minden's Carson Valley Inn, for example, has a nickel video poker tournament every Thursday.

The payoff for the winner is modest.

Compare that to the recent five-day blackjack tournament hosted by the Horizon at South Lake Tahoe.

The total purse was $150,000 with the ultimate winner Michael Lerner of South Lake Tahoe walking away with $100,000.

Most tournaments require an entry fee intended to cover the cost of the payout pool.

Marketing directors also know that in between tournament rounds, players will likely play other games on the casino floor.At the larger properties, players will also stay in the hotel rooms, eat at the theme restaurants, imbibe at the bars and wait their next turn in the tournament chair.

Tournaments have, indeed, become huge revenue generators.

That's what Romero pictured back in the 1970s.

So he quit his job at the Sahara, teamed up with a Hollywood game show producer, and with two others formed a company to produce casino tournaments full time.

"Our first tournament had a $100,000 purse," he says."The entry fee was $250.We told the Sahara that we would cover all the advertising expenses as well as put up the purse, but we got to keep the entry fee.We had 1,200 entrants in the tournament that was played in stages, around the clock for three days.

Do the math.We made money.

The next tournament we did for the Sahara, we got the casino to pick up half the expenses and, ultimately, all of the expenses.

Our company made money and so did the casino."

Romero's firm had a virtual monopoly on running tournaments for about two years, he says.

It took the new marketing strategy to places like Monte Carlo and Aruba.

But by 1982, other casinos began to do their own tourneys.

The key to running a successful tournament, says Romero, is to ensure that each guest feels he or she is sincerely welcomed.

"When we did the first tournament, we met every player individually.

I went around to all 20 or 25 tables and shook every hand.We gave out pins and each time we did another tournament, you'd see people wearing hats with all these pins commemorating each tourney.

We built loyalty and camaraderie."

Bill Henderson would agree."Competition, camaraderie and fellowship is what ultimately comes out of our tournaments," says the sales and marketing director for the Carson Valley Inn."Our guests enjoy these events.

They come here to have fun and we do all we can to see they enjoy the experience."

Henderson said CVI hosts two tournaments each year for out-of-town guests.

The guests are invited by personal letter, the list being generated by the hotel/casino's vast database, which identifies players that casino marketing directors would want.

For a $99 entry fee, the casino offers up a Friday through Saturday tournament that Henderson says is really three tournaments in one."We call it our Tri-Game-A-Thon," he says."One is a slot tournament, the other is blackjack.We pay the top 63 places in blackjack and the top 150 in the slot tournament.

The 'tri' comes about as everyone is also entered in an ongoing keno tournament.

The total prize purse is $20,000." At John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks, Marketing Director Beth Lau says the hotel/casino tries to create a festival atmosphere and uses a lot of themes to draw customers."Our most popular tournaments are with the slots," she says.

"Almost everyone is comfortable with a slot machine, but not everyone has the same comfort at the blackjack table."

Lau says the Nugget tries to have an event every weekend."We try not to run the same program year after year," she says."We want to keep our events fresh." Themed tournaments are held roughly three times each year.

They are usually held over three nights with an $850 buy-in.

For that sum, the player gets a hotel room, food and drinks plus a chance to win the lion's share of a $140,000 pot.

"A lot of our guests are from California and information from our database tells us they really enjoy the themed tournaments.

You should see some of the outfits and the hats they wear.

It's really fun and they have told us many times how much they enjoy the Nugget tournaments," she says.

One local casino with a slightly different twist on tournaments is the Bonanza, located on North Virginia Street in Reno.

David Martin,marketing manager, said the Bonanza does not have a set schedule for tournaments.

The casino has only recently begun tracking customers' play with magnetic- striped cards.

"Our tournaments have a different purpose than most,"Martin says."A larger casino like the Atlantis or the Peppermill has as its goal to cover the costs and make money and do so in one weekend.

Our purpose is to create a sense of camaraderie that invites our guests to visit us frequently.We tend to focus on the North Valleys area and I'd say approximately 90 percent of our guests are in that market."

When a tournament is held, says Martin, it is open to just the top three tiers of the Bonanza's Cavalry Club."We open 100 spots and it's on a first-come, first-serve basis," he says."And we don't charge a buy-in fee."