Don’t gamble with marketing
Casinos know their customers

There are two things you can bet on with area casinos. They know marketing and they know customer service. Casinos probably do those two things better than just about anybody and there’s a lot other businesses can learn from them.
Silver Reef Casino on the Lummi Reservation has succeeded spectacularly after a previous effort failed. Eric Larsen is director of marketing.
“There’s a lot more to our success than just a better location,” he said. “We have a serious commitment to providing a great experience for our customers and work very hard at it. Every employee attends seminars on customer service as part of a small group. We also do internal marketing to insure all employees understand the value of the guest.”
Employees are often incorporated into casino advertising.
“Customers want a great gaming experience and great food,” Larsen said. “We’re now a complete entertainment destination. Good food at great prices brings people in who don’t gamble at all. Casinos offer some of the best values in dining, both quality and cost. We’re in the hospitality business. If guests don’t come back, we’re gone. We depend on repeat business more than most.”
Silver Reef now averages 2,000 guests a day.
“We establish relationships with our customers,” Larsen said. “They see the same cashiers over and over again. That gives us lots of opportunity for interaction.”
There are 400 people employed at the casino.
“The hospitality industry is known for turnover,” Larsen said. “Our rate is less than the industry average because we take care of our people. Every employee gets a free meal each day and we gave them free turkeys at Thanksgiving. We show how much we appreciate them.”
Larsen believes that casinos’ emphasis on customer satisfaction helped defeat Initiative 892 in the recent election.
“People come here for an entertainment experience,” he said. “They are looking for much more than just a slot machine in a drugstore. Casinos also have a much better understanding of problem gamblers. We don’t want them. We don’t want people spending their grocery and mortgage money on gambling. The voters obviously thought there are enough gambling options available.”
The rebound of the Canadian dollar has had a noticeable impact.
“Canadians are very aware of the exchange rate,” Larsen said. “Forty percent of our business comes from Canada and that’s continuing to grow. It’s our largest potential market.”
Canadian casinos have trouble competing with those on this side of the border.
“They don’t allow smoking and only one of them allows drinking on the gaming floor,” Larsen said. “They don’t have players’ clubs and their machines don’t pay off at as high a rate as ours do.”
A new hotel will help make Silver Reef a more complete destination.
“Canadians want a place to stay when they come down here,” Larsen said. “We’re going to provide that. The new hotel will also help open up the Seattle market to us and even further south. People are looking for a quick getaway and the Convention and Visitors Bureau has been targeting that market. It will enable us to host conventions and business meetings.”
The casino hopes to open the hotel by the end of this year.
“We’ll add a third restaurant, probably with Asian cuisine,” Larsen said. “The spa will feature a heated indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, exercise and massage facilities. There will be two more meeting rooms and an executive boardroom. The top floor of the hotel will have restricted access, with four suites and a private lounge.”
Gaming will be expanded with the addition of 125 more slot machines and two more tables. Booking entertainment is often a challenge.
“It’s hard for us to pull in big name acts,” Larsen said. “We try to book acts that will allow us to keep ticket prices affordable. Acts like Leslie Gore and Bo Diddley target the boomers and that’s a group with disposable income.”
Marketing efforts are directed to anyone over 21.
“Realistically, it’s the over 50 crowd that’s our bread and butter,” Larsen said. “But we’re doing some things to attract a younger crowd, like Monday Night Football and Super Bowl parties. There will be a DJ event in January. We really have to be all things to all people. Boxing events like Rumble at the Reef help attract a younger male crowd.”
Much effort is devoted to keeping the facility clean and well-maintained.
“Image is important and customers appreciate that,” Larsen said. “We listen to them.”
Silver Reef also works at being a good neighbor.
“Our community contribution fund has given more than $140,000 to the Boys and Girls Club, the Fire Department and other groups,” Larsen said. “Our employees on their own collected more than 1,500 pounds of food for the local food bank. Those efforts help us mitigate the sometimes negative connotations of a casino.”
The Nooksack Casino in Deming has expanded about as far as it can in its current facility. The latest growth spurt added 8,000 square feet to the front of the casino, accommodating 100 more slot machines. Mike Wootan is general manager.
“The key to our marketing is database management,” he said. “A lot of businesses miss the importance of that. It allows us to target our efforts toward known customers. People come here because they like our service. When they come in the door, we often greet them by name. Guests appreciate that because it makes them feel valued.”
A good staff is vital for this level of service.
“We look for people with a good personality who really want to be in a service industry,” Wootan said. “We teach them to focus, but have fun. Service is a very tough job. That’s why there is a lot of turnover. If we can help them have fun, then it’s not so tough.”
Nooksack’s training program is approved for college credit at Bellingham Technical College. The casino has 275 employees.
“You have to provide an environment where they can grow and have new opportunities,” Wootan said. “Those opportunities have to be real. I started as a bar boy, now I’m the manager. Lots of our people who start at entry level go on to greater things. We post open positions internally before looking outside.”
That gives management greater opportunity to assess personality issues.
“People with no experience but great personality often go on to success,” Wootan said. “Businesses too often emphasize experience over personality.”
More than 100 employees have graduated from Working Paths, the Nooksack training program that teaches a range of skills from customer service to writing to supervision. It’s specific to the service industry and separate from gaming school.
“Sixty percent of our customers are Canadian,” Wootan said. “The ups and downs of the Canadian dollar don’t have much effect. The exchange rate is mostly irrelevant. They come down here to have fun. The challenge is to make them willing to put up with crossing the border to get here. We have to work around those problems.”
Wootan also faces the challenge of a location well off the beaten track.
“Location is the only area where we can’t compete and our customer service offsets that,” he said.
Marketing director Bill Wirth proportions his budget to reflect the 60-40 ratio of Canadians to Americans.
“There’s a lot of things we can learn from our database,” he said. “We encourage guests to register for our Winner’s Club program. That allows to learn a lot about them and their preferences.”
The casino is an important economic tool for the Nooksack tribe.
“It’s enabled us to build a community center and purchase land for the eventual addition of a hotel,” Wootan said. “The casino is 12 years old now and outgrowing the current facility. The Mount Baker corridor needs a first class hotel. It will bring people in for a lot more than just gambling and be good for everyone in the area.”
Wirth pointed out that Nooksack Casino is the single largest employer in the eastern part of the county.
Skagit Valley Casino Resort recently assumed management responsibilities for Resort Semiahmoo, including both the Semiahmoo and Loomis Trail golf courses. For the time being, The Skagit is the only casino along the I-5 corridor with a hotel. Deb Davis Bundy is advertising and public relations manager.
“The hotel offers 103 rooms, including 29 suites and 74 deluxe rooms,” she said. “Our pool has a retractable roof and the facility includes a sauna, hot tub and fitness room with room service and guest laundry available.”
Meeting and banquet facilities include the 120 seat courtyard, which can be divided into three rooms. The Northwest Ballroom seats 400 and can be split in half. The Pacific Showroom doubles as a second ballroom and seats 450. The Winner’s Lounge can seat up to 70 theatre style for meetings or events. The casino itself features more than 670 slot machines and three restaurants.
“Development of the resort is complete for the time being,” Bundy said. “But we’re always asking customers how we can improve.”
She doesn’t feel that casinos are different from any other business.
“We have entertainment, celebrations, lots of parties,” Bundy said. “There’s always something interesting going on.”
The hotel and casino employ 500 people.
“We have the best employees and a high rate of retention,” Bundy said. “Great employees attract other great employees. They know many customers by name and remember their preferences. It’s all about building relationships. We call it Skagitude. We reward people for excellent customer service, including employee and supervisor of the month awards.”
Bundy has been in advertising and public relations for 25 years.
“This is the best working environment I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “I’ve been in education, high tech, real estate and had my own business. I’m going to stay here until I retire.”
There are many components to The Skagit’s marketing plan and they all have to be in sync.
“We get a substantial amount of business from Canadians,” Bundy said. “There’s been a noticeable increase with the strengthening of the Canadian dollar. One of our challenges is to address the differences in the Canadian and American markets. Canadians want the most value for the money and look for the best deal.”
Staying in tune with the community, understanding current events and trends is vital.
“We take pride in what we give back to the community,” Bundy said. “We’re full sponsors for the Tulip Festival and the Cancer Walk.”
When Mark Twain was accused of stealing ideas from Shakespeare, he replied, “If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.” That’s good advice for businesses and casinos are among the best at marketing and customer service.