The 15th annual iteration of the East Coast Gaming Congress was nothing short of a finely calibrated erudition in disseminating gaming industry do’s and don’ts during a shaky economy. It did so by asking the hard questions and identifying the opportunities for both the public and private sectors.
In a very canny move on the part of conference producer Michael J. Pollock, this year’s East Coast Gaming Congress moved away from its typical panels of moderators and speakers, instead giving several CEOs main stage status. Five singular-vision CEOs presented in their own individual sessions, including Penn National Gaming President and COO Timothy Wilmott; Robert Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts; Virginia McDowell, President and COO of Isle of Capri Casinos; Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority; and Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment Group. All were incredibly effective presenters, knowledgeable enough to know today’s pitfalls and articulate enough to share their insights. As leaders of the casino industry, they also turned uncomfortable facts into real world gaming solutions. For example, Wilmott and Penn National Gaming, in addition to “ground up” projects in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio, and elsewhere, are in acquisition growth mode as well. And, according to Wilmott, they are “pushing that button hard.” Their current acquisition of the M Resort in Las Vegas already has 2,500 rooms booked.
Sprinkled among the CEO presentations were catchy collections of traditional panelist tracks.
The Mid-Atlantic Market session tackled the question of whether the Mid-Atlantic market is oversaturated with casinos: With 25 casinos within a 150-mile radius of Atlantic City and more on the way, just how much gaming supply can this fast growing region absorb? Here, prominent casino operators in the region discussed the opportunities, challenges and competitive landscape of the Mid-Atlantic gaming market. The consensus of their discussion pointed to recycling older gaming industry formulas for attracting casino patrons into promising new workable solutions. Of note, panelist Robert Soper, CEO of Mohegan Sun Pocono Downs, pointed out that, “Five years ago, there were as many 50 buses a week destined for Atlantic City from northeastern Pennsylvania, and now it’s down to four or five.” In essence, jurisdiction boundaries are a good news/bad news proposition—it just depends on which side of the jurisdiction fence you’re betting on. Building hotels seemed to be another consensus, and more than a whimper of encouragement was lent to it.
Surprisingly, there was little “mumbo-jumbo” about Atlantic City moldering away. Instead, in his luncheon keynote address, David Rebuck, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, delivered a loud and clear message from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: The state of New Jersey is “all in” when it comes to new funding and legislative support for Atlantic City.
With the need to attract new visitors now all but inescapable, Lloyd Levenson, CEO of Cooper Levenson, Attorneys at Law, reiterated Rebuck’s closing remarks to the crowd in the form of a question: “Are you all in?” Had the doors to the Atlantic City Convention Hall flung open at that very moment, the cry of “We’re all in!” from Atlantic City Jitney operators could have been heard rising across the city. The Atlantic City Jitney Association (ACJA), founded in 1915, is an association of independent operators of mini buses. The ACJA just completed a complete overhaul of the independently owned buses, with brand spanking new Ford F450 natural gas-powered mini buses, all painted a snazzy lime green. Like their slogan, “We keep you moving,” the Jitneys provide service 24 hours a day, seven days a week over three fixed routes, plus a fourth daytime-only route and bus-to-rail connections to the Atlantic City Rail Terminal. Operator Angel Manarro purchased his license (similar to a taxi medallion) 14 years ago for $180,000. According to Manarro, “that’s about ¼ million after interest payments,” which he has proudly paid off. (For the record, Manarro and the other 189 jitney operators are already “all in” when it comes to putting their best foot forward and a fresh new face on Atlantic City.)
The provocative “Internet Gambling: The Game Changer” track centered around not if but when Internet gambling will be legalized in the foreseeable future. It also discussed how to legalize it without becoming bogged down in details and obviousness, whether a federal model or state model would be implemented, and keeping an eye on European entrants into U.S. markets.
The “LIGHT Report” managed to pack plenty of vivacious passion into a fast-paced, 20-minute review of “Casino Visitors vs. General Recreational Vacationers: Just How Different Are They?” Here, the results of a recently completed study by Stockton College’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) unveiled a survey the team carried out on vacationers and their habits in 16 major northeast U.S. markets. The implications of their habits in casinos was deemed significant, and alluded to the need to consider the tastes of sloppy and slightly inebriated gamblers in comparison to the more codified tastes of fussy vacationers.
After the traditional keynote luncheon address, sponsored by Bally Technologies, the unfolding narrative of the next panel was not always clear. However, during “Bending Your Healthcare Cost Curve: A Winning Partnership,” speaker Christy Bell, executive vice president of healthcare management, effused an innovative partnership between healthcare system payers and casinos to stem health care costs. This is accomplished by considering afresh the notion that specific delivery, which can promote access, enhance experience and reduce costs, is inherently stabilizing, as presented by Katherine Schneider, M.D., M. Phil. and senior VP for health engagement at AlantiCare, along with Judy Fisher, executive director of human resources of Trump Entertainment Resorts.
When it came to the ever-popular “Wall Street Perspective” panel, opinion inexorably thickened, and hovered somewhere between rudimentary number crunching and voices floating out with hypnotic repetition—albeit to a standing-room-only crowd.
At the end of the day, spirits were as high as they were when it all began at an extremely well-attended pool-side reception at Harrah’s hosted by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority. It was a night where even the Trump Marina turned into a Golden Nugget pumpkin at midnight.
John Drugach is the East Coast Sales Manager for Casino Enterprise Management magazine with a passion for writing. He can be reached at jdrugach[at]aol.com.
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