When Wynn Las Vegas opened its doors two years ago, VP of Slot Operations Jamie Papp had a unique opportunity. Wynn was the first new casino resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip in several years. Its lavish 110,000-square-foot casino floor would feature over 1,960 slot machines. His challenge: open the doors with a mix of games capable of delivering the high caliber of financial performance and player entertainment that would meet the demands of gaming and hospitality icon Steve Wynn.
Canada-native Papp was definitely ready for the challenge. Then only 28 years old, he brought a unique background to Wynn: industry experience, an Ivy League education, and experience playing sports at the collegiate and professional levels. After graduating from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in 1997, Papp played minor league hockey before deciding he was ready to launch his business career. In 1998, he connected with fellow Cornell alumnus Arte Nathan, Wynn’s former senior VP of human resources, who inspired him to apply for a position in The Mirage Resorts Management Associate Program.
Papp moved to Las Vegas and, after six months of training in the slot department at The Mirage, was asked to join the slot team at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino when it opened in 1998. There, he worked his way up the ladder as a slot supervisor, was promoted to slot shift management, and finally ended his six-year tenure in slot administrative management. In 2003 Papp was recruited to join the pre-opening Wynn team as director of slot operations. He spent the first two years of his Wynn career preparing for the opening — designing and building the slot floor, and hiring and training staff. Several months after Wynn Las Vegas’ April 2005 opening, Papp was promoted to VP of slot operations. “Opening Wynn Las Vegas was an exciting experiment,” Papp said. “Product selection was challenging because we had been focusing on designing the building and hiring and training staff for so long that we had sort of lost touch with the machine analysis and selection process. Unlike when we opened the Bellagio, we didn’t have the benefit of having sister properties to draw information from on which games were performing or what kind of game mix would most appeal to our players. We had to rely on a series of market studies and a little bit of intuition.”
Papp said that of the 1,962 machines on Wynn’s floor at opening, 15 percent were on trial. “Trialing so many games afforded us the opportunity, for a six-month period after we opened, to monitor how the games performed and react to the market to make sure we did, in fact, pick the right products. Following the conclusion of the trial, we ended up purchasing about 50 percent of the trial games, while replacing the balance with new product that we learned we needed a little more of to better entertain our customers.”
Papp added: “The trials with the slot manufacturers proved to be very valuable. We had been out of the business of operating casinos and in design and development mode for so long, it gave us a chance to experiment and fine tune our floor.”
The Wynn slot floor now features a broad mix of games from reel spinning, video reel, Video Poker and tournament-style games in denominations ranging from penny to $5,000. Due to Wynn’s upscale player base, there is a large percentage of high-denomination games, particularly $5 to $10 and above. Papp said high-denomination video reel slots have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years.
Papp has also been surprised at the popularity of penny games. “We have almost 500 penny games, more than most other Strip resorts,” he said. “Today’s gambler is much more knowledgeable about the benefits of penny games — higher volatility and higher hit frequency, not to mention the extra time penny games provide for our customers to enjoy playing. Our 1 cent games’ win-per-unit performance is higher than all of our other lower denomination games, such as nickel or quarter machines. It really has been an incredibly pleasant surprise.”
Other popular games at Wynn include high-denomination video reel products, as well as 5-reel stepper games. “For us, it is all about understanding our players and listening to what they want,” Papp said. “We regularly evaluate play trends and adjust our floor accordingly. The data that we collect allows us to make much more informedproduct selections.”
Papp also takes advantage of the slot manufacturers that provide him with focus group and market research data to ensure that he is offering his players the most entertaining games.
“When it comes to the slot makers, obviously the product has to perform, and they have to have a good variety of games,” Papp said. “It is also very important that we see a commitment to R&D and to product and market research so that we feel confident they understand player and technology trends.”
Papp said he takes pride in developing strong relationships with all the slot manufacturers’ sales teams. “Having a good relationship with the account executive is critical,” he said. “They have to know what they have in their portfolio, how their products work and have a good understanding of what their customers need.”
Papp tries to meet with at least one or two account executives every week, which means he sees someone from every slot manufacturer an average of every two to three weeks. “Wynn Las Vegas prides itself on trying to stay ahead of the marketplace, and as a result, it is important to keep up to date with any new games and slot technology. Staying in touch with our vendors allows us to stay informed.”
According to Papp, service is another key factor when it comes to Wynn’s relationships with the slot manufacturers. “Response time when we have an issue is vital. It goes without saying that any machine down and out of service is not a good thing. And it is important to be able to communicate with the service technicians and have a good, open relationship. In the end, a machine that is not in play is a lost opportunity not only from a revenue perspective, but it also affects our guest’s experience,” he said.
Papp will summon all of his team-building and competitive skills acquired from years of playing hockey when Wynn’s second Las Vegas casino, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, opens in late 2008. The $2.1 billion project will feature over 60,000 square feet of casino with 840 additional slot machines. Papp will manage both casinos, overseeing a staff of more than 200 and over 2,700 games.
When designing his Encore slot mix, Papp said he will work closely with the slot manufacturers, exploring trial opportunities, game launch exclusives and other creative tools. “It will be a great opportunity to maximize the relationships that we’ve built here at Wynn Las Vegas — for everyone’s benefit,” Papp said.
In addition to managing the Wynn Las Vegas slot floor and preparing for the opening of Encore, Papp serves as an advisor to the slot operations team at Wynn Macau. Although the market for slots is expanding in Macau, players still tend to prefer table games, and Papp said he is always happy to help Wynn Macau’s slot operations team make its slot floor more profitable. “I do participate in conference calls with the team in Macau but tend to remain in more of an advisory roll,” Papp said.
Now 32 years old and one of the youngest slot operations vice presidents in the industry, Papp said he feels very fortunate to work with such a supportive executive team. “I feel really blessed to work with people like Steve Wynn, Andrew Pascal and Rob Oseland because they truly appreciate slot operations and the important role we play in the overall experience at Wynn Las Vegas,” he said.
Laura Olson-Reyes is Marketing Communications Director for SellingSource.com, a leading provider of technology-driven marketing solutions for lenders and financial institutions. She has 14 years of gaming industry experience. She can be reached at (702) 581-6367 or lauraeolson[at]yahoo.com.
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