On Target: The Pro Gun Club of Las Vegas
By David J. Paster
The last time I discharged a weapon was during my fourth grade Christmas break, back when it was actually called “Christmas break.” A friend of mine took me out to the family farm, and we loaded up the BB gun he had received for Christmas (supposedly from an NRA membership-holding Santa) and went into the fields for target practice. As a novice, he pointed me to a reasonable target that would dovetail with my skill level: an empty 42-gallon, brightly painted oil barrel that served as a property line demarcation.
With a squint that I thought emulated classic John “The Duke” Wayne, I focused my site on the barrel. On releasing the trigger, the gratifying bang rang in my ears, but then heard a wooden crackle in lieu of the metallic ding of the pellet hitting metal. Instead of the barrel, I tagged a telephone pole, conveniently right where the phone line met the glass bell. Looking up, I saw a detached piece of (now exposed) insulated copper, the sole line of communication for my rural community, dangling about 20 feet overhead. I succeeded in isolating an already remote community for a solid 24 hours until the lineman could arrive to mend damage my mis-marksmanship had inflicted.
One shot, and not only did I miss an admittedly, in retrospect, easy target, but I also made a hit so precise that I sincerely doubt it could ever be replicated by someone trying to stop incoming and outgoing calls to and from my old Missouri outpost again. I haven’t shot a gun since, but I might just break my 30-year non-shooting streak at a locale that actually covers a bit more land than the community I telephonically isolated, the Pro Gun Club (nee Desert Hills Shooting Club), located just outside of Las Vegas in Boulder City, Nev. While the terrain is considerably more barren and craggy than a Missouri farm, the various means of going “bang-bang” with more than just an index finger are vast.
At this point, you might be wondering why exactly there is a story about a gun club in the middle of a magazine usually focused on topics such as determining accurate slot hold and defining gaming laws in bizarre foreign lands (for example, Mississippi). Well, when one drills down to the core purpose of Casino Enterprise Management magazine, the raison d’être of this monthly periodical is to help gaming management build the proverbial better mousetrap. Changing theoretical hold or altering land-based concessions is merely another means of approaching how to most effectively and efficiently capture the customer, be him a leisure traveler, a soon-to-be-married or -buried soul, or an exposition attendee, and garner some of his discretionary spend. Having an off-property, but still in close proximity, alternative activity is another way of doing just this.
A golf club, a racing track (e.g., Richard Petty Driving Experience) and even a shooting club are not all that different when it comes to meeting this end. In a destination-based market like Las Vegas, a regional locale like Diamond Jo Casino’s multi-faceted venue or the recently shuttered Oasis Gun Club in Mesquite, Nev., non-gaming recreation facilities may serve as viable (i.e., trip-lengthening) auxiliary activities.
While both aforementioned examples are/were directly associated with casinos, the Pro Gun Club in Las Vegas is an independent operation. However, one on-the-ball casino, Emerald Island in Henderson, Nev., has already formed an alliance with the Pro Gun Club, which is only 12 miles away. The casino allows its Emerald Rewards loyalty club members to redeem their points for access to the Pro Gun Club.
Further, like a golf course, the Pro Gun Club is an environment apart from the hyper-stimuli of a casino hotel, and is a place where quality one-on-one time, a little bonding, and maybe even some business can be accomplished. This separation from the hustle and bustle of the Strip is one of the reasons that major brand-name business entities have held shooting sessions on property. With the ability to hold an event for up to about 350 patrons, the Pro Gun Club serves as an alternative to a traditional golf outing, private party or mid-level concert. After all, it’s hard to get business completed with either thumping house music or the surviving members of a Styx tribute band drowning out conversation.
Of course, those without shooting experience are not simply sent out with a gun, ammo and the required sound-muffling apparatus. There are National Sporting Clay Association (NCSA) certified instructors and a (fully loaded) and helpful staff, including General Manager Jim Ledstrom and Assistant General Manager Dawn Zlotek, who will make sure the visiting patrons do not take out any telephone lines. Zlotek noted that while an experienced gunman/woman—and, yes, women make up a good portion of the clientele—might shoot 100 rounds, a beginner might want to start off with only 50 so as not to overdo it. If the practice makes sense for a tanning booth—the incremental, moderated build-up—then it does for shooting as well.
Did I mention that anyone with an itchy trigger finger can shoot off real, live-ammo weapons?! As casino folks, a number of us probably have some affinity for the carnival. A shooting range of this caliber, excuse the pun, is like the BB gun shoot-out booth, where you get to try to annihilate the star on the target for $3 a pop, except a better value and more awesome by about 100 times over, whether it’s on the Pro Gun Club’s traditional indoor target range or on the challenging and ever-changing clay pigeon outdoor course. Smart corporations have already found that this untraditional niche activity is a fantastic way to entertain visiting guests in town to try out new products or attend the numerous conventions in Las Vegas. 
Unlike some sporting activities, such as scuba or even fishing, no specific preparation or licensing is needed to enjoy the activities and amenities of the Pro Gun Club facilities. The owner of note, Telly Eliades, holds a fundamental philosophy that the Pro Gun Club should be inclusive; everyone from a novice shooter to a top marksman can enjoy the facilities at his respective level. The analogous environment would be a ski resort that recognizes the importance of offering everything from bunny slopes to black diamonds—the trick is not to try both in one day. (Learn vicariously through my many, many life mistakes here—but that’s a story for another article.)
Eliades even spoke of the continuously evolving club as a sort of big-box venue, where eventually all aspects of the shooting and defense lifestyle, from equipment to specialty classes such as women’s defense and nighttime intruder approach, will be offered alongside extensive food and beverage outlets and even externally sponsored functions, such as the ever-popular gun shows.
If the nearly 80 percent rate of membership renewal suggests anything, it is that the club is “doing right” by its diverse customer base. When one place can serve families trying to educate their children about gun safety as well military and police officers off the clock, multi-tasking can be assumed to be mastered. It should also be noted here that the club is not only for members and those involved with the for-profit sector; the Pro Gun Club has successfully hosted major events with Ducks Unlimited and a Boy Scouts of America fundraiser.
The one element that for sure this entity is not lacking is its potential to maximize facility capacity. There is simply ample room to grow. The vision is in focus, but it is still open to sites that might appear on the opportunity horizon. Speaking of, the indoor range is simply phenomenal, with one of the indoor ranges measuring a full 100 yards. During my visit, I couldn’t even see the target, but those whose eyesight isn’t reminiscent of Mr. Magoo’s and individuals using scopes evidently can.
Eliades is considering numerous offering of goods and services to the Pro Gun Club’s established and future clients, as long as all of the associated endeavors can rise to the level of expectation of integrity and being premium that the club sets for its self.
Beyond an insistence on only offering the highest-quality service experience, Eliades also ensures that the club will be equitable in terms of pricing, facility usage and other accessibility issues.
The club is currently addressing or placing under consideration such hospitality innovations including but not exclusive to:
1) Reciprocity for memberships with other gun clubs that meet Eliades’ standards (a la ClubCorp™).
2) An enhanced loyalty/customer relationship management effort to reward frequency, recency and monetary activity and to guide customers to potentially expanding their pursuit repertoire.
3) Continued integration of alternative, non weapon-based self defense (e.g., Krav Maga and other martial arts).
4) Training and certification with recognized associations.
5) Women- and children-focused and customized activities.
6) Expanded food & beverage and convention facilities.
Like the other Eliades’ family businesses (the Olympic Garden’s Gentleman’s Club and a limousine/party bus service that can easily transport guests in style from anywhere in Las Vegas to the Pro Gun Club site in about half an hour), the Pro Gun Club also partially sells fantasy. If the shooter wants to imagine that the target profile is the dealer who pulled a seven-card 21 against his pat 20, is his 25-year-old ex-fiancé who jilted him for a younger man, or his rumpled, bloated and twisted boss, let the fantasy be fulfilled.
Editorial Note: The Pro Gun Club management and staff would appreciate any input on what CEM readers would like for the club to offer and, of course, a chance to host personal visits or company functions. To reach the club, visit www.deserthillsshootingclub.com, e-mail dawn@deserthillsshootingclub.com or call (702) 293-2108.
David Paster is the Principal of Yarborough Planning LLC, an independent business consulting firm, and is a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University. With more than a dozen years of hospitality and gaming experience, a master's in urban planning and business administration, Paster's multi-jurisdictional, domestic and international education and professional experience serve as a foundation upon which his consulting is built. Paster can be reached at david.paster[at]hotmail.com or (702) 813-5062.