Casino Journal October 2011 : Page 4

EDITOR’S LETTER OCTOBER 2011 • VOL. 24, NO. 10 • CASINOJOURNAL.COM Calm before the storm I ﬁ rst started going to Las Vegas in the late 1980s, a ﬂ edgling business writer attending the town’s business conventions, speciﬁ cally those around retail real estate, which was my specialty back then. One of the ﬁ rst things I was struck by in Las Vegas was the omnipresence of casinos—not so much the physical presence (I expected that), but the way they were constantly advertising for more customers. It didn’t matter what form of Las Vegas mass media you turned to—primarily television and radio back then—casinos’ forceful marketing Paul Doocey messages ﬁ lled the airwaves. I can’t tell you how very different this was from the norm for me. I was brought up in Massachusetts where, outside of the lottery, there was no gaming advertising whatsoever. I went to school in Philadelphia and eventually settled in New York City, where casino marketing was the occasional highway billboard you passed as you headed south on Interstate-95. It’s not that casinos weren’t nearby; after all Atlantic City was the second largest gaming jurisdiction in the United States in terms of number of casinos, and it was less than 200 miles down the road. But at that time it was also a monopoly and I guess resorts did not feel the need to blanket New York City with calls for people my age (mid-20s at that time) to come south to try the slots and table games. They had plenty of trade from gambling aﬁ cionados, who ﬂ ocked to Atlantic City because it was literally the only game in town. My, how times have changed. I’m still in New York City, Atlantic City is still just down the road, but now everyone is very aware of that fact. These days, New York City residents are absolutely bombarded with regional casino advertising, not only for Atlantic City, but for facilities in nearby Pennsylvania and Connecticut. We’re even getting talking horse-themed ads for the slots at Yonkers Raceway of all places. As if any self-respecting Manhattanite would dare set foot in Yonkers… although many must be given how wildly successful that property is. And now the battle is about to be joined for real. Resorts World New York, a 400,000-square-foot resort currently being developed within the footprint of the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, is scheduled to open later this fall and will be the ﬁ rst casino (sans live table games) in New York City proper. Initially, the facility will offer 2,280 video lottery terminals and 205 electronic table games, with plans to expand to more than 5,000 gaming machines by the end of the year. It will require a lot of patronage to make this amount of gaming proﬁ table. The battle for customer attention is likely to be ﬁ erce, especially as more states in the region foster casino development to boost local economies and make up for budget shortfalls. The fact that properties and jurisdictions both new and old are mining New York City for new customers shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone; after all, there are an estimated 19 million people residing in the greater metropolitan area. There is no other market this size in the U.S. with as few casinos to cater to gaming needs. Targeting the city’s Asian population alone has made Sands Bethlehem very successful, despite the fact it is 90 minute drive from downtown Manhattan. Now there is a gaming property less than an hour away by subway. Let the ad air war begin. Really, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the casino mass marketing eventually reach Vegas levels; that’s how high the stakes for this market will become as more and more regional properties come on line. As a New Yorker, I for one will not mind the background noise, so long as they take something equally annoying in return. I’m thinking the Mets. BNP MEDIA GAMING GROUP Editorial Publishing Offices 505 E. Capovilla Ave., Suite 102 Las Vegas, NV 89119 USA (702) 794-0718 Executive Editor CHARLES ANDERER (914) 948-5758; andererc@bnpmedia.com Group Publisher RANDY GREEN (248) 244-6498 ; greenr@bnpmedia.com Editor PAUL DOOCEY (718) 432-5421; dooceyp@bnpmedia.com Art Director TAMMIE GIZICKI (248) 244-1728; gizickit@bnpmedia.com Contributing Writers DENNIS CONRAD, JOHN GROCHOWSKI, ERIC HANSEL, JIM HODL, ELIOT JACOBSON, KEITH KEFGEN, LLOYD D. LEVENSON, JAMES RUTHERFORD Production Manager SOUZAN AZAR (949) 766-6779; azars@bnpmedia.com Marketing Manager DREW MATTHEWS (248) 786-1609; matthewsd@bnpmedia.com Associate Publisher, East Coast Sales TERRY DAVIS (404) 320-0072; davist@bnpmedia.com Western Regional Sales Manager KATRINA HARTWIG (480) 947-3293; hartwigk@bnpmedia.com Sales Manager, Gaming Events LESLEY GRASHOW (203) 938-2782; grashowl@bnpmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Audience Development Manager LISA DEWITT Multimedia Specialist ALISON ILLES Audience Audit Coordinator CAROLYN M. ALEXANDER REPRINTS: Contact JILL DEVRIES, (248) 244-1726; devriesj@bnpmedia.com LIST RENTALS Postal contact: Kevin Collopy at (800) 223-2194 x684 kevin.collopy@infogroup.com Email contact: Michael Costantino at (800) 223-2194 x748 michael.costantino@infogroup.com CORPORATE DIRECTORS Publishing JOHN R. SCHREI Corporate Strategy Director RITA M. FOUMIA Marketing Director ARIANE CLAIRE Production VINCENT M. MICONI Finance LISA L. PAULUS Creative MICHAEL T. POWELL Directories NIKKI SMITH Human Resources MARLENE J. WITTHOFT Information Technology SCOTT KRYWKO Clear Seas Research BETH A. SUROWIEC BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information BNP Corporate Telephone: 248-244-6400 For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at : Tel. (847) 763-9534 or Fax (847) 763-9538 or e-mail CJ@halldata.com. www.casinojournal.com CASINO JOURNAL (ISSN 1535-2110) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media II, L.L.C., 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 362-3700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $178.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $216.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $228.00 (int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds.Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2011, by BNP Media II, L.L.C. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER : Send address changes to: CASINO JOURNAL, P.O. Box 1080, Skokie, IL 60076. Canada Post : Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. GST account: 131263923. Send returns (Canada) to Pitney Bowes, P.O.Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. Change of address : Send old address label along with new address to CASINO JOURNAL, P.O. Box 1080, Skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back issues : contact Ann Kalb at (248)244-6499 or KalbR@bnpmedia.com. dooceyp@bnpmedia.com 4 CASINO JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2011 • CASINOJOURNAL.COM

Editor’s Letter

Paul Doocey

Calm before the storm I first started going to Las Vegas in the late 1980s, a fledgling business writer attending the town’s business conventions, specifically those around retail real estate, which was my specialty back then. One of the first things I was struck by in Las Vegas was the omnipresence of casinos—not so much the physical presence (I expected that), but the way they were constantly advertising for more customers. It didn’t matter what form of Las Vegas mass media you turned to—primarily television and radio back then—casinos’ forceful marketing messages filled the airwaves. I can’t tell you how very different this was from the norm for me. I was brought up in Massachusetts where, outside of the lottery, there was no gaming advertising whatsoever. I went to school in Philadelphia and eventually settled in New York City, where casino marketing was the occasional highway billboard you passed as you headed south on Interstate-95. It’s not that casinos weren’t nearby; after all Atlantic City was the second largest gaming jurisdiction in the United States in terms of number of casinos, and it was less than 200 miles down the road. But at that time it was also a monopoly and I guess resorts did not feel the need to blanket New York City with calls for people my age (mid-20s at that time) to come south to try the slots and table games. They had plenty of trade from gambling aficionados, who flocked to Atlantic City because it was literally the only game in town. My, how times have changed. I’m still in New York City, Atlantic City is still just down the road, but now everyone is very aware of that fact. These days, New York City residents are absolutely bombarded with regional casino advertising, not only for Atlantic City, but for facilities in nearby Pennsylvania and Connecticut. We’re even getting talking horse-themed ads for the slots at Yonkers Raceway of all places. As if any self-respecting Manhattanite would dare set foot in Yonkers… although many must be given how wildly successful that property is. And now the battle is about to be joined for real. Resorts World New York, a 400,000-square-foot resort currently being developed within the footprint of the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, is scheduled to open later this fall and will be the first casino (sans live table games) in New York City proper. Initially, the facility will offer 2,280 video lottery terminals and 205 electronic table games, with plans to expand to more than 5,000 gaming machines by the end of the year. It will require a lot of patronage to make this amount of gaming profitable. The battle for customer attention is likely to be fierce, especially as more states in the region foster casino development to boost local economies and make up for budget shortfalls. The fact that properties and jurisdictions both new and old are mining New York City for new customers shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone; after all, there are an estimated 19 million people residing in the greater metropolitan area. There is no other market this size in the U.S. with as few casinos to cater to gaming needs. Targeting the city’s Asian population alone has made Sands Bethlehem very successful, despite the fact it is 90 minute drive from downtown Manhattan. Now there is a gaming property less than an hour away by subway. Let the ad air war begin. Really, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the casino mass marketing eventually reach Vegas levels; that’s how high the stakes for this market will become as more and more regional properties come on line. As a New Yorker, I for one will not mind the background noise, so long as they take something equally annoying in return. I’m thinking the Mets.

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