A Colossal Casino Marketing Failure

I’m a gambler.  I’ve enjoyed top-tier status in the past.  You would think that makes be an attractive target for marketing and promotion, right?  Wanna’ know how many times I’ve been contacted by three of the biggest casino companies in Las Vegas — Caesars, Stations, and Boyd gaming — within the last four years?  Take a wild quess….

I’m confused.

I thought that I knew something about the casino business.  But the fact is, even though I spent roughly 20 years working for two of the biggest names in casino gambling, I now realize just how little I actually do know.  Perhaps someone out there might read this and will educate me.

Question:  What are casino marketing departments thinking and do they have even the faintest clue what they’re doing?

Across the board, I’m convinced the answer to this question is a resounding — NO.

Yeah, I get it.  Times have changed.  And, things are changing.  Especially in the last few years.  I realize every player/gambler is nothing but a number and a dollar $ign to the house.  Corporations have obliterated old traditions, relationships, and trust.  Nicely done, MBAs.  Funny, those old-fashioned things used to work.  That’s what built Las Vegas.  Not anymore.

Years ago, I had VIP status with several major casinos.  This isn’t a brag.  It’s not even that big a deal, really.  It’s just a fact based on my lifestyle and the amount of gambling I once did in my favorite casinos.

Mostly, my games of choice were as follows:  (1) sports betting, (2) live poker, and (3) video poker.  Yes, I realize that video poker is the game that generates the most perks for players.  Much less so with sports betting and live poker.  Accordingly, I did enough video poker to qualify for what’s known as Presidents‘ status at Stations Casinos, Diamond status at Caesars, and Onyx status at Boyd (aka Coast properties). Mind you, I didn’t always enjoy all of these status rewards at the same time.  However, I earned the top-tier perks for many years with three of the biggest properties in Las Vegas, and could use those points when I traveled, which was often.  I should also point out these levels of play are not super-elite or high-roller status, but they are the bread and butter of the casino market.  For instance, Diamond players at Caesars are typically what keeps the hotel at ~70 percent occupancy on a Tuesday night.

[More Gritty Details: I acquired Diamond status at Caesars which was attainable with $20,000 coin in, solely for the purposes of enjoying the lounges and getting other perks for a full year. Since I traveled around the country and worked with Caesars’ properties 12 months a year, this was well worth the expected theoretical loss of around $1,200. at video poker / My Stations rewards was almost entirely due to heavy sports betting. To get Presidents’ status, $100,000 in sports bets was required over a 6 months span, and this was–at the time–an easy target figure for me. / My Boyd (Coast) status to Onyx was a mix of long poker hours, some sports betting, and occasional video poker]

So, to recap:

–I had the Diamond Card with Caesars for about 10 years.
–I had the Presidents’ Card with Stations casinos for 10-12 years.
–I had the Onyx Card with Boyd for perhaps 3-4 years.

Then around 2017, my financial situation changed.  No reason to get into yucky details, but I didn’t earn as much money or gamble nearly as much.  By 2020, with COVID keeping everyone at home, almost all of my casino play has ended, except for sports betting.  So, I was a LOYAL casino customer for more than a decade.  Then, I cut back on my play gradually, and finally (like so many people) opted to play in casinos much less, or not at all.

Are you with me so far?

Good. Here’s where we get into the original premise and my initial question.

In their files someplace, there’s a name.  It’s “Nolan Dalla.”  It’s some random average gambler guy who was a loyal customer for a very long time.  If you don’t know the casino business, 10 years is a long time to maintain tier status.  Okay so now here’s the shocker:

Wanna’ know how many times I’ve been contacted by CAESARS, STATIONS, and BOYD in the last three years?  Take a wild quess.  This means regular mailers, email promotions, texts, or a phone message.

Go ahead, take a guess.

0.

ZEEEEEEEEERO.

Nothing. Nada.

I’ve never been contacted since I dropped off the status pedestal.  After my status expired for all three properties sometime in 2018, I might as well be a ghost.  Someplace in those precious computerized files inside all those casino marketing departments, there must be TENS OF THOUSANDS of loyal casinos gamblers–just like me–who have given plenty of action over the years.  This list should be solid gold.  It should be easy to target these plum former customers.  As to why some people are not gambling anymore….who knows what happened?  Maybe they had health problems.  Perhaps their finances changed.  Whatever.  But the fact is this —— they are PROVEN GAMBLERS.  In a tight and fiercely-competitive market with diminishing profits in the pit, it would seem that a list of loyal customers would be a part of any marketing initiative.  Seems it should be priority one.

Listen here:  How much does it cost to mail out a flyer, saying WELCOME BACK?  I still see mailers going to out people here in Las Vegas who have never stuck a nickel in a machine or made a bet.  However, in three years I’ve never received an invite, or a special offer, or a “we want you back” promo, or a “thank you” or a hotel room offer, or a get lost.  Nothing of the kind.  Not even a $10 food comp.  I’m a ghost.

Fact:  The people who run these casino marketing departments must be clueless.  Isn’t the best customer to target someone who is *proven* to be a loyal customer in the past?  But what the hell do I know?

Despite what the world believes, most people, even in Las Vegas, are deadbeats when it comes to giving casino action.  Deadbeats means exactly what you think it does.  The casino makes little money off them.  Maybe they make a few bucks from the restaurants or in the bingo hall.  But most locals here provide little revenue, especially to a property like Caesars.  If they gamble at all, locals are mostly small-timers.  Dime and quarter droppers.  Bingo slingers.  So, why not target the actual contacts that have been proven to gamble for five and six-figure sums, you know — like the people who were status members for, I don’t know, maybe 10 years!  Helloooooo?

Instead, we’re nobodies.  It’s like we walked in off the street, and get the same exact lame treatment as the dime and quarter dropper or the non-gambler.  Never mind a DECADE of loyal play.  Forget about thousands of dollars in earnings from my play.  None of that matters.  It’s back to square zero.  That was then, and this is now.

How dumb.

Actually, I’m glad to NOT get any offers from casinos.  I’m sure their own negligence has saved me money.  Nonetheless, it’s staggering to see such incompetence at so many major casino companies.  No doubt, they will still make money and turn a profit in spite of themselves.  But the mismanagement at the highest level is something that I can’t understand.

Perhaps someone out there can explain it to me because I don’t get it.

Update:  When I posted this same question and article to FACEBOOK, there were 100+ replies.  This was easily the most amusing, and probably helpful.  Enjoy!