| Augustine Casino: The Local Roll |
| Casinos | |||
| Written by Amanda Gaines | |||
| Sunday, 01 March 2009 | |||
 This California-based locals’ casino got back to basics to regain popularity with its core customer base.
During his interview with the casino’s board of directors, Jones was asked what he thought was wrong with the property and what he would do to change things around if he came on board. His answer was direct: get back to basics.  Bob Jones, general manager Prior to his appointment as general manager of Augustine Casino, Jones had worked at another casino in the Coachella Valley. Before Augustine opened, Jones and the management team at the other property tried to analyze the impact the new casino would have on their business. Because of its small size, which at the time was 349 slot machines and six table games, its only amenity being a small restaurant, and the fact that it was located miles away from the I-10, the team didn’t feel Augustine would have much impact at all. They were wrong. “Augustine came out of the gates very strong and took a big bite out of our local population,” Jones said. “It didn’t impact the customers we had coming in off the I-10, the tourists who were driving up and down, but, for a couple of years, we were scrambling to recover from the bite the casino took from our local database.” A few years ago, Jones noticed the management at Augustine Casino changed the casino’s focus and began trying to draw tourists away from the other casinos. Consequently, the casino suffered. Once Jones joined the team, he had a clear vision of what to do to set Augustine up for the same success it had when it first opened. “We’re getting back to basics, taking care of our locals, doing lots of promotions, offering good food at a reasonable price, offering the best table rules in the valley, and having a good selection of high payback percentage slots,” Jones said. “The casino had started implementing Vegas-style table rules. We needed to get back to what locals want rather than trying to be something we’re not.” Stay in touch As one of the original 500 dealers who helped open Atlantic City in the 1970s, Jones understands the casino industry better than most. When he looked at how to regain the confidence of the local population in the Coachella Valley, he knew he needed to start with the obvious. “When you’re a locals’ casino, it’s of no benefit to offer $100,000 prizes because most locals don’t believe they can actually win that kind of money,” Jones said. “I said ‘We should give away 10 $10,000 prizes rather than one $100,000 prize.’” Promotions, he said, are key. Whether it’s giving away simple things like coffee mugs and thermoses or occasionally hosting big parties with $5,000 or $10,000 grand prize drawings, as a locals’ casino, Augustine needed to focus on staying in touch with its customer base. “It was also a matter of making sure we had high payback percentage slots and fresh product on the floor. That’s all the locals are looking for.” To get the casino moving in the right direction, Jones revamped Augustine’s marketing team, giving it a new focus on getting back to the basics. He brought in people with many years of experience in locals marketing and revamped the direct-mail campaign to let the locals know there was a new management team in place focused on giving them what they wanted. In addition to putting members of his marketing team on the floor to talk to customers about what they’d like to see, Jones created a host department and brought in individuals who knew the Coachella Valley well and had worked in the area. Once this was accomplished, the property quickly stabilized. Even in a shaky economy, Jones is excited to say that the property is holding its own. Personal touch Survival of a locals’ casino is based on personal touch. At least that’s how Jones sees it, and now that the casino has grown to 800 slots and 10 game tables—still moderate compared to the competition in the Valley—it’s clear his theory is correct. “I’m a manager who gets out on the floor, and because I’ve been in the Valley for eight years, I knew a lot of customers,” Jones said. “When I asked customers what was missing, they said Augustine had lost touch. I said ‘I hear you loud and clear.’” In addition to redirecting his marketing team, Jones set about developing a “Cheers” type of atmosphere in which everyone knows your name. The security guards at each of the casino’s three entrances know between 20% and 30% of the people who walk through the doors and make every attempt to greet customers by name. Jones also makes sure employees, many of who have worked at Augustine for five years or more, know regular customers’ birthdays and anniversaries. He said the biggest compliments he gets on the casino’s changes come from these kinds of personal touches. “We had a table game player who was sick recently, and his favorite game is three-card poker. We went to a bakery, had a cake made with a three-card poker layout on the top, and brought it to his house, wishing him to get well. That’s something I’m very proud of,” Jones said. Other than the gaming itself, Augustine’s biggest draw is its restaurant, which has had the same executive chef and director of food and beverages since day one—an unusual feat in the gaming industry. One of Jones’ struggles when he arrived at Augustine was adding value to the players’ club card, and he looked to his marketing team for solutions. “At other casinos, you get discounts on hotel stays, but we don’t have many amenities,” he said. “We have opened a gift shop and added restaurant specials to give a greater value to cardholders.” Augustine added a Friday night seafood buffet that costs only $15.95 and a Saturday night lobster buffet for only $23.95 for customers with players’ club cards. It’s also gone back to basics with its restaurant items, adding beef stew in a bread bowl and the casino’s famous chicken potpie due to customer demands. “One of the billboards we’ve put up says reason number seven locals love Augustine Casino is for our chicken potpie,” he said. “Usually casinos talk about big shows or their hotel, and I’m talking about chicken potpie, but it goes back to the locals’ flavor. Never get too uppity, and always remember where you came from.” |
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