Gaming Goes National

Gaming destinations like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., long have captured the imaginations of show organizers and meeting planners looking for cities that offer a business environment with built-in entertainment.

However, those destinations have seen a drop off in visitor attendance during the past couple of years because of the poor economic climate. Gaming destinations and resorts in the more far-flung corners of the Midwest and Northeast, on the other hand, still have groups renting meeting and exhibition space for their events. While they’re not immune to the economic downturn, the gaming-oriented resorts have been able to attract group business by catering to them and offering them the exclusive packages they crave.

TSW editors spoke with officials at some of these facilities about the business they’re attracting and what they’re offering their customers.

Tucked into the southeastern corner of Connecticut in the city of Uncasville is the massive Mohegan Sun casino and resort.

Opened in 1996 by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, it is one of the largest American Indian gaming casinos in the United States. But never mind how many slot machines there are; it also features 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including the second-largest ballroom in the Northeast, at 38,000 sq. ft.

According to Chris Perry, Mohegan Sun’s vice president of hotel sales and marketing, the property also has a 10,000-seat arena that provides 30,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

In other words, the property has plenty to offer groups that want to meet somewhere that provides, besides gaming, resort-style amenities such as golf, spa services, shops, dining and live shows all in one place.

“Every gaming destination makes the casino the central point of every access point in the property,” Perry said.

Not there though, he added.

“At Mohegan Sun, you never touch the gaming floor unless you choose to,” Perry said. “Our design is more of a convention hotel. This unique layout for a gaming property makes us much more attractive to the corporate and association markets.”

In fact, he said, 85 percent of the property’s group business is corporate and only 15 percent is association.

“Hotel and meeting space opened in late 2001,” Perry added. “Our group business has evolved since opening through the capturing of increased Fortune 500-caliber events, primarily in the financial, insurance, retail and pharma markets.”

Events that choose to come to the Mohegan Sun are offered free Wi-Fi in meeting areas, free hard-wired access in the guest rooms, a booklet full of shopping and dining discounts at the property for attendees, complimentary parking and a nonunion labor environment, Perry said.

Even with the property’s success in booking group meetings, he added, Mohegan Sun was not immune to the economic downturn.

“We have seen our room nights in the group segment have about a 30-percent reduction since October 2008, and a drop in (average daily rate) of about 20 percent,” Perry said.

But, he added, since August, business has been looking up. “It seems like old days,” Perry said.

One reason for that, he added, is the value proposition the venue offers. “Mohegan Sun is located between New York City and Boston, ... two of the most expensive cities to do business in within the United States,” Perry said. “We are the solution to keeping your meetings close to home and avoiding the high cost of those cities, while operating under reduced budgets.”

East of Syracuse, N.Y., is another large American Indian gaming casino resort – Turning Stone Resort & Casino, opened by the Oneida Indian Nation in 1993.

According to Elaine Jackson, the resort’s director of sales, the convention center portion of the property opened even earlier, in 1991, and there is more than 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting space offered, as well as a 5,000-seat events center.

The property typically draws a mix of corporate, association and social groups, and more than 1,300 meetings are held at the property annually, she said.

“Each meeting package is individually designed at our client’s request,” Jackson added. “We do offer four-diamond facilities, in-house audiovisual equipment, staffed, full-service banquet facilities, kosher service, 24-hour room service (and) more than 20 restaurants and lounges.”

Turning Stone, too, has had its fair share of knocks during the tough economic times, she said, but “not to the degree of some of our competitors. We have maintained a very good rapport with our clients, and, therefore, they have been supportive of our efforts.”

Customers likely are drawn to Turning Stone because it is not your average casino experience, according to Jackson. The property was named Condé Nast Johansens’ top luxury resort in North America in 2007 and top golf resort last year, she added. It not only has three championship golf courses, but also a new dance club and a 122,000 sq. ft. casino with a variety of games.

“No doubt, there is something for everyone,” Jackson said.

Not far from the Mohegan Sun are two more large casino resort properties – Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods – both in Mashantucket, Conn.

In 1986, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation built its first bingo hall, which later evolved into the Foxwoods Resort Casino in 1992, and the MGM-branded property was opened in 2008, according to Joan Esneault, vice president of resort sales for both properties.

Between the two venues, there is more than 160,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including the largest column-free ballroom on the East Coast, the 50,000 sq. ft. Premiere Ballroom at MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Esneault said.

“At Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, we accommodate primarily corporate and association conferences, but also ... a wide range of clientele, because we have so much to offer everyone,” she added.

To attract different types of business, Esneault said, the decision was made to expand the property by opening the MGM-branded venue two years ago.

“... It made sense to expand our resort destination offerings in ways that increased our capacity for state-of-the-art, elegant facilities that are flexible with spacing requirements and complement our wide range of entertainment, nightlife, gaming, dining and retail offerings,” she added.

The MGM Grand at Foxwoods opened just months before the recession kicked in, and both properties saw changes in the way meetings were booked, with more short-term bookings, “budget-conscious clients looking for increased values and fewer attendees for an even shorter length of time,” Esneault said. “We are finding many companies that held annual sales meetings now are postponing these meetings until the economy strengthens.”

Still, she added, “We notice that overall cancellations have decreased.”

To fill the gap, she said, groups are being offered upgraded amenities, discount packages and greater flexibility in negotiating overall conference and convention rates.

In addition, Esneault said sales teams are targeting industries that are recession-proof, such as pharmaceutical, health care, food and beverage, high-tech and some retail.

“As for other industries we have accommodated in prior years, such as financial, insurance and automotive, we continue to maintain positive relationships with these clients and plan for future meeting opportunities when the economy rebounds,” she added. –Rachel Wimberly

In southwestern Minnesota, where Laura Ingalls Wilder once lived and based one of her books, Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel is nestled at the side of a county highway in the city of Morton.

With no metropolitan area nearby, Hotel, Golf and Convention Sales Manager Colleen Marcus said the venue serves groups that operate outside the nearest cities.

“We sit almost (exactly) between Sioux Falls, S.D., and Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minn.),” she added.

With about 45,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space, including the 21,000 sq. ft. Dacotah Exposition Center that opened in November 2008, Jackpot Junction serves a mostly corporate base of agricultural companies, along with a smattering of regional and state associations, Marcus said.

The venue opened 25 years ago as a bingo hall run by the Lower Sioux Indian Community.

“We were the very first (bingo hall) in Minnesota,” Marcus said.

It started adding meeting facilities in the mid-1990s.

The largest event Jackpot Junction hosts is the MN Ag Expo, the combined annual meeting of the Minnesota Corn Growers Assn. and the Minnesota Soybean Growers Assn.

In addition to the exposition center and four ballrooms that are able to offer flexible meeting space, the facility also has the Dacotah Ridge Golf Course, full catering services, two business centers and restaurants.

The economy hasn’t stopped groups from holding events either.

“They’re still coming, they’re still having their meetings, but they’re making cuts,” Marcus said.

With the casino attached to the venue, though, she added she’s able to have more flexibility with the pricing structure than would be available at a hotel venue without a gaming floor. “We probably could save a group more money,” Marcus said.

Also, Jackpot Junction’s peak times for group business don’t coincide with the usual times for the rest of the industry.

“January is our busiest convention month,” Marcus said. Winter and summer tend to be busier than spring and summer, she added, because of planting and harvest seasons.

The venue has another advantage other facilities don’t because of its built-in entertainment, Marcus said.

“After the meeting is done, there’s something to help keep them there,” she added.

Located in the very southern part of Illinois, far from Chicago’s McCormick Place, Metropolis, Ill., sits Harrah’s Metropolis Casino & Hotel, between Louisville, Ky., and St. Louis.

The venue’s 12,000 sq. ft. Riverfront Event Center hosts corporate events, conventions, tradeshows and other events.

“In 2006, we built our 258 ... room hotel and ... state-of-the-art Riverfront Event Center,” said Kyle Shepley, entertainment, advertising and public relations manager. “With the addition of the event center and hotel, we are a local and regional destination for meeting organizers.”

The facility opened in 1993 with riverboat gambling, but now the three-level casino has Las Vegas-style gaming with table games and slot machines.

Shepley said no matter what the economic climate, the venue always strives to have an innovative marketing strategy.

“Our corporation noticed the value of social media and encouraged its properties to implement (it),” he added. “... Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, provide another touch point or medium where we can connect to our guests, create a rapport and build relationships.” –Stephanie Corbin