• Revel without a cause

    A article on the downfall of Revel to appear in the next issue of Forbes. Nothing really new.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarl...iggest-casino/

    Comments 8 Comments
    1. Three's Avatar
      Three -
      They left out the part about AC making everything less attractive to those used to coming to AC. Worse games, worse comps worse treatment of players. If they had tried to compete they would have kept a considerable portion of their market share. They just forced their regulars from out of state to try the other casinos. Once you lose a customer to competition it is very very difficult to get him back. Your best defense is to do everything to keep customers even when bean counters try to bait you into trying to save pennies to stave the revenue drop. Those pennies are actually not gains but further losses to the tune of hundreds of thousands or more. They are still listening to the same bean counters and the few that still drive in from out of state are grumbling that there isn't any draw anymore. When waiting in ridiculously long lines for crappy promos all I hear is people saying they won't be back. The reason is that AC offers worse games and the incentives to come are plummeting. Every change made to make AC more inviting has the opposite effect. Casinos continue to invest in ideas that make their troubles far worse rather than investing in incentives that make the travel time and expense and tolls worth it. In better games that actually compete with the competition and take better games away from the decision on what to call your goto gaming destination. Most probably will be back but every month more and more decide they won't. There comes a breaking point for almost everyone. Once a loyal customer tries another option you have already failed. AC casinos just suck at business and don't get the most basic concepts of how market share is maintained and won or lost.

      It looks like AC will continue to cut its own throat. It is really very simple, figure out what will bring or keep customers coming. If you want gamblers, especially high level gamblers, you must offer games no worse than you competition (ideally better). If you want casual gamblers that are there for a larger experience you must offer better incentives and treatment than the competition or your previous model. You must keep the things people are used to and like about coming to AC. Without doing these things AC is doomed to be a locals destination. The one thing that made it unique was the large number of casinos in one place. If your luck is bad at one place you can go to another. It is tough to run out of lucky casinos when there are so many. Now even that is evaporating as the casino fall like a row of dominoes.

      The Revel came at the wrong time but ad the chance to turn AC around by doing what the other casinos had abandoned. Going back in time to what AC was expected to be. The best games on the East Coast. Comps and the gourmet treatment that made losing large sums of cash seem worth it. People who can loss large sums of cash are used to being treated very well in life so you have to go over the top to get them to feel your treatment was something special. Revel went the opposite direction and dragged AC further into the quick sand. Eventually it will be too late for AC casinos and I fear that time has past because there is no evidence that AC will do what is necessary to save itself. Everything they do will further their problems rather than fix them.
    1. Blitzkrieg's Avatar
      Blitzkrieg -
      How can it be a spectacular fall when it seems that Revel never really had a foothold in AC's market. How long have they been around? 2 bankruptcies within a short amount of time. I applaud the epic failure of the investment and casino management teams involved with Revel.
    1. Three's Avatar
      Three -
      The first thing they did was alienate every high roller that frequented AC. That pretty much sealed its fate. They decided from the get go they would cater to the small player. No VIP lines. No special treatment. Nothing that a high roller expects from any place they go. every change they made to casino SOP in AC made them less desirable to the current AC market desirables in an effort to open a new market for its amenities. they needed to do everything better for the desirable AC market and do things to open new markets for their amenities. They made it an either/or choice from the get go and there success relied on them being more attractive to the desired casino patrons and more attractive to new markets for their amenities. The way they did it failed on both ends rather than succeeding on both ends.
    1. 21forme's Avatar
      21forme -
      Quote Originally Posted by Blitzkrieg View Post
      How can it be a spectacular fall when it seems that Revel never really had a foothold in AC's market.
      Good point!

      BTW, Norm, I was going to congratulate you on a clever title for the thread. Then I noticed it's the title of the article...
    1. Norm's Avatar
      Norm -
      Heh! Yeah, I'm not above stealing a clever title.
    1. Blitzkrieg's Avatar
      Blitzkrieg -
      Quote Originally Posted by Tthree View Post
      The first thing they did was alienate every high roller that frequented AC. That pretty much sealed its fate. They decided from the get go they would cater to the small player. No VIP lines. No special treatment. Nothing that a high roller expects from any place they go. every change they made to casino SOP in AC made them less desirable to the current AC market desirables in an effort to open a new market for its amenities. they needed to do everything better for the desirable AC market and do things to open new markets for their amenities. They made it an either/or choice from the get go and there success relied on them being more attractive to the desired casino patrons and more attractive to new markets for their amenities. The way they did it failed on both ends rather than succeeding on both ends.
      It seems that Revel should have never opened up for business in the first place. I think the investment and management teams were out of touch with reality with what that particular market could handle. High rollers alone were/are not enough to pay the bills and keep the lights turned on when Revel was in operation even if you feel that they alienated them. I think that casinos only cater to people willing to lose millions of dollars. If people can spread that kind of action then yes, they'll probably receive VIP treatment. Otherwise I don't see it happening.
    1. Three's Avatar
      Three -
      Every high roller i know got an invite to the Revel so they could impress them and get their business. The only impression left was that they never wanted to go to the revel again. What is the point of inviting them in the first place if you aren't prepared to outdo the competition? The typical comment was, "What a beautiful place. To bad they don't know how to run a casino."
    1. Blitzkrieg's Avatar
      Blitzkrieg -
      I guess the Revel proved that they were just another typical casino on the block. Which makes me think that somehow the Revel was meant to fail and acted like some shell corporation of theft.

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