Vol. 5 No. 2, February 2008
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Traveling in Style
From custom helicopters to stretch Hummers, AC casinos spare no expense to transport high rollers
Private jets, helicopters, limos, tricked-out SUVs. When it comes to bringing high rollers to town, Atlantic City uses any means necessary—the more lavish, the better. Casinos spend millions of dollars each year to lure big spenders to Atlantic City. High-end players don’t just demand luxe transportation—they expect it. If they don’t get it, most simply won’t come. In other words, a major transportation program is essential to attracting mega-players.
Trump Entertainment has its own helicopter. Harrah’s and Borgata have their own private jets. The other casinos charter high-flying carriers to get the biggest and best players to the resort. With air travel into the city inconvenient at best, “The idea that we can take care of it is very appealing to players,” says Trump Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Mark Juliano.
“The security is done in private terminals when you want it done. You leave when you want to leave, get picked up when you want to get picked up, and if you’re late, you don’t worry about it. There are no lines. The convenience is so much greater than commercial travel, there’s no comparison.”
Borgata President and Chief Operating Officer Larry Mullin says his casino’s private jet has contributed to the company’s stature as the No. 1 casino in town.
“With our customers’ busy schedules, you can’t even imagine how important it is,” Mullin says. “In the world today, time is everything. The ability to have a plane positioned in a couple of hours and have them on your property quickly is very important to business. Our program is a big success.”
According to Tropicana President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Giannantonio, whose casino is rebuilding a crucial junket system, it’s impossible to underestimate the value of convenient travel.
“It’s huge,” he says. “For me, I view it as incremental business. We wouldn’t have (the business) unless they got on that plane that we have for them. They could take a car, but it would be a very long drive that they are unlikely to make. Junkets are very profitable.”
Of course, limousines play an enormous role in transporting high-end players to and from the resorts. Most casinos have contracts with third-party limousine companies with predetermined costs based on the length of the trips and destinations. The casinos guarantee a specific number of trips per year in return to guaranteed service whenever it is requested.
Most casinos only supply the regular stretch and occasionally super-stretch limos for their customers.
“We have some people request dark and white colors or vice versa,” says Juliano. “But we don’t normally get requests for special cars. We may, once in a great while, make special arrangements for a specialty limousine—like a Hummer—for a bachelor party or something. But that’s very rare. Players are generally happy with traditional limousines.”
Caesars Atlantic City Senior Vice President and General Manager Dan Nita says competition and the hassle of commercial travel make VIP travel for customers more important than ever.
“The proliferation of casinos throughout North America has gotten more folks to accept gaming as a leisure pastime, which is a great thing,” Nita says. “But it also means more competition. And in order to get guests to come to Atlantic City, you have to make it easy for players to get to you. Avoiding the troubles of commercial travel is extremely important.
“Transportation for all of our properties is a major issue,” he adds. “Some of our other properties, it’s even more difficult. For example, Harrah’s Laughlin (in Laughlin, Nevada) uses air service for the majority of its business. We are blessed in (Atlantic City) because 25 percent of America’s population is within a three-hour drive. Now, with competition from outer markets, we have to be even more aggressive attracting customers outside of that three-hour radius.”
Here’s the rundown on each casino and the kinds of transportation they offer for high rollers.
Atlantic City Hilton and Resorts Atlantic City
For the Hilton and Resorts, junkets and chartered planes are key to bringing top players from the outer market. But Hilton Executive Vice President Phil Juliano says owning helicopters and private jets isn’t essential to a successful travel program.
“I can charter a plane in an hour,” says Juliano, adding that the Hilton and Resorts charter a handful of planes every month as far south as Florida and mostly east of the Mississippi. “Having your own isn’t a tremendous advantage. But to get these planes—not here, but everywhere—you have to be one great customer. These planes cost at least $5,000 on the very low end, plus you have the comps for your players when they come in and everything else. So you’re talking about big players. You’re not chartering a plane for a player under $100,000.”
The Hilton, through its Resorts Destination Club and programs with casino hosts, also pre-approves ticket purchases for commercial airlines and allows them to play for a refund. As far as junkets, Juliano says they really try to focus on weekday trips instead of weekends.
“We can fill our hotels without getting involved in junkets and planes on weekends. That’s not the problem. But we are always looking for additional weekday business.”
Resorts and Hilton also own their own fleet of limos that they use in combination with an outside limo service. “They are well-kept and well-run,” says Juliano. “I think it’s an advantage having your own cars, because the drivers get to build relationships with customers. They do an excellent job.” Juliano would like to change the mentality that limousines are the best way to travel.
“Personally, I can’t stand them. I would prefer to use town cars. That’s what we did when I was in Chicago. We use limousines here because there was always this myth that limos are better. Even though they fishtail all over the road and are low to the ground. But we’ll keep doing what the players want,” he says.
“But you have to look at it, as a significant percentage of really good players—maybe 80 percent—won’t drive any real distance themselves. They know they qualify for a limo, and they want it. They want to relax in the car and come play. And they will go where they can get one. And if you won’t, they will go to someone else who will or won’t come at all.”
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
Borgata believes in private jets so much, they have two of them. The Borgata owns two twin-engine Hawker 800 mid-size corporate jets. The eight-passenger jets hit as much as 600 mph and are the epitome of luxury with plush leather seating, attendant service and food and beverage program.
“We use them every day,” says Mullin. “The fact that we have two of them shows how important it is for us and our customers.”
Borgata leases its own hangar at the Atlantic City International Airport and has a staff of five pilots and attendants, when necessary.
“The convenience is unparalleled,” says Mullin. “We have absolutely attracted major players because of the planes. It gives us flexibility. Plus, when someone knows it’s your own plane and own pilots, they feel safe with us. The customer service and interaction with our pilots and crew are great assets.”
The jets have also been used to bring in some big-time celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, the Black-Eyed Peas and Carmen Electra.
When necessary, Borgata occasionally charters helicopters. As far as ground service, Borgata owns a fleet of “decked out” SUVs with tinted windows, DVD systems and all the extras. But they farm out their limousine service.
“We go pretty far with our limo service,” Mullin says. “If the customer is big enough, why not?”
Harrah’s Entertainment
While the parent company of Harrah’s owns a fleet of private jets that the Atlantic City properties use regularly, Nita says the local Harrah’s properties rely mostly on a “robust junket program” that flies customers in on commercial aircraft from 40 to 50 cities across America.
“We take great advantage of the close proximity of the Atlantic City airport,” says Nita, adding that junkets arrive daily for the Harrah’s Entertainment casinos. “Usually, we do runs for each individual property. So if we are flying out of Cleveland, for example, the first week might go to Harrah’s, the second week might go to Caesars and so on. But, of course, Harrah’s customers can pick and choose where they want to go.”
Harrah’s patrons can use Total Rewards points for travel, while the really big players receive air travel on a total comp basis. Harrah’s also offers package rates that include air travel.
When junkets don’t fulfill Atlantic City’s needs, the company’s fleet of private planes—most are eight to 15 seats and stationed out of Las Vegas and Memphis—are used. Nita says Atlantic City properties use those private planes on a weekly basis.
“These are $40 million to $50 million airplanes. They’re very posh. The private planes are driven by relationships with casino hosts, mostly. A lot of the flights are in conjunction with some of the major events—concerts, boxing, VIP events—and we reach out and say, ‘Hey, would you be interested in coming to Caesars?’ And they usually respond with, ‘Can you get me there?’ And we try to make that happen.”
For limousine service, Harrah’s Entertainment uses a combination of its own fleet with third-party limo operators.
“We have a great relationship with our outside limo operators, but having our own limos and employees is important,” Nita says. “They establish relationships with guests and are well received. For example, if a guest lives in Brooklyn and has the same limo driver every week, that establishes a relationship that goes hand in hand with the casino host.”
Tropicana Casino and Resort
If there’s a casino in town that knows the value of a good travel program, it’s the Tropicana. Last year, the casino actually eliminated its junket program to cut costs. It ended up hurting the casino’s bottom line.
“You have to have a junket program,” Giannantonio says. “It was always a no-brainer for me. We were able to bring it back in November and are building it up again. It has been very successful, and it is needed to drive higher-end business.”
The Tropicana runs several junkets every weekend with occasional weekday trips, too. “It’s a very costly thing to do, but it’s worth it,” says Giannantonio, adding that the Tropicana will also charter helicopters for the right players. “It is essentially a way of tapping the middle and outer markets, and it’s something you’re going to see more and more of. We’re able to bring people in from somewhere like South Carolina, a place where most people don’t want to drive from, not even in a limo.”
The Tropicana also eliminated its own limo fleet but is having great success with a third-party company.
“I don’t think most customers really know the difference,” he says. “We send limos to some pretty far-away destinations if our customers want that. We do whatever we can to help make it easier for them to get here.”
Trump Entertainment Resorts
The Trump properties are the only casinos in Atlantic City with their own helicopter. It’s the same luxury black helicopter you see Donald Trump flying around in on his hit NBC series The Apprentice. But the helicopter doesn’t belong to Donald Trump himself; it’s owned by the casino conglomerate. The Donald leases it when he needs it.
“We are the only casino in town to own a helicopter; we are also the only casinos in town that have the ability to land a helicopter on the roof,” says Juliano. “We have helipads on top of Trump Marina and the Taj Mahal. If the others charter helicopters, they have to go to Pomona.”
The Trump helicopter is an eight-seat (including pilots) Sikorsky that features leather seats and more room than your average whirlybird.
“It’s like being in the back of a spacious limousine,” says Juliano. “It’s very comfortable. But the real luxury of the helicopter is the ability to get to and from New York in 38 minutes. You can’t have all of the deluxe liquor and food service, but the convenience of it is just unbelievable. That outweighs everything else.”
Trump uses its helicopter for six or eight trips every weekend and occasionally during weekdays. But you have to be a whale to experience it. Typically, the helicopter flies to and from New York, but Juliano says other trips, to locations like Philadelphia and the Hamptons, do happen occasionally.
“You would have to be a legitimate $200,000 to $250,000 player” to rate a chopper, he says. “It is a big incentive. When you stay in one of the penthouses and ride the helicopter, it’s luxurious, but more importantly, convenient. For some people, important isn’t the word. There are some who only have a short period of time that they have and don’t want to spend the whole night. For them to be able to come down and gamble for the day and go right back and not miss a meeting the next day is really important to them. They don’t have the six hours out of the day it would take to travel by car.”
Of course, owning a helicopter is a huge expense. Aside from the cost of the copter, Trump retains its own crew, which is responsible for flying and maintaining it. Donald Trump isn’t the only celebrity to ride in it, of course. Juliano says some of Trump’s big performers, like Mariah Carey, will ask for the helicopter as part of the fee for performing.
“Whether they don’t want to drive, or for privacy or security purposes would prefer not to stay over in the casino, they like to use the helicopter,” Juliano says. “Even someone like Jerry Seinfeld, who was at Resorts, used his own helicopter but called because we’re friends and asked to use our helipad, which of course we were happy to do.”
On occasion, Trump Entertainment will also use the Trump private jet. That, however, is owned by Donald Trump, and the casino pays him for the use of it. continued on page 37 The beautiful plane, which has also been featured on The Apprentice, seats approximately 30 people and is adorned with marble, leather and an overall classy, rich décor.
“It’s set up like a living room, but there’s also a dining area and a kitchen,” Juliano says. “It’s very classy.”
The Trump casinos use it just a few times a year for major events like the Super Bowl or for over-the-top trips to reward really big players. “We might take our better customers to (Donald Trump’s) Mar-A-Lago (in Palm Beach, Florida) for a couple of days or somewhere if we can get enough people so it’s worth it for us,” Juliano says. “People love flying in the plane and staying at a place like Mar-A-Lago or a Trump Taj Mahal suite… that whole environment of the extremely luxurious lifestyle. But it’s not something we just give to celebrities or something to fly across the country. Some might hop a ride here and there with Mr. Trump, but when we do use it, it’s for major players. ”
Trump also offers junkets two or three times a week using regular commercial charters from cities that include Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida.
“Generally, they’re the places that are not too far away but too far for people to use a limo,” Juliano says. “We fly them right to Pomona, so it’s much easier than having to land in Philly.”
Of course, Trump also sends limousines for its best players. Trump only uses an outside company to furnish limousine services.
“We use hundreds of limos on a weekly basis,” says Juliano. He adds that most trips are within four hours and are usually available for players who gamble at least $15,000 per trip. “But we do go farther, if need be. The convenience of not having to drive is so important to most people.”
Let It Ride
Want to arrive in style? Why not slip into something more comfortable, like a chauffeur-driven, champagne-stocked Lincoln?
Not all limousines are created equal. Just ask John Groff Jr., general manager of Torgro Limousine Service of Atlantic City. With his father, John Sr., he manages a fleet of 40 Lincolns, three luxury limo buses, two luxury mini-buses and three limo Hummers. “It’s important to have the best—and we do,” says Groff Jr., whose company contracts for Harrah’s, the Hilton and Resorts. “But what separates us from other limo companies is our service. We don’t have drivers—we have chauffeurs.”
With revenues declining at nearly every Atlantic City casino, Groff Jr. believes limousine service is more important than ever as casinos try to impress players. Thanks to industry consultant Tom Mazza, Torgro’s chauffeurs look the part.
“It’s about the way they’re dressed—not just in stunning tuxedos, but the chauffeur caps. That’s something you don’t see anymore. It’s about the way they are postured and present themselves,” says Groff, adding Mazza didn’t want to come to Atlantic City because the level of service was substandard.
“I was able to convince him to take the challenge, and it’s paid off. He now uses our company and our chauffeurs as examples of a company that went from zero to 60 in two months. We’re not a glorified taxi… We are a luxury transportation company.”
But finding good chauffeurs is not always easy. “Out of 10 applicants, maybe one makes it,” says Groff.
Torgro has offices in Fort Lauderdale and Philadelphia. The company stresses the importance of relationships with clients.
“Our chauffeurs sign confidentiality agreements; they are not allowed to discuss anything that happens inside a limousine,” says Groff. “But it’s even more than that. It’s calling people by their names. It’s asking if there is an alternative route they would like to take to avoid tunnels or bridges if people have phobias. It’s about making people feel comfortable… like they’re in their own home.”
Torgro specializes in bachelor/bachelorette parties and weddings. “We have two restored 1948 Packards,” Groff says. “We’ve taken every bolt of those vehicles and replaced them, spending $30,000 to restore each car. With our tuxedoed chauffeurs with caps, plus a complimentary bottle of champagne and red carpet, it’s a great service.”
Everyone can expect the high-roller treatment. “My father is old-school,” says Groff. “If he sees a chauffeur without a cap or without the red carpet, he’ll suspend him immediately. When we make a promise, we deliver.”
Groff says limousines are not as expensive as some think. “Let’s say you’re taking 10 people from Resorts to Hilton. By cab, that’s three cars; it would cost $12 a car or you can do it by limo for $40. For four more dollars, you get a stretch.”
Torgro attributes much of its success to its Executive Coach-built fleet of cars. Though Executive Coach might be pricey (the average limo is around $70,000, the Hummer costs $140,000 and the luxury bus is $200,000) Groff says it’s worth it. Founded in 1976, Executive Coach is the largest custom coach-builder in the United States, and second largest in the industry.
At first glance, you might not notice the difference between an Executive Coach limo and another, says Tom Zachery, East Coast general manager of Executive Coach.
“But when you look closer, you see the difference. We put a lot of wood in our cars. We don’t press out a piece of Plexiglass. Our bars are handmade. They have a classy and distinguished look.
“We also have developed touch-screen technology that’s proprietary to us. You can change the radio, the DVD player, hit another screen for the lights, get to another screen for air and heat. It’s pretty neat.”
Lincolns remain the most popular limousine, and some get pretty tricked-out, he says. “The casinos, in particular, stick to the base cars because they don’t want to turn off certain clientele with something that’s too flashy,” says Zachery.
“But we do a lot of Hummers. You can pretty much do whatever you have the money to do. I’ve seen some with a hot tub in the back, but that’s ridiculous. You can’t wait to get home to use the hot tub? “But there are big TVs, laser light shows, fog. You can have regular leather or Rolls Royce leather. Whatever you can afford.” Still, he adds, “My motto is ‘Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should.’”
