Vol. 3, No. 11, November 2006
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A Floating Game
Former Bally’s exec finds happiness in Florida
John Mollica never envisioned this journey. The Reading, Pennsylvania, native recalls head-down, non-stop craps games early in his Atlantic City career. He looked up at a box person who had migrated to Bally’s from Las Vegas.
“I asked him how in the world he can stay in this one business for 20 years,” Mollica says. “It’s kind of funny now because here it is, 28 years later.”
And Mollica is going strong. The former Bally’s veteran serves as vice president of casino operations for SunCruz casinos in Florida. The company operates a fleet of boats, termed the “cruise to nowhere” and perusing the Atlantic Ocean on gaming junkets. SunCruz has 1,000 employees, thousands of patrons and performs exceptionally well.
Mollica, who left Atlantic City in 1993, enjoys the challenge. SunCruz has survived a string of owners including disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The business has withstood several difficult events, including the murder of one owner. Abramoff was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in January after pleading guilty to charges that included dealings with SunCruz.
For Mollica, who focuses solely on the gaming end, his cruise has been rewarding. He became an industry expert via stints in Atlantic City, Mississippi and Florida.
“A key to staying in this business is being adept at relating to gambling people,” Mollica says. “I was always thrilled to see the amount of money people had, how they would win fortunes and also lose thousands of dollars. They created an excitement. I understand the feeling of gambling and what it feels like to lose.
“If I could teach one big thing to anybody who works in the gaming industry it’s to picture yourself not paying your bills and then going ahead and losing a paycheck in the casinos. Then you can understand how a person feels who lost money he was supposed to pay bills with. You will understand the banging on the table, the language that gets used and their unhappiness.”
Mollica prospered with empathy and drive. He learned customer service by operating a family restaurant in Pennsylvania. When the family moved to the Jersey shore, Mollica entered the casinos and unfurled an insatiable drive. Despite advancing through dealer, box and floor positions, he learned other games. Mollica attended classes for blackjack even after obtaining a supervisory position in craps. He was driven.
“It was a crazy time,” Mollica says. “We worked 30 days in a row and we liked it. Money had no value whatsoever in the early days of Atlantic City. Everyone had $10,000. Everyone was betting thousands of dollars. We had 16 gamblers on a craps table that held only 14. There were bets up and down the sides and everywhere. It was tremendous action. It was amazing how much money was coming forth.”
Mollica became energized by gaming’s frantic pace. When not working, he studied games and sought to grow.
“Most all of us trained hard and practiced a lot,” Mollica says. “We would stack up bets on each other at the school and test each other. The Vegas people who came here for box and floor had never seen action like this.
“It was routine to see $2,500 on the 5 and 9, $3,000 on the 6 and 8, and then somebody buying the 4 and 10 for $2,500. You learned how to be on top of the odds, handle huge bets, perform table ratings and make decisions if there was a dispute.
“Atlantic City was an excellent place to learn everything. We were in a heavily regulated environment. You clear your hands so the camera can see it, you handle the customers, and it’s all cut and dry. It was well organized. I still hire my fellow workers from Atlantic City.”
Mollica saw some businesses fail in his post-Atlantic City tenure. They would not have, he believes, if managers carried the deep perspective employees gained here. Mollica saw gambling boats perish by virtue of having small fleets.
The SunCruz operation can survive if one boat loses money for a couple of months. A small operation can’t if its lone boat suffers a loss.
Mollica became a source of stability for SunCruz. He took command of one property upon entering Florida and finally became responsible for the entire operation. Mollica spends each week on a different boat, monitoring the product. The boats go out for three miles, gambling begins and players are later escorted back.
“It’s still a great business to be in,” Mollica says. “Florida is a great place to live. The weather is great, the job allows me to be free and travel as I need to. I’ve come to understand and know this business and am very glad about the decision I made to get in it and later to move around.”
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