Aug 24, 2008 2:45 pm US/Eastern
A.C. Casinos Cut Back On Comps For Slots Players
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) ―
For many slots players at Atlantic City's casinos, comps are becoming as rare as hitting the jackpot.
With a slow economy and competition from neighboring states cutting into their revenues, Atlantic City's 11 gaming halls have begun to offer fewer complimentary benefits -- and they're focusing those more on high-end players.
"No longer does everybody get a comp no matter what," Andrew Zarnett, a gaming analyst with Deutsche Bank AG, told The Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer. "They have to be very discerning to give those comps to people who earn them."
Overall, Atlantic City casinos spent $375 million on premium hotel rooms and other perks in the three months ending June 30. A year ago, they spent about $422 during the same period.
In contrast, casinos in Pennsylvania -- which offer slots but not dealer-staffed table games -- increased promotional spending more than 130 percent, to about $24 million, from April to June this year compared to 2007.
Some Atlantic City casino operators say the days of courting slots players with hefty comps probably won't return. Slots revenue accounts for more than 70 percent of casinos' revenue, but this year it is down eight percent.
"You are seeing a shift in the entire marketplace on how we market," R. Scott Barber, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's Resort, told the newspaper.
"The female slots player from 45 to 65 years of age has always been the sweet spot for Atlantic City," Barber said. "It's been our core bread-and-butter business and has always been vital to our revenue stream. But we cannot be so reliant on them now. We have to develop poker customers and not be so reliant on one source of revenue."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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