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Inside Jimmy V
4 Roads Lead to a Single Destination
How many times in this industry do we hear these words: Who is running this joint? Who are the suits? Where did this rule come from?
Generally speaking, the casino's top man gives out the marching orders. It is his philosophy or approach to running the show that is carried out by his faithful lieutenants. Lots of times, the differences between these bosses are like day and night, but they always seem to get the cash.
I have been fortunate to work for perhaps the industry's four leading movers and shakers, whose charm, personality and demeanor are as far apart as Las Vegas and Butte, Montana. Let me pass along some revealing anecdotes about each of them.
Michael Gaughan uses the same business model today as he did when I met him in the mid-70s. Good food at a fair price and a good gamble. It doesn't sound like a magical formula, but it surely works for him. Michael understands the local market as well as anyone and he used the race and sportsbook to promote his product better than anyone. From sports contests to 50 cent hot dogs, he got the customers' attention. Oh, yeah, and he can still be found behind counter taking parlay cards during football season.
I had the pleasure of opening up Kirk Kirkorian's first race and sportsbook at the original MGM in 1985. Most of the directives came from Al Benedict and Morrie Jaegar whom I got to be very fond of. Kirk acted quickly and decisively, but in a run silent, run deep type approach that suited me just fine. I never heard him raise his voice, and his temperament was always the same. No fanfare when he entered a room, and he left just as quietly. First class all the way.
Next is simply Steve, no last name needed. There never was nor will be another guy who can push and promote his product better than this man. When I was hired at the Golden Nugget, and the Mirage was in the planning stage with heavy involvement in its development by all parties, he would hold meetings to discuss progress. When he was done with his dissertation, you were looking for a pick and shovel and wanted to slink out of sight. His critique was flawless, and there is no more dynamic speaker anywhere. He forced to you really push yourself to your limits because he did not consider failure to be an option. He taught me more about paying attention to detail in one year than I had learned in my previous 40. Truly enjoyed my time with him.
Sol Kerzner, who built the Atlantis, in Nassau, the Bahamas, was another stop for me that expanded my consciousness, though my direct involvement with him was once for a grand total of about 90 seconds. He visited Atlantis the week we were to open the book, and asked for a white glove. It was quickly given to him by an aide, and Sol went through the book with the glove trying to find some dust. He didn't find much, but it was enough for me to figure out that any dust was unacceptable. You could almost suspect the whole thing was a put-on, but trust me, it wasn't. I subsequently found out that everything he builds cannot be opened until it passes his glove test. That was the only time I saw him.
I have cited some of my experiences working with four unique people who have amassed fortunes in the gaming biz. But I doubt you would ever find them playing bridge together.
So, the guys upstairs can be miles apart in how they run their operations, but they all get to the end result better than anyone else.
By the way, my new boss at Lucky's, Joe Asher, gets an “A”. But we are only in the first semester.
Take care,
Jimmy Vaccaro
4 Roads Lead to a Single Destination
How many times in this industry do we hear these words: Who is running this joint? Who are the suits? Where did this rule come from?
Generally speaking, the casino's top man gives out the marching orders. It is his philosophy or approach to running the show that is carried out by his faithful lieutenants. Lots of times, the differences between these bosses are like day and night, but they always seem to get the cash.
I have been fortunate to work for perhaps the industry's four leading movers and shakers, whose charm, personality and demeanor are as far apart as Las Vegas and Butte, Montana. Let me pass along some revealing anecdotes about each of them.
Michael Gaughan uses the same business model today as he did when I met him in the mid-70s. Good food at a fair price and a good gamble. It doesn't sound like a magical formula, but it surely works for him. Michael understands the local market as well as anyone and he used the race and sportsbook to promote his product better than anyone. From sports contests to 50 cent hot dogs, he got the customers' attention. Oh, yeah, and he can still be found behind counter taking parlay cards during football season.
I had the pleasure of opening up Kirk Kirkorian's first race and sportsbook at the original MGM in 1985. Most of the directives came from Al Benedict and Morrie Jaegar whom I got to be very fond of. Kirk acted quickly and decisively, but in a run silent, run deep type approach that suited me just fine. I never heard him raise his voice, and his temperament was always the same. No fanfare when he entered a room, and he left just as quietly. First class all the way.
Next is simply Steve, no last name needed. There never was nor will be another guy who can push and promote his product better than this man. When I was hired at the Golden Nugget, and the Mirage was in the planning stage with heavy involvement in its development by all parties, he would hold meetings to discuss progress. When he was done with his dissertation, you were looking for a pick and shovel and wanted to slink out of sight. His critique was flawless, and there is no more dynamic speaker anywhere. He forced to you really push yourself to your limits because he did not consider failure to be an option. He taught me more about paying attention to detail in one year than I had learned in my previous 40. Truly enjoyed my time with him.
Sol Kerzner, who built the Atlantis, in Nassau, the Bahamas, was another stop for me that expanded my consciousness, though my direct involvement with him was once for a grand total of about 90 seconds. He visited Atlantis the week we were to open the book, and asked for a white glove. It was quickly given to him by an aide, and Sol went through the book with the glove trying to find some dust. He didn't find much, but it was enough for me to figure out that any dust was unacceptable. You could almost suspect the whole thing was a put-on, but trust me, it wasn't. I subsequently found out that everything he builds cannot be opened until it passes his glove test. That was the only time I saw him.
I have cited some of my experiences working with four unique people who have amassed fortunes in the gaming biz. But I doubt you would ever find them playing bridge together.
So, the guys upstairs can be miles apart in how they run their operations, but they all get to the end result better than anyone else.
By the way, my new boss at Lucky's, Joe Asher, gets an “A”. But we are only in the first semester.
Take care,
Jimmy Vaccaro
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