Atlantic City Casinos Criticized For Cutting Comps

Marketing dollars are the fuel that powers all gaming ships.

Atlantic City casino managers have been struggling with ways to lower expenses in the face of rapidly declining revenues. But one of the methods they've chosen has brought them under fire, and may just accelerate the drop in casino take.

Free drinks, rooms, meals, and shows have been an established way to lure gamblers to casinos since Benny Binion used those attractions to build a fortune at Binion's Horseshoe. But Atlantic City operators have used the current tough times to cut back on comps for patrons.

In the first three quarters of last year, Caesar's Atlantic City gave free rooms to over a half-million people. This year, over the same time frame, that number was down twenty percent. Trump Taj Mahal gave away 4.7 million drinks last year for the first nine months; this year, that number shrank to 1.8 million.

Harvey Perkins is senior vice-president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a company that specializes in casino consulting. He told BusinessWeek "I fully appreciate and understand operators' need to reduce their expenses. But one of the things that shouldn't be cut are the marketing engines.

"Marketing dollars are the fuel that powers all gaming ships. Wise, astute operators will keep those engines fully primed and the fuel flowing."

John and Danielle Planting were, until recently, Atlantic City regulars. But John says, "We were always comped a couple nights at Harrah's. But we were told we can't get that anymore, so we plan on going elsewhere with our business."

Danielle added, "I spend as much as five hundred dollars a day at slots, and my husband has a higher budget for his blackjack. If that doesn't get us a couple burgers and a bed, then shame on these corporate types that have ruined a great business. No wonder they're hurting. I'll just play online slots, and John can play online blackjack."