Vegas Casino Gambling Returns to Roots to Fight Recession
The M Resort, a new Las Vegas casino, opens Sunday. The new gambling venue will operate under a dramatically different business plan than is currently in vogue in Las Vegas, and may open a return to a past mentality.
Anthony Marnell III, the owner of the M resort, has revived old Vegas traditions to counter the problems bred by corporate operational methods. Marnell told the Las Vegas Sun, "Gaming is high-touch, low-tech business. We’ve (Vegas casinos) gotten away from that.”
Marnell decided that poor customer service, automated and computerized systems for dealing with patrons and rating gamblers, and overpriced meals, drinks, and rooms were hurting casino revenues even before the recession hit.
Marnell has built a smaller, 400-room hotel, with personnel selected for being friendly and outgoing, and trained staff for weeks to deal with customers in a responsive, individual style. The casino has retained ownership of its bars and restaurants, allowing the prices to be set with drawing gambling patrons in mind rather than securing third-party profits.
The M, unlike the ever-larger, more fantastic Strip properties, came in under budget and ahead of time. Marnell has kept the company private, with a single lender and prudent financing. Gambling in Marnell's casino for any length of time can get players drinks and meals, without entering card points or subjecting the customer to computer analysis.
Vegas has run on these ideas before. Many of these concepts were introduced by Benny Binion at the Horseshoe, and were standard operating fare for years before the corporations and Wall Street came to town. Marnell's father built and the Rio Casino in the same manner until selling the place to Harrah's in 1999, marking the beginning of the hotel's slow descent.
Service and value are the keywords for M Resort, with an emphasis on human touch. Marnell spelled out the nail in the corporate method which has failed Las Vegas casino gambling, "You can’t standardize service."
