Meeting News - February 2, 2009 - (Page 32)

Insider Report: Gaming Destinations continued from page 22 undergoing a $125 million expansion and construction that, upon completion this year, will encompass 337,000 sf of gaming area, a 350room hotel tower, a 1,000-seat convention center along with an event and concert arena, a resort spa, a golf course, a Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, and more. The Cherokee Casino will also be taking on the Hard Rock Casino name, and it will feature Hard Rock and Cherokee cultural memorabilia and artifacts. It is projected to be the “Vegas of the Midwest.” Michigan City, IN: Last month, Boyd Gaming Corp. opened its $130 million expansion project at Blue Chip Casino, Hotel & Spa. The centerpiece of the project is the Spa Blu Tower, a 22story, 302-room upscale hotel tower designed by leading Chicago architect Lucien Lagrange. The expansion gives Blue Chip a total of 486 guest rooms. Featured is the Stardust Event Center, a 20,000-sf entertainment, meetings, and special events space that includes a 15,000-sf ballroom capable of seating up to 1,200 people for live performances. (For maximum flexibility, the center can be split up to 10 breakout meeting rooms, ranging from 850 to 2,750 sf.) Other amenities at the Blue Chip include spa blu—the first spa and salon to open at a gaming resort in the Chicago area—and two Las Vegas-inspired restaurants and nightlife venues: “It’s Vegas, Baby!” and “The Game.” Quad Cities: The new $20 million Quad-Cities Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf, IA, features 24,000 sf of flexible meeting and banquet space and eight meeting rooms. The property is ideally suited for groups, with theater seat- ing for up to 1,400, banquet seating for over 900, and classroom seating for over 700 in its largest room setting. The center, which is managed by the Isle Casino Hotel, is connected via skywalk to the property, providing direct access to over 500 hotel rooms and an additional 13,520 sf of function space, and room for more than 1,000 additional attendees. Meanwhile, the land-based Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, IL, opened its doors in December, featuring 7,400 sf of meeting space. It can accommodate receptions for 600 attendees, theater seating for 700, banquet seating for up to 500, and classroom seating for 430. Nearby, the historic Rock Island Arsenal Golf Club and Quarters One facility are now available to the public for meetings, events, and banquets. The club accommodates 250 attendees, and Quarters One suits 100 patrons. H MeetingNews Q&A: The Tropicana Gets a Veteran Leader President Ron Thacker looks to add even more value for groups A seasoned casino specialist and a Las Vegas native, Ron Thacker recently left fledgling Fontainebleau Resorts to head up, as its president, the Tropicana Las Vegas resort, which has been a Vegas landmark since its inception in 1957. MN recently caught up with Thacker and asked him what he has planned for groups at the Strip stalwart. Q A How much synchronicity does the Tropicana have with its sister properties, if any? Q A You’re moving from one of the most recent companies in the Vegas market to one of the oldest brands on the Strip. To what degree does each represent in the future of Las Vegas? Q A What changes are taking place at the Tropicana that will affect meetings? We often refer business to each other. If we have a client that’s looking to bring a group to Lake Tahoe, for example, we will inform the client that we have sister properties in that market and would be more than happy to make the necessary introductions. We are also currently in the process of creating branded marketing collateral to cross-promote our group sales initiatives and hope to have that in place shortly. What meetings business does Tropicana currently market to? What new types of business are you planning to market to? The Tropicana can accommodate almost any type of meeting, trade show, exhibit, or special event within our 105,000 sf of available space—from small, intimate family reunions to major corporate conferences and exhibition events. We are actively researching additional market segments for future outreach, but our primary group business is derived from the SMERF and association market segments, as well as tour and travel/leisure opportunities. —Interview by Terri Hardin Some of the newer and larger properties offer an extravagant experience at an often extravagant expense. The Tropicana offers value for the customer, a more intimate setting, and a history unsurpassed on the Strip today. It also has endless potential for growth in my eyes. First of all, the nostalgic value of the Tropicana is huge. I plan to play up the historical elements, put some money into the infrastructure of the property, and add energy, quality, and value for our customers and employees. The biggest change is the addition of the 54,000-sf Pavilion for conventions, trade shows, special events, and exhibitions—bringing the total amount of meetings and exhibition space to approximately 105,000 sf. The other item is the increased value associated with bringing group business to the Tropicana. Not only do we offer some of the best service and food on the Las Vegas Strip, but we are extremely affordable, as well. With most of the newer properties coming into the Las Vegas marketplace catering to four-to-five-star clientele, the Tropicana remains one of the few properties on the Strip that caters to the midmarket and value-oriented consumer. Q A 32 MeetingNews February 2, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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