CEOInterviews.AIEncore! Enore! - The Sicilian Corner

M

Mike0:34

Good morning everybody. Welcome to the Sicilian Corner podcast. My name is Mike. Lou is pushing the right buttons, right Lou? A lot of buttons to push today. Nice, nice, nice air in here today. All week long there's been no air conditioning in this building. And if you hear strange noises, it's not Bill and I fighting. It's just that people are working over our heads, underneath our feet. They're all over the place, right? Yeah. Oh, wait a second. They cleared out for you. You should have heard it this morning. Yeah, but I paid for pizza. That's how I got rid of him. Good strategy. I like that. Well, that's the way to do it sometimes. Hey, listen. Today's a special day. First of all, Bill, it's the first day officially that Encore Boston Harbor becomes a sponsor of the Sicilian Corner podcast. Yeah, that's what I say too. That's what I say too. And in honor of that, who better to ask to join us on today's show is Jenny Holiday. And she happens to be the president of Encore Boston Harbor Casino. Jenny, welcome aboard.

J

Jenny Holaday1:46

Good morning, Mike. Good morning, Bill. Happy to be here.

M

Mike1:50

Morning. And this young man sitting next to me, well, he's kind of a mainstay when we're going to talk about Encore. Bill Dazzio always comes in and sits next to me because he keeps me on the straight and narrow and makes sure I don't say anything that's wrong.

B

Bill Dazzio2:01

Yeah. I can kick you easily.

M

Mike2:03

Well, this is it. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, Bill, everything Encore Boston Harbor. Boston Harbor. How many people now?

B

Bill Dazzio2:16

Almost 14,000. Last time you were here was 13. Yeah, we gained about a thousand.

M

Mike2:22

No kidding. Yeah. Wow. Good for you, Jenny. That's a big help for your organization, isn't it? Getting the word out.

J

Jenny Holaday2:32

Oh, we love it. I mean, it brings so much value to us. On the one hand, when we do something right, we hear right away. When we do something wrong, we hear even faster. When we need help, like with some of our charity events, they come out in droves. So the Everything Encore people are really just an amazing group of supporters and information for us on how to continually improve the operation. That's something that speaks volumes.

M

Mike3:01

The one thing I've learned, especially with Facebook, you cannot please everybody. That's a fact. Impossible. I don't care. You could be Jesus and you couldn't. No, you're not going to satisfy everybody because there are certain people, they're set in negative ways and they're only going to look for crazy things.

B

Bill Dazzio3:19

Right. Right. That are strictly keyboard warriors.

M

Mike3:25

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. You, Bill, you just got done a three-day stint at Encore. What were you doing?

B

Bill Dazzio3:31

I was doing Feed the Funnel, which is a nice little event there that puts food into the local food banks. We had a goal to reach 500,000 meals and hopefully over a million again this year with the next event in December. I was with you last year. I love it. Yeah, we ended up doing better than the 500,000. We did 591,798. So close to 600,000.

M

Mike4:01

I want to ask Jenny. Jenny, how did that come to be? How did the groundwork start?

J

Jenny Holaday4:09

So it actually, the woman who's in charge of our nonprofit and community relations efforts at corporate, her name is Monica Moradken. She really brought the Pack Shack, which is the company that does it. She brought them to us and it started off small and at first it was only in Las Vegas. And so then we said we'd love to do it here as well. The cost of living in Boston is so high that food insecurity is a real problem here. And so I'm an incredibly competitive person. So when she brought it here, I made sure I knew how much Vegas's 13,000 people had packed and then set a goal for our team to do better than that, which of course we did. And ever since then, it's become sort of a rivalry, which only benefits the community. So it's turned into a lot of fun. It's a lot of hard work. You can ask Bill. We were both feeling it at the end of day three.

B

Bill Dazzio5:06

Oh, yeah.

M

Mike5:07

But it's so satisfying. So rewarding, isn't it?

B

Bill Dazzio5:11

It really is. You know, the best part about it from what I observe, people are having a blast. I mean last December when you had that DJ that was on that night, that guy was incredible. I mean the people working the tables at Feed the Funnel, they're dancing. You would never know. I mean they're working pretty hard between the guys carrying the boxes, putting the tape on. How was my tape job? I didn't do bad.

M

Mike5:42

The MC this year was fantastic, too. You might know her, Kim Carrian from Channel 7. You know something I know of. I don't know her. Yeah, she was very good. Jenny, very good.

J

Jenny Holaday5:53

Yeah, Kim's great.

M

Mike5:55

Jenny, you just said that about Boston being an expensive city to live in. I mean, some people are paying 65 to 70% of their pay just for a place to stay, which is nuts. Crazy. Crazy. You've been in the Boston area now for what, nine, 10 years?

J

Jenny Holaday6:13

Five.

M

Mike6:15

That's what I said. You've been around for about five years.

J

Jenny Holaday6:20

Feels like nine or 10.

M

Mike6:23

Yeah, a little bit longer. I'm sorry. After those five years, what are your thoughts about the city of Boston?

J

Jenny Holaday6:33

Well, first of all, I love it here. I don't know. There's something about who I am that fit really well here. A lot of people think I'm local after meeting me, which obviously I'm not. So I love living here. That being said, in my industry, it's very difficult to recruit here because of the cost of living. So my pitch, when I'm trying to grow our base from experienced folks in other parts of the country, what I say is, you know, a lot of gaming initiatives are centered around economic development improvement. So they're not always in amazing world-class cities. So to have a resort of this magnitude in a city like this is just a really unique opportunity. And if that matters to you, then it's a no-brainer. Of course you want to come here and work at this beautiful place and live in this beautiful part of the country. But not everybody buys my pitch.

M

Mike7:35

Not everybody. You've traveled a great deal in your career and prior to that you moved around quite a bit with your mom. And it's nice to hear what you have to say about Boston and New England because to me, I love New England. I just do. I like every aspect of it. Boston traffic sometimes not so much. The only thing that I don't like, Jenny, to be honest with you, is when I'm at the set of lights on Route 99 trying to take a left to go on to Encore. That's the only thing that bothers me. Could they make that light any longer? I fall asleep. The car nudges me. Crazy.

J

Jenny Holaday8:29

Oh my gosh. So all my friends from around the country, because yes, I've moved, I counted with my mother once a couple weeks ago, I've moved 27 times. Oh my god. I know. But so all my friends, there's some crazy Boston videos out there that they'll send me on Instagram. And there was this one of bumper-to-bumper traffic on Route 1 up by Peabody. And there was a woman, you know how you have to merge and we don't always like to let each other in. And this woman was sitting in her car just screaming, 'No, no, no.' As people were trying to merge. That is so Route 99 to me all day long.

M

Mike9:14

I agree. I don't know you very well, but the one thing I can do is read between the lines. And you're a person that absolutely loves her job. I just from the few times that I've talked to you, the few times we've met, I get that sense right away. And I'll tell you, your staff, your fellow workers at Encore, boy, I have never heard one person say a bad word about them.

B

Bill Dazzio9:53

Me neither.

M

Mike9:55

And when you're sitting at the top of the heap, you're open for a lot of shots, let me tell you. Like I said, people can be very, very fickle and very funny, you know. But I also heard a rumor. I don't know how true this is, but your immediate staff, people that report directly to you, they refer to you as the Queen of EBITDA. Is that true?

J

Jenny Holaday10:21

I haven't heard that before.

M

Mike10:27

First of all, tell people what EBITDA stands for.

J

Jenny Holaday10:30

Oh my gosh. Well, it's our cash flow, but it stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

M

Mike10:38

And you're the queen.

J

Jenny Holaday10:40

I've never heard that. So I'll say it this way. Yes, I love my job and I have a lot of responsibilities and there are a lot of things I need to accomplish, but the easiest way to think about my role is I am the primary person responsible for our financial and customer service performance. That's my job. So yes, EBITDA and our financial performance is a very important part of my job. And I think it's important for me, you know, so much about being in the top spot is about developing the next generation of leaders. And that requires me explaining to them why I make the decisions that I make, why we follow the strategies that we do, to educate them. So I guess it's a good thing that they know that word.

M

Mike11:29

Absolutely. A very important word, especially in your kind of profession. I mean, you know, the bottom line is what counts. That's where the tires hit the road. And you know something, you got to be held accountable. And the buck stops at the top. That's for sure. Boston Magazine, you've been quite a hit with Boston Magazine. I mean the last couple of years, most influential person, one of the most influential people in Boston. I mean somebody who's been here five years.

J

Jenny Holaday12:07

I know, right?

M

Mike12:09

That speaks volumes. I mean seriously it does. I mean it's hard to believe. And I was watching a video of you, Boston University had on their website, and that was a segment called Dean's Distinguished Speakers. And boy, you did an awesome job on that. You just sat there. You took question after question. You know what I like the most?

B

Bill Dazzio12:39

What?

M

Mike12:40

The red shoes. Call it Dorothy now.

B

Bill Dazzio12:49

You look, I love those shoes.

M

Mike12:52

Oh, you should, for what you paid for them. You should take those to bed with you. Love them. Are you serious? Oh, he's so... But I mean, you know something, you're out there and you're readily available, which some people that make it to the top create a prison, they don't want to be bothered, a bubble. That's exactly the way to do it. Bill, I call you the mayor of Encore.

B

Bill Dazzio13:25

An official mayor of Encore.

M

Mike13:28

So do I. You should. I mean, you are not an employee.

B

Bill Dazzio13:31

I am not an employee. I have never been an employee and I never will be. Even though some people may think differently. Oh, it happens all the time. It's crazy. But you know something, there's a two-headed sword called jealousy. And some people, no matter what, if they think you're ahead of them for some particular reason, they're going to shoot at you. They're going to take shots. And it's not right. I don't understand the jealousy factor because we do this for them, right? We do this for the members. I don't do this for myself. Right. Exactly. This is just a courtesy that I decided to do because I was retired and I thought it was a good fit because I've been gambling in Vegas for year after year after year and Encore opened in Boston and I felt this was a great opportunity to help people, educate them on how the business works and hopefully that we get recognized by Encore, which we do. And it's supposed to be just that, share information hand in hand.

M

Mike14:25

But you started Facebook in Vegas.

B

Bill Dazzio14:32

I did in 2000.

M

Mike14:34

Why? Why? Because I was going to Vegas. I hate to say this, I'm going to cringe, like 12 times a year. Once a month. Louie, not eight, not 10. Yep. 12. Once a month. And when I had a job, I was circulating quite a bit of money through Vegas. So what was your favorite hotel?

B

Bill Dazzio14:59

I hate to say it. I like the Cosmopolitan because they have the patios and I have a very good host there. She's been with me for... How do you get a host? You have to spend so much. It's all based on your play. And Jenny can explain that to you. It's all based on your play. I have a very dear friend of mine. As a matter of fact, he's going to be on the show in about three or four weeks. You ever hear of The Butcher Boy? Yep. The Butcher Boy. It's a very successful family story and I'm very close with Tommy Amin. That's the family that owns the Butcher Bar. And I started working for them when I was 13 years old up in Salem, New Hampshire. When they went to work, I jumped in the backseat of the car and I would go. I had no summer. I mean, I was 13. I was working crazy. Whatever they worked, I worked. It was unbelievable. But he has a host and I'm saying to myself, how the hell nobody's ever approached me? I'm a minnow, I guess. You know, it all depends on what you spend. Is that the way it goes, Jenny? Am I wrong?

J

Jenny Holaday16:18

No, that's right. That's right. So you think of a host as like your personal concierge. And we obviously can't give everybody a personal concierge. You know, 20,000 people walk through this building in a day.

M

Mike16:29

How many?

J

Jenny Holaday16:31

About 20,000. So you can't be a personal concierge for everybody. So that's how we think of it, as a personalized service that we offer to customers. It's a reward for being a good customer.

M

Mike16:54

It's a service. Yes. Yes. You call it a reward. Yes. Absolutely. That's why they have a reward. I'm glad I know you. I heard something from one of the people that worked there last week when I was there about you now actually, I believe it was one of the hosts that you have now for the reward desks. Four hosts.

J

Jenny Holaday17:16

Yes. Yes. We call them Win Rewards casino hosts. We've got three of them. So that they can be available on the floor. That's something new.

M

Mike17:28

Oh, that's... Yeah, it's been very popular. Yep. Good for you. I figured I'd bring that up. No, that's a good plus. That's a good plus. Maybe someday when I grow up, maybe I'll have a host.

J

Jenny Holaday17:40

You can have one now. You can go and talk to the one that's on the floor.

M

Mike17:44

That's what she's trying to tell you. I don't... You know something? I like... I have a ball. I love it. It's a vacation for us just to get away. It's so close. I can't go to a better hotel in Boston. I just can't. It's impossible. You know, and the views, I love the boats. I love the outside in the early morning, like you said, or at night. We were there for Fourth of July, Jenny, as you know, and we watched the fireworks from our room. This is the fifth year that I've done it. Fifth. And people on the page say, 'You can't see the fireworks from the Fourth of July from the hotel room.' Wrong. You know something? Pull those nice big comfy chairs over. Look at that. Temperature sitting at 68. You open up a bottle of Prosecco. You have some grapes, some nuts, the whole nine yards. And those fireworks, there's two and a half miles in a straight line away from the Esplanade. But they are so vibrant and just bounce at you. You put the TV volume on so you're getting the noise. Are you serious? Nobody's stepping on my feet. There's no mosquitoes. There's no... Who's the smart one? That's who. I don't have to worry about finding a parking space. There you go. Nothing. Nothing. And it's just, to us, it's like as long as I'm around and I can do it, we go there for the Fourth and it's a pleasure. It really is. It is an absolute pleasure. You know, it amazes me, Jenny, that you're as down to earth as down to earth could be. And plus, you're reachable. And to be able to say that about somebody who's responsible for plus or minus 3,300 people, to a company that's going to do over a billion dollars in sales, that's credit to you. I mean, you're very well grounded. All this fame and all this being the first female president of a major casino. You know something? I know you're grooming people to take your place. And you know something, I think it's absolutely what you do when you're in that business. When you're in that position, you should always have someone beneath you that wants to take your job.

J

Jenny Holaday20:17

Absolutely. You have to. If I get hit by a bus, things can't fall apart.

M

Mike20:23

Correct. Well, this is it, you know. But I mean, you went from one extreme to the other. I mean, you went to college. You were an English major, I believe.

J

Jenny Holaday20:35

Very good. Yes, sir.

M

Mike20:37

And you wanted to be a teacher.

J

Jenny Holaday20:40

A writer.

M

Mike20:42

A writer. Yeah. And what talk about complete polar opposite, from being a writer to running this type of industry. That's incredible when you think about it. I was thinking about that on the way down here this morning and I shake my head. I give you a lot of credit. I really do. And hats off.

J

Jenny Holaday21:10

You're so kind. I'm going to say two things about that. The first thing I love to tell people, geography is destiny. And you referenced my mom earlier. What you're around ends up I think usually playing an outsized role in the shape that your life takes. So in hindsight, I don't think it's actually as surprising as you'd think. And the second thing, I remember when I was trying to figure out my major and English felt lame, and my mother saying to me, anybody who can communicate well will always be employable. And being able to communicate well is arguably the most important skill any of us need that are leading large organizations because you need to be able to communicate the strategy and hopefully inspire and motivate the teams to deliver against it. So I guess in my mind it kind of makes more sense than you'd think.

M

Mike22:06

Okay. No, you explained it well. And your mom was really such a role model for you to get you kind of involved a little bit in the gambling industry. I need to take a break and we're going to listen to the Encore ad for the first time live and we'll come back and we'll be talking without presenting. You know what I mean?

J

Jenny Holaday22:32

Sounds good to me.

M

Mike22:34

You got any questions for Jenny? Give us a call. 978-659-0072. All right, we're going to go to break. We'll be right back, everybody.

Hope to see you soon. Anyhoo, I like that. Hope to see you soon. Bill, you have a question for Jenny.

B

Bill Dazzio28:29

Yeah, I figured we would hit this subject and Jenny, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But I keep getting a lot of messages on the page about people asking about something about a poker room being moved.

J

Jenny Holaday28:42

Yep. So our plan is to move the poker room from where it is upstairs downstairs into the closed Night Shift space. We have Night Shift. The demo is done and it's all enclosed and ready to go. I will be honest, the project was put on hold because of the tariff situation.

B

Bill Dazzio29:05

Makes sense.

J

Jenny Holaday29:07

Yeah, the company across the board evaluated all of their capital projects and as you know, we have a very large project under construction in the UAE. So we had to make some priority decisions. We're also creating a new slot area upstairs where On Deck used to be and that project is continuing.

B

Bill Dazzio29:23

Yeah, I know. Won't that be nice?

J

Jenny Holaday29:26

That one's continuing. But because we have a poker area right now, the relocation project has been delayed.

B

Bill Dazzio29:35

Now, in that new slot space upstairs that you're talking about, do you plan on putting any type of food outlet in there, like sharing that space with a fast food outlet or something?

J

Jenny Holaday29:47

No, we think that right now the outlets provided by Frank and Nicks and Shake Shack are serving the customers' needs. Plus, we have Red 8 open seven days a week as well. Fiorelli is open seven days a week, plus Dunkin. So you've got five options on the floor. It's one of the reasons why we've repurposed the space. I always say customers vote with their wallet. And Shake Shack definitely outperformed On Deck. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. It's more affordable. And so we're just adjusting based on customer usage and demand.

B

Bill Dazzio30:26

Makes sense. So are you planning on putting that as a high limit slot area or just a regular?

J

Jenny Holaday30:32

Nope. Just regular, because it's a completely non-smoking casino. Access to the two smoking patios is always an important option for our guests.

B

Bill Dazzio30:39

True.

J

Jenny Holaday30:41

And so that's one of the reasons why we picked that area, is that smoking patio isn't used as much. Everybody goes to the one downstairs and it can get kind of crowded on the weekends. So that was the other thinking there.

B

Bill Dazzio30:57

Perfect. Thank you for that. No, that sounds good.

M

Mike31:00

You know, the biggest knock that I hear from friends of mine, people that I really don't... I'm not going to call them close friends, just people that I know, that we may be out to dinner and naturally we start talking about Encore more than likely. And the biggest knock, Bill, that I hear, they say, 'Wow, it's so costly to go there.' Yeah, but you know, you look at the food that's being offered in the restaurant. You can go from either top notch or, you know, you were talking about Frank and Nicks, you're talking about Shake Shack for a hamburger. I think you could... there's a good... what is it? 15 different restaurants or 14 different restaurants?

B

Bill Dazzio31:47

11.

M

Mike31:49

That's what I said. 11. Yeah, that's a magic number. Today I'm doing good. Today's 7-Eleven. He has 11 employees that do the gardening. Lucky 11 restaurants. But I mean between those 11 options for dining. And the other thing I have to say, and if you're a guest, the in-house dining is underrated. In-room dining. Yeah. It's amazing. It's amazing to me. I mean, the food comes to us as fresh and as hot as if I was sitting in a restaurant. And I think that's huge. It's so much easier. I'm not knocking restaurants. I'm not knocking restaurants. But don't be leery about ordering in. Absolutely not. In-room service is amazing because we had a waiter come to our room and he was from Italy and we started talking and he set up that table. Honest to God, you were thinking you were in a five-star restaurant. Just beautiful. Just beautiful. But like I said, when you're dealing with a lot of people, you can't please everybody. No. Just impossible. The question I would like to present to you, Jenny, is I live in New Hampshire, Bill lives in New Hampshire, and right now we have a lot of casinos that are being opened up. Are we getting to a point in the industry? I know they're for charity, a good portion of their winnings goes to charity, and that's the way they're able to get the licenses to come into the area. But you go to a lot more casinos than I do. But are the odds as good there as at Encore or other Connecticut casinos?

J

Jenny Holaday33:55

The return rate on your play is much higher in Massachusetts than it is in New Hampshire. People don't want to believe it, but it is. It's true.

M

Mike34:05

Well, that's what I thought. And somebody really took... He says, 'Well, you're prejudiced, you know. Encore this. Encore that.' The facts don't lie. You can look up the numbers. Because in New Hampshire it runs around 82%. What's it in Massachusetts, in the 90s, Jenny?

J

Jenny Holaday34:23

It depends. 91 return. But if you're playing a penny machine, the return would be a certain percentage, which 89 maybe something like that on a penny machine in New Hampshire or Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, in the 90s, a penny machine.

M

Mike34:39

Yes. So if you're playing overall, the overall return percentage, return to player percentage is in the 90s. So whether you're playing on a penny machine, which can cost you up to $67 or more, or you're playing a dollar machine or a $5 machine, the return doesn't increase... Well, look at it this way. If you look at all the statistics that are out there, which I do with Casino Player magazine, that's why you're here. Okay? You have penny machines, then you have quarter machines, and you have dollar machines. Of course, as the amount goes up in the machine, the percentage is higher for the return.

B

Bill Dazzio35:09

That's what I was saying.

M

Mike35:11

Yes. Yes. Absolutely. So that's a known point. Jenny, do you know like say with a $5 bet what the return would be at Encore?

J

Jenny Holaday35:20

Well, Bill's right. It depends on the denomination that you're playing. But he's also right in that there's a difference. I don't want to get too technical, but in my business, the type of machine actually makes a difference. So here in what we call commercial casinos, so true for Massachusetts, true for Vegas, other traditional markets, Atlantic City, etc., we have what we call Class 3 slot machines. So that means that the math is determined by a random number generator. When you purchase the machine, it has an EPROM. It's a little computer chip and you usually have three levels of a par setting or the return to player. Everything Bill's saying. In New Hampshire, Class 3 games are not allowed. So they have two different alternatives. The customer doesn't always know the difference, but Bill who studies the industry does and he's right. Then the return to player follows this. There are video lottery terminals, VLTs they're called, which always are going to have a higher hold rate than a Class 3 game. And the other is what you're probably familiar with, a historical horse racing model, which is also a math model. So both of the games that are allowed in New Hampshire are structured differently, which is why there's going to be a different return to player. But you could get lucky and have a great experience on a historical horse racing machine or a video lottery terminal. And the manufacturers have done a great job making them look similar. But in their guts, they're very different. But there is one thing that does look-wise separate them from a traditional RNG machine. If you look at a historical horse racing machine, you'll look at the top as you're playing. People don't look. It's at the top. You can actually see the horse races across the top of the screen.

M

Mike37:06

No.

B

Bill Dazzio37:07

Yeah, you can.

M

Mike37:09

Louis, did you know that? Louie works at the Brook.

B

Bill Dazzio37:13

Yeah. I've seen them for sure.

M

Mike37:16

Really? That's how it... I've been once to the Brook. It wasn't a very positive experience. I just wasn't comfortable. The other big difference, Mike, too, is that in Massachusetts, the tax threshold is $1,199. So you can win up to $1,199 without getting taxed. In New Hampshire, it's based on percentage. So I believe it's 100 times your bet.

J

Jenny Holaday37:40

300 to 1.

B

Bill Dazzio37:42

300 to 1. Yeah. So if you bet like 60 cents, you're going to end up hitting anything at $600. You're going to get taxed.

M

Mike37:52

Are you serious?

B

Bill Dazzio37:53

I'm dead serious. First time ever when it happened to me and I was like, 'What? I'm getting taxed on this? I was playing a $1.76 and I got taxed for $612.' It's not going to happen in Massachusetts.

M

Mike38:00

Bill, I want to ask you a question. When you hit at Encore and it's say $1,200 and the machine is doing its thing. And of course you got people standing behind you watching this, which I hate. But besides that, do you let it do its thing all the way to $1,200 or do you hit the button and forget it?

B

Bill Dazzio38:24

Are you kidding me? When you have a jackpot, you got to let it rip. That's what I do.

M

Mike40:00

A machine is going to be due. People don't realize. I put my limit in. In the afternoon I'll put $200 in the machine. That's my budget. And I'll play with it. If I lose that in 20 minutes, you're done. I'll call up and go for a massage and spend $300 there. Sure. I won't put another dime in. Good for you. I go for dinner, have a nice martini, then I'll play again with a fresh $200. But I like putting $200 in the machine because I hopefully I can play on that slip right through.

See, I'm not a beer drinker.

B

Bill Dazzio44:43

I'm not either, but you partake in what's there.

M

Mike44:46

Well, you know something? I have a problem. I can't even stand the smell of beer. And you know, I'm getting up there in years. And try going through the service without drinking a beer. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do. I just don't like it. It's funny. And my brother, if my brother's had four or five beers in his lifetime, I'd be shocked. Oh, that's funny. My father Sam, he balanced everything out because he loved it. You know, you'd be out cutting his grass. Oh, beer drinkers love their beer. I have brothers who love their beer. Me, I have maybe six a year.

B

Bill Dazzio45:29

So you don't like that?

M

Mike45:31

It's not that I don't like it. I just I'm not a drinker. So your choice. I'm not a drinker.

B

Bill Dazzio45:38

Wine?

M

Mike45:39

Not a drinker. Not at all. No, not really. If I back for the moment, Mike, if you want to take a break, we'll get to break. We'll see what... Okay, we're in your hands, sir.

B

Bill Dazzio45:48

I rarely drink. It's not just not my thing.

M

Mike45:52

Okay, I get it. Ginger ale?

B

Bill Dazzio45:54

No.

M

Mike45:55

Lemonade?

B

Bill Dazzio45:56

No.

M

Mike45:57

Water?

B

Bill Dazzio45:58

Iced tea.

M

Mike46:00

Iced tea. Okay. Tea, water, unsweetened.

B

Bill Dazzio46:03

Sounds good to me. Lemon in there.

M

Mike46:06

All right. I think we're going on a break.

And we are back. We had a major internet situation. I'm sorry we lost some valuable time. Jenny Holiday is with us and as you know, she's the president of Encore Boston Harbor. Bill Dazzio is with us. Jenny, when you back in 2019, the demographic, the biggest core age core you had was 49.4, something similar to that, almost 50. And now it's like close to 42. Have you had to make adjustments in the way you're doing things or what you're offering to people?

J

Jenny Holaday52:27

Not much. I don't think that a 42-year-old and a 49-year-old are really that different in terms of their preferences. We definitely skew younger on the weekends. But that's when the nightclub is activated. The entire gaming floor, especially all of the table games, are all going because that tends to be what the younger crowd likes better. And the vibe in Rare Lounge will also change on the weekend when there's a lot more younger people here. Mystique will be a lot busier. So back to your earlier point on the price point of the offerings, there's also different vibes, I guess for lack of a better word, with the way some of the outlets change as the weekend brings in more young people.

M

Mike53:16

Yeah. It seems like everything seems to be going to a younger demographic, which brings me to this question. Craps, 21, blackjack. I mean they're two outstanding games and the odds are pretty good on both of them. They really are. Is Encore considering maybe having some classes on how to play craps on off days when things are relatively quiet, or even setting up a couple of tables in a separate ballroom, not in the casino, and teach people? Because I'll be honest with you, I'd love to learn. I'm somewhat intimidated to go to the craps table. I was just wondering if any of that has been processed in your mind.

J

Jenny Holaday54:13

We do that upon request. Sometimes we'll have groups in house that would like some private tutorials. We can't do it in the convention center because of the gaming regulations, but we do it upstairs in our private salons when they're not occupied.

M

Mike54:26

Perfect spot.

J

Jenny Holaday54:27

But quite frankly, more and more a lot of people watch their tutorials online before they come visit us. That's become very popular. But so not so much anymore. Earlier in my career, years ago, that was a lot more common thing that a lot of different resorts offered, but now that everybody learns all that stuff online, there's not as much of a demand.

M

Mike54:49

The numbers in Vegas this year are down slightly. And Vegas is a city that reinvents itself every five or six years. I don't know who's ever in charge of marketing, but they're doing a phenomenal job between the Super Bowl, between race cars and everything else that goes on. They've managed to draw more and more people every year. I noticed the last year, 16 months, the numbers have come down slightly. Is the gambling industry being cannibalized with all these different casinos opening up?

J

Jenny Holaday55:27

I think that that's a regional risk like what we were talking about earlier with New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but I think Vegas will always be Vegas. And what you're referencing is, I think the chapter we're in, and I'd love Bill's opinion on this since he's been going for so long, but it feels like Vegas is now kind of becoming a special event town and it's getting more and more packed with really unique events. The Sphere opening has changed a lot of that as well. So you're right, they're brilliant at making sure they're creating reasons for people to come.

B

Bill Dazzio56:06

Yeah. It's more of a vacation destination now more than a gambling destination. No, I was looking. So I agree with Jenny. I was looking at the amount of conventioners they're getting and that number has gone up considerably. Yeah, big numbers. That's bringing people in, but I was just wondering, everybody seems to have a casino here, casino there, or whatever. And New Hampshire is a perfect example. I was just wondering if there are too many of them and they're eating each other like what happened in Atlantic City. Jenny, you did some time in Atlantic City. And I mean time working.

M

Mike56:42

Thank you for that distinction, Mike. You know, that's the other thing I was thinking about. You know, to get in the gambling industry, the security is so tight to get where she is. I mean, they went through with a fine tooth comb. What were you, a Girl Scout or something?

J

Jenny Holaday57:03

I always say I will always be the squarest person in the room.

M

Mike57:09

I don't believe that for a nanosecond. So you feel that what took place in Atlantic City is not going to happen nationwide, right?

J

Jenny Holaday57:22

I think Atlantic City is a little bit unique in that it was huge back in the day because you have so many large metro areas that did not have any other option. Exactly. So between Philadelphia, DC, New York, all of that came to Atlantic City and that entire town was built around that reality. And then as all of those places legalized, obviously the picture began to shrink dramatically. I think one of the things that will help us in Massachusetts is we were one of the last ones to the party. So I'm sure we definitely negatively impacted Connecticut. And New Hampshire will definitely take a bite out of us. But I also think as long as it's not crazy unregulated explosive growth, I think there's enough room for everybody. When they do go crazy, there are two markets that occur to me. Illinois and Pennsylvania sort of no limit whatsoever on either VLT slot locations or number of casino licenses. That can get a little tough.

M

Mike58:30

Bill, you have a question?

B

Bill Dazzio58:36

I do not.

M

Mike58:38

You got... Yeah. Quiet. Well, I'll go. I do have one question. The outside down by the south lawn, is the tent still up?

J

Jenny Holaday58:43

Yes. Yes. Now, that's used for private events basically.

M

Mike58:48

Yes, private events. And we do a couple of public events. We're going to be doing... there's probably going to be a fall... well, it's invitation only, but you would be invited. But yes, it's usually weddings and conventions and groups who use it.

B

Bill Dazzio59:01

Okay, perfect place. Is there any plans to do anything else with the ballroom as far as entertainment or anything like that in the future?

M

Mike59:08

Good question. That's a good question. Yeah, because we haven't since 2019.

J

Jenny Holaday59:14

I know it comes up a lot. Part of it, there's two problems to that. The first one is it costs us $185,000 just out of the door to stage it as a concert area. So it's and you can only fit about 1,200 people. So the economics are very challenging. But the other thing that's happening is you may have heard there's a 25,000-seat stadium that's going to be opening across the street.

M

Mike59:37

Is that a given?

J

Jenny Holaday59:39

Well, they're going through their MEPA process and all of their permitting and environmental work right now. So that'll probably take about a year. But we're working under the assumption that they're going to open and that's going to be a big entertainment draw. So we would coordinate with that as opposed to compete with that.

M

Mike59:55

Unbelievable. You know, as we were talking and you mentioned Vegas, my first trip to Vegas was 1967. And Jenny, you were just a little girl back then.

J

Jenny Holaday1:00:06

The year I was born.

M

Mike1:00:10

Yeah. Ouch. Ouch. This is the big one. This is the big one. We stayed at the Aladdin. I was a big fan of Elvis Presley growing up, as was my wife. And we went in 1967. I had just turned 22. My wife had just turned 21. And we were blown away by Vegas. I mean to us it was... I couldn't believe it how nice it was. Then we went back two years later. We caught another Elvis show and that was at the International. Remember the International?

J

Jenny Holaday1:00:45

I do not.

M

Mike1:00:47

Yeah, you too. You know, between... I didn't go to Vegas till 2004, Mike. I went on my 50th birthday. That's when I went to Vegas. Oh, really? Well, anyway, I love going to Vegas because I was raising four children. It was not easy to go to Vegas. We didn't have any children, unfortunately. But, you know something, we spoiled each other. So that's a good thing. That's a good thing, right, Jenny? But the entertainment plays an important role. I always believed in it. It draws a ton of people, but when you look at the numbers like what you just said with 1,200 seats, it's impossible. You can't make a dime.

J

Jenny Holaday1:01:23

No, you can't between what these artists get and everything else.

M

Mike1:01:28

It's crazy. Massachusetts is very lucky to have Encore in their city. Believe me. I hope that the expansion works out and it will. It's just a matter of time. It's not if it's going to happen, it's when it's going to happen. Correct, Jenny?

J

Jenny Holaday1:01:47

That's what we say.

M

Mike1:01:54

Oh my, a cloud just came by. Between the stadium, between the plans that you guys have, that whole area, what did it bring in on taxes and everything else? Plus all the community work that they do for people that doesn't really get enough press. You know what I'm saying? I know that it really doesn't. This Feed the Funnel is amazing. And that event she had at the end of last year where they had all the leftover gifts that she ended up selling off and donating the money. Jenny, I'm very sorry that we had this interruption with the internet. Is there anything you'd like to say because I have to wind it up?

J

Jenny Holaday1:02:31

No, just thanks so much for having me. And Bill, thank you for being such a wonderful partner for us. We're so lucky to be associated with you and thank you for being a good friend, Bill.

B

Bill Dazzio1:02:43

Yeah, for me. Same here.

M

Mike1:02:46

For me, same here. Take care, everybody. We'll be back next week. All right. Have a great weekend. Take care. Thank you. Take care. Bye.

Encore! Enore! - The Sicilian Corner

About Jenny Holaday