Up Front
...with G. Douglas
When you visit a casino, what are the determining factors that make it a pleasant or unpleasant experience? Is the outcome solely based on winning or losing money? Or do you take pleasure in the many other plush features properties from Indiana to the Gulf Coast love to brag about? Other than a few small caveats, I have always thought once you are inside a casino, they are all about the same. Whether you are on a riverboat casino in Indiana or on a barge casino in Tunica or on the Gulf Coast, the games are the games. No matter what casino you are in, you don’t want to go over twenty-one in blackjack and the house hold a mere 1.41% advantage on the Pass Line bet in craps. I like to bring this up because there are so many gamblers who rush into the casino, gamble and go home. They don’t take advantage of all the offerings like premium restaurants, bountiful buffets, swank spas, plush pools and some of the best golf courses on the planet! Why would you NOT take advantage of all these offerings? I like to look at the casinos as your own little country club; use them because you are paying the dues! To help exploit some of these great offerings, we began publishing the Best of Southern Gaming Awards in 2003 as a way to let everyone know who had the best of the best. Think about it. If you are going to splurge on a suite, you want to know if it is worth it before you drop a few hundred dollars to do so! And, if you are going to drop some serious coin on an elegant dinner, you want to be sure you are getting the biggest bang for your buck. Or, you might get all of these things comped, fine; you still want to know your play is rewarded on the properties’ best assets! So, we hope you enjoy this year’s awards on page 16. This issue also marks the start of a barrage of analysis, speculation, and hopes and dreams for football fans across the nation. We are talking about getting out of your seat and yelling for some good old hard-hitting, action-packed American football that millions of sports fans have come to love. We love to follow our favorite teams. We love to tailgate before the games. We love to sit around and have drafts for our fantasy football teams. What else would we do on Saturdays and Sundays? Yard work? We have put together some great articles to help make this the best football season yet with a Pigskin Preview on page 42 and an insider’s look at what it is like ... To Be the King of Sports Gambling with Wayne Allyn Root on page 46. We hope they will make it a profitable year for you! Good luck! It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t brag about The Comps Club by Southern Gaming! If you are not a member, you are missing out! We had a member call us after her trip to Biloxi saying how great it was to have the coupons. She went to EVERY casino featured in her Coupon Pak and saved almost $100! You can too! For just $29 per year, you will get six Member Coupon Paks loaded with coupons and special offers to casinos and racetracks throughout the South AND six issues of Southern Gaming and Destinations mailed straight to your door! You can’t beat it! Check out the ad on page 9 for more information. We can’t wait to add you to our member list! Plus...Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant now offers a $5 match play table game or slot offer so the club got that much better!
Publisher Bisig Impact Group Chief Executive Officer Larry Bisig President & Creative Director Chip Dumstorf General Manager G. Douglas Dreisbach Brand Marketing Manager/ Sales Executive Ashley Horner Accounting Peggy Harris Contributing Authors Linda Boyd Eric Floyd John Grochowski Phil Hellmuth, Jr. Wayne Allyn Root Rudi Schiffer Frank Scoblete Henry Tamburin Jeremy White Letters to the editor, address changes and other correspondence should be sent to: Southern Gaming and Destinations 640 South Fourth Street Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 583-0333 Fax (502) 583-6487 e-mail: editor@southerngaming.com The goal of this publication is to help drive awareness of the ever-growing popularity of the gaming industry and to assist the gamer in enjoying their gaming experience to the fullest. Southern Gaming and Destinations is published for those who seek the best in gaming and in life. ON THE COVER: This year marks 35 years since the death of The King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. The legend lives on with Elvis week, an annual week long celebration held in Memphis, Tennessee. Page 10 Southern Gaming and Destinations is produced bimonthly by Bisig Impact Group of Louisville, Kentucky. Copyright 2004 by Bisig Impact Group. All Rights Reserved. This publication is printed by Publisher’s Printing Co., Inc. of Shepherdsville, Kentucky. Postage is paid in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky.
I hope you have an AMAZING summer and remember, if you can’t be good ... be lucky!
Opinions of columnists are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor does Southern Gaming and Destinations assume liability for claims of advertisers.
G. Douglas Dreisbach General Manager
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Southern Gaming and Destinations, 640 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.
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So u thern G aming and De s t in a t io n s