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One of the properties that benefitted from this gain in Gulf Coast gaming fortunes was Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi, a Twin River Management Group-owned facility that expanded just in time to exploit this increase in consumer casino spend. Under the leadership of General Manager Todd Raziano, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi continues to make the physical and the entertainment amenity improvements essential to thrive on this growing but in addition increasingly competitive gaming marketplace. Recently, Raziano took a while to field some market and property questions from Casino Journal Editor Paul Doocey. Below are some excerpts from his answers:

How would you describe the full Biloxi market relating to revenue and visitation over the past year or so? Is it up, down or steady? What are one of the crucial reasons for this performance?

Raziano: In 2015 the Gulf Coast casinos had over 10 million out-of-state visitors which was down about 4 percent, however revenues were up 6.5 percent from 2014.  Although visitation was down slightly, the positive performance of the gaming market can also be largely attributed to several capital investment projects and successful tourism related events reminiscent of Cruisin’ the Coast.  During 2015, Beau Rivage, the state and town of Biloxi teamed as much as construct MGM Park, a 6,000 seat AA-Minor League baseball stadium; Silver Slipper opened a brand new 129-room hotel;  and Island View reconstructed a 400-room hotel tower that have been shut down since Hurricane Katrina.

The Scarlett Pearl opened recently in D’Iberville, the primary major new casino resort along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in quite a while. What impact would you assert it has had at the marketplace?

Raziano: As its only been a couple of months for the reason that December 2015 opening of Scarlet Pearl, it's kind of early to totally assess the impact it has had. The publicity surrounding the hole had a good impact in the marketplace overall, however.

Is there room for more new ground-up casino resort development at the Gulf Coast? 

Raziano: The Gulf Coast gaming market is currently made from 12 high-quality casino hotel resorts, owned and operated by the various largest, most successful companies within the industry.  Whether there's room for an additional ground-up casino development depends largely upon increasing visitation to the Gulf Coast.  Doing so would require more reasons to go to than simply gaming, similar to effective tourism initiatives and enhancements to the transportation methods during which visitors arrive.

The pace of infrastructure entertainment development appears to have quickened with the outlet of MGM Ball Park as most up-to-date example. How important are such developments to you and the opposite operators in Biloxi? 

Raziano: Very important.  The Gulf Coast has established itself as a premier gaming destination.  To be able to generate continued growth, it is important to to supplement the gaming experience with other activities which are appealing.  Substantial investments similar to MGM Park, additional hotel rooms and restaurants drive more visitors which in turn inspire new developments.  Success breeds success.

It’s been greater than 10 years since Hurricane Katrina. Would you assert the market has recovered from that blow or is it still an ongoing process? What must happen for the market to be considered fully recovered?

Raziano: Hurricane Katrina was a traditionally significant event and from many perspectives full recovery will likely never be achieved.  However, the gaming market at the Gulf Coast is performing really well because the quality of casino hotel properties is healthier as is the infrastructure that supports the market.

There have been movement to legalize casinos in Georgia and Texas and add additional casinos in Florida. What impact would any of those expansions have at the Mississippi Gulf Coast gaming scene and the way are you able to prepare for them? 

Raziano: Expansion of gaming in surrounding states seems inevitable. Since lots of our visitors originate in these states, it's more important than ever for the properties, cities and state to speculate out there so it's fortified and powerful because it may also be to resist a rise in competition.

How would you are saying Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi has performed over the last year? Are you satisfied with the results?

Raziano: 2015 was an excellent year for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi. Over the last two years, our ownership, Twin River Management Group, has invested heavily with the addition of a brand new 154-room hotel tower, the addition of multiple restaurants and an ongoing hotel suite remodel. These enhancements at the side of our marketing programs has been well received by our guests.

What is the valuables doing to stick ahead in an increasingly competitive local and regional gaming marketplace? Are you making any changes for your casino floor?

Raziano: At Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi, we're constantly optimizing our layouts and adding new products to our gaming floor. Within the last year, we added a VIP lounge just off our high limit room, which was a really perfect addition for our VIP guests to enjoy complimentary food and beverages, in conjunction with access to our large deck overlooking the pool and water—there isn't any better place to look at a sunset at the Coast!

What new non-gaming amenities are you adding to the valuables? What do you hope to perform with these additions?

Raziano: Non-gaming amenities are a large a part of the Hard Rock experience and we've got added several new dining options within the last year. Tequila’s at the Gulf, our poolside restaurant, opened last spring and was an excellent success. It also hosts an out of this world pool party every Sunday—which you don’t wish to miss! Additionally, we opened a Half Shell Oyster House just off our gaming floor, offering authentic coastal cuisine and native seafood which have been a welcomed addition to our portfolio. Last fall we also opened Pie Five Pizza Co., for a more casual dining experience, where you'll be able to create a custom, personal pizza with quality ingredients in precisely five minutes.

We also recently renovated our nightclub LIVE #REMIX and we're within the technique of renovating several of our suites this year to verify we're providing the easiest amenities for our guests.

We have created additional meeting space as well, using air walls to create three flexible meeting spaces so we can grow that segment of our B2B business.

All of those upgrades provide our guests with more options during their stick with us and make sure after they are visiting the Hard Rock, we offer them with authentic experiences that ROCK.

There is lots of talk within the industry about land-based gaming resorts needing to do a greater job attracting Millennials and younger clientele to the valuables. What's Hard Rock doing to bring these people in? Are you adding any amenities especially aimed toward them?

Raziano: Millennials are a focal point for all gaming resorts and difficult Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi is continually searching for opportunities to capture this audience. This summer, now we have partnered with famous mixologist Richard Gomez, a USBG member and Diageo World Class U.S. Ambassador, who will bring his unique passion to Hard Rock with custom cocktails, live appearances and more. Mixology and custom cocktails that you simply can’t get anywhere else is a hot trend for the more youthful clientele—they want custom. They would like unique. They would like to be the fashion setter.  Additionally, we're booking headline entertainment that appeals to the more youthful generations, equivalent to Halestorm and Hunter Hayes.

Starting June 2, we can showcase a brand new, live, theatrical stage production titled SHOW RISQUÉ, presented exclusively at Hard Rock Live every Thursday through September 1. This sexy, sassy, fun, flirtatious variety show may be great entertainment for all ages, not only the everyday casino-goer.

On the gaming side, we provide blackjack tournaments and mass promotions to win cars, flat screens, trips and similar items that that attract a younger demographic. We communicate with this audience primarily with social media, which permits us to have a two-way conversation with them and lets us actively insert ourselves where they already are consuming media and spending their time.

No doubt Hard Rock is synonymous with a undeniable form of entertainment experience. What role does entertainment play within the Hard Rock enterprise and what does Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi have in store to fulfill these expectations?

Raziano: Music is on the core of everything we do here at Hard Rock. From the second one you enter our property, we offer an experience, unique to anything one can find at the Gulf Coast. Hard Rock Live can accommodate over 2,000 guests for headline entertainment in our 9,000-square-foot theater. We even have nine bars, two dance clubs, and 3 live music venues. We have now some very exciting headline entertainment planned in 2016, with acts like Halestorm and Foreigner within the spring, and coming later this year; Tracey Lawrence, 38 Special, Hunter Hayes, Weird Al Yankovich, Candlebox, Skid Row and America… Hard Rock is often rockin’.

How important is customer support to the whole success of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi? What steps have you ever taken to enhance or improve customer support at your facility?

Raziano: Customer support is a big priority for Hard Rock. Our motto is to “LOVE ALL. SERVE ALL.”  We now have extensive guest service training in place to make sure we deliver on that promise. When you're competing for business with 12 other casinos within the market, it's important to have a differentiator. Ours is music in addition to the most efficient service at the Coast. The relationships that we build with our guests are the only most significant thing we do in an afternoon. We are hoping that their experience with us may be so impactful that they are going to not just return, but recommend Hard Rock to friends and family.

Read More... [Source: Gaming Industry News]