Yes, it’s me. And yes — this is an update of the article I wrote eight-ish years ago, back when leggings weren’t officially pants and hosts still carried binders thicker than a Guns N’ Roses tour rider.
But here’s the wild part: Everything I said back then still works today. Actually… it works even better.
Because after all these years (and a few hundred thousand miles on the road — plus the occasional hurricane and earthquake I swear I didn’t cause), I can tell you one thing for sure: Guests don’t come back to you because you’ve got a spa, a golf course, or a lazy river pool (although that’s sounding pretty nice right now from winter in Montana). They come back because you treat them like they matter. And small properties? You’ve got that down better than anyone.
The magic of small casinos
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into a little casino that you could see the players club from across the room and thought, “These folks get it.” There’s a warmth you just can’t fake. It’s that feeling of being known — really known — the way your regular coffee shop barista knows your order or your favorite bartender knows when you’re having a rough week (for those who have been in any of my trainings, it’s a quad shot mocha!). Big casinos can throw every amenity in the world at people, but they can’t replicate that “I’m home” feeling you serve up without even trying.
I think about this one guest — years ago — whose host helped her husband plan this over-the-top birthday weekend scavenger hunt. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Some funny notes, a few small surprises, a couple of inside jokes tucked into envelopes. The kind of thing you can only pull off when you really know someone. She still talks about it. I’m reminded that guests don’t fall in love with a place because of a waterfall atrium or a signature steakhouse. They fall in love with the way you make them feel.
And here’s another one: One property I worked at saved the belly glass off a guest’s favorite slot machine — literally the front artwork from the machine she always played — and had her favorite employees sign it. We framed it and gave it to her, and you would’ve thought we handed her the keys to a Cadillac. It wasn’t the object. It was the meaning behind it. It said, “We see you. We know your stories. You matter here.”
Why small still wins
This is what smaller casinos do better than anyone. You’re not leaning on the “stuff” because you don’t have a ton of stuff to lean on. Instead, you lean on your relationships, your personalities, your creativity, and your heart. Being relational, not transactional, that’s the real magic.
Whether it’s a favorite candy waiting when someone walks in or a handwritten card you scribbled between guest calls, those tiny gestures hit deeper than any comped buffet line ever could. Guests remember when you notice them, when you ask about their kids (and even better, their fur babies), when you remember which machine they love, or when you text them after a long absence just to check in. Connection is the amenity nobody can copy.
And that’s the thing — amenities can be built. They can be bought. They can be remodeled, renamed, refreshed, and demolished. But genuine connection? That’s homegrown. It’s handcrafted. It’s familial. It’s something that lives in your hosts, your supervisors, your front-line team, and your culture. And it cannot be faked, no matter how many zeroes are in the capital improvements budget.
The heart of it all
After all this time on the road — after weather events that seem to travel with me, after thousands of conversations with players and hosts and teams across the country, after late-night debriefs and early-morning pep talks — I’m more convinced than ever that smaller casinos don’t just compete with the big properties. They beat them in the places that actually matter.
You don’t need a spa to make someone feel cared for. You don’t need a hotel tower to make someone feel welcome. You don’t need a fine dining restaurant to create a moment they’ll never forget.
What you already have — the heart, the humor, the real human connection, the stories, the relationships — that’s the real VIP experience. That’s the thing your guests crave, even if they don’t say it out loud.
Amenities come and go. But heart? That’s forever.
