I came up in this business in the ‘80s, when hair was big, and comps were bigger. I’ve been a lumpy dice dealer, an on-the-floor pit boss, and a casino owner who preached “customer worship” long before “CX” was an acronym. I still believe in what I call customer worship — making people feel like they belong in your casino family — and I believe in math, because the numbers tell us whether the worship is paying off. At Raving’s Host & Player Development Program this summer, I had the chance to sit down with three sharp minds — Leila Pleasant, Vice President Operations & Strategy, ROI Promotions; Zach Raucher, Chief Commercial Officer, Global Promotional Sourcing (GPS); and Dean Katris, Owner, Power Promotions.
This isn’t a recap. It’s a story about what works, what doesn’t, and what comes next.
The toaster problem
I’ll start with an image. You can’t put a toaster back in a slot machine. I know, I tried. That’s why giving away toasters — or free play, for that matter — deserves more thought than it usually gets. Free play is convenient, but it vanishes into the machine. A gift, on the other hand, sits on the kitchen counter or the living room shelf. It becomes a symbol of the relationship between your player and your property.
As Leila told me, “Gifting is a touch point. Free play loaded to a card isn’t.” Zach, who’s spent time in both sports marketing and casino promotions, put it another way: “People remember how they felt in your casino.” The right gift, delivered in the right way, becomes more than a prize — it’s a memory.
One goal at a time
What I learned from these three pros is that the mistake most casinos make isn’t in the choice of gift, but in the lack of clarity about why they’re giving it. Are we trying to bring back lapsed players? To push an extra trip out of a regular? To keep our highest-value players from drifting to the competition?
Dean was blunt: “If it isn’t incremental, don’t do it.” In other words, don’t hand out merchandise just to look busy. Every gift should move the needle.
The right bait for the right fish
The conversation turned lively when we started talking about what kinds of gifts really work. Dean used a great fishing metaphor: “You’re not fishing for a whale with a minnow.” High-worth players don’t need another t-shirt; they want brand recognition, personal relevance, something that makes them feel like a VIP.”
Leila reminded me that the reinvestment strategy has to match the market. A Carhartt jacket might mean more to a rural high-limit player than a Louis Vuitton bag ever could. The trick is knowing your guests — segmenting, surveying, and letting the data guide the choices — so the bait actually attracts the fish you want.
Killing the line, not the buzz
We’ve all seen those Saturday mornings where the gift line snakes around the block, and the slot floor looks deserted. That’s the definition of killing your own play. The question is, how do you get the gift into players’ hands without taking them off the machines?
Zach argued for the “dropship” model — let players choose their gift and have it delivered to their home. Fast logistics make that more viable every year. But Leila pushed back with a point I loved: “When you walk in, you want to walk out with a toaster.” In other words, sometimes the thrill is in carrying the prize out the door.
The answer, we agreed, lies in execution. Early access for your best players, smooth staffing at redemption stations, and operational excellence in the back of house. As Leila put it, “It’s not just marketing — it’s warehouse, EVS, security, and your frontline team all moving in sync.” That’s not glamorous, but it’s what keeps players happy and floors busy.
The mall in the ballroom
One of my favorite parts of the discussion was around “shopping events.” Instead of a single item giveaway, casinos are transforming ballrooms into mini-malls where players can browse and choose. Sometimes it’s as simple as two tables with a few SKUs. Other times, as Zach described, it’s a fully themed room — barbecue grills on turf with lights and props, making the whole thing an experience.
Leila recalled running “Christmas in July” events as an operator to reduce point liability before the retail peak season. Bring in Santa, sprinkle some holiday magic, and suddenly you’ve got a loyalty event that feels like an annual tradition. Dean pointed out that you can scale these events, but the principle is the same: give players a reason to come in, to feel special, and to spend more while they’re there.
Proving it with numbers
Here’s the truth that nobody likes to say out loud: Gifting has to prove itself. If you can’t show the lift — whether that’s in coin-in, trips, or theo — then you’re just handing out stuff.
Dean’s advice was to start with a baseline and measure everything against it. Zach pushed hosts and marketers to do what most of us avoid: “Stop gifting for a week and see what happens.” It’s not popular, but it tells you the real impact. And Leila reminded us not to forget the competitive landscape — every property should be tracking what their neighbors are offering and adjusting accordingly.
The Road Ahead
So where’s gifting going in the next decade? Zach sees a future driven by speed and choice — guests selecting from dozens or hundreds of options, shipped almost instantly. That doesn’t mean the in-person pickup disappears. As Leila argued, the feeling of walking out with a prize will always matter. The future probably belongs to a hybrid of both.
Final Word
At the end of the day, VIP gifting isn’t about the toaster — it’s about the story the player tells when they leave your property. It’s about proof — proof that you know them, that you value them, and that you’re willing to put thought (and budget) behind that relationship.
We built Raving on a simple idea: find out what your customers want and give it to them. Do that with gifting — smartly, measurably, and personally — and you’re not just handing out stuff. You’re creating loyalty that shows up in the numbers.
And trust me, the numbers don’t lie.
To find out more about Raving’s Host and Player Development, Marketing, and Analytics programs, please contact Raving today!
