Sponsored Content By Leisure Gaming, Inc.
Transcript:
Deana Scott:
Hi Ravers, Deana Scott here. Welcome to Raving On Air, sponsored by TG&H magazine. Visit TGandH.com for all of your operational insights today. I welcome Ryan Albright. He’s the managing partner and VP of operations for Leisure Gaming. He is a second generation operator doing slot routes in Northern Nevada. They have nine slot routes, including Pilot Loves Fuel centers and Roadhouse Casinos. Ryan, you recently acquired a few more of these properties, so things are doing pretty well in Northern Nevada.
Ryan Albright:
Absolutely. Yeah, we picked up three new properties, opened them within about a five or six month period. And it was very challenging. They’re not big properties, but each one is between 50 and 60 slot machines. And when you add a slot system and the remodeling that we did and the new slot product that we put in and the rearranging of the floors, and it was a big undertaking in a short period of time.
Deana Scott:
You have these three really distinct brands that you’ve pulled together under the Leisure umbrella. Can you give us a little background of Leisure because this is really a family business for you? You and your dad have been doing this for a long time.
Ryan Albright:
Sure. Yeah. Leisure started back in 1993. The founding partners of the company were all partners together in casinos, in downtown Reno and they kind of spun off with Leisure Gaming thinking it wouldn’t really amount to much, and it, it started with one of those three partners. Bill Douglas, who’s been partners with my father for, you know, 40, 45 years is an avid fly fisherman. So, he was fly fishing on some guided trip in the Bahamas in 92 and he in his same group was one of the big executives with pilot travel centers and they got talking and the pilot executive figured out that we run casinos and they mentioned that they were opening a truck stop, and one thing led to another and we put 30 slot machines and a little casino and the truck stop in Fernley. And from there we opened a couple others in around 2000 and then opened a fourth in 2008. They were all in pilot travel centers. And since 2008, I jumped on board in 2008.
Deana Scott:
Really good time to start.
Ryan Albright:
It was, yeah, it was and I was passively involved since 98. My father sold my brother and I two and a half percent interest each in 1998 with the goal of getting us licensed in Nevada for gaming. And so we did that and we paid him back and I was doing other things, majored in accounting, got an accounting degree, got into land development, moved to Tennessee for six and a half years, in the 2000’s, and came back and jumped in, in 2008. And so, I didn’t have really a slot background, but I learned a lot from my father and our other partners. And since 2008, we’ve added five additional locations and more than doubled in size and it’s been quite a ride. So …
Deana Scott:
Brian, what do you attribute the success that you’ve had in kind of growing this business over the, you know, past several years, it seems like you’ve done a really good job of focusing on the analytics and service?
Ryan Albright:
Yeah. Our keys have been from day one is that even though we had, for the most part, not really locals based businesses, we wanted to provide more of a locals based customer service environment, really get to know our customers, the cleanliness of our casinos, the service from our cashiers is one of our main objectives. And then the slot product, you know, I’ve learned from our partners that if you are not regularly updating your slot product, you very quickly fall behind. And once you get very far behind, it’s almost impossible to catch up. And these slot machines, as everyone knows, are $20,000 plus, unless you get a very good deal. And if you’re not constantly updating your floors, you’re not gonna be where you need to be. You never get there. So …
Deana Scott:
And I do think that’s a competitive advantage in the slot, in the route operators, right? Because so many times you see those properties and of course the ones you just acquired, you know, just get forgotten. They become what you’d call, maybe a cash cow, but really they’re not, they’re just a declining business. And you guys recently in your acquisition have really done a great job of turning three of those properties around.
Ryan Albright:
Yeah, we’ve had a long time, like you said, at your intro, we’ve had almost 30 years to practice and figure out what works and what doesn’t, and see it work or see it does not work. And we know for a fact that when we keep our slot product new and fresh, it’s expensive, but you do make it back in space with what you, you know, what you get and it’s well worth the effort. And so we reinvest and that’s one of the philosophies of our company and it’s really paid off. And the second thing that we did in 2016 was get a true, full blown slot system, where we have a database, we have player tracking, we can then market to our customers. And with that, we really built a base of locals in each of the small towns that we’re in. And that’s put us where we are today. We would not be where we are today, if we had kept easy pay, which is what we ran from 2000, or from 1993 to 2016, we just had easy pay. And so that’s been another big, big thing for us.
Deana Scott:
Well, Ryan, as always, I enjoy catching up with you and seeing how things are going on the long. And you have such a long drive in between your properties. You got a lot of time to think about strategy and I’ve been always impressed how hands on you are in the business, you even approved the direct mail program monthly and it is always a pleasure to chat with you about the business. So thanks for joining us.
Ryan Albright:
It’s my pleasure. It’s always great to see you glad we got to catch up.
Deana Scott:
On behalf of Raving. Thank you for joining us. If you need operational insights, please visit betravingknows.com and on behalf of the Raving team, be safe and happy.