GAME ON

“Don’t come to a casino with expectations of winning.”I’ll admit it – when I was told I’d be interviewing Marc

Carlton-Smith General Manager for Gaming, this is the last thing I expected him to say. Of course, it’s something everybody knows – a casino that let’s you win all the time wouldn’t be a very good business model – but it’s unusual to hear someone who runs a casino put it so frankly.

So the question is, if you’re not going to win, why would you go to a casino?

The Entertainment Business“We see ourselves as an entertainment business,”

Carlton-Smith tells us. “Our philosophy is to make sure our customers get value for money when they’re gaming. We have slot machines ranging from 1c to R500, the widest spread of offerings at a casino in South Africa. The way we look

at things, when somebody comes here they have a certain amount of money to spend. Some casinos believe their job is to take that money from the customer as quickly as possible, but we want to give them time to really enjoy themselves.”

It’s a philosophy that’s embraced by everyone in the company; even, perhaps surprisingly, their accountants.

“We like to look after our guests, offering them complimentary tea and coffee, whilst allowing them to pay for their alcoholic beverages through their play, this is called “Earning Comps” in the Casino world,” Carlton-Smith says.

This is another place where Emperors Palace is a good deal more transparent than other casinos. While plenty of casinos offer perks for high rollers, ranging from free drinks and meals all the way up to special hotel suites, Emperors Palace staff will tell you how many points you’ve earned through your play, and what you’re entitled to as the points accumulate.

We discover why Emperors Palace Hotels Casino Conventions Entertainment in Johannesburg is the place where you should definitely try your luck.

Emperors Palace

“Our top end players each have Executive Hosts that look after them,” Carlton-Smith says. “They act like a personal banker. The executive host will get a call saying ‘I’m coming in for the weekend. Can you book hotel rooms for my family and book us into a nice restaurant?’ and they will sort everything out for them.”

Of course, just because you shouldn’t expect to win, doesn’t mean that you won’t, and for the big winners there are huge prizes and progressives to be won.

The casino regularly has leader board promotions that are divided into “Slots” and “Tables” categories and

depending on how much turnover the player has, the higher up the leader board the player will be. The top player in each category automatically qualifies for prizes, while the remaining players are entered into a draw to be eligible to win the balance of the prizes.

Carlton-Smith tells us, “We recently launched a promotion where we’re sending five couples to Monaco for 4 days and included in this is attending the Royal Command Performance held at the Royal Opera House with one of our local artists namely Johnny Clegg. We heard that he’s one of the Royal

“Some casinos believe their job is to take money from the customer as quickly as possible, but we want to give them time to really enjoy themselves.”, Marc Carlton-Smith, General Manager for Gambling

Emperors Palace

Emperors Palace

couple’s favourite star, so we arranged for Johnny to go and give a special performance. In conjunction with this, 10 players will be whisked to Monte-Carlo, be hosted by the Casino De Monte-Carlo, enjoy the Johnny Clegg show and return to South Africa with amazing memories.”

Emperors Palace is always looking for apparitional ideas for our promotions, and sometimes it finds them in the most unusual places.

“We recently ran another promotion where 12 ladies won a shopping trip to Dubai,” Carlton-Smith remembers. “I got the idea from watching Sex and the City 2 with my wife, and her turning to me and stating ‘What woman wouldn’t love to go there and shop… Four months later the ladies where there and shopping!’”

A Winning AtmosphereBut while the prizes are great, that’s not the reason

people come to Emperors Palace. At the end of the day it’s the entertainment experience that people enjoy.

“Sections of our complex have real gold-leaf in-laid into the walkways,” Carlton-Smith says proudly, “but I think the experience is best summed up by our players who tend to dress up when they visit Emperors Palace. Our complex drew a lot of inspiration from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. We had the same architects and designers, so it has a very similar look and feel to Las Vegas. It has a timeless look and feel with lots of marble, classical columns and high ornate roofs. We have real opulence on display, yet at the same time we

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Emperors Palace

Emperors Palace

also have areas where people can be comfortable in trainers and jeans.”

Of course, all the pretty architecture in the world is no good unless it is coupled with excellent customer service and Emperors Palace is dedicated to providing the best frontline staff.

“We look for people who can communicate well,” Carlton-Smith says. “Good communication is of paramount importance. Our belief is that communications and personality matter more than good school marks, these are skills you can’t teach anyone. It has to come naturally.”

The fantastic safe environment that Emperors Palace offers has resulted in some unexpected bonuses.

“When we opened in 1998 our customer base was around three quarters male,” Carlton-Smith says. “Now our customer base is 55% female. There’s been a huge gender shift. We found that the reason for this is because the casino is a safe environment for a single woman to go to relax. Everyone’s here for the same reason: to gamble, relax and enjoy themselves.”

Responsible GamblingWhile most people come to the casino just to have fun,

Carlton-Smith is quick to admit that there is a darker side to gambling. Some people don’t understand that you “Don’t come to a casino with expectations of winning”.

“There are always challenges in the casinos. Often you’re dealing with people who aren’t happy about losing but that’s part and parcel of the job. However I find that 95% of people don’t want you to solve a problem, they just need to vent and that’s where being able to talk to people becomes an essential skill.”

Unfortunately, for some people that isn’t enough and Calton-Smith has learnt to spot the signs of gambling addiction, which is something Emperors Palace takes extremely seriously.

“That’s the first sign of a possible problem. At that point I sit them down and say ‘Is this no longer fun?’” Carlton-Smith explains. “We ask them to speak to our responsible gaming helpline, which is independent from any casino.”

Responsible gaming is a core concept at Emperors Palace. 10% of their advertising floor space is taken up by posters raising awareness of the problems of gambling addiction with slogans such as “When it’s no longer a game”.

The important thing is to get players who have a problem to help themselves.

“We take it very, very seriously,” Carlton-Smith emphasises. “When we have relatives or spouses coming to us to say that somebody has a problem, we will investigate and approach that person to encourage them to self-exclude themselves. Unfortunately self-exclusion is the only option in these cases. As with any addiction, they themselves have to recognise they have a problem and take action.”

While some people have problems however, the vast majority of people who pass through the doors of Emperors Palace have a great time.

As Carlton-Smith says, “We’ll look after you.”In conclusion, Emperors Palace provides not only

an invigorating destination where people can enjoy the excitement and the thrill of gaming, but also a safe one. Together with their enthusiastic and supportive staff, their strong leadership and their “spare no expense” approach to layout and design, Emperors Palace can make everyone feel like a celebrity. Or indeed like an emperor.

With twenty-one sites, six of South Africa’s top ten cinema complexes and 25% of its screens digital, Nu Metro is concentrating on developing the premium side of its cinema division.

Nu Metro delivers great service and experience while staying focused on being the best in the marketplace, very customer-centric and alert to the wants and interests of cinemagoers in a particular market. Avid cinemagoers want to see and experience the movie in the big format, with the sound, their friends around them, and experiencing a true entertainment evening. And with Nu Metro they will find it all.

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Emperors Palacewww.emperorspalace.com+27 11 928 1992Written by Chris Farnell

www.littlegatepublishing.com