Two South Florida racinos– Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach and Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Hialeah–are offering new ways to attract and keep customers.
As of August 10, a new promotion at Gulfstream Park’s card room rewards players with the most hours logged, regardless of what stakes they play, with up to $1.50 per hour in comps to be used for food and beverages, free slot play and Gulfstream Park items. Card room Manager Scott Poole said, “We want to take care of our regular players. A player that comes in once a month and plays $15-$30 Pot-limit Omaha does not make revenue for my room. A guy playing 30, 40 hours a week even in a $1-$2 game does.”
Poole said Gulfstream also offers food specials for players: $1 beers and hot dogs from noon to close on Monday; ladies’ night at 6 p.m. Tuesday, including free champagne; $1 Tito’s Vodka drinks after 6 p.m. on Wednesday; free pizza 6-9 p.m. Thursday; and free well drinks, 12 midnight-4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
In addition, Poole said Gulfstream has dropped high-hand payouts to $250 per half-hour in lower-stakes games and $500 in higher-stakes games—lower than nearby competitor Big Easy at Mardi Gras Casino.
At Hialeah Park Racing & Casino, opened in 1921, plans for a new five-star hotel and shopping center are moving forward, which will create 2,000 new jobs. “This hotel will be for people who like to visit casinos and who travel the whole country,” said owner John J. Brunetti. Over the past two years, he said renovations have created 1,500 new jobs. “Hialeah Park Casino has brought and will bring much progress. It’s the motor that moves the economy here in Hialeah. And the construction of the hotel and shopping center near Hialeah Park Casino will bring much more progress to the zone,” Brunetti noted.
The $60 million phase-one renovation included the Kings Court VIP Poker Salon, equipped with 33 poker tables and designed as “an authentic casino and not just a space full of slot machines. For us, the great novelty is the ambience and attention to people so that they can feel comfortable,” Brunetti said. The new state-of-the-art media room will offer live and simulcast transmissions of horse races at racetracks across the United States. The revamped racetrack zone is scheduled to open by the end of the year, and the Habana Cafe has been remodeled with a stage for musical acts.
Brunetti noted, “Families can enjoy all these amenities with their children each weekend, since minors are not allowed to enter the casino. We’ve tried to create specific areas within the gardens that the whole family can enjoy.”
