Vol. 9 No. 5 May 2008
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Dealing a Winning Hand
Frankel a perfect fit for Sunset Station
Scott Frankel was once an executive recruiter. No wonder he’s an ace in Sunset Station’s Boarding Pass Card promotion.
The four-year dual-rate veteran shatters the company’s new-business standard.
Sunset seeks at least one new signup per day from its floor people. Frankel averages close to six, and once led the entire property despite spending half his time dealing.
For him, salesmanship boils down to friendly assertiveness.
“You start by just being nice, asking if they want to sign up,” says Frankel, a New York native. “Being a locals place, we can see if someone does not have a card. You’re offering free slot play, it’s definitely something they want and you can have fun with the people. It also gives you the chance to know more customers by name. It’s always nicer when you can use someone’s name instead of something like ‘sir.’”
Frankel’s product push involves the new Jumbo Jackpot program. Each individual casino now has its own version of what had been a Station-wide promotion. At Sunset, the jackpot is guaranteed to hit between $50 and $100,000. All active players at the time of the hit receive anywhere from $25 to $100 in free slot play.
“You tell people, ‘Look, the casino is taking your money anyway, why not get something for it,’” he says. “I think it’s good to let people know that you are on their side. Many people think we work for the house and that they are playing against us. I tell them that if we got paid commission, this would be the greatest job in the world. We don’t get commission. We have no problem with them winning.
“To me, it’s just about being personable, talking to people but not twisting their arms the New York way. I’ve become more diplomatic out here,” he adds. “I can’t help bringing a little bit of New York with me, though. If I see somebody in la-la land, I might say, ‘Hey, how you doin’?’”
Is Frankel happy? Fuh-get-a-bout-it.
He escaped the high-pressure New York world nearly five years ago. He read about dealer’s school, available Las Vegas apartments and moved here. Frankel went through dealing school, obtained employment and received a warmer climate than back East.
“I know I could have gone to Atlantic City and Jersey is nice, but it’s not Vegas,” Frankel says. “You have everything here. There are people who can be meeting and you can almost always go outside. I love golf, so it’s a year-round thing now. One December day, I called my brother in New York and said, ‘How’s the snow back there? I’m on the 14th hole.’ I think he wanted to kill me!”
Vegas fits Frankel, with a capital ‘F.’ He obtained a wife, a comfortable lifestyle and an endearing locals market.
“You do see the same people four or five times a week,” he says. “You talk to them, get to know them a little bit, you look forward to the next time they are going to be in your property. And then you see all that entertainment and excitement. You watch people hoping that any hand now is going to be the 7-card straight flush, or that anything big can happen with the next roll of the dice.”
It’s a perpetual fantasy. And if you can dream it, Scott Frankel can sell it.
