[Dixielandjazz] All Good Things Come To An End

[patcooke77 at yahoo.com]

We have casinos here as well as along the Mississippi gulf coast.  Casino entertainment directors seem to all be of a similar mindset....that is they have a limit on what they will pay for entertainers, unless they are a headliner that they charge a cover to see.  The purpose of entertainers in a casino is not to sell drinks or food.  The purpose of just about everything in a casino is to lure people into the place in the hope that they will lose some money at the tables or the slots.  Whether they dance or not is not as important as whether they gamble or not.
 
Pat Cooke
New Orleans

----- Original Message ----
From: Steve barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: DJML <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 3:47:49 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] All Good Things Come To An End


tcashwigg at aol.com wrote (polite snip)

> directors have never been long on savvy when it comes to booking and
> maintaining a good situation, :))   It's all straight from the Hotel
> operators and managers training manual :))   when ANYTHING goes wrong
> or does not increase the bottom line change the band it must be their
> fault.   Cheaper is Better right?  !!  They are also fond of remodeling
> the lobby often.

Hi Tom and List mates:

Pretty close to the mark. In 2005 The Showboat set a record for attendance &
profits, both up substantially from 2004. I would be the last person to say
the band made any difference at all, but we were there. And we set the
folks, young and old, on fire every time. No question about that.

They spent at least a million dollars this Spring renovating both the lobby
and the main gambling floor. ;-) VBG

The negatives were that we asked for a raise, and that I was the oldest
musician there among some 60 that they employed, in an old guy band.
Entertainment directors there had always let the old guys go quickly and I
was genuinely surprised that they did not target me a year ago. On the other
hand we asked for that raise about a month ago and that may well have
triggered their action, figuring we would leave if we didn't get it. BTW, I
would have left simply because rising gas prices and the commute were making
it an unprofitable gig compared with what I can book locally.

They really do not know what they want musically other than they want a
change, according to our agent, and that they wanted younger musicians since
the House of Blues was bringing in young kids. Never mind that we excited
these kids every time we were there, and got them dancing. Never mind that
the Entertainment Director had seen this countless times and always
complimented us on the great job we were doing.

My opinion is that they have no idea what it is they are looking for in  a
band and no cohesive entertainment marketing strategy. But that and a dollar
will get you a cup of coffee. Perhaps all they seek is warm bodies as a
diversion. 

It was a fun gig, got my chops in excellent shape, and got me physically fit
for an old guy of 71+. On the other hand, we have 2 horses in training on
the farm and I've got 50 outside gigs now booked between now and year end,
with many more in negotiation so my plate is still pretty full and I'm not
complaining. Life is good.

Cheers,
Steve





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