Inside Asian Gaming

February 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 47 guidelines for establishing a productive Casino Junket Program for your casino. The most important areas to remember are to eliminate internal competition and to maximize productivity by using incentives and analysis to measure results. Good will hunting Successful Junket Reps maintain excellent personal relationships with their players and often provide excellent customer service as well to their customers to help keep them loyal. Casinos and junkets can be a cut-throat business and it can be extremely competitive with other Junket Reps and sometimes with in-house Casino Hosts trying to steal their customers away. Smart casino operators understand and recognize the value of good junket reps and will usually do everything legally possible within their power to be fair and to protect their junket reps. This normally involves developing a coding system so that players are properly classified and coded to the individual who brought them to the casino initially, whether it is an independent junket rep, a salaried casino host or a casino player development executive. However, not all casino operators are capable of monitoring this function within their casino and therefore some abuse does happen occasionally. This unfortunately makes many good junket reps very nervous and untrusting of casino staff. It is far better to take the time andeffort in thebeginning to develop a fair coding system to better enable outside junket reps to work harmoniously with in-house casino hosts without the fear of losing their customers. Similar to bad casino hosts there are also bad junket reps. It is important for casino operators today to be aware and also be vigilant to nefarious junket reps that may be legally or illegally working within their casinos. Ultimately any negative activity by bad junket reps may also reflect badly upon the casino as well. It is even more important to keep a watchful eye during recessionary times when people tend to become more desperate and more vulnerable. There are many scams going on and the majority of Junket Reps can often be misjudged by the actions of a few bad ones, who may indirectly represent the good, the bad and the ugly in the casino industry. Don’t be too quick to judge Junket Reps. Take the time to do your homework and learn who the ‘individual’ is. I know some great Junket Reps. I actually worked as a Junket rep for a while in Asia. Most are great people. Many are highly successful in their own business. Many are very generous when it comes to supporting charities and social causes. Many work very hard to be the best Junket Rep that they can be to their customers and the casinos that they represent. And, many lead a very good and comfortable lifestyle. Possibly becoming a junket rep may be right for you too? Do your homework first. Good luck. Steve Karoul is one of the top casino marketing consultants in theworld todaywith over 30 years of experience with top casinos both domestically and internationally. He has conducted business in over 90 different countries. He has also worked as and for several of the largest junket reps and therefore has the utmost respect for the good ones. He is a contributing writer to several different major casino publications, often injecting his own experiences and opinions. Steve can be reached at Tel. (1-860) 536-1828, Fax 536-1898 or by E-mail: skaroul@comcast.net , www.euroasiacasino.com Steve Karoul has been there, done that. His insights could help casino executives get the most out of Junket Reps A Sure Bet Log onto www.asgam.com for the latest industry intelligence and a subscription to our digital edition — all absolutely free. Junket Reps