Tuesday, July 18, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COMP GURU

Former casino CEO enlightens bettors

By Dave Berns
lasvegas.com Gaming Wire

It's the sort of information that casinos haven't liked to publicize for decades, but the average person wants to know.
Quite simply: What does it take to qualify for a free room and meals at a hotel-casino?
Sure, the details are there. You just have to call a casino and get rated. But what if you don't know that part of the equation?
Seizing upon the Internet, former MGM Grand Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Larry Woolf has joined a company that is offering a solution.
"We've demystified the comp world for the rest of the world," Woolf said.
For a $100 annual membership fee, playsys.com will offer access to a Web site that is expected to link gamblers to as many as 200 casino companies worldwide -- 50 in the United States and 150 elsewhere.
"When they feel our power we'll keep expanding," he said, "but we don't want to have too many casinos."
The concept, which is several months from going online, was developed by a Greek businessman who saw an unmet demand.
"In his mind he needed to have information," Woolf said.
The longtime Las Vegas gaming executive has been working as a consultant since his 1995 departure from the MGM Grand.
His Navegante Group has helped develop and market casinos worldwide and most recently served as the interim operator of Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The company also has serves as a headhunting firm that helps fill executive positions.
Woolf previously served as president of Caesars Tahoe and as senior vice president of operations for Caesars Atlantic City.
Woolf, a softspoken 56-year-old Idahoan, spends little time doing anything, that as he says, fails to enrich himself. So he spends much of his time either working, reading classic literature or taking early morning walks while listening to National Public Radio.
He also owns and operates the Tolstoys gift shops at The Venetian and The Regent Las Vegas. A third shop is planned for the Aladdin.
Woolf estimates there are 300,000 customers who bet $100 a hand at casinos outside of Las Vegas, and they'd like to know the criteria for qualifying for the complimentaries that are the lifeblood of the casino industry.
"He might not be able to find a room at the A-level," Woolf said of a potential comp-seeking customer, "but if he's wondering, `How do I get a comp in Vegas?' We fix the problem."
Of course, there's been that age-old taboo against casino executives publicizing their comp policies.
After all, it's often a sliding scale that varies daily from player to player, and few casino marketing executives want to explain to someone why that person didn't qualify for a giveaway while another did.
Yet today, Woolf argues, the equation has changed.
"With the Internet, nothing is really secret anymore," he said.
"A lack of information means you can get ripped off."
     
     NEVADANS AT WORK
     Name: Larry Woolf.
     Position: Chief executive officer, PlaySys.com; and chairman and chief executive officer, The Navegante Group.
     Age: 56.
     Family: Wife, Linda; two sons and a granddaughter.
     Education: Attended University of Nevada, Reno.
     Hobbies: Traveling, walking, reading.
     Hometown: Shelley, Idaho.
     How long in Las Vegas: Since 1990.
 

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