Panel Report:
Casino Talent Buyers: Deal or No Deal
Moderator
Billy Brill Billy Alan Productions
Matt Blake The Gersh Agency
Danny Heller Gayle Force Entertainment
Jim Lenz Paradise Artists
Jackie Miller-Knobbe APA
Christian Printup Tachi Palace Casino
Bob Rech Potawatomi Bingo Casino

In case the panel's title would be forgotten, moderator Billy Brill returned to it several times. "Deal? Or no deal?" he asked after various interactions. But, really, the theme was very broad. Casino buyers just aren't getting a lot of good deals these days (at least that's what the room of buyers kept saying). And a deal-or-no-deal scenario could mean a deal between a buyer and an agent, a buyer and the casino employers or a buyer and the artist.

In big markets, there are too many Native American casinos (five in San Diego) to keep a bid low. Then there are the evil, evil agents hiking the guarantees because casinos are rolling in green. In contrast, after paying the hiked-up artist prices, talent buyers face the nervous CFOs, not only questioning why the show didn't raise the drop, but also why entertainment is necessary at all at a gaming venue.

The answers? The way to get the deals? Be creative. Consider weekday shows. Know how to sell your budget to the CFOs. Bring in artists early because if another promoter develops the act in the market, he or she is going to get the deal the next time around.

And know when the agent is actually selling you a good deal.

Brill recalled a phone call about six years ago when an agent pitched him on an Australian who could play piano and banjo.

"Just what I need, an Australian Roy Clark," Brill recalled thinking. "But it was very cheap. I think Matt [Blake] pays more for dry cleaning."

So Brill booked Keith Urban in the Casino Hollywood and made a killing. Brill also paid attention when Tinti Moffat at William Morris Agency sold him on a trio called Sugarland and he booked them in Porterville, Calif. He had a tip that Carlos Mencia would soon have a television show and grabbed the soon-to-be star for a gig.

Another thing that casinos do that is attractive to artists and agents is provide the atmosphere.

"For casino buyers, the work doesn't stop when you book the act," Brill said.

Jackie Miller-Knobbe recalled an artist who was also given a gift card.

"That artist sold out two arena shows and made a half-million dollars, but was most thrilled about the $500 card for the casino gift shop," she said. "That's the kind of treatment we look at."

Blake, who handles comedy acts at Gersh, noted that casinos are more concerned about the ticket price than the guarantee and he recalled once where the ticket price was negotiated lower, not the guarantee.

Willie Nelson likes to play golf with the casino VIPs when he gets into town, and Brill recalled when Tanya Tucker wanted a Lincoln Town Car to go shopping at the Wal-Mart in San Diego.

"You need to do the things that artists will remember out of the 150 dates they do each year," Brill said. "You have to figure out how to make them feel welcome so they'll enjoy coming back."

Tribal blankets are a big hit, too.

In fact, Christian Printup joked to the agents in the audience that he'll gladly give their artists the best blankets they'd ever seen, with 1,000-thread counts, if he could get their shows.

It's also a good idea to just back away from a pissing match with a local promoter who will win out for a weekend, hard-ticket show. Sometimes acts will play the casino on a Tuesday night just because they want a good rest in
a hotel room.

And a casino buyer can still get a deal from an agent even if there are four other casinos in the area bidding on the same act.

"Don't be afraid to say no," Bob Rech said. "If you want to pass, reply to the agent in 36 font, `PASS.' Then you'll get your callback."

Rech does Rick Springfield every year, which has turned into an inter-national pilgrimage. Sometimes the events - from an Elvis impersonator festival to a Mother's Day male burlesque to Mardi Gras to cage fighting need to be there every year, on the same dates. People like the consistency and, when it comes to live entertainment, acts become associated with certain venues over time.

Steve Gietka from Trump Properties pointed out from the audience that life is a lot easier when the CFO and the accountant are pro-entertainment.

"It's all about who's interpreting the analysis," Geitka said. "If the top people are pro-entertainment, then they'll look at the finance guy and make sure he analyzes it so that all the gaming is attached to the artist. Others will say the gaming was down because of the artist."

Or, as Christian Printup ended the session, "Fight. Make the accounting department know there's revenue generated outside ticketing."

Joe Reinartz