Because of it’s proximity to New York and Boston, Mohegan Sun has been used as a site for various TV and film shoots. For instance, in the 2019 film Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler’s character mentions the casino a few times.
Mohegan’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications George Galinsky thought a reality show based on back-of-the-house employees at the casino might be interesting. But the network executives who were pitched envisioned a “Sin City” type of show.
“We said forget these networks; they don’t want to do what we want to do,” Galinsky said during the keynote luncheon “Backstage Pass” at the recent Casino Marketing & Technology Conference in Temecula, California. “We’re going to make our own show.”
Thus was born Back of House, Mohegan’s in-house online TV show.
“We just made our own reality show and distributed it digitally, so we didn’t have to play by anyone else’s rules,” Galinsky told moderator and Raving Next CEO Deana Scott.
Featuring a range of Mohegan Sun employees and appearances by celebrities including former New England Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski, rapper Snoop Dogg, and lifestyle maven Martha Stewart, all who waived fees, Back of House is meant to show working at a casino is like.
“We wanted to create a lot of buzz about our property,” Galinsky told Scott. “There’s awareness of Mohegan as a great property, but there’s a lot of folks that have just never made the trip. And the strategy was to be able to show off the property in long form video, because there are some epic pieces of architecture and design, and also to show off our guest service and friendly employees. That’s what we tried to weave into every single episode: Show off how beautiful the place is and how great the guest services are.”
Chefs, front office people and behind-the-scenes personnel all have their moments on the show. No one was paid to participate – Galinsky said it was just “one extra task” – but everyone seemed to have fun.
“I think it’s something that anybody can do,” Galinsky said. “Maybe not to this degree, but with the way social media is today, you can probably do a lot of interesting clips of what’s going on behind the scenes, if you think it would be valuable to you. We did it because we’re a very authentic brand, and this was just a perfect reinforcement of that. We’re like swinging the doors wide open. Take a look.”
Galinsky, who noted the show is entering its 10th season, says it became apparent that Back of House quickly became a way of honoring the property’s employees, who came to love the production.
“They have a lot of pride in it, and they can’t wait for it to come out every year,” Galinksy said.
The show runs 24/7 online and in the property’s hotel rooms. Casino patrons, initially reluctant to be film, have come around.
“We’re at a point now where they actually want to be in the show,” Galinsky said of player participation in the series. “For the longest time, no players really wanted to kind of step out there and be this person that gambles, right?
“But now it’s been around for long enough that they’re comfortable with it. They know so many of our employees. It’s gone from ‘you were in that show’ to ‘I want to be in that show.’ It’s been a lot of fun and increased loyalty from those customers of ours.”
