It takes an average of 2 minutes and 18 seconds for a slot player to place a drink order at the Seminole Classic casino, Larry Buck says. If you hit a major jackpot ($1,200 or more), which freezes your machine, your average wait is five minutes, 30 seconds, for a staff member to arrive at your machine.
Those are the kind of details that matter to Buck, Seminole Classic’s general manager. The Seminole Tribe has revamped the oldest casino in South Florida, and one of the oldest casinos in the nation, and Buck’s attention to detail is a critical part of making money from that revamping.
Back before casino gambling was legal in Florida, Seminole Classic Casino opened in 1979 as a bingo hall. As laws progressed in favor of Indian gaming, so did the property, which originally was known as Seminole Casino Hollywood.
Buck recently marked his fifth anniversary at the casino, which now goes by the name Seminole Classic Casino to differentiate from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino just to the north. Both are on the west side of State Road 7, with Classic to the south of Stirling Road and the Hard Rock to the north.
Buck says guest service, atmosphere, and experienced team members – about 125 have been there at least 10 years – attract locals.
“For emphasis, I refer to Classic as a ‘locals joint’ and I use the word ‘joint,’ like it’s your favorite neighborhood bar,” Buck says. “When I talk to our team members I often say ‘We want to be what Hard Rock is not. And they want to be what we are not.’
“Hard Rock is the better-known place with wonderful restaurants and amenities and we’re the more casual, comfortable neighborhood place. My hope is people prefer and choose one or the other, and the inference is we don’t want them to choose a competitor.”
Buck became especially focused on guest service when he himself, playing a racetrack casino slot machine, had to wait 18 minutes after hitting a jackpot. He also notes that there’s an altruistic reason for speed of service; if a player’s slot machine is locked up awaiting a jackpot payout, that’s time wasted when the guest could be playing and the casino could be making money.
Overall, Buck just has great pride in his casino, which underwent annual improvements from 2013 through 2017. The most recent additions include a bar with live entertainment, an improved VIP slots area, better player tracking (to give customers what they want), and a food court that includes burgers, Italian, Asian, deli, and other fare.
“It’s not a place for sit-down meals, and it’s not a steakhouse,” he says. “It’s not intended to be. Buck uses the term “Good food served fast” and most items are made-to-order. “It’s serving the need of our players. They want convenience and great service fast.”
Fearing they would cannibalize their own audience, the Seminoles considered tearing down Classic when their larger Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened in 2004. “That was our original vision, but keeping it was one of the smartest decisions we ever made,” Seminole Gaming CEO James Allen once said during an event at Classic. “It’s truly a valuable part of our business.”
And business is better than you might think for the Hard Rock’s smaller, older sister. Recent figures show the casino took in about $163 million last year from its 1,000 slots, 40 table games, and bingo. That beat out all the eight racetrack casinos in South Florida. (The Isle Casino and Racing in Pompano Beach topped the group with about $153 million.) Buck doesn’t reveal figures, but says that Classic’s guests like the improvements and that revenue growth has been substantial since the latest renovations were completed earlier this year.
Classic’s players enjoy the new atmosphere and are telling their friends about it, he says.
The place is especially jovial during the evenings when live bands and DJs play at the Stage Bar near a blackjack pit, with big-screen TVs showing sports in the background.
“Locals remember Classic as ‘that old smoky chimney stack’. They now say, ‘Wow, is this really Classic?’” Buck said. The casino has improved the air conditioning, which, Buck admits, doesn’t totally eliminate smoke, but puts the casino on par with the other Seminole properties. The Seminoles allow smoking; casinos at horse tracks and dog tracks are prohibited from indoor smoking because of the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act.
Advertising and word-of-mouth gets players to make their first visit, Buck says, but it’s more important that they come back again and again. “The entertainment and quality and speed of service is what attracts players the second, third, and fourth time,” he says. Noting that there are many competing casinos close to the Classic, Buck said that what separates casinos is the experience that guests have. Winning matters, but it is in some ways it’s secondary.
“People don’t expect to win always but they expect to win sometimes and if they’re not winning they expect to see other people winning. Most people come for their experience. For some, it’s an escape from daily life and others just want to get away and relax with their time,” he said. “So waiting 20 minutes for a drink isn’t a good experience.”
He also makes sure to talk to guests. “I have people tell me all the time that they’re surprised I’m so visible,” he said. “The fact that they are surprised is surprising to me. I don’t think you can do this job well unless you’re out there talking to the players on the casino floor. They’ll tell you what they like or don’t like and then we go to work to make Classic a better place to visit.”
