Summary

In this episode, ReelMetrics CEO, Nick Hogan, and VP of Professional Services, Don Retzlaff, discuss myths and imperatives surrounding Premium slot product.

Transcript

Nick Hogan:

At ReelMetrics, we collect and analyze a ton of slot data and we’re hit up frequently for insights, tips, and tricks. So, we decided to do a webcast in which we present, discuss, and otherwise nerd out on our work. Coming to you from our offices in lovely Leiden in the Netherlands, welcome to ReelCast.

Hello, Don. How are things today in the Missouri-Mississippi confluence zone?

Don Retzlaff:

Everything’s fine. Thanksgiving’s passed us. All the Christmas buying season’s going on and the Christmas lights are going up on the houses.

Nick Hogan:

Indeed. We also have another election in the tank, so no more attack ads, which I’m sure has you absolutely despondent.

Don Retzlaff:

You can watch the news again.

Nick Hogan:

Yeah, yeah. There we go with reruns. So, the big gaming news was obviously the sports betting initiatives in California. So, we had that Prop 26 from the online companies that was seeking to legalize online sports betting in the state. This triggered the competing initiative, Prop 27, which then sought to legalize in-person sports betting at the state’s tribal casinos. So, this number still throws me, $500 million in campaign spending on these two initiatives alone.

Don Retzlaff:

That’s incredible.

Nick Hogan:

In which universe is the same? But in the end, I think both were rejected with Prop 26 chalking up what I understand to be the worst performance of a popular referendum in the state’s history. So, the no’s carried at 82 to 18. As for the in-person initiative, the Prop 27, it also went down, but that was a 67/33 split. So, generally, it’s being viewed as a win for the tribes. First, they obviously wanted that Prop 26 go down and it did hard. As for the balance, well, I think they’ve certainly demonstrated that they’re a political force with which to be reckoned in California. So, there’s little doubt that this’ll enhance their leverage moving forward. Were there any such initiatives out there in the Midwest at all done that you’re aware of?

Don Retzlaff:

No, most of the Midwest states now have legalized gambling and the ones that don’t are still going through the legislative process like Missouri. They’re going to bring that back up again here in another five weeks or so when they reconvene. It’s widely expected to pass this year, but most of the states in the Midwest now have it.

Nick Hogan:

Is that mostly in person or online or just a combination of two? I haven’t really been monitoring.

Don Retzlaff:

It’s both.

Nick Hogan:

Okay.

Don Retzlaff:

It’s both. So, it started off more restrictive and over time the restrictions have gone away. For instance, in Illinois, you had to sign up in person for online gambling to start for online sportsbook, but those restrictions have gone away. So, yeah, it’s a combination of both mobile, online, and in person. Numbers keep getting better and better.

Nick Hogan:

I think some good progress, at least this cycle. So, hopefully, we get a little bit more steam behind it on the next one. Okay, so here we are, episode three. So, a few little housekeeping points before we dig in. First per popular request, we’ve made this podcast available on essentially every podcast service out there. I don’t believe that Amazon Music is working for some reason, but everything else, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, iHeartRadio, Stitch or Deezer, you name it, it’s up and accessible. The other thing is after doing that, we decided to dump the Vimeo channel. So, if you go there and don’t find any new episodes, that’s why.

Secondly, we’d love to tackle any questions that anyone listening may have. So, if you have a question about what we’re discussing or something you’d like us to discuss, please drop us a line at reelcast@reelmetrics.com. Again, that’s R-E-E-L-C-A-S-T @reelmetrics.com. Our policy is to keep all questions anonymous, so please speak directly and don’t worry about us revealing your identity. That’s not something we do. On that note, Don, we actually have a question. So, this comes from a Canadian and they ask, “Hey, Nick and Don. First, who’s Paul Lynde?”

Don Retzlaff:

Oh, man. I feel old.

Nick Hogan:

Second, when looking at occupancy on premium, Nick said that 70% is the trigger point to add more. Don later said he prefers 80 to 85%. Can you guys clear this up? Thanks. Really enjoying the podcast. So, I can take the first part of this. So, Paul Lynde, L-Y-N-D-E, was an American actor from… Let’s see, when was Bewitched? That was more ’60s and ’70s, something like that.

Don Retzlaff:

Exactly.

Nick Hogan:

Yeah, a sitcom called Bewitched in the ’60s and ’70s, and he had his super nasally voice and a really campy demeanor. So, when someone tells you that you sound like Paul Lynde, it’s akin to saying that you have the confidence and masculine energy of say, a young Richard Simmons, right? So it’s not cool. It’s not cool and true. I am recording this in leg warmers and sat in short shorts, but hey, Paul Lynde. So, that’s Paul Lynde. As for actual versus target occupancy on premium, I’ll do what you should do and defer to Don. So, Don, take it away on that one. Is it 70% or 80 to 85?

Don Retzlaff:

I guess I’m just a little bit more conservative. If you’re above 70%, you definitely need to be looking at it. If you’re at 85, you definitely need to act. That’s probably the best way to say it. If you’re at 85%, especially on a monthly basis for handle pulls, your games are packed on the weekends. Your games are packed during prime time and they’re really busy still at 9:00 in the morning. If you’re at 70%, they’re still packed during prime time. They’re packed all during the weekend. They’re just not as busy on your weekdays.

But if you’re getting 10,000 handle pulls per day, it would probably be a good…