This is a great question, Tiger, and I believe that suggestion
#2 is the most important of all. Even though we have limited funds
to do a lot of advertising at this time, a lot of the work that
we do to try to get some publicity (much of which you may or may
not see) brings people into the fronton. Last week, when the Super
Bowl was here, I saw a lot of Indy and Chicago fans come into
the fronton. I tried to sit and talk with a lot of them and make
sure that they understood the game and enjoyed it. People come
in and they are often turned off by the small crowds, but let's
face it, anyone can have a good time if they know what's going
on and get a run for their money. I still believe that the quality
of play is as good as its ever been, and that is when you really
enjoy yourself at this sport: when the games are exciting, whether
you lose or not.
Let me share a story: recently a friend of one of our employees
was asked by a friend to fill him in on how he could make some
money at jai-alai. The employee gave the guy a number to play
that he thought came in enough and paid enough to make a profit
if you had some luck. He also told him there were no guarantees
and he took no responsibility for the friend's losses. The young
guy has hit a tri at least once in every performance but two over
the past week and is up a couple hundred bucks, but more importantly,
he has become hooked on the sport.
Now, I don't believe in appealing to people who might have problems
with compulsive gambling, but let's face it, we do have a lot
of customers like that and probably would not survive without
them. Still, I believe that is an individual's choice.
The bottom line is that this guy has upped the handle about $1600
in the past
week and a half, and he's having the time of his life. Now if
every fan in South Florida introduced two or three friends to
the game each month, we'd be on the way out of our downswing.
Something to think about...
