The success of any organization is as good as its leadership –it is no wonder that companies spend fortunes hiring the best talent available. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City has decided to tap into the latest industry expertise by hiring a former employee of Borgata.
Michael Woodside who is a veteran in the gaming industry held the position of marketing executive when he worked for Borgata. In his new appointment as an employee of the prestigious Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Woodside will be working as the company’s Vice President.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened its doors to the public in 2018 and the opening ceremony was marked with celebration and fireworks. As part of his new role, the new VP will be in charge of the company’s marketing campaign. The company has obviously been in the market for a short while but moves like this recent one are bound to propel its operations to new heights.
After more than 17 years working in the Marina District, Woodside will now have a new home, the Boardwalk in service to the same industry. Woodside’s association with Borgata ended over the pandemic period when a lot of other people around the world slipped into joblessness. It is not yet clear why they let him go after close to 20 years in their marketing department, but his star is seemingly rising.
Since Woodside has worked in the marketing department with his previous employer, he is well equipped in executing marketing, credit, player development and entertainment duties. This is what the new role entails so it is expected that his performance will be excellent.
What we cover
Poaching talent from Borgata
With nine big casino brands operating in Atlantic City, the business competition in the region is obviously on an all-time high. The clientele in the region will inevitably be divided and as such there are no permanent customers. Considering how difficult the year 2020 has been because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is an ongoing battle for customers in AC. New Jersey has been a vibrant gambling market since it was legalized in 2018.
In fact, a lot of people gambling in the Garden State are outsiders – people coming from other states to experience gambling as tourists. Although all sectors of the economy were affected by the pandemic, gambling was seriously affected because it relied on players visiting the physical facilities. New Jersey had been affected by travel related restrictions but there has been some significant restoration.
For a long time, Borgata Casino had dominated the Atlantic City market. The performance of this casino is not in doubt judging from the market popularity of dome of its offerings. From business reports, Borgata Casino that runs under the MGM Resorts banner has managed to collect the highest revenue in the category of land-based casinos. This has been the trend for the past five years since 2016 where the values grew from $1.51B to $2.4B over the said period.
Hard Rock Casino has also been in the casino business for the past 3 years but the building from where operations are run was once upon a time known as the Trump Taj Mahal. The name changed when it was renovated after changing ownership.
Although Borgata Casino has over the last one year laid off some leading executives, the gaming giant is still eager to retain its position at the top of the table. It is a fact that out of all the casinos that operate in Atlantic City, Borgata is the richest of them all. It makes sense then that the management of MGM Resorts would get angry at Ocean Casino Resort for poaching a total of 6 top level staff from the marketing department. Last year around July, Borgata sued Ocean for actions that add up to them literally raiding their company’s marketing department. The case did not make it to the public domain because the two parties decided that they would settle the dispute away from the courtrooms. Luckily for Woodside, the lawsuit emerged after he had left Borgata so it did not in any way appear to be related to his situation.
Atlantic City market share
During the first five months of 2021, the revenue collected from land-based casinos in AC totaled to $895.9 million. The top performer on this list is Borgata with a market share of 23.3% which is $208.9 million.
Hard Rock Casino came second in that city’s casino performance for the period between January and May 2021. The gambling operator managed revenue of $151.1 million for the said period – a 17% market share. At number three was Ocean which managed $106.2 million, followed by Tropicana with $89.9 million and then Harrah’s with revenue amounting to $89.8 million.
Hard Rock third year anniversary
For the last three years, Hard Rock Casino has been operating a high level gambling business. Every 28th day of June marks the day when the casino first opened its doors to the public. For 2021, the casino made a big deal out of the anniversary celebrations since the dates coincided with business reopening after the Covid-19 hit.
To commemorate the special day, music was provided by Darius Rucker, a county musician. That was not all that the casino did on this big day – Turning Point Day Center, Atlantic City Rescue Mission, and Covenant House each received $10,000 each from Hard Rock.
Final Thoughts
Working in the same industry for a long time is the only sure way of learning the business. Such is the story of the many employees who have been poached from various organizations. While the poaching company often makes the proposal, they do not coerce employees to do it. The honorable thing to do when your employees report that they have been approached to work for other businesses is to try and give them better terms – increase salaries, offer benefits and listen to them more.
