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View Full Version : A racetrack that is "up" in attendance and making money?


JustRalph
11-08-2008, 11:22 PM
http://www.oneidadispatch.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20192545&BRD=1709&PAG=461&dept_id=68844&rfi=6

Vernon Downs ending racing season strong
By LYNN COLLIER , Dispatch Staff Writer

VERNON - Business is up at Vernon Downs this year at the racetrack, the casino and the hotel and Chief Financial Officer and Assistant General Manager Jeff Bueme attributes it to the fact that people are staying closer to home but still want to be entertained.
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Bueme said that American Racing and Entertainment, the company that now controls the complex, has put a lot of work into making sure customers have the best possible experience at any of the venues on site. The people who control the company have focused on finding out what customers want and fulfilling those desires. This has resulted in a lift in business, Bueme said.
"In a time where Las Vegas and other casinos find their numbers dropping, we've become a destination," Bueme said, as guests are able to be entertained without having to travel too far.
Starting in March 2008, every month has brought in more business than the same month last year, Bueme said.
To date, profits at the Vernon Downs racino are up 18 percent over last year, with earnings of $39 million this year. Occupation at the 165-room hotel, which is about 20 years old but received major renovations in 2007, is up 30 percent from last year. Attendance in the grandstands over the summer was up 1,500 to 2,000 people, said Bueme, who has been with American Racing and Entertainment since 2006, when the company initially took over Vernon Downs.
In this past year, Vernon Downs has tried some new things to attract guests, including four grandstand concerts over the summer, an Octoberfest festival that featured live music and a beer garden and other promotions. In general, it has worked, Bueme said, and the company would like to see the trend continue.
"We're hoping to do everything that we can to keep business going in this direction," he said.
The Octoberfest event, which was three days long, was a big hit, Bueme said, and two of the four grandstand concerts were pretty well attended, drawing around 1,000 people each. The four concerts featured the Little River Band, the Grass Roots, Molly Hatchet and Blackfoot and Chubby Checker. The Little River Band and The Grass Roots drew larger crowds, Bueme said.
American Racing and Entertainment is also in talks to bring other types of entertainment to the track in the future and will continue having concerts on the property, only now they will be free and on a new stage in the casino, next to the full-service bar, featuring acts like The Drifters, who will perform tonight at 8 p.m.
Also added to the casino have been traditional one-arm bandit machines with reels, which have been popular casino with visitors since the addition, Bueme said. Customers also enjoy video poker, the Hot Shot progressive machines and the statewide progressive machines that have the largest payoffs because the machines are linked to others in the state.
The casino, which is made up of 750 video slot machines, is run through the New York State Lottery and features payouts as high as $80,000. Bueme said that through the taxes they have paid back into the Lottery system, $15 million from Vernon Downs Casino has gone on to be used for educational purposes.
Though Vernon Downs and other non-Indian casinos are not allowed to have Vegas-style table games in New York state, Bueme said that if they ever could, it would be a huge boon for the company. However, for now, he said they are just focusing on doing what they already do well.
Bueme said Vernon Downs prides itself on having a friendly staff and taking customer opinions seriously.
Last month, the company hired a new executive chef, John Ruszala, formerly of Turning Stone Resort and Casino, to oversee the restaurants at Vernon Downs, including two buffets, one in the casino and one in the grandstands, a casual dining restaurant in the casino and another restaurant in the grandstand area. Since making this move, Bueme said that there have been huge improvements in the food and customers have already taken notice.
Employment at Vernon Downs is steady at 325 employees, which is about the same as last year, Bueme said. There are plans, though most of them tentative, for some expansion on the grounds. There have already been some recent projects in the casino, mostly to split up more areas for seating having to do with the bars and restaurants on the premises.

~more at the link~

baconswitchfarm
11-09-2008, 01:31 AM
The casino area is up at this track. It is one of the worst racing products in all of racing. It also has one of the lowest handles daily of any harness track in America. One more instance of a track that exist only because of gaming.

LottaKash
11-09-2008, 05:36 AM
The casino area is up at this track. It is one of the worst racing products in all of racing. It also has one of the lowest handles daily of any harness track in America. One more instance of a track that exist only because of gaming.

I agree Bacon, but at least, in these hard times, (especially to come), it keeps people "working and eating"....and a lot of people depend on that....:jump:

best,

rrbauer
11-09-2008, 11:10 AM
I agree Bacon, but at least, in these hard times, (especially to come), it keeps people "working and eating"....and a lot of people depend on that....:jump:

best,

Proof that welfare comes in many forms.

MickJ26
11-09-2008, 03:05 PM
Didn't the great Niatross start his career at Vernon Downs way back when?

arno
11-09-2008, 04:59 PM
Yes, Niatross started his career at Vernon Downs before going to the Meadowlands for the Wilson eliminations.


In those days many young horses started their careers at Vernon Downs.
The first quarter mile was a straight away as they started from a chute.

The stretch was extremely short and any horse closing in the stretch was a play for me when shipping to YR or RR.

Tom
11-09-2008, 05:26 PM
My brother -in-law drove a $30 horse home at Vernon a few years ago.
We drank heavily for several days.:p