Loving Las Vegas

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May 15, 1996 by Michael Kaplan

Sure the magazine business can be a crap shoot. But editors and publishers of periodicals about gambling believe that their niche market is a sure thing. As legalized gaming rejuvenates ghost towns, turns Native American chiefs into millionaires and transforms urban waterfronts into dockside Monte Carlos, the revenue it generates is growing--to $484 billion annually. The ever-increasing profits have spawned an ancillary industry of trade and consumer magazines that keeps players, as well as casino management, up to date on trends and opportunities.

Sitting in an office not far from the Las Vegas strip, Adam Fine glances out his window and takes in the city where casino gambling began for Americans. The expanding market for Fine's consumer and trade magazines--the monthly Casino Journal and Casino Player, the bimonthly Nevada Hospitality and the weekly "The National Gaming Summary" newsletter--is evidenced by the cramped state of the publications' headquarters. "We're busting out of here," says Fine, who serves as editor in chief for all the titles, published under the umbrella of Casino Journal Publishing Group.

Fine and his brother Glenn, who serves as the titles' publisher, attribute the magazine's growth to the explosion of gaming across the country, as well as to Vegas' family orientation. "Had gambling just stayed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, there would be nothing to talk about," he says. "But gaming has had tremendous expansion, and my key growth is the new jurisdictions, places where people need to learn about it. Of course, that has also opened up advertising opportunities for us."

Over the last 10 years, Casino Journal Publishing has expanded into a company where ads sell for $3,685 for a four-color page (in Casino Journal). That rate is remarkable only when you consider that the Fines originally launched Casino Journal as a 32-page monthly tabloid aimed at fellow casino workers (Glenn was an Atlantic City dealer until the mid 1980s). Now loaded with ads from casino operators and slot-machine manufacturers, the flagship title has spun off three more publications: Casino Player (aimed at gamblers), Nevada Hospitality (for regional restaurateurs and hoteliers), and "The National Gaming Summary" (a newsletter for casino owners/investors).

Even though 70 percent of the U.S. population gambles (meaning that they at least play state lotteries), the Fines' Casino Player has had a tough time attracting mainstream advertisers. "It's been a hard sell to the automobile and tobacco industries," Adam Fine admits. "We've approached RJ Reynolds, and our circulation [at 250,000] is good enough for them, but they do not want to be seen supporting gambling. Cadillac? It's the same thing."

Don't weep for the Fines, though. Casino Journal Publishing and its competitors have other revenue sources. "We custom publish a magazine for the 13,000 employees of Boyd Gaming Corporation," says Adam Fine. "The custom magazines are extremely profitable. We know what the casinos are all about, and we can produce the magazines from start to finish."

But doesn't such a tight relationship with the industry compromise editorial independence? Adam Fine insists that there is enough money around so that he can afford to ruffle an advertiser's feathers--even those of a major advertiser. "We lost all of our Trump advertising after we ran an article about how his [casinos'] slots are not loose," recalls Fine. "[Donald Trump] was furious and he pulled all his advertising. But he's since come back to Casino Journal. We lost $180,000 out of Casino Player, but at least we kept our integrity."

Betting on the trade side

Born during gambling's early boom years in the 1980s, New York City-based International Gaming & Wagering Business has positioned itself as a publication that examines the bigger issues. It works hard to be a serious business journal--in spite of its deriving a good deal of its revenue from operating trade shows and creating show guides.

"I'm a former Las Vegas newspaper reporter; I've spent years covering the industry," says Las Vegas bureau chief Jeff Burbank, who also serves as editor of Nevada Gaming Newsweekly. "The writers and I, we all consider ourselves to be extremely objective. We cover legalized gambling as a political issue, a business issue and a consumer issue." Unlike some of its competitors, the magazine doesn't shy away from reporting on gambling's seedier side. "The infiltration of crime families [into legalized gambling] is a regulation issue, and we cover it pretty extensively," notes Burbank.

International Gaming's ability to separate advertising and editorial concerns--thus establishing a reputation for credibility that makes it a must-read in the industry--stems from the fact that most of its ads come from casino suppliers rather than the casinos themselves. The top-three buyers for its $7,025 four-color ad pages are slot-machine manufacturers who clearly believe that the magazine's relatively small readership (about 26,000) is suitably influential.