The Winning Plan For The Corporate Holiday Casino Party

July has nearly ended, and your boss has assigned you the task of hiring a casino party vendor for the company’s Holiday casino party. You do a quick Internet search, and suddenly, you’re overwhelmed!

Who knew there were so many companies that offered this type of service? As you found, many companies offer some casino night entertainment. But when you look closely and compare them, they can be worlds apart in price, equipment, service standards, and reputation. This blog should help you to sort out those differences.

Holiday Casino Party

Let’s begin with the price.

How does the old saying go? “If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.” When you begin shopping casino party vendors, and you find one company’s price is substantially lower than the others, that should immediately raise some flags for you. It would help if you considered that something, somewhere, is being cut to offer you such a great deal. This is a buyer beware scenario; because when you’re buying a service you’ll get precisely what you pay for and it’s extremely relevant when that price is unbelievably low.

So shop smart and get quotes from more than one casino party vendor. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount or incentive with another company to save money. Often casino party vendors will offer great incentives to book early or pre-pay! Although you won’t know unless you ask!

Holiday Casino Party

Equipment Standards

With most casino party companies, it’s not what they say –  it’s what they don’t say. You’ve got to learn to read between the lines. They may offer “casino games” but they’re not actually offering “casino tables.” There is a big difference. One creates a carnival or church benefit type look with casino felts laid over banquet tables, while the other offers a traditional classic casino look with authentic casino tables.

I’m all for saving money, but be careful to compare apples to apples when shopping quotes. Ask for a video or photo images from a recent event when considering a vendor; ask to see the full table and not just the top of the tables. Again, it’s not what’s shown, but rather what’s not shown.

Be sure to ask about the condition of the tables and equipment. Does the vendor prepare, condition, and clean the tables and equipment regularly? Do they replace old worn-out cards and faded felts? You’d be surprised that most will not know how to answer that questions when asked.

So when you ask, listen carefully to the answer. Remember what is acceptable to the vendor as ‘standard equipment may be far from acceptable at your Holiday casino party, so be sure to ask.

Holiday Casino Party

Service Standards

This is another big issue. Let’s start by asking one question. Will I have an event manager on-site event day? Will that manager be available to me exclusively throughout the event, or will he or she have other duties such as also being a dealer?

Believe it or not, most companies will double-dip. They’ll send one person to deliver, set up, manage and then also have that person be assigned as a dealer. This can create several problems. As a manager, they are never fully available to you when need them. They’re wearing too many hats and unable to devote 100% of their energy to managing your event and your immediate needs.

Having a manager on-site is critical to the successful execution of your event. Its inevitable things can go wrong on event day, it’s just part of the business. Things will happen that you have no control over such as unexpected traffic, power outages, or serious weather. Having one person to go to for help and to get answers to your concerns and questions is essential to the success of your event.

It’s so much easier and less stressful if that person is 100% available to you. Make sure you have an on-site manager whose sole job is keeping an eye on your event. This way you can relax and enjoy your Holiday casino party knowing someone’s got their eye on the ball!

Reputation Matters

Reputation is everything in the service industry. These days it’s pretty easy to find the information you need about any particular company with a small amount of Internet research.

Most of us know you can go to several independent websites to get ratings and reviews. Google, Yahoo, Yelp, and other third-party sites are great resources for that but don’t just check one, check several to see the full perspective of how the company ranks overall. Read a few reviews; in most cases, someone who takes the time to write a review has a lot to say and they’re usually pretty detailed. So look for that authenticity when reading them.

You can also visit the Better Business Bureau website to see if your vendor has been accredited by the BBB. Here’s a tip – just because they have a ranking with the BBB, doesn’t make them accredited. Know the difference and contact the BBB for clarification. If they do not have any listing with the BBB, again buyer beware because most authentic casino party rental companies at the very least have a DBA (doing business as) and can be found with a quick BBB search.

Casino Party Pittsburgh

The most important tip in this whole blog is about checking out the reputation of any casino party vendor or event planner you’re planning to hire. Because as I mentioned earlier, you might be stuck event day with far less than you expected so do your due diligence now! Taking 15 minutes to research the company before you sign off would be great preventative maintenance for your event!

Here are some great questions to ask any casino party vendor you’re considering hiring.

1) Do you use authentic real wood casino tables for all of your casino games?

2) Are your dealers, certified & professionally trained casino dealers?

3) Do you have a recent video of your tables, equipment, and dealers?

4) Do you provide your clients’ floor plans and do a walk-through pre-event?

5) Will there be an independent event manager on site who is not scheduled as a dealer?

6) Can the dealers offer tutorials to those who do not know how to play?

7) Are there any additional, unexpected or traveling fees?

8) When do you break down and load to leave the event?

9) Do you have proper insurance and are you bonded?

10) Do you have a referral of someone who hosted a similar event recently?

These questions and insights should help you prepare for an elegant and effortless event. Choosing the right casino party company is essential to that goal. Investing the time now will be the stepping-stone to an unforgettable party for your corporate event, so that…Everybody Wins!

Happy Holiday Casino Party Shopping!

-DT