The increasing popularity of gambling and casinos as mainstream entertainment is a double-edged sword for casino operators that must compete with properties offering the same games and similar entertainment options.

This makes casinos more dependent on marketing — and the battle for customer loyalty all-important.

Harrah’s Entertainment founder Bill Harrah took this to heart more than 30 years ago with the introduction of Premium Points — a predecessor of the company’s Total Rewards loyalty club that distributed paper tickets to customers who won slot jackpots, redeemable for products such as TVs and golf clubs.

Customers hoarded these tickets, the low-tech equivalent of last century’s S&H Green Stamps, saving up for bigger-ticket items and returning to Harrah’s to accumulate points playing mechanical slots,  former Harrah’s CEO Phil Satre recalled at a recent conference.

Satre, who lives in Reno, retired in 2004 but is still in demand for his business insights. He serves on numerous corporate boards and made a rare appearance in Las Vegas last week.

Satre imparted some marketing lessons to casino operators at the sixth annual Casino Marketing Conference at Paris Las Vegas.

“Change creates an opportunity to learn,” he said. “It’s in these times of great change that those who capitalize on it create inordinate wealth.”

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