Vol. 5, No. 5, May 2008
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Steve Callender, Senior Vice President of Operations, Resorts
On Monday, May 26, Steve Callender of Resorts will make a tandem skydive from 10,000 feet high above Atlantic City. When he lands, it will mark 30 years of gaming and Callender’s own 30-year casino career in Atlantic City. A graduate of Glassboro State College, the day-one dealer at Resorts became a supervisor, manager and director before becoming vice president of casino operations in 1993.
In 1997, Callender moved to the Atlantic City Hilton. On his last day at Resorts, he got a standing ovation. “As he made his final exit,” says President Tony Rodio, “casino employees and customers stopped and applauded in his honor.”
But it wasn’t Callender’s final exit. In 2006, after two years at the Hilton and seven years at Bally’s, he returned as Resorts’ senior vice president of operations, overseeing everything from slot machine operations and table games to food and beverage and information technology.
He spoke with Casino Connection Editor Frank Legato and Managing Editor Marjorie Preston about the past and present, the promise and the ongoing challenges of Atlantic City.
Casino Connection: What was the mood on May 26, 1978, when the doors opened here at Resorts and the dealers first went to work?
Steve Callender: A lot of nervous excitement. We had learned enough to handle the games, but we’d never actually done it. It was something new for us. Many of the customers didn’t really know the games, but they had money with them and they wanted to play. We all kind of helped each other learn.
Were they waiting at the doors back then, waiting to burst through?
It was wall-to-wall people. I was on the day shift, and just before 10 a.m. we’d see people standing in line, itching to get in. When they dropped the gates, in they’d run, just like kids going to Steel Pier. We worked from the minute we started until the minute we got pushed out by the swing shift.
How did your career unfold?
I was always a table guy. I spent about a year and a half as a scheduling super, and some people caught the fact that I could take care of things administratively and had a good handle for dealing with people. That led into other areas. I became casino manager and vice president of casino operations, where slots reported to me.
When Caesars opened and Bally’s opened and all these other properties, people started to get promoted by moving to other places. Moving from house to house, you could be a dealer one year, a box person the next year, then a floor person and a pit manager… So in the early days, you could really move through the system quickly. Some people changed properties to move ahead. Some people stayed at home here to work their way through the ranks. We started to grow the business and add games, so there was a lot of opportunity and a lot of talent.
Did you oversee the daily operations of marketing?
I do now. That’s on the newer side for me, with hotel and food and beverage, so I have the full gamut. But boy, I tell you, if you’re the table guy in the middle of the night, you practically run the whole place; you’re the highest ranking guy here at 3 o’clock in the morning and you end up delving into a lot of those areas—hotel problems, marketing problems, F&B problems.
At the start, did you have to make things up as you went along?
Because of the lack of licenses, we had to do all kinds of different jobs. Not only did we deal, but we counted the coin, we worked in soft count sometimes, counting the cash… You had to move around the floor, and people learned on the fly.
Casino marketing has changed a lot over the years. Once it was people getting off the bus and having coins thrown at them. When did that start to change?
That’s never changed. Actually, when we first opened the only marketing was free drinks; you didn’t need to give a lot away because there was nowhere else to play. Nowadays you have to market every day or you’re not going to have enough customers to make your numbers. We went through some silly marketing wars over the years, but we’re smarter about it now, so customers can get value for their dollar, and we’re not stepping on each other as much as we once did.
Do you have a “school of customer service” for employees?
I try to lead by example. I get out on the floor and into the restaurant and let people know they’re supposed to have a good time. This is the entertainment business. People are coming here to get away from their problems, and we’re here to help them. We believe that. We talk about it at meetings. It’s a culture thing. I’ve been in some places where it seemed like no one was having any fun. That’s not good.
You started as a dealer. You are now senior vice president of operations. Does that potential for advancement remain?
We’re looking for talent; we reward those people and make room for them. There are people coming up now who are a lot smarter than I am, young folks who are new to the industry but boy, they’re double-smart and they help us run this business. At this property in particular, though there are 125 people who have been here 30 years, I can show you another 125 who’ve been here five years or less, who have a lot on the ball and are making names for themselves. I think the cream always rises to the top.
Are we finally taking Atlantic City to a destination city rather than a day-trip city?
I certainly hope so. When you build a beautiful tower like the Rendezvous, people never want to leave. At the same time, they don’t want to sit in front of a slot machine all the time. We’re providing much more than the gaming experience now—midweek entertainment, retail—but I wish we had better transportation from the airport to get people in here.
You also have Boogie Nights.
Boogie Nights is a home run. It’s a hoot, and it just gets better and better. Every Saturday night there’s a great-looking crowd from all walks of life and they really enjoy it.
Three decades from now, do you think the full promise of Atlantic City will be fulfilled?
I hope it is. Obviously, we went through spells when it seemed like we weren’t getting anything done. What’s important is to get the hotel rooms and have a good experience outside the casinos. The Walk the new Convention Center help. I have every hope that we’ll keep moving forward. Even though you can play in Philadelphia and other states, you don’t get the full experience of Atlantic City anywhere but Atlantic City. Las Vegas doesn’t have an ocean.
Have you ever wanted to defect to Las Vegas or another jurisdiction?
I could see myself working in Vegas. It’s a beautiful place. But I’m a Jersey guy. This is where my heart is.
You’re going to jump out of a plane to mark the anniversary. Are you crazy?
Maybe! They wanted someone who was here on the first day of gaming to be involved. I took it as my responsibility, and I’m doing it for all the guys I worked with, all the ladies, some of whom are not here anymore. I hope it’s fun. We’ll see.
