Vol. 4, No. 3, March 2007
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Going to the Dogs
Rhode Island dog track home to former Resorts employee
Len Tranchitella is thrilled that his career went to the dogs.
The former day-one Atlantic City executive thrives in a field that was once the arch enemy of gaming. Tranchitella serves as executive director of operations for Lincoln Park, a 365-day-a-year greyhound racing facility 10 minutes north of Providence, Rhode Island.
Lincoln Park also sports simulcasting and a dynamic new dimension. Tranchitella presides over an ambitious $240 million expansion that will make Lincoln Park the third-largest slot facility on the East Coast, behind Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
“This position is the most challenging and exciting I have ever been part of,” Tranchitella says. “There is something new to it every day and yet you have the deadline bringing everything together. We’ll probably have the racing end of things ready to go by September.
“We’re expanding the park to about 500,000 square feet, up from the 260,000 we have now,” Tranchitella adds. “We also will expand the VLTs up to more than 4,700. The additions of an Italian restaurant, steakhouse, Irish pub, 400-seat buffet and all types of food courts and concessions will add to the food element.”
It will be a cross-promotional trifecta. Increased amenities bring more people. Patrons gamble more, given the varied menu of racing and VLTs. Gaming revenues then elevate purses and the quality of racing. It always worked in the thoroughbred industry. Now that formula addresses racing’s most overshadowed area.
Dog tracks traditionally suffer from low handle, which affects the stability of the payouts. Modest bets can radically change a dog’s odds, often turning a longshot into a near favorite. Improvements at Lincoln Downs figure to increase the betting pool and keep the odds more solid. Everyone wins.
“You would be surprised at how our market is intermingled,” Tranchitella says. “It happens through the spouses. The dog-racing market is predominantly male. The VLT revenue is primarily female. This is a great opportunity to attract both husbands and wives. The markets are tied together well.”
Tranchitella never believed he’d gravitate to a business with animals chasing a mechanical rabbit and colliding like racecars (there are no “fouls” in dog racing; a fall registers as an “oops” in the handicapping program.)
Greyhounds have become more than a symbol of his business. Tranchitella was moved to approach the national greyhound adoption agency and procure Missy, who lives in his Margate home now.
“She’s my wife’s best friend,” he jokes.
Once the expansion cools, Tranchitella will spend more time back in Atlantic City. This is where his career began, where he came to Resorts from the retail market. He recalls Resorts’ brief cornering of the gaming market. It was financial fantasyland.
“It boggled your mind,” Tranchitella recalls. “You got in the habit of going to work at Resorts at midnight, leaving at 8 a.m. and seeing 2,000 or 3,000 people standing in line, waiting for the 10 a.m. opening. They stood there in 15-degree weather, in that long line, to lose their money. And there was no such thing as an empty slot machine. If you left one, you would never see it again in your life because there were four people standing behind you. When there were no $10 tables, the $25 tables filled up.”
Competition ultimately arrived and Tranchitella obtained his best education at Playboy. He became a controller and financial analyst. Tranchitella learned how to expand customer service without jolting the bottom line. He learned every nuance from how many cooks were needed in a kitchen to how many steps cocktail servers took, which tied in to how many drinks could be served in a certain time.
That was his appetizer. Tranchitella ultimately crossed from finance into the world of food and beverage and employee management.
“The biggest education in Atlantic City was learning how to say yes and not no,” Tranchitella says. “You find out how to overcome all obstacles, how to please your immediate supervisors. You move the brick walls to get it accomplished.”
Tranchitella advanced to senior vice president of operations in Atlantic City, then went to Harrington Race Track in Delaware from 2000 to 2004. A stint with GTech preceded the move to Rhode Island. Beyond his racing love, Tranchitella thrives as a coordinator.
“I still love the challenge of being able to juggle things. It’s great to look at various programs, see the ones that work and learn from the ones that don’t. The business has changed. Leadership isn’t someone yelling like it was years ago. It’s pride and motivation. If I wake up in the morning wanting to get 10 things done and only succeed at nine, then I’m disappointed.” He rarely is, these days.
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