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Entrepreneur: I'll Turn Wildfire Casino into Success

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Dec. 31, 2001 -- John Bauchman had never owned a gaming establishment before he bought Ernie's bar two years ago.

Bauchman bought Ernie's, a 43-year-old Rancho Drive slot bar, intending to use the bar's gaming license to build a bigger establishment.

Mission accomplished.

Bauchman opened his new $11 million Wildfire Casino on Dec. 27, next door to Ernie's. Ernie's is slated to close Jan. 3, and to be demolished shortly thereafter, making way for additional Wildfire parking. vAn entrepreneur his entire adult life, Bauchman thinks his business philosophy will translate into the Wildfire's success.

Question: Rancho Drive has a lot of gaming competition, with Santa Fe Station, the Fiesta, Texas Station and Palace Station on or adjacent to the northwestern thoroughfare.

Is the competition going to be too tough?

Answer: We're not really in competition with Station Casinos. They've got more than 6,000 machines on Rancho, and I'm sure they're not real concerned about us. We're not advertising on TV. Instead, we're sending direct mail to the immediate area, emphasizing that we're small, warm and personal.

Question: What amenities does the Wildfire have?

Answer: We'll have a lot of the things the big properties have, including a restaurant with good food and bargain prices, a nice bar surrounded by 36 big-screen TVs, a full-service sports book that we run ourselves, five blackjack tables, 220 slot and video poker machines and the Wild Won slot club.

Question: Why would people go to a smaller casino when bigger properties have all of the things you just mentioned plus movie theaters, a range of restaurants, dozens more table games and thousands more slots?

Answer: The key thing is parking. Some locals don't want to spend five minutes walking to and from their cars. We'll have have all of the key things the locals casino has - a wide variety of slots, blackjack, a cafe with good food at great prices and a sports book-but it's easy to get in and out. I think of it like a convenience store in front of Albertson's.

They may have every item under the sun at the grocery store, but if all you need is one item it would probably easier to go to the 7-11. Plus, a lot of our customers are casino workers. Some aren't allowed to play at their own casinos and others don't want to be around their supervisors after work.

Question: Is there something about the atmosphere at the Wildfire and other small casinos that is different from the bigger locals places?

Answer: Absolutely. A place like this is more personal. If I come to the Wildfire I'd be a big fish in a small pond. They'd know my name, and I wouldn't be a slot club number.

Question: But you have a slot club.

Answer: Well, a slot club is important. If you're going to play slot machines and video poker machines at all, you really should belong to a club. Our Wild Won club offers cash back, and the good players want to know their play is being tracked and rewarded. But the difference is that we'll know the player' name; we're smaller, with fewer customers.

Question: You've had a wide-ranging business career, including stints owning a beer distributorship and a local telephone company. What's your business philosophy?

Answer: The thing I've learned is that you have to have fun and enjoy what you're doing. You have to hire the right people because it's the people who make the difference.

Question: You bought an older slot bar with a grandfathered non-restricted gaming license so that you could build an expanded casino without violating the neighborhood casino provisions of state law. Are there opportunities for other entrepreneurs to do what you've done?

Answer: Well, someone could start up a 15-slot bar, but doing what we've done would be pretty rough. First, we had to spend upwards of $100,000 in (Nevada) Gaming Control Board investigative costs. Second, these grandfathered licenses are tough to come by. Third, the big operators have bought up most of the available gaming-zoned land.

Question: Would you have bought Ernie's if you wouldn't have been allowed to expand the operation?

Answer: No. If I couldn't have expanded Ernie's I wouldn't have bought it. I like the challenge of creating something, and you need scale to do something nice.

Question: Did you consciously copy any other casinos' operations or offerings when you built the Wildfire?

Answer: Definitely. We did some informal market research as well, asking Ernie's customers what brought them in. But we looked at the Key Largo on Paradise Road and at Barley's brew pub on Sunset Road. We copied some of Barley's best features, including the central location of our sports book and the patio located off of our cafe.

Question: Casino owners enjoy some pretty good perks, like limos, free meals, etc. How about you?

Answer: I don't get off on the ownership perks. One thing I can tell you is I didn't have an Ernie's limo, and we won't have one here at the Wildfire either. I'll admit that it is nice to give your family members a free meal every now and then.

Name: John Bauchman

Age: 54

Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho

Education: bachelor's degree in business administration, University of Notre Dame, 1969; master's degree in business administration, Michigan State University Work history: executive trainee, Wicks Corp., Saginaw, Mich., 1971-74; part owner, Bonneville Construction, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 1974-78; owner, Stroh's beer distributorship, Raleigh, N.C., 1978-80; owner, Fanning Wholesale sporting goods wholesaler, Raleigh, 1980-85; commercial real estate broker, Carolantic Realty, 1985-92; part owner, Bonneville Construction, 1992-96; owner, Fremont Telecom, St. Anthony, Idaho, 1996-2000; owner, Ernie's bar and Wildfire Casino, 1999-present Family: wife, Patricia; daughter, Laurie, 30; daughter, Julie, 27 Hobbies: flying, fishing, travel, scuba diving, skiing In Las Vegas since: 1992

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