By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Their casino might be three hours away by car, but the Las Vegas sports market is looking appealing to the San Manuel Casino.
After striking sponsorship deals with the Vegas Golden Knights and Las Vegas-based UFC, San Manuel Casino in Bernardino County has also reached a multi-year founding partner stadium deal with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders for 2020 that was announced earlier this week.
After LVSportsBiz.com reported Monday on the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium deal with San Manuel Casino, we sat down with casino general manager Peter Arceo Wednesday to discuss why the Las Vegas metro area is attractive to the casino for sports sponsorships.
Highland, California-based San Manuel is building a new 425-room hotel to go along with its casino, so Arceo envisions room deals that include guests’ jaunts to Golden Knights and Raiders games in Las Vegas after the new hotel opens in 2021.
The casino cut a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights to have a sign on the boards at T-Mobile Arena in 2018.
Las Vegas also represents an area that can serve as a pool of prospective workers, said Arceo, who is a UNLV graduate and worked for 18 years in the hospitality industry in Las Vegas. Arceo explained the allure of Las Vegas:
The San Manuel Casino has a growing portfolio of sports sponsorships with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC soccer teams of MLS and the Rose Bowl. The casino also has a presence close to home at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California and at Rancho Cucamanga Quakes games.
“The consumers who attend those games are our target,” Arceo said.
He believes Las Vegas residents will be enticed to travel to Highland, California to spend time at San Manuel Casino, while guests at the casino and eventually the hotel can have customized experiences tailored at Golden Knights and Raiders games.
San Manuel Casino representatives are at the G2E gambling trade show at the Sands Expo Convention Center this week.
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