New Bally’s President: ‘My Intent Is to Bring the Fun Back’

ATLANTIC CITY — On his first day as president of Bally’s Atlantic City, Tom Pohlman wasn’t sitting behind a desk studying spreadsheets. He was walking the casino floor, introducing himself to employees, talking with customers and beginning to formulate a plan for a property he believes can find a new place in Atlantic City’s highly competitive casino market.

Pohlman, the longtime former general manager of Golden Nugget Atlantic City, gave his first interview since taking the Bally’s job Monday on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND, outlining a strategy that could include a stronger focus on local customers, more accessible amenities, potentially longer restaurant and VIP lounge hours and a renewed emphasis on customer service.

His overarching goal was simple.

“My intent is to bring the fun back to Bally’s, bring the excitement, bring the volume back,” Pohlman said. “You got to be true to who you are and you can't pretend you're something you're not.”

That includes acknowledging where Bally’s currently stands in the Atlantic City casino market.

“We're not going to be Borgata. We're not going to be Hard Rock and we're not going to be Ocean,” Pohlman said. “There's nothing anybody can do to change that.”

Instead, Pohlman sees an opportunity for Bally’s to distinguish itself through customer service, value and a better understanding of the customers the property should be pursuing.

“When you become that customer-first property and you bank on their experiences and you try to do everything you can to make as many people as you can happy, that's where you start to see success and set yourself apart,” he said.

Could Bally’s Become Atlantic City’s Locals Casino?

Cronick asked Pohlman whether Bally’s could stake out another identity: becoming Atlantic City’s casino for local and frequent customers.

“I sure hope so,” Pohlman said.

He used something as simple as the price of a drink to illustrate his philosophy.

Pohlman said a casino has to pay a bartender regardless of whether the bar is busy or empty. Instead of charging higher prices and potentially serving only a handful of people, he suggested that more reasonable pricing could generate greater volume and ultimately more revenue.

“I can charge a lot for a drink and maybe serve one drink an hour or I could be a little bit more reasonable with the prices and cater to locals or high-frequency customers and serve 10 drinks in an hour,” Pohlman said.

“I'm still paying the same bartender the same amount, but my margins on those drinks, I'm bringing more to the bottom line and more to the property,” he continued. “And by the way, having 10 people sit at a bar looks a lot more festive than having one person sit at a bar.”

Pohlman cautioned that it was his first day and that he reports to corporate leadership, but said he already has ideas about how to generate more activity at the Boardwalk property.

‘There’s a Lot of Things That Can Be Done That Don’t Cost Us a Dime’

Pohlman isn't promising an immediate wave of expensive renovations.

He acknowledged that some improvements would require significant capital and said he wasn't prepared to promise that kind of spending.

But he also believes money isn't the answer to every problem.

“There's a lot of things that can be done that don't cost us a dime,” Pohlman said. “And one is motivating team members, engaging guests. A smile costs us nothing. A conversation with a guest costs us nothing.”

Bally’s has already received substantial investment. Pohlman noted that more than $100 million was invested in the property around the time Bally’s Corp. acquired it, including approximately 750 renovated hotel rooms.

But he believes Atlantic City's competitive landscape has changed.

Borgata, Hard Rock and Ocean have increasingly competed for customers who might once have gravitated toward smaller properties, he said, forcing casinos such as Bally’s, Resorts and Golden Nugget to rethink their target audiences.

“You've got to continue to evolve and again, be true to who you are,” Pohlman said.

Rather than focusing heavily on the casino industry's biggest gamblers, Pohlman suggested Bally’s may find its opportunity among more typical customers.

“Let's say you're no longer catering to all the whales,” he said. “You're catering to folks like you and me and people that you go out with on a weekend. That's where that sweet spot is.”

“And that's what you need to build upon,” Pohlman added. “And then you've got to make sure people want to come back.”

Pohlman Wants to Find Ways to Keep Amenities Open Longer

Another issue Pohlman addressed was the operating hours of Bally’s restaurants and amenities.

Cronick suggested that some of Bally’s restaurants need to be open more often.

Pohlman said simply extending hours while maintaining the same menu and staffing levels doesn't necessarily make financial sense when customer volume is lower.

His solution could be to rethink how those venues operate during slower periods.

“Could we open the venue, but do we have to offer the same extensive menu as we do at night?” Pohlman asked. “Or can we do a modified menu to cut down on expense? Do we need the same amount of team members to run it during the day?”

Pohlman said casino operators need to “think outside the box and operate differently so that we can open amenities for our guests.”

“And you give customers what they want,” he said.

‘It’s Not Open Enough’

One amenity Pohlman singled out was Bally’s VIP players lounge.

Cronick praised the lounge but argued that it isn't open often enough.

Pohlman agreed.

“It's not open enough,” Pohlman said.

He specifically mentioned the summer season.

“I mean, especially in the summer, it should be open seven days a week,” he said.

Again, Pohlman said the challenge is making the economics work.

Opening a venue during a slower weekday with a large menu and full staffing may not make financial sense on a spreadsheet, he said. The job of casino management, in his view, is to find another way.

“We're going to find a way to lower expenses midweek so that we can open the club and cater to our best customers because it is the nicest VIP lounge,” Pohlman said.

He said Bally’s management will examine staffing and other expenses to determine what is actually necessary to operate the lounge during those periods.

“If something does not make sense, I'm the first to be transparent with customers and say it's not open because it does not make sense,” Pohlman said.

“The only way to make it make sense is to build on volumes,” he added. “And as that happens, then things start to open up again.”

Longtime Employees Are Bally’s ‘Secret Sauce’

One of Pohlman's biggest surprises during his first day had nothing to do with the building.

It was the people working inside it.

Pohlman said he spent much of his first day asking employees how long they had worked at Bally’s.

He encountered one employee with 43 years at the property and many others with 25 or 30-plus years of service.

“That is the secret sauce that we had at the Nugget,” Pohlman said.

Longtime employees, he said, develop relationships with repeat customers that can make a casino feel more like a family.

“That's the vibe that it didn't take me long to pick up on here,” Pohlman said. “And that's very important in the competitive market.”

That customer interaction is something Pohlman intends to emphasize personally.

He has long been active on social media and told customers following Monday's announcement to find him at the property and tell him what they like — and what they don't.

Pohlman also made it clear that his new title won't change his management style.

“I'm not going to be sitting behind a desk with my feet up,” he said.

“You'll see me down on the floor picking up trash, pushing in chairs just like the rest of our team.”

From Golden Nugget to Bally’s

Pohlman comes to Bally’s after spending 15 years at Golden Nugget Atlantic City.

He told Cronick that after leaving the Nugget, he had been considering other opportunities and his wife was preparing for a move to Las Vegas when Bally’s called.

Pohlman said he had become concerned about his future at Golden Nugget with New York City gaming coming online and decided to explore other opportunities.

After taking his first summer off in 28 years, however, Pohlman said he found himself developing an even greater appreciation for Atlantic City.

“I fell in love with the beach,” he said.

Then came the Bally’s opportunity.

Pohlman pointed to the casino's location at two of Atlantic City's most famous street names — Boardwalk and Park Place.

“We all played Monopoly as a kid,” Pohlman said. “Some of us probably even play as an adult, and Park Place and Boardwalk are the two most important properties in that game.”

“It truly is a unique and historic property,” he added.

Now Pohlman gets the opportunity to try to restore some momentum to that historic property.

He isn't promising that it will be easy.

“It's going to be a challenge,” Pohlman said. “But that's what I enjoy.”

After 15 years at Golden Nugget, Pohlman said the challenge and “fire” he once felt there had faded.

“And I think that's what I'm going to bring here to Bally's,” he said. “And again, we'll see what happens.”

For Pohlman, however, the mission at Bally’s already appears clear after just one day:

More customers. More energy. More accessible amenities.

And, as the new president put it, “bring the fun back to Bally’s.”