Vegas copies Casino Arizona on its Year of Luck campaign

Gambling at Casino Arizona used to be merely a hobby for Hallie Curtis of New River, but that was before the Year of Luck.

She has become a fixture since the casino started multiple drawings each month of $7,777, leading up to the so-called luckiest day of the millennium: July 7, 2007.

"Now, since I'm all involved in this promotion, I've been going more," the 42-year-old said. "Seven happens to be one of my lucky numbers."

Casino Arizona is getting national attention for its Year of Luck campaign, which aims to nudge first-timers through the door and turn regulars into rabid regulars.

Many casinos are expecting an uptick in gamblers on that fateful day, which comes around just once every thousand years. Gaming consultants say Casino Arizona was one of the first, if not the first, in the country to latch onto the idea.

"Seven has always been a unique number," said Ric Hartman, the casino's marketing director. "If it was good for the Lord, how can it be bad for us?"

Casino Arizona copyrighted its Year of Luck campaign and has blitzed the Valley with billboards, radio spots, e-mail blasts, direct mail and print ads since February.

It is hosting regular drawings for $7,777 cash prizes leading up to the grand prize on July 7: a BMW with $77,777 in the trunk. The lucky day will culminate with fireworks and a Kenny Rogers concert.

Casino Arizona has not adjusted the payouts on its slot machines or any other games. So, technically speaking, customers are not more likely to win their favorite game this year.

But the superstitious beg to differ.

"Absolutely, I believe in lucky numbers," Curtis said. "July 7 is more lucky than Friday the 13th."

Toby O'Brien noticed Casino Arizona billboards while attending an April gaming conference in Phoenix. She is a vice president of Raving Consulting in Las Vegas, which advises casinos across the globe.

She told her clients that if they weren't promoting 7/7/07, they should. Since then, she has seen casinos "jumping on the bandwagon."

"Gaming is about luck. It's about feeling lucky and taking a little bit of a risk," she said. "So anything that deals with addressing superstition, addressing opportunity, is a good idea, and you need to maximize on that."

Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is inviting couples to participate in a mass wedding and concert on the date. Other casinos are offering big prizes when craps, roulette or blackjack players hit the lucky number.

These kinds of promotions can be addictive and demanding.

At Casino Arizona, the more you play, the better chance you have of winning the cash prizes.

But you have to be present to win.

Curtis recently arrived at the casino at 7:07 a.m. for the first drawing of the day. She went to work and came back at 12:07 p.m. for the next drawing. She took a nap at an empty rental property she owns near the casino and returned for the 7:07 p.m. drawing.

As a result, she has won twice, which has nabbed her more than $15,500. It has also made her eligible for the grand-prize drawing.

"It is kind of brutal to sit there for five hours, waiting every hour, saying, 'I hope they call my name,' " she said.

Curtis hopes her luck will continue. In fact, her kids are already vying for the BMW if she wins the grand prize in July.

Phoenix marketing firm Riester is responsible for the gambling fun.

David Hielscher, who works on Casino Arizona's account, was flipping through the calendar when he realized there was a gold mine nestled in the first week of July.

He floated the idea with Casino Arizona's in-house marketing team, and together they created the campaign.

Because gamblers have short attention spans, it was risky to launch early in the year.

"Historically, you don't do a six-month promotion in gaming," said Hartman, the casino's marketing director. "(But) we didn't want anyone to swoop in on us and do this first. It's a competitive industry, especially in this Valley."

Casino Arizona has two locations just east of Scottsdale. It is owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which carefully guards all financial information.

Hartman would not disclose numbers, but he did say revenue, foot traffic and players-club memberships all increased after the promotion began.

"It's been substantial," he said, adding that "this is a very expensive promotion and it comes out of the marketing budget."

There are risks to such promotions, Las Vegas' O'Brien said, because big events can drive off regular customers even though they attract new ones.

"The big gamblers will usually stay away when there is a very big promotion that draws thousands and thousands of people," she said. "Those kinds of promotions are definitely there to attract trial visitation."