Double Visionaries: The Sky's the Limit for Gaming Entrepreneurs and Brothers, Ed and David Fishman.

LAKE CHARLES, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1995--It's been a heckuva ride! And for Ed and David Fishman, the fun is just beginning as their company teeters on the brink of "major player" status within the gaming industry.

No small feat for Players International, whose chief assets until a few short years ago consisted primarily of a list of names and addresses.

"It's easy to look at the last two or three years and say that we've been lucky," David Fishman explains, "but if you examine the last 16 years -- way back before we actually opened our first property, our whole business was marketing."

In fact, the Fishmans built their reputations on identifying good customers. The big casinos knew the Fishmans could get customers to come to their properties by creating special events, and by inventing slot and players clubs for gaming customers. Perhaps the Fishman's strongest suit -- specializing in the middle markets -- played right to the essence of the gaming experience.

As vendors to the gaming industry, the Fishmans' vision was tunnel-like: move gamblers into casinos. And they did it well. If the brothers committed to filling a hotel with players during the slowest week of the year, the client could count on that happening.

But, in those days casino venues were limited, with a handful of corporations maintaining properties in Nevada and New Jersey. Slowly, states began to look toward the industry with new eyes. Economic development planners saw the opportunities inherent in a clean industry that fit well with the whole United States tourism ideal.

Gaming -- How It Grew

Nevada kicked off the whole gaming parade years ago with one visionary's property in Las Vegas. Soon a "strip" developed, with dozens of hotels and casinos clustered together.

Las Vegas peaked and nearby Laughlin begin its climb as a reasonable alternative to the crowded Vegas scene. Henderson followed suit, but an overflow mentality drove the chain of development in both cases.

Mississippi started with 11 boats in 1993, while today there are more than 35 casinos.

Illinois struggled with the concept, Chicago rejected its own site, and the state opened with several boats mostly massed along the Chicago entryway.

Now comes Players International, which came to the bricks-and-mortar part of the industry in a roundabout way. The 16-year-old gaming development and operating company saw early success in niche marketing for existing major casino properties, but today has become a strong casino developer in its own right.

Principals Ed and David Fishman believe they came to the riverboat market at the right time with the right niche pursuit -- the slot less taken. According to Ed Fishman, chairman, success lies in planning beyond the "if you built it, they will come" mentality.

Players Takes the Plunge

According to Fishman, he and his brother David took their collective experience in promoting others' endeavors -- and their six-million name data base -- and decided to open their own candy shop.

David stormed into a board meeting one day and insisted the company develop a riverboat casino in Illinois, which had recently legalized such entities. Initially rebuffed by his own board, he returned later. This time he was given leeway to go ahead, but advised to proceed cautiously. The board's main concern was still in maintaining Players' Club operations.

But, that was the turning point. Once the decision was made to focus on its own properties, Players International had been totally reinvented.

Almost collectively, company officials came to a sudden realization that Players' Club was no longer competitive. Casinos had begun to catch on and were organizing their own tournaments and promotions. Technology, too, enabled the Fishmans' clients to offer the same communications with their middle-market customers.

Now, the entire focus has changed and the vision has measurably widened. The company's three existing properties demonstrate that shift.

"We picked locations other people weren't looking at," Ed Fishman contends. "In Illinois, no one wanted Southern Illinois. Everyone was going toward Chicago. In Louisiana, everyone wanted the New Orleans market. We saw the Texas market as being a strength so we positioned our operations in Lake Charles. In Missouri, we have also purposefully developed a more suburban location with a good niche draw."

Creating a Niche -- Building a Market

"All the properties are off the beaten path, they are located in states which have decided to issue a limited number of licenses, and their sizes are somewhat similar," notes David Fishman.

Metropolis, Ill.; Lake Charles, La.; and Mesquite, Nev., fit the Fishmans' critical profile in two critical categories: 1) they're located away from the typical gaming glut and 2) all provide something not readily available.

The Lake Charles property, for instance, is located along the busy interstate highway already teeming with commercial and recreational traffic between Louisiana and Texas. It is no small accident, either, that Texas happens to have resisted the legalization of gaming.

Creating that niche -- in the case of Lake Charles, aiming for gamers en route to New Orleans -- is the name of the game for the Fishmans. David Fishman notes the choices the company faces when deciding to move into the land-based casino arena with the Mesquite, Nev., property.

"Do you make your first foray into land-based casinos in competition with the big guys in Las Vegas," David asks, "or do you pick a niche market an hour's drive from the million people who live in Las Vegas and who also want a getaway?"

"Mesquite was on the verge of breaking open, but at the time, didn't have the right mix of facilities to pull from stronger markets like Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Denver and Las Vegas. We know the market we were after didn't exist in Mesquite. We had to create it."

Building a Gaming Company

That willingness to create its own markets goes to the heart of Players' success within the industry. The company sees itself first as a marketing company, and then as a gaming company. And the principals share the credentials which back up that view.

Teaming with Merv Griffin was critical in that regard, Fishman suggests, because of Griffin's innate understanding of people's need for entertainment and how to best provide that entertainment.

Merv Griffin ultimately invested $2.2 million in Players, but the Fishmans cut a separate deal with him for various entertainment and marketing support aspects. Though not active in daily operations, Griffin is always around for production shoots and grand openings.

Thomas Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of The Griffin Group, is also a member of Players' board of directors.

To backup the marketing vision, the Fishmans concentrated on building a strong management group. One smart move was to hire Howard Goldberg away from the high-power Atlantic City law firm of Horn, Goldberg, Gorny, Daniels, Plackter & Weiss in May 1993. Goldberg serves as president and chief operating officer.

"Howard has been our friend, ally and lawyer since we first entered Atlantic City in the early '80's," Ed Fishman said. "He has been active on our board of directors since the day we went public, and he knew what it would take to become a big gaming company. He has the vision, the focus, the industry respect, the contacts. And he has the ability to bring this company to the first-tier level."

The next year, former New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman Steven Perskie came on board as vice president and general counsel. Perskie oversaw a restructuring of the Casino Control Commission under the Florio administration in New Jersey. And, according to industry analysts, he accomplished this while maintaining his state's commitment to public protection and the integrity of the gaming operations.

Along with Ed and David Fishman, Goldberg and Perskie form the core of the Players management team. The brothers agree that their's will be one of the most dramatic examples of growth within the industry by reason of their present financial posture -- which is very strong -- and by reason of the sharp, disciplined focus to which they have committed.

David Fishman puts it this way: "Within the next five years, Players International will be one of the foremost gaming companies in the industry. We've come a long way in a short time, we have the people and the vision to go a lot further, and we're having a heck of a good time helping our customers enjoy themselves in places which otherwise might not be quite as much fun!"

CONTACT: Players International

Hope Murray, 318/437-1535