"Bar Rescue" TV show coming to Vegas

Bar Rescue is a reality TV show where in each episode they take a failing bar (pub) and give it a makeover. They'll be filming in Vegas soon. How do I know this? Because they called me and said they wanted me on the show because they needed a "slot expert". At first I told them that they probably wanted the Wizard, not me (though on second thought, while he's the bona-fide expert, I'd be more dynamic and engaging on TV, so maybe it's a tossup), but then as I figured what the show was really about (I've never seen it), I realized they wanted someone who knows slot *marketing*, like what kind of machines to get, how many, where to place them, etc. So I explained that a building contractor and a real estate agent are both "house experts", but they do two completely different things.

So neither the Wizard or I will be on TV again any time soon, at least not on that show. Oh, and when they asked for a referral for the kind of person they really need, I asked why they don't just call a slot manufacturer like IGT or Aristocrat? I imagine the manufacturers have sales reps who do little but advise about slot placement.

Anyway, Bar Rescue is coming to Vegas, whoo-hoo.

I know the perfect person. PM me?

The show would probably have preferred a bonafide expert on slot machines to be sitting there rendering opinions on slot machine mix and slot machine placement than to have an industry salesman on camera saying much the same thing.

Anyway it will be nice to see a "bar turnaround" somewhere in Vegas.

One of the similar shows for restaurants had their first or second episode in Las Vegas.

Some neutral expert going beyond the scope of his actual expertise is better for them than a salesman's pitch.

Nowadays most everyone is going to recommend: increasing the numbers of beers and the craft beers ... it seems to be all over town.

The last person they need is a shill for the slot industry who has the job of pushing his company's product. The best person they could choose is someone who has a picked the slot mix for a similar concept that is successful. They could use folks like the Wizard to talk about overall edge and evaluate the edge that produces the best mix of players that return often.

I would have suggested the slot manager of a local's casino.

Quote: RonC

The last person they need is a shill for the slot industry who has the job of pushing his company's product. The best person they could choose is someone who has a picked the slot mix for a similar concept that is successful. They could use folks like the Wizard to talk about overall edge and evaluate the edge that produces the best mix of players that return often.

If you watch the show, you will see it is filled with shills who put their best interest before that of the bar in return for promotional allowances. An example is the show uses "experts" from a certain liquor company who then makes a new menu based only on their drinks. The drinks end up at a higher price than a bar trying to gain new customers needs.

If you look back at this show, many of the bars on the show have closed since the 2 seasons were filmed. One in Maryland actually turned on Jon Taffer and posted a Youtube video of them burning his new signage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPkbJohdyo

Quote: Boz

If you watch the show, you will see it is filled with shills who put their best interest before that of the bar in return for promotional allowances. An example is the show uses "experts" from a certain liquor company who then makes a new menu based only on their drinks. The drinks end up at a higher price than a bar trying to gain new customers needs.

If you look back at this show, many of the bars on the show have closed since the 2 seasons were filmed. One in Maryland actually turned on Jon Taffer and posted a Youtube video of them burning his new signage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPkbJohdyo

I love he show but if could be called "Restaurant Impossible In A Bar."

It is filled with shills but these shows have been since "Queer Eye" showed how to skim more cash from placement. But the science of what works is what makes the show.

Fwiw the people in that bar in MD were kooks.

> since "Queer Eye" showed how to skim more cash from placement.
What is Queer Eye?

>Fwiw the people in that bar in MD were kooks.
Obviously.
Kooks not cooks or bartenders.
If a Pirate Themed place is what they wanted the owner should have moved to some fantasy accepting place.

They were located in a corporate and government agency area, not a touristy adventure land.
The employees undoubtedly loathed the local customer base and perhaps still do.

The were idiots at Piratz, no doubt about it, but many other places he tried to save went out as well or changed back. My point is that these shows dont always have the best interest of the bar owner or customer in mind when they make decisions based on ad dollars.

Those shows aren't too far off. I grew up in the restaurant business. My father and uncles owned restaurants in New York... some small, some big, some high end in the theater district, some delis and starting at the age of about 7 I was going with my father in and out of restaurants and kitchens and "learning" that way.

I would expect shills to be on the shows -- why else would some professional go on there but to push their brand, service, products, name, etc.

But the biggest lesson my father taught me -- and this is when he owned several restaurants in the theater district of NYC -- was when he took me for lunch at a little neighborhood luncheonette in Rockland County (a suburb of NYC) and the owner of this little luncheonette was going from table to table carefully cleaning the sugar shaker, and salt and pepper shakers at each and every table, and shining the metal holder for them, and then cleaning the chairs and the backs of the chairs. And my father said to me "he must be the owner and he will succeed because he cares about the quality of his place." I think I was about ten years old.

That stuck with me every day I went to work for my whole life.

Quote: Boz

The were idiots at Piratz, no doubt about it, but many other places he tried to save went out as well or changed back. My point is that these shows dont always have the best interest of the bar owner or customer in mind when they make decisions based on ad dollars.

Just like any consultant. Take some good ideas and leave the bad. Some of the owners just don't have any business sense.

The pirate bar he redid I was mixed on. I hated the "corporate bar" name but liked the concept. Usually I agree with about 80% of the changes. But most of the equipment is too expensive for a corner bar.

In Las Vegas, almost every bars slot machines are run by a third party company. I used to do the player tracking and marketing for about 650 locations that had our slots.

Quote: Boz

The were idiots at Piratz, no doubt about it, but many other places he tried to save went out as well or changed back. My point is that these shows dont always have the best interest of the bar owner or customer in mind when they make decisions based on ad dollars.

I quite agree. He stands up there and ridicules people for our entertainment and his profit. He promotes his show, not the client's success.

Perhaps his turnaround ideas work, perhaps not. A lot of places can do with a good scrubbing, some new decor and a new, more sparse menu. Yet one place in NJ is thriving on its 300 item menu! Depends on the market.

Reality shows are cheap and easy to produce, they are therefore profitable and no one comes around a few years later visiting all those restaurants to see whether the owner went bankrupt or not.

New lighting, new barmaids, new felt on the pool tables ... all these things can help but sometimes a losing place is simply in a bad location where everyone is broke and new felt on the pool table is a waste of money.

Many of those Burger and a Drink places do farm out the machines but I understand more and more places are learning to run things on their own rather than pay these routemen to do the paperwork and the servicing.

Ramsay's kitchen nightmares, the UK version, would do a re-visit of the last seasons places. Always interesting. Also, the budget was much small for the UK version... no free make overs, or 1000's spent on capital equipment. He'd work with what the owner had to try and turn it around. The US version was too big and brash and full of fake drama to be actually interesting.

THREE las vegas bars "rescued"...
Las Vegas Sun

Quote: DRich

In Las Vegas, almost every bars slot machines are run by a third party company. I used to do the player tracking and marketing for about 650 locations that had our slots.

I believe that company is United Coin Macine Company, of Las Vegas.

They would be the ones to contact on this.

For my fellow Smark fans of this show here is something to notice.

Last week's episode had a drunk, black woman in the beginning eventually getting arrested. But if you watch close you will see she was wearing what looked like a Chiefs shirt but with all the team names and other words greeked with red masking tape. In other words, at the least she was a plant. Most likely it was a 100% set-up as the bartenders would wonder what kind of goof would wear a shirt with tape all over it. Hard to say if the local cops were in on it or not.

I never expect much to be "real" on it and an admitted smark fan, but come on, guys. Just have her wear a plain shirt!

They always make the place look dirty and filthy and I always wonder how this can be overcome. Then they claim to give them brand new expensive equipment, but I bet it's free for 90 days or some amount of a limited time. There is also some eluding that Hathner is getting a piece of these places but Im not certain of it.
The episode where the Vegas bar has the man having his own bar within the bar selling his own booze. I don't see how the owners would want illegal activities on TV which they could get fined for.