Springfield-based casino games and event disc jockey company Ozarks Entertainment LLC is now in the inflatables business after the acquisition of Springfield-based Gorilla LLC.
Monica Henderson, managing member for Ozarks Entertainment, said the acquisition closed Monday for undisclosed terms. In the acquisition, the company also acquired two other Springfield-area inflatables businesses, Party Hoppers and Airtime Entertainment LLC.
“What happened was that we acquired a company that acquired two companies,” she said, adding Ozarks Entertainment had been considering a foray into the inflatables market. “Our client base was asking for us to have more options for them when planning events. When their acquisition happened, it just seemed like the right time.”
Ozarks Entertainment’s client list includes Springfield-based companies like Great Southern Bank and nonprofit GYN Cancers Alliance, as well as local operations of Bellevue, Wash.-based Expedia Inc. and Kansas City-based Sertoma Inc. The company was started in 2010 by Robert DeVore, BJ Richardson and David Johnson, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
Henderson declined to provide the company’s 2014 revenue, but estimated Ozarks Entertainment held between 75 and 100 events last year, mostly related to casino games - which are its primary service - for businesses and nonprofits. Now that inflatables are in the mix, the company expects to triple that event number over the next year.
“The good thing for us about this merger is that casino games are generally winter events. With inflatables, we’re talking about outdoor events, mainly in the summer time, so we expect to be busier year-round,” said Henderson. “A kit of charities will do three or four events in one year, doing a casino night as well as summer events. Now, we can help them throw multiple parties a year instead of just one.”
Ozarks Entertainment employs about 50 workers who mostly serve as dealers for games at casino events. Now those duties will include running 27 inflatable attractions such as bounce-houses, slides and obstacle courses. Henderson said Ozarks Entertainment is training its employees in-house on the operation of the attractions.
According to Henderson, pricing is dependent on a number of variables, including the size and length of the event, the number of inflatables and whether event officials want a staffed or unstaffed attraction. She said the company will charge $150 for operation of a small, unstaffed attraction for three hours, with prices rising from that figure.
“We had taken what Airtime Entertainment had in place, in terms of pricing,” she said. “We want to make sure that their returning customers had a comparable price to what they are used to paying.”
Several of the newly acquired attractions will appear at Kids Fest, scheduled May 3 at the Glendale High School football field and hosted by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks.[[In-content Ad]]
