Road, air trips lead to gambling getaways

Vegas, baby

As Allegiant Air prepares for its April 21 maiden voyage to Las Vegas out of Springfield-Branson Regional Airport, the Springfield area already has become the company’s most successful market.

“Springfield is the best-booked market in our whole system for May, June and July, and we set a record for the most bookings in the first 30 days,” said Tyri Squyres, Allegiant Air’s director of corporate communications.

Allegiant Air named three new markets within 30 days of the airline’s announcement that it would begin offering nonstop flights from Springfield to Las Vegas – Belleville, Ill.; Missoula, Mont.; and Tri-Cities, Wash.

Springfield, Squyres said, has outsold them all, although she declined to share company revenues or the number of tickets sold.

Allegiant Air, which serves 17 markets, specializes and markets to the leisure traveler, Squyres said.

Initially, flights into and out of Springfield will take place twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays only.

Tickets cost between $89 and $199, she said. “We go by load factors and they’re really high,” Squyres said. “Consequently, there’s very few seats left on a lot of the flights, so the prices are a little bit inflated.”

But Allegiant Air announced April 12 that it will double the number of nonstop flights from Springfield to Las Vegas, and to kick off the new four-day-a-week service, Allegiant is offering a limited time one-way fare of $79. The enhanced schedule with additional flights begins June 17.

A company news release stated that the discounted fare is based on round-trip travel and does not include other fees such as the Sept. 11 security fee or the segment tax.

The discounted fare tickets must be purchased by April 30. They are valid for travel between April 30 and Sept. 30.

In addition to airfare, Squyres said that Allegiant Air books about 15,000 hotel room nights a month, “so we have incredible relationships with the hotels in Las Vegas to offer really great hotel deals.”

Dianne Fugitt, office manager for Springfield Travel, said Springfield-to-Las Vegas travelers are fairly educated, many have been to Las Vegas before, and they often know which hotel they prefer.

“The Allegiant Air hotels are more limited. Sometimes if they have the hotel that the client’s interested in, then we’ll do it,” she said.

Many customers, she said, take advantage of booking Allegiant Air’s nonstop flight and choose their own hotel rather than choosing one of Allegiant’s packages.

Gambling isn’t the only attraction in Vegas.

Fugitt said that the live shows, the water park at Mandolin Bay, spa packages at hotels, golfing, and renting Harley-Davidsons to drive up to Hoover Dam are high on the list for travelers.

She declined to disclose the number of flights Springfield Travel has booked for Allegiant Air, but said she is surprised at how many people in Springfield love Las Vegas.

“Once they go, they want to go again in six months or a year,” Fugitt said, adding that the nonstop flight is appealing because customers don’t have to change flights or worry about missing flights.

Horses and highball

For those who would like to try their luck without flying, there are other options, such as casinos on Indian reservations in Oklahoma and on the riverboats in St. Louis.

Although Oaklawn Jockey Club’s live racing season for thoroughbreds ended April 16, the Hot Springs, Ark., horse racing track is open year-round. The season began Jan. 21 at Oaklawn, which is about 260 miles from Springfield.

Terry Wallace, track announcer and media relations director, said live racing will resume Jan. 21, 2006, but in the meantime, the track offers simulcast and instant racing, a popular electronic board gaming system.

“In 2005 we will handle more money on the instant racing system than we do on the live racing and simulcast racing that we have here combined. That’s what a big deal it is,” Wallace said.

He declined to share revenues for the track, but estimated the 101-year-old track has between 375,000 and 1 million visitors per year.

Gambling is the major draw 30 minutes south of Memphis in Tunica, Miss., as well.

Lynn Boyd, public relations manager for Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Tunica County sees 15 million visitors per year. Most of those visitors arrive via motor coach.

Bill Canter, director of marketing and sales for the Tunica visitors bureau, said from April 2003 to March 2004, 36,000 people came to Tunica for meetings, conventions and trade shows, compared to 609,000 leisure travelers that stepped off of a motor coach.

“Tunica’s still a new and exciting place,” Canter said.

“There is that customer out there that just wants to go to the casino, but for the group that wants to get out and about, there is so much more to see and do in Tunica,” including parks, museums, aquariums and music.