Industry Profile: Steve Gietka

— By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

Starting out as head audio engineer tech with Trump Properties in Atlantic City, Steve Gietka has risen through the ranks to become vice president of entertainment of Trump Properties.

Steve Gietka got his start in the music industry as a freelance stagehand (sound and lights) in Baltimore at local IATSE shows from 1976-1985. He parlayed that into becoming an audio engineer at Maryland Sound Industries from 1980-1985 with such clients as Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates, Peter Allen, Melissa Manchester, Luther Vandross and others.

In 1985, Steve started his 16-year association with Trump Properties in Atlantic City, first as head audio engineer technician overseeing all audio production for Trump Castle until 1990. From 1990-1993, he was Trump Castle's entertainment manager overseeing property-wide entertainment operations. From 1993-1995, Steve was director of entertainment and special events wherein he bought talent, oversaw entertainment operations and property-wide special events, including parties and player events.

Steve became director of entertainment and public relations at Trump Castle 1995-1997, where he was a talent buyer, oversaw entertainment operations and company-wide public relations efforts.

From 1997-1999, Steve was executive director of entertainment at Trump Marina, where he oversaw property re-theming and name change to a rock 'n' roll theme, bought talent and was an integral member of marketing and executive committees. In 1999, he was promoted to vice-president of Entertainment, Trump Marina, where he bought talent and oversaw the entertainment department's operations.

In 2000, Steve was promoted again, this time to vice-president of entertainment, Trump Properties. He is the talent buyer for Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza as well as overseeing the tri-property entertainment operations and is responsible for creating nightclub products.

What types of acts do well at casinos?
Our business model is to make our box office break even, worse case scenario. Then casino comps and the revenue generated is where our theoretical profit is derived from. Of course the ancillary revenue from food and beverage, etc. are part of the equation. We require some casino customer interest whether from themselves or in some cases their children. In addition, we require an act that can sell hard tickets. In some cases there is virtually no casino interest, in which case, the box office must be profitable. Many times intangibles like branding, image building, etc. are considered.

For instance, I played Sting in an intimate setting for 1,400 people. The public was willing to pay a premium to participate in that incredible experience and some extremely valuable casino customers were our guests. Needless to say, it was also incredible branding for the property. Artists that fit need to be either topical, controversial, have current product being marketed, on tour, possess a catalog of hits, target a demographic between the ages of 16 and 65, or all of the above! We've also played a number of up-and-comers hoping our support will be remembered when they hit.

Are there acts you've tried to book that are resistant to playing casinos?
More acts are warming up to the idea. Between my efforts in this town, my rapport with agents, artists, managers, labels and radio, it will become increasingly easy. My boss understood from the beginning that this would be a long-term project that makes more sense over time as our core audience grows older. As long as the ticket buying public (the fans) are included, everybody wins. Of course there will always be artists/managers who either don't understand us or quite frankly, need us. I chased a number of artists who liked my offer in terms of money but felt a casino play was not in their best interest in relation to the image they had built with their fan base. I understand that and in some cases agree with their decision, although I do believe many have some skewed perception of some guy in a leisure suit, smoking a cigar wondering who is on stage. Our position is that cannot happen here. We make sure that fans and our guests who really want to attend are down front giving energy back to the artist.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the fine efforts in Las Vegas and Connecticut by a number of talented individuals in the casino/entertainment business, whose efforts also validate the casino play for today's acts.

How has promoter consolidation affected your venues, if at all?
It absolutely affects us. Plain and simple there are just too many reasons for Clear Channel to play the act in the venues they own. I am not in a position to share our non-show related revenue with them. Let's face it, when their tour plays their real estate, it's all their money in most instances. How do you compete with that! Typically, my opportunity comes after the summer shed season or if a date opens up close but subsequent to a Philly play.

Neil Jacobsen at Clear Channel Philadelphia just delivered a Janet Jackson date for us within that scenario. When you think about it, the consolidation was a brilliant move on [Robert] Sillerman's part. Even more brilliant, was flipping it for profit prior to profitability! The whole thing was inevitable. There are some very talented people in the organization, many of who created this business. Things will be fine, we all need to stay creative.

What do you consider your market for Atlantic City concerts?
We have a very healthy local market that continues to grow. It has a long way to go compared to Vegas, but with a number of new casino projects either a reality or in the planning stages, the future looks bright. We have an incredible market radius. We are within a three-hour drive from D.C. to the south, central/eastern Pennsylvania to the west and New York to the north.

How competitive are the Atlantic City venues?
There is some competition on the 1,000 to 1,500-seat level. At present, the Taj has the only venue in excess of 1,800 seats, so we do have an advantage.

Are there special perks acts demand when playing Trump venues?
We take very good care of everyone. It's a rare treat for most acts to come off stage and be able to enjoy themselves without ever having to leave the property. They really appreciate that they have a lot of options right where the gig is! We have great amenities -- rooms, restaurants, nightclubs, the beach, etc.

How have the guarantees been in the past few years?
Guarantees go up. Ticket prices go up. When people have the cash they always want the best seats. It's no news to anyone that the business is off this year. I believe it can mostly be attributed to the stock market. It seems like a lot of the "play money" is not there. We are seeing that dynamic in the casino business. Of course the kids will figure out how to get there if they want to be there. I can recall those days when the music was all that mattered.

First industry job
I was an IATSE union stagehand in 1976 at various theaters and arenas in Baltimore, Md. I was also employed by Maryland Sound Industries as an audio technician. The first show that I got my hands dirty was as a follow spot operator working Parliament/Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band and Sly and the Family Stone at the Baltimore Civic Center.

Career Highlight
In 1997 as director of entertainment, I spearheaded the Trump Marina's re-themeing to rock and roll, marketing to a younger demographic by utilizing contemporary artists such as The Wallflowers, Prince, Van Halen, and Chris Rock.

Successfully introducing contemporary entertainment to the Atlantic City market. We've played everything -- rock, blues, modern rock, jazz, classical, country, even zydeco!

Career Disappointment
None!

Greatest Challenge
Navigating within industry consolidation. I am currently the vice President of entertainment for the three Trump properties in Atlantic City -- Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Marina and Trump Plaza. We have venues with capacities from 500 to 5,292. The Arena at the Taj has played host to Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Britney Spears, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Live, Destiny Child and others.

Suffice it to say that it has become increasingly difficult to attract arena-sized acts to venues that operate outside SFX, now Clear Channel Entertainment. This is the industry consolidation I mentioned. Hopefully some real benefit will be realized, but it's hard to participate when one company buys the tour, owns the real estate the tour plays and owns the radio stations in the majority of the markets.

Best business decision
Booking Britney Spears. It equaled casino revenue. On Aug. 25 2000. Britney Spears played the Arena at the Taj Mahal. Some casino competitors questioned the logic. In the final analysis, we almost broke even at the box office and our gaming customers demand for tickets was overwhelming, resulting in a very big win for us at the tables and slot machines. Of course it should be noted that we played lucky and won, sometimes we get beat!

Worst business decision Overpaying -- once! Most of the contemporary artists previously mentioned had never played Atlantic City. It was viewed as a place to play when your career was over. I certainly had to overpay at times to get their attention.

Thankfully, most of that is behind us and our "startup costs" have been replaced with competitive business decisions. Our reputation for knowing the market, treating artists extremely well, respecting fans and promoting a good show experience for all is paying off. It's a relatively small community and the word out there is "go play for Gietka at Trump"

Best business advice you received
"Just book it, we'll make it work!" by my current boss, Mark Brown - president and chief executive officer of Trump Hotel & Casino Resorts.

Most memorable concert or event
Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies" tour at the Baltimore Civic Center around 1974 was my first concert experience as a fan that could be categorized as a spectacle. It seemed larger than life, and although I had done the typical early '70s things like playing in bands at the school dance, I had never witnessed anything on such a large scale. I was hooked.

I was lucky enough to strike up a great relationship with Russell "The Voice" Watson and his manager, Perry Hughes. I believe Russell to be an incredible talent who will be around a long time. I partnered up with artist, label and public television to present Russell's US concert debut at Trump Taj Mahal, July 21, 2001. The event was filmed for broadcast on PBS. Russell will break big time. I am very proud to have been involved.

Industry pet peeve
Too many salesmen who are not music fans!

Steve can be reached at 609-449-5100; e-mail: sgietka@trumptaj.com.