Poker Explodes at Hawaiian Gardens
An undiscovered goldmine
By: Kenna James

As you amble past a smoking, lava-spewing volcano and meander down a lane of palm trees with Hawaiian music playing, you’d be forgiven for stopping to wonder where the heck you are. You are, in fact, only twenty minutes from downtown Los Angeles. In a small city called Hawaiian
Gardens, located just off the 605 Carson St. exit, south of the 91 Freeway, lies this gem of a card room. Still largely undiscovered, Hawaiian Gardens has quietly crept its way to becoming the second largest card club in the greater Los Angeles area. As I tour the floor with Fred Fiering, Director of Casino Operations, I notice the casino is nearing capacity (over 170 gaming tables) and it’s only Monday afternoon!

I’ve turned up right in the middle of the weekly $25 tournament, which today has over 300 players and a $6,000 first prize. Business is booming says Fred: “We are realizing a growth of 30% a year right now and, with expansion plans for a bigger and better facility, which will have banquet rooms and all the other amenities, the future is only going to get brighter.”

This is a far cry from its humble beginnings back in December 1997 when Hawaiian Gardens first opened its doors, or should I say door. With the pressing need to get off the ground before California State Laws imposed a strict moratorium on new casinos, HG quietly opened with only five gaming tables in a trailer, literally, in the parking lot of what would become their permanent facility. The casino is the brainchild of Dr. Irving Moskowitz and it has always maintained the personal attention to service that comes with family-run businesses. In the face of all the large competing card rooms in Los Angeles, HG is the ‘Rocky’ of the card clubs. Against all odds, it has risen not only to compete with, but also surpass, much of the competition.

The genius behind this remarkable growth story is General Manager Ron Sarabi who has always made customer service, community involvement and employee loyalty a priority. Angie Cortese, Casino Training Coordinator, tells me a story that illustrates the point. “When we opened the doors to the new facility, the first day was reserved only for those players who had played in the trailers. Ron wanted to honor those players that had been there since the beginning by giving them a day to express his appreciation for their business.”

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Each year the casino runs a day long Christmas party for the local and surrounding communities. They provide all the food and festivities including clowns, carriage rides, Santa, and gifts for the local children. This June, they will begin a series (one a month) of tournaments for charity. The players will still receive all the prize pool money that they put in, but Hawaiian Gardens Casino will be donating $25,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for each tournament. These tournaments will have $100,000 guarantee for just a $225 buy-in, increasing the value for its players who not only compete for the prize money, but support the charity simply by participating.

On ESPN’s coverage of the 2003 WSOP you might remember the Hawaiian Gardens poker cap sitting on top of my jacket as I zipped up against Howard Lederer’s stare. I’ve always supported HG because of their approach to customer service. In today’s cutthroat world it’s hard to find a business that puts people before profit.

If you are a stranger when you come in, you won’t be when you leave. Expect the food staff to know and call you by name the next time you come to visit. The food selection is wide in variety and, take it from someone that ranks food right up there with pocket aces, it’s a winner.

There’s a technological revolution going on too. HG is in the process of implementing an electronic service system to prevent staff and customers from having to yell across the room for chips, food service, or game selection, and therefore reduce the noise level. Hold on… a casino concerned with noise level? What next? Along with an electronic board listing of games, the dealers will have a series of smart service buttons right at their fingertips. The food servers, as well as the chip runners, will be wearing pagers so that, when a dealer requests the service person, they will be directed not only to the table but to the person in the seat that is requesting the service.

All you poker lounge lizards will feel at home here: the poker tables are all new and have automatic shuffling machines. The chairs are very comfortable and are on rolling casters. I could go on and on about the strides that this card room is making to assure customer satisfaction. Suffice it to say that, if you believe in old-fashioned customer service, then Hawaiian Gardens is the place for you.