SQL Query & Stored Procedure Development

One of the more significant spends on the part of casinos over the long term is the purchase and maintenance of software modules and or the engagement of third party developers as a service to enable promotional designs or sweepstakes not supported by the in-house CRM. Data availability via API, for example, often involves a significant capitol purchase from the limited dedicated casino CRM vendors who are approved via regulation in each market. It's a proprietary market and it's still priced like one.

Though more a function of inbound contests than outbound targeting, I've been able to leverage my skills with SQL to develop solutions to these database operational needs, complete with thin-layer applications and workflows, to provide past employers with solutions. These included: a functional "One-Card" mail evaluation system that combined multiple casino databases running Aristocrat's OASIS into an integrated customer database that recognize common customers and trips across properties; a dedicated virtual drawings system with an animated barrel display populated with winner data from a random selection fully configurable with entry earn criteria across aforementioned multiple casino databases; and a series of live-updating automated procedures and displays to support promotions like point chases, slot tournaments, and progressives drawings. The code example below shows a stored procedure for incrementing a progressive drawing award based on the number of handpaid jackpots that hit in a high-limit room for a defined period of time.

• Golden Jackpot Progressive - SQL Dev

Geographical Reporting & Targeting

I have experience with multiple reporting layers to feed with data queried by my SQL abilties. My most recently learned application is Tableau, selected specifically due to its proficiency and ease in generating map-based data visualizations and summaries. These visualizations are good for executive understanding, whether viewed interactively with full drilldown, or generated in large size print for presentations. The data itself has been used to segment players for variable offer reinvestment based on distance from property, as well as to divide zip codes amongst multiple properties for PPC advertising geographic targeting, for example, to avoid bidding overlap.

Direct Mail Reporting & Targeting

Although Tableau is the new darling of data miners, I have worked with most of the main reporting layers—including some freelance time working with SSRS. By far the reporting application with which I am most proficient is Crystal Reports. While at Golden Casino Group I received training and certification in Level II Crystal Reports through New Horizons services. I leveraged this training along with self-training to build all casino direct mail programs within CR, a technique I still use to this day. This method allows for complex formulation in segmenting with the full financial customer worth data casinos can collect via players using their Player's Club cards. Segmentation can be rich, and conditional logic to incentivize or penalize behavior can be independent of segment placement.

This direct mail work, executed on a monthly basis, is paired with full direct mail, promotional, and database reporting also executed in Crystal on both a monthly and ongoing basis. Resolving offers and response and reinvestment via reporting down to a profit margin level is key to understanding and maximizing the impact of marketing programs with significant spend. In addition, utilizing the on-demand reporting capabilities of Crystal Reports Server (then Business Objects Infoview) we were able to develop and share parameterized reports to help with operational challenges, like identifying suspected incorrect table games ratings or tying a ticket-resolution system to the slot system to report on work orders related to protected data.

In many ways, these solutions represent "the hard way" of doing work with local databases and applications that is being built and packaged in a more super-user friendly manner via Saas services like the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. For businesses and/or jurisdictions with stringent personally identifiable data-control regulations, "the hard way", well... that is the way. For other businesses and jurisdictions, under-the-hood knowledge of data basics and principles remains a powerful tool for any executive managing CRM services and data-mining vendors.