April 8, 2024 • 9 mins
Joe Brunini, Chief Gaming Officer of Atlantis Bahamas, joins the show to tell us all about what life is like in the casino.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Today's Daily Highlight from Elvis Duran in the Morning show.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh are we on? Oh kay, we're live.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Sorry, hello, Sorry, I was at the blackjack tables. Sorry,
I was shooting craps. So you know what happens when
you shoot craps, You gotta buy a new toilet. H Anyway,
we are at Atlanta's Paradise. I don't know the Bahamas,
and one thing I'm loving. They have totally re engineered
the casino. Last time we were here, it was great.
(00:30):
Now it's even better and we are so lucky. The
chief Gaming Officer here at Atlanta's Paradise Island, Jor Brunini,
is here.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hi, Joe. How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We're doing, We're doing okay, okay, So you're the chief
gaming officer, so that's your domain.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That beautiful casino was all yours. If you like it,
it is, yes, okay, it is.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
By the way, Joe started dealing years and years ago.
You started your career as a dealer in Atlantic City, right, yes,
and you were dealing what we were dealing.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
I started dealing with craps and the year I started
was nineteen eight.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Wow, but you look awesome. I mean you you've you've
you're not weathered at all.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I am, so I tell you know, when you come
to Atlantis, there's so many things to do, but you
know it hit that casino at night is just the
perfect perfect night here.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
And so you win some, you lose some. Give us
the secrets.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Now, seriously, where are my best odds in the casino
here in Atlantis?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Wow, that's a tough one.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
You play table games, yeah, sure, blackjack sometimes in craps.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
There's an old saying, the more you bet, the more
you win. But if you're less optimistic, the less you've been,
the less you bet, the more you win.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
When you lose.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Wait, I also heard that you should you should really
do the slot machines that are closest to the door
because they win the most, because it makes it makes
people outside want to come in because they see him winning.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Is that what you do? You find tunes? Yeah, that's
an old Vegas theory.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
But we're all about the same on the whole percentage, right,
They're just we just wanted to have more of a
variety that you know, people enjoy, and we just expanded them.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Also, but I can tell you people get nuts when
they sit down a slot machine. They think they gotta
like knock it three times and then they spin on
it and they pull the handle and just just gotta
change everything. The slot machines don't get cold, they don't
get warm, and they don't do that. It's just all
random every single time, right, It's just the way it worked.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Absolutely, But I think you knock at five times.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
But I do love how how superstitious people are, and they,
you know, like if the vibe changes, they'll get up
and leave. We were playing a slot machine next to
some woman.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
She took one look.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
At us, packed up her little bag and scooed it away.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
She did.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
And then we were playing blackjack yesterday and Elvis was like,
it was just the two of us. He said, if
one person sits down, I'm out of here. Someone sat down,
he left.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Boom oh.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And I gotta tell you these sometimes it's not as
much here in Atlantis, but you go to other gaming
establishments and these old women said, at these slot machines,
how do they get their ashes so long without them
falling off a cigarette?
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Years of training?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So what are some wacky things putting you on the spot?
You've seen in your years of gaming. I mean, you've
seen some crazy stuff go down in some of these casinos.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
Yeah, and I'll keep it kind of cautious when I
say this, no need.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And we're not talking at Stlantis in particular. Okay, I
like where you're going with this exactly.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
So we had customers come in that we're very superstitious,
and what you learned in this industry is twenty two
pounds of hundreds eachqual some million dollars.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Twenty two pounds of hundreds equals one million dollars.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes, of course.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
And then when they come in they said, I'm superstitious.
I don't want you to break up my cash or anything.
How about you have there twelve and a half pounds. Okay,
we calculated out they could start playing, and then we
figure how much money they have at the end.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
It's like the buffet, you wait and eat it.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Well, So I saw a lot of people winning last
night here at Atlantis, and I'm thinking, dude, is it
good for Atlantis for people to win?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Absolutely? Why not? Because money is leaving.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
It's like in any other business you'd be like, we
don't want to lose any money.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
But here, the more people win, the more excited they
are and they want to come back.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Absolutely, it's you know, you have a very you know,
small whole percentage and over the volume. That's how you
make your money. But there's winners. I mean, we had
so many jackpot winners this weekend. It's it's out of
the norm to be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Can you share with us, like some of the winning
numbers the individuals had get here at Atlanta's absolutely some.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Of the slot machines.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
We had one hundred and fifty thousand dollars jackpot coming
right back with another machine next to it with about
one hundred and ten thousand.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You know.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Then we had a lot of fifty thousand dollars jackpots
on the table games the same thing. But at the end,
you know, you have your portion of blue users, you
have your portion of winners, and as long as they
have a good time. It is about service, It truly is.
It's about service.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I mean there's so many great people who work there.
Because I actually hit a jackpot the other night where
I would I had to be.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
They had to come over and like, you know, take
care of me whatever.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Personally, we watched you surveillance so that I mean, see
we all also assumed there's you're sitting, Joe, you're sitting
up in the booth, like like the at the airport,
the tower, we got illness on the wheel of fortune
they do, and like just push the button, give him
(05:37):
a little winning, a little win, let him win. He'll
stay here all night. You don't do that.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
No too much casino movies. Then you're of no use
to me, the joe. Yes, what I just want to know,
because I'm a big black jack guy. When you sit
down at these tables, right, and I know there's this
basic strategy and there's like the book, is it possible
to screw up the table and screw up the cards
if some buddy makes a dumb move because some let's
let's face it, hitting on a seventeen or eighteen, it's
(06:04):
a dumb move or not.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, not splitting when you're supposed to.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I just did that yesterday.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
Well, right, just can you really screw up the table
and the vibe in the cards or is.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
That just it's it's it's superstitious people. If they're winning
after it, they say you said you did a great thing.
If they're losing, they say, you screwed it.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Up.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
There's no one's gonna know the outcome. You know, until
the cards are dealt right, you can make the worst
move there is and get the greatest cards.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
It feels like a team sport though when you're playing blackjack. Yeah,
the table they kind of help every now and then.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I like it.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
People get so mad at me because I'll hit a
twenty yeah, dude.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Because I'm gonna get an ace and hit twenty one.
They're like, what the hell are you doing? We got
an eighteen yesterday? He said, hit it. I was like,
what did you play? He's splipped ten?
Speaker 5 (06:50):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You know, I do it to make people mad. Here's
the thing.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
If people are gonna hate me for this, I'm gonna
say it anyway. Once you hit a casino, it's just
a piece of paper.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
With numbers on it. It's not a dollar anymore.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Are you from?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
But here's the problem, and Joe, you see people do this.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
They come to the casino and they think they're going
to make a salary and this is their livelihood.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
You don't take money to a casino and assume that's
a part of your income.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Absolutely not. It's entertainment.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
But I want to get back to your question about
messing up the cards to that extreme.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yes, I would ask you to leave a public.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Joe, what is worth bachelor parties or bachelorette parties?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yes, here we go.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
Well, obviously being a Maile, I ever say bachelor parties.
But there I think they're in today's day and age,
they're equally as much fun, okay, or equally as much
as bad.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
So I sit down with my friends at Atlanta's Paradise Island,
Bahamas and that beautiful casino. Whether I know, something's a
lot different in there, has a different vibe now than
it used to.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's it used to be great.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Now it's great. What is it about the magic of
a casino that pulls you in? Is it the sound?
Is it the people screaming at this table then that table?
There's something about this casino that is just very inviting.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Well, it's the excitement, without a doubt, the volume of people,
the excitement, the I think it's the chance of winning,
but also the energy that's behind it, between the music
and all the activity at the tables. I think it's
a definitely a magnet. And the way we designed it
this time, it's a great flow through so people can
(08:43):
stop at any given point in time in the casino.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I love it. Well, look, thank you so much, Joe.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Joe Brunini, the Chief Gaming Officer, otherwise known as the cgo.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
At Atlantis. Yeah, yeah, mate, Okay, how do you do
the math so quickly? Joe?
Speaker 7 (08:58):
I'm sorry I have to ask this with So when
I win? How do you calculate how much I get
paid out so quickly? You seem to you must be
like rain Man when you do that math in your head.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Well, there's two things. Yes, the math is quick, and
when we don't know, we just keep paying until you're happy.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Sounds like sounds like my marriage. Well, anyway, Joe, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
You know, and of course the casino is a major, major,
major draw here at Atlantis, but added to everything else,
it's like perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Danielle is blinded by the sun. It's so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It's so beautiful here. The sun is so bright.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Joe Brunini, thanks for spending time with us.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
By the way, who's steering the ship downstairs? Get down
to the casino. They're robbing you, blind man.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Go don't mess with Joe.
Today's Daily Highlight from Elvis Duran in the Morning show.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Oh are we on? Oh kay, we're live.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
Sorry, hello, Sorry, I was at the blackjack tables. Sorry,
I was shooting craps. So you know what happens when
you shoot craps, You gotta buy a new toilet. H Anyway,
we are at Atlanta's Paradise. I don't know the Bahamas,
and one thing I'm loving. They have totally re engineered
the casino. Last time we were here, it was great.
(00:30):
Now it's even better and we are so lucky. The
chief Gaming Officer here at Atlanta's Paradise Island, Jor Brunini,
is here.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hi, Joe. How you doing.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
We're doing, We're doing okay, okay, So you're the chief
gaming officer, so that's your domain.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
That beautiful casino was all yours. If you like it,
it is, yes, okay, it is.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
By the way, Joe started dealing years and years ago.
You started your career as a dealer in Atlantic City, right, yes,
and you were dealing what we were dealing.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
I started dealing with craps and the year I started
was nineteen eight.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Wow, but you look awesome. I mean you you've you've
you're not weathered at all.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
I am, so I tell you know, when you come
to Atlantis, there's so many things to do, but you
know it hit that casino at night is just the
perfect perfect night here.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
And so you win some, you lose some. Give us
the secrets.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Now, seriously, where are my best odds in the casino
here in Atlantis?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Wow, that's a tough one.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
You play table games, yeah, sure, blackjack sometimes in craps.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (01:42):
There's an old saying, the more you bet, the more
you win. But if you're less optimistic, the less you've been,
the less you bet, the more you win.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
When you lose.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Wait, I also heard that you should you should really
do the slot machines that are closest to the door
because they win the most, because it makes it makes
people outside want to come in because they see him winning.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Is that what you do? You find tunes? Yeah, that's
an old Vegas theory.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
But we're all about the same on the whole percentage, right,
They're just we just wanted to have more of a
variety that you know, people enjoy, and we just expanded them.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Also, but I can tell you people get nuts when
they sit down a slot machine. They think they gotta
like knock it three times and then they spin on
it and they pull the handle and just just gotta
change everything. The slot machines don't get cold, they don't
get warm, and they don't do that. It's just all
random every single time, right, It's just the way it worked.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Absolutely, But I think you knock at five times.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
But I do love how how superstitious people are, and they,
you know, like if the vibe changes, they'll get up
and leave. We were playing a slot machine next to
some woman.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
She took one look.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
At us, packed up her little bag and scooed it away.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
She did.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
And then we were playing blackjack yesterday and Elvis was like,
it was just the two of us. He said, if
one person sits down, I'm out of here. Someone sat down,
he left.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Boom oh.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And I gotta tell you these sometimes it's not as
much here in Atlantis, but you go to other gaming
establishments and these old women said, at these slot machines,
how do they get their ashes so long without them
falling off a cigarette?
Speaker 5 (03:12):
Years of training?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So what are some wacky things putting you on the spot?
You've seen in your years of gaming. I mean, you've
seen some crazy stuff go down in some of these casinos.
Speaker 5 (03:23):
Yeah, and I'll keep it kind of cautious when I
say this, no need.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And we're not talking at Stlantis in particular. Okay, I
like where you're going with this exactly.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
So we had customers come in that we're very superstitious,
and what you learned in this industry is twenty two
pounds of hundreds eachqual some million dollars.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Twenty two pounds of hundreds equals one million dollars.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes, of course.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
And then when they come in they said, I'm superstitious.
I don't want you to break up my cash or anything.
How about you have there twelve and a half pounds. Okay,
we calculated out they could start playing, and then we
figure how much money they have at the end.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
It's like the buffet, you wait and eat it.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Well, So I saw a lot of people winning last
night here at Atlantis, and I'm thinking, dude, is it
good for Atlantis for people to win?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Absolutely? Why not? Because money is leaving.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
It's like in any other business you'd be like, we
don't want to lose any money.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
But here, the more people win, the more excited they
are and they want to come back.
Speaker 5 (04:24):
Absolutely, it's you know, you have a very you know,
small whole percentage and over the volume. That's how you
make your money. But there's winners. I mean, we had
so many jackpot winners this weekend. It's it's out of
the norm to be honest with you.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Can you share with us, like some of the winning
numbers the individuals had get here at Atlanta's absolutely some.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Of the slot machines.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
We had one hundred and fifty thousand dollars jackpot coming
right back with another machine next to it with about
one hundred and ten thousand.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
You know.
Speaker 5 (04:51):
Then we had a lot of fifty thousand dollars jackpots
on the table games the same thing. But at the end,
you know, you have your portion of blue users, you
have your portion of winners, and as long as they
have a good time. It is about service, It truly is.
It's about service.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I mean there's so many great people who work there.
Because I actually hit a jackpot the other night where
I would I had to be.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
They had to come over and like, you know, take
care of me whatever.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Personally, we watched you surveillance so that I mean, see
we all also assumed there's you're sitting, Joe, you're sitting
up in the booth, like like the at the airport,
the tower, we got illness on the wheel of fortune
they do, and like just push the button, give him
(05:37):
a little winning, a little win, let him win. He'll
stay here all night. You don't do that.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
No too much casino movies. Then you're of no use
to me, the joe. Yes, what I just want to know,
because I'm a big black jack guy. When you sit
down at these tables, right, and I know there's this
basic strategy and there's like the book, is it possible
to screw up the table and screw up the cards
if some buddy makes a dumb move because some let's
let's face it, hitting on a seventeen or eighteen, it's
(06:04):
a dumb move or not.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yeah, not splitting when you're supposed to.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I just did that yesterday.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
Well, right, just can you really screw up the table
and the vibe in the cards or is.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
That just it's it's it's superstitious people. If they're winning
after it, they say you said you did a great thing.
If they're losing, they say, you screwed it.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Up.
Speaker 5 (06:21):
There's no one's gonna know the outcome. You know, until
the cards are dealt right, you can make the worst
move there is and get the greatest cards.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
It feels like a team sport though when you're playing blackjack. Yeah,
the table they kind of help every now and then.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
I like it.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
People get so mad at me because I'll hit a
twenty yeah, dude.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Because I'm gonna get an ace and hit twenty one.
They're like, what the hell are you doing? We got
an eighteen yesterday? He said, hit it. I was like,
what did you play? He's splipped ten?
Speaker 5 (06:50):
Dude.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You know, I do it to make people mad. Here's
the thing.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
If people are gonna hate me for this, I'm gonna
say it anyway. Once you hit a casino, it's just
a piece of paper.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
With numbers on it. It's not a dollar anymore.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Are you from?
Speaker 2 (07:06):
But here's the problem, and Joe, you see people do this.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
They come to the casino and they think they're going
to make a salary and this is their livelihood.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
You don't take money to a casino and assume that's
a part of your income.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Absolutely not. It's entertainment.
Speaker 5 (07:21):
But I want to get back to your question about
messing up the cards to that extreme.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yes, I would ask you to leave a public.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Joe, what is worth bachelor parties or bachelorette parties?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yes, here we go.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
Well, obviously being a Maile, I ever say bachelor parties.
But there I think they're in today's day and age,
they're equally as much fun, okay, or equally as much
as bad.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
So I sit down with my friends at Atlanta's Paradise Island,
Bahamas and that beautiful casino. Whether I know, something's a
lot different in there, has a different vibe now than
it used to.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's it used to be great.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Now it's great. What is it about the magic of
a casino that pulls you in? Is it the sound?
Is it the people screaming at this table then that table?
There's something about this casino that is just very inviting.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Well, it's the excitement, without a doubt, the volume of people,
the excitement, the I think it's the chance of winning,
but also the energy that's behind it, between the music
and all the activity at the tables. I think it's
a definitely a magnet. And the way we designed it
this time, it's a great flow through so people can
(08:43):
stop at any given point in time in the casino.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I love it. Well, look, thank you so much, Joe.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Joe Brunini, the Chief Gaming Officer, otherwise known as the cgo.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
At Atlantis. Yeah, yeah, mate, Okay, how do you do
the math so quickly? Joe?
Speaker 7 (08:58):
I'm sorry I have to ask this with So when
I win? How do you calculate how much I get
paid out so quickly? You seem to you must be
like rain Man when you do that math in your head.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Well, there's two things. Yes, the math is quick, and
when we don't know, we just keep paying until you're happy.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Sounds like sounds like my marriage. Well, anyway, Joe, thank
you so much.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
You know, and of course the casino is a major, major,
major draw here at Atlantis, but added to everything else,
it's like perfect.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Danielle is blinded by the sun. It's so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It's so beautiful here. The sun is so bright.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Joe Brunini, thanks for spending time with us.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
By the way, who's steering the ship downstairs? Get down
to the casino. They're robbing you, blind man.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Go don't mess with Joe.
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