Reprint from Gaming Today Magazine - August, 2004

There is a new kid on the block in resort casino entertainment business, but the principals in PlayerXT are certainly no kids, having over 25 years experience in resort casino entertainment and event production. "We have been trying to find our niche over the past few years," said Roy Hahn, president of the production and publishing company catering to high end Players. "I think we have finally found our position in the marketplace," said Dennis Levinson, vice president in charge of entertainment.

Entertainment Icon Dick Clark with High Roller PlayerXT principals Roy Hahn and Dennis Levinson and Players' Club International Founder Ed Fishman. Clark shows off his quilt celebrating 50 years of American Bandstand with pictures and signatures of Madonna, Elton John, Neil Diamond and other music legends that have appeared on the show.

Hahn, who spearheaded several magazines before being introduced to the gaming industry, will oversee the production and publishing company including a magazine dedicated to the resort casino leisure and travel industry entitled, One&Only Magazine. He is joined in the magazine by Publisher Dana Maxfield, who designed and published previous publications for Hahn. Maxfield, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his family publishes six to eight separate magazine titles per year.

Hahn owned several businesses in Oregon including a fitness center, an advertising agency, and a large health care company before retiring to Palm Springs. "We had over 2,000 employees in seven different states," said Hahn. "It was very stressful, especially when the State of California would run out of money every summer, and we dealt in human lives.

He sold out in 1991, retired and moved to Southern California to write a couple of novels, and help his brother market his beautiful four-star resort Sundance Villas in Palm Springs.     "After finishing the novels, 'Help Is On The Way,' and 'In Our Image,' I got bored," said Hahn. "'Help' did well in the Pacific Northwest because the Portland, Oregonian did a wonderful article on the book. It was a fictional novel based upon my experiences in working with ADL children. Right out of college, I joined the Boys' Club of La Habra, and we developed several national recognized programs for the less fortunate and handicapped. It was a great experience in my life, and we were given a National Award from President Richard Nixon." Hahn was a pioneer in working with the learning disabled, and served as a regional president of the California Association of Neurologically Handicapped Children.

He was lured out of retirement in 1994 to take over as editor of Swimwear Illustrated and Director of Operations for Ujena Swimwear. Hahn invited the publisher of Swimwear Illustrated to do a photo shoot at Sundance Villas, and they hit it off immediately.

Bob Anderson was the former publisher of Runner's World, and they both ran marathons, Hahn having competed in over 20 marathons, including qualifying for four Boston Marathons. Hahn was also selected to be part of an American contingent of businessmen to participate in the first Moscow International Peace Marathon in 1988.    

"I got a crash course in publishing," said Hahn. "Anderson was a genius. He took a small little newsletter in Kansas, and turned it into a 'Running Empire.' He sold Runner's World for $18 million, and started up FIT Magazine and Swimwear Illustrated, playing off the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. It worked for many years, and he developed a great distribution.

"He taught me a lot. We conducted an ongoing model search program to identify new swimsuit buyers. I was abruptly introduced to the pageant business in short time. We staged the largest swimsuit competition in the history of mankind in Orange County. It was called 'Bikini Jam VII'. We had over 285 models for seven days competing for over 20 titles. Talk about 'Survivor.' I was forged under fire!"

After a two year stint of running the largest swimwear mail-order company in the world, Hahn went into business on his own by founding Swimsuit Illustrated, a magazine dedicated to the latest in swimwear fashion, beautiful models in exotic locations. He secured Pamela Anderson for the cover of the inaugural issue and the magazine was an overnight success.

"I basically followed Anderson's format. We put out a beautiful magazine and swimsuit catalog, but we got clobbered by the swimsuit company. We sold 100,000 magazines, and 20,000 swimsuits in six months, but we had a 60% return ratio because of poor manufacturing. I got out of the swimsuit business real fast, and started promoting other swimsuits like Venus, Hey Baby Ritchie, Hot Skins, etc. Like Anderson, we ran swimsuit pageants all over the country, aligning with Ron Rice of Hawaiian Tropic, Daryle Scott of Venus, Trish Sereda of Hot Skins, Robert Kennedy of MuscleMag and Oxygen magazines, etc. Over time, we developed an incredible model network, and have subsequently discovered many top models, Playmates and cover models. During this time, he developed several television segments and shows and appeared on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, Fox Sports, E! Network, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Editions, MTV, X-tra, and Fit TV including Swimsuit Illustrated On Location, Bikini Jam, The All-American Girl Sports Challenge, the Legends of Fitness Challenge, and The Casino.   

 After the "swimsuit genre" wore out, Hahn later created "Private Pier", a waterfront lifestyle magazine dedicated to the ocean and the preservation of the coral reefs. "We were still about exotic locations because I love to travel, but now, we had a cause," Hahn mused. "It was a great time. I learned a lot about the environment, coral reefs and the ocean. Plus, I got to meet the top artists and talent involved in environment issues at the time, Cousteau, Buffet, Lassen, Wyland, and so on."

   The events included  The Baywatch Celebrity Golf Tournament in Atlantic City; Live From South Beach at the Clevelander Hotel; The Jewel of Palm Beach at Mar-a-Lago; and theONE International Glamour Model Search Finals at the Taj Mahal Resort. They posted a weekend record for gaming revenue at Trump Plaza with the Second Annual Trump Style Finals and a one-day record at the Clevelander with the Live From South Beach Pageant and Exotic Car Show.    

Hahn at the very first Trump Style International Model Search Final in Atlantic City where over 60 models from all over world participated at Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

The success with Trump Casinos lead to other opportunities with the MGM-Mirage Group, Park Place Entertainment, The Mandalay Bay Group, The Riviera Resort, and Maloof and Carano Family Gaming.

"A couple of MGM Players were on their way to Las Vegas for a boxing match, and got sidetracked to Atlantic City for our 2nd Annual Trump Style Model Search Finals. They had the time of their lives. The next week, I was in the inner sanctum of the MGM Grand with three MGM Presidents. They asked me if I could do an event for them."

The event was called 'MGM Grand's Search for theONE,' and was staged in conjunction with a boxing match at the Mandalay Bay. Every high roller in town that night ended up at Studio 54 to judge the event. It was told that the "lines of credit" for that weekend were approaching $25 million. There were 60 models from all over the world, and three of them went on to become Playmates that next year.

 

At the heart of PlayerXT is their "live events" programs. They create events for casino based upon a certain theme or competition. They do golf tournaments, art shows, beauty pageants, fitness competitions, big game fishing, yacht parties, bull riding competitions, private parties, and now bowling and poker.

 "Our success lies in our extensive model network," said Hahn. "Our events are nothing with out the models. They bring glamour, excitement and class to our events. Everything is done with the highest degree of professionalism and decorum.

"We are able to access the most beautiful models in the world. The models love our events because we fly them in all expenses paid to the finest Resort Casinos in the world, where they are treated like princesses. Also, not only do we provide them the opportunity to win cash and prizes in a high profile competition, but they are able to win money at the gaming tables and slot machines.

"After the events, the winners are flown to some exotic location as part of their prize package, where we photograph them for calendars, posters, and their own web site which we host for them."

During this time, Hahn served as President and Editor of the ONE Magazine and Twenty-One Magazine. "These magazines were developed to chronicle our adventures and exploits, and to report on the "best of the best" in the Resort Casino business," said Hahn.     "We were staying in the nicest hotels, eating at the best restaurants, living the high-life of the individuals for whom we were creating events. It was a natural.     

"We got to meet all kinds of VIPs and celebrities: Britney Spears, Brooke Burke, Victoria Silvstedt, Donald Trump, President Bush, Merv Griffin, Toby Keith, the cast from Friends, Bruce Willis, Kristen Allen, etc.

"Because of the quality and content, the magazines took on a life of their own, and pretty soon everyone wanted to be included. We were invited to everything, The Super Bowl, The World Series, The Academy Award, Bal de Le Mar in Monte Carlo , The Michael Jordan Golf Classic, etc.

"Over the past six years, we have laid the perfect foundation for PlayerXT. We have established great relations with the top executives of Casino Player marketing, been schooled by the presidents of major casinos, consulted with the likes of gaming icons Merv Griffin, Steve Wynn, Mark Brown and Ed Fishman, the founder of the original Player's Club with Telly Savallas. We now have a pure Player entertainment program, where ALL of our client resort casinos make a profit from our events, and we have the time of our lives."

 

 

Donald Trump


President George H. Bush

Toby Keith

Ed McMahon

Carrot Top

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