Bensenville party company brings the casino to you
An interview with Jeff Durocher, president & CEO of US Poker & Casino Parties.
Q: Tell us a little bit about the business.
A: We are the premier corporate casino and charity fundraiser event company in Chicagoland.
We provide casino nights for all sized events from 10 people up to over 2000 people. We bring the casino to you. Our most popular games are Blackjack, Roulette, Texas Hold'em Poker and my personal favorite Craps.
Our top quality equipment and professional dealers set us apart. Our clients could be large corporations like McDonald's, Walgreens, CDW, charities large and small or private home parties, weddings, bar and bat mitzvah's and even golf course or beach side.
Q: How and when did the business start?
A: I purchased the business in 2011 from a DMC in Chicago. I had a long and successful career as an executive and I was looking to own my own company.
I wanted a niche company that was fun and served the corporate world.
Q: How do you cater to the corporate client?
A: We bring a full range of services to corporate clients. We can do their event planning, add casino décor or other décor. We can provide Elvis impersonators, whatever they want to make sure their Casino night is the most memorable event of the year.
Q: What is one tip you would give someone just starting in the industry?
A: Stay involved in the day to day. It is not easy to run from a distance.
Q: What are people in your industry talking about?
A: Texas Hold'em Tournaments are coming back. Poker went through a phase, then it went online, now it's coming back strong.
Q: Tell us one interesting fact about the business that most people may not know.
A: We can have 7-10 parties a night throughout Chicagoland. It can be a lot of hard work to pull that off.
Q: What is one hospitality idea that you are willing to give away to our readers?
A: Be nice to the client, no matter what. You have no idea who they may know.
Q: Two people we should follow on Twitter and why?
A: Jim Grillo at Here's Chicago and Alicja Burek from Alicja Events. Great people doing wonderful things in the hospitality industry.
Q: Do you use real money?
A: No, that is against the law. All of our games are for entertainment purposes only. I'm not interested in going to jail so we run a very clean business.
Q. How do you find new casino dealers?
A: Most of the casino's in the area do not let their employees work outside of the casino so we recruit new dealers all the time.
We are having training sessions for new dealers so anyone interested in learning the games or working at fun events, look us up.
US Poker & Casino Parties
<b>820 Eagle Drive, Bensenville, IL 60654</b>Owner: Jeff Durocher
Number of employees: 3
When business opened: 2005
Web address: www.uspokercasinoparties.com