BRIGANTINE, NJ – It was a marriage made in heaven – traveling golfers and gaming destinations. All that was needed was somebody to perform the ceremony.
That’s where Dave Giammatteo the Founding Partner of the Golf’n Gamble company discovered a niche – way back in 1996.
The company began as an arrangement between the Bus Marketing Department of the then-newly opened Foxwoods Casino and a handful of area golf courses. Groups would travel to the area by luxury bus, play a round of golf and have dinner at a local golf course, then spend four hours at the casino.
“The local area golf courses had not seen any real increase in play from the Foxwoods Casino opening,” recalled Giammatteo. “They were very receptive to any idea that would drive rounds and bring extra revenue from casino patrons.”
Now, 25 years later, the company has gone through major expansion and adapted to the ever-changing challenges of the golf industry.
“The ability to evolve along with the many transformations within the golf and travel industry has been the key to our success,” said Gary Shea, Northeast Regional Manager for Golf’n Gamble. “It has been an interesting 25-year ride, to say the least.”
By 2000, Golf’n Gamble was delivering more than 300 buses a year — filled with golfers — to the area’s golf courses and the Foxwoods Casino.
In 2002, Golf’n Gamble expanded to the Atlantic City area working with Tropicana Casino & Resort. The company also continued to develop more traditional golf packaging in both Connecticut and Atlantic City, offering alternate casinos.
In 2010, Golf’n Gamble expanded again into the Pocono Mountains, working with Mount Airy Casino. In 2015 the company was selected as the “Preferred Golf Packager” of the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau and has continued in that status ever since.
With the opening of Sands Casino in Bethlehem (now the Wind Creek Casino & Resort), Golf’n Gamble moved into the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania in 2016.
In addition to the Northeast Regional expansion, Golf’n Gamble began offering winter trips to gaming resorts in Puerto Rico in 2011 and Scottsdale, Arizona in 2018 … as well as more traditional golf destinations like Orlando, Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Despite that exhaustive history of expansion and adaptation over the last 25 years, the Golf’n Gamble story is not finished. Shea promises ventures into new frontiers: “We are talking with people in the Catskill Mountains, north of New York City, about working with the new Resorts World Casino. We would affiliate with a number of the well-known golf courses in that area.”
Since 1996 Golf’n Gamble has been meeting the needs of travelers who like to combine world-class golf during the day with a bit of casino gaming at night. And that marriage is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.
For more information, contact Gary Shea at 609-206-1057 or e-mail him at gary@golfandgamble.com.
