Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Durocher.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My career spans many years in and out of the hospitality industry. Born into an entrepreneur family I was working at a very young age. My work included guessing weights and calling out water races in the carnival business, selling corn dogs, ice cream, and hamburgers in the food/food service business, pumping gas at my dad’s gas stations, washing cars at his car wash and finally running operations and serving customers at our family convenience store. One common theme ran through all of those jobs and it was ‘helping others and having fun!’
While it was busy all the time, we thrived on having ‘work to do’. Over time, I had developed a knack for talking to anyone and experimenting with how to sell differently to different people. This led me to pursue marketing and advertising in college. To keep busy, I was also a student-athlete for a year and worked multiple jobs while attending school — partly because that’s all I knew and partly to pay my way through school. In the end, I was proud to learn that I was the first in my family to graduate from college. I had moved to Chicago to finish school but more importantly, I wanted to make TV commercials. However, as is often the case, the best-laid plans don’t always work out. So, I took a job in marketing. After a career in the corporate world marketing and promoting others, I recently moved back into my passion — the hospitality and events industry.
In 2011, I purchased US Poker & Casino Parties. I had looked for a company to buy for about 3 years (and got close 2x). The casino party business fit right into my two strengths selling to the corporate world and helping others/bringing the fun.
After I left my corporate job in 2015 and focused on the business full time, I jumped right into the Chicago hospitality industry. I joined and volunteered at several associations and worthy causes getting to know as many people as I could and learning as much as I could about the marketplace. I made many friends along the way. I asked a lot of questions, ‘kissed a lot of frogs’ and continue to do my best to contribute to the industry.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When you are an entrepreneur – each day is a learning experience. You are constantly adapting and growing. If it were easy, everyone would do it so one should expect struggles.
I have had (and still do) many a sleepless night wondering about a client experience, reviewing the day and what I may have missed or messed up. I’d say there are 3 areas where there were struggles: 1. Chasing payment is always a surprise we don’t expect in business. It confirmed the language in our contract to get the money before the event. 2. Finding good people is always a struggle. I had a few take advantage of my openness and it’s come back to burn me. As a result, I’m more cautious about the people I surround myself with. 3. Having a solid crew that can handle the operations side in place is critical. They can make or break your reputation.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
US Poker & Casino Parties is a casino rental company. We do corporate casino nights and charitable fundraising events. We are one of the oldest and biggest casino rental companies in Chicagoland. We serve clients all over the US and Canada. We are known for high-quality equipment and professional, helpful and fun dealers.
As a company, I am most proud of finding ways to take care of our customers. They come to trust us and ask us for other entertainment needs so it’s great to be able to deliver on special requests.
What sets us apart is our customer service, responsiveness, and quality of equipment and people.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was a ‘confident’ athlete. Very competitive. I have an internal competitiveness that drives me. If I don’t win the first 1-2 times, I usually find a way to win in the end. It typically comes down to outworking someone or going above and beyond, I am always learning. I learn by doing, sort of trial and error so I keep making tweaks along the way, studying best practices from different people and making them your own. I have always done this and it serves me well in life.
I loved sports growing up. Primarily, team sports. It’s one of the few things in life where you don’t know the outcome before it’s over and you get to collaborate with many to get one result. It’s unpredictable and always changing. I love that about sports and business. You come to rely on others to do their job and encourage, nudge, succeed and fail as a group. In my experience, there is no better way to become successful.
Pricing:
- People are often surprised by how inexpensive a casino night can be. We are less expensive than a photo booth for small events and you can have great entertainment like a casino night for less than $3000 for 100 people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.uspokercasinoparties.com
- Phone: 630-422-1811
- Email: events@uspokercasinoparties.com
- Instagram: @uspoker
- Facebook: @uspokercasinoparties
- Twitter: @us_poker
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
