GARY | Vietnamese music acts from folk to pop rock drew a crowd of more than 1,500 to the Majestic Star casinos' entertainment center earlier this year.

Billed as the Vietnamese Live Concert, the event was a feather in the cap of Fion Chong, the casinos' recently hired director of Asian player development.

Chong wanted the right mix for an audience with Vietnamese roots, from traditional to modern, for the Aug. 26 concert in the Buffington Harbor pavilion, which is shared by the two Majestic Star casinos in Gary.

"It was our first show and we didn't want to fail," said Chong, a native of Hong Kong and a graduate of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Chong's job is to build Majestic Star casinos' patronage by gamblers of Asian descent, including from China, Korea and Vietnam, and to a lesser extent, she said, from Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines.

"Our goal is to enlarge our Asian data base," said Chong.

The side-by-side riverboats owned by Don Barden's Majestic Star LLC ramped up attempts to appeal to Asian gamblers earlier this year.

A newly created 10-table baccarat room, with an Oriental decorating scheme and a buffet serving Asian delicacies, opened in May.

Baccarat was chosen for its appeal to Asians, Majestic Star Vice president and General Manager David Schugar said at the time. The mathematics of the game give it a lower house percentage than other games, according to Schugar.

For Asian gamblers, "baccarat is their main game," Chong said.

"Majestic Star came to the decision that we wanted to decidedly focus on increasing our Asian play," Schugar said. "We went all out to build a first-class Asian Player Development team. That team began with Fion Chong."

The Gary riverboats provide round-the-clock bus service with departures directly from Chicago's Chinatown area.

Majestic Star is not alone in attempting to lure gamblers of Asian descent, said John Busam, editor of Midwest Gaming & Travel.

"Most casinos in the Midwest have at least a host dedicated to Asian gamblers," Busam said.

"They represent a nice niche market," Busam said. "Majestic Star is being aggressive in trying to attract that niche."

Gambler comfort is the top priority, Chong said.

"We want to be the most friendly to Asians, to make them feel like they're at home," she said.

Chong heads a team of five, including four co-workers, who between them speak Chinese, Mandarin and Korean.

"We want to remove the language barrier," Chong said.

Cultural habits play a role.

The highest volume of Asian gamblers turns out to be on Mondays, Chong said.

"Most have their own businesses, so they're busy on weekends," she said.

Few, if any, other ethnic markets are sought by casinos to the extent as Asian gamblers, said Busam.

Other area casinos are stepping up efforts to attract the market, including the newly opened Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, Mich., which recently began a shuttle service with stops in Chinatown.

Majestic Star's marketing goes further than any other in the Chicago-area market, Busam said.

"They're doing everything they can to make the Asian player comfortable," he said. "I think Majestic Star is on to something there."

Whether it will translate into higher revenues, "only time will tell," Busam said.