The company owned successful resort casinos in South Africa that appealed to wealthy travelers. But the cut-throat world of neighborhood casino marketing in Las Vegas — a business largely dominated by two companies — might well have been a foreign language.

According to Station Casinos executives, Swiss Casinos didn't bother to check out how other locals casinos did business, nor did they poach any employees from Station, the biggest neighborhood casino operator with more than two decades of experience figuring out what works and doesn't work for local residents.

The result was a casino that offered lobsters on the half shell in its buffet and $100 slot machines but was little more than a sideshow for hotel guests. Locals in affluent Summerlin didn't hear much from the property or take to the super-luxury atmosphere.

That changed in late 2001, when local gaming executives Bill Wortman and Bill Paulos took over management of the casino, now called the Rampart. Another company bought the hotel and casino out of bankruptcy in a post-Sept. 11 fire sale for $80 million — nearly $200 million less than the property cost to build.

The Rampart Casino is privately operated, and performance figures aren't available.

But Wortman calls the four-year turnaround "an extraordinary growth story."

Revenue per slot machine per day has risen fourfold over that period. The property's market share relative to size — according to survey data — is also one of the highest in town, Wortman said.

Last week's opening of Station's nearby Red Rock Resort has thrown the performance of the 50,000 square-foot casino in doubt.

Wortman is bullish that the new casino will draw more customers from further afield, helping to grow Summerlin's potential casino market for everyone in the region.

"We think all of our customers are going to go over there and look at it — it's a gorgeous place," Wortman said of Red Rock. "But we think our customers will like the service we provide. We think there's enough business up here for us all to compete with."

The competition between Red Rock, Rampart and Boyd Gaming Corp.'s nearby Suncoast will be a good case study for casino operators who want to see what makes a slot club tick.

All three companies, the small Rampart included, have excellent slot club loyalty programs, said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor consumer newsletter.

"They really know how to keep their people at their properties," Curtis said. Getting people to switch slot clubs can be like switching airline carriers, he said.

Red Rock's obvious appeal will force other properties to ramp up their marketing efforts. But Red Rock will also have to give people enough value for their money, Curtis said.

The long-held notion that gamblers are loyal to certain properties, no matter what, is false, he said.

"People are going to check out Red Rock," Curtis said. "In the end, they're going to go where they think they are going to get the better deal. If they're not getting the points or mail backs they want, they are going to revert" to the competition.

Rampart General Manager Sal Semola said he's ready for the competition and that everyone will benefit from the continued growth of the Summerlin neighborhood.

"As supply has crept up, so has demand," he said. "I still think the market is underserved."

After taking over the management of the casino, Rampart officials removed some table games and installed more slot machines, which appeal more to locals. The property's 1,200 slots are still well short of Red Rock's more than 3,000 slot machines — one of the biggest floors in town.

The casino also has an aggressive direct mail campaign to attract nearby residents.

The Rampart's unusual size — smaller than big locals properties but bigger than the valley's dozens of relatively tiny casinos — is an advantage in the eyes of some customers, Wortman said.

"There's a group of people who like smaller properties," he said. "People go where they're comfortable and where they make friends. Going to a casino, to some degree, is a social event for them. And the Rampart has a neighborhood feel, there's no doubt about that."

With Station making a concerted effort to keep prices low at its $925 million resort and maintain the same kinds of gambler rewards perks as its other properties, the Rampart can't afford to look the other way.

"I think Wortman and Paulos are really on top of their game," Curtis said. "It will be interesting to see what happens."