Eighteen months ago, the Golden Nugget was hardly an afterthought in a New Jersey online casino market dominated by the likes of the Borgata and Caesars.

Yet by April 2015, the Nugget was topping the revenue charts, owning 31 percent of the market and becoming the first operator to generate more than $3 million in casino revenue.

In the latest issue of iGaming Business North America, Landry’s VP of Online Gaming, Thomas Winter, recounts Golden Nugget’s meteoric rise from virtual obscurity to Operator of the Year.

The Golden Nugget’s entry into New Jersey’s iGaming market was marred by technical difficulties, ultimately delaying the official launch of its casino product by several weeks, and its poker offering indefinitely.

It also prompted a strategic decision by management to hold back on marketing until its product was up to snuff.

Ironically, missing out on the first marketing wave gifted the Golden Nugget a significant, and perhaps unanticipated, competitive advantage.

As a result, when the Golden Nugget did finally decide to ramp up its marketing spend in March/April 2014, it rapidly became the predominant face of online gaming in New Jersey.

What resulted was the operator more than doubling its market share over the next five months (5 percent in April to 11 percent in September).

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