Wisconsin Dells – Nick Laskaris, owner of one of the Dells’ largest tourist attractions, traces the origins of his multimillion-dollar business to a small stash of cash his mother had bundled away and forgotten.
His parents, the late Jim and Fotoula Laskaris, had moved to Wisconsin Dells from the Chicago area in 1970 to open a hot dog and hamburger stand. But their Big Chief restaurant had such sparse sales that the couple were soon running out of cash. They decided to return to Illinois.
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That’s when they discovered a windfall: $700, wrapped in a sock, hidden in a desk and forgotten by Fotoula Laskaris, who had a habit of storing cash around the house. The couple used the money – worth about $4,000 today – to keep their business afloat.
More than 40 years later, Nick, and his wife, Eva, own Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park, as well as the Top Secret attraction, Hotel Rome and other properties totaling 220 acres. The Laskaris family in recent months bought and remodeled six other hotels along with a campground, a $22 million investment that makes them the second-largest owner of Dells-area hotel rooms.
“With that $700, we are where we’re at today,” said Nick Laskaris, who keeps the small desk in his office. “That’s what kept us here.”
Laskaris was just 4 years old when his parents moved to the Dells. He and Eva operate businesses that stretch over a mile along Wisconsin Dells Parkway, the 5-mile strip of hotels, restaurants, waterparks and attractions in the state’s largest tourism destination. The Laskaris family’s businesses, which have about 1,000 employees during the peak season, provide a more affordable choice for vacationers than the large waterpark resorts that are popular in the Dells.
At Hotel Rome, a family of four staying during a late June weekend would pay an average nightly rate of $223. But at other Laskaris-owned hotels, daily rates on the Mt. Olympus website recently were much lower, ranging from $117 at Poseidon’s Village to $155 at Mykonos Resort. Hotel guests get free daily passes to Mt. Olympus, which has waterparks and amusement parks, featuring roller coasters and go-carts, and is known for its 65-foot Trojan horse and other Greek mythology décor.
At Great Wolf Lodge waterpark resort, rates for the same June weekend started at $220. At Kalahari resort, the starting room rate was $260, according to online searches.
‘Like cruise ships’
Great Wolf, Kalahari, Wilderness Territory and Chula Vista Resort are the largest resorts in the Dells area. Their indoor waterparks over the past 15 years have transformed the Dells into a full-year tourism destination, helping generate more than $1 billion in annual spending by visitors to Sauk County, according to the state Department of Tourism.
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But while they draw more money to the Dells, the big resorts make it harder for older hotels without waterparks to compete, said Tom Diehl, president of Tommy Bartlett Inc. Meanwhile, guests who stay at the large waterpark resorts, which include gaming centers, spas, golf courses and other features, are less likely to visit other Dells attractions, such as Mt. Olympus or the Tommy Bartlett Show.
“They’re like cruise ships,” Diehl said. “People tend not to leave because they have so many amenities.”
Empire expands
Those trends led the Laskaris family in 2004 to merge what was then called Big Chief’s Mt. Olympus Theme Park with two adjacent businesses owned by the Mattei family: Treasure Island Waterpark Resort and Family Land Waterpark.
That merger created Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. The Laskaris family added new attractions, including a roller coaster that has a stretch that runs underground, and shops and restaurants overseen by Eva Laskaris.
In 2007, Nick and Eva Laskaris bought out the Mattei family’s operations. Treasure Island hotel was converted into Hotel Rome, with a faux Roman Colosseum facade, while the nearby Pleasant View Motel was remodeled and renamed Mykonos Village.
The Laskarises made a bigger move into the hotel business over this past fall and winter. They bought six hotels and a campground, most of them near Mt. Olympus, and remodeled and renamed them in keeping with the Greek theme.
With that $22 million investment, the Laskaris family owns 832 hotel rooms. Laskaris says that’s second only to the Wilderness Resort and its affiliated properties, which have more than 1,100 rooms.
Protecting an investment
Along with a new revenue stream, the additional hotel rooms draw customers to Mt. Olympus by offering up to four free passes for each room, Laskaris said. Those free passes generate cash as customers spend money at Mt. Olympus shops and restaurants.
By remodeling the hotels, Laskaris is improving older sections of Wisconsin Dells Parkway, which is showing its age. The hotels now have hardwood floors, modern interior décor and new bathroom fixtures.
“I did this to protect my investment” in Mt. Olympus, Laskaris said.
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Diehl said improvements are needed for older Dells properties.
“We just cannot have a blighted strip,” said Diehl, a village trustee for Lake Delton, where many area attractions and hotels are located.
Laskaris also bought Shipwreck Lagoon Mini Golf, where he’s adding a go-cart track. He is leasing a former restaurant building that will house a new nightclub, Wett, to open in July.
The acquisitions are being financed through land contracts, with Laskaris making payments to the sellers over 10 to 12 years. Bank loans weren’t available, he said.
That do-it-yourself ethos runs in the family.
His father designed and built the family’s first go-cart track in 1975. Nick and his sister, Penny, helped their parents run the family business, which had grown after its rocky start to include elevated go-cart tracks and roller coasters. Today, Nick and Eva’s daughters, Fotini and Maria, help out at Mt. Olympus.
What would Dad say?
Demetrios “Jim” Laskaris, who died in 2003, would approve of the family work ethic. But he wouldn’t be thrilled about the aggressive expansion, Nick Laskaris said.
“Dad would frickin’ kill me right now,” Laskaris said. “He believed if you build something, it had to be paid off immediately. You can do that, but you grow slowly. I’m more of a risk-taker.”
However, Laskaris says he isn’t reckless. His experiences surviving brain cancer and heart surgery give him an appreciation for life. And he vividly remembers his parents’ early business struggles, as well as his father’s battles with competitors and local officials who viewed the Greek immigrant as an outsider.
“Everyone was against him. I grew up with that,” Laskaris said. “Maybe that’s why I push as hard as I do.”
Source: https://t-tees.com
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