Kenny Dichter’s Real SLX Is Getting Phygital With FanDuel And BetMGM

Private aviation entrepreneur Kenny Dichter is getting phygital on his new journey to reinvent the sports and lifestyle experience space, announcing partnerships with FanDuel and BetMGM this afternoon.

Dichter helped broaden access to private jets via jet card start-ups Marquis Jet Partners in 2001 and then Wheels Up in 2013.

For private flyers, the guaranteed availability jet cards made booking private flights as easy as an email, phone call or tapping on an app.

As a thank you for spending hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars, both offered hospitality at top sporting events, including the Super Bowl and Masters golf championship.

Those events, where high net worth members mixed with each other, star athletes and performers, created longstanding friendships and even business partnerships.

It also inspired his newest venture. After exiting Wheels Up last year, he launched REAL SLX this past September.

Phygital is described as leveraging digital and physical experiences to create a more robust customer experience and, in the process, gaining a bigger share of wallet.

Via REAL SLX, partners like FanDuel and BetMGM, both digital businesses, will now be able to reward key customers with money can’t buy access and experiences during marquee sporting events.

According to Dichter, who appeared with Scott Wapner on CNBC this afternoon, REAL SLX will hold what he describes as its 2025 tent-pole events during the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Women’s Collegiate Basketball Final Four in Tampa, the Masters golf tournament week in Augusta, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City and the Ryder Cup, being held at Bethpage State Park on Long Island.

Previous Dichter events enabled his millionaire next-door private jet clients to rub elbows with top entertainers, athletes, coaches and executives from the worlds of music and sports. They included the likes of Hall of Fame NFL superstar Deion Sanders, now the head football coach at the University of Colorado and four-time Super Champion Joe Montana to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Deputy Commissioner Noah Garden and often ended up in Page Six.

Pollster Frank Luntz on CNN said of Dichter’s latest endeavor, “There’s a company in the process of being founded that’s going to offer real people a real opportunity to get behind the scenes, to jump the ropes, to get in the front row of the things that matter most to them and is being led by somebody I’m calling the Willy Wonka of 2024, and he’s got a whole bunch of golden tickets to give to anyone tired of politics and just wants to have fun.”

Rao’s, the New York City eatery where you must know a regular to get a reservation, and its Chef Dino Gatto will be part of the events. In addition to the famous meatballs, Dichter events typically featured Q&A sessions with famous athletes and musical performances in a setting that provided a convivial atmosphere, something he says not only created memories and friendships but also a host of business deals.

Dichter says there are no plans to sell individual memberships this time, meaning access will be via his corporate partners.

The start-up’s debut will be next month at the PGA versus LIV Golf match in Las Vegas, where Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler will face off against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

Dichter says, “As the official experience partner, we’ll provide special access and hospitality for our members and partners.”