Game Time: Cultivating the Modern Casino Experience
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When the State of Nevada legalized gambling in 1931 as part of a legislative effort to spur economic recovery in the wake of the Great Depression, it was a watershed moment for American gaming. While it would take a few decades for the popular conception of the modern casino to truly take hold, the gaming boom would transform not just the civic landscape of Las Vegas, but the role of gambling in the popular consciousness. As important as that moment was, however, the gaming renaissance underway today may ultimately prove to be just as transformative.
Today, gaming is experiencing an explosion of popularity. No longer limited almost exclusively to Vegas and Atlantic City, new casinos continue to open in markets across the country. With growing prevalence and popularity comes a corresponding surge in innovation with inspired modern casino environments. Leading developers are rethinking long-held assumptions about what a casino "should" look and feel like-and are infusing some of the best new design concepts and entertainment experiences into gaming spaces.
Along the way, the faux opulence and grim utilitarian undertones of some traditional casinos is being replaced by genuinely immersive, experiential, and fully realized entertainment environments. Cultivating the modern casino experience is more art than science, but there are key principles and common characteristics that inform the design and activation of the best new casinos.
The Gaming Anchor
The newest generation of cutting-edge casinos introduce a modern edge to an otherwise standard entertainment experience. While new development opportunities are necessarily limited by regulatory restrictions, successful gaming projects still go through some of the same market- and opportunity-specific evaluations to dictate the contours of the project. One consistent pattern that is evident across new gaming projects is that non-gaming venues are assessed with the same kind of analytical vigor and considered in the context of both the market and as part of a larger gaming anchor. A great casino can be an entertainment anchor in much the same way as a modern sports stadium: the centerpiece of a dynamic entertainment district.
The Use Case
For Baltimore-based developer The Cordish Companies, one of the key ingredients to designing a great casino is approaching every new gaming project from the point of view of a developer with deep roots in immersive entertainment. Cordish has emerged as a national leader in gaming development and operations with standard-setting gaming destinations like the two Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, Florida (the first Hard Rock hotels and casinos in the United States outside of Las Vegas) and Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh. These projects rank among the top-performing and most profitable gaming operations in the world.
These examples are first and foremost about creating places people want to be. The company has full in-house development, construction and operating capabilities for destination resorts and casinos, but the roots of the organization are planted deep in the worlds of retail, restaurant and hospitality. This is in stark contrast to the way many casinos are developed: with complementary use positioned as amenities or peripheral elements to gaming. The best of the new generation of casinos are elevated precisely because the mix of uses is not an afterthought or an obligation, but a carefully considered and consciously designed synergy.
Master-Planned Cohesion
That synergy does not happen by accident. The modern casino experience is elevated by exquisite attention to detail, with every element of the guest experience curated and thoughtfully integrated into development decision-making. From subtle design details to procedural and operational intricacies, the best casinos are a testament to the way spaces and places that appeal to all five senses and seamlessly integrate a range of uses can become truly unique. These are case studies in master-planned cohesion: gaming destinations enriched by concepts and activities that don't just connect to each other, but build off one another. In other words: the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
For example, Cordish recently broke ground on its up and coming Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana in Bossier City, complete with 47,000-square-feet of gaming space, a 550-room hotel, a resort pool, and an event center alongside restaurants and bars. The project brings together cohesive uses that combine to create a truly remarkable casino and entertainment destination.
An Immersive Entertainment Experience
Developer and casino and resort mogul Steve Wynn once said that Casino gambling is colorful and dramatic and theatrical.
But theatricality without substance is quick to lose its luster. The best of today's leading casinos don't just draw you in, they give you plenty of compelling reasons to stay. Critically, that appeal does not necessarily begin with gaming-and it certainly does not end with gaming, either. While the energy and excitement of gaming is the centerpiece of every casino, the right complementary elements can create an environment where there is always something new and different to do-and somewhere new to explore. That sense of exploration and discovery can manifest in a wide range of unique and creative ways, from grand promotions to a self-guided art tour that guests can experience, complete with small moments and surprises that make a visit feel memorable.
For Cordish Companies' Live! entertainment brand, which started with entertainment districts and now welcomes over 55 million annual visitors to its high-profile sports, entertainment, hotel and gaming destinations nationwide, it's not just about high-end facilities and amenities, but also about creativity and the excitement of the unexpected.
Today's guests expect to be entertained, not just served-and unique experiences and signature environments can do just that. For casino developers and operators looking to deliver a modern casino environment, everything must be viewed through the lens of a space that delivers that immersive entertainment experience. That mindset permeates down through the design and the operational parameters of the entire project.
Details, Please
Spectacular technology like the breakthrough visuals delivered by The Sphere in Las Vegas is central to the experience for concertgoers in that instantly iconic venue. However, some of the best tech in gaming lies behind the scenes, as part of a security and entertainment infrastructure that is designed to make guests feel safe, welcomed and comfortable. That said, atmospheric lighting and vibrant signage is a big part of the signature casino energy guests have come to expect. In the best new gaming spaces, cutting-edge sound systems with seamless integration of gaming to environmental sound and lighting can make the activity in a modern casino feel even more communal and immersive in nature.
In other details, don't underestimate the power of a good casino loyalty program. As a company who is consistently nationally recognized for its Live! Rewards Loyalty Program, which is annually named one of the best casino loyalty programs in the country by USA Today, giving back a little can go a long way with guests.
Ultimately, it is all about facilitating an experience, and recognizing that no opportunity should be missed to make that happen.
Play Ball!
The exploding popularity of sports betting means that the intersection of sports and gaming needs to be a much larger and more prominent piece of the casino puzzle. The best modern examples are noticeably different from more traditional Vegas-style sportsbooks and their rows of recliners and screens. The modern casino experience uses the energy and excitement of gameday as inspiration for environments that are truly next level. From streamers, smoke guns, and confetti cannons, to VJs hosting and providing color commentary, the multisensory elements of an arena-like environment add an engaging level of participatory excitement to every event.
Add outstanding food choices, creative drink menus, and social games and other inspired and interactive ways for guests to stay fully engaged and the result is a gaming environment that is animated and active in ways that rival even the most spectacular live sporting events. Look no further than Cordish's own nationally acclaimed Sports & Social sports betting, dining and entertainment concept for inspiration. Sports & Social exists as an important destination in several of the company's casino properties, and even partners with sports betting giants like DraftKings and FanDuel in select locations to provide an elevated and integrated sports betting experience.
Eat, Drink and Be Merry
While different developers and casino operators have their own proprietary design concepts, one consistent theme is the intentional integration of dining and drinking environments into the gaming space. Some even have a portfolio of successful brands and proven concepts designed specifically to thrive in a gaming environment.
Cordish's partnership with The Professional Bull Riders to create the iconic PBR Cowboy Bar is also a standout example of including exciting new uses into casinos today. The concept offers an authentic country nightlife experience complete with a mechanical bull, line dancing, live music, bottle service and more.
Integrating dining and other non-gaming entertainment within casino spaces is not always just a matter of layout and location, but strategic and complementary design decisions. Locating an open-air Asian fusion restaurant in the middle of the casino, for example, directly adjacent to the Asian casino games, allows the delicious smells and visuals of the restaurant to become part of the atmosphere.
Above and Beyond
Casinos are known for being places of excess-in the best possible way. One of the ways that modern casino environments honor that tradition, and create an atmosphere charged by the energy that comes from the unpredictable, is to reinforce the notion that these are places where anything can (and does) happen. Cordish Companies CEO David Cordish has been known to make surprise visits to Cordish casinos to give away cash (or even cars!) to gamers, or to invite large groups of guests to enjoy unique experiences like batting practice at the local MLB stadium or a complementary trip to the Smithsonian Museum.
Whether it's a football throwing contest or competing against Shaquille O'Neal in an impromptu basketball shoot off, the goal is the same. Create a spectacle. If there is one idea that encapsulates the thinking that elevates the best modern casino environments, it's to create spaces where that spectacle becomes accessible. To reinforce the notion that the casino is a place where you come to not just have a great time, but to see and experience things you quite literally cannot get anywhere else.
Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/.
