Casino Design Considerations

Article on Casino Design Considerations

PLUS Side Bar with Design Checklist

Ron Lewis, Consultant McGhie Consulting Published June 1998 Gaming & Leisure International

In years gone by casino operators could afford to have a “build it and they will come” attitude. That’s not the case anymore.

The design of a successful casino begins with an understanding of where the money comes from-the customer. When players had few choices, marketing was simple. Let the gamblers know where to find you, offer them a few incentives and they showed up. These days it’s not so easy. Most people in North America live within a day’s drive of one or more gaming areas. Most of those gaming areas have multiple casinos. Marketing has become a tough, competitive business. Accordingly, a casino should be designed from the ground up to support that marketing.

There are different ways to look at potential markets. You might classify players as grind, middle or premium. You might also identify local, traveler or destination markets. What it boils down to is understanding how much your customers will spend and how far they have to travel to reach the casino. Other significant niche markets include Asian or Middle-Eastern players.

The geographic location of a casino is a huge consideration. A hard look at demographics and travel patterns is well worth the time. How much competition is nearby? And what kinds of customers do they specialize in? How affluent are people in potential target markets? Who already visits the area? Who might be lured away from another gaming area?

A destination resort needs to be someplace a destination traveler will actually want to spend time. Politicians frequently imagine they can solve tax problems by building destination resorts in run down inner-cities. In those surroundings a more realistic approach would be to expect the bulk of the customers to live nearby. Accordingly the design of the casino should reflect the expected customers.

The holy grail of the casino industry is that elite group of players known as high-rollers. These players can choose from any gaming destination in the world. They expect personal service, a luxury hotel and first-class amenities. Because high-rollers are so coveted, most casinos find problems competing in this market.

A casino operator should commit to a market segment. Casinos that try to be “all things to all people" usually miss the mark. There are many examples of this. Luxurious facilities are intermixed with less lavish offerings like value-priced buffets or video arcades. The result is confusion for the customer. Those with less money don’t feel they belong in the opulently-styled buildings. At the same time, wealthy players think the operation looks tacky. All too often the result is an empty casino.

Gaming is fundamentally a form of entertainment. With that in mind, casino theming is a basic consideration. What kind of imagery or non-gaming attractions will appeal to the target market? The most successful casinos have chosen an identity and run with it. There is no magic formula. The carnival theme (with acrobats flying overhead) has worked for Circus Circus. A live action pirate show put Treasure Island on the map. And now, Las Vegas heavy-weight Steve Wynn is betting the understated elegance of an Italian villa will do the trick at his new Bellagio. Those are successes. Failed operations have often spent big bucks on amenities that on one wanted. There’s a limit to how many people want to ride rollercoasters.

Support facilities can make or break a casino. Customers will base their opinions on the entire experience-not just the gambling. Sometimes it’s the shopping or the golf or the health spa that makes the difference. Research into the tastes of the target market is a good starting place for decision making about the support facilities.

When it comes to designing a hotel tower, more is better. The farther a player has to travel from his home to your casino, the more he’s likely to gamble. The more rooms a casino has, the more premium players it can afford to keep on the property. The experience in every destination gaming area is that revenues only go up when the number of rooms goes up.

Parking is an easily overlooked amenity. There’s nothing particularly glamorous about parking. Parking garages are expensive to build, and they don’t even look impressive in architects’ renderings. Yet, for North American casinos the parking (or lack of it) can be make all the difference in the world. Players who have driven to a gaming area often stick close to wherever their car is.

Once you have targeted a market segment and chosen a theme it gets down to the nuts-and-bolts of designing the physical building. This takes an understanding of how people move about casino facilities and how the operations actually work. Since not all customers will be on the casino floor at the same time (some will be in the restaurants, show lounges, bars, their rooms) it is the total number of guests in the complex which represents the true potential of the casino. In one casino an escalator system was designed to carry players from the restaurant right out the exit doors rather than deliver them to the gaming floor. In another casino, concrete floors were put down without providing alleyways for electrical wires and cables. In still another facility, room service had to push food carts through the main casino because the service elevators were on the opposite side of the building from the kitchen.

The layout of a casino floor is a subjective matter. It has to be inviting, but how do you accomplish that? A complex maze of slot machines can create a sense of adventure as players walk through. On the other hand, the same machines in a slightly different layout might look cluttered and cause a sense of disorientation.

The mix of games is forever changing in every casino. But, an operator needs to know where to start. The type of players in the target market determines the basic ratio between table games and slot machines (actually, the current jargon term is Electronic Gaming Devices, or EGD’s, which includes video poker, video keno & mulitplay machines, as well as traditional slot machines). Low end players are more likely to favor slots. As players have more money, they’re more inclined towards table games. Within table games there are niche segments to consider. Baccarat is a favorite game of the true high-rollers. Some Asian players prefer Pai Gow Poker which is almost unknown to most players. On the slot side, there are more options than ever, with new companies appearing all the time, and established firms introducing new products. Installation of the newest whiz-bang machines is a double-edged sword. It gives customers a chance for a very different experience. But, having a few machines from each of many vendors can cause headaches. Every model needs its own inventory of parts and trained repair personnel.

If casino managers believe they have a shot at attracting high-rollers, it brings on a difficult design problem. Setting up high limit gaming areas can give big money players the feeling they’re in a special place-away from the rabble. On the other hand, if you move those tables too far away from the rest of the action, the sense of excitement might disappear. Again, it’s a part of that tricky art of knowing the customers and what they want.

Computers are changing the way business works in every industry, gaming is no exception. Information management systems should be built into any new casino. Player tracking and online slot monitoring systems are now standard issue equipment for modern casinos. We encourage clients to look to the future as well. A little expense today can make the transition to a “smart card” based system easy in the future. No one knows quite what the future holds, but we know the trend is toward more and more electronic transactions. Anything that gives the customer convenient options for payment should be considered. Proprietary systems with no options for expansion will probably come back to haunt the purchasers sooner rather than later. A high-tech amenity that’s easy to overlook is modem access in hotel rooms. Many affluent guests need to stay connected to the outside world. Having a “business travelers” room with personal computers is a nice touch. But, even better is making sure guests can connect a laptop computer to the phone line in their room so they can check e-mail with their own computer.

It all begins with the customer. A casino operator with a solid understanding of who is going to come through the door stands a good chance of putting the right pieces together. Even in the competitive market of 1998, the right casino in the right place stands a fighting chance.

SIDEBAR (Casino Design Checklist)

STEP A: Determine the market segments.

1. Local

2. Conventions

3. Tour and Travel

4. Free independent travelers

5. Invited Guests

STEP B: Determine the scale

1. Cost limits - What can we afford?

2. Market analysis - Consider the location. What is the potential customer draw?

3. Competition - Where would we fit in the market?

4. Support facilities - How many rooms? How much parking? Number and size of restaurants? Bars? Change booths, etc?

5. Recompute estimated cost - Can we afford what we have planned?

STEP C: Develop the floor plan

1. Traffic flow - How will the people move to and from the support facilities and through the gaming area?

2. Bus customers (if applicable) - Are there restrooms next to the bus door? Are there eating facilities where people can be served quickly and inexpensively?

3. Customers drawn by restaurant - Will the restaurant traffic have to flow past the games?

4. Operational movement - Can we move inventory, including money, to and from service areas easily and securely?

5. Future expansion - Have we provided for a direction to grow? Does it include more than just casino floor expansion?

STEP D: Create the proper atmosphere

1. Games mix (ratio of crap games to blackjack games; table games to slot machines, and within the slot machines, the ration of denomination and type) - Is the mix consistent with marketing style? Will it provide a high level of unit play?

2. Games arrangement - Can the employees service the games? Can the customers move past them, yet form comfortable groups?

3. Interior design - Does the casino design add excitement? Do the lights enhance the games or wash them out?

4. Seasonal flexibility - Will the floor be as exciting when cut back to less than a full selection of games?

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BIO/COMPANY HISTORY

Ron Lewis is a consultant with McGhie Consulting in Reno, Nevada. He has performed financial analyses of casinos across North America. His background also includes television news reporting and production. McGhie Consulting provides a wide range of services to the gambling industry. Recent projects have included feasibility, design, marketing, lease compliance and litigation support services. You can reach McGhie Consulting at (775) 329-2999 or find more information on the Web at www.200.com/consulting.

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