Vol. 4, No. 7, July 2007
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Floor of the Future
How will the design of the casino change in the near future?
Much has been written lately regarding the surge in non-gaming revenues and the emerging focus on the redesign of food and beverage, retail and entertainment venues in today’s hotel casino property.
The rise of celebrity chefs, retail flagships, dream spa getaways and iconic hotel exteriors have contributed favorably to the appeal of the gaming hospitality experience. But what about the casino floor?
The casino floor itself often acts as the hub of all activity in these mega-resort and regional destinations. And even though gaming revenue represents less and less of the overall property top line, it is still by far one of the most critical components programmed into the master recipe. So, why have we not seen more change in the way the gaming floor looks, where it is located and the types of products it offers? Why does the floor look very similar in Las Vegas to how it looks in Atlantic City, Macau, California and countless other jurisdictions? Is there even a need to discuss the tried-and-true philosophy of casino design?
Trends and Challenges
Three very prominent influences are affecting the casino experience today and are laying the foundation for an entirely new gaming experience in the future. The first change has had a profound impact on current design and will continue to be implemented in properties around the world—the importing of non-gaming outlets. A common integration of dining, retail, clubs and entertainment is now seamlessly interwoven into the casino space.
Whether it is a hip and energetic dining space spilling out into the casino, center bar lounges perched above the table game pits or high-end retail stores adjacent to VIP gaming, non-gaming venues are no longer separated. There is a powerful synergy in putting products with common customers. For example, the energy of the casino floor blends nicely with the excitement of the nightclub, and customers often spend time enjoying each amenity.
The opposing trend to “importing” is the concept of “exporting” the casino experience into non-gaming venues. Pool landscaping includes a lush oasis of lagoons, palm trees, lounge chairs—and, increasingly, table games, offered as both a customer service amenity and a strong revenue-generator. Premium salons are being built on and off casino spaces that provide walk-up bars, live music, dining and a number of high-limit tables and slots. The club experience has been heightened exponentially with the infusion of table games to blend the high-energy dance beat with the equally compelling gaming action. You don’t need to leave the nightclub; instead, you have gaming in an entirely new environment.
The Palms Hotel Casino in Las Vegas executed this vision with its Playboy Club. This world-renowned entertainment brand captured the lifestyle and exclusivity elements for which nightclubs are famous—beautiful Bunnies dealing cards while players enjoy cocktails and the “scenery”—all in a restricted-access, admission-charging gaming club venue. It is a first in Las Vegas for a room not designated as a private VIP gaming room.
Finally, the last overwhelming trend that continues to redefine the casino experience is the advent of new technology. Ticket-in, ticket-out, server-based gaming, communal slot carousels, electronic table games and mobile gaming devices (PDAs) are all being introduced to the casino landscape. The positive effect on operations, customer service, payroll and the all-important financials is indisputable—and further solidifies the value in continuing to invest in multiple technological innovations and advancements.
These changes have another effect on the design of the casino floor: Less space is consumed with the reduction of change booths and service carousels. Aisles may get a bit wider without change carts or added floor personnel behind machines. Larger spaces are carved out for circular, interactive slot stations. Fewer machines may be needed, due to possible increased PDA usage and many games on one box via server-based gaming. Games and related signage and overall aesthetics can change instantaneously from a central server located off the casino floor.
These developments are just the tip of the iceberg of things to think about for the future.
Expert Opinion
To truly gauge where the casino of the future is headed, it is always important to look back at the evolution of the casino property and the influences that have changed the gaming experience over time. One needs to look no further than the experts in the gaming design world.
Nory Hazaveh is a partner with SOSH Architects, a firm focused on design solutions that reflect the evolving mix of activities for the ultimate patron experience. He has worked extensively on projects throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, for customers such as Harrah’s/Caesars, Trump Entertainment, Isle of Capri, Hilton and others. Hazaveh takes a historical approach to how casino design has been influenced.
“When gaming halls were more concentrated on table games and slot machines,” he says, “the patrons were identified with the types of games and where they preferred to play on the floor. As the patron’s sophistication increased, so did the gaming floors. Initially, this evolution was influenced by activities on the floor such as lounges and the cabaret-style shows. With concentration on an active floor and a maze-like circulation, they intentionally extended the time one might spend on the casino floor. This period was short-lived, as hotel rooms and amenities such as spas and other leisure factors were added in to form the mega-casinos—particularly the Las Vegas-style destination resorts.”
Hazaveh says this new customer experience led the designers and developers to think of additional leisure activities to incorporate into the gaming venues.
“The retail element is one of the oldest forms of human and product interface, and it became an addition to the gaming floor,” he points out. “Parallel with the development of retail, the restaurant and food-and-beverage venues joined the evolution.
“To continue to increase the diversity of gaming resorts, live entertainment has reached a new level of performance. As theaters became less profitable to operate individually in the cities, they have shown great strength and success within mega-casino resort projects.
This cultural evolution has given us, the designers, a palette of opportunities to create fascinating spaces to be occupied, used and enjoyed by a variety of people whose orientation may not be solely gaming but rather leisure and entertainment. It seems we have pushed and removed the gaming-hall perimeter walls and replaced them with leisure and entertainment design products.”
Shapes of Things
That will the casino gaming floor look like tomorrow? Few can answer that more effectively than one of the most innovative and sought-after hotel casino designers in the business today, Paul Steelman, principal of Steelman Partners LLP.
Having designed some of the most unique and successful properties in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere in the U.S., as well as Asia, Europe and South America, Steelman works closely with casino developers and operators to create unique gaming and entertainment destinations.
The Sands Macau, a Las Vegas Sands-owned property and the first Western-style property developed in this unique marketplace, challenged Steelman to not only design something iconic and representative of Las Vegas, but also to create a property that carefully respected Asian cultural principles and delivered an extraordinary customer experience specifically catered to Asian guests. These guests enjoy the casino environment more than in any other market in the world, so a differentiated and compelling casino design was necessary.
Steelman envisions many changes which will impact the way casinos are designed in the future. The first is the influence of natural light, creating a daytime and evening atmosphere and an ever-changing environment during different periods of the day. One of the more challenging directions he sees casino floor plans headed is the multi-level casino, especially given escalating land prices resulting in reduced floorplates and denser vertical designs.
“Our goal is to move people up and through and around the property, which requires us to focus on unique design decisions to transgress people floor to floor,” Steelman says. “Angular slices cut through the building will make higher floors as valuable financially as lower levels.”
Paul Heretakis, principal and architect with Westar Architecture and Interior Design, has completed casino design and remodeling projects for world-renowned gaming properties including the Venetian, Bellagio, Beau Rivage, Harrah’s Atlantic City and Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. Heretakis agrees with Steelman that casino design will become more three-dimensional in the future.
“Mezzanine gaming spaces, food and beverage venues intertwined in the casino space, and design elements and venues will create visual height changes,” says Heretakis. “The Generation X and Y customer will find this design much more appealing, as the blurred lines of functionality create a more voyeuristic aspect in the gaming experience. Multiple F&B experiences on different levels and attractive people in the casino, each watching the other on different levels, will create a visual and seamless integration of gaming and non-gaming activity in the same space.”
Bigger and Better?
Contrary to many opinions, Steelman sees the casino actually getting larger in overall square feet. The increased demand from both baby boomers and the younger generation of gaming enthusiasts will drive the need to alter the design and purpose of the casino.
“There will be more organizing points in the casino—lobbies, bars, public spaces,” he says. “Drama will be created in many smaller gaming spaces, and interconnecting them will make the casino proper bigger.”
Steelman is already seeing resurgence in table-game play, specifically high-limit gaming, and this trend requires more programming space.
“Increased gambling will be critical to offset rising land and building costs,” he says.
Heretakis believes that casinos will always focus on their core customer but will design amenities and “districts” to offer different experiences to different guest segments.
“Districts within the casino will be created to provide gaming experiences for multiple demographics,” says Heretakis. “Amenities such as retail, food and beverage, and entertainment will have to cater to each. This includes sensitivity to gender-related design. Females may prefer specific games in a district with a softer look and maybe a retail component. Males might want a poker area that is quite masculine in design and offers bar or club amenities. Either way, the guest does not need to leave the area to enjoy a non-gaming product—a space that is moving in the direction of a Starbucks-like lifestyle experience. It is your place.”
Brad Friedmutter, principal of the Friedmutter Design Group, has designed casino spaces and non-gaming amenities for developers and operators in various markets: Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch Hotel Casino for Station Casinos, the Cosmopolitan for Bruce Eichner’s 3700 Associates, all in Las Vegas; and the new expansion projects at Harrah’s Atlantic City and Trump Taj Mahal.
Friedmutter understands the challenge that many developers and operators face when designing their properties. Las Vegas and Atlantic City have close to 40 million visitors annually and are 24-hour, seven-days-a-week cities. They require a design task unlike any other type of project. Friedmutter says most casinos have been designed for the baby boomer population, and he anticipates some of the greatest challenges and opportunities coming from reconfiguring design to meet the needs and expectations of a new and powerful gaming segment: Generations X and Y.
“We may see video game room spaces like arcades with new types of slot products catering to the X and Y generations—high-energy, fast-paced, communal and competitive, visible yet secluded, integrated into the casino floor plan,” says Friedmutter. “A faster-paced experience with immediate gratification is the challenge. Design elements will look to fuse social status with casino games and entertainment experiences. We may see separate specific zones or pods that cater to targeted demographics with customized amenities and services to meet their respective needs, yet still allow for crossover.”
The Heart of Casino Design
The programming and design of the casino proper has not changed as dramatically as the non-gaming landscape. Only now are we beginning to see the changes come. It is starting with the infusion of gaming into salon prives where enclosed rooms house higher-end table games, chic bars, pulsating music and nattily attired servers, creating a truly differentiated casino experience.
From a design perspective, it is important to have these spaces blend together seamlessly, so they have shared energy and traffic, and easy access and use. Spaces should feed each other—restaurants bleed out into the casino space, table games are incorporated into clubs and lounges, and entertainment venues and retail spaces create anchors to drive people through the casino and other programmed areas.
Whether it is the high end, the middle-class mass market, or the budget-conscious, and regardless of whether your customer is of the younger generation of gaming enthusiasts or the older and more seasoned gamer, your casino design will offer elements that cater to these specific genres and their respective expectations.
The debate will continue on whether gaming is a shared or intimate experience. Should non-gaming elements continue to be interspersed into the casino floor, or should gaming be infused into entertainment and hotel venues to offer a wider menu of choices? Either way, the newest technologies, changing customer segments and the ever-evolving casino landscape will require both flexible and innovative design for years to come.
Nobody can clearly foresee what the future casino will look like. One thing is for sure: As the demands, dynamics and demographics of the casino’s customer continue to change, so too will the casino’s design.
