Casino Style Magazine 2021

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HAVE A SEAT | ESPORTS & CASINOS | BUILDING EXCITEMENT | GAMING AND HOT SPRINGS

CASINOStyle 2021

Non-Gaming Amenities for Integrated Resorts • $10

A GGB publication

The Next Generation IR Resorts World Las Vegas breaks new ground on design and technology

Amenities Aweigh The latest and greatest non-gaming attractions

Casinos

After Covid How the pandemic has changed the way casinos are designed and operated

Official Publication of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers

designed to

inspire.

architecture • interiors • planning www.sosharch.com

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a

GGB publication

2021

CASINOStyle CONTENTS

20 Cover Story

A Whole New World It’s grand, groundbreaking, and the first new integrated resort on the Strip in 10 years: Resorts World Las Vegas. The timing of the development, completed amid Covid-19 shutdowns, informed its technological strides and service protocols, and may be a guidepost for future IRs.

COLUMN: 44 Purchasing The Great Comeback

By Carl Long

DEPARTMENTS: 4 Publisher’s Letter

By Roger Gros

FEATURES:

6 Building Excitement A roundup of the year’s most innovative casino design projects

16 Design After Covid In the gaming industry, 2020 will be remembered as a year of unique challenges—and often radical change.

Here’s how the pandemic affected resort design.

By Dave Bontempo

26 Esports: The Next Big Thing?

Esports—is it gaming? Is it entertainment? Is it even sports?

The verdict is still out, but there’s no denying the appeal of esports for its passionate fans.

By Bill Sokolic

Style Spotlight 38 HBG 40 Bergman, Walls & Associates 40 Gary Platt Manufacturing 42 Cuningham 42 PMI 43 SOSH Architects 43 TBE Architects

30 New World of Non-Gaming Business as usual is history. The industry today faces all-new consumer expectations and economic realities, particularly in the non-gaming space.

46 Classic Hotels The Way It Was Hot Springs History

By Kit Szybala

By Patrick Roberts

34 Here’s Your Seat Before it was a buzzword, Gary Platt Manufacturing made a practice of sustainability. In the 21st century, the standard matters even more.

By Marjorie Preston 2021 CASINO STYLE 3

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER A GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS PUBLICATION 2021

Silver Lining

Roger Gros, Publisher | rgros@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @GlobalGamingBiz Frank Legato, Editor | flegato@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @FranklySpeakn

Roger Gros, Publisher

Marjorie Preston, Managing Editor mpreston@ggbmagazine.com Monica Cooley, Art Director mcooley@ggbmagazine.com

W

hen the world shut down in 2020, the gaming industry was just one of many to be severely impacted. As an in-person entertainment option, casinos were hit hard and long by the disaster that was the pandemic.

Revenue completely disappeared. Plans went up in smoke. And no one knew how long, deep or devastating the shutdown would be.

Even when casinos began to slowly reopen, many people hesitated to return, and rightfully so. The amount of information and misinformation was extraordinarily confusing. Some countries shut down completely and were hardhit. Others stayed open and didn’t suffer any worse. U.S. casinos started to come back in three or four months, while Canadian and Australian casinos were shuttered for more than 18 months. It’s understandable that people were confused and remain skeptical about any future predictions about the Covid bug.

But a few things we learned during the pandemic have already been beneficial to gaming.

Let’s start with online gaming and sports betting. Jurisdictions where remote betting was legal did not suffer as badly as those limited to bricks-and-mortar casinos. Tax money continued to flow, albeit at a lower level, and didn’t completely disappear in those states. States with no legalized online gaming or sports betting will now seriously consider these options, knowing if another pandemic occurs, the revenue stream will not dry up completely.

Communications with guests once was hit or miss for most gaming companies. Yes, they still send out direct mail. Yes, there’s an email list that goes to their massive databases. But casino executives have learned that players need a more personal experience—more targeted and familiar. They’re starting to consider programs that utilize artificial intelligence, which mines individual customer data to learn players’ needs and desires—even if the players themselves don’t realize it yet.

Casino design, as you’ll see from the feature story in this magazine, has changed dramatically.

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Where once slots were jammed together and players seemingly sat on top of each other, there are now smaller carousels of three or four machines, with seating at least 90 degrees away from the next gaming position. The machines are larger and more spectacular, with screens that seem to touch the ceilings.

Spots at blackjack and baccarat tables have largely been reduced, so a seven-spot table now has a maximum of five. The Plexiglas that went up as casinos reopened hasn’t completely disappeared, and still gives players a sense of security.

Are buffets a thing of the past? Not necessarily. But guests handling service spoons or hovering over a salad bar may be gone. Most casinos are now opting for food courts, with the same variety but at an increased cost. Are casino executives sorry to see the buffets disappear? Most believe these loss leaders will be changed forever.

You may think it’s an anomaly that the last two covers of Casino Style featured brandnew Las Vegas resorts where the pools are front and center and spectacular. But you may be missing the boat. Pools and spas are growing in importance, and need to be a part of any new project, no matter where it’s located.

And of course, the trend toward cashless transactions accelerated during the pandemic.

Who wants to handle money that just left someone else’s hands, and changed hands many times before that? Casino execs are encouraging the move to cashless. A recent study showed that it costs a casino $15 to process every $100 of cash. But cashless transactions reduce that cost to less than a dollar.

How soon will players adopt cashless? Let’s ask the millennials, who rarely carry cash and use their phones to make any and all transactions.

So yes, the pandemic was painful, to be sure. But in the very near future, maybe that pain will lead to pleasure, as the casino experience becomes more efficient and transparent.

Terri Brady, Sales & Marketing Director tbrady@ggbmagazine.com Becky Kingman-Gros, Chief Operating Officer bkingros@ggbmagazine.com Lisa Johnson, Communications Advisor lisa@lisajohnsoncommunications.com twitter: @LisaJohnsonPR Columnists Carl Long Contributing Editors Dave Bontempo twitter: @bontempomedia Patrick Roberts | Bill Sokolic twitter: @downbeachfilm Kit Szybala __________________

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Rino Armeni, President, Armeni Enterprises

•

Mark A. Birtha, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Hard Rock International

• Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President, Lifescapes International

• Nicholas Casiello Jr., Shareholder, Fox Rothschild

• Jeffrey Compton, Publisher, CDC E-Reports twitter: @CDCNewswire

• Dean Macomber, President, Macomber International, Inc.

• Stephen Martino, Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, MGM Resorts International, twitter: @stephenmartino

• Jim Rafferty, President, Rafferty & Associates

• Thomas Reilly, Vice President Systems Sales, Scientific Games

• Michael Soll, President, The Innovation Group

• Katherine Spilde, Executive Director, Sycuan Gaming Institute, San Diego State University, twitter: @kspilde

• Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association twitter: @NIGA1985

• Roy Student, President, Applied Management Strategies

• David D. Waddell, Partner Regulatory Management Counselors PC Casino Connection International LLC. 1000 Nevada Way • Suite 204 • Boulder City, NV 89005 702-248-1565 • 702-248-1567 (fax) www.ggbmagazine.com The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor.

Copyright 2021 Global Gaming Business LLC. Boulder City, NV 89005 GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Casino Connection International, LLC. Printed in Nevada, USA. Postmaster: Send Change of Address forms to: 1000 Nevada Way, Suite 204, Boulder City, NV 89005

Official Publication

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort Hot Springs, Arkansas

DESIGNING EXPERIENCES THAT ARE

T R A N S F O R M A T I V E

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BUILDING Winners’ Circle

Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort • Hot Springs, Arkansas

T

he racetrack name may be as revered as the resort city it occupies: Oaklawn Racing in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 1904, Oaklawn opened as a 1,500-seat grandstand, hosting high-stakes thoroughbred races. In the past 100-plus years, it has become the No. 1 tourist attraction in the state, and is now known as Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

In 2009, HBG Design was instrumental in the addition of a casino to the jockey club, and then oversaw a casino expansion and renovation in 2015.

Most recently, Oaklawn turned to HBG to lead the architecture and interior design for the newest large-scale racing and gaming resort expansion.

It includes an eight-story, 198-room hotel with thrilling views of the horse track, a 15,000-square-foot event center, an expanded gaming floor and new high-limit area, a world-class spa and pool, and multiple upscale food and beverage venues including a food court, the First Turn Bar and the Bugler restaurant.

The Cella family, owners and operators of Oaklawn for generations, looked for a design that emphasized the resort’s roots in racing. HBG’s “tailored equestrian” concept more than fulfills that vision. The expansion took many design cues from Hot Springs’ heyday as America’s First Spa Resort, renowned for its thermal springs and iconic Victorian bathhouses.

Designers followed the strong horizontal silhouettes of the original grandstand to inform much of the aesthetic, introducing linear, interlocking volumes and building shapes to tie the elements together aesthetically. A new video wall builds anticipation as guests arrive.

Visual notes in the building’s architecture bring to mind thoroughbreds galloping to the finish line, adding a sense of movement to the iconic hotel mass.

Color and texture add visual interest, with metal panels in shades of red, orange, tan and blue-gray contrasting with a lighter-hued stone base and columns to continue the contemporary aesthetic. Corrugated materials on the exterior recall the grooves left on the racetrack turf after it is smoothed by chain harrows.

Bold architectural gestures highlight the two-story lobby and soaring prefunction space. The grand staircase and escalators are striking features of the tall entry lobby, and lead patrons to the new food court, main gaming floor and hotel guest rooms.

The lobby combines a refined modern aesthetic with historical undercurrents, using a restrained gray-blue, navy and tan color palette, natural woodplank ceiling, traditional patterned tile, marble finishes, and a breathtaking circular gold metallic chandelier.

The theme continues underfoot, in the carpet pattern, with overlapping planes that bring to mind galloping horses. They work together with lighting

6 CASINO STYLE 2021

and pattern to create a sense of movement around the floor. The subtle equestrian theme continues in the sophisticated guest rooms and suites, for an aligned guest experience from end to end.

The use of glass fosters indoor/outdoor connection. To reinforce racing as the main attraction, the new hotel and amenity structures wrap around the track.

All design references in the expansion subtly hint at the rich horse racing heritage at Oaklawn, using abstract design themes as the catalyst for discovery. As Oaklawn General Manager Wayne Smith noted at the opening of the newly expanded space, “You’ll find throughout the whole facility that racing is in some way, shape or form involved in the design. What we want people to recognize is we are a racetrack first, and then we are a hotel and casino next.”

Smith said Oaklawn offers guests a “new level of luxury“ in the historic resort city.

OWNERS: The Cella Family ARCHITECTURAL & INTERIOR DESIGN: HBG Design TOTAL INVESTMENT: $100 million-plus OPENED: April 2021

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Creek Rising Quil Ceda Creek Casino • Tulalip, Washington

O

ver the last year, in the midst of a global pandemic, TBE Architects was able to complete and open a number of beautiful new projects. Among them was the Family FunPlex expansion at Wildhorse Resort & Casino in Pendleton, Oregon, owned by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. That project was followed by the brand-new We-Ko-Pa Casino, near Phoenix, Arizona, developed for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

TBE’s most recent project is the new Quil Ceda Creek Casino, located in Tulalip, Washington, which marked its grand opening in February 2021. This completely new casino sits on 15 acres, adjacent to the former Quil Ceda Creek Casino. It includes a 126,000-square-foot casino with a six-level parking structure designed to accommodate 1,000 vehicles. There is room to grow, as a new hotel tower is planned as part of a future phase.

This property more than doubles the size of the casino it replaced, and offers guests many new amenities. They include a live entertainment venue called The Stage, along with more F&B variety, including the Keg Bar, the Landing and the Kitchen.

The Landing is a full-service dining venue that features classic favorites. Its setting pays tribute to the heritage of the Tulalip Tribes and their connection to the water, utilizing decorative canoe paddles and design elements that are reminiscent of water in motion.

But what really sets this casino property apart is The Kitchen, a new food-hall dining experience. The Kitchen features a variety of fresh items that are made-to-order in a “green kitchen,” utilizing windspeed and induction-cooking technologies.

The food-hall concept allows guests to order from a variety of food stations. Selections are recorded on a single card as they go, and guests pay a single bill for all orders when they are finished, as opposed to the “food court” model, in which patrons pay at each and every station or restaurant they visit.

Since 1971, TBE Architects has specialized in architectural and interior design for the hotel, casino and resort industries. Its clients include national brands such as Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs and Marriott, along with 116 Native American tribes and First Nations.

CLIENT: Tulalip Tribes of Washington ARCHITECT: TBE Architects (Thalden Boyd Emery) CONTRACTOR: Andersen Construction OWNERS’ REPRESENTATIVE: Eric Guion & Associates, LLC OPENED: February 2021 2021 CASINO STYLE 7

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First and Foremost Betfred Sportsbook, Paragon Casino Resort • Marksville, Louisiana

C

aesars Entertainment opened two sportsbooks at Harrah’s New Orleans and the Horseshoe in Bossier City, Louisiana in late October with much fanfare, and deservedly so. The legalization of sports betting in the state was an arduous and difficult process.

But Caesars wasn’t the first sportsbook to open in Louisiana. That honor went to the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville when the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe partnered with Betfred Sports and R2Architects + R2Interiors to create the sportsbook at The Draft Room inside the casino almost a full month before any other sportsbook in the state opened.

R2 Architects was retained to provide architectural, interior design, and planning services for this project.

“We were the first tribe in Louisiana to put a casino up,” says Paragon Board Member James Craig III. “Now we’re the first tribe in Louisiana and also across the board to have sports betting here in Louisiana. Everyone else is enjoying it everywhere else in Vegas and other states, but here in Louisiana, now we can enjoy it.”

The sportsbook features over 120 big-screen TVs and 200 seats including recliners, VIP sections, and slot machines. Betfred Sports will operate a traditional sportsbook in the Draft Room—Paragon's newest amenity—comprised of traditional theater seating, a custom video wall, betting counters and kiosks.

The Draft Room’s restaurant and bar offers fan favorite foods, cold draft beers, and multiple seating options sure to please any sports fan.

Online sports betting will be available as well at a later date.

“All I want to ask you is who we’re betting on,” laughed Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser.

Nungesser placed the next wager. He and other elected officials are looking forward to the tax revenue this billion-dollar industry can generate for state education.

“I think it’s the shot in the arm, no pun intended, that we need coming out of Covid,” says Nungesser. “We’ve been thinking outside of the box of things that we can do to draw attention to Louisiana because we’re competing against every state for those tourism dollars.”

8 CASINO STYLE 2021

“Our partnership with Betfred Sports marks a new chapter for Paragon, which has always been a source of pride for Marksville and the people of Louisiana,” Paragon General Manager Marshall Sampson, Sr., said. “With this new partnership, I hope visitors from across the region will have the chance to experience it for themselves. Together, we are offering a first-class sports betting platform and venue that will make Paragon Casino Resort the place to bet and watch games in Louisiana.”

The Paragon sportsbook is the fourth U.S. sportsbook for the British-based Betfred.

“Louisiana is an exciting opportunity for Betfred Sports to continue its expansion in the U.S. after successful launches in Iowa, Colorado and Pennsylvania,” said Mark Stebbings, Betfred Group chief operating officer. “We look forward to utilizing our 50 years of bookmaking experience with our fantastic partner, Paragon Casino Resort, to bring the best sports betting experience to bettors in the state.”

The sportsbook is powered by Scientific Games’ OpenBet platform featuring custom betting counters and self-service kiosks.

LOCATION: Paragon Casino Resort, Marksville, Louisiana OWNER: Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana DESIGNER: R2Architects + R2Interiors OPERATOR: Betfred Sports

We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort | Fort McDowell, AZ

Any firm can design.

Wildhorse Resort & Casino | Pendleton, OR

We can help you STAND OUT!

Quil Ceda Creek Casino | Tulalip, WA

Designing Hotels | Casinos | Resorts Since 1971 architects@TBEarc.com

TBEarchitects.com

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Diamonds Are Forever Diamond VIP Lounge and High-Limit Room Desert Diamond West Valley Casino • Glendale, Arizona

T

he new Diamond VIP Lounge at Desert Diamond West Valley Casino in Glendale, Arizona was meant to dazzle—literally.

Diamonds are meaningful symbols in the culture of the Tohono O’odham Nation, which owns and operates the gaming property. Inspired by the brilliance of the stones, the team at HBG Design introduced ambient lighting to illuminate the new lounge and new high-limit room.

Heightened by diamond-like patterns, the light refracts on gleaming upscale finishes throughout the space, including marble and decorative glass tiles, vibrant pendant lighting, fractal-patterned screening and carpeting, and jeweltoned fabrics.

Together, the elements create a truly luminous environment, grounded by a sophisticated desert-toned palette that calls to mind the sculptural features of the earth. The high-limit area, adjacent to the lounge, continues the jewel-inspired design scheme.

The aesthetic of the property derives from a concept called “The Dynamic Earth,” inspired by the vibrance and energy of the desert landscape. It is echoed in unique design interpretations in multiple food-and-beverage venues, the 10 CASINO STYLE 2021

casino floor, and VIP and public spaces, and will inform future phases of the resort’s development, which tentatively include a hotel, spa and convention center.

The VIP lounge is the culmination of a multimillion-dollar resort plan that was first announced by the Tohono O’odham in 2009. After multiple legal challenges, the resort’s first phase was completed in 2015, with the larger project launched in December 2017. According to local media, construction workers spent more than 1 million hours building the $400 million facility.

Dr. Ned Norris, Jr., chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation, said the projects are “creating a brighter future for the Tohono O’odham, the West Valley and Arizona… We will continue working with our partners to create even greater opportunity for us all.”

With the design aesthetic developed by HBG Design team, the elegant space will continue to attract visitors to Desert Diamond West Valley—and to dazzle them all.

OWNER: The Tohono O’odham Nation DESIGNER: HBG Design

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Designed to Dine, Play & Stay New Vegas Dining Options

I

n what is (optimistically) a post-pandemic world, resort customers are more eager than ever to dine out, hang out, and be entertained.

Based on activity along the Las Vegas Strip and at other gaming and entertainment complexes nationwide, that enthusiasm is especially evident in the wealth of new restaurants and entertainment venues coming online.

No longer is food a secondary experience at casino resorts, nor is menu the sole deciding factor.

Restaurant design is an increasingly important factor in attracting patrons and getting them to play, stay and return to do it all again.

Additionally, entertainment options that draw in new and diverse guests beyond the game have become essential for properties as they assess ways to remain relevant and financially successful.

Bergman Walls & Associates (BWA) has played a critical role in many of these new dining and entertainment options. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace (with designer Tetsuo Aoyagi) features deluxe food stations and sleek finishes that are anything but old-school or cafeteria-style. USA Today has called it “one of Las Vegas’ best buffets.”

The new Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio (created with the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio) oozes old-school glamour and sophistication in a destination where patrons can dine and be seen.

And new food courts at TI (Treasure Island) and Circus Circus elevate fast-casual with dining spaces that encourage patrons to linger beyond the graband-go.

In record numbers, sports fans are heading to sportsbooks to watch and bet on their favorite teams.

Two BWA projects, The Book and RE:MATCH sports betting lounges are anything but your dad’s sports bar. They bring new types and generations of customers for camaraderie over a shared love of sports, with stylized betting kiosks, large-screen TVs, virtual reality and interactive gaming, as well as food and drink service.

In addition to state-of-the-art sports betting options, The Book, Caesars Entertainment’s sports lounge at the LINQ Las Vegas, offers non-gaming entertainment like a wall of self-serve beer taps, a fast-casual food truck, fan caves and various seating configurations.

The family-friendly attraction FlyOver Las Vegas features pre-show areas that set the stage for immersing patrons into the multi-sensory journey ready to unfold before them. FlyOver’s BWA-designed Lost Cactus bar and lounge captures the spirit of the Western U.S. that is central to the experience.

In 2011, late BWA co-founder and chairman Joel Bergman told Global Gaming Business, “We no longer call ourselves gaming architects. All along, we’ve really been in the entertainment business.” His words ring especially true today, as the gaming and entertainment industries continue their comeback.

BWA Principal-in-Charge John Hinton could not agree more. “The pause caused by the pandemic provided the opportunity to reassess future facility plans and priorities, and of course, to plan to wow customers when they returned.

“BWA is pleased we’ve been able to help our clients deliver on special spaces that make patrons excited about going out again, and which symbolize that dining and entertainment are back and better than ever.”

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Rocking in the Heartland Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana • Gary, Indiana

PHOTO CREDIT: © JEFFREY TOTARO, 2021

M

usic royalty came out in force last May to mark the grand opening of the new Hard Rock Northern Indiana, owned by Spectacle Entertainment and operated by Hard Rock International.

Members of the legendary Jackson 5 were on hand for the traditional guitarsmashing ceremony, after which the doors opened to an all-new state-of-the-art entertainment center.

Located in Gary, Indiana, near the South Shore of Lake Michigan, Hard Rock brings world-class gaming to the Hoosier State, and the first land-based casino to Indiana’s northwest gaming corridor. SOSH Architects, the architect of record and exterior design lead, collaborated with interior designers the Friedmutter Group on a vision for the property, which serves up Hard Rock style at every turn.

Spanning 215,000 square feet, the new property offers a gaming floor with 1,600 slot machines and 80 table games. Its five restaurant offerings include the upscale Council Oak Steaks and Seafood, and the signature Hard Rock Café. The complex also features a Hard Rock-branded retail shop and a 2,000-seat cuttingedge entertainment venue, Hard Rock LIVE. The fun begins at the entryway, where visitors are welcomed by a 37-foot-tall guitar sign, modeled on an instrument owned by Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson. Inside, they’re greeted by a spectacular guitar chandelier and some 170 pieces of music memorabilia showcased throughout the casino. Gary natives the Jacksons are well represented; guests can view Michael Jackson’s iconic glove and his red leather jacket from the “Beat It” video. Mementoes from other Indiana artists, including John Mellencamp and Axl Rose, are also on display.

“Music is inherent in the brand,” said Jeff Clayton, director of entertainment at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, at the grand opening. “The intention is to serve all genres, all types of fans. ‘All Is One’ is part of our motto, and we plan to be very diverse in that context.”

Groundbreaking on the property took place in January 2020, and construction continued throughout the pandemic. The site leaves room for future growth, including a hotel and parking garage.

Greg Gibson, vice president of Spectacle Entertainment, hailed the facility as “a product of much hard work and those who believed the city of Gary was destined for greater things.”

OWNER: Spectacle Entertainment OPERATOR: Hard Rock International ARCHITECT OF RECORD, EXTERIOR DESIGN: SOSH Architects INTERIOR DESIGN: Friedmutter Group CONTRACTOR: TN Ward INVESTMENT: $300 million 12 CASINO STYLE 2021

Crystal Visions Crystal Lobby Attraction • Galaxy Macau

V

isitors to Galaxy Macau will likely stop in their tracks on entering the resort lobby. Invariably, all eyes are drawn to the centerpiece of the space, a resplendent new Crystal Lobby Attraction, created by experiential design leader the Hettema Group.

Crafted of 360,000 pieces of Bohemian crystal, the animated, kinetic structure features 32 dancing fountains, eight leaping water jets, a vast moving ceiling of 24 overlapping crystal-clad petals, and 12 rotating crystal chandeliers, all synchronized to original music.

Galaxy Macau demanded an attraction of this magnitude. The palatial resort, steps from Old Taipa Village on the Cotai Strip, spans 5.9 million square feet. It is known for luxurious, sometimes over-the-top appointments, including a Grand Resort Deck with the world’s largest Sky Wave Pool, as well as Skytop Adventure Rapids and a white-sand beach.

To create the attraction, the California-based Hettema Group used 360,000 pieces of crystal with 720,000 fixing pins, all of which were applied by hand. It took approximately 12,500 hours (about 520 days) to affix the individual pieces to the main attraction. The effect is unexpected, stunning, and simply breathtaking. The spectacular attraction is bound to be one of the most photographed and shared features of this five-star resort.

OPERATOR: Galaxy Entertainment Group DESIGNER: The Hettema Group DEBUTED: December 2021

Spokane Tribe Development, AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA

A Return to Play Architecture DENVER

Interior Design

LAS VEGAS

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Urban Design MINNEAPOLIS

CUNINGHAM.COM

Landscape Architecture PHOENIX

SAN DIEGO

DOHA

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Local Legend Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

T

he first two new casino properties in Pennsylvania to open amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic are owned by Baltimore-based Cordish Companies.

The first was a satellite casino, Live! Pittsburgh, in the Westmoreland Mall in Western Pennsylvania. The second, which opened February 11, is the Cordish flagship in the state, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.

Many of the basic design and amenity offerings of the new hotel-casino follow the lead of Cordish’s Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, opened seven years earlier. That includes elements like the R Bar, a sports-oriented electronic table game area, and the Sports & Social brand of sports bar.

However, Live! Philadelphia is a totally unique project, thanks in large part to its dedication to the local market—and more specifically, to Philly sports. The casino is located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Stadium District, where the arenas and stadiums of all the city’s professional sports teams are located within a few blocks of each other.

The new casino-hotel reflects this, with references to the city’s sports teams throughout, including the Sports & Social brand wrapped around the Cordish FanDuel Sportsbook concept—sports wagering in a best-in-class sports bar, featuring a 500-foot-long LED screen and different styles of entertainment. There’s even a large foosball table.

But Philadelphia-based BLT Architects went beyond the sports connection to reflect the city in every aspect, from the casino entrance that replicates Robert Indiana’s famous “LOVE” sculpture at the Love Park plaza in downtown Philadelphia to killer views of the city from state-of-the-art hotel rooms.

The 510,000-square-foot Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia includes a 100,000-square-foot-plus casino featuring 2,200 slot positions, including 74 electronic table games. There are 121 table games with plans to expand to 150, a dedicated 29-table poker room, a six-room Event Center that includes 15,000 square feet of customizable meeting/entertainment event space, and a variety of food and beverage options that include a number of local favorites.

BLT Architects created a high-energy casino floor, featuring an undulating metal panel ribbon that wraps the casino and garage facades and a metal and glass hotel tower. “The building design is intended to reflect the high energy of the amenities within, provide a strong presence when viewed from the adjacent highways, and present dynamic architectural forms that complement the adjacent large-scale stadiums and arena,” according to the firm’s project description.

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Many of the finer details of the restaurants, sports bar and other amenities also benefit from intricate woodwork by Quebec, Canada-based Beaubois.

Beaubois woodwork can be seen throughout the signature steakhouse, the Luk Fu Asian restaurant, the distinctive sports bar, and more.

“This includes an extensive range of craftsmanship and materials, from marble countertops in the restaurants and gold-plated Chinese characters integrated into custom furniture,” Beaubois stated in its project description, “to a remarkable oval-shaped rustic larch bar and leather booths in both restaurants and the back-of-house... In the bars and back-bars, copper, glass and brass accents create a dramatic look and feature a range of custom finishes and colors.”

Most dining areas showcase high ceilings with rustic larch beams, which Beaubois developed in collaboration with engineers to guarantee their structural stability. Other ceilings brought together by Beaubois feature decorative black steel beams and an acrylic cloudscape.

The project incorporated an extensive array of materials, finishes, colors, and techniques.

OWNER: The Cordish Companies ARCHITECT: BLT Architects WOODWORK: Beaubois GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Gilbane Building Company PROJECT COST: $700 million INTERIOR DESIGN: Klai Juba Architects, Jeffrey Beers International and Hirsch Bedner Associates

Let us help you realize your vision bwaltd.com 709 Valle Verde Court

Henderson, Nevada 89014

T. 702.940.0000

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Post-Pandemic Design For some casino architects and designers, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in permanent changes BY DAVE BONTEMPO

A

s Covid-19 reaches the rearview mirror of gaming operators, its future impact fits two distinct areas.

Some properties have resumed pre-pandemic operations with a few tweaks. Others consider the post-pandemic world a permanent change for casino design. Casinos will incorporate safety-first measures and try striking a balance between safety, comfort, player cultivation and bottom-line innovations.

As casinos emerge from the pandemic, and resume investing in their operations, the design industry’s biggest players guide them forward, armed with the knowledge of which camp each property fits in.

Making Lemons from Lemonade Covid produced new realities, which breeds new opportunities in the eyes of HBG Design, a powerful group that has helped its clients get out in front of the pandemic.

“If there is such a thing as good news about ‘design after Covid,’ it’s the emphasis on flexibility and reinvention. Those two words have been a steady part of the gaming vernacular practically since its inception,” says Dike Bacon, principal at HBG Design.

“You have to keep your property fresh and in-step with trends in consumer behaviors, and while it may sound strange to think of ‘design after Covid’ as an opportunity, it represents one of the biggest shifts in consumer behaviors we’ve seen, possibly ever.”

HBG Design works with operators to re-think and re-invent communal spaces in their properties—from F&B to guest rooms, entertainment venues and, of course, the casino floor, he indicates. “These spaces will continue to play a vital role in connecting people; the design simply has to adapt and flex to support all of humanity’s newly redefined needs,” Bacon asserts.

Gaming-floor space provides another creative outlet. Although new ramifi16 CASINO STYLE 2021

cations have hit this area, the reason people gamble has not, according to Nathan Peak, AIA, LEED Green Associate, who also is a principal and design director at HBG. “The pandemic may have redefined the way we think about spaces—especially communal spaces,” Peak says, “but the reason why guests come together to share experiences hasn’t changed.

“The essence of these interactive entertainment spaces hasn’t been lost. Casino resort amenities and especially the casino floor thrive on big spaces teeming with lots of energy and people, and they always will.”

Applying thoughtful, flexible design sensibilities to communal gaming spaces and amenities is more critical than ever before, as these spaces must now be able to easily transform and handle fluid situations, he indicates.

“The key,” says Peak, “is reimagining what flexibility looks like. Before Covid, flexibility may have meant stackable furniture or retractable event space seating, but the word flexibility has been redefined because of the pandemic. Today, we look at flexibility as shaping spaces that are malleable and can adjust to a host of layout options suitable for individual privacy, groups, and social interaction.

“Ultimately, it’s about designing flexible spaces that cater to flexible needs. The ideas of physical space and user experience are more connected than ever before, as people may still feel wary of sitting close to others, yet don’t want to be in isolation.”

The idea of adaptable and flexible public spaces can be seen throughout HBG Design’s recently completed Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in historic Hot Springs, Arkansas. Across the property one sees influence of “design after Covid,” Peak asserts, noting its soaring hotel lobby space designed with a number of different interaction zones that easily shift from quiet personal spaces to socialization hubs for groups to gather before heading to the casino floor.

Flexible FF&E accompanies thoughtfully considered layouts that can

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Tachi Palace Casino/Cuningham

be easily changed and reconfigured depending on the needs of operators and their guests.

“In the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort lobby, we’ve used bold architectural gestures like the grand staircase and escalators which create dramatic structural elements and strong visual presence that directs casino guests to the main gaming floor, new food court and the hotel guest rooms on the second level,” Peak indicates. “Every space needs a moment that pulls you in, and these central elements draw you in, create interest and also provide a sense of openness in the space that puts guests in the right frame of mind—that they’ve entered not only a beautiful, glamorous entertainment space, but a safe space to enjoy.”

The pandemic has also seriously affected regional material sourcing, which plays a vital role in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

Bacon says a new sensibility about sourcing materials from regional makers and manufacturers has come out of the pandemic. “As designers seek to achieve an aesthetic that is of the area and create experiential moments, local and regional materials play a vital role in expressing that authenticity.

“Where the pandemic comes into play is in the material shortages, higher costs, and longer lead times the entire AEC industry is experiencing today,” he adds. “Covid created significant manufacturing shutdowns, especially overseas, leading to material shortages and often complete lack of availability, higher tariffs from international manufacturers shipping domestically and transportation concerns. As an alternative, carefully sourced regional options can not only circumvent such transportation and tariff issues, but they can also promote greater connection to place in meaningful ways.”

The effects of Covid extend to another area, the disrupted supply chains.

“Supply chain issues will probably go on for another year or so,” says Emily Marshall, IIDA, NCIDQ, principal and director of HBG Design’s In-

terior Design Group. “Many of our clients in the branded hospitality space, as well as in gaming, have told us they are looking at 30–32-week lead items for most of their FF&E and lighting. That makes a big impact on accommodating anticipated construction and installation schedules.”

One way HBG Design is working around the supply chain situation is by using more regional manufacturers who employ skilled tradesmen who build case goods and millwork in a shop, versus working onsite. This not only keeps the level of quality high, but also increases efficiency.

“We’re very supportive of this type of FF&E delivery because the craftsmanship is excellent and there is so much less waste as a result,” adds Marshall.

“Like Dike said, if there can be any sort of ‘good’ outcome of the pandemic, it’s that our eyes have been opened to looking at everything from design to delivery through a different lens, while reimagining the way spaces are used, designed, and furnished. And that, in the long run, will be better for everyone.”

Flexibility is Key The global pandemic touched Cuningham’s clients in varied ways, causing the company to “adjust and meet them where they need us most,” says Brett Ewing, principal and executive director of play at Cuningham. “For our projects that were in design during the Covid shutdown in 2020, we worked with the managers and operators in real time to pivot their design solutions.

“Our technology tools enabled us to maintain their schedules and meet our clients’ goals to deliver their projects. Working closely with the operators, we increased the physical spacing between the games with aesthetic solutions, avoiding the use of ‘Plexiglass everywhere.’

“Some of our operators see the spread-out games as a permanent layout for the future, but we always design for flexibility in the future.”

Ewing indicates that the pandemic caused everyone to approach life in different ways, including the manner in which people interact with spaces. Cun-

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High Limits area at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort/HBG Design

ingham has woven this into its projects.

“A great example of this is our recent work with the Tachi-Yokut Tribe in Lemoore, California,” he says. “They immediately implemented spacing changes to their slot floor, which we incorporated into our remodel and expansion design. The customers responded positively to the extra open space and dispelled some of the rules of thumb in gaming psychology.

“The other fascinating move they made was to go non-smoking and removing all alcohol from the casino. Their revenue actually increased after these changes, which again went against the norm. These results told them that the customers want to be in a safe environment and want to ‘be together,’ which was also a reflection of the pent-up demand for entertainment and having fun.”

The Tachi Palace Casino also is embracing the post-pandemic world, he

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says. There, Cuningham is working on a 24,000-square-foot expansion and remodel of the existing resort at an estimated $90 million investment. The overall design goal is to modernize the entire gaming floor and give the property a fresh look.

After completion, it will include an expansive sports bar with the flexibility of both indoor and outdoor dining options, an expanded food market, and a new high-limit room.

The layout will feature a more open plan, and symmetrical space with a new sculptural porte-cochère that provides a sense of entry. The renovations also enhance improvements necessitated by the pandemic, including new HVAC and air purification systems, contactless technology, sanitizing stations, and to continue with additional space between gaming machines and tables. The buffet space has been replaced with a high-limit room and a grab-and-go market.

Ewing considers the company’s work with the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians in Funner, California, at the Harrah’s Southern California Resort, another example of moving forward post-pandemic. The property is replacing the buffet with a Hell’s Kitchen restaurant.

“The buffet closed permanently at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, when all California buffet restaurants were forced to close under Covid safety measures,” he says.

“We are seeing most buffets being repurposed, which provides great opportunities for these spaces. The estimated 11,000-square-foot renovation will feature three areas for guests to experience multi-Michelin-starred chef and television personality Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen. At 332 seats, it’s the largest version of Ramsay’s concept restaurant to date and will include an elevated bar, full-service restaurant, and elegant lounge. Custom design features include a towering wine wall featuring exceptional vintages.”

Ewing indicates that new technologies allow Cuningham to change how it approaches recreational space design in the reality. However, it can be cumbersome to operators who have outdated spaces that were not designed to allow for adaptations and movement. The way designers approach projects should incorporate the flexibility needed for life today, he adds.

Normal Returns Quickly SOSH Architects experienced the other side of the equation. Many of its clients adapted quickly and didn’t make huge design changes to accommodate Covid restrictions. They quickly returned to pre-Covid layouts, keeping a few elements that they enjoyed during the height of the pandemic.

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Lobby area at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort/HBG Design

“The initial impact of the shutdown was very cumbersome, having to quickly resolve spacing limitations by removing seats and equipment, and adding dividers where needed,” says Arley Sochocky, the interior design studio manager for SOSH Architects. “Fortunately, this is no longer the reality. We see operators moving past this and wanting to create something similar to what was in place before, but still new and exciting for their clientele. The immediate need to shift gears and accommodate social distancing, and other indoor dining and entertainment restrictions, has eased up tremendously since 2020.”

Sochocky says SOSH clients were able to make the necessary adjustments during the initial shutdown and slowly resume to their previous floor layouts in recent months. They have used it as an opportunity to refresh their properties for returning guests, while keeping flexibility to remove or space out seating as an option if they need to adapt again in the future.

Many clients have also expanded their restaurants to include outdoor dining and lounge areas. Sochocky says casino floors are returning to their pre-pandemic layout. They remain fluid and flexible to adapt as needed.

The company now sees its clients making the most from their properties, such as expanding and better utilizing outdoor spaces and redesigning restrooms to have fewer touchpoints (touchless sinks, soap dispensers, hand dryers, etc.).

None of the changes made in response to Covid at SOSH’s client properties were permanent, Sochocky indicates.

“We see them returning to a ‘new normal’ that is similar to what was previously considered normal,” Sochocky says. “More properties are incorporating outdoor spaces for dining, lounges and gaming, because people enjoyed having that experience when it was their only option, not necessarily because it is still a requirement.”

The pandemic turned many businesses in various industries upside down, he adds. Those who remain successful were those who knew how to quickly adapt and remain flexible as guidelines and restrictions evolved over the course of the last two years.

“A new casino property in Indiana was under construction during the pandemic and opened in spring of 2021,” Sochocky indicates. “The client and our design team planned for the eventual return to ‘normal.’ Collaborating with the client and design team allowed us to develop creative solutions for flexible use of spaces.

“For example, an entertainment venue which couldn’t be used at the time of the grand opening because of indoor restrictions was instead used to house extra seating and gaming equipment which was removed to allow for extra space on the casino floor. Foresight and flexibility were key factors in our design planning for this project, and we expect those to continue to be important factors in all hospitality design projects moving forward.”

Across the industry, casinos slowly accept the need to compete again, not merely survive. The Covid converts, operators who form a seamless transition from the pandemic into the next look of their property, will gain a step up.

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The Future of

Integrated Resorts

Resorts World Las Vegas makes a serious statement on the Strip

By Roger Gros

The private gaming salon, Starlight on 66 Sky Gaming

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The official groundbreaking for Resorts World Las Vegas took place almost seven years ago with KT Lim and his son, along with two Nevada governors

T

en years in the making, Resorts World Las Vegas had the luxury of responding to trends that emerged during that decade.

The property was formerly home of the Stardust, an iconic casino of old Las Vegas. It was owned at the end by Boyd Gaming, which wanted to take what it learned building the Borgata in Atlantic City and translate it to the Strip. Boyd’s planned Echelon resort would capitalize on all the progress made in gaming since the Borgata opened in 2003. It would be stateof-the-art, with all the non-gaming amenities that had begun to rule in destination resorts.

Then the recession hit, and Boyd’s well-laid plans were scuttled. Construction on Echelon was halted after a parking garage and a podium had been developed. And there it languished for several years.

Along came Genting Berhard. The Malaysian gaming conglomerate, controlled by the Lim family, had financed construction of Foxwoods in Connecticut and the Seneca casinos in upstate New York, and wanted a greater U.S. presence. Genting needed a Strip presence for its Resorts World brand.

And what better place to plant a flag than the former Stardust site?

Genting hired noted architectural firm Steelman Partners, headed by Paul Steelman, to incorporate what Boyd had already done into a master plan for development. “(Genting Chairman) KT Lim is probably one of the most ingenious real-

estate developers who has ever set foot in Las Vegas, and has ever designed an integrated resort,” says Steelman. “If you know his style, he loves masterplanning.

“Consequently, what we did was shrink the overall footprint of the Echelon podium to allow for about 40 acres—that’s twice as large as the Fontainebleau site, and could in fact be master-planned for future growth.

Expansion opportunities sit on every side of the property—on the north, towards Circus Circus; on the east, towards the Convention Center and Las Vegas Boulevard; on the south, for a series of pools and all sorts of unusual activities; and on the west, where it can be convention, meetings or any of those sorts of activities.”

The first design iterations were heavily Chinese-themed. Plans were announced for a “Great Wall” at the entrance, with a contemporary interior

The casino at Resorts World Las Vegas will accept cashless transactions at all machines and tables

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The Ayu Dayclub features resident DJs Zedd and Tiesto

PHOTO BY MEGAN BLAIR

Just some of the nine pools offered by Resorts World

that reflected modern China. The plan even included a panda pavilion. But that plan eventually went away.

“Around the beginning of 2019, it was decided to even deemphasize the modern Asian interiors except in a few spots, such as the Genting Palace restaurant and bar,” Steelman says. “But we just felt the modern approach was the best.”

Decade of Change As the first new resort on the Las Vegas Strip in 10 years, Genting understood that it had to create something spectacular.

“I don’t want to say ‘raising the bar,’ because it was creating a different bar,” Steelman says. “So we tried to create something different. We wanted to be sure the casino was energized. It’s wider. It’s brighter. I get a lot of comments. People say to me, ‘Paul, you’ve made a lot of (other properties) look pretty old on the Strip as we walk through this place.’”

Everything coalesced in 2019, when Scott Sibella was appointed president and CEO of Resorts World Las Vegas.

“I’ve worked on a lot of projects in my life, and this was a nine-year, twomonth adventure for me,” Steelman says. “Mirage was only four years. So think about it—it was twice as long. Scott came in two and a half years prior to opening, and he managed to pull it together.”

For Sibella, the long time span in designing the property became a positive.

“Being the first resort to be built on the Strip in more than a decade, we had a natural advantage to become the most modern, technologically ad22 CASINO STYLE 2021

“I absolutely encourage guests to walk the property and experience all it has to offer. There’s so much to see at the resort that it’s almost difficult to take everything in during one quick visit.”

—Scott Sibella, President and CEO, Resorts World Las Vegas vanced property in the city,” he says. “The Genting team has brought international perspective and family-owned culture to Las Vegas, giving guests a truly integrated resort experience, and adding a totally new dynamic to the city. We feel we add something fresh and exciting to the overall Las Vegas experience.”

Over that period, there were many design changes, including in retail and food and beverage.

“We’re pretty confident in that architectural design direction today,” Steelman says. “That led us to create The District, a very tall, large daylit shopping center. The whole idea was to have a neutral palette to allow tenants to express their own architecture, within a reasonable sort of way. One thing that survived our Chinese scheme was the digital sphere, a very unique looking-glass ball. Is it a fountain, with a looking glass?”

The District has been a big success since Resorts World’s opening in June 2021, says Sibella.

“While it’s hard to measure which area of the property is the most popular, we’re seeing a lot of success in The District, our shopping, retail and entertainment promenade,” he says. “The District is home to many of our popular retail stores, including Fred Segal, Pepper, Sneaker Garden, Twila True and more. Hotel guests and visitors alike are loving the retail options and the variety of places they can shop.

“Also within the same area are a few of the resort’s signature restaurants, such as our Mexican restaurant, VIVA by Ray Garcia; Fuhu, an Asian vibedining restaurant from our partners at Zouk Group; Brezza, serving coastalItalian fare from local chef Nicole Brisson; and more. The District houses

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Zouk Nightclub, which has been a major success since its opening, and Ayu Dayclub, our poolside daylife venue.”

Wayfinding Resorts World Las Vegas is a big property. With more than 3,500 rooms, a 117,000-square-foot casino and dozens of restaurants, shops and clubs, the $4.3 billion facility is massive. Often, it’s difficult to navigate a property of that size. But not so with Resorts World, according to Sibella.

“Although the resort is large, it was designed to be easily navigated,” he says.

“All hotel lobbies have their own entrances, so there’s no need to walk through the casino to get to a guest room. All guest elevators lead directly to the pool, spa and meetings and event space, allowing for quick commutes around the various areas of the resort.

“The property is essentially a large loop, with clear signage directing guests to different venues. To also assist with wayfinding, each hotel brand—Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas—have distinctive design and color palettes to differentiate from one another, making it extremely clear as you enter a different hotel.”

Steelman says he relied on his experience designing other properties to minimize the distances. “We’ve found over the years that your visit will be shortened if you don’t see a clear way to leave. Casino gaming needs interaction, whether it be with slot machine, people, tables or whatever. We always felt that a linear casino

could organize everything a lot better than in the old days, where we were curving the casino. So we feel that’s a planning advantage of Resorts World.

It’s a very organized orientation that people feel comfortable in. And people look good in it—that’s a big thing, that people look good in the building.”

Even without a destination in mind, Resorts World is designed to amaze and amuse guests at every turn.

“I absolutely encourage guests to walk the property and experience all it has to offer,” says Sibella. “There’s so much to see that it’s almost difficult to take everything in during one quick visit. I think the sheer size and how stunning the resort alone is; it’s impressive—with such a wide selection of offerings and so much to experience, nobody is left out, and everyone can find something to enjoy on our campus and feel welcome. The intimacy, even within such a massive resort, is a major factor of the property.”

The three hotel brands are distinctive as well. The main hotel, a Hilton, offers more than 1,700 entry-level rooms. Then it’s a step up to the Conrad, with almost 1,500 rooms. The luxury brand, Crockfords, has 236 rooms and suites. Crockfords was acquired by Genting when it bought the historic London casino of the same name more than a decade ago. The name isn’t well

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Each of the three hotels has a different lobby with a different arrival experience, such as the luxury brands Crockfords and Conrad

known in the U.S., but Sibella says Resorts World will change that.

“Crockfords is our top-tier, premium hotel brand, with luxe accommodations and VIP offerings,” he says. “Those looking to elevate their trip are choosing to stay at Crockfords and enjoy the lavish feel of the arrival journey, suites and service. Although Crockfords is new to the domestic market, those searching for high-end accommodations are staying there to experience the city’s newest luxury hotel.”

Each hotel has a different arrival experience, and Crockfords needed to stand out.

“The way we master-planned enabled us to create three distinctive lobbies, architecturally,” Steelman says. “We took a page out of what we’ve been doing in Asia. It’s the right thing to do: three porte-cocheres, three entrance points, three statements. We put Crockfords in a strategic location, because it had to relate to VIP gaming, very close to the high-limit gaming areas and the Asian restaurants.”

Spectacular pools and spas are a must in any new Las Vegas property these days, and Resorts World doesn’t disappoint. With 5.5 acres at his disposal, Steelman turned the design process over to Lifescapes International, his partner in almost every project since late Lifescapes founder Don Brinkerhoff designed the volcano at the Mirage.

“It seems to me that (Resorts World) is a very organized orientation that people feel comfortable in. And people look good in it.

That’s a big thing, that people look good in that building.”

—Paul Steelman, president and founder, Steelman Partners “I convinced KT to choose Don Brinkerhoff. He was one of the great innovators, and of course he’s in the AGA Gaming Hall of Fame—probably the only design professional who is. And his team, headed by his daughter Julie, did a fantastic job on this particular project.”

The result is nine pools, including the only infinity pools on the Strip with views of the skyline. Reservations are required, and there is an adults-only policy.

One of the pools is the Ayu Dayclub, operated by the Zook Group, headed

by Lim Lui, KT’s son. Resident DJs include Zedd and Tiesto.

Entertainment also is a focal point of Resorts World Las Vegas, with a stateof-the-art theater built by Scéno Plus, to be operated by AEG Presents. The 5,000-seat Theater at Resorts World will host residencies by such stars as Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.

Technology Tests

The 5,000-seat Theater at Resorts World will be home for residencies by such superstars as Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and others

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A standout feature of Resorts World Las Vegas is the cutting-edge technology built into every element of the property. Again, Sibella says the long design period turned out to be a benefit when it comes to tech.

Much of the technology is attached to the Genting Rewards club, where guests can pay for anything on the property with one wallet, including on the casino floor. Partnerships with companies like Konami, Sightline, IGT and others have made the process seamless. Sibella says customers have been appreciative of the technology so far.

“Guests who are ready for a new generation of gaming and cashless capabilities have been eager to sign up for Genting Rewards,” he says. “The rewards program was designed to allow guests to earn points, recognition and rewards for all spend across the resort, all easily accessible through the Resorts World app. We’re

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encouraging signups through signage across the property, email and website marketing efforts, and verbal mentions when guests meet with our team members who can provide more information on the program.”

Steelman utilized new LED technology to create a huge billboard on the main building. The 100,000-square-foot exterior LED screen measures 294 feet in height and 340 feet in width, and is made of a semi-transparent aluminum mesh that allows guests to see through the windows, even while it’s operating.

He says the technology will become one of the signatures of the property.

“Scott Sibella and his technology team did a wonderful job of making an advanced casino,” he says. “We had to tailor-make some of our tables and slot machine designs to accomplish these goals. These goals are admirable. (Guests are) using their Resorts World digital wallet to buy almost everything in the place. And I give KT the credit for authorizing Scott to go for it.

“Of course, we see the technology in our hotels changing rapidly. Our front desks are getting smaller, there are no room keys; you’re holding out your phone. We’re seeing RevPAR trying to be established by holding up your phone to the various activities within the hotel room. We’re limiting the touch points in all our buildings and maximizing the phone integration. And that’s

King bedroom at the Conrad

just going to be the wave of the future.”

Sibella acknowledges that it may take some time for full adoption, but he’s encouraged by the initial response.

“While we knew customer adoption of cashless technology would be achieved over time, more and more guests are utilizing the technology and becoming more familiar with our cashless gaming capabilities and integrating it into their experiences,” he says. “We feel it will take time for everyone to adapt and fully understand the capabilities, but so far we’re seeing a positive response.”

He says none of it could have been accomplished without terrific cooperation with his vendor partners.

“When developing our gaming technology for the resort, we only wanted to work with the best in the business to make our vision come to life,” Sibella says.

“Working with great technology companies like Konami, Sightline, IGT and more has been instrumental to the success and seamless integration of our casino technology. They have been fantastic partners and the collaboration is going well.”

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Esports: Betting Opportunity or Niche Entertainment?

In industry circles, the integration of esports and casinos is a hotly debated topic. Some analysts believe esports are the next big thing, and will lead to lucrative gaming partnerships.

By Bill Sokolic

Pre-Covid, the Evo tournament packed the Mandalay Bay Events Center every year. This year’s event went virtual.

C

ovid-19 put a crimp in the live Evo Championships this year at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Evo held a virtual competition, but there’s something about live action that can’t be matched by the online version. Hopefully next summer, if the joystick gods are kind, the live games will resume, bringing back esports stars and their scores of devoted fans.

In the past, the Evo series often sold out at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and attracted thousands more to the property, according to Josh Swissman, founding partner with The Strategy Group in Las Vegas.

“This shows that an esports tournament can be a big enough draw on its own to get people to Las Vegas to watch it in person,” he says. “Now imagine that same event with other add-on experiences to complement the tournament itself.

Meet-and-greets with famous esports athletes, for example. These would represent additional ways for the hosting property to monetize this crowd, and better introduce the next generation of game players and gamblers to these resorts.”

The future doesn’t necessarily belong to esports. But these games will have a seat at the table.

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A Whole New Audience For the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, that seat was in an esports lounge that first opened in 2015. For several years—until Covid-19—the casino ran hundreds of cash tournaments in the lounge, and a William Hill sportsbook on property at the time accepted bets, the first time in esports history in the U.S., says Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and chairman of the Downtown Grand.

Covid had an impact, he adds, but not all of it was negative.

“It was very positive that during the lockdown, when traditional sports ceased, esports became a popular sport to take action on,” Schorr says. The interlude also exposed esports to whole a new audience.

A year later, operators are focused on traditional sports, driving to acquire new markets and new customers as legal betting expands. As a result, esports have taken a back seat, Schorr says.

“However, as we transition from the customer acquisition phase to the retention phase, I believe esports will be used by many sportsbooks to tap

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“Just like traditional `stick-and-ball’ sports, esports betting can be a fan betting on the outcome of a professional match.”

—Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming; Chairman, Downtown Grand Las Vegas

into a new audience and offer a differentiating product.”

Most adults understand something about video games, which they may have played in bedrooms back in the days of Pong, and which their kids and grandkids have inherited. These days, the games have developed far beyond PacMan and Asteroids in terms of complexity and graphics.

But they remain a skill—like football or basketball, but with glorified joysticks instead of balls. Esports players may tackle games like Madden NFL or NBA 2K, but more often go for shoot-’em-up combat games like Call of Duty.

“Just like traditional ‘stick-and-ball’ sports, esports betting can be a fan betting on the outcome of a professional match,” Schorr says.

To ensure the esports industry doesn’t become the Wild West with no rules, the Nevada legislature approved a law last summer requiring the state Gaming Control Board to create an Esports Technical Advisory Committee.

The bill empowered the committee to make recommendations for esports and the board to adopt regulations based on those recommendations. The upshot will be to determine what kind of esports matches casinos can take bets on.

Schorr calls the committee a welcome development. “It was a very cumbersome process for a sportsbook operator to get approval from the regulators to take a wager on esports,” he says.

Nevada currently handles esports betting by requiring sportsbooks to submit applications that are subject to approval by the Gaming Control Board.

“This is definitely going to be the wave of the future,” board member Philip Katsaros told CDC Gaming Reports. Esports “has a lot of momentum and it’s going to continue to grow. … I’m glad we’re getting ahead of it as much as we can, since it’s already been a train running down the track for a while.”

For Las Vegas, it’s about betting on big tournaments and events. That could mean a League of Legends world final or gaming operators holding their own tournaments, Schorr says. “The Overwatch League is something we should be completely comfortable betting on each game, and not just the winner of the league,” he says.

In peer-to-peer esports betting, two people or teams bet against each other in games of skill. This element is still in its infancy from a gambling perspective, but a company called Gamer Wager has been licensed by the U.K. Gam-

ing Commission to take such bets.

According to the company’s website, “We have been in development since 2016 and are expanding to daily/weekly/monthly tournaments in the near future. Our aim is to let people bet on themselves in a fun and compliant way.” Look for these bets to hit the U.S. market in 2022.

In more mature betting markets like Europe, esports is already a Top 5 sport, Schorr says, and the U.S. lags behind much of the world when it comes to embracing the phenomenon.

“In Europe and Latin America, esports has been a big vertical in online sports betting for some time,” says Brandon Apter, spokesman for Esports Entertainment Group, founded by former online gaming exec Grant Johnson. “It’s just beginning to be legalized here in the U.S., and we’re very optimistic about the market potential.”

The Canadian-based group is “fueled by the growth of video gaming and the ascendance of esports with new generations,” per its website. Its mission statement is to “help connect the world at large with the future of sports entertainment in unique and enriching ways that bring fans and gamers together.”

Nowhere to Go But Up Johnson recognized that esports would be a major new vertical for sports betting, Apter says, with first-person shooter games such as Overwatch and Call of Duty among the most popular titles. Don’t discount the popularity of sports simulation games like Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K and iRacing, all of 2021 CASINO STYLE 27

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“There hasn’t been a ton of demand, since many esports enthusiasts are currently under the legal gambling age.”

—Josh Swissman, Founding Partner, The Strategy Group

The Hyper-X Arena at Luxor in Las Vegas caters specifically to esports enthusiasts

which gained big followings during the Covid lockdowns.

“Taken altogether, I think the entire esports space will rank as a Top 5 sports betting vertical within the next five years,” says Apter. “Over time, it will likely slot in behind football and basketball, but ahead of hockey and baseball.”

To illustrate the potential of esports, just look at the International Dota 2 tournament, which took place in October in Bucharest. According to PC Gamer magazine, Team Spirit from Eastern Europe won Dota 2’s Aegis trophy three games to two, and pocketed more than $18 million. The runnersup, China’s PSG.LGD, had to settle for $5.2 million.

That kind of money isn’t chicken scratch. Neither is $69 million. That’s what the Entain Group plans on investing this year in newly acquired Unikrn, a Seattle-based leader in esports betting. Entain plans to enter the esports market next year with Justin Dellario, former vice president of original content for Twitch, serving as managing director of esports.

“Entain is all about creating exciting and innovative products for our customers,” Dellario said in a statement. “With Unikrn, we’ll now be able to offer competitive gamers and esports fans alike rewarding experiences surrounding the games and events they love.”

Entain has acquired Unikrn’s technology, products, platform and brand including U-Mode, which enables gamers to bet on their own ranked matches in competitive video game titles.

In order to understand the impact that esports will have on sports betting,

28 CASINO STYLE 2021

“You first have to look at the impact it’s already had on the general public’s sports consumption habits,” Swissman says.

Esports has attracted legions of fans, become a wildly popular spectator sport around the world, and is increasingly visible in the U.S. “This trend has existed for years, and I don’t see it reversing or going anywhere but up, especially in the states,” says Swissman.

So why hasn’t esports grabbed hold yet as a betting platform like more traditional sports?

Swissman thinks the disconnect between esports’ popularity as a spectator sport and betting owes to the fact that most esports enthusiasts are currently under the legal gambling age. “There hasn’t been much demand, but I think you’ll ultimately see full team/tournament/league wagering opportunities, along with more progressive in-game-style wagers.”

Like Apter, Swissman believes esports will end up side by side with more established sports in both the retail and the online space. “I also think casinos will begin to house their own esports tournaments and events,” he says.

Imagine a weekend-long esports team tournament or an esports season that’s a couple of months long, Swissman says. It works on a fantasy sports level too. Fantasy participants could draft teams, as in football and baseball.

The much shorter season could evoke more interest among casual bettors.

“This may actually grow the fantasy market,” Swissman says. “Correspondingly, casinos could house these tournaments to help generate interest in the wagering component of esports.” As a bonus, these tourneys are relatively inexpensive when up against traditional sports.

However, when casinos housed esports tournaments in the past, profits didn’t follow because the events were “not well aligned and integrated into the rest of the resort experience,” according to Swissman.

But that could all change as esports gain in popularity. For all the buzz around the games, they’re just beginning to make inroads in the U.S. As Apter says, “Esports fans are very passionate, and all indications show that they want to bet on their favorite teams just as much as traditional sports fans do.”

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Ch-Ch-Ch-

Changes

Non-gaming amenity trends in the post-pandemic world

By Kit Szybala

Entertainment venues like Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, are upping their game with big-name performers like Billy Joel

A

s a result of the pandemic, casino operators have had to rethink their non-gaming amenity strategy, altering their programs to better suit their consumers and improve their bottom line. In the past year, as the industry reopened, some patrons were happy to find a refreshed hotel room product, reconfigured food and beverage options, new entertainment choices, and other revitalized non-gaming products. The pandemic gave operators a chance to redefine the entertainment experience.

Sports Betting and Revitalized Casino Food & Beverage Sports betting, while a gaming amenity, has dramatically changed the nongaming offering provided by casinos across the United States.

From both a mobile and land-based perspective, sports betting has become intertwined with casinos’ amenity offerings. In legal markets, one would be hard pressed not to find sports betting applications up and running on people’s mobile phones in casino bars. In these jurisdictions, casinos have been able to increase length of stay on property as well as spend on gaming and non-gaming items, particularly food and beverage.

Some operators have integrated the sportsbook experience into existing food and beverage outlets, adding digital displays of varying sizes to showcase games and odds. While certain operators have taken a more traditional sportsbook route, others have completely redefined the experience. Consider the BetMGM Sportsbook at Park MGM in Las Vegas and the Caesars Sportsbook at the LINQ. These savvy operators have found a new way to entice new and current consumers to visit and wager on sporting events while also spending money 30 CASINO STYLE 2021

at the bar and restaurant and sometimes visiting the casino floor as well.

Casinos have realized that while the gaming opportunity associated with sports betting can be minimal, the non-gaming opportunity can be substantial. The U.S. is in the thick of professional and collegiate football season, was recently in the throes of the World Series, and is diving into the regular seasons of the NHL and NBA. So consumers have games to watch every day of the week.

Smart operators are figuring out how to further engrain their properties into this form of entertainment and reap the benefits. By doing so, they have been able to integrate their facilities into their communities and solidify their properties as their market’s entertainment hub. By presenting a venue for patrons to congregate, enjoy a meal and wager, casinos have been able to improve the loyalty of their existing customers as well as expand their customer base overall.

Regardless of the way it’s presented in land-based casinos, sports betting has successfully woven itself into the fabric of the overall casino experience.

Rethinking theTraditional Casino F&B Program In many markets, the pandemic forced casinos to shut down most of their food and beverage offerings, presenting an opportunity for operators to review the effectiveness of their current outlets. In some cases, stringent regulations were enforced on specific outlets, like buffets.

While some operators were able to maintain buffets by shifting away from “serve-yourself” models, many used the pandemic as an excuse to

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The sportsbook at the LINQ includes intimate pods where groups can enjoy the games, grab a bite and enjoy the hang

rid themselves of this underperforming asset.

In almost every circumstance, casino buffets were not profit-producing amenities, but instead were utilized as marketing tools. But these marketing tools were not only losing money, they also encouraged customers to spend too much of their time dining or standing in line to dine (away from the casino floor).

By reconfiguring these venues to other outlet types (such as food courts, three-meal restaurants and sports bars) operators could create stand-alone profit centers while more efficiently and effectively serving their patrons, and giving them more time to spend in the casino.

Hotels, Health and Safety The hotel industry was forever changed by the pandemic. Fortunately for casinos, their large reliance on the leisure segment and access to database demand segments have generally allowed their hotel properties to survive.

With reduced occupancy levels, some casinos even made use of the downtime to perform renovations and expansions, avoiding construction disruption that would have been previously unavoidable. The El Cortez Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas reinvested approximately $25 million into its property, including new hotel rooms and several other items. And the Bellagio renovated its room product in an effort to attract customers and help them feel safer, with added health and safety protocols.

Similar protocols have been deployed throughout the hotel industry. Marriott International is a prime example of the efforts undertaken to combat the pandemic through health and safety measures imposed at its facilities. Marriott launched a Marriott Cleanliness Council, gathering in-house and outside experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention and hotel operations. This council’s mission is to focus on actively monitoring and evolving Marriott’s solutions to ensure a continued focus on the health and safety of its guests and associates.

In the casino industry, major companies like Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts rolled out comprehensive health and safety programs to help bring back meetings and tourists to Las Vegas and other regional markets.

Among many other initiatives, Wynn Resorts opened an on-site Covid19 testing center for employees with University Medical Center. As a part of its Convene with Confidence program, MGM teamed up with experts to create a health and safety protocols guide, with specific, actionable and practical information—everything from cleaning schedules for common areas in public and back-of-house spaces to paying special attention to high-contact areas such as doorknobs and food contact surfaces.

These programs and protocols will likely continue to be important going forward in a post-pandemic world.

Business and Leisure Lead the Charge As the world opens back up, leisure travel is booming. The U.S. recently reopened its northern and southern borders to more than just nonessential travelers. Business travel is also coming back, but at a slower pace as businesses reconsider what constitutes essential travel.

Even so, Smith Travel Research, a hotel data and analytics firm, doesn’t anticipate that the increase in leisure tourism will be enough to bring the hospitality industry back to 2019 demand levels. As a result, casino hotels will need to continue to focus on the potential use of their internal gaming databases to offset lackluster levels of latent demand.

MICE Remains Far from Recovery The MICE industry has also been greatly impacted, and its future is still in flux. Casino hotels in markets like Atlantic City are still in recovery mode, as they previously relied heavily on meeting and convention business to fill room inventory during the midweek period.

However, in other markets, there are some promising trends emerging 2021 CASINO STYLE 31

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For the foreseeable future, casinos will continue to consider Covid protections

for this segment, with companies like Wynn Resorts expecting their Las Vegas assets to have the most group bookings in its company’s history in the second half of 2021.

Despite some signs of hope, the meeting and convention industry isn’t close to recovering. Throughout the pandemic, event hosts had to rethink their approach, switching to web-based platforms and online meetings. This portion of the industry will be forever changed as a result, with participants and hosts seeing the financial value of converting certain in-person events to online events and pinpointing which events they want to hold in person moving forward.

Pandemic-related MICE restrictions are still present. While Covid-19 protocols continue to vary by jurisdiction, some venues and events have employed their own pandemic-related measures. At the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas this year, attendees were required to submit proof of vaccination and adhere to mask protocols. Phone applications like Clear Health Pass helped make this a relatively easy process. There are still varying degrees of mask requirements across the country. These regulations aren’t expected to disappear anytime soon.

It’s expected that meetings and conventions will continue to deploy a hybridized approach with both in-person and digital events post-pandemic. After a completely digital show in 2021, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) plans to give attendees a hybrid event, with both a virtual experience and a suitably regulated in-person experience. Moving forward, casinos with meeting and convention space will need to develop strategies to provide and/or accommodate both mediums for their customers, allowing them to more effectively compete for market share.

Flexible Entertainment Large concerts are starting to make a comeback, with music legends like Billy Joel scheduled to perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood early next year.

At the height of the pandemic, large concerts—or any concerts, for that matter—were nonexistent. As pandemic restrictions lifted, casino entertainment acts emerged in various forms. In general, the entertainment experience 32 CASINO STYLE 2021

offered was more intimate (due to capacity restrictions imposed by government authorities or by operators to make their venues more comfortable for patrons). More comedy acts and specialty acts were featured instead of grandiose acts that required large visitation to pencil out financially.

Outside the casino industry, entertainment venue concepts like the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado were able to accommodate fluctuating levels of demand. This venue was designed to adjust in size with a moving stage, shifting its ability to accommodate crowds from 2,200 to 3,950. The space wasn’t designed with the looming pandemic in mind, but its ability to function properly and maintain the energy in the facility for multiple types of audiences and acts allowed it to thrive.

Going forward, the casino industry can look towards venues like this one to make its entertainment facilities more attractive and adaptable.

Carving a Path Forward Even with refreshed and reinvigorated amenities, casino operators will still face several challenges moving forward.

Most notably, labor issues will remain at the forefront of the conversation as the pandemic continues to lead to a massive labor shortage due to issues surrounding unemployment benefits, among other items. According to a recent survey conducted by Joblist (an employment-search engine), more than half of U.S. hospitality workers stated they would not go back to their old

Meetings and convention facilities like Caesars Forum will take longer to recover than any other segment of the gaming industry

jobs, and more than a third are not considering coming back to the industry at all. This is due to a number of reasons, including a desire for a different work setting, higher pay, better benefits, more schedule flexibility and remote work opportunities.

With casinos shorthanded across the industry and hospitality labor shortages expected in the medium term, operators need to improvise and adapt by further reconfiguring non-gaming amenity programs and finding technology solutions that can be helpful in easing the burden on staff. Some of these platforms have already been implemented at casinos like Resorts World Las Vegas, with a touchscreen-enabled ordering platform in its food court and kiosks at the hotel check-in at Wynn Las Vegas.

Despite these challenges, with the right adjustments to facility programming, the implementation of best practices from other areas of the hospitality industry, and appropriate uses of technology, the casino industry can reemerge from the pandemic with a more complete, robust and successful amenity offering than before.

Kit Szybala is partner and executive director of operations at Global Market Advisors, the leading consulting firm in gaming, entertainment, sports and hospitality.

Enlightened Casino Marketing Merging art and science with brand management

jcarcamoassociates.com | casinomarketingbootcamp.com

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The

Life Story of a

CHAIR

In a throwaway society, this chair manufacturer insists on enduring, sustainable, hand-crafted seating products. Its clients like the idea, too.

By Marjorie Preston 34 CASINO STYLE 2021

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“The most important thing is comfort; it’s the key factor in how we design a chair.”

—Ed Abadie, Gary Platt head designer

I

t all starts with a tree, specifically a beech tree, usually harvested from a forest or farm somewhere in Canada or the Eastern U.S. The wood from that tree is the cornerstone of a chair that one day will grace a casino floor in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or another far-flung corner of the globe.

It’s what happens in between that sets this chair apart, ensuring it will last despite the wear, tear and punishment that comes with day-in, day-out, 24/7 use.

Lasting Impressions Durability has always been a guiding principle of Reno-based Gary Platt Manufacturing. In an often disposable age—and especially now, with resources and revenues in shorter supply—the firm’s clients also value the philosophy.

“We think it’s important, and our customers are asking for that too,” says CEO Joe Esposito. “A lot of our focus is on long-lasting products that are durable and reusable. Though all our chairs start with a 10-year warranty, they’re really designed to last forever. We’ve had chairs returned after 12 to 15 years, then refurbished and given new life to last another 10 or 15 years.”

For example, when an Atlantic City resort invested in new VIP chairs, it was able to repurpose existing chairs for the main floor. Such an approach reduces costs and conserves resources. It’s an idea that is gaining traction up and down the supply chain.

Research shows that support for sustainable products and practices is on the rise. According to a 2020 report from the Boston Consulting Group, 79 percent of consumers surveyed were willing to change their shopping preferences based on sustainability, and more than 60

percent of executives said sustainability increased brand value and customer loyalty. All of which lead to increased revenues.

This theory has proven particularly true in the casino industry. Gary Platt Manufacturing was founded on the premise that a comfortable chair will keep players at the slots or tables, increasing time on device and fueling profitability.

The company provides seating for the biggest names in casino games— IGT, Scientific Games, Aristocrat, Everi, Aruze, Konami—and gaming facilities of every size, from tiny slot halls in rural America to elegant European casinos to the imposing Resorts World Las Vegas, which opened in June on the Las Vegas Strip.

At Ease The chair of our story is strong and durable but also lightweight, thanks in part to that beech tree, which Esposito calls “the softer of the hardwoods.”

Prized for its hardiness, beech has been used for millennia to make furniture, flooring, watercraft, musical instruments and so on. The logs can also be crosscut, debarked, and peeled into ribbons of veneer to make plywood, which forms the core of the Gary Platt chair. The rest of the materials—the proprietary cold-cured foam, the steel or aluminum frames, the hardware and upholstery—are also made to last, Esposito says.

Comfort isn’t overlooked in the quest for durability. In 2019, a slot player at Reno’s Tamarack Casino said his Gary Platt chair got “a lot of credit” for keeping him in the game. “When you sit in a chair for an hour, two, three hours you tend to have issues with your back,” Mike Czarnick told KOLOTV. “So with these chairs—it’s fabulous.”

“The most important thing is comfort; it’s the key factor in how we design a chair,” says Gary Platt Head Designer Ed Abadie, who has made a career-long study of ergonomic principles and the “three Fs:” form, fit and function. Application of these principles can make the most angular, minimal2021 CASINO STYLE 35

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All Gary Platt chairs are made in the USA

Measure Twice, Cut Once While sustainability is undoubtedly a buzzword and a trend, the approach could not be more traditional. Gary Platt’s manufacturing process makes the most of its materials, with every bolt of fabric and piece of wood calculated and cut for optimum use and minimum waste.

“We do not create a lot of byproducts,” says Esposito.

When an order of finished chairs is ready to ship, instead of triple-wrapping the units in plastic or other prefab, hard-to-recycle materials, Gary Platt uses blankets.

At the point of delivery, workers simply unload the chairs, position them on the floor, and throw the blankets back on the truck, to be returned to the factory in Reno.

“It’s great for everybody,” says Esposito. “There’s no waste and no leftover packaging materials on the back end.”

Blanket-wrapping also allows more units to be stowed onto a delivery truck.

That makes for fewer delivery trips, less time on the road, less fuel, and a lower carbon footprint.

In a typical year, Gary Platt Manufacturing builds 90,000 chairs for use in resorts in North and South America, Europe and Australia (a third of those may be one of the most popular models, called the Monaco). And while it fills massive orders for thousands of chairs, it has also accommodated orders as small as five.

All for One Expert sewing team, doing it old-school

ist casino chair “sit well” for extended periods, ensuring the comfort of the player and offering continued support. The foam of each casino chair is sculpted to support the users’ activity, alleviating pressure points and allowing for comfort and ease.

Accidents happen, and if the seat of the chair is damaged on the casino floor, it’s quick work to replace it, says Abadie. “You’ll have a stash in the back of extra seats. You simply unscrew two screws, take the seat off and pop on a new one. It’s a lot less drama and expense that way.” It also ensures that no chair is indefinitely out of commission.

Design concepts often originate with the client, the casino operator, and it’s up to Gary Platt’s design team to take sometimes fanciful visions and make them work in real life.

“We kind of take a design, tear it down, and rebuild it our way, to make it functional,” Abadie says. Endurance and comfort are built in, and so is stability. The latter is important in a casino setting, where people of all sizes recline, sprawl, ride sidesaddle, and occasionally teeter at the edge of their seats, awaiting big jackpots.

The spread of the frame and the design of the base help the products safely withstand them all—the sprawlers, the teeterers and the would-be tippers, says Abadie.

“As you can imagine, casinos are big liability targets, and it’s super-important to us that chair’s not going to be tippable or cause any other problems for the casino.”

36 CASINO STYLE 2021

For even more efficiency, it’s all produced under one roof, by a team of 80-plus U.S. workers, at the Reno home base. Parts of the process, such as the laser-cutting of fabrics, are automated. But the sewing and upholstering are done the oldfashioned way, on sewing machines and by hand, as well as the final assembly.

The design team is also on the same property, says Esposito. “So when Ed’s designing something and wants to make changes or (director of engineering) Dan Waller wants to do something different, they’re able to just take those ideas right out on the production floor.

“From start to finish, our chairs are handcrafted and custom-made by expert sewers, upholsterers and assembly workers. These trained, skilled people really make it happen.”

Not surprisingly, Covid-19 has brought a few changes to the manufacturing process. Working with a partner, Gary Platt created a new line of anti-fungal, anti-mildew fabrics called Healthy Play. The material doesn’t support microbiological growth, contains no anti-bacterial chemicals, and meets stringent emission standards, for better indoor air quality.

Live Long & Prosper Decades from now, the chair that began with a beech tree may still be in use at a casino somewhere in the world. That longevity matters to the company and its customers, from coast to coast and around the world.

“We believe we have the highest value proposition,” says Esposito. “A Gary Platt chair is going to last a long time. The longer it lasts and stays comfortable, the more money the casino makes.

“But at the end of the day, our biggest competitive advantage is that our seats are just more comfortable than everybody else’s.”

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‘How can I help people?’ was a big thing with our company. If people were having a difficult time with something, I would ask, ‘Is there a better way to do it?’

—Gary Platt, innovator, idea man, and the company’s namesake

Gary Platt: An Unsurpassed Innovator

S

it. Stay. Play. Those three words sum up why Gary Platt is a legendary figure in the gaming industry.

More than 60 years ago, as a traveling furniture salesman, he was in Las Vegas when he stopped at a casino to play blackjack. Not only did he find the stool rickety and uncomfortable, he was astounded to see slot players on their feet in the narrow aisles, standing as they fed coins into the machines.

“I thought somebody was missing the boat there,” says Platt, who saw an opportunity to do things better—and sell a few of his company’s barstools in the bargain.

He pitched the casino operator, who sent him to the chair distributor, who told him all the reasons his idea wouldn’t work. For one thing, a blackjack stool can’t be swapped for a barstool, because it’s narrower, in order to fit seven people around the table. It also needs a shorter seat, at a height of 27 inches, and a straighter back. “But those were really easy things for our factory to do,” says Platt. Eventually, the distributor, Paul Endy, took on Platt’s line of retooled stools to great success.

Platt remained convinced casinos were losing money by forcing their slot players to stand. Again, he took his pitch to the operators, saying, “If they sit down, they’ll stay longer and play longer instead of putting in a few quarters and moving on.” The operators refused, saying there wasn’t enough room on the slot floor to install seating.

Platt persisted. He returned to Endy and said, “There’s got to be somebody who owes you a favor, or loves you—somebody I can talk to who won’t give me the same answer.”

Endy directed him to a small Vegas casino, where Platt proposed a solution: he would supply the operator with a comfortable slot stool at no cost, without obligation. If business didn’t improve, he would remove the stools, and the operator would owe nothing.

“He reluctantly said OK,” recalls Platt, “because of Paul.”

Platt shipped two dozen chairs to the casino, enough to equip one slot aisle. And bingo.

Now retired, Gary Platt last attended G2E in 2019

“People flocked to try the stools, and the drop on that one aisle rose, not 5 or 10 percent, but astronomically.” Soon slot manufacturers were lining up for stools, including a company called Sircoma, which eventually became IGT. “With the amount of stools they bought, it was utterly fantastic,” says Platt. “We started getting all the manufacturers.”

He innovated on the chair designs as needed, devising wider bases, adding brackets to attach the stools to the machine, and so on. “I wasn’t a designer, but I found things that were needed and took them back to the factory, where they made things happen.” Platt became so closely associated with casino chairs that in the late 1990s, when his colleagues Leonard Einhorn and Bob Yabroff formed a manufacturing company, they called it Gary Platt Manufacturing, with the tag line: Unsurpassed.

“I didn’t make too many mistakes,” Platt acknowledges. “But just because my name is on the door doesn’t mean I knew everything. The factory was wonderful with coming up with solutions.”

At 95, he is now an elder statesman of the gaming industry. And though Platt retired 10 years ago, he still keeps an eye on the business that bears his name. “If there’s something I think is useful, I pass it on.”

Asked the secret of his success, Platt credits inquisitiveness “and knowing things can be better. ‘How can I help people?’ was a big thing with our company. If people were having a difficult time with something, I would ask, ‘Is there a better way to do it?’”

Of course, there was a little bit of luck involved, too, he says. Vegasstyle luck. “My whole future was changed by going to play blackjack that night.”

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STYLE STYLE SPOTLIGHT

Designing Transformative Experiences HBG DESIGN

T

op 10 U.S. hospitality and entertainment design firm HBG Design has been creating memorable and transformative guest experiences for more than 42 years. Specializing in gaming-centric resort destinations, the firm has proudly worked with more than 40 sovereign nations across the U.S., as well as commercial gaming clients including Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Caesars Entertainment.

Adding a new level of specialization, HBG Design opened its Luxury Hospitality Studio in Dallas, Texas in early 2021. The Dallas location joins the firm’s West Coast office in San Diego, California and its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. HBG’s Luxury Studio represents a diverse portfolio of world-class gaming and five-star resort projects across the globe, including interior design for Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai; the MGM-Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut; the St. Regis Macao; Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve Resort in Puerto Rico; and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.

Spanning three locations, HBG Design’s dynamic 100-person creative team brings a holistic approach to design, integrating architecture and interior design to intentionally deliver dynamic experiences that delight and engage

guests, while providing the return on investment and operational flexibility owners count on for success.

Current HBG Design projects include the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The project celebrates the transformation of the 100plus-year-old historic thoroughbred racing and gaming property into a 272,000-square-foot resort and entertainment destination. New resort amenities enhance the gaming and entertainment options, including an elegant 198room hotel, restaurant and bar venues with superb track views, a soaring event/conference center, and a 19th century bathhouse-inspired luxury spa with an outdoor pool environment. Throughout the property, crisp, modern tailoring in the design blends with historical references and an abundance of natural light.

In keeping with the F&B brand co-founded by rock icons Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, HBG Design is designing the first Rock & Brewsbranded casino in Braman, Oklahoma. On the West Coast, HBG is designing the relocation and new brand experience of Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, California.

For more information, visit hbg.com.

Lobby, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort

38 CASINO STYLE 2021

TGGfullpage2022_Layout 1 11/3/21 2:58 PM Page 1

A

PUBLICATION

AN ANNUAL INDUSTRY REPORT

Don’t miss your opportunity to reach tribal gaming executives from all corners of the industry!

GGB Magazine is proud to announce the 2022 edition of TRIBAL GOVERNMENT GAMING: An Annual Industry Report, the most comprehensive publication available covering all Class II & Class III tribal gaming operations.

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Tribal Government Gaming is a highly visible publication with a circulation of 20,000, including bonus distribution at NIGA in April 2022, OIGA in August 2022, G2E in October 2022 and other appropriate trade shows and conferences.

Tribal Government Gaming reaches key decisionmakers in the Indian gaming and traditional casino industries, including operators, regulators, manufacturers and vendors.

As an annual publication, Tribal Government Gaming will offer a one-year shelf life providing increased frequency and recall for advertisers. Sponsorship opportunities are available for increased marketing awareness.

Ad Space Deadline: MARCH 17, 2022 I Publication Date: APRIL 1, 2022 For more information on advertising, please contact

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phone: 702-248-1565 x227 I email: Tbrady@ggbmagazine.com

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STYLE SPOTLIGHT Exceeding All Expectations BERGMAN, WALLS & ASSOCIATES

B

ergman Walls & Associates is a global architecture and interior design firm specializing in destination design for the casino gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries. For more than 25 years, BWA’s mission has been to provide the highest level of individualized design services while realizing the owner’s vision and business objectives and delivering inviting spaces that delight and engage guests.

BWA’s portfolio includes wide-ranging work for commercial and Indian gaming hospitality clients. The BWA design team has extensive experience conceptualizing, master-planning and designing entertainment, hospitality, mixed-use and gaming projects, ranging from intimate boutique restaurants to entire mega-resorts. Recent projects include the newly renovated Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, the Mayfair Supper Club at the Bellagio, and the Book and Re:Match sports betting lounges at The LINQ. BWA also applies its extensive hospitality experience to other entertainmentbased projects, raising the bar on business-as-usual. Recently completed projects include FlyOver Las Vegas, a new augmented-reality, family-friendly immersive experience, and ESPN’s studio at the LINQ Hotel + Experience, home to the network’s sports betting show, The Daily Wager.

BWA also recently completed projects at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California; the Apache Casino Hotel in Lawton, Oklahoma; and the Swinomish Casino and Lodge in Anacortes, Washington, which included adding flexible event and entertainment spaces, casino floor expansions, hotel

Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace

tower renovations and dynamic new dining and retail options.

Designing for the gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries requires in-depth understanding of the functional, operational, economic and aesthetic considerations behind each facility and each client’s needs. Along with BWA’s architecture and interior design services, the firm also offers master planning to help address today’s facility operational and safety protocol needs and accommodate future customer tastes and trends—from flexible casino floor designs to sportsbook lounges, interactive gaming spaces and other non-gaming entertainment options that attract new patrons and new demographics.

BWA helps turn properties into destinations that exceed client business and patron experience expectations. For more information, visit bwaltd.com.

Comfortable, Durable, Sustainable Seating GARY PLATT MANUFACTURING

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asino players everywhere enjoy their play in the unsurpassed comfort of Gary Platt Manufacturing’s legendary casino seating. Now the company is bringing that same comfort to hospitality seating in its Sierra Nevada Hospitality division, providing leading seating solutions for all hospitality areas including banquet, conference, restaurant, bar and hotel.

Gary Platt’s Sierra Nevada Hospitality line is revolutionary, and marks the first time Gary Platt’s premium and proprietary foam will be a component of hospitality chairs as a premium upgrade. For far too long, the global hospitality seating industry has been focused on function and style; Gary Platt’s Sierra Nevada Hospitality division changes that mindset.

The Sierra Nevada Hospitality line features more than 100 different chairs for a wide variety of needs. Beyond function, chairs from Sierra Nevada Hospitality are highly customizable, from seat to back shape, leg design and color, fabrication and materials.

The innovative designers and artisans at Gary Platt bring comfort, function and durability to every component of hospitality seating with their signature upgraded foam option. For decades, Gary Platt foam has demonstrated that it does not break down. Now, applying this durability to hospitality brings light to Gary Platt’s commitment to pure sustainability. Anyone anywhere who has ever sat in a traditional conference chair for more than 10 minutes will agree: it’s time for comfortable, durable and sustainable seating.

40 CASINO STYLE 2021

Gary Platt’s Sierra Nevada Hospitality division wasted no time in making its mark, and already has secured flagship agreements, supplying chairs to Caesars Entertainment and Resorts World Las Vegas.

For more information and to be inspired by an extensive photo gallery, visit garyplatt.com/hospitality.

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STYLE SPOTLIGHT The Future Is Today CUNINGHAM

C

uningham designs creative, cutting-edge and profitable gaming resorts. The firm’s many industry recognitions include a No. 7 ranking on Engineering News-Record’s list of “Top Entertainment Design Firms in 2021” and a No. 5 ranking among casino design firms on Building Design and Construction’s list of “Top Hospitality Sector Casino Design Firms.”

Cuningham is proud of its long-term successful relationships with clients across the globe. The firm’s success comes from flexibility and creativity.

It is focused on designing for the future, incorporating measures that allow guests to have fun and memorable experiences, today.

Cuningham delights in bringing clients’ visions Spokane Tribe Casino, Phase 2 Expansion, Airway Heights, Washington to reality through the design process. Notable projects in 2021 include designing an overall master plan for the Spokane Tribe in Airway Heights, Washington, as well as expanding Gordon Ramsay’s concept restaurant, Hell’s Kitchen. Construction began this the existing Spokane Casino, currently under construction. fall, with the restaurant planned to open in 2022.

Cuningham is also working on the renovation and 24,000-square-foot exCuningham’s portfolio represents a full array of casinos, hotels, event cenpansion of the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, California to modernize ters, convention facilities, restaurants, retail venues, spas, parking structures features, including the conversion of the buffet into an expanded food market and support facilities that span gaming, entertainment, and leisure destinaand a high-limit room. When complete, Tachi Palace will feature a more open tions. Clients include tribes throughout the nation and notable gaming and plan and a symmetrical space with a sense of entry. It will include an expansive entertainment industry leaders, including MGM Resorts International, the sports bar with indoor and outdoor dining and feature improvements necessiLas Vegas Sands Corp., Caesars Entertainment, Universal Studios, and Walt tated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Disney Imagineering. Cuningham approaches each project with a cross-marAnother exciting project is in Funner, California, at the Rincon Band of ket approach that leads to innovative, large-scale, multi-faceted gaming and Luiseño Indians’ Harrah’s Southern California Resort. There, Cuningham is rehospitality environments that engage, energize, and earn. placing the existing buffet with the largest version of multi-Michelin-starred chef Connect with Cuningham at Cuningham.com.

Connect with the Best PURCHASING MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL

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onnect with Purchasing Management International, the gaming industry’s premier purchaser of furniture, fixtures and equipment and operating supplies and equipment.

With extensive experience in the gaming industry, PMI works with designers, architects and owners to offer the accuracy, integrity and buying power needed for demanding gaming resort projects. PMI saves clients time and money.

The company has purchased and installed more than $3 billion in furnishings, operating equipment and systems throughout the gaming industry at properties such as Circa Resort and Casino, Maryland Live!, Rivers Casinos, Churchill Downs, Isle of Capri, San Manuel Yaamava’ Casino, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, Treasure Island, the Mirage, Wind Creek, Choctaw, Bellagio, Tropicana, Hard Rock, Station Casinos’ Red Rock Resort and the Four Winds Casinos.

42 CASINO STYLE 2021

PMI’s well-trained staff, vendor knowledge and unique system of checks and balances offer clients better project results, more project savings and higher design execution.

PMI understands that in the gaming world, every minute matters on a project. FF&E and OS&E sourcing and procurement are no different.

PMI choreographs thousands of moving parts from international sources to deliver some of the most well-designed and complex projects in the gaming industry, on time and under budget.

For the best in gaming FF&E and OS&E procurement services, connect with the best—connect with Purchasing Management International.

Visit pmiconnect.com for more information.

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Hard Rock, Gary, Indiana

The Rewards of Quality Design SOSH ARCHITECTS

S

OSH Architects was founded in 1979 on the core conviction that quality design continually rewards the community, the client, and the design team.

The firm has steadily grown from a company of four partners to its current size of 40 design professionals and support staff, all engaged in the execution of master planning, architecture and interior design commissions worldwide.

SOSH’s philosophy drives a design process that values exploration, visualization and the contributions of multiple voices, resulting in the best design solutions based on thoughtful collaboration and creative analysis.

With offices in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, SOSH has handled every aspect of hotel and casino design—from small, intimate VIP lounges and retail spaces to expansive casino floor renovations and new tower and resort construction. Each project has its own unique set of design opportunities and technical requirements, which SOSH addresses to meet client needs and stay ahead of market trends.

SOSH has played a pivotal role in the successful launch of several sports betting venues across the country over the last few years. More recently, the team has delivered design solutions for resort renovations and new constructions as clients emerge from shutdowns and continue to evolve their businesses during a global pandemic. Current hospitality and gaming projects include

All Hospitality, All the Time

work with high-profile clients including Hard Rock International, Bally’s Corp., Caesars Entertainment and Ocean Casino Resort.

While hospitality-based work is a substantial aspect of its business, SOSH also is engaged in a variety of project types around the globe.

To learn more, visit sosharch.com.

We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort | Fort McDowell, AZ

TBE ARCHITECTS

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halden Boyd Architects LLC, dba TBE Architects, is a Native Americanowned firm best known for its work designing destination casinos, hotels, and resorts in locals markets throughout North America.

TBE Architects was founded in 1971. That makes 2021 a milestone year for the firm, which celebrates 50 years in business. Principals at TBE attribute its continued prosperity to outstanding client and consultant relationships, and the ability to rapidly adapt to meet the demands of an ever-evolving industry.

Since 1971, the firm has designed more than 400 unique hotel projects and 300 casino projects, with three opening during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“All Hospitality, All the Time” is much more than a tagline; it’s at the very foundation of TBE’s client base, and defines the firm’s passion for strengthening tribal sovereignty through economic independence.

TBE Architects provides full architectural services, including master planning, architectural design, branding development and interior design. Its highly experienced design teams work tirelessly to deliver bold, high-quality and fully integrated projects on time and on budget.

Much of the firm’s work is a direct reflection of the team’s ability to meet the unique demands of its diverse clientele. Hence, no two TBE casinos or hotels are exactly alike. With roots firmly planted in gaming and hospitality, the team has an exceptional understanding of sophisticated entertainment and leisure for adults.

TBE has dedicated countless hours to the growth and development of national and internationally recognized commercial brands, such as Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, Delaware North, Hilton, Jacob’s Entertainment and more. It has also invested significant amounts of time in research and design for 117 Native American tribes and First Nations.

Wildhorse Resort & Casino | Pendleton, OR

Quil Ceda Creek Casino | Tulalip, WA

Throughout the firm, each employee shares a common goal: “To fuse team passion and talents with client needs,” designing architectural destinations that are fresh, exciting, appropriately branded and fully functional.

TBE Architects is proud to be an active associate member of the National Indian Gaming Association, the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association, the Washington Indian Gaming Association and the Arizona Indian Gaming Association.

For more information about the firm’s capabilities, visit TBEarchitects.com, email architects@TBEarc.com or call 314-727-7000.

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The Great Comeback How the “new normal” is impacting planned or delayed projects

By Carl Long

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hen I got back on the road in earnest as the pandemic started to wind down, everyone I talked to in the industry agreed… it was so good to be back! We all enjoyed connecting in person again. Projects that had stalled were moving forward, new projects were announced, and we were all hoping to move past the year of uncertainty.

Then news started to emerge of freight ships stacked up outside the port of L.A., freight costs flying higher each day, and ongoing projects experiencing delivery delays and material shortages.

When dealing with casino projects, the risks of inexperience, lack of focus on the details or lack of sound methodology are extremely high and can be very costly. For some owners, being back raises the anxiety level over how they can deliver their project.

How do we come back? The current environment makes project purchasing and supply chain management more important than ever.

Here are some tactics owners can employ to help mitigate the risks that the current environment poses to their projects.

Trust the professionals. Building or renovating a casino is different from any other type of project. It requires a unique skill set to handle the scale, design detail, speed. There are qualified professionals that have met and continue to meet to those requirements. Smart owners assemble their team quickly, empower each professional to perform, and hold the team accountable. Coming through the pandemic, strong companies have maintained their teams, servicing their clients and positioning themselves to emerge from the slowdown stronger. From a purchasing perspective, owners should look to purchasing companies that have experience working on casinos, deep vendor knowledge, and a system of checks and balances built into their method of purchasing.

Embrace flexibility. The pandemic has changed the supply chain in ways that are more pervasive than those portrayed by the news media (those stacked-up container ships). Global manu44 CASINO STYLE 2021

facturing of casino FF&E has shifted and continues to shift locations. China continues to be a major source for FF&E, but owners have reduced their shipping risk by developing sourcing strategies focused on North America and Europe. While this does reduce the delivery risk and typically reduces lead times, the tradeoff can be increased costs and limitations on finishes and materials. In the early planning, be flexible on the best way to execute a design or a product. It will increase the options available to your purchasing company to execute a sourcing strategy.

Building or renovating a casino is different from any other type of project. It requires a unique skill set to handle the scale, design detail, speed.

Expedite effectively. Even with the best strategy, the current manufacturing environment is challenging. Stops and starts in contract production due to limited labor or materials demand flexibility in the project plan. A purchasing company experienced in gaming projects and large purchasing volume can provide insight to owners about how to navigate those challenges. During a project, the quality of the purchasing company’s expediting will more effectively deal with challenges in the supply chain. The earlier a challenge is uncovered, the more options there are to creatively solve the issue. From assisting a manufacturer in locating a raw material to changing a delivery method or location, flexibility comes by getting the information early. In a gaming project, knowing the project’s priorities and collaborating with ownership, design and manufacturing helps everyone succeed.

Start early. In a post-shutdown environment, things just take longer. Design coordination takes longer, construction takes longer, vendors don’t reply

as quickly because they are short-staffed or have trouble sourcing their raw materials. The more efficiently a project can move through the design phase into the purchasing phase, the better any issues related to the global supply chain can be identified quickly. Early in the process, an owner should partner with an FF&E and OS&E purchasing company that is focused on gaming. A purchasing company with a sound purchasing management methodology will help develop a project budget based on current market pricing, create an achievable purchasing timeline, recognize project risks, and identify reliable manufacturers.

The conceptual budgeting process is especially valuable as we emerge from the last two years of extreme pricing volatility. We’ve heard from a seating manufacturer that had 176 price increases over 200 days. That type of market data, available to purchasing companies, will inform the development of a conceptual budget during the design phase. An owner with recent pricing data can give designers direction about how they want to allocate design efforts to make the most impact. With extended production and shipping times, a purchasing timeline empowers contractors to plan their critical path activities better and avoid project slowdowns because of poorly coordinated material deliveries.

Most importantly, engaging with a purchasing agent early helps identify project risks from a vendor and material standpoint. Purchasing agents focused on the gaming industry are constantly evaluating vendors’ performance over multiple gaming projects. Instead of worrying about what is unknown or what may have changed over the last two years, owners should press forward with a purchasing company to leverage that industry knowledge and move a project ahead quickly.

Carl Long is senior vice president of Purchasing Management International, the gaming industry’s leading FF&E and OS&E procurement company. He is also president of the International Society of Hospitality Purchasers, and regularly speaks on topics related to global sourcing and procurement.

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P3 PROGRESSIVE PRODUCTS PREVIEW

INSPIRING, INNOVATIVE & CUTTING-EDGE FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY

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Way It Was

The

Hot Springs, Arkansas, was the Las Vegas of the early 20th century

By Patrick roBerts

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ack in the day (1920 through the 1940s), pockets of semi-legal gambling existed in towns across the United States. Union City, New Jersey; Steubenville, Ohio; Covington, Kentucky; Biloxi, Mississippi; Cripple Creek, Colorado; Deadwood, South Dakota; and Tombstone, Arizona were just a handful of the dozens of towns that looked the other way when gambling took place within their borders. In most cases, local authorities got a cut of the profits, and the industry was very lucrative. Today, lots of these places again host fully legal gambling, which was historically part of their heritage.

That’s the case with Hot Springs, Arkansas. Recently, HBG Design completed a five-star hotel at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, home of one of the legal casinos recently approved by the state. It’s a beautiful hotel, with a full selection of non-gaming amenities, situated on the first turn of the famous racetrack, which dates back to Hot Springs’ gambling heyday.

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Hot Springs in 1925 included bathhouses on one side of Central Avenue and casinos on the other, all leading to the elegant Arlington Hotel at the top of the hill.

Today’s Arlington Hotel (below) is faded and frayed.

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The elegant bathhouses exist today as part of the Hot Springs National Park

The Mobster & the Mayor Tourism was always a part of Hot Springs, from the days when Native Americans visited the valley to enjoy the town’s namesake hot springs. And prior to the Civil War, the baths that linked the hot springs were a popular destination for travelers across the U.S. A tourism slump following the Civil War brought the first vestiges of gambling to town, culminating in an 1899 gunfight between Hot Springs police and county sheriffs. Each side had backed a different gambling faction in town, and the shootout left three dead.

By the mid-1920s, a mobster named Owney Madden had moved from New York to Hot Springs, and controlled gambling through his Hotel 48 CASINO STYLE 2021

Arkansas casino, supported by the town’s mayor, Leo P. McLaughlin. At the height of early gambling in Hot Springs, there were 10 major casinos and some smaller establishments in the city, along with the Oaklawn Racetrack. The track’s race meets drew the biggest volume of travel to the resort. Madden is credited with making Hot Springs the birthplace of the “wire,” which disseminated information among racetracks, thus allowing off-track betting.

Madden and McLaughlin fended off prosecution and legislative action for the next 20 years. Gambling continued to thrive in Hot Springs, until some GIs returning from World War II took on the McLaughlin political machine, and drove the activity from the city.

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The buildings that once housed Hot Springs’ casinos are now either abandoned or slowly deteriorating. The Vapors, the last casino to open in Hot Springs, is now a seedy nightclub.

In the 1940s, Arkansas seriously considered legalizing gambling in Hot Springs, noting the rise of Reno and Las Vegas when gambling became legal in Nevada. But the move failed narrowly in the state Senate. One can only wonder what would have become of Hot Springs had the effort succeeded.

After a short revival of gambling during the administration of Governor Orval Faubus, the industry finally came to an end in 1967. That’s when new Governor Winthrop Rockefeller sent in a phalanx of state troopers to shut down the remaining casinos and clubs, and destroy all their gaming equipment. For the next 50 years, Arkansans could only legally wager at Oaklawn and Southland Greyhound Track outside Memphis. Then, in November 2018, Arkansas passed a constitutional amendment to permit casino gaming at Oaklawn, Southland, and two other locations in the state.

Central Revival Today, Oaklawn is a first-class casino and resort. But unfortunately, down-

50 CASINO STYLE 2021

town Hot Springs is fraying around the edges. Bathhouse Row and the surrounding mountains are now part of the National Park system, but the stores, hotels and motels across the street on Central Avenue are hurting. The Vapors, the last casino built when gambling was still allowed, is now a sketchy nightclub. The formerly grand Arlington Hotel, summer home to mobsters like Al Capone in his day, is shabby and worn.

Imagine if you will that, instead of just Oaklawn, gambling was revived along Central Avenue, as in the mountain towns of Colorado and South Dakota. Those shuttered casinos could return to their former glory, and Hot Springs could become a true destination resort once again, with multiple tourist attractions. The city would truly be revived.

We can only dream.

For a fascinating read about Hot Springs in its glory days, check out The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice by David Hill.

Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Resort Glendale, Arizona

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