What does Las Vegas need?

More. Cowbell.

 

Love how the presser said they're "excited to announce" that CES will be digital..... what rationale person would be excited that due to hundreds of thousands people dying, a major influx of revenue to Las Vegas - which is getting crushed - won't happen? #disingenuousbullshit.

 

Marketing spin. Obviously they can't say "We're disappointed to announce...."

 

I know what it is, but am surprised they think people are that stupid to think that this will be remotely close to as fun as it was pre-pandemic and portray it anything other than what it is, a disappointing experience they're trying to make the best of.

 

Jeff Bezos should build an Amazon casino. He already has a mega data base of players from all over the world. Prime members would get the equivalent of CET platinum. And big Amazon spenders would get even higher status. They can have a fulfillment center on location, you know for those things you forget to pack. They can be delivered right to your floor. And rewards points you earn shopping on Amazon can be used in the casino, and points you earn from play can be used for Amazon purchases, free play etc. Bezos can probably build a casino with the change in his couch cushions.

 

My thoughts on the whole Millennial's don't gamble idea....
Many don't gamble yet but are starting to(draft kings and trading stocks in Robin Hood). As each generation ages they change. I didn't gamble much in my twenties or have a desire to go to Las Vegas. Now in my 40's its my favorite place on earth. These millennial's might now be going to Vegas and putting six people in a room and hitting pool parties and clubs but they probably won't when they are 40. I've seen the new Millennial hires from 5-10 years ago at my job begin to start enjoying finer foods, get married, and start families. Also bought houses that they've fixed up. They've really changed in the last five years. In some ways the Millennials and gambling idea is like saying all the nursing homes will go under because Generation X doesn't want to stay there.

 

Assuming Covid is wiped out:

1) Walking escalator thingy magigy that you see in airports and the walkway between Luxor and Excalibur but outdoors on the sidewalk. It would get people to and from the north and south strip without having to sweat as much in the heat and limits the use of cars driving around just to find parking.



2) Two drink vouchers for up to two people for each day you stay in the hotel. Vouchers presented to you upon check in at the hotel and is good for any location on the property.

3) Every hotel has a buy 2 nights, get one night free option. This would be great to attract those on a budget.

 

I don't plan to go back to Vegas until the end of 2021.
I miss it! I need my Vegas fix!
When places like the Neon Boneyard put out online content, I definitely check it out.

I'd like it if there was a BETTER virtual vegas .com
interactive/augmented/vr. live?
online gambling for each resort in vegas
a virtual vegas currency?

I'm not sure what Vegas needs other than a vaccine for Covid-19

 

Free ice cream with every buy in!

 

CES sent us conventioneers a survey a few months ago. They asked if we were planning to go to the CES in January. Also asked what will it take for us to go to the CES. I think my response was like others. I just said that the CES needs to be safe from coronavirus. Especially since the virus is in LV.

I guess that the CES people couldn't guarantee safety so they decided to pull the plug for 2021.

 

Until the Covid era passes Vegas needs to get back to its roots. More incentive for gamblers, more free play, better VP pay tables, looser slots. Oh wait I'm dreaming.

 

maybe Bezos can look behind his couch cushions and help Vegas out!

 

Wow, what does Vegas need, what a fun distraction from my work

Let me think:

Something generational. Each generation has their thing:
1. Rat Pack...dancers had their clothes on but were revealing. Gambling was still sinful back then.
2. The swinging years...God bless the 70s and 80s topless dancers, burlesque a naughtier time..Gambling was still sinful, and Vegas was the debauchery.
3. The family years, all those swingers had kids. Cirque du Soleil, the dancers put on clothes..and bring kids to pseudo-Disney. Gambling was more of a waste of money, and Vegas was family-friendly
4. What happens in Vegas? Stays in Vegas, the years of the Hangover, and to engage in debauchery. This ushered in Gen-X and Gen-Y. Vegas returned to sin but in a different way. Like a naughty one-time experience. The problem with Gen-X is they are too practical, they will not lose their room key, they have been trained to let themselves in after school. And working those after school jobs at fast-food and the mall has made them all rather thrifty. Gen-X and Gen Y have also accepted the odds are not in their favor, and are a less likely to gamble because they, unlike their parents, are savers and also have the internet.

Now here we are in COVID. What a mess this is. Vegas was already confusing and all over the place. There is no clear theme. No clear message. It's like a mixed bag. You have some of the old-timey debauch and the rough crowd on Fremont. You have the family experience being renovated and rebranded as a multi-generational destination experience.

So here's how I would fix Vegas.

1. Read the generation. What do they like to do, Experiences, things they cannot do at home. Cater to that and make it easy. They want WestWorld. They want to drop in and have it all figured out. They do not want to have to stand in line at the checkout counter and spend 20 minutes walking back to their room only to find they misplaced their key card or they cannot get it to open up. They don't want to trek down the 110 degree Las Vegas Boulevard in the summer and get lost going back to the hotel only a mile away. Improve the experience.

2. Forget the symptoms. Cure the problem. Smoking/Nonsmoking..who gives a shit. The problem is that there is NOTHING unique anymore that people cannot get elsewhere. That's it. Period. You want a carnival for your kids, you go to Disney. You want to gamble, you go to a local Indian Casino. Its pretty simple. You want an experience, you go to a destination. All these high salary people need to be put in a room, all the heads of casinos, and figure out what VEGAS has that other places don't.

3. Find the gamblers. The gamblers over the years have been treated like shit. I've seen the erosion from 1993, when I first dealt cards, to now. I worked at Harvey's Lake Tahoe for 3 years to fund college. I had no idea of these golden years of low table limits, full tables throughout the years. People barely knew about the basic strategy. Now there's the internet and everyone researches. Quit gaslighting. Everyone is going to know and lose confidence. Get rid of 6/5 blackjack. Min 5x odds on craps. All that nickle-shaving, do you not think anyone with a right mind notices. This is your meat and potatoes. Lower the table limits, get some human beings in there on the table. Put people to work.

4. Mind your budget fixed and variable costing. Get all the suggestions, then fire your accountants and put Chris Pratt in charge. That's your audience now. For the record, this group wants to do more than just win money. They are motivated differently

Here's something else I think of while discussing the numbers: I don't understand why they don't contract more labor as gigwork in Vegas. It seems very simple to me. If you made smaller casinos you could get away with this. Yeah, I get the risk of hiring a cheater but you can also use ratings on the back end. If you are so worried about risk, (let's say you get a cheater, someone wins too much) walk down to Wall Street, and hedge it with commercial insurance. There is insurance for everything now. Everything is moving to contract labor. And I'm not talking the temps agents, I'm talking full-on specialized agency hire-to-contract.

Another item: Dump that huge expensive real estate that you have been holding on to and find an investor to do a sale/leaseback to increase cash flow. I realize unlike the airlines, you don't have commoditized item, but you could if you did it right. That would require more digital and personalized delivery to ensure loyalty. Then you wouldn't have to worry about lease renegotiation. Either that or you could put it on 40 years, and let the next generation deal with it. If you are on the cusp of being able to afford to get into that game, now is your chance. It will never be lower again.

5. Finally, the following things need to be revamped:
(1) Night clubs - this may work in NYC, but we are in the middle of COVID, and the aesthetic of beauty is changing. Remember the internet is judgmental, ruthless, and always right. It only takes one sensitive me-too-er to put this on social media and shame a multi-million dollar casino. Also an $18 beer is a gaslight. It would be better to change the $100 to come in and say, here's a fun "experience" then charge $2 for the beer, whatever. I cannot comment on the accounting here, but it needs to be figured out. Every decision you make, grab a 20-year-old, maybe a friend of one of the casino execs kids, ask them, does this feel like a gaslight to you? If it does, shut that shit down.

(2) Reliance on conferences. OMG there's a pandemic now. Ooops. that gravy train left the station. You got to diversify that thinking.

(3) Megastore mentality. Did you not take a cue from Circuit City, Sears, JC Penney, Macys? No one wants anything supersize anymore. They want a clean and neat package fully explained and straightforward delivered to their front door. Oh wait, that's Amazon. How are they doing right now? It needs to be like Dollar General, easy in and out storefront. Run the numbers and see what working. I suggest smaller casinos.

(4) The move to Sports betting.. That was the golden goose, until of course the pandemic. I still see it as a goose, but you need to educate and engage this next generation. In order to do that, there needs to be communication, marketing and organized experiences. I would love to see as many training classes and round tables parked next to sportsbooks as there are empty machines.

OK I'm off to my real job now...I really want to go back this summer. I'm seriously considering it. I went to Vegas 6 times last year and celebrated New Years on Fremont ---2020 sux

 

That’s a long list....j/k.....

 

I didn't read this entire succession of posts but I can't believe that the younger crowd can't be enticed to do gambling in Vegas. There are enough brilliant Techs out there the conceive of games that the current crowd can enjoy. They like being online and they barely really talk to each other without using some electronic device. Plus the casinos already have the current games that have no live dealers.

 

When I compare my first visit to Vegas in ‘91 to my last visit in January. There are many more young people gambling....but that’s just me.

 

The millennials will grow into gambling. Every generation does.

 

Come on people, Vegas simply needs more cow bell.

 

I like @LVisBeautiful 's post...
To put a finer point on a few things:

1. Absolutely get rid of 6:5... sure, there are a lot of party guys that come in for a weekend to drink & get laid, and most of them don't care about 6:5, so long as they can afford the table minimum - but there are FAR more potential customers, whom the casinos never even see because they are smart enough to avoid piss-poor rules. Get rid of 6:5, bring back $5 & $10 min tables, and have at least a few pitch-games available. I can guarantee two things - the majority of players' per-hand average bets will be well-over that table minimum; and your tables will remain busy with players, most of whom do not count & don't particularly practice basic-strategy very well. There is an inherent 'draw' to a casino offering lower minimums and better rules, even among those customers who rarely (if ever) take full advantage of it.

2. The 'Strip' and convenience: People come to the strip for the "spectacle" of it, as well as the more-luxurious quality versus downtown or off-strip. So long as those 'spectacles' are still around, and the luxury is available, people will keep coming. But there are some of us who remember the original O'Shea's, Barbary Coast, Westward Ho & the Silver Slipper. Those places were more consistently 'busy' than the bigger "more luxurious" strip properties in those days - and the age demographic (back then) definitely skewed "younger" at those places. I ought to know - I was one of them! Get some sort of people-mover system in place, preferably underground, that not only connects casinos with their neighbors, but allows for 'street' crossing as well.

3. First impressions: You want to draw & retain a younger generation? Make their first (or 'rookie') gambling experience memorable. Be more free-wheeling with 'table-comps'. (Most places these days will have to look up the term, as they haven't allowed them for so long!) A pit-critter is, without doubt, THE best person to judge whether or not a player (or group of players) represents good, potential repeat business. Let them 'reward' such players at their discretion. Coffee-shop & buffet comps are cheap... let them do this & you build property loyalty, make the player feel like a higher-roller than they are, provide a more memorable & "fun" experience for the player,(win or lose), and benefit from 'word-of-mouth' about that experience.

 

It's not a tech problem. If the casinos are really serious about millennials, they need to bring back 3:2 BJ. If millennials don't feel they have a chance to win, they'll skip the casino altogether.