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What demographic SHOULD Vegas be targeting?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by MisplacedTexan, Apr 26, 2014.

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  1. MisplacedTexan

    MisplacedTexan Low-Roller

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    After watching Anthony Bourdain’s segment on Las Vegas, this question has kind of been rumbling through my mind — what demographic SHOULD Vegas be targeting right now?

    Bourdain had harsh words to say the Electric Dance Music crowd. (Not that he has any room to call anybody else out for their douchbaggery, IMHO.) And the EDM business really isn’t my thing mostly because paying $50 to get into a packed club, then paying $1,000 or more for bottle service seems insane to me. Nevertheless, the trend seems to become stronger and stronger each year.

    And I’m not intending to start a flame war about lovers and haters of EDM. We all come to Vegas for our own reasons, we all have things we love about being there, and what makes it so great is that it offers such a wide variety of escapes for all of us.

    Obviously as gaming revenues decrease, properties are going to look to things the will make up the difference — and clubs are definitely one of those things. And by some counts, EDM accounts for [URL="http://www.vibe.com/article/clubs-vs-casinos-edm-beats-out-gambling-sin-city”]HALF OF REVENUE[/URL] these days.

    I say all that to say this — do you think, in the long run, that demographic is where Vegas should be focusing its energy? I came across [URL="http://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1595&context=thesesdissertations”]THIS RESEARCH[/URL] that indicates the focus should be on Baby Boomers. And while that makes complete sense to me, I also realize that Baby Boomers can't be the long-term future of Vegas and maybe the EDM “kids” are.

    What do you wish there was more of in Vegas and if you got your wish, would that affect how often you visited or how long you stayed and how much you spend?
     
  2. nickle

    nickle Low-Roller

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    As a Baby Boomer, I hope that a lot of the old Vegas doesn't disappear. We have been to Vegas multiple times, both as singles and a couple. We love to gamble...small stakes...love the lounges, great food and all the glitz. Having said that, we also arrive on a 7 day budget that would be blown in two or three nights of EDM clubbing. If the suits in Las Vegas aren't satisfied with our $2K to $3K per trip, they will stop offering discounted or free rooms and other comps, and we will go more regularly to our local casinos. We would really miss Vegas though!
     
  3. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Just to turn the question around a bit...We are boomers, early 60s and we go to Vegas 4-6 times per year. Mid level VP players. We are full RFB at downtown Boyd. If that changed and we had to start paying for rooms, food etc, I honestly believe we would never go to Vegas again.

    Except for on-line NFL betting, Vegas is the only place we gamble. Plenty of Indian casinos around but we have no desire to even walk in and if the comps disappeared in Vegas, I would probably not gamble again.
     
  4. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    With hospitality and entertainment they don't think in terms of "long term" instead they give people what they want and go after the people with money.

    As times changes what the people want and who has the money changes and so thats why things will keep changing in a place like Las Vegas.

    And a place like Las Vegas has to chase the money: as a business who would you rather have? The one who comes in for 2-3 days and drops $5000 or the one who comes in for 4-5 days and drops $500?
     
  5. grosx2

    grosx2 Have fun storming the castle!

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    Here is a short article along with the clip in question:

    http://www.esquire.com/_mobile/blogs/news/anthony-bourdain-edm

    Re: the discussion between Bourdain and Penn, my vote goes with Anthony for " the latter." I'm 30 and I hate the shit. Hated it 5 and 10 years ago too. Though I think it was called "house" or "techno" back then. Not sure if just the name changed, or if those are considered different genres.

    On the flip side, I'm sure there are plenty of people in their 40s and 50s who love it (or at least pretend to, to feel younger). So it's not solely a function of age.
     
  6. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    Part of that is Bourdain's schtick though, isn't it? He's always come across as that disgruntled NY person to me. I dunno. Life is too short to be grouchy about what other people are doing for fun!

    Personally I think they should cater only to 40-something year old, female, Vegas message board owners who love dogs and knitting and needs to go to Vegas to get her buffoon on with her FAAAMILEEEEE a couple times a year or else she wears a grumpy-cat face every day. :thumbsup:
     
  7. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    They should be targeting Boomers because Boomers will keep the casinos going. Sure it looks good to the bottom line that there are other revenue streams but I think it will make investors skittish if they let the casino end die. They need to start targeting Gen X more. They do need to cultivate the EDM crowd that are presumably younger but the more you look at the big picture for that crowd, their money will dry up. Look at the student loan debt numbers and the high unemployment rate for college grads. And even though they are all paying to get in a club only a select few can afford bottle service. The rest are the ones carrying in coolers through the hotel lobby and trying to figure out how to sneak drinks into the pool.

    Actually, until the strip waterparks come online, they need to target everyone but families right now. And I think they need to do a better job when it comes to women. Do those assholes really think we all like to shop so throwing a few trinket places is enough?
     
  8. gumbyjim

    gumbyjim Tourist

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    It's a question of who has the disposable income now. Without a doubt it's the baby boomers. In order to get them to spend that money you have to market to that money. The strip has done an extremely poor job of accomplishing that objective. If the clubs are generating the majority of the income, I would fire all of the marketing staff
     
  9. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

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    I remember my FIL, back in the early 90's, would always rant about how the MBA's are ruining everything. :) He'd tell anyone who would listen, "You know what MBA stands for, right? Maybe By Accident! Ho ho ho har" (he had a great laugh)

    Way back when, Steve Wynn made a ton of $$$ by taking some risks on promoting Vegas in a new way (families). Now, corporate Vegas is looking for the new wave of Vegas visitor. VMB members are already going. How do they get the people who AREN'T going already? LA is a huge market for Vegas, as is apparent if you ever drive I-15 on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon. There's a lot of disposable, young income in the LA clubs, so it seems like it could work in Vegas. Although I personally have no interest.

    DonD introduced me to a guy at a casino downtown a couple years ago and we had a great discussion about marketing and target markets, shows that would draw and how to get gamblers into the casino. I may not be a casino mogul, but I've been running this site for over 15 yrs now and every day, 365 days a year, I read feedback from readers about what they like and don't like. I think I've got my finger pretty solidly on that particular pulse. I told him my theories for what is the draw downtown and how/who to target. He shrugged and basically said, "That comes from a pay-grade higher than mine." (and his was pretty high, FWIW)

    Unfortunately, and especially in Vegas, the decisions about those things happen at a level much higher than the hands-on people. Those are corporate decisions made by number crunchers and marketing departments based on the bottom line. They hear that they can charge $600 for a $40 bottle of Vodka and they think, "Jackpot!!!" It's like I was trying to say in that thread Fe'Adolphus started about what he can and can't do for us - Don't hate on your host or your pit boss, etc. They are doing their jobs the very best that they can, but they don't make the rules.
     
  10. parallax

    parallax High-Roller

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    Casinos cannot just target one segment of the population. They have to be very diversified in their offerings. Many of the things in vogue now will disappear in five years. my guess is that EDM will not be relevant in 5 years. There will be new things that some will like or others will hate. Evolution is one of the few constants in Vegas.
     
  11. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    I don't know if many people will agree but the one demographic i think they should stop targeting is families. I know a lot of people like to bring their kids but i am even more of the mindset after i visited. I thought it before but it is cemented now.

    I came across many unsupervised kids who were acting just plain stupid. Having a teenager myself i know kids unsupervised can be like that. Some are also very mature. Either way though while i LOVED MB i also really liked it at GC where there were much much less kids present. There were NONE at the pool and it was awesome.

    I love kids, my nieces mean the world to me but there are much more suitable options for a family vacation. They don't bother me if i go to Minneapolis or Orlando or anywhere else for that matter. I expect them there and it is fine.

    Kids on fremont at 12am who are whiny, crying etc because they are so tired made my head spin. I don't get it.

    Anyways, i think the target are should be 30-50. Of course other age groups work too, and that doesn't mean if you are younger or older you can't/won't enjoy vegas. I just think those are the people that are going to have the most money.
     
  12. VegasMarv

    VegasMarv Tourist

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    I'm 40 years old and I love to gamble, drink and have a good time. I do not go to the clubs when I'm in Vegas and quite honestly have no desire to. I like the style of music they play, but I'm in Vegas to gamble and have a good time and clubs are not my thing. The original question posed by the OP is intriguing. Being a business man it seems logical to maintain the draw of Vegas for the gambler - low or high and still cater to the younger crowd who want to pay a grand for bottle service. I can say without hesitation that lowering comps and limiting or reducing the gambling selection is not the way to go. I can see downtown becoming more and more appealing to the gambling crowd and the strip catering to the more cosmopolitan crowd. At least that's the way I see it potentially happening in the future if the prognosticators are correct. Vegas has reinvented itself over and over again and hopefully they will realize what got them there in the first place - not clubs and bottle service. I've been wrong before...
     
  13. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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    I actually liked most of the family stuff Vegas used to have back in the 90s. I will always lament the loss of "Star Trek: The Experience", for instance. In my mind, Vegas actually needs more family stuff, because gambling just isn't going to bring in the big bucks anymore. Make Vegas more like Dubai. Bring in some indoor ski slopes. Indoor water parks. Put in more attractions like Stratosphere . Give people a reason to come other than what they can already do in pretty much every other state in the nation now.
     
  14. Busyman

    Busyman VIP Whale

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    Goodness, it's not all EDM. It's clubbing in general and clubbing has been around forever. Now Vegas just has more clubs and they "do it up" more.

    Sorry but clubbing is never going away just like gambling isn't.

    People complain about the lessening of gambling focus. Well, those complaining should gamble more then and get your friends to gamble.

    Gambling is looked at by many as ultimately a losing bet so people scale that back, even those that used to gamble a lot.

    Gaming revenue didn't drop due to 6:5 blackjack. Hard pill to swallow, I know.

    Oh and you don't have to get bottle service at a club. Most of the people that go, don't.
     
  15. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    I think they should only target centerfold quality girls who are dumb and like to party. The rest will take care of itself. :wink2:
     
  16. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    I think you nailed it

    Anybody who doesnt know the value of a dollar and doesnt care what they lose. Whether they're rich or just pretending to be rich.
     
  17. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal VIP Whale

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    EDM is hot right now. Eventually it will wane like disco did in the 70's but like a previous poster said, clubbing is here to stay short of a lunge act resurgence. Also Vegas is all about giving you something you can't get at home. Those kids from Des Moines or Lubbock don't have the sort of clubs that Vegas has or at least in that quantity. Many of us, if we want to gamble, we're no more than a few hours by car from a casino.

    From a business perspective, it's just too good of a deal to make the money that you know you can from clubs right now. There's essentially no exposure because you're guaranteed $30 to $50 a head to get in the door and with a few drinks it's easily $150+ per person on the low end. Plus right now the mentality among a lot of people in my peer group, it's a LOOK AT ME mentality. Looks reminiscent of the 80's yuppies. And as a casino or nightclub, I'd be more than willing to take their money. A lot of the kids in the clubs are $30k-Millionaires. Leased 3-series and living on credit are the name the of the game. We're constantly shown how fabulous it is to be wealthy on TV but let's face it, most of us right out of school don't make a whole lot of money. We WANT THAT! So the motto is "Fake it until you make it." But even when they do get that $100k/yr job they're up to their eye-balls in debt they can't enjoy life.

    And even though Boomers are a HUGE portion of the population I don't see them as high margin customers. Yes they have money for the most part but they're not buying table service and paying $50 cover charges.
     
  18. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    You are right but as you point out, you are dealing with an audience that is may be partying with borrowed money. If the prognosticators are right, they are going to go bust in epic fashion. There are only so many trust fund babies and who knows when they will decide its better to fly somewhere else to party. They are smart to chase easy money but I don't know why it's being done in a way that alienates so many other potential customers.
     
  19. Someone

    Someone High-Roller

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    anthony bourdain is an idiot for the most part and the reality is that it is not EDM that is the problem it is American club kiddies of any style or genre that are the problem

    anthony is such a total ****** bag that he might actually pretend he would rather be in a club with a bunch of baggy panted flat bill hatted hip hop losers, but that is only because he has already made his statements about EDM

    I happen to like some EDM music and I am well past the age of most that like it, but the reality is I would probably never even come close to considering seeing Tiesto or Oakenfold or any of the others at a club in Vegas especially because I simply won't put up with the shitheadedness of those that own and operate the clubs nor the pricing and if I was going to come close to paying that type of money I would just go to Palma, Spain or Ibiza where I can be around Euros that are there for the music and not the be "seen" and to pay too much to be treated like shit in the mistaken belief that is "sophisticated" or "classy" and that have to cram in nuts to butts to be as close to the famous "dj" as possible so much so that you can't even move to the music or have any real fun

    as to who Vegas should target......conventioneers, those that want better than decent gaming odds, those that will gamble and even lose a decent sum of money as entertainment as long as they know they will get some decent % of that back as comps so they feel as though they got something in exchange for their losses (even if it would have been slightly cheaper to just pay for it) and shoppers that want a great selection for a good price because of a large volume of sales taking place per square foot and diners that will pay a decent price for a top quality meal because they do not have most or all of those options in their regular life/place where they live

    instead what Vegas has become is a place that is expensive with pretty much the same shitty odds as a locals casino, over priced restaurants, faux everything clogged with ****** factor 11, over priced shopping and crappy clubs filled with even crappier obsessed with wasting money and pretending that makes them classy, hip or cool idiotic American club kiddies and morons and mooks manning the door and the floor along with checks that are loaded with made up charges, fake taxes, chisel fees and just BS and then the resulting screaming, brawling and vomiting in the hotels and restaurants and poor comps to boot
     
  20. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    100% agree. It's too profitable. It's like removing high end dining; it will never happen.
     
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