By Pamela Joy Ring   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Retail is an important part of gaming, yet it's a bit different from other amenities. Whereas food, beverage and entertainment have been organic components of gaming, retail has a separateness about it. For example, you could have a casino property without retail, but it's highly unlikely to have a casino without food and beverage. As a result, many of us may not be as aware of retail in gaming relative to other amenities more seeded in it. This article is designed to broaden our understanding of how to properly build a retail component in a casino property. We include the best and the brightest of the pioneers who have developed retail components on gaming properties. They weigh in from every perspective of retail; from strategic planning to retail real estate development to buying behaviors to living the life of a merchant. They describe the building blocks of knowledge and how to use them to build a successful retail component.

Building Block 1
Looking Back and Going Forward

If you were to trace the history of amenities as an important feature of gaming, you would find the path to be marked by staggered and mercurial growth.

Industry veteran Alan Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs for MGM Mirage, believes it started with Jay Sarno and his brainchild, Caesars Palace:

"Jay Sarno first put into place the notion of a themed property and at its core, the experience of visiting for its theme as opposed to just a casino," Feldman explains. "From 1966 when he opened Caesars to '89 when the Mirage opened, no one else took up the mantle."

The Mirage changed the way the gaming industry did business, according to Feldman.

"Caesars had proven that people come to Las Vegas to see, do and experience things they can't at home," he says. "They came because this was a fantasy land, and what we learned in the 20 years since are really ways to express that in a business strategy."

Fast-forward 20 years and gaming has boomed in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, tribal and regional properties, and around the world. But the road map that has been followed originated with the Las Vegas experiment.

Offering non-gaming amenities in a casino resort environment in some cases contributes more than 50 percent to its revenue base. They broaden a property's customer base, enhance the guest experience, lengthen their time of stay, while reinforcing their loyalty and the property's brand. Amenity portfolios have driven the growth of the gaming industry and include such items as signature-chef restaurants, world-class spas, golf and tennis amenities, Broadway shows, convention facilities and, of course, retail. Retail has been as varied as a convenience/logo store to a world-class mall.
 

Building Block 2
How to Develop an Amenity Portfolio

Deciding what to offer and how much of your property should be dedicated to a particular amenity is a science and an art. The trick is to strike a delicate balance between the two. To create a strategy, some companies bring in the experts.

Jason Spillerman, principal of the Philadelphia-based Vibrant Development Group, along with his partner, Chuck Bragitikos, served as "strategic advisers" to the development of the Quarter in Atlantic City, a 200,000-square-foot retail, entertainment and dining complex that anchors the Tropicana Casino Resort. The team specializes in developing amenity portfolios for hotel and gaming operators.

Developed in the mid-1990s, the Quarter was a first for Atlantic City, and they served as pioneers in changing the destination landscape.

"In Atlantic City, until we did the Tropicana and the Quarter, it was very much like Las Vegas before the Mirage opened," says Spillerman. "Atlantic City was very gaming-centric. There wasn't anything else for people to do."

The team worked with senior casino management in prioritizing needs and the owner's ideas.

"We get very grounded in what the owner's goals are for the development," says Spillerman.

Beyond the dollars and cents analysis, which include evaluating critical mass and critical mix, they develop a strategic development plan, which, upon approval, they execute with the cooperation of casino management.

Feldman observes that the strategic thinking process varies across the industry depending on a property's size and experience. But at heart, it is "trying to strike the right balance between what's new and exciting, and what's realistic, achievable, affordable," he says. "It's a very complex matrix. There is nothing easy about it. There are very tough decisions to make along the way."

Even in the breakthrough days of developing the Mirage, management relied on a team of professionals from in-house executives to research firms and market analysts. To this day, those same approaches are employed by MGM Mirage.


Building Block 3
Retail in Context to Other Amenities

In strategically thinking about retail, executives need to consider the goals of retail in their property. Ask the question in the context of how retail will interact with other property amenities, and what they should accomplish.    

The answers lie in identifying your property: a resort destination, a "stay-cation" facility or a day-tripper property. Some properties answer to all three functions while others are a hybrid of each. Most important, understand the target audience-current customers and potential customers. In summary, five key factors should always be at work in determining what amenities you should offer

• The selection has to be approached strategically with decisions made by key executives.
• Amenities do not work in a vacuum but together to maximize revenue and brand recognition.
• Know the customer and target audience.
• Understand the competition.
• And know how much is enough.

There is a difference between offering retail as an amenity and offering it as a destination experience. The retail amenity is composed of limited square footage designed to keep the guest on the property longer.

Retail as a destination is designed to keep the current guest engaged on the property and to encourage new customers to visit. Destination retail opens revenue potential exponentially relative to the amenity model. Not all properties, however, lend themselves to a clear decision.

For Frank Volk, Las Vegas-based executive vice president of the national retail real estate advisory firm, Robert K. Futterman & Associates, the model for consideration starts with looking at a hotel as a neighborhood and then at the market in which it is situated.

"Your hotel is your neighborhood," Volk says. "You are essentially building it vertically and it changes every 3.5 days, but generally you know the demographic of the hotel so you can tailor the tenant mix to that demographic. You can stop right with the neighborhood model and offer retail as an amenity to your guests."

To use retail as a draw to bring people into the property, according to Volk, executives must take a market perspective and build a critical mass of stores that are synergistic to the demographic you wish to attract.

"The reality is, there is a square footage that you need to achieve in order to run a full gamut of merchandising mix and restaurants outside of the programming of the hotel that would attract folks to your hotel as a destination," he says.

According to Dan Sheridan, executive vice president, General Growth Properties, Inc (GGP), who is responsible for GGP's Canal Shops at the Venetian and Shoppes at Palazzo, there is no set formula for deciding how much retail is appropriate.

"We look at many factors: the size of the resort, number of hotel rooms, the convention/meeting component, the location (isolated or part of a condensed area like Las Vegas Boulevard), the target audience and a few more. These factors will determine the amount of retail these things can support."
 

Building Block 4
Do It Yourself or Call in an Expert?

The answer depends upon your property's amount of experience in retail. Further, there are varying types of expertise necessary to developing retail. There is the retail real estate expertise, which offers property development, leasing and management, and there is merchant advisory expertise, which offers market research, experience in consumer buying behaviors and retail operations. Then, there is the combination of the two, as evidenced by a casino having an in-house retail department. In this instance, the department can work alone and/or call on a third party. An example is a resort that owns multiple properties featuring numerous stores per property and that has retail experience such as MGM Mirage; or a property that has a sizeable retail component such as the Water Club and the Borgata in Atlantic City or the Mohegan Sun.

The industry tends to use retail real estate expertise and merchant advisories when a property is planning for multiple stores. Sheridan echoes the best advantage of bringing in a third party retail real estate expert.

"We know the retailers that the casino might be interested in, whatever their target for their resort we have the relationships in the retail industry to help bring that together," he says.

Jordan Covell, executive director of retail operations for the 18 stores at the Borgata and the Water Club, says a merchant adviser has a wide knowledge of retail, including how to set up the stores and their operation, and can help determine the scope of retail.

"You always need studies of what your demographics are, what your customer range is, and what kind of merchant they will be attracted to," he says. "All these things need to be discussed and understood before beginning an operation. So third parties for the most part are qualified to understand these things and can bring a wealth of knowledge to opening the proper operation."
 

Building Block 5
Avoid Making Common Mistakes

The pitfalls begin when a property with no retail experience wants to do it themselves and tasks an executive with other responsibilities, typically in operations. In this scenario, the executive has a narrow window of time as he is juggling other responsibilities.

"With third parties," Volk observes, "you get an extra set of eyes using people who are familiar with deal structure. You should be saving money and achieving better returns on the capital. The retail mix might be broader in scope, or at least you should touch a wider pool of potential tenants than

if you just tasked an executive doing something else for the hotel."

Sheridan observes the property is apt to "make the wrong assumptions of who their customer would be. People who are in the gaming business have a tendency to read and merchandise according to what they want as opposed to really understanding who their customer is going to be."

Covell thinks a gaming resort would not be fully aware of the retail competition and what they're doing and selling. 

"Most people tend to exaggerate or over-predict sales volumes," he says. "You have to be very careful of that. You also need to understand that gaming is a very regulated industry. There are compliance issues, so you have to make sure that a vendor is secure and can supply things in a timely fashion in this environment."

On the other hand, complete reliance on a third party can be an even greater mistake. The perception of a customer or visitor is that all the amenities of a property are being delivered by single management, a single entity, a single brand. They don't know that the property may have leased or sold an amenity to a third party. If the customer does not have a positive, seamless experience, you have a problem.

"It's important to remember that you own your brand and your customer will hold you accountable for everything that happens within your brand," says MGM Mirage's Feldman, "and so no matter what the relationship is with your retail or restaurant space, your customers will still hold you accountable. No matter who you want to turn it over to, it is still yours, and to relinquish too much control could be a huge problem."

For GGP, whose retail developments are on Las Vegas Sands properties, constant communication with Las Vegas Sands is the key to a successful and seamless relationship with the customer.

"As a very practical matter," says Sheridan, "we are tied to each other. To the extent that the Grand Canal Shoppes is successful, that's good for the larger Venetian and Palazzo resorts. And to the extent that Venetian and Palazzo are successful, that's good for the Canal Shoppes."

Building Block 6
Determine Retail Placement to Maximize Revenue

A retail component has to work in concert with all other amenities. The footprint has to be designed to maximize revenue on every level of the guest's experience. At the heart of this process is recognizing that a property has an energy level which changes throughout the day and that your customer profile changes commensurately. The best blueprints for amenities are drawn with this knowledge.

Master architect team Tom Wucherer and Jon Sparer, principals of Las Vegas-based YWS Architects, have practiced this approach. Their specialty is building total leisure-oriented projects.

"Often, retail is one of these things that really works best grouped together for you get a real synergy happening," says Sparer. "The really successful casino properties, certainly in Las Vegas, have major corridors for people to walk from one place to the other. You don't want retail at a dead end; that's the death for those shops."

Part of understanding where retail gets placed, according to Wucherer, "is understanding where retail is in context to the other amenities. It's not just about retail, it's about how it interacts with other amenities in this mixed-use environment."

From the merchant's perspective, retail is all about location, regardless if a store is in a mall on Main Street or in a casino property. So a merchant will not be satisfied if he cannot achieve traffic and revenue in a location that also serves the casino's purpose.

"Where you strategically place your retail is all about location and it doesn't change in this environment either," says Covell. "You may place a gift shop or convenience beverage and snack store in a less convenient location because people may have to find it if they really need something that is only sold in that store. You really have to have the right plan when you roll out your retail structure of what you think or believe will be successful for your entire retail establishment."

Building Block 7
Create a Compelling Merchant Mix
 
To have a successful retail component, an operator must know his market, his property's brand and offer a compelling merchant mix that is synergistic with the demographic of the casino's target audience.

Would you place a series of high-end luxury stores on a mid-market property? Probably not. The stores' price points do not coincide with the spending profile of the customer.

Would you place mid-market stores on a high-end property? The answer is not as clear-cut. Today's luxury shopper is buying both at Neiman Marcus and Wal-Mart. In this scenario, the magic should be in designing a merchant mix that still reinforces the property's brand as high-end and yet it is peppered with a few mid-market stores in categories that do not compete with the categories filled by the high-end collection. The mid-market stores may serve a purpose in filling a void to complete the retail property-for example, a drug store or a convenience store.

It's also necessary to have a compelling mix of stores. The concept of "compelling" is directly tied to understanding the discretionary consumer and their motivations to shop on your casino property. When a casino development includes a hotel, the overnight-stay feature sets the stage for offering multiple stores on the property. The hotel may be in a destination resort such as Las Vegas or be a regional, weekend getaway, such as the Mohegan Sun. In both situations, the consumer is in a vacation-oriented mindset and as such has a pre-disposition to indulge in spending money.

Farid Matraki, vice president and general manager of Crystals, the 750,000-square-foot retail and entertainment destination at CityCenter Las Vegas, notes, "When you are on a resort property, you are already on vacation. You are looking at the mindset that you are going to spend money."

Merchants, however, must compete against a number of different diversions for the disposable dollar. Not only are they competing against gaming, dining, shows and spas, to name a few, they are also competing against the shopping in their immediate market and shopping back at the potential customer's home.

Planning a mix of stores that customers won't see at home sets the stage for getting their attention to the retail area. Then it's up to the merchant. The merchant must differentiate their products by offering unique, unusual, or great depth of variety in category that is not offered by immediate competition or the stores back home.

Ezra Bekhor, a 30-year retail veteran who is president of LV Luxury Holdings, LLC, with four high-end jewelry stores in the Grand Canal Shoppes and Palazzo, says that there is a big difference in a neighborhood store and a resort establishment.

"In a resort," he says, "you have to have the product on hand. The customer is here for two or three days. If you don't have it, it's rare that people will say, 'Order it for me.' You also have to offer them something here that they won't see back home."

Jojo Zanone-Pucci works with the customer every day as store director and buyer for Bellusso, which features unusual timepieces at the Palazzo, agrees.

"You have to not only offer what is popular at the moment, but you have to have things so highly unusual that they (the customer) cannot get it anywhere else, and that's how you keep that captive audience," she explains.

Building Block 8
Avoid the "Change Over" Trap

"Location, location, location" is the mantra seasoned retailers follow for success. Savvy merchants choose properties whose tenant mix matches their demographic. But what happens to an existing merchant if there is turnover of tenants and the replacements do not match the profile of the property as originally planned? The change can threaten the livelihood of the existing merchant, especially if they are tied to a long-term lease. Perhaps the original plan did not work because of some strategic miscalculation of the developer and thus the turnover was warranted. But then again, maybe the merchant was simply not a good business operator.

Whatever the reason, the risk exists to a merchant that change may occur when going into a new property. Bekhor has seen this over 30 years.

"It's down the line where they have some changeover of tenants and usually a changeover is because they are not successful, and you see a loosening of the standards," he says. 

As a result, it is critical that the merchant, when going to a new property, ensures that the casino developer and property management company are committed to their original plan and brand and that his fellow neighbors are solid operators.

Building Block 9
Dare to Work Smart and Be Innovative

It would be naïve to not include the state of the economy today in considering a retail component on a gaming property. Gaming and retail are two industries whose survival is inextricably tied to the consumer, whose spending habits have changed. The consumer at all income strata has pulled back on spending. Most consumers are buying what is essential and are looking for value whenever they part with their dollar.

Many retail experts believe that today's shopper is more grounded, thoughtful and less impulsive in their buying behavior, and that pattern is here to stay. Add to this reality that brick-and-mortar growth in gaming has all but stopped as the flow of cash and credit has been stunted. The result is any critical thinking about the future of retail and gaming calls for the industry to work smarter and be innovative with resources. 

By Mark Birtha   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The Great Recession of 2009.

Las Vegas is not recession-proof.

Macau "hyper growth" is slowing down.

Regional operators face tighter discretionary budgets.

The "new normal."

The headlines over the past year read like the screenplay for a horror story that leaves your heart racing, skin tingling and hair standing on edge. The only problem is that once you leave the theater, the movie does not end. Welcome to the new casino landscape, an environment where developers and operators have had to scramble to reconfigure their respective businesses no matter where they exist throughout the world, in an effort to not only remain competitive but to try and decipher an ever-changing economy and consumer profile.

Casino executives enjoyed increasing win-per-unit, fat non-gaming revenues and escalating profit margins over the past few years as the global economic boom allowed all boats to rise in performance and profitability. But that ship has sailed, as high tides and turbulent waters quickly replaced success and serenity and have required operators to pull out a new arsenal of tools and implement a different set of strategies to adapt.

A New Reality
Non-gaming amenities were the buzzword in the industry for many years. RD&E was the rage as operators infused these amenities into their assets with increasing cost and expectation. The economic downturn has once again shifted focus to the gaming floor and value is all the rage.

"Historically, non-gaming revenue (excluding rooms) has had an extremely high correlation with rooms revenue," says Jacob Oberman, director of gaming research and analysis for CBRE's Global Gaming Group. "Gaming revenue does not share this high correlation with rooms revenue since some gambling-focused visitors prefer to pay lower room rates so they can have more in their gambling budget."

Non-gaming revenues grew quickly over the last decade, and in some cases outpaced gaming revenues. This was most evident in the destination markets that invested and differentiated RD&E components decades ago and began to reap the fruit of their labor. And nowhere was this more visible than in Las Vegas, where non-gaming revenues outpaced gaming win by almost two to one. However, as the economy turned and discretionary budgets vanished almost as quickly as home equity lines, operators began to adopt new strategies throughout 2009 to react and, in some cases, survive.

Over the past 25 years, the pendulum swung from free rooms, buffets, shows and gifts to an extreme of $300 luxury standard room rates, $100 celebrity chef steak dinners, a Louis Vuitton store on every corner and $500 bottles of vodka at your favorite nightclub. Once again though, the pendulum has swung closer to a casino-centric focus where non-gaming elements often times are now packaged, discounted and promoted to entice consumers to open their wallets and part with any bit of money. Is this the future of RD&E, and have these amenities taken a step backwards, to a spot behind the casino?

Not exactly. The savvy gaming leader realizes a compelling retail, dining and entertainment program still makes sense for today's modern casino resort. A strategically positioned RD&E program is not only a secret weapon but, more importantly, could spell the difference between success and survival. There are many things happening in this space worth taking a closer look at.

Re-Engineering Entertainment
Great entertainment has always been synonymous with the high quality gaming experience. Vegas showgirls, celebrity headliners, high energy lounge acts and one-of-a-kind production shows continue to be a draw and a staple product in casinos throughout the world.

As the bar in quality was raised, so too were the costs, expectations and the level of risk associated with creating just the right product to meet your guests' desires and at the same time post a profit. As management in every industry now looks to retool their existing businesses, it would be easy to simply reduce overhead and associated expenses by reducing the entertainment footprint. However, the successful entertainment operator finds new ways to maintain quality while pursuing opportunities to differentiate their product.

AEG Live is an entertainment powerhouse that built a strong presence in the gaming space. AEG Live is one of the leading providers of sports and live entertainment and is the second largest concert promotion, special event and touring company in the world. They have domestic and international presence with performances in New York, Los Angeles, London, Nashville, Dallas, St. Louis, Houston, Seattle, Denver and Atlanta. Not to mention Las Vegas.

John Meglen is a founding partner and president and co-CEO of AEG Live/Concerts West. A music industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience, Meglen's unprecedented leadership represents urban, Latin, country, comedy, pop, rock and international divisions.

In 2003, AEG/Concerts West took the ultimate Las Vegas risk by introducing "A New Day..." featuring Celine Dion and created by Franco Dragone at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Five years and 717 performances later, nearly 3 million people were able to experience an entertainment spectacle unlike any other.

"We believed in Las Vegas," Meglen says. "We knew one and one equaled three: bring in someone who appealed to the breadbasket of America and Canada, and marry them with the producer of "O." Las Vegas is about having an experience. It needs to be more than a concert, something you cannot see anywhere else."

And Meglen did not retire after Celine; instead, he brought Cher and Bette Midler to the Colosseum and recently became the exclusive promoter of the new Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, where he again raised the bar by introducing the first Rock Residency in Las Vegas: "Carlos Santana's Supernatural Santana."

"Successful entertainment is a foot-fall driver that attracts people to your property and makes them spend money," Meglen says.

However, according to Meglen, "Every business unit needs to be profitable and be able to sustain itself. Entertainment today is more than a traffic producer, it should make a profit. In the Rat Pack days, entertainment drove gaming and the profits came from the casino," he says. "Today's experience, though, needs to be based on more than just gambling."

Which is why it is no surprise that a pioneer such as Steve Wynn recently had Beyonce and Larry King perform at his Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Hotels. And in October he announced the new residency of world-renowned musician Garth Brooks, who will be performing regularly in Las Vegas for the next five years. When tickets went on sale, 20 shows sold out in five hours! Or why Alex Yemenidjian, gaming legend and proud new owner of the Tropicana Las Vegas, focused on entertainment to reinvent the Trop by hosting the iconic Wayne Newton and bringing in "Let's Make a Deal" featuring Wayne Brady to attract and retain his customers.

But even a star-studded performance may not be enough in today's operating environment to achieve success. This challenging economy has required management to think outside the box to effectively meet a new set of needs.

"The drop in convention business is what hurt us the most," says Meglen. "We have had to rethink our strategy for 2009 and 2010. This includes decreasing the number of shows, introducing value pricing and creating more packages to meet the needs of our customers."

Although their walkup business has been very strong, particularly at Caesars, they have had to be more aggressive with their efforts to continue to hold market share.

"We can't be complacent," he says. "Our people are working harder and we have had to market and promote our entertainment products more than ever before."

What is the other secret to building a successful entertainment program at a casino hotel? Bring in the professionals right from the beginning.

"Nothing is better than when a gaming executive calls us and says, 'We are looking to develop an entertainment program, and we would like your help,'" says Meglen. "We can assist with evaluating the market, customer and competition and determining what fits. From there we can design the venue and develop the show. Let us build it, operate it and market it-we know ticketing, staffing, ushering, production, F&B and everything else. Let us run it and we can unlock all of the potential synergy, value and customer experience possible."

And this does not only apply to large, Las Vegas-style products. AEG is actively pursuing opportunities in Atlantic City, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore and Macau. Regional markets like Biloxi, New Orleans, Detroit, Windsor and San Diego are on their radar.

Meglen is most excited about partnering with Native American operators in the future.

"I would enjoy the opportunity to create new gaming entertainment solutions in this space. Incorporating tribal heritage and panache into a Native American brand of entertainment would be exciting," says Meglen. "I think the Seminole Hard Rock is doing some very cool stuff."

Inspired Dining
The food and beverage scene has undergone a dramatic shift as customer spending has shifted to "value menu" and casino hotels have been all too happy to oblige with promotions, discounts and incentives. However, effective F&B executives have realized that this is a perfect opportunity to be innovative and strategic, as opposed to just throwing in everything including the proverbial kitchen sink to try and lure discretionary dollars into buffets and coffee shops around the world. These leaders understand that not only can restaurants and clubs be fantastic marketing machines for the casino, but they can partner with the gaming floor to increase the overall value proposition in an integrated synergistic coupling.

Few know this better than Steve Weitman. As vice president of food and beverage for Wynn Las Vegas, his focus is on maintaining the high quality standards and service at his multiple fine dining and casual outlets while also delivering profitability. But instead of blanketing patrons with buy one get one free offers or discounted all you can eat packages, Weitman and his team have creatively delivered amenities that are value conscious in this environment yet consistent with the luxury product Wynn has built its reputation upon.

"We have introduced our 'Taste of Wynn' menus at each of our restaurants, with three course pairings ranging from $29.99 per person," he says. "Guests have found these very popular as they are value oriented, and these different menu points allow all patrons to try each and every one of our establishments."

Instead of using F&B merely to drive casino foot traffic, clever operators have retooled their operations to attract new customers yet still maintain their margins.

"We partner with the casino to service all of our guests," explains Weitman. "All departments are participating in one over-arching strategy. A perfect example is allowing Wynn guests to redeem their Red Card points (players club members) for 'Taste of Wynn' menus. We create a mutual value proposition."

The back of house is no different.

"Our chefs are on property and they deliver consistent meals without cutting corners or sacrificing quality," he says. "We of course re-evaluate our cost structures. But we also look at refreshing the experience and continually fine tuning and always listening to what our guests want."

Food and beverage is a highly effective tool to persuade gamers and non-casino patrons alike to frequent a property. A favorite three-meal restaurant, the casino bar featuring live sports games and poker machines and the pulsating ultra lounge are all reasons unto themselves to venture out on a weekend night.

No surprise that one of the first announcements at the newly rebranded Tropicana Las Vegas is the introduction of two new dining venues. And operators have been creative in using these venues as marketing tools to promote their properties. The MGM Grand in Las Vegas created the "Value Pass," a collection of exclusive offers specifically targeted to convention guests to use during their stay. Special incentives are available from restaurants, including L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, to multiple bars, lounges and even the buffet. In fact, special prices for buffets allows diners to eat all their meals during the course of the day-and guarantees the casino will get them back in the house.

The best example of this marketing power is visible at the new M Resort Casino in Las Vegas. Far from the critical mass of the Las Vegas Strip, the M found a different way to generate its own buzz as the star of the Bravo Channel's hit show Top Chef. Millions of people tune in regularly and are welcomed into the dining rooms and kitchens of this food savvy gaming property. And this translates into a competitive advantage, as out-of-town visitors and even locals flock to the property to see first hand the behind-the-scenes magic.

And if you thought it was the end of the white-hot nightclub concept, think again. Nightclubs and ultra lounges in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere continue to set the pulse of the property and create a high level energy that blends perfectly into the casino ambiance. So well, that in a time of cutbacks and CAPEX reductions, some are bucking the trend and actually expanding.

"XS at Wynn has been very successful. It has effectively differentiated its product, service, ambiance and overall experience," Weitman says proudly. It has done so well that Wynn's sister property, Encore Las Vegas, recently announced they were beginning design and construction to add an additional nightclub to the bustling casino landscape.

Retail Retrofit
Very few segments have been as impacted by the current economic malaise as the retail sector. Whether it is your local Target, the city shopping mall or your casino sundry and leased outlets, retail expenditure reductions are in line with the decreases in overall discretionary spend. From Louis Vuitton to Lowe's, retailers are having to find new ways to market to their customers and enhance the value of the shopping spree.

So how does the casino operator take full advantage of this new marketplace? Frank Volk is executive vice president of Robert K. Futterman & Associates, one of the most recognized names in retail leasing, advisory and management services.

"Casino properties still need to have the retail component as an amenity," he says. "First off, to have the experience be 'sticky,' you need to have the right amount-not too much, not too little. Second, you need to know your customer and what they expect. Luxury is being challenged as the aspirational buyer is out of the market. However, the mid-scale segment is seeing good traffic, since consumers can still shop at this level. So there is opportunity out there whether you are the landlord or the tenant."

Casino executives are using this window of time to "re-merchandise" their retail offerings. Volk explains,"Properties are replacing their poor performing tenants, the ones that were potentially the wrong fit, with new stores that better fit the right customer demographic. They are also able to change price points and the mix of products available in the retail space."

In some cases, gaming management is able to be creative and try new products with space that comes available. Wynn's newly opened Taste of Wynn Retail Store is a unique example of not only redefining the retail space but raising the F&B bar in a challenging market. This hybrid retail/F&B venue is an innovative space that allows in-house chefs to offer their favorite products, from secret ingredients to $35,000 slicers.

Weitman says it has been very well received. "Now it is more than just a dining experience; you can take it home with you as well!"

Retailers are also finding this environment an opportune time to refocus.

"They are not going to give up their margins purely to drive traffic for the casino," Volk states clearly. "The effective casino operator needs to take a measured look at what needs to be in the box versus just dedicating a large amount of space to a retail development. In order to retool these spaces, many operators are offering better lease deals to attract tenants, particularly in the luxury segment. Sales comps are not enough to attract business; it takes landlords sharpening their pencil to get a deal done."

And retailers are taking notice. Volk believes it is a great time for local and regional stores to have a chance to get into big markets like Las Vegas, where before they were back in the line behind the national operators. And, they can get in at better prices than before! New retailers in Las Vegas, for example, include the Sugar Factory at the Mirage and the Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood, and Vegas Royalty at the Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian/Palazzo. After Hours was a temporary tenant at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas that waited long enough and took advantage of a great opportunity to now become a permanent space holder.

A New RD&E Ship Sets Sail
Although there is no clear-cut strategy that applies to all gaming operators, it is a proven fact that a compelling program of retail stores, dining establishments, clubs and lounges, and a well conceived and operated entertainment product are still very much critical components of the successful casino hotel. In this challenging time, leveraging an entire campus of amenities will allow operators to build competitive advantage, customer loyalty and long-term profitability. If nothing else, this unique period of time allows each of us to re-evaluate where we have been and where we are going, and retool our boxes to offer the best experience possible exceeding customers' needs, wants and expectations. The smart casino operator has already realized this, and has laid out a strategy to address these challenges in order to achieve a better tomorrow.

Don't miss the boat!

By Mark Birtha   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

AEG Live recently rocked Las Vegas with an unparalleled weekend of entertainment offerings with a full spectrum of stars.

AEG produced nine shows at four casino hotels and an arena property in three days.  Just another weekend in Vegas!

Friday, September 25
Van Morrison at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Saturday, September 26
Britney Spears with special guests Jordin Sparks & Kristinia DeBarge at Mandalay Bay Events Center

Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

L.A. Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche hockey pre-season at MGM Grand Garden Arena

Miley Cyrus with special guest Metro Station at Thomas & Mack Center

Pet Shop Boys with special guest DJ Morningstar at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Sunday, September 27
Britney Spears with special guests Jordin Sparks & Kristinia DeBarge at Mandalay Bay Events Center

Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Creed at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

By Roy Student and Carolan Pepin Roy Student and Carolan Pepin   Tue, Feb 16, 2010

In the mid-1990s, a seismic shift felt around the gaming world occurred in the largest of casino markets.

Casino games and all the various forms of betting were no longer the only or even the main moneymakers for Las Vegas. Non-gaming revenues had grown to account for an even bigger portion of the business. Although the current economic downturn makes revenue comparisons difficult, the split of gaming versus non-gaming continues to be in the 50/50 range, and this ratio is repeated in gaming locales far beyond the famous Strip.

While the revenue split may be more critical in Las Vegas and other major destination casinos, rooms, dining and entertainment, which started as loss leaders, are now key pockets of profit apart from the casino floor. Exploiting this non-gaming side of the business may provide the latest path to more business, new customers and increased success for casinos even as economic factors continue to affect the gaming industry.

This New Dimension To Gaming
Las Vegas changed from merely the place to bet to a destination of full-scale resorts when pressed to continue to attract customers as new markets opened and gaming competitors burgeoned all across the country. Perhaps this can be dated back to 1989 when the Mirage launched with an exploding volcano and white tiger attractions, or to 1990 when the Rio debuted as the first "all-suites" hotel, or even to 1992 when Wolfgang Puck opened a fine dining experience with Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

Regardless of exact date or event, Las Vegas would lead the way and set a new standard for the gaming world with an increasing array and dazzling diversity of amenities from luxury suites to fine dining, from world-class shopping to pampering spas, and from clubs and bars to must-see attractions and live events.

And it wasn't long before actual revenues would reflect that these alternative places to spend money were expanding the casino beyond the fun and excitement of gaming.

Yet even as the revenue mix changed, the main focus of casinos would remain on the customer who gambled. In 2000, Harrah's, recognized as the first to bring a loyalty and frequency marketing program to the casino world, would instigate a wave of similar programs to recognize and reward the gaming customer. Since then, major efforts and programs have been centered on the casino patron and used to identify, track and reward those who gamble. Player tracking and cards are now the norm for casinos all across the country and into many corners of the gaming world.

Until recently, non-gaming activity was considered ancillary and not a separate entity worthy of the same pinpoint tracking and marketing focus as casino action. This was even as others, including the American Gaming Association in its 2009 "State of the States" report, would continue to detail the growth of non-gaming activity. As in previous surveys, it reported that during casino visits more than 75 percent of customers ate at a fine dining restaurant, more than half saw a show, concert or other live entertainment and almost half also visited a bar or nightclub.

Today, casinos are turning the technological equivalent of searchlights on spotting non-gaming activity by their already identified gaming patrons. Gaming analysts are being tasked to develop 360-degree views of customers that include hospitality spending along with casino play.

A more difficult task is presented by guests who may come to a casino regularly not to gamble but rather to pay for a palatial suite, partake of world class dining, relax in style with spa treatments and special cabana pool service, be among the celebrities who attend the latest concerts or entertainment and shop 'til they drop-and who are unlikely to generate much attention from management. Not spending much time or money on the gaming floor means what one frequent visitor to casinos, albeit a non-gamer, voiced as "I am invisible."

Accounting for this focus on non-gaming, which has come later rather than earlier, and even hindering any previous efforts, has been a world of different challenges presented with this segment of the business. To start, there is a major hurdle in how to identify revenue by patron from a multitude and disparity of current systems employed by the various departments to run the hotels, restaurants, events and more. Even more challenging is how to assess the worth or value of the various activities based on diverse margins and profitability.
    

Making the Invisible Visible
In a recent survey, many casinos are turning their traditional player/gaming loyalty cards into vastly expanded programs. Others are exploring or implementing a variety of vehicles and programs in concerted efforts to track the various on-site doings of their guests. Additionally, several companies with expertise in tracking and analyzing are coming to their aid.

The Venetian
When they "eat, sleep, shop and play," customers earn recognition at the Venetian, the luxury resort, casino and convention destination in Las Vegas and the first among the growing group of integrated properties developed by the Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Guests can earn points when they charge purchases back to their suite at either the Venetian or its next door neighbor, the Palazzo, both of which present five-diamond and four-star offerings including suites, restaurants, nightclubs, shows, shops and spas. Included in the program are restaurant meals, show tickets, spa services, nightclub drinks, shop purchases, suite rates and in-suite charges-even movies or Internet expenses.

The points are then credited to the guest account and can add up to an upgraded status from basic Grazie to Gold and up to Platinum status. In return, guests at the various levels are rewarded with a variety of special treatment or services, from automatic upgrades and discounts to a full range of complimentary services.

In recent reports, Rom Hendler, vice president of strategic marketing at the Venetian, has detailed how the data on customer intelligence is combined with revenue management. By looking at a customer's past stays, activity on the casino floor and purchases in other parts of the hotel, the property creates a forecast. "It predicts the value the customer will have at their NEXT trip," describes Hendler.

By aligning all factors with marketing and revenue management, the organization is staying steady in these lean times, reports Hendler. Since the economic slowdown began last fall, the company has aggressively worked its data to market to the right customer at the right price at the right time. "We continue to look for new opportunities within our database," summarizes Hendler.

Harrah's Entertainment
Just over a year ago, Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. which not only operates in the gaming destinations of Las Vegas and Atlantic City but elsewhere, launched the latest enhancement to its Total Rewards customer loyalty program, giving its members the ability to earn reward credits and tier credits for nearly all of their entertainment expenditures, including dining, live entertainment, golf, spa and retail purchases.

Long recognized as one of the industry's first frequency marketing programs and for its continued innovation, this most recent augmentation allows guests to be tracked and rewarded for both gaming and non-gaming activities by using their Total Rewards card.

When the program was announced, David Norton, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Harrah's, explained, "It's a natural evolution that incorporates the growing number of entertainment offerings and appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike."

According to Norton, the program is intended to provide a more "holistic" understanding of their customer.

To earn credits, Total Rewards members present their Total Rewards card at the point of purchase or charge to their hotel room folio. Guests staying at most of the 40 Harrah's-operated casinos can earn one credit for each dollar spent, adding to their balance that is earned through gaming activity. As explained by Norton, "It's all one bucket."

At the same time, Norton said that now there is tremendous detail on their patrons' activities. The goal is to use the information so the company can be more relevant in both face-to-face interactions and on-going customer communications.

Foxwoods
Operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Foxwoods lays claim to being the largest casino in North America with a massive complex and more than 40,000 guests each day. All amenities expected in Las Vegas or luxury resorts are found and even mega-sized here with six different casino venues, more than 30 restaurants, five entertainment venues, shops, championship golf, spa and meeting spaces. In 2008, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods debuted, adding even more luxury rooms, spa, dining, retail and gaming.

Foxwoods' senior vice president of consumer marketing, Robert Victoria, explains the property's full-scale thrust into analyzing non-gaming.

"Tracking gaming customers is much easier than tracking a non-gaming, or a client that frequents your property, spends money but does not gamble," Victoria states. "It is very important, however, to track all revenue no matter what the source."

In an example, Victoria outlines how a couple may come to Foxwoods, purchase two $35 tickets to Stevie Wonder, enjoy a gourmet meal at the AAA four diamond restaurant, Paragon, and spend another $80 and then purchase a hotel room at one of the AAA four diamond hotels for $100. This couple eventually spends $215 while on their campus.

"If the same couple came in and spent $215 on one of our 350 table games and lost it all, in theory, they are worth about the same to the enterprise," explains Victoria. "Therefore it is extremely critical to measure all gaming and non-gaming revenue, from golf to roulette."

Victoria explains that Foxwoods is committed to tracking track the loyalty and "generous patronage" of all of its visitors.

"We want to reward each guest and ensure that they have a fantastic experience and, just as importantly, receive a higher than average value for their hard earned money," he describes. "To that end, it is our goal to track each valued customer and offer them compelling reasons to remain loyal to the first class Foxwoods brand."

Supporting Technologies and Strategies
In the quest to maximize gaming and now non-gaming revenue and operations, various companies and consultants have been called upon or have taken on the task of capturing and analyzing the multi-dimensional aspects of a casino and their patrons. A few of the different efforts and varying approaches are outlined below.

Bally Technologies
"Tracking gaming and non-gaming is not a new concept and many are doing this to one degree or another and have been for years, but the level of implementation and sophistication of usage varies widely by market and casino operator," explains Bruce Rowe, senior vice president of strategy and business development for Bally Technologies.

Rowe is a veteran gaming executive who has worked both on the operations side of gaming with Harrah's and on the supplier side, now with Bally Technologies. The company is a longtime leader in slots, video machines and casino management systems for the global gaming industry, and recently introduced Bally's Business Intelligence (BI). BI is designed to improve understanding of casino operations with a suite of tools for data analysis, visualization and campaign management.

"Several of our casino management systems regularly import data from systems like hotel and food and beverage, but Bally BI is where we capture root data from multiple source systems to create the multi-dimensional view of the customer's behavior and spend," explains Rowe. "Our CMS player tracking and marketing products use transaction based information for creating deeper views of customer behavior, but the BI tool is where detailed transaction data is stored and analyzed over longer periods of time and used to answer more complex and multi-dimensional business questions."

As for the challenge of assessing value and worth for non-gaming, Rowe believes that this has evolved over time and will continue to do so. "The focus was first on hotel, then food and beverage, then entertainment, and now retail," cites Rowe. "Metrics will vary widely by market, and while Las Vegas represents the most complex of the markets from the standpoint of scale and complexity, the same issues either do not exist or exist to the same scale in most other markets.

"At the same time, we are sure that the integration of peer-to-peer computing and tools like the Bally Integration Gateway will make it much easier to use sophisticated tools to get a multi-dimension view of customer behavior and spend and to implement Revenue of Codependent Inventory methodologies."

Rowe summarizes that "from the customer perspective it is important to understand where they spend their time and money and how that determines their enterprise value versus gaming value alone."

SAS
More than 60 casino properties have turned to SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services, for the technology and analytics to make smarter decisions. A specific gaming industry offering, SAS for Patron Value Optimization (PVO) was introduced back in the fall of 2006 with the Hard Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas as an early customer.

According to Suzanne Clayton, a 12-year veteran at SAS who was involved with bringing PVO to the gaming industry, this tool is being used by a number of casinos to provide a critical 360-degree customer view. With annual software enhancements, it's a solution that combines data quality, predictive modeling, campaign management and reporting capabilities and has been utilized by casinos to fill their hotels and casino floors with high-value guests.

"Casino operators are adopting technology-enabled strategies such as PVO to enhance the overall customer experience and enable smarter marketing," explains Clayton. "To be fully effective, these strategies have to include robust data quality, data integration with a clear view of patron behavior and predictive analytics."

Gaming operations use SAS's PVO to capture highly detailed data from a multitude of departments within the casino-including the hotel, spa, retail outlets, call center, ticketing, food and beverage-to gain a more sophisticated and detailed profile of their clients.

"Then SAS works with each casino customer to create the analytic models that they need to make insights 'actionable,'" states Clayton.        

Various analytical capabilities are encompassed within the SAS for Patron Value Optimization solution and provide analytical profiling, segmentation, metrics and predictive modeling techniques. According to Clayton, it all boils down to providing insight into vast amounts of data to improve performance with more accurate business decisions and more profitable relationships with guests.

"We have worked with various casinos to provide a comprehensive understanding of their guests and preferences," states Clayton. "In return, we have seen how casinos have leveraged this information into more relevant offerings, services and communications to provide a better experience for their guests and even more to remain competitive in today's harsh economic conditions.

"The trends I see in the industry are in wanting to do more analytics, especially data mining and predictions. There is an uptick in a requirement for hard core analytics. At the same time, there is keen interest in analyzing social media and how to use these networking channels to enhance customer relationships."

Konami Gaming
For years, Konami Gaming has been developing tools and systems to help casinos know their customer, especially from the gaming perspective. Now, Jeffrey Cohn, director of software engineering for Konami Gaming, thinks the company has envisioned a better and easier way to approach the non-gaming aspect. So much so, that Cohn reports that the company has filed a patent to secure the intellectual property on its Patron 360º Worth Evaluation.

Konami Gaming, part of the giant video game and software company headquartered in Japan, provides the gaming sector in North America and elsewhere with slot games as well as an advanced casino management system called the Konami Casino Management System or KCMS. The innovative Patron 360º Worth Evaluation is integrated into KCMS and is used to define and maintain a highly configurable series of key performance indicators designed specifically to assess the value of a casino patron.    

One of the challenges in tracking the overall value of a customer is the need for a complex, traditional solution, utilizing a central repository or data warehouse, explains Cohn. In doing so, operators can become locked into a set of solutions which are highly inflexible and costly to maintain.

According to Cohn, the Konami methodology does not require the hardware, integration fees or maintenance costs of an expensive data warehouse. The conventional extraction, transformation and load (ETL) process ceases to exist, he continues. Instead, all the patron non-gaming revenue is stored as a rating in the player tracking system using existing S2S interfaces.

Patron Worth allows the existing POS and hotel interfaces to configure a margin for the individual profits centers. "It's much like what the hold percentage is to a gaming machine," explains Cohn. "The margin computes the estimated profit and stores that information as a rating in the underlying casino management system."

"Scoring is based on a grading percentile, a zero to 100 numeric value for each patron over set periods. Each patron receives a recency, frequency and monetary value score for both gaming and non-gaming activity," explains Cohn.

Evaluating The Value
Today, casinos want to recognize their customers at every touch point, whether gaming or non-gaming. They want to use any action and interaction to develop an on-going relationship with these valuable patrons. And as multi-dimensional venues, casinos want to attract new customers to the expanding variety of offerings both on the gaming floor and beyond.

Just as obvious when speaking with any of these executives, there are still challenges ahead. One of the most important of these will be how to evaluate the exact "value" of the customer in a more complete 360-degree view.

What will be the optimal methods and means to extend guests stays, capture a larger share of trip budgets or get patrons to remain on property for both gaming and non-gaming activities? How will the fixed costs of assets and operating margins be assessed in this new equation? How will the variable costs of service and marketing be calculated in this new view? Is there an ideal mix of gaming and non-gaming guests?

We can evaluate the "value" through various equations and algorithms, but how do we come to a conclusion of what it all means to a casino? With today's economy putting even more emphasis on the bottom line, the answer must come as quickly as possible.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Feb 16, 2010

In the past decade, casino operators worldwide have been moving beyond the touchstones of the gaming industry-"good food, good whiskey and a good gamble," as legendary Las Vegas casino owner Benny Binion used to say. Gaming operators must still provide those three elements in order to build a solid foundation to attract clientele, but casinos have quickly become full-scale resorts that seek to offer a high-end entertainment experience.

Amenities like golf courses and fitness centers were requisite in any successful casino a few years ago, but casino operators now see the spa as the latest "hot" RD&E feature.

The Attraction
Spas were once stand-alone destinations in and of themselves, frequented by celebrities and executives who would retreat to a secluded locale for rest and relaxation in the lap of luxury. As casinos have evolved, they have incorporated spas into an array of amenities designed to draw guests who want to gamble and be pampered, as well as patrons who plan to avoid the casino floor altogether. Unlike amenities such as nightclubs and pools, spas attract a wide variety of clients-men, women, old and young alike-making the spa one of the top moneymakers in a casino if designed, marketed and managed correctly.

"The most compelling reason today why hotels and resort owners and developers are looking to add a spa, or in many cases to expand their existing spas if indeed they already have one, is an interesting statistic," says WTS International President Gary Henkin, who has consulted on spas at the historic West Virginia Greenbrier Resort and Chicago's Trump International Hotel and Tower. "Of all the variables that the consumer considers when making a decision in determining one hotel or resort versus another, the single item at the top of the agenda is whether the resort has a spa. Spas can be unto themselves financially profitable. It can become a very lucrative additional wheel, so to speak, at the resort or at the hotel, along with other amenities that make money."

With treatments ranging from manicures and pedicures to therapeutic massages and facials, spas have something for everyone. Not only do spas themselves succeed financially, but they also act as a gateway for potential spending elsewhere in the resort.

"Ultimately, when you go to a resort, the owners and operators are looking for inducements to extend your stay and to increase your spending," says Ann Emich-Patton, senior consultant specializing in operations for spa consulting company Blu Spas Inc, whose principal and co-owner Cary Collier has provided design and project planning services for several hotel/casino spa projects such as the Spa at the Palms; Drift Spa at Palms Place; Spa at Red Rock; and the Spa at Green Vally Ranch, all in Las Vegas.

Emich-Patton adds, "They want to drive incremental spend by having you dine in their outlets use their amenities. That drives their incremental spend. If they're getting $200 a night for the room and they're getting another $50 or $100 for food and beverage, and then they're getting another $100 from the spa, that's in their pocket."

The revenue-generating potential for spas is also evident in the relationship between a high-quality spa and convention bookings. Convention organizers see spas as a benefit to their company's employees, and with dozens of treatment rooms, a well-rounded spa can easily accommodate the needs of a convention or any other type of large group.

"Everyone is realizing the revenue generating capabilities of a spa operation," says Brennan Evans, director of spa operations for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and the Water Club at Borgata in Atlantic City. "Profit margins are strong and when properly planned and sized for the capacity of the resort, they can be a big supplement to the non-gaming revenue aspect of business. Spas also help reinforce the 'fun/getaway' atmosphere often desirous of resort destinations.

"From a business perspective, spas provide a great opportunity to network. Groups both small and large can take advantage of social function/interaction within the resort. Working alongside other departments such as F&B and entertainment, great experiences can be created for parties, bachelorette groups, pre- and post-wedding functions."

High-end resorts use spas to drive business, but the spa's influence is often seen throughout the property.

"The spa is seen as an extension of the resort," says Jean Klueter, director of spa and wellness design for renowned firm WATG, who designed the Venetian resort's Canyon Ranch SpaClub. "Currently, the spa is reflected in so many areas of the hotel that there can be a fine line between the hotel and spa. Hotel lobbies offer fruit-flavored water in decanters similar to spas. Restaurants offer healthier spa cuisine on their menus because their guests want to live a healthier lifestyle and eat more nutritiously. Guest rooms offer spa products in the bathroom, which not only markets the spa but also gives the guests an opportunity to take the sense of spa home with them. Even the bathroom in the guestroom is more luxurious and spa-like in character with over-sized tubs and experiential showers."

The Look
As the design of a spa translates to the overall design of a resort, spa-consulting firms like WATG, Blu Spas Inc. and WTS International are faced with the challenge of designing spaces that are distinguishable but also compatible with the properties they reside in.

"Too many spas end up looking nearly indistinguishable from one another," says Doug Chambers, principal and co-owner of Blu Spas Inc. "We focus on trying to have something about the design capture something that is unique to the area, something that reinforces the brand of the property. We try to capture the essence of the location, the destination, and create something that stands out, that is memorable."

An example of the unique elements used in spa design to capture the resort's environment is Blu Spas principal Cary Collier's recent work on the spa in Talking Stick Resort at Casino Arizona, located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 12,000-square-foot spa is located on the 14th floor of a 15-story building, with panoramic views that are showcased via glass showers that allow spa patrons to enjoy the desert skyline.

Chris White, senior vice president of design and planning services for WTS International, says using a resort's habitat to drive design is crucial.

"It's really important that the spa fit logically and naturally and acceptably into the image and the market strengths of the host property, whatever those may be," White says. "Each property has a position in the marketplace; it has an identity; it has an image that is based on what it does or how it's perceived by its target customer out in the world. It's important that its spa do the same thing-do something that's congruent with that reputation.

"For example, if you try to do an Asian spa in the middle of a ski resort-certainly it's possible with a checkbook and a willing contractor, you could build anything you want-you run the risk of doing something that looks and feels out of place and sacrifices an opportunity to capitalize on the unique features and attributes of the host property, which is what a spa, as well as anything else, should do. It should capitalize on those things and the spa should reflect what the property does overall."

The design of a spa requires more than simply using nature as a guide. In order for a successful spa to separate itself from the pack, designers and operators must work together to create statement rooms as well as signature treatments that will draw the eye and wallet of a discerning client.

"We try to incorporate a few strong signature spaces to establish a unique and memorable experience for the guest," says WATG's Jean Klueter. "These signature elements include incredible thermal amenities like heated chaise lounge chairs, laconium rooms, arctic or igloo rooms, crystal steam rooms, ice machines and vitality pools, to name just a few. They offer a variety of hot and cold experiences. And what is great about these is that it is a return to the essence of spa -salus per aqua, or health through water. The healing powers of water and the circuit between hot and cold is very therapeutic-great for the heart and blood circulation. And, more importantly, it's great to see the domestic spas incorporating these elements when they have been part of the spa culture in Europe and Asia for so long.

"Other signature elements could be pre- and post-treatment relaxation lounges, meditation spaces or group rooms. All these areas are sanctuaries for relaxation and renewal. Even offering a typical service in a unique setting makes for a memorable experience. This includes a pedicure in a beautiful secluded garden with a locally handcrafted copper bowl. It's a great memorable experience that will bring the guest back and they will tell their friends."

While a copper bowl may not be a typical piece of spa equipment, there are a few must-haves for a versatile and successful spa. According to WTS International's Chris White, equipment that can be repurposed for many treatments is necessary to reap the financial benefits.

"As a general statement, I would say a successful spa ought to have equipment that is multifunctional; that would be true of the treatment rooms as well," White says. "You don't want a room that just has a Vichy shower in it, for example-has no tub or no treatment table in it. A Vichy shower, while it's very nice and is certainly a piece of equipment that's appropriate for a spa, if that's all you can do in that room, then that's 120 square feet of revenue-producing space which is limited.  Limited in how much revenue it can produce, not by its location or anything else, but purely due to its lack of equipment. It's important to have treatment tables that can convert easily from a flat massage table surface to more of a chaise lounge-shaped surface that can be used for skincare."

The Draw
Selling a spa depends on a variety of different factors, including the resort's size, location and prospective clientele, as well as budgetary constraints. Some spas market directly to hotel guests, while others seek to attract external clients as well as locals. WTS International's Gary Henkin says that internal marketing tools such as brochures, signage and concierge references are a requirement for smaller spas as well as larger spas, and spas that seek to draw a non-hotel guest must utilize other, more expensive means.

"Some of the larger spas have a public relations thrust," Henkin says. "They even have a person devoted to that, to creating buzz within the community through placement of art in magazines, on television and other things that involve more of a public relations slant than advertising. Those that do that are typically spas that are looking to attract not just an internal hotel guest, but also a guest that is outside of the premises. In virtually all cases, meeting groups that are coming to the hotel are communicated with in advance. If there are wedding planners in an area, they should be contacted to bring weddings to a spa. Local businesses should be communicated with. At other hotels that don't have spas, the concierge at those properties can be incentivized to move business to the spa.

"There are really two big ways to promote spas: one is internal; the other is external. Those require two very different marketing perspectives, very different budgets, very different focuses and directions."

There are a select few spas in the United States that are destinations in their own right, and the Spa at Encore is definitely an unparalleled example. The 61,000-square-foot spa is a Wynn original, with a decadent design motif and 51 rooms for both standard and exotic treatments. The Spa at Encore attracts guests who chose the resort simply for its high standards, which are reflected in the spa itself.

"The Spa at Encore is a place where you can escape all the noise and high energy of our resort and take a 'vacation from your vacation,'" says Ella Stimpson, director of spa operations at Encore. "Our spa is a place where you can decompress from everything and then re-enter the real world completely rested and ready to go. The Spa at Encore is getting a well-earned reputation as one of the best in the world and has begun attracting true spa aficionados as a result. People in the spa world and spa aficionados know of The Spa at Encore's reputation and it is on their list of places to visit when they are in Las Vegas. Most of our hotel guests come to the spa to relax and then are just amazed by the facility and our exceptional guest service."

Resorts that choose to aggressively market their spas can include the spa in the name, as Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa chose to do in order to reflect the resort's emphasis on its 50,000-square-foot spa.

"Borgata's belief in the power of the spa experience is so strong that we have included the word 'spa' in our title," says the Borgata's Brennan Evans. "I would say our reputation for excellent service and therapeutic/relaxing treatments has helped create a strong following. Those who do happen upon us for the first time often quickly become regulars.

"Given our high return customer rate, Spa Toccare and Immersion have both been instrumental in becoming a part of the total Borgata experience. The spas and the salon/barber shop have become a regular staple in the weekly and monthly lives of many of our return customers."

As spas become a part of people's lives, whether they are relaxing on vacation or visiting a nearby resort for a massage or manicure, the Borgata's approach to its spa is reflective of the level of importance that luxury R&R (as well as RD&E) has attained in recent years. The result is a pampered clientele whose standards are elevated with every design, technological and operational innovation.

By Marjorie Preston   Tue, Feb 16, 2010

Those trumpets heralding the end of the global recession have been understandably muted.

Yes, the news is good, and getting better by degrees. The U.S. economy is looking up, with a U.S. GDP increase of 3.5 percent for the third quarter. According to some forecasts, retail sales for the holiday season could bounce by 1.5 percent, and the rest of the globe is keeping pace or sprinting ahead, with the exception of the U.K., where the crisis lingers on.

But with credit still elusive, job losses mounting and consumer confidence and spending still wobbly, even encouraging words about the economy are being cloaked in caution.

In September, even as he announced the unofficial end of the recession, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was quick to add that momentum will be slow to build throughout 2010. That could hold especially true for restaurant sales; after a recent brief rally in casual and mid-scale dining, figures are expected to remain flat well into next year. Against this backdrop, business owners are understandably tentative about major capital improvements.

The retail, dining and entertainment sectors-which rely on discretionary spending for their bread and butter -are trying to stay competitive while operating lean. For the foreseeable future, designers and architects (who have experienced declines estimated at 25 percent to 60 percent since the ax fell in 2007-08) will probably be taking fewer orders for gut rehabs, and more orders for modest or interim improvements.

"Our clients are asking us to do more with less and with no margin for error, it's more important than ever to actually 'measure twice, and cut once,'" says Tom Wucherer, co-founder YWS Architects of Las Vegas and Singapore. "If you can leverage an under-performing space and turn it into a better revenue driver, that's smart money. Whether it's hospitality or a casino or an office building, everyone has an area that's not performing up to snuff in this economy, and they can eke out efficiencies by not spending an arm and a leg on renovations."

Relying on simple changes plus brain-power and innovation, making deals with hungry contractors, and staging renovations that are congruent with cash flow, owners can remain competitive. Beyond budget, there's another obvious benefit to conservative changes; they typically do not require an interruption of service, which can drive away customers. And a longer-term approach can lead to more thoughtful and enduring choices.

Cosmetic Changes
Of course, most old spaces can be made new by switching up the color palette, changing the carpet and flooring, and swapping out furnishings, furniture and equipment.

"If there's nothing fundamentally wrong with the space, you can freshen it with something as simple as a new coat of paint," says Wucherer. "Colors age, and a tone that was hip and popular one year will be tired in two or three years' time. Once everybody's done it, it's time to flip to something new." (Cases in point: the ubiquitous brown-and-blue color combo, and '60s-era hatbox lampshades.)

When working with a bare-bones budget, it's important to make affordable changes that also make a statement, says Floss Barber of Floss Barber, Inc., a Philadelphia interior design firm.

"Bold strokes are important, making the interiors simpler but more dynamic with the use of bold color or one terrific wall covering. It's about big moves, smart design, not applied decoration," she says.

Barber recommends getting rid of "fussy details that take committed maintenance" and replacing them with materials that improve with time, like natural stone.

Initial impressions matter, and they last, so throw out the welcome mat, and don't overlook the details.

"A fresh façade, lighting or just some strategic 'editing' of product or clutter that gathers over time can make a guest consider new experiences that might have been passed up before," says Ken Kulas, principal, Cleo Design of Las Vegas. "The first impression of any venue can sometimes invite or turn away potential visitors."

Turn customers off once, and odds are you won't get a second chance to woo them, he says.

In an era of staff cuts at many levels, it's vital to refresh what you have, and maintain what you have refreshed.

"Like anything else, you'll get a lot more life out of something if it's maintained well," says Wucherer. "You communicate with customers through maintenance. If your lighting and ceiling treatments have dust or cobwebs or the wallpaper is peeling, at some point you have to be very conscious of the message that sends."

Tip: Most experts agree that five years is a good time to redecorate, but high-volume, high-traffic environments may need it in three years.

Spatial Changes
In any business environment, be it a fine dining restaurant, a department store, a high-end boutique or a chain supermarket, the floor plan ideally functions in an organic way, not just to move traffic and avoid gridlock but also to create a sense of momentum that will leave no square foot undiscovered or under-utilized.   

A logical but inspired floor plan makes for "intuitive navigation of the floor by the customer," says Barber. "The main generator of customer experience is from the interior environment, which is derived from the floor plan and spatial forms."

These elements direct guests where the business owner wants them to go; sometimes all it takes to energize a facility is a logical change in the floor plan that reassigns space appropriate to need.

Wucherer cites the case of an under-performing food court at a tribal casino. The solution was relatively straightforward. "The place was simply oversized, with most of the revenue generated by one or two outlets," he says. "We reconfigured size to fit demand, relocated the two well-performing outlets, and turned the rest of the space into a nightclub."

Tip: It pays to build in flexibility and utility with multi-purpose spaces, like the restaurant-bar that can become an after-hours lounge simply by dimming the lights and clearing the dance floor.

Paradigm Changes
During the boom years, extravagance verging on excess seemed to rule, at least in middle-class America. Houses turned into monuments, trucks morphed into tanks, and consumers out on the town didn't blink at extortionate bottle service, out-of-sight room and spa rates and other indulgences. They were simply the price of admission.

Now that frugality is fashionable and people are back to eating peanut butter, industry is acknowledging the new reality with an emphasis on "design, operations, marketing and service," says principal Paul Heretakis of Westar Architects.

"In the past, it was always about outdoing someone else. Developers would find a space and say, 'OK, I'm going to spend $15 million.' Those same people are now coming to me and saying, 'We found a space; we're going to keep as much as we can; we can spend a million to $2 million.' With limited money to spend, you make sure you're getting value across the board."

Wucherer agrees. "Long story short, there was such energy and such competition in the industry before that it turned into a frenzy. Now people are looking at value, who their customers are and how they can deliver a project that customers can really appreciate."

And afford. Reflecting the consumer mindset these days may be more important than ever; in many cases, the message going out from restaurants, retailers and other business owners is a Clinton-esque "We feel your pain," says Heretakis. That message is being delivered not only at the bargain bin and the half-price happy hour but also through design and decor, where grand is giving way to lower-key, friendly and approachable-at least in some venues.

In Las Vegas, for example, where restaurant revenues have toppled by half in some cases and thousands of jobs have been lost since early 2008, owners are offering far more value. Yet some nightclubs are doing well, says Heretakis, "because two or three guys will still get together and spend $500 on a bottle of liquor over five hours. That said, people these days don't want to spend $400 on dinner, which is only a 90-minute event.

"What everybody's focusing in on is marketing, branding and enhancing service, operations and product to gain market share, as well as slight design changes that can speak to the brand."

Barber seconds that emotion: "Project budgets are tighter, schedules are shorter, and owners are faced with greater risks to their success. As a result, there's a greater emphasis on customer service, customer comfort and brand recognition."

Tip: Create value with discounts or other deals to maximize the value of renovated spaces.

Lasting Changes?
The president of Vegas-based Bergman Walls & Associates does not agree that the majority of RD&E business owners spent recklessly during the pre-recession party.   

"I don't know too many people who just threw the money away, whether they were our clients or someone else's," says Joel Bergman. "What's really happened now is that people are being more sophisticated about where they're allocating their funds.

"We have clients who are still developing restaurants and bars and entertainment concepts, and I'm not being asked to cheapen anything," he says. "No one has said, 'Listen, this has to be done on the cheap.' Projects are always done with an eye towards the best value for the dollar-and thinking big doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money. Being creative includes spending money wisely and still getting the razzle-dazzle. That's the same attitude we would have taken two years ago, and it's the same attitude we'll take two years from now."

Though economic realities may demand that large-scale projects be tabled, planning itself is not on hold. It's the pace of execution that's changed.

"It's interesting right now," says Wucherer. "We're working with a client now who is asking us to look ahead two to three years and implement their renovation plan in steps. That way, they don't have a huge interruption of service to the client, meaning they don't have to alienate people and win them back. They're growing out of cash flow, so they don't have to leverage a lot of money to freshen up the space. We're helping them to take a number of steps, taking a full holistic approach to freshen and modernize their facility. It's a long-term plan to achieve growth over the long run."

While the new frugality may not last-and it has never lasted, despite multiple recessions in the 80 years since the Great Depression-Heretakis believes the current crunch will "definitely change everybody's thinking for the next five- to 10-year period, at least."

Kulas, who says owners are "holding their breath as the economy recovers," believes longer-term, judicious planning will ensure longer-term, "well-thought-out" success.

"We've been spoiled in the past with unlimited choices and suppliers for any type of product or service," he observes. "The competition has been increased, and with that, everyone has to be more clever or be perceived to provide more worth.

"The same old game of 'business as usual' will no longer apply, and owners will have to work harder or invest back into their businesses to be able to stand out in a crowd. The opportunity to re-invent is not only an opportunity, but a necessity."

Tip: Measure twice. Cut once.

By David Rittvo   Mon, Feb 15, 2010

"Do what you've always done, just do it better"
 -David McCelvey, vice president of operations for Emeril's Restaurant Group

Whether it is a celebrity chef, a great in-house restaurant concept, a well-executed buffet or just a local bartender making that perfect cocktail, there is no question that food and beverage offerings enhance the overall guest experience in a casino. However, in today's economic environment, what can a casino do to keep the food and beverage experience fresh and attractive and at the same time cost efficient?

While casino food and beverage outlets have taken a hit in recent months, the time is now to re-examine strategies in order to limit operating losses and position the program for a strong recovery when spending returns.

There are ways that food and beverage operators in casinos are retooling their programs in order to make them more cost effective and increase sales through new avenues:

• Strategies both for existing operations and new concept ideas;
• For in-house operations, we will look at how to better manage labor through scheduling, inventory controls, menu engineering and pricing strategies;
• New concepts to grow visitation into new market segments and capitalize on changing consumer trends;
• And insights into the casual dining trend and adapting marketing techniques to include social networking and guest experience dinners.

In certain markets, these declines have reached 10 percent to 12 percent in cover counts and 8 percent to 10 percent in check averages. These declines have forced food and beverage operators to retool, scale back and adapt in order to fight for a smaller piece of the spending pie. In addition, this downturn has manifested itself in a "trade down" situation. Casino food and beverage customers are not only ordering fewer items or less expensive items, but are spending less of their dollars in the fine dining venues. This "trade-down" effect has created staffing issues because of inconsistent volume levels and forced costs to go up because of low volume spending and wastage. In addition, food and beverage operators have had to work harder to balance the needs of the casino with the varying consumer trends.

In-House Strategies

Labor
As we all know, labor is one of, if not the largest, expense in any restaurant and the first place an in-house operator should look to control costs and limit losses. Leading operators can utilize a multitude of strategies to manage their labor costs, but there is a strategy to save labor costs through effective scheduling.

While there are guidelines for setting a schedule based on the number of seats and tables within a restaurant (one server for every 12 seats), the most important aspect to create a well-managed schedule is by analyzing sales trends. This important tool allows an operator to look into the past to predict the future. Because casino customers are creatures of habit, food and beverage operators at casinos can rely on previous week, month and even year financials to predict potential sales volumes in the future.

The sales analysis will begin the process to determine what proportion of the staff is needed for a given night. For example, on the busiest nights, typically Friday and Saturday, a restaurant will need its full complement of servers, while on a typically slower night the restaurant might need only half of its crew. To further this point, if a restaurant is typically busier on the first Friday of every month, but less busy on the last, it will be important to structure the schedule accordingly. By analyzing past sales figures, the operator can take the first step in managing a tight labor cost.

Once the proposed schedule is set by looking into the past, it is important to gauge the staffing level with potential upcoming events at the casino or in the city. If there are events that will drive unexpected or even planned increases in business it will be important to staff up for them. The added sales will almost always offset the increase in labor dollars.

Inventory
Behind labor, food costs represent the second-largest expense in a restaurant. From small casino operations to large-scale multi-venue resorts, it will be important for food and beverage operators to control inventories as a tool to manage food costs. Casinos tend to bring in massive amounts of inventory. While this grocery store mentality allows the casino to be flexible, it can also lead to higher food costs.

One strategy to implement is to reduce the overall size of inventories and manage it effectively. The most simplistic way to implement this strategy is to order less-more often. Instead of ordering vast quantities once a week, order smaller amounts three times a week. This strategy will allow an operator to hold less inventory, which inherently will reduce costs associated with waste through spoilage and loss.

In order to implement this strategy, a thorough analysis of the operations must be conducted. It is important to understand what items can be ordered less frequently, and what items are must haves. While this blanket strategy does not apply to all products in house, reducing inventories of perishable and high cost items will help operators save money in the long run.

Menu Engineering
To progress the "do it better" adage from McCelvey, there are strategies to employ through menu offerings and pricing to entice spending. These strategies are crucial for a casino's food and beverage program to capitalize on consumer spending increases once the economic downturn starts to right itself.

For this, one could look outside of the casino industry for an interesting strategy of offering a scalable menu. As the food service industry shapes itself in the new economic times, a new style of restaurant offering has emerged and been accepted by dining patrons. This shift has occurred by offering an undefined menu. That is to say, a menu that offers a range of items that do not fit neatly into the appetizer and entrée formula. The basic premise is to offer a menu with a variety of small- to medium-sized portions which can be arranged to complete a meal. The price points for these items have ranged between $5 and $18. The goal is to get the customer to build his or her meal through the menu without having to be boxed into the prototypical appetizer and entrée formula. In addition to allowing more freedom for the customer, this menu-engineering program allows for a wider base of customers to frequent a restaurant.

On one hand, a customer can come and have the traditional meal and build two to three dishes, while someone else who is looking to either spend less or is not looking for the traditional meal, can have one dish and a glass of wine. Where before the restaurant was only catering to the first style of customer, this new venue now has the ability to be one thing to many different customers.

David McCelvey of Emeril's Restaurant Group has used this idea to broaden the appeal at Emeril's restaurant in New Orleans. Emeril's is a dining institution in New Orleans, offering some of the best Cajun and Creole cuisine rooted in French and American techniques. Previous to this downturn, Emeril's structured itself as a typical appetizer and entrée restaurant with little deviation from that formula. Recently, McCelvey has introduced a small plates menu to supplement the original.

To offset some of the increased menu items, the original menu was sized down. This supplemental menu has five to seven items, priced between $5 and $15. This allows diners to build a meal to both their liking and budget. McCelvey states, "This menu has mitigated some of the potential losses due to the lower check averages. This has opened up Emeril to a new class of player who would not normally go to Emeril's because of the high price point."

In most casinos, where the fine dining restaurant has been hit the hardest by the economic downturn, this strategy can be employed to both increase patronage and bring back customers who have decided to "trade down" to the other venues within the casino. By offering this style of menu, the consumer can make the decisions on what to order and how much to spend. This has the potential to open up a casino's food and beverage outlets to a wider base of customer that would normally be priced out.

Wine List Tweaks
It has been shown that during recessionary times, alcohol sales remain strong and in some cases increase when compared to other discretionary spending. Casino restaurants can look to their wine lists for interesting sales techniques. By highlighting value-driven wines, the restaurant can see gains in alcohol sales, which would not necessarily happen in other circumstances.

One technique, especially if a restaurant has a multi-page or extensive wine list, is to highlight the value wines in a front section of the list. First, by highlighting the wines you have drawn the customer's attention to the area. Second, these value wines will further enhance the price value relationship for the dining experience.

New Concepts
Even as the forecast for the gaming industry predicts another tough year and operators will have to fight for every dollar, consumers are still ingrained to go out for entertainment and dining. The important factor will be to provide the "right" environment for casino gamers to spend their food and beverage dollars.

As mentioned before, the "trade down" effect has manifested itself in casino food and beverage outlets. Consumers who are spending money at restaurants are doing so in more casual environments and venues. Even high rollers are feeling the pinch, and gone are the days of lavish dinners in fine dining restaurants with $500 bottles of wine being paired with a chef's tasting menu. Today diners are more conscious and aware of the price value relationship and as a result want to obtain the largest bang for their respective buck. The question is how do casinos capitalize on this trend and position the food and beverage program coming out of the recession?

As mentioned previously, strong menu engineering and highlighting values within the restaurant allows for diners to appreciate their spending. However, this strategy can only go so far. The next step is to create concepts that intertwine the entertainment cache, while still presenting a strong value proposition.

Two concepts, which are closely related, have started to capitalize on this trend: Bobby Flay's Burger Palace at Mohegan Sun and Emeril Lagasse's Burgers and More (BAM!) opening in November at the Sands Bethlehem. Emeril's Burgers And More will feature a mid-priced menu offering various burger options. These options will include seafood and vegetable burgers accompanied by house-made condiments. Developers of the restaurant expect the check average to range between $18 and $20. The goal is to offer an amazing food and beverage experience at a lower price point complementary to the other Emeril restaurant (Emeril's Chop House) in the same venue. What is interesting about these concepts is that they allow access to the celebrity chef experience at a lower price point. The value concept is beneficial for all parties involved-the chef broadens his appeal into the larger casual dining segment, the casino gets the entertainment aspect of a celebrity chef and, most importantly, the customer gets an amazing dining experience for great value.

To further this point, Sands Bethlehem is also opening an offshoot of Carnegie Deli from New York City. These two, Carnegie and BAM, along with other in-house concepts, will form a strong casual dining presence in the casino. The hope is to try and capture as much of the dining dollar, albeit in smaller increments, as possible.

Social Media
To make sure that the previously mentioned in-house strategies and new additions to the food and beverage program are well received, casino food and beverage departments must work in tandem with the marketing department. While traditional print and media advertising will never go away, it will be important for casinos to move into the new social networking marketing dynamic. This dynamic includes new media and advertising such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs.

Over the past three years, there has been a shift in information sharing. As the baby boomer generation reached maturity in the gaming market, Generation X and Y will start to move in. These generations are vastly different and are more accepting of rapid information sharing. Additionally, this market group has a need and desire for instant marketing and even quicker satisfaction. In order to capitalize on this, food and beverage, and casinos as a whole, should start to utilize these new mediums.

There has been plenty written about strategies to deploy these mediums and talking about all of them will take an entirely separate article, but some highlights to making them effective include engaging the customer and showing a behind-the-scenes view. To engage the customer a casino must market by asking questions through the new mediums, which generate conversation rather than selling to the customer. Examples of this include posting wine reviews of new wines and eliciting responses about what diners think about that wine.

Another great technique is to show behind-the-scenes video of restaurant operations. A short video, posted on a web service such as YouTube, can show how a dish is made, how a restaurant is set up before service, or provide bios of staff members. These behind-the-scenes looks have the ability to pique the interest of potential diners and drive them into a restaurant. Additionally, the behind-the-scenes view creates a relationship with a customer that cannot normally be accomplished through a normal dining experience. While these ideas do not represent a complete list, it is my hope that they will start to generate ideas for food and beverage operators to run with.

Another marketing technique allows casinos to target rated players, casinos' databases and potential pure diners who will game as well. This technique leverages the restaurants to create VIP dinners, wine- and alcohol-based dinners and gourmet experiences. These types of dinner can range from fancy multi-coursed chef tastings to beer pairings for the mid-scale to casual concept. Additionally, casinos can utilize the fine dining outlets to host VIP dinners for their highly rated players. These dinners can include guest chef appearances from local or regional celebrity chefs. The goal of these dinners is to create experiences for the customer and players who matter most to the casinos. As consumers and more importantly gamers have a desire to feel appreciated, these types of events will go a long way in making that portion of your clientele happy.

By Dave Bontempo   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Gaming officials view a green, financial beacon of light shining through the world's treacherous economy.

It's the green light of sports.

Generating sizzle for the gaming steak, sporting events contribute millions to the tenuous bottom lines of recession-weary casinos. This intangible dynamic-coming from boxing, mixed-martial arts, professional basketball, pool, golf and the sports books-exists as an accordion, expanding to major arenas or retracting to small ballrooms.

Sporting events cultivates new customers, satisfy old ones and become unbeatable when combined with retail establishments and nightlife. Properties that have risked the most-constructing multi-million-dollar arenas, restaurants and nightclubs-have prospered accordingly.

With sports driving revenue and augmenting the buzz throughout gaming properties, casinos that own their own venues are behind the wheel. Let's take a tour.

Mohegan Sun
A combination of traditional and progressive thinking marks Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. It is led by casino President and CEO Mitchell Etess, a longtime hotelier and casino executive both in Atlantic City and Connecticut.

The Mohegan tribe became the first Native American group to own a significant sports franchise, the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team plays at the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena, which has also hosted two WNBA All-Star games. The facility sits in the center of a shopping mall and restaurant complex inside the casino.

"It has legitimized us not just as a casino, but it has brought us another level of exposure," Etess says. "The arena is a great tool for us. It's the fourth of its size in the world. There are 800,000 people a year coming through it. We cater to a whole variety of people who pay to come visit our facility. When people come in and pay cash, whether it's the basketball game or a concert, they are also exposing themselves to our gaming facility. It's a huge thing for us."

Mohegan Sun capitalized on basketball's religious-like stature in Connecticut. The area's college men and women's teams have captured several national championships and the market did not have to be sold the sport. Etess, whose two daughters recently played college basketball, also serves as chief operating officer of the Sun. It is quite rare for a casino executive to also run a sports franchise, but the double duty gave Etess a unique perspective of the sports-gaming synergy.

"People come in at 4 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game," he says. "You see it with the shopping, the food and beverage, the craps table, the steakhouse, virtually every aspect of what we have to offer. A basketball game that draws the people early creates a whole lot of energy and excitement for us."

Money, according to logic, leads to money. A customer with several entertainment options will offer repeat business.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Next stop: Las Vegas. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, created its own sports niche in the last 15 years-younger, faster, daring, dangerous. Indeed, UFC could stand for Ultimate Flowing Cha-Ching. According to a UFC-commissioned report by Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis, the organization provides a windfall in the areas of demographics and finance.

Here are some of the highlights:

A whopping 94 percent of its attendees visited Las Vegas strictly for the events. Eighty-five percent were repeat customers and the average UFC fan produced spending of $1,528 non-gaming and $869 each trip. Why not? More than 40 percent of the UFC fans earn more than $100,000, a startling hike from the 24 percent in that income for other Vegas events.

The UFC produces 90 direct jobs and 321 indirect ones, tax revenues of more than $1.5 million annually and it cracked the major leader board of Nevada events in 2008. Its overall impact was $86 million, second only to NASCAR's $134 million.

Repeat attendance and the income level of patrons predict continued health for the UFC. The Nevada Department of Business and Industry provides another glimpse of the sports-revenue alliance. Gross ticket sales for Chuck Liddell-Tito Ortiz at MGM produced nearly $5.4 million in 2006. Thirty-one months later, in the midst of the frighteningly deep recession, Brock Lesnar and Francisco Mir delivered more than $5 million at Mandalay Bay.

UFC staged four other Nevada events exceeding $4 million and eight more clearing $3 million. One interesting note: people are drawn less by the names, but by the brand.

"In the middle of the event, you will hear people chanting UFC, UFC," says Marc Ratner, the former Las Vegas boxing commission executive director who now brings UFC into new jurisdictions. Ratner, ironically, was once an ally of Sen. John McCain's movement to ban sports like this, but came full circle once UFC cooperated with athletic commissions.

"It's pretty impressive," Ratner adds. "This is now a pre-eminent brand. What you will notice is a majority of the fans will get there before the first fight, even if there are maybe 10 fights on the card. You won't see that same type of turnout for boxing."

It hardly matters that patrons show up early at the event, a stark contrast from jurisdictions like Atlantic City, which have a limited time frame to have its rollers in action.

"People in today's market want value for their money and it's no problem for us if they are in the arena early," says Richard Sturm, president and COO of MGM Mirage Entertainment and Sports. "It's fine for people to enjoy themselves before, after and during the event. We have them here for three or four days and, as you know, there is a great deal of activities for people to enjoy here. We have the spas, the nightclubs, the restaurants, the entertainment. We are marketing to a little different crowd-young, affluent, very good for the hotel. We do five or six events a year here because the brand has really established itself."

Does this make mixed-martial arts in general, and the UFC in particular, a no-brainer for the MGM?

"Absolutely," he says, laughing. "You can't beat it."

UFC holds an advantage over other sports because it conducts numerous matches on a card. If a headlined boxer becomes injured, for example, the entire event can be canceled. UFC, however, does not rely on one individual. The organization promotes ITSELF. By marketing the brand, UFC holds a power position over its athletes regarding pay and distribution. Casinos, by extension, often benefit by paying less for a mixed-martial arts event than a mega fight.

The UFC has regular syndicated programming to enhance its presence throughout the world. UFC and events like it help MGM and Mandalay Bay, all under the same company, maximize their investment in infrastructure. Each property spent millions to construct arenas and shopping facilities, prompting customers to spend their entire stay on the grounds.

This provides a crucial advantage because customers spill out from the event to gaming or the nightclubs without going outside.

MGM applies an international flair with the bi-annual Mosconi Cup, a showdown between American and British pool players. The event takes five days and prompts an enormous amount of vocal fans from across the pond. Picture a soccer game crowd inside a poolroom. The Mosconi Cup produces substantial revenue during December, a potentially weak time for casinos because of Christmas shopping. MGM also hosts an annual darts championship.

Boxing Upgrades
The scene in late September was pure cutting edge. More than 5,000 raucous boxing fans jammed the MGM boxing pavilion. A band struck up a tune. People stood and began screaming: "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole....Mar-QUEZ, Mar-QUEZ."

Was it a soccer game? A concert? No, it was a WEIGH-IN.

One day before Mexican hero Juan Manuel Marquez opposed Floyd Mayweather, on Mexican Independence Day weekend, a carnival air erupted inside. Comedians and famed wrestler Triple E augmented the festivities by pitting different sections of the crowd against each other.

All of this to watch two fighters step on the scales, flex their muscles and stare at each other.

For the MGM, it was a classic case of thinking outside the box. An event was created one day before the real show, bringing 5,000 potential gamblers into its property, for practically no cost. 

"We're appreciative of the relationships we enjoy both with boxing and mixed-martial arts promoters," Sturm says. "Their events create a great deal of excitement, they pack the house and you see thousands of people out here having a great time. That's what it's all about. That's what we always look for."

It was the first pay-per-view weigh-in program ever broadcast on Home Box Office and the event helped spike sales above 1 million buys. Those numbers directly affect whether networks like HBO will either subsidize or distribute events that casinos buy.

MGM also capitalized on the British Invasion, boxing style. Manchester's own Ricky Hatton staged events here in 2006 and 20007, literally bringing the pound with him. Because the pound dwarfs United States currency (at about $2 for a pound at that time) British fans flocked across the pond to witness Hatton fights against Pauli Malignaggi and Mayweather. Hatton's fans packed the venue, true irony in the case of Mayweather, who lives in Las Vegas.
 

Atlantic City Checks In
Atlantic City has thrived on sports, particularly boxing, during its 31-year existence. It became the boxing capital of the world in the 1980s and hosted blockbuster events involving Mike Tyson.

In the new millennium, a different star emerged. Arturo Gatti produced nine consecutive sellouts of nearly 13,000 fans at Boardwalk Hall. Ken Condon, who delivered the fights to Atlantic City as the president of Bally's, considers the economic ripple effect incalculable.

"It's impossible to track that number, but here is one mind-boggling statistic," he says. "During Gatti's nine fights, he generated over $1 million in taxes alone to the New Jersey commission. That's unbelievable.

"Arturo and Tyson were the only two guys of these eras with whom you just announce their name and put tickets on sale. You don't even worry about selling the event out."

Condon's purchases put his casinos in win-win situations. Gate receipts alone often covered the investment or produced a small profit. Then came the substantial action of several thousand players, some of them big, into Bally's or Caesars, the two closest properties to Boardwalk Hall.

"There's nothing like the excitement of a great match," Condon says. "That's why it's rare, I would say less than 5 percent, that you would see a significant boxing match that's not in a casino. When you have your own venue, as we have, that's another substantial plus."

Condon carries the amenity philosophy over to golf. Harrah's owns Atlantic City Country Club, a relatively new source of customer service in a resort looking to expand its menu.

"Really, golf is the only participatory sport that people can play as they get older," he says. "It is a big generator of casino revenue as well as an excellent amenity to offer our players. Given the age category, it is perfect in conjunction with the casino."

Buying this stellar property, which launched the PGA Champions (Seniors) Tour and the term "birdie," helped Harrah's initiate a strategy.

"When you have your own course, you can control getting people out," Condon says. "Before we had that, Atlantic City was always a tough place to get a tee time for on Saturday morning, it was crowded in its own right. Now we know that we can get our customers onto the golf course."

 
Europe Jumps on Board
Europe has been following a pattern of gradual acceptance first spawned in the United States. UFC 99, the first event of its kind in Germany or mainland Europe, invaded Lanxess Arena in Cologne in June, producing 12,554 patrons and a gate of $1.3 million. The event unfolded over the objections of local officials and martial arts practitioners, who objected to its perceived brutality.

UFC, Extreme Fighting and the World Fighting Alliance, among others, encountered similar resistance in the United States in the mid-1990s. In some cases, hastily assembled local legislation kept the events out of jurisdictions. In others, like Montreal, a 150-year rule against journalists observing a "cock fight" kept UFC away, but the city has since hosted UFC.

England has also been slow to come around to mixed-martial arts. Given the need for revenue for casino operators from Austria to Switzerland, however, it is extremely likely that UFC will gain a permanent foothold abroad and that a significant casino involvement will occur. After all, it's a no-brainer.

The European market has American operators salivating. Like dominoes, countries that have resisted contact sports have now consented to stage them. An untapped market will now deliver its share of tap-outs. And arm bars, ankle locks and submissions.

For casino operators and the UFC, the gloves are off. Another broad market welcomes the green beacon of light.

Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Welcome to the third issue of RD&E, the only publication focused on exploring every aspect of retail, dining and entertainment operations and opportunities in the gaming space. It has been a year since our last issue... and what a year it has been! As I sit in my office in Las Vegas, I look out my window and watch the many cranes extended along the skyline of the Strip. Some are active, most are not!

A metaphor for what has become the "new normal" in gaming jurisdictions around the world as developers and operators retool their businesses to meet this new market landscape we are facing. Every corner of our business has been affected, and for the first time in recent memory we have come to the bitter realization that gaming is not recession-proof.

The days of extravagant spending and unlimited discretionary budgets have quickly been replaced with the new buzzword for today's consumer: value. Regardless of the demographic, geographic or psychographic, customers today want to know that they are getting the best value proposition for every penny they spend. And casino operators are responding.

Ironically, for some, the pendulum has swung back to a distant past where every buffet, show and souvenir is being comped in order to drive foot traffic wherever possible. However, the savvy casino operator understands that as much as RD&E components are critical to the complete gaming experience, purely discounting and giving these products away is not an effective strategy to overcome the obstacles we are facing in the short term.

Instead, RD&E executives are finding new and better ways to both manage their businesses and partner with the casino to synergize potential and profitability. Economic environments such as this, no matter how painful and demanding, also create unique opportunities for innovation, experimentation and creativity which often results in the "raising of the bar" for new products, services and amenities.

With this unprecedented reality in mind, this issue of RD&E is completely dedicated to exploring how operators are reacting to the many challenges confronting them and discussing the best practices they are implementing to survive. As much as I would like to dabble in long-term trends and philosophize on where the industry is moving, it is far more practical in this issue to get our arms around what you can do now to improve your respective businesses.

What is truly amazing is that as our editorial staff reached out to various operators across the RD&E spectrum, there was of course a measured air of concern and conservatism; but more often than not, there was a sense of exhilaration and energy these executives shared with us regarding the things they were doing and their ability to change the paradigms in their environments. When times are good we all do well. In times like these, the truly strong come out even stronger and better positioned for new opportunity in the long term.

Our third installment of RD&E has great insights, strategies and immediate takeaways for every reader to explore and implement. And our writers are extraordinary:

• Pamela Joy Ring, retail veteranextraordinaire, provides our cover story this issue on the fundamentals of retail.
  
• Caitlin McGarry had theunfortunate assignment of being paraded through some of the most exquisite spas in the world.
  
• David Rittvo joined the team this year on behalf of Innovation Group's new F&B division to explore the dining space.
• Roy Student and Carolan Pepin explain what it takes for operators to better track and reward their non-gaming customers.
  
• Award-wining sports reporter Dave Bontempo has crafted an enlightening piece on the drawing power of the sporting event.
• Marjorie Preston has delved into the design world to better understand how to evaluate your spaces and best maximize CAPEX budgets.

Once again I need to recognize and thank Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business, for supporting the written voice in this space. He and his team, including David Coheen (sales director) and Sarah Nichols (art director) and their respective support staff, are determined to bring timely, relevant and useful content to their readers every day in each of the GGB family of publications.

And my sincere appreciation goes out to everyone who sponsors and reads RD&E. Even though these are very new and strange times, the collective energy, enthusiasm and hard work of those in our industry will allow us to prevail and enjoy better days ahead. I look forward to that future and dedicate this issue to each and every one of you who will get us there!

Tue, Feb 16, 2010

For those in the gaming, hospitality and retail industries, the effort to "go green" is beginning to catch on worldwide. Yet, while sounding simple enough, the effort to "go green" can be clouded by questions of "why," "how" and, of course, "how much?"

"Green growth is phenomenal across the globe. The business opportunities afforded by green building, even in the midst of a global economic crisis, are real and recognized by industry players," says McGraw-Hill Construction Vice President Harvey Bernstein.

What we have found at YWS America is that whether you are building from the ground up, renovating, upgrading or expanding, green is no longer a color choice, but a commitment and requirement. We believe "going green" will be incorporated into everyday life, similar to the effect the Americans with Disabilities Act had on the market when it was first introduced in 1990.

To that end, we are currently "going green" at our offices in Las Vegas by undergoing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. It is a voluntary program that is recognized around the world and allows building owners to gain third-party recognition of measurable green practices in the areas of design, construction, operations and maintenance. LEED buildings, on average, use 40 percent less water and 30 percent less energy while cutting carbon emissions by 35 percent and reducing solid waste by 70 percent.

At YWS, we have the unique advantage of providing three separate perspectives on "going green."

As owners of our building, we understand that we must demonstrate environmental stewardship and responsibility.

As tenants in our own building, we understand that going green also reduces costs to building management such as maintenance and utilities, as well as those associated with employee sick leave, health care and productivity loss.

As architects who espouse sustainable designs, we believe that in this world of dwindling natural resources, high energy and maintenance costs and increased environmental awareness, it is imperative that today's public facilities set a positive sustainable example for the communities of which they are a part.

So the question remains: Why should we go "green?" According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade group, it has been determined that of all the human activities that impact the earth, none exceed the construction, operation and occupation of the buildings we inhabit. Collectively, buildings use 72 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States. They account for 38 percent of the manually produced carbon dioxide that pours into this country's atmosphere. They produce 30 percent of the waste in our landfills, and they consume 40 percent of our raw materials.

So "how" does one "go green?" While the following techniques are extremely helpful in a company's effort to increase sustainability or "green," by no means will these methods alone garner a LEED rating. However, some initial steps that can be taken to achieve this goal are:

Occupant recycling
Most of the waste generated from office operations is paper, and as such, a property needs to create a comprehensive recycling program with the goal of recycling 95 percent of waste generated from office operations. Because of the ratio of recycled material to non-recycled material, all waste collection bins in an office should be for mixed recycled materials with the exception of those in the kitchen and bathrooms.

Purchasing of sustainable products
All companies should implement a comprehensive purchasing program for acquiring sustainable materials. The program should include a purchasing audit, which will enable the identification of sustainable products, as well as the substitution of non-sustainable products with their sustainable equivalent, with the goal of purchasing more than 75 percent sustainable products for daily operations.

Parking lot efficiencies
By using drought tolerant plants that are native, or adaptive native, a company is able to reduce landscape water needs by more than 60 percent from normally landscaped commercial office buildings. Also, employers should give priority parking to those who carpool or drive alternative fuel vehicles. All carbon use for employees' trips back and forth to the office, including air travel for business, should be offset with carbon credits.

Conservation through lighting
A building's annual energy consumption should be reduced to qualify for a high LEED rating. To accomplish this, companies should upgrade the entire lighting system to low wattage LED lamps and low wattage fluorescent tubes. This can reduce the annual lighting load by 60 percent as well as the indirect heating load from incandescent lamps.

How much will it cost to "go green?" There is a perception that pursuing LEED certification will increase the cost of design and construction. While this is true, much of this cost increase can be offset by federal and state tax credits as well as reduction in the consumption of utilities. In the case of YWS, it is estimated that we will recoup the investment of LEED EB building upgrades in less than three years. The total investment for the green features at our headquarters was $71,610. After three years, we will save $77,000. Each year thereafter, our ROI will continue to increase, giving us extra money to upgrade and expand.

Through the process of updating our headquarters to a LEED Gold rating, we learned a few things that we can share with those considering "going green." As owners, we learned that a smart approach to LEED can result in an economically attainable LEED certification. As tenants, we learned that it is really not that difficult to adopt sustainable practices. All improvements to the building were supervised by YWS staff, and conducted during normal operational hours. This provided an intimate environment for educating the tenants. As architects, our key lesson was that paying attention to the tenants of a building, whether it is new or existing, can yield amazing insights about the space. Consider that each occupant has an intimate experience with the space which he or she inhabits for 40, 50 or 60 hours per week. This means the person is, in fact, the sustainability specialist on that space. 

Wed, Feb 17, 2010

When the publishers of RD&E asked me to write the cover story for this issue, "Building Blocks: How to Build a Retail Component on a Gaming Property in the Best and Worst of Times," I wanted to lend the breadth of my experience as a seasoned retail chief executive, combine it with my 27 years as a Las Vegas resident who witnessed gaming's transformation, and have the best and the brightest in gaming and retail form a dream team roundtable and share their experience.

Common to the dialogue was the sobering effect the economy has had on the future of the two industries, for they are inextricably tied by the discretionary consumer. We agreed the future of the industries will be based upon a formula of best practices of the past, tempered by lessons learned which will provide products and services today's consumer can embrace. "Flat may be the new up," but I'll wager that "flat" will be a more solid platform for sustaining a prosperous future for these industries.

From my point of view, the consumer at all income strata has pulled back on spending. Most are buying essentials and are looking for value whenever they part with their dollar. Many retail experts, including me, believe today's shopper is more grounded, thoughtful, less impulsive in their buying behavior, and that pattern is here to stay. The result is any critical thinking about the future of retail and gaming calls for the industries to work smarter and be innovative with resources.

Here's the opinions of some of our other experts about the future of retail and other non-gaming amenities:

Alan Feldman Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, MGM Mirage

"These past 10 years we have had the capital to assist new concepts in amenities. We are going to have to become more creative in how we either modify existing amenities or refresh them to keep them new and exciting without spending a huge amount of capital."

Jason Spillerman Principal, Vibrant Development Group, LLC

"Now is the time you want to do things. The competition continues to grow and gaming continues to grow. Given the current financial climate, it's challenging, but if you stick to basic business fundamentals which seem to have gotten lost, you build things for a return on investment, you can add amenities, get a decent return on that investment, while differentiating your property from your competition."

Frank Volk Executive Vice President, Robert K. Futterman & Associates

"Any time you go through fire it certainly makes you sharpen the pencil and put on a different set of glasses and through that process we've gotten better. The lessons learned in Las Vegas when applied in the next wave of gaming will be more measured in approach. Companies are asking, 'Where are the gaps?' They are looking to change and add content in areas that need to be added and are not just adding for the sake of adding."

Dan Sheridan Executive Vice President, General Growth Properties, Inc.

"Where Las Vegas is today is an all-encompassing entertainment experience, and retail will always be an important part of these complexes. We will not see much new development in the future but one thing you can't forget, even though there have been tough times, there is still a tremendous number of people visiting here like no place else and when they come, they are inclined to spend money, and that's good for retail."

Jordan Covell Executive Director of Retail Operations, The Borgata and Water Club

"Retail has gone through a very difficult phase just like the general economy. I believe that the economy for retail is getting stronger and this purge needed to happen. We are entering into an upswing in retail and an upswing within most of the ancillary pieces of the puzzle from the hotel perspective because people demand to have more of an experience when they come."

Tom Wucherer Principal, YWS

"The retail component is just as important in Las Vegas as it has been. I do believe that in some markets where competition is increasing, we need to add more amenities to maintain a competitive edge and retail will become more important."

Jon Sparer Principal, YWS

"The growth and sophistication of retail in Las Vegas has been good for it. I don't see that changing. Tom and I travel a lot and we see untapped opportunities for retail in other cities. I just see retail growing."

Farid Matraki Vice President and General Manager, Crystals at City Center on maintaining the Crystals brand in tough times:

"Even when the economy was very shaky, we did not steer from the course of creating a pure luxury environment and experience. And to the point when we had to slow down leasing, waiting for better news, when we started again, we never strayed from our vision and promise to our tenants."

Ezra Bekhor President, LV Luxury Holdings, LLC

"I've seen overbuilding. I think these properties need to scale back their expectations based on the site and scale of the project. They need to make sure that their retail tenants always bring value to the table not just in terms of the shopping center but in how they are linked to their fellow tenants by having the same demographic of customer." 

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Ann Fleming and Ken Kulas are the principals and co-founders of Cleo Design, a Las Vegas-based interior design firm that has been recognized by Interior Design Magazine's "Giants" list since 2006. The two principals define their company's mission simply: to underscore a high level of creativity with exceptional attention to detail that results in achieving the ultimate goal of creating an environment that reflects a sense of place. Whatever the focus of a project is-be it resort hotel/casinos, restaurants, entertainment complexes, commercial/office spaces or luxury residences-Cleo delivers a high level of creativity with exceptional attention to function, client needs and individual tastes.

Most important to the firm is the client's vision of their respective projects. Some are astute in their needs, others seek a combination of their plan and the subtle perspectives of the designers, yet others can define their needs but seek the experienced counsel of the designers to create their space. Their clients provide Cleo Design with an essential portal for discovery and interpretation of enduring design. Choice, flexibility and tenacity are the underlying concepts that define the Cleo perspective toward all projects. Every aspect of a Cleo project is skillfully executed, ensuring that the client's expectations are met and exceeded.

The team at Cleo Design is a seasoned group with a history of collaborating with one another on innumerable projects, beginning in 1992. Each member works as an individual, bringing varied concepts and perspectives to the same project. With all of their ideas coming together, the Cleo team produces designs that are both beautiful and functional; bringing the client's dream to life.

The partnership of Fleming and Kulas began after they joined Atlandia Design, a subsidiary of resort mogul Steve Wynn's Mirage Resorts, Inc. It was an in-house design group for all Mirage Resorts properties that introduced the duo to the amazingly creative possibilities that tapped into their inventive natures. During that time the pair participated in the design and completion of the Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio.

After leaving Atlandia Design and forming Cleo Design in 2000, Fleming and Kulas have been setting the pace for successfully designed environments for gaming, hospitality and entertainment venues throughout the country, including Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood and Tampa, the Rivers Casino, Indiana Live! Casino and the G2E award-winning MGM Grand Detroit Casino.

In an ever-changing industry, both principals are committed to creating environments for their clients that are visually exciting, well-planned and that are known to stand apart from what is "expected."

For more information, visit www.cleo-design.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Bergman Walls & Associates, Ltd., Architects, a firm that specializes in the design of resorts, casinos, condo-hotels, retail, dining and entertainment venues, was founded by Chairman Joel Bergman and President and COO Scott Walls in January 1994. The BWA team now includes several additional partners, including George Bergman, who leads the RD&E effort.

The BWA team is comprised of a union of experienced, energetic, diverse professionals. The company's invaluable and visionary experience influences BWA's design approach for projects of all sizes and types. The firm's projects have been built in Europe, Australia, Africa and the United States, and they have worked in South America and Asia as well.  

BWA's headquarters is located in Las Vegas, Nevada with a staff of 72 design professionals. In addition, the firm has offices in Los Angeles, California, the Philippines and Vietnam, and is currently exploring Macau. Services provided include architecture, interiors, themeing, conceptual design, 3D visualization, master planning, construction documents and construction administration. All work is completed in-house, allowing the partner-in-charge to commit their personal attention to all phases of a project from conception through construction to occupancy.  

Many of BWA's projects are icons that define their genre. These include PURE Nightclub and the August and Palace Towers at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; the Paris Casino Resort; Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas; the Signature at MGM Grand in Las Vegas; Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh; and L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

BWA's dining and entertainment venues include LAX Nightclub; Pussycat Dolls Lounge; Payard Patisserie & Bistro; Guy Savoy and Rao's; Casa Fuente; Lucky Strike; Dick's Last Resort; Trader Vic's; the Capital Grille in Las Vegas and Scottsdale; Café Ba-Ba Reeba; Rhumbar; and Tacos & Tequila.

Current projects include the Munch Bar at Caesars Palace; the Boulevard Bar; Gilley's at Treasure Island in Las Vegas; the Nightclub in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Keys Piano Lounge in Bellevue, Washington; Caesars Palace Octavius Tower and Convention Center; and Sugarcane Bay Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The firm is proud to have several Native American clients, including Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino for The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community; Casino Snoqualmie for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe; Salishan-Mohegan Casino for the Mohegan and Cowlitz Indian Tribes; and the Barona Valley Ranch Resort Casino for the Barona Band of Mission Indians.  

BWA's international projects are located in Thessaloniki, Greece; Melbourne, Australia; and Ghana, West Africa. The firm currently has studies on their boards for Tokyo, Japan; Manila, Philippines; Ho Chi Minh City,

Based upon BWA's successful past experiences, the firm's team believes their approach will continue to produce projects that are exciting, viable, efficient and economical. At Bergman Walls & Associates, the goal is simple: That their projects be remembered for their distinctive design and, ultimately, for their financial success.

For more information, visit www.bwaltd.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Cuningham Group transcends tradition with architecture, interior design, urban design and planning services for a diverse mix of client and project types, including a significant focus on gaming, casino and entertainment destinations.

Cuningham Group's client-centered, collaborative approach incorporates trend-setting architecture and environmental responsiveness to create projects that weave seamlessly into the urban fabric. While design excellence through collaboration is always their goal, the development of green solutions for their clients and the planet is also a priority. They believe each project should be designed for the betterment of the community and society as a whole, and sustainability and green design are a natural extension of their core ideologies.

Throughout their 19-year history of designing gaming and resort destinations, Cuningham Group's stature in the industry continues to grow. Their success in designing creative and profitable gaming resort environments has led to multiple gaming industry awards and repeat work from clients.

Cuningham Group's portfolio of completed projects represents a full array of casinos, hotels, theaters, convention centers, restaurants, retail venues, parking structure and support facilities that comprise gaming and resort destinations. Included are the Harrah's Cherokee Great Smoky Mountain Casino Resort; the new hotel and convention center at the Isleta Casino & Resort in New Mexico; the River Spirit Casino in Oklahoma; the Red Hawk Casino in California; Palace Casino Resort in Mississippi; and seven casino resorts for Grand Casinos/Lakes Entertainment, just to name a few.

Their extensive experience allows them to offer clients the professional design expertise essential for creating environments that attract guests, increase profitability and encourage repeat visits.

Founded in 1968, the firm is consistently recognized as a leader in the field of architecture and has grown to more than 160 employees with offices in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Biloxi, Bakersfield, Madrid and Seoul.

Cuningham Group's gaming, hospitality and entertainment projects can be found in Europe and Asia and throughout the United States, including projects in California, Nevada, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, Minnesota and Michigan.

For more information, visit www.cuninghamgroup.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Floss Barber, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service design studio headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more than two decades, the firm's design team has successfully completed projects throughout the United States. Appearing in publications both regional and national, Floss Barber, Inc. has been on Interior Design Magazine's list of giants since 1998.

Floss Barber, founder and CEO, created Floss Barber Inc. on a shoestring budget with only a folding picnic table, an answering machine and a bicycle. With steadfast enthusiasm, she parlayed her passion, talent and vision into what is today a nationally recognized design studio. In 2007, Floss Barber, Inc. took another step and melded the philosophy, talent and ambition of its founder with the expertise, drive and strategic mind of Rebecca Udell, president. Together, their clear design philosophy has led to a uniquely disciplined studio of like-minded professionals.

By fully representing the brand identity, vision and goals of the client, Floss Barber, Inc. is committed to design solutions, be they for a core business, a new concept, a paradigm shift or total cultural change. The firm continues to garner acclaim for the superior quality and excitement generated by its visually and texturally stimulating interiors.             

Focusing on creative solutions to design dilemmas, the design studio bridges the functional and aesthetic desire of its clients to create spaces on time and within budget. Seamlessly partnering with industry consultants, Floss Barber, Inc. offers a full range of interior design services for industries that include gaming, hospitality, corporate, restaurant and high-end residential for both new construction and for renovation commissions as well.

Floss Barber, Inc. is committed to a team approach. In order to assure an uninterrupted chain of contact, services and responsibility, each project is led by a principal and consists of a project manager, senior project designer and a support staff of interior designers and architects.  

For more information, visit www.flossbarber.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

The Innovation Group of Companies offers a full spectrum of advisory, financial, development, marketing and management services: the Innovation Group to consult; Innovation Capital to finance and advise; Innovation Project Development to coordinate build-out; Innovation Marketing Services to position; and Innovation

The company's affiliates have been behind the scenes of many of the world's largest gaming, entertainment and hospitality developments, and its client list includes the most successful operators in the industry. Public and private owners, Native American tribes, government agencies, financial institutions, professional associations and private equity investors have all benefitted from the Innovation Group's expertise. As a result, the company's groups have collectively worked in more than 100 major gaming jurisdictions and been associated with nearly $50 billion in investment decisions specific to the company's target industries.      

The Innovation affiliates feature a number of tourism-oriented specialists, including a dedicated team of F&B professionals that was formalized in 2009.  

The Innovation Group is the premier provider of consulting and management services for the gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries. Services include feasibility studies, market assessments and forecasts, economic impact studies, strategic and financial planning, litigation and legislative support, and a variety of related operational and marketing advisory services.

Innovation Capital is a leading middle-market investment banking firm dedicated to the gaming, leisure and hospitality industries. The firm provides merger and acquisition, capital raising, financial restructuring and valuation advisory services for companies in the $20 million to $500 million value range. The firm has completed transactions aggregating more than $2 billion since its inception. It is a member of FINRA/SIPC. 

Innovation Project Development is a multi-disciplined project management company capable of providing a range of services from consulting advice to total development oversight. As an owner representative, the affiliate focuses on getting projects open and operating with tight adherence to schedule and budget. The team guides clients through the development process and facilitates operationally sound decisions that will support their strategic vision.

Innovation Marketing leverages the unparalleled consultancy, analysis and insight of the Innovation Group of Companies into effective marketing tactics. Services include advertising and PR strategies, internet and direct marketing campaigns, database mining, production and creative services and more.

Innovation Management Services features an exclusive network of experts with hands-on experience at the industry's most successful gaming destination resorts. Its resources include access to the best practices of more than 150 casino and destination resort properties, and the affiliate's capabilities include short-term crisis management, operations evaluation, turnaround implementation, management strategy/advisory and pre-/post-opening services.  

For more information, visit www.innovationgroupofcompanies.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Established in 1958 and based in Newport Beach, California, Lifescapes International, Inc. is an internationally renowned landscape architectural design firm. With more than 15 casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as many other properties across the country and overseas, Lifescapes International continues to create successful, dynamic "destinations," wherever they may be. For more than three decades, the firm has been a significant design influence in gaming-related properties, destination resorts and entertainment-driven projects.

The firm completed one of the Las Vegas Strip's newest casino resort additions with the opening of Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas late last year. Another project that recently opened is Ameristar's Black Hawk Casino. Another project expected to open in the near future is Pinnacle Entertainment's River City. Additional gaming projects currently underway include Sugarcane Bay in St. Charles, Louisiana, and another project for Pinnacle that has yet to be announced.

Lifescapes International's senior leadership team consists of CEO/FASLA Don Brinkerhoff, President/CFO Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, Executive Vice President Daniel Trust, Director of Field Services Roger Voettiner and Director of Design Andrew Kreft. They work in unison to create and manage the firm's projects. A team of highly qualified landscape architects, project designers and a strong administrative staff ably assists them.

"We have been entrusted by our clientele to assist them in creating appealing and financially successful projects, and are fortunate to be able to continue creating domestic as well as international destination casinos, resorts, retail centers and mixed use projects," explains CEO Don Brinkerhoff. "As a must-see city, Las Vegas is visited by millions of people annually, and many of our domestic and international clients have seen our Las Vegas work and have entrusted us to create projects in their communities-many of which are not casinos, but rather are places where garden settings of high quality make sense for their respective developments."

In addition to working successfully on many national gaming developments, the firm has worked on a variety of Native American properties, including the original Agua Caliente Casino, Trump 29, Harrah's Rincon Casino and Hotel, Barona Casino, Pala Casino and Resort and the Spa Casino and Resort.

"The entertainment and resort operators, including astute executives within the gaming industry, have realized for many years that stand-alone gaming activities are simply not enough to keep customers fully engaged on their properties," Brinkerhoff-Jacobs says. "We are now working on nightclubs, European beach clubs, retail and restaurant environments so our gaming clients have other captivating activities for their customers to enjoy during their stay."

For more information, visit www.lifescapesintl.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Founding principals Jon Sparer and Tom Wucherer established the Las Vegas-based firm YWS in 2001. Over the years, they have built the company into a leading design and architectural firm focused on the serious business of leisure, including hospitality, gaming, dining, entertainment and fun.

YWS has extensive experience designing casinos, hotels and resorts, restaurants, nightclubs, lounges and bars and entertainment venues across North America and around the globe. The firm's design expertise has been called upon for world-class, trend-setting integrated resorts such as Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island in Las Vegas; Borgata in Atlantic City; and MGM Grand in Macau.

From their 10,000-square-foot design studio just minutes from the famous Las Vegas Strip, the team at YWS includes many multi-state licensed architects among its staff of 30, with more than half of its licensed architects LEED AP. In addition, the firm recently opened its first international office in Singapore, YWS Asia, to serve clients in the region.

Drawing from years of experience on a wide variety of projects of varying scope, YWS has developed a sophisticated response to market demands, land utilization, operational efficiency and construction costs. Past projects prove that good design can improve a client's bottom line. In addition to paying close attention to the visual details, the firm is intensely focused on how a building performs functionally, and brings to any project special knowledge of sustainability and energy efficiency. Aside from superior design sensibilities and technical knowledge, YWS understands the importance of treating its clients as assets and makes client satisfaction a priority.

The team at YWS has a simple goal: To approach each project with passion and enthusiasm, deliver the highest level of service and provide a finished product that is creatively designed, architecturally distinctive and financially successful.

YWS' services include master planning, concept innovation, design development, architecture, interior design, programming and scheduling.

For more information, visit www.ywsinternational.com.

By RD&E Staff   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Purchasing Management International is one of the largest volume hospitality procurement agents in the industry that supplies furniture, fixtures and equipment to the hospitality and gaming industries.

Founded in 1993, PMI has globally sourced, purchased and installed more than $1.5 billion in casino, resort and hotel furnishings, operating supplies, systems and construction materials worldwide. Headquartered in Dallas, PMI employs 40 purchasing specialists at four office locations, including Las Vegas, Cancun and Bangalore, India.

The company provides services ranging from worldwide sourcing to conceptual budgets, purchasing timelines, cash flow projections, bid spreadsheets, expediting reports, job cost reports, on-site supervision, video conferencing, logistics, installation and warehouse coordination and vendor check writing services.

As the leader in gaming industry procurement, PMI recently completed the renovation of 2,753 rooms at Treasure Island and the renovation of 2,738 guestrooms and 200 penthouse suites at the Mirage in Las Vegas. PMI is currently engaged at the Tropicana Las Vegas and providing expediting services to MGM Mirage's CityCenter. PMI has been engaged at other Las Vegas projects, such as the Red Rock resort, Trump International, Hard Rock Casino, MGM Grand and Caesars Palace.

In Atlantic City, PMI projects include the 2,700-room Borgata and Water Club projects, several projects and expansions at Harrah's and Showboat and Caesars Palace.

PMI is also active in the Native American gaming industry. The company has recently sourced, purchased and installed FF&E and OS&E for the Gila River Indiana Community's Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino and the Lone Butte Casino; the Poarch Band of Creek Indians' Wind Creek Casino; and Harrah's Cherokee Hotel and

PMI is on the forefront of green business practices in the hospitality and casino/resort industries. President Bill Langmade is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional. PMI assists clients in compliance with the LEED Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

PMI is currently involved in purchasing management services for projects in North America, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

For more information, visit www.pmiconnect.com.

Wed, Feb 17, 2010

Slightly more than one year after the start of the economic crash, projects are starting to emerge again as financing becomes more available. However, the current economic conditions and increasingly competitive landscape within the casino industry are resulting in a response to design defined by new parameters.

Project budgets are tighter, schedules are shorter and owners are faced with greater risks for success. As a result, there is a greater emphasis on creating space that provides a distinguishable customer experience with emphasis placed on customer service, customer comfort level and brand recognition. Although there are multiple factors involved to realize each of these, the main generator of the customer experience is from the interior environment, which is derived ultimately from the floor plan and its spatial manifestation.

Property owners are starting to recognize this and the resulting importance of involving the interior design team as early as possible during the initial planning process. It is critical for the development of the interior plan to happen concurrently with the development of the exterior shell because one informs the other. This means that real test-fits of the programmatic requirements as established by the owner are completed at the appropriate time to inform design.

The overall floor plan should not be based solely on big blocks of space based on standard square footage requirements. A successful floor plan needs to provide flexibility of the ever-changing gaming floor, efficiency for the staff to service the customer and an intuitive navigation of the floor by the customer. In addition, a successful floor plan provides the foundation on which the volume of the space is formed.  

A real test-fit secures that the shape established for key support functions such as toilet rooms will meet the required fixture counts and other codes requirements. Or that the cage layout, which is specific to individual properties, is not just based on the square foot calculations quantified by program. Also, before the line is set the perimeter amenities, the gaming layout must incorporate adequate circulation so that parameters of the gaming area are not factored on square foot calculations solely based on industry standards. Going to this level of planning during the initial programmatic plan studies will allow for design to take place throughout the process of development rather than an arbitrary layout that presents constraints which could have been avoided if planned effectively.

In addition to establishing the programmatic requirements early in the design process, owners must also define clear goals and provide the "words" that represent the brand such as fresh, clean, industrial, etc. These words are the jumping off point for the creative team to develop good design.

This is a multi-layered process of development because each element speaks to each other to ultimately inform the overall experience. The form and volume of the space must be derived from the plan; however, it is not a linear process as the three-dimensional decisions inform the plan as well. When adequate time is given to the development of the design, the material will become integral to the form rather than an applied finish easily removed from the project as a result of either schedule or budget issues.

Owners who understand quality and universality of work are committed to allowing the process to happen because they understand that design is generated through development of the drawings. They must also trust that the design team is protecting their best interest. With a clear understanding of the project budget, a good designer can provide a smart design that will be able to maintain the integrity of design through the construction process. With a new consciousness to the value of the dollar, the understanding of cost of material and implementation of the design is more important than ever. Designers are forced to be smart about design choices. Design needs to emphasize the bold stroke rather than the fussy details and layering of expensive applied material. Also, customization is taking a back seat to standard materials being used in a unique way.

Customers are smarter and are increasingly savvier in understanding brand messages and visual stimulants. They are less acceptable of the trickery of the "Vegas" themed model. The formulaic response to casino design is an insult to the customer's intelligence as it does not reinforce authentic and distinguishable brand recognition. Therefore the "wow" factor of casino design no longer applies.

The formulaic response to design which incorporates a grand gesture for the carpet pattern and themed interior with large-scale decorative features like water fountains, statues or a replica of an existing place, city or location does not establish a customer experience that is desired by today's sophisticated gaming patrons. It may provide spectacle upon the first visit but it will not have longevity for repeat customers who have already established a comfort level elsewhere. It is the experience established by the cohesiveness of the design that becomes the essence of the brand.

It is important for the design to have a separate specific identity and be a creative interpretation of the casino's brand and stand as a place on its own. The customer needs the ability to process the whole experience to establish a comfort level and connection. The design cannot just simply mimic the success of other properties because of unknown and unpredictable factors. It is the cohesiveness of design that provides a sense of place and the unique experience that brings people back.

Wed, Feb 17, 2010

I buy Playboy for the articles......"

That's what I always told my mother and wife. Both, by the way never believed that. It did, however, help to create a designer who loves images; unfortunately, it didn't help me to read or spell. Luckily I viewed the magazine for style and fashion not scale and proportion-but that's a topic for another day.

With the proliferation of publishing in magazines, the internet and coffee table books, design has never seen such levels of exposure. This has been great for all of us in adding value and creativity barriers. Unfortunately, it has been abused by some. In the past the importance of a well-thought-out, cohesive project was the goal of a designer. I once followed a reveal in the Louvre expansion by I.M. Pei for a half hour before I returned to the starting point without interruption or variance. It was very impressive when you think of the care and attention to detail that was applied. For some it set a bar for the industry-for the purpose of this article we shall refer to it as the "Playmate of the Decade."

More commonly, today's designers with the "playboy" mentality are creating "magazine design." A certain wall or image on a project is either copied from a magazine (Not good! We know who you are-now stop it!) or designed to be in a magazine. Now this is not to say that it is bad, but it certainly does attract attention. Many projects are published and promoted based upon one image because that is all the editors are willing to dedicate to the article or layout.

So as designers and business owners we have one shot to capitalize on the initial publicity our projects create. It must be dynamic, exciting and create a must-see buzz. One has to question: What impact to the overall design does this must-see statement make? Is it the only thing worth seeing? Does the overall design make sense? Is there a feeling of letdown after the initial statement? Insert your own Hefner girlfriend joke here!

Do we as designers focus all of our energy on the money shot and forget the rest of the project? Is the owner so concerned with an image of the venue in print that the actual design of the rest of the venue does not matter? In today's day and age, how do we design? What influences us? What are our goals? Are you setting the trend for the designs that are published or are you following trends you see published? Classic modern design is behind us; what is today's style and how long will it last?  We all hope our designs will be remembered but we must be careful-jumpsuits and polyester leisurewear had their day also.

As designers whose clients put their trust in us, we hold a very powerful position.  A position based upon talent and trust. For all of you comic book fans out there, we must use our talent for good not evil, for profit not financial ruin. For the sake of the field and our future success we must become loved, cherished and desired. We must become the friend of an owner, not a necessary evil. We must jump off those glossy pages and out of the minds of our owners into the here and now and deliver on the promise of fantasy.  The "girl in shiny satin" is here to save the day for the owner and create what he has desired.

Let the functionality drive the solution and its unique qualities of visual attraction. In today's difficult economic times we are often judged by the success of the venue in terms of financial gain for the owner. Looks are obviously important of course, but none of us want award-wining projects that are shuttered. This leads us back to the trendsetting world of fashion and publishing. We are all interested in being the "Playmate of the Month" and forget the goal of becoming a viable business or the allusive title of "Playmate of the Year" or even, if I may dream for a moment, "Playmate of the Decade." It's up to you! What do you want to be remembered as? Where will your creations be placed in the annals of history?

By   Wed, Feb 17, 2010

There was a time such hotels dotted the eastern part of the United States. From Maine to Georgia (Florida was still considered too remote and primitive), expansive buildings attracted both city dwellers and country aristocracy for visits that often stretched for weeks, if not months.

At the Greenbrier, located deep within the Allegheny Mountains, the attraction was the hot springs found nearby. From 1778, people travelled to this location to "take the waters" to restore their health and enjoy a "resort" that was then known as White Sulphur Springs. Rows of cottages later gave way, in 1858, to a grand hotel, forever to be known as the "Old White Hotel." Serving as a military hospital during the Civil War, the hotel re-opened in peacetime and quickly thrived with the arrival of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

In 1913, a new addition, the Greenbrier Hotel, brought a new name, and the next year the hotel opened year-round for the first time. The Roaring '20s established the resort as one of the most desirable locations to visit, and a massive expansion was completed, at the cost of the Old White, however.

World War II saw the hotel used by the government to intern German, Japanese and Italian diplomatic personnel, and later to treat injured veterans.

When it re-opened after the war, legendary golfer Sam Snead made the hotel his home base and established its reputation as one of the foremost golf resorts in the world.    

The Cold War of the 1950s brought the government back. Between 1959 and 1962, a classified, underground facility was built in conjunction with a new above-ground addition to the hotel. The underground bunker was slated to serve as an emergency location for Congress in the event of a war.

Like most of the grand hotels, the Greenbrier entered a difficult stretch in the 1960s, forced to compete with more exotic locations with the advent of jet travel. The hotel struggled to survive, but a new, familiar, amenity was recently added.

A temporary casino opened in September, featuring table games and a small number of slot machines. In April 2010, a permanent casino, the Casino at The Greenbrier, will introduce a Monte Carlo-style experience of gaming to West Virginia. Like the old government bunker, the casino will be underground and include table games and slot machines.

Casino gaming will ensure that the 231-year-old facility will survive and thrive well into the 21st century. 

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The latest addition to the Hard Rock family is a three-story, 42,000-square-foot flagship restaurant located on the Las Vegas Strip. The new Hard Rock Café is the franchise's second location in the city, but has a completely different look and feel from its predecessor (which are both owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. and exist separately from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino).

The stand-out element in the new Hard Rock Café is its use of technology. The restaurant partnered with Microsoft Surface to create an interactive dining experience at seven units throughout the restaurant, complete with customizable applications.

"Microsoft Surface is excited to help connect Hard Rock Cafe guests with rock legend memorabilia in a new and interactive way," says Matt Champagne, director of marketing for Microsoft Surface. "At Hard Rock, patrons will be able to have fun with Microsoft Surface and get hands on exploring Hard Rock venues around the world-bringing them face to face with the records, clothing and instruments of music legends they love."

Touch-screens in booths allow guests to listen to music, browse the Rock Shop and find out about other Hard Rock locations, while an interactive Rock Wall that spans 18 feet wide and four feet tall enables users to explore Hard Rock facts and music lore in a futuristic, Minority Report style.

Like all Hard Rocks, the café also hosts a diverse collection of memorabilia, including a pair of Who drummer Keith Moon's satin pants, Grace Slick's psychedelic telephone, a tuxedo from Sammy Davis Jr. and mug shot of Jim Morrison from his 1968 public intoxication arrest in Las Vegas.

The Hard Rock Café opened in mid-October with a performance from former Soundgarden rocker Chris Cornell and an appearance by Peepshow star Holly Madison, who was on hand to smash a guitar in signature Hard Rock style.

"We could not be more thrilled to welcome guests to our brand new location on the Las Vegas Strip," said Greg Thomas, operations general manager for Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas. "Our three-story location, complete with live venue and one-of-a-kind technology, will be sure to deliver a kick-ass guest experience that rocks!"

By RD&E Staff   Fri, Feb 12, 2010

Since its opening, Atlantis at Paradise Island in the Bahamas has featured the world's largest open-air marine habitat. The resort is built around a 140-acre waterscape comprised of more than 20 million gallons of fresh and saltwater lagoons, pools and habitats. There are more than 50,000 marine animals in lagoons and displays in their natural habitat. It has attracted millions of visitors who are drawn by the unique resort that offers a combination of natural wonders and man-made surprises.

The latest effort by Atlantis to expand the audience that loves the marine environment is three programs that allow guests to interact more closely with thousands of marine animals.

A new 60-minute "Snorkel with the Mantas" program allows up to eight guests the chance to interact with the mantas in the Ruins Lagoon, the resort's largest marine exhibit. Along with the winged mantas, guests swim with zebra sharks, jacks, snappers and hundreds of schools of tropical fish.

The new "Sea Lion Interaction" program offers face-to-face moments with the playful and curious sea lions, and an in-water interactive experience in a private pool at their state-of-the-art home in Dolphin Cay. Guests learn the basics of animal care, including food preparation, and visit the on-site marine mammal animal hospital and rescue center-the largest in the Caribbean.

And finally, the "Aquarist for a Day" program appeals to guests who want a hands-on experience under the guidance of Atlantis' expert marine aquarists. In addition to snorkeling with the mantas in the Ruins Lagoon, up to 12 participants daily learn first-hand the work required to maintain the world's largest open-air marine habitat.

The Atlantis is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-the only casino resort in the world recognized by that prestigious organization. 

By RD&E Staff   Fri, Feb 12, 2010

When the massive City of Dreams opened in Macau in June 2009, it included what has become de rigueur for any multi-billion-dollar casino resort: a shopping mall.
    But what makes the Boulevard shopping mall at the City of Dreams different is the way the developers use it as the "main street" that connects the three hotels and different areas of the resort. With the Crown, Hard Rock and Hyatt hotels at different corners of the property, the architects, Los Angeles' Jerde Partnership and New York's Arquitectonica, designed the Boulevard to be the thoroughfare that gives visitors access to all areas of the property.

Unlike other casino resorts, where the shopping areas are located behind the casino and restaurant areas, the Boulevard rings the casino and gets much more traffic than its rivals due to its role as the main connector between areas of the resort. The wide mix of shops and restaurants makes the Boulevard attractive to the all-important "mass market" clientele in Macau.

Lawrence Ho, the chairman of Melco Crown Entertainment, which owns the City of Dreams, says he learned from other properties what not to do when designing the property.

"In some properties," he says, "the retail and the convention space is broken apart inside a gigantic footprint. So naturally it doesn't work well. We wanted to create as much synergy from the various components as possible."

Also incorporated into the Boulevard are several entertainment offerings, including the iconic "Bubble," which features an interactive video extravaganza, Dragon's Treasure. The Bubble allows standing room for 500 during the 10-minute show, and has proven to be one of the leading tourist attractions in Macau. The show will change every six months, according to City of Dreams executives, to keep the frequent visitor coming back.

Operated by DFS, the Boulevard was designed with a retail mindset. The mall was divided into contemporary "precincts" that are home to some of the world's most sought-after brands. The Boulevard groups designer fashion, ready-to-wear, accessories, jewelry, watches and beauty in distinct zones, offering shoppers a convenient and user-friendly experience.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Pennsylvania's slot casinos have arguably been the most successful gaming venues in the United States throughout the recession of the past two years. All of the nine facilities open so far, whether or not a racetrack is attached, have similar amenities-slots, electronic table games, restaurants and lounges, small entertainment venues.

There is only one Pennsylvania casino, though, that is taking care of its best slot customers in classic style. The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh is alone among Pennsylvania casinos in creating a high-roller lounge for its players. Called Club 44Six-the number refers to 446 bridges in Allegheny County-it is a magnificent waterfront facility, with floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the Ohio River, the cityscape and the inclines going up and down Mount Washington.

Amenity-wise, Club 44Six stacks up with any high-roller lounge in the industry. There is a standing fireplace, plush leather chairs, a front-row view of the property's riverside amphitheater, and a full central bar complete with television monitors beaming everything from news channels to sporting events. There also is a 24-hour buffet with several appetizers and entrees. Naturally, all food and beverages are complimentary.

Membership to this club is pretty exclusive. It is restricted to the top 800  to 1,000 players in the casino's database, as evaluated every six months.

Club 44Six is the first example of classic slot marketing in the state. "There wasn't a VIP room in the plans," says Rivers General Manager Ed Fasulo. "At my last two properties, Ameristar and Barona, we had a VIP room, and they can be very successful if used correctly. It's a very high-end room, designed along the lines of a traditional, private country club."

"Ed had requested we make it extremely plush, with oversized seating groups, a wonderful fireplace, tremendous views and great amenities," says Ken Kulas, principal of Cleo Design, which created the facility. "The nice thing is that it's very understated and downplayed, almost like a private club."

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The opening of Marina Bay Sands in early 2010 will usher in a new era for Singapore-one of increased tourism, more meetings and conventions and the debut of a truly iconic structure that itself will become an attraction.
Probably the most unique feature of the Marina Bay Sands will be the SkyPark, a 7-acre park that will span the top of three 55-story towers. In October, the first piece of the massive structure was lifted by massive cranes more than 200 meters above the ground. The total weight of the SkyPark will be 7,000 tons, and it will feature outdoor pools, lush landscaped gardens, fabulous spas, gourmet restaurants and a public observation deck, which will be free to visitors of the property.

The unique design accomplished by Marina Bay Sands is extraordinary, says Michael Leven, the president and COO of owner Las Vegas Sands.

"It's a major engineering feat to get 700 tons of concrete in one slab up 56 stories in the air when wind over five miles can stop it, rain can stop it, and if it slides the wrong way and hits the building, you've got real problems," says Leven, in the days leading up to the raising of the SkyPark. "It's an amazing thing. When it's completed, you're going to see a place that no one's ever seen before. Not only the SkyPark, but the theaters, the museum, the amazing facilities and all the rest. It's just out of this world."

In the end, the SkyPark will be strong enough to hold four A380 jumbo jets.

Moshe Safdie and Associates is the design architect, and was joined by Aedas, as the executive architects, and Arup to complete the 6-million-square-foot (570,000 square meters) complex.

Marina Bay Sands' President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Arasi says, "The Marina Bay Sands SkyPark will offer visitors a once-in-a-lifetime experience and unrivaled views of Singapore. It will serve as a great symbol of recognition for one of the world's great cities."

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

When CityCenter opens its doors in December, guests will have the opportunity to explore the long-awaited project's many facets. Ensconced in the meta resort's centerpiece, the Aria resort and casino, awaits the epitome of luxury amenity: simply named, the Spa.

The Japanese-inspired two-story spa will be open exclusively to CityCenter hotel clients, which guarantees the spa will be a sanctuary for its guests. Patrons will enter the spa through a garden comprised of stone and water, which represents the spa's theme, nature's elements. From the entrance, guests will be lead to one of the spa's 62 treatment rooms, each of which has walls made of soil.

The spa's menu offers Thai massage, ashiatsu, couples' massage, hydro-therapy and a salt meditation room, called a "shio" in Japan, with a wall made of salt bricks and chairs placed near salt lamps. The salt room encourages skin healing and treatment of breathing problems.

Another treatment room offers Japanese stone sauna beds, which are the only such beds in the United States. The beds, which are part of a traditional "ganbanyoku" treatment, increase blood circulation and metabolism. A fire lounge welcomes guests to the stone sauna.

"The Spa at Aria will deliver a fresh and progressive experience influenced by unique spa rituals from around the world," says Michelle Wilkos, director of spa and salon operations for Aria Resort & Casino. "Our guests will enjoy tailored treatments that address their individual needs and help them achieve a higher level of meditation."

Three private spa suites are also available for parties and packages, and guests will be able to customize their suite experience with three-hour treatments or a 12-hour VIP package.

Aria's salon is open to the public, and maintains the high level of service and luxury provided by the adjoining spa with world-class product lines (including Kolologie Skincare, Oribe Hair Care and Rock & Republic cosmetic products) and a variety of services, such as makeup application, manicures, pedicures and waxing.

Just outside the spa is Aria's pool deck, where guests can lounge in spa cabanas that offer cooling treatments during the summer.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The recently refurbished Hotel Palais Stephanie at Cannes incorporates modern versions of classic leisure and business amenities with the glamorous past of its location.

The hotel was originally built in 1992 as the Noga Hilton, sold to the Accor group in 2007 and purchased by current owner Jesta Group in 2008. But until 1988 the location was the site of the Palais des Festivals, home to the legendary Cannes Film Festival from 1949 through 1982. Now, following a €38 million renovation, Palais Stephanie offers guests 261 rooms and suites, a casino, two F&B options and meeting and convention space.

The hotel has four categories of lodging, ranging from the 300-square-foot basic room to the 750-square-foot corner suite. Furnishings feature stitched leather and other luxurious materials in shades of chocolate and cream. In a tribute to the film festival legacy, blow-ups of international screen stars decorate the walls. Rooms are equipped with hi-speed internet and flat-screen TVs.

The main eatery, La Scena, is a lounge, bar and restaurant serving fine Italian, Japanese and French cuisine against the backdrop of the Mediterranean. Guests can also choose to dine al fresco on wicker chairs beneath canvas umbrellas, sheltered from the breeze by low glass walls.

The seasonal Le Panorama bar, situated on the rooftop terrace along with the heated pool and Jacuzzis, serves snacks and drinks to guests either at table or poolside. The terrace overlooks the beach and sea just on the other side of the boulevard. Food and beverage service is also available to hotel guests relaxing on the beach from April through October.

For business and social functions the hotel has an 820-seat auditorium, the only such facility in the immediate area. The space can host business presentations and-again harking back to its roots-high-profile film screenings. In addition there are 16 meeting rooms that can be combined to provide a total of 12,900 square feet of space.

The hotel lobby features an eye-catching sculpture of the Palme d'Or, symbol of the Cannes Film Festival.

Palais Stephanie General Director Richard Duvauchelle says of the project, "Our aim was to restore this magnificent hotel to reflect its unparalleled location and embrace its unique film history with modernity and style. We are proud to offer a chic and upscale destination for all travelers looking to spend a relaxing holiday amidst the sophistication and charm of Cannes."

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Like most California tribes, the gaming venture of the Pala Band of Mission Indians started small, with a few slot machines and card games. Today, the Pala Casino Spa and Resort, located in northern San Diego County, is a shining example of what tribal gaming has become. A hotel featuring 507 rooms and suites is included with a state-of-the-art casino, a world-class spa and entertainment that makes Vegas jealous.

But like all modern casinos, the Pala executives are mindful that visitors have options so they must keep changing and improving to compete at the highest levels.

That was the reason that Pala completed a $100 million expansion earlier this year that includes a new parking garage, expanded gaming areas and three new restaurants that set the resort apart from the other fine resorts in San Diego County and beyond. Even in the difficult economic climate that engulfs Southern California, the Pala tribe knows that additions such as these are necessary to continue to produce the revenue that fuels the tribe's well-being and expansion.

Since buffets are still one of the best bets in any economy, Pala converted to a new facility, Choices. Expanded to 20,000 square feet, Choices can now accommodate more than 625 guests with an interactive dining experience featuring eight live-action cooking stations, including stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

And to cater to the tastes of its customers, Pala has introduced two new ethnic restaurants. Amigos is an authentic Mexican eatery with an emphasis on fast service and fresh ingredients, and Sushi Sake is a full-service sushi bar that features dine-in and grab-and-go options and also serves hot and cold sake.

The Pala expansion was designed by the important architecture firm JCJ, with the interior design completed by Tandem of Las Vegas and Ralph Gentile Architects of Los Angeles.

"Pala Casino is one of the only Southern California casinos undergoing a significant expansion, and our expansion is greatly impacting the community in a positive way," says Bill Bembenek, CEO of Pala Casino Resort and Spa.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

The synergy between golf and gaming cannot be denied. Gamblers love to golf and vice versa, so it's a natural when a casino resort decides to include a golf course as one of its amenities. In most gaming developments, the resort decides to build a new course, hiring one of the most noted golf course architects to develop a truly unique course.

In the case of the Harrah's Entertainment's purchase of Atlantic City Country Club, the opposite is the case. ACCC is a classic course, founded in 1897 and the birthplace of the golf term "birdie" in 1903. Designed by one of the original golf-course designers, the legendary William Flynn, the classic layout takes advantage of the bayfront location and the spectacular views of distant Atlantic City.

So members were naturally wary of the new ownership situation when it was sold in 2005. Harrah's didn't even have to renovate the course. It was given a complete makeover in 1999 by famed golf course architect Tom Doak, who restored the beauty of its classic Flynn layout.

The 6,500-yard links-style course isn't long, but it is challenging, particularly the 14th hole that requires the player to drive at least 150 yards of marshland before landing safely on the meticulously manicured fairway.

Upon purchasing ACCC, Harrah's opened the course up to the public, as well as members and the company's favored customers from its four Atlantic City casinos. But also of note at ACCC are the dining options and special events. Harrah's uses the course for more than just golf, and its Tap Room Bar & Grille is consistently rated one of the best "19th holes" in the country.

During the winter months, Harrah's offers special events inside the clubhouse, with bargain golf rates when the weather cooperates.

As Harrah's focuses on making the course a revenue center as well as an amenity for its favored players, Atlantic City Country Club continues to garner awards, consistently appearing in the most favored lists of many golf and consumer magazines, both regionally and nationally.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Wayne Newton has emerged from semi-retirement to perform at the Tropicana's Tiffany Theatre through the spring. The autobiographical show, called "Once Before I Go," may be the legendary Las Vegas performer's last hurrah, if Newton's statements to the press are any indication.

Tropicana CEO Alex Yemenidjian called on Newton to usher in a new era at the vintage Vegas resort, which recently concluded its bankruptcy reorganization and changed ownership. Newton's show, along with a visual transformation, harken back to the casino's golden age.

"In the midst of all this transformation that's going on with this property, to have the luxury of having such a legendary headliner join us... I have to tell you, it's particularly exciting for me, because besides being a legend, he happens to be one of my closest personal friends," Yemenidjian said during a recent press conference announcing the show.

"Once Before I Go" begins with a bus rolling across the stage, stopping to let off a young boy. The boy is Wayne Newton, fresh off the Phoenix Express to perform nightly in Las Vegas. Newton, 50 years older but black hair and signature suit both shiny and pressed, takes the stage and transports the audience from his early days performing in Downtown Las Vegas through his pinnacle as a Rat Pack associate and on to his time entertaining troops with the USO.

Along the way, he presents classic songs like "Viva Las Vegas" and "Danke Schoen," which was intended to be a Bobby Darin hit before Darin heard Newton's version. Newton has said that he wanted to tell the stories behind the songs.

"This show is the show I've always wanted to do for my entire life," Newton says.

Newton performs five nights a week in the Tiffany Theatre; the show is dark Sundays and Mondays. "Once Before I Go" ends its run in April 2010.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

A regular winner of restaurant and catering awards, Tamarind is the signature restaurant of the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns. Led by Head Chef Paul Bowell, Tamarind offers guests a contemporary fusion of Asian and Western cuisine.

"Our Head Chef Paul Bowell has the freedom to be truly innovative-a quality displayed in Tamarind's menus, which are always fresh with inspiring new recipes alongside tried and true favorites," says Adrian Williams, the hotel's general manager.

The occasion was Tamarind being named "Best Prestige Restaurant" at the 2009 Queensland Hotel Association awards in October-a nice follow-up to its "Restaurant of the Year 2008" award. Tamarind is now automatically entered as a finalist in the Australian Hotels Association National Awards for Excellence, scheduled to be held in 2010.

The 5-star Pullman Reef itself was a finalist for "Best Deluxe Hotel Accommodation." And in 2008 the property won "Best Deluxe Hotel Accommodation 5 Star +."

The success of Tamarind starts with Bowell. He seems to understand the added demands that go with running a top-flight restaurant in a casino environment. The ability to cater for a sometimes demanding clientele, the willingness to work with short lead times or outside of normal hours for special requests-it's all in a day's work.

Original menu favorites that have been available since opening include Penang curry of duck and whole crispy Barramundi (fish) in chili and garlic sauce. Dishes use a lot of local ingredients, like fruits, reef-dwelling seafood and mud crab. Most popular among the desserts is the Kaffir lime brulee with peanut biscotti.

The Pullman Reef has three other restaurants and a total of 140 food and beverage employees. Flinders Bar and Grill serves hearty fare with a maximum price of A$12. Pacific Flavours provides a breakfast buffet and a la carte dinner, and Café China is the property's noodle bar.

But filling the role of must-experience restaurant is the job of Tamarind. The menu is customized regularly with the seasons, and Bowell has instituted Tastes@Tamarind, a monthly event where guests can sample three wines and an assortment of exquisite dishes created by the sous chef.

"Tamarind is impossible to look past in terms of an international flagship restaurant for not only Cairns, but the entire state of Queensland," says Williams.

By RD&E Staff   Thu, Feb 11, 2010

Hospitality management firm Gemstone Hotels & Resorts, LLC has perfected the art of increasing revenue and raising the bar for luxury resorts. The company, which manages properties like the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, California and the Hotel SAX Chicago in Illinois, is focused on overseeing operations at high-end properties while also bringing a touch of glamour to the hotels via quality amenities.

Gemstone's proprietors, Mark van Hartesvelt, Jeff McIntyre, Ron Tuchschmidt and Thomas Prins, have more than 80 years of hospitality experience between them, and selectively offer their expertise to the world's finest resorts.

Gemstone's services include property management, financial services (such as market share growth and maximizing owner yields) and an internet marketing division called gCommerce Solutions.

gCommerce recently announced its strategic partnership with consulting firm the Innovation Group of Companies. The two entities have collaborated to offer market analysis; consumer research; marketing and business plan development; revenue forecasting; competitive analysis; channel distribution launch plans; search marketing; social marketing; interactive strategy; online media services; website development; electronic merchandising and distribution; database marketing; CRM; and other state-of-the-art eMarketing and ePR solutions to clients in the hospitality industry.

"Internet-based marketing is a critical component for any destination property these days, but a truly effective and comprehensive plan is much more than a strong website and well-placed internet ads," says Gemstone's van Hartesvelt, who is a managing partner of gCommerce. "Beyond bookings, an effective online presence will incorporate such tools as social and search marketing, CRM and other media services to help to build the brand and improve overall revenues.

"gCommerce's services incorporate multiple interactive marketing disciplines, with each service designed to drive revenue and work in symphony with the cohesive global marketing strategies and consumer preferences data that the Innovation Group generates. Our efforts are proving complementary because of our firms' shared appreciation for the larger operational picture."

From providing management and financial services to building a resort's online presence, Gemstone and its affiliates do it all.

By RD&E Staff   Fri, Feb 12, 2010

When the new slot casino opened on the hallowed grounds of the former Bethlehem Steel Works in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it soon became obvious that people in the state's Lehigh Valley were ready for casino gambling.

But the slots and electronic table games were not the most crowded part of the new resort. That distinction went to Emeril's Chop House, the first restaurant in the Northeast by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

The restaurant, sporting a sophisticated design created by interior specialist Floss Barber, features prime cuts of beef, farm-raised chicken, fresh seafood and, of course, chops-from grilled pork loin to grilled veal chops to rack of lamb.

"The restaurant has taken off like I cannot believe," says Sands Bethlehem President Bob DeSalvio. "I knew it would be popular on weekends, but I'm surprised at the amount of midweek business that goes in there."

DeSalvio says it all goes back to Lagasse and his professionalism. "We have a longstanding relationship with Emeril that goes back probably 13 years in Las Vegas, with Delmonico at the Venetian and Table 10 at the Palazzo," he says. "First and foremost, Emeril himself and his organization are just really great people. They're fun to work with; they know their business; they're very good."

Lagasse himself helped to launch the Sands, remaining on-site at his new restaurant for much of the first week-hosting dinners, signing autographs, and in general creating an air of excitement around the new eatery. "Emeril's popularity is right up there with major movie stars," DeSalvio says, "and he's certainly very popular around here."

Lagasse's second Northeast restaurant? BAM-"Burgers And More"-will be right there at the Sands, part of the first expansion
that opens in December.