Organizing Trends

Just a few months ago I found myself enjoying an excellent meal with friends prior to a concert in my home State of Connecticut. We also happened to be in a casino resort. Did I play a few hands of Blackjack, sure, but it wasn’t what brought us to the property. That phenomenon continues to take shape as integrated casino resorts introduce more and more world class amenities which bring us to this month’s trend: Non-Gaming operations.

Non-gaming amenities continue to grow, evolve, and become more important to the casino business model around the world. Even in Macau where gaming still makes up the vast majority of operator’s overall revenue, the local Government has raised the bar for non-gaming attractions to boost tourism beyond gambling with their final phases of development. Henquin Island will consist of entirely non-gaming attractions, and the remaining Cotai projects all have a heavy focus on non-gaming amenities as well. The resorts in Singapore, along with new projects in Manila, all have a sophisticated integrated resort model with many additional projects across the region following suit. With that G2E Asia this May will begin to focus more on content in those areas via exhibit and conference sessions designed to pair with our gaming core. We’ve established an advisory board specifically devoted to this area of the business and are excited to help foster B2B growth in these areas.

In Las Vegas we’ve got a much different scenario with more than half of integrated casino resort spend now coming from non-gaming amenities such as restaurants, entertainment, nightlife, golf, spas, etc. This trend has been unfolding for a quite a while as Las Vegas continues to reinvent itself as much more than just a gambling destination. To compliment that already robust area of the business, G2E itself has evolved over the years to introduce more non-gaming content such as our F&B and Entertainment components. This year however I’m pleased to announce an entirely new component for the Hotel side of the business which we’ll be launching this fall. The final details are being worked out now, but look for a whole new area of our show floor and conference devoted to hospitality technology, amenities, and guest services.

In looking at the next generation of casino guests, what is commonly referred to as the millennial generation—a generation that grew up with much more sophisticated video games—their adaptation to the traditional slot machine experience has been mixed. On the flip side however, if you’ve ever seen how much some are spending on VIP bottle service at casino nightclubs, they’re certainly making a major contribution—just in a different area. Casino operators and related suppliers, whether proactively or reactively, are adapting models to address these types of trends. As for G2E, our goal is always to provide a forum for learning and business development opportunities and as the industry changes, so do we because we’re committed to those we serve.