A casino is a casino, right? Well, there was a time when that was all that was needed to attract traffic. Eventually, in Las Vegas anyway, casinos gravitated to The Strip to get noticed. Others added extra amenities and entertainment, and now you have casinos that are located inside giant resorts you don’t even have to leave if you don’t want to as they have all you need under one roof. From dining to shopping and entertainment to gambling, some casinos in Las Vegas provide all of this and more to stay relevant in a very competitive market.
However, that’s not all. New trends in recent years have seen some interesting shifts in focus at some of the many players in the Las Vegas casino scene, one of those trends is a lot of the possible customers are moving to the online casinos scene in the US. That means there is a lot more than wedding chapels in Las Vegas. In this article, we will explore some of these changes.
Reaching Out To A New Audience
According to the US Department of Health, there are more than 60-million Latinos in the United States. That figures out to 18.4-percent of the country’s population. It is interesting to note that the bulk of that population resides in states that are in close proximity to Nevada, although the population of Nevada itself does not have many Latinos. Regardless, the large Latino audience has not been a specific target of the Las Vegas casino landscape until recently.
One Such Example In Las Vegas
Fifth Street Gaming, a small Las Vegas casino operator that owns a handful of smaller area casinos and other properties has teamed up with Ojos Locos, a Dallas-based sports bar chain. Their current joint project is a renovation and rebranding of the Lucky Club Hotel & Casino into the largest Ojos Locos Sports Cantina in the US. The primary target for this site would be to tap into the Latino market. According to Fifth Street Gaming CEO Seth Schorr, the partnership will leverage the popularity of the Ojos Locos brand to create “this first-ever Latino-focused integrated gaming, dining, and entertainment venture.”
More Details On Ojos Locos
The project is no small undertaking. The casino itself will be 10,000-square feet in size along with a 10,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor entertainment space, and a 300-seat restaurant. The entertainment calendar will feature Latino artists, Mexican food festivals, Mexican rodeos, and other activities aimed specifically at the Latino audience. Ojos Locos, which translates to Crazy Eyes) has almost 20 restaurants carrying the brand located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The partners are confident that expanding into the casino world will prove to be a profitable move that will reach an audience not properly served to date. Considering the size of the Latino population in nearby states, it just makes sense to try something to tap into that market. With the popularity of Mexican and Latino restaurants and grocery stores throughout the country, a casino/resort aimed at that demographic will likely do well.
More Changes Taking Place At Las Vegas Casinos
The Mirage is being renovated into a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The venue will be hard to miss as plans include a guitar-shaped tower matching that of the company’s flagship Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The original Hard Rock in Las Vegas was sold and was rebranded last year as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The new Hard Rock sits on The Strip and should transform the overall look of the iconic street full of casinos. The plan is described as “imaginative, so creative…with a beautiful design.” All of these features, of course, are intended to try to take a bite out of the competition and attract people to the already established Hard Rock brand. This venue will also feature memorabilia from the music and entertainment world as is a major attraction at the other Hard Rock properties.
Another New Casino Enters The Las Vegas Market
Resorts World Las Vegas opened in June of last year. The resort, which cost $4.3-billion to construct, includes 3,500 guest rooms, a theatre that can seat 5,000, a gaming floor that measures 110,000 square feet, and an additional 270,000 square feet of dining and shopping venues. The rooftop pool deck has seven different pool experiences that offer views of The Strip. The west hotel tower includes a 100,000 square foot LED screen that broadcasts sporting events, and advertising, and also welcomes VIPs. The operators have also incorporated a cashless system where patrons on the site can play casino games, grab a bite to eat, and shop without having to carry cash. Instead, Resorts World Las Vegas utilizes a phone app where you can make all your purchases.
Plus, There Is Yet One More New Casino
The first new construction resort to be built in the Las Vegas downtown core in several years is Circa Las Vegas. The new site occupies the footprint once filled by the old Las Vegas Club, Mermaids, and the gentleman’s club known as Glitter Gulch. Circa has opened and is already setting itself apart from most other gambling venues in the city. Probably the most impressive feature is the two-level casino that houses over 1,300 slot machines and 55 table games. The sportsbook screen is another impressive sight. Measuring 3-stories tall, it contains 78-million pixels making it the largest screen on the planet. Circa Las Vegas also has a rooftop pool deck called Stadium Swim which includes six pools, two swim-up bars, poolside table games, and a 125-foot TV screen.
Final Thoughts
There is some truth to the saying, go big or go home. In the case of Las Vegas, most of the new changes taking place in the casino landscape are iconic. Bigger gambling floors, larger entertainment venues, more pools, taller screens, and additional excess seems to be the standard. However, that is not always the case. More is not always the answer but being different is. One such example is the casino in Las Vegas that is targeting the Latino population. It just goes to show you that success comes in many different forms and in Las Vegas, you can bet that being different will be noticed and may usher in a new trend.
