UNLV is kicking off an educational series for the gaming and hospitality industry on March 22nd with a pair of seminars focusing on slots and the future role they will play on the casino floor.
It’s one of six events scheduled through December in the inaugural UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series, a partnership between UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality; Casino Connection Intl., publishers of Global Gaming Business Magazine; and Applied Management Strategies.
The tradition with previous generations was that, once the mortgage was paid off and the kids were out of the house, adults would have more leisure time for gambling. Casino executives are doubting that trend is true today with millennials.
So, if that’s the future, what impact will that have on the casino floor, and how can executives prepare for it? In the first seminar, Casino Games: Spanning Generations, a panel of current and former casino executives and experts will discuss today’s market and what the trends that have already been seen portend for the future of the casino floor, according to Stowe Shoemaker, dean of the College of Hospitality.
“In our first event, we have a panel who have helped to make slots what they are today – the way slot floors used to be run versus how they’re run now,” Shoemaker said. “We want to have a sense of where we have been and where we are going, and how we use the knowledge of the past to predict the future. It’s like history: those who don’t understand the past will always repeat it.”
The speakers include Melissa Price, senior vice president of gaming for Caesars Entertainment; Charlie Lombardo, former senior vice president of casino operations with Seminole Gaming; Steve Sirianni, vice president of slot operations and marketing with MGM Grand Hotel & Casino; and Kevin Sweet, vice president of slot operations and marketing with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The moderator is Frank Legato, editor of Global Gaming Business Magazine.
The second seminar, Drill Down: Free Play, Slot Promotions, Bonuses, Tiers and More, will be hosted by gaming legend John Acres, the founder of Acres Gaming.
Acres’ talk will focus on trends and what they mean for casinos, many of which have begun to remove slots and spread out their gaming floors. He will talk about how those changes impact players, and about free play, which eats into the bottom line but is demanded by players. There will be a discussion on tiers in the players club and how to structure them and communicate about them, and a discussion about how to make every player feel special.
“It’s exciting for people in the industry to meet some of the legends in the business and (also) some of the up and comers,” Shoemaker said. “We’re going to have a really good discussion about where the slot floor is going in the future and how we can continue deriving revenue through slots.”
Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine, said it will be an exciting panel, with the “old guard and new guard” of the slot field giving their assessments. He called Acres a legend who invented bonuses at slot machines and player tracking.
“He’s a visionary in the industry who has some definite opinions on where the industry is going and how we’re going to track new players,” Gros said.
Future seminars will delve into non-gaming revenue and attractions, how to use data to boost loyalty, esports and sports betting, payment solutions and player development. The topics are ones that are of interest to the industry and are driving its future.
“The other parts of the series will examine how we should re-incorporate hospitality into the gaming floor, and how we can make gaming people get an understanding of this new stuff — entertainment that’s not gaming,” Shoemaker said.
UNLV is synonymous with education and learning, so it was natural for the college to partner with Gros for the series, Shoemaker said. “It’s a way to put competitors in the room and gain knowledge from each other and others without disclosing their strategy because of competition. It’s more about sharing general knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work for the sake of customers.”
“Being at a neutral location like UNLV, and having UNLV act as a moderator, allows for some open discussion as we try to make better experiences for our guests,” Shoemaker said.
“Customers’ needs are always changing and, as casinos continue to evolve into really integrated resorts, the question is how we as an organization make sure we are always changing and taking care of our customer’s needs.”
The UNLV series also fills an information gap because the industry’s major trade show, G2E, which boasts dozens of informational sessions, only occurs once a year, Shoemaker said. UNLV is trying to drive gaming knowledge, he said.
“We want to be the thought leader in the hospitality and gaming industry and do that by creating partnerships with people in the industry who are experts,” Shoemaker said. “It allows experts and academia to work together to help solve problems facing our industry right now.”
Gros, who consulted with G2E from its beginning in 2001 until last year, said the goal is to have a conference that’s inclusive and interactive. Conferences used to be events where people went to get their information, he said.
“That’s not necessarily the case anymore,” Gros said. “There’s a thing called Google if you are looking for information. We’re trying to create a different experience for the attendee and allow them to interact with the speakers and each other. I have found over the years that people in the audience are usually as knowledgeable as people on the dais. Getting then involved and offering their viewpoints and experience will increase the overall value of the program.”
The capacity for the programs are limited to 150 people, and webcasting is available for people who can’t make it to Las Vegas, Gros said.
The cost is $999 for six episodes in person and $399 for the webcasts, which can be viewed live or on tape. The cost for just the March 22nd event is $199, or $99 for the webcast.
The sessions run from 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. They will be held at the UNLV Stan Fulton Building/International Gaming Institute, 4505 South Maryland Parkway.
The other sessions are in April, May, October, November and December.
For more information, go to unlvghes.com/
