When casino patrons look for a place to sit, they often wind up in a Gasser chair – and not just when they’re playing slots or table games.
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“We are the chair experts,” business development manager Shawn Danks said.
The wide variety of chair choices is on display at booths 3016 and 3216, directly across the aisle from each other, at this week’s Global Gaming Expo.
Palms Casino, part of the Station Casinos group, contracted with Gasser to provide several types of chairs as part of its recently completed $690 million renovation. Danks said Gasser supplied slot and table game chairs for the main casino floor, plus chairs for banquet rooms and poolside.
For the poolside chairs, Gasser researched heat-resistant materials for both the seats and the frames, which helps prevent singed thighs and hands from using or moving the chairs in the Las Vegas heat. The poolside chairs, designed both for cabana use and for poolside gaming, also have stainless steel hardware and marine grade upholstery to withstand the wet environment.
“In nearly every project there is some type of R&D because of the custom nature of our product,” Danks said. “While we do have standard catalog items, nearly every customer wants to change some aspect, even if it’s just upholstery.”
The company’s custom manufacturing and modular construction makes the choices “pretty much limitless,” communications manager Kevin Buck said.
For example, the company provided “corset” chairs, with laces crisscrossing the back, for the Bellagio; for New York New York’s grand opening in 1997, it created hand-upholstered seat backs that sported a three-dimensional tuxedo jacket with black velvet lapels and a red tie. Buck still has one in his Youngstown office.
One of the company’s new lines is the Alto model, available in slot, table game, and poker versions.
“This was developed for high–volume projects,” Danks said. It features a seat cushion that can be changed within 30 seconds, meaning the chair will not be put out of service because of a cigarette burn or other damage. The slot machine version includes a 4.5-inch height adjustment, and the chair has a handle set in the seatback for players to use when moving the chair, which prevents potential damage from grabbing the top of the seatback.
Gasser employees designed the line after reviewing manufacturing processes that became more efficient when the company combined all its operations on one campus in Youngstown.
“We’re able to produce a chair that has a very attractive price point while still maintaining some very important features that most casinos like to have,” Danks said.
Customers specify upholstery and choose the type of metal frames.
Danks and Buck said Gasser treats customers like partners, tailoring chairs to what the buyers need.
“We realize our product is an investment,” Danks said. “We’re not the cheapest; we don’t want to be the cheapest. We are a partner, and we want to make sure they’re going to get something that will work long-term.”
