Gary Platt Manufacturing is bringing its latest line of seating, including those unveiled at Resorts World Las Vegas and classic models, to the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention.
Reno-based Gary Platt, which also services the office and hotel industries, has been a leader in supplying innovative seating to tribal casinos over the years and to the casino industry across five continents. Its display will be at NIGA booth No. 1417.
“We are by far the number-one producer in Native American gaming and probably have about eighty percent of that market,” said Gary Platt CCO Joshua Corrick. “It’s been a great market and one that’s expanding quickly. You see new tribal casinos opening up all over the country — whether it’s Florida, Oklahoma, Washington, or California. It’s important for us we support the show, no matter the environment or where it moves to. You make sure the customers feel valued by your being there and keeping the Native American community involved, asking their opinions of the design of the new chairs. They’ll be surprised to see the chairs at the booth, because with the COVID restrictions, they haven’t seen them yet.”
Corrick said Gary Platt is the only casino-chair manufacturer that didn’t shut down during the pandemic and his company is nearly back to its record sales numbers from two years ago.
At the NIGA Tradeshow, Gary Platt will display the latest designs to help customers make their guests as comfortable as possible, whether it’s in a gaming, office, convention, or hospitality area. Field research proves that when players are comfortable, they enjoy the game longer, Corrick said.
“That research is just another reason why everyone at Gary Platt is committed to creating and delivering unsurpassed quality, design, and service to our customers and their players,” Corrick said.
For casinos, Gary Platt has designed the all-new Aurora, seating Corrick called “the dawn of a new age in comfort and design.” Created as part of Gary Platt’s Resorts World Collection, the “ingenious” Aurora features a player-adjustable pedestal base, round footrest, rear seat vent, and quick-change seat. The Aurora’s “deliberately modest arms gently surround players and the chair back is covered in custom-designed upholstery,” he said.
NIGA attendees will also see Gary Platt’s new Forum hospitality-chair model, part of its diverse and extensive Sierra Nevada Hospitality collection.
“Those two chairs are really important to us,” Corrick said. “We’ve been going through a lot of redesigns and manufacturing chairs that are built for a specific project that leads us to customize slot, bar, and hospitality chairs. People want a better look and fit that address their customers’ best interests, making sure they’re as comfortable as possible when they’re at the machine or table game.”
Corrick said they have ensured that chairs “have a value to the eye” with special colors and a memorable look. The hospitality seating is a similar concept, bringing a better chair to an industry that generally doesn’t care about comfort, he said.
“When you go to a convention or trade show with three thousand or ten thousand attendees, once you’re in your seat, you’re there all day to listen to the program,” Corrick said. “It wasn’t looked at as a place where you have to spend any more to get better chairs. That mentality is changing for what hotels are selling, booking conventions with packages that have all-inclusive rooms, food, and shows. They’ve put a higher value on those customers, so they’re upgrading a lot of their convention seating for more comfort, similar to when they’re sitting in the casino.”
Resorts World is a “perfect example of that” with the launch of the Aurora chair, Corrick said. Putting a mirror-reflective finish on that chair makes it “go the extra mile. It’s like adding extra wood interior on your Bentley. This is the first time we’ve done the mirror finish on that line of custom chair.”
In addition to seating for the gaming floor, including a new chair with a wood frame for its table games, Resorts World purchased hospitality and convention seating. That accounts for 100% of the property’s seating, Corrick said.
“The successful opening of Resorts World and all the Vegas remodels — the Strat with our chairs, Caesars Palace with all their new seating, and the MGM’s new high-limit baccarat and private gaming rooms with new chairs — will carry over into NIGA, because customers haven’t seen these new chairs yet. It’s truly a Renaissance and it always starts in Vegas with the designers and big corporations looking to see how they can increase value.”
For years, casinos put money into restaurants, entertainment, and conventions, but neglected seating, Corrick said. When the pandemic and social-distancing rules hit, casinos could offer only gaming, so all of their focus was on listening to those customers, he said.
“The first thing they realized was that they kind of lost sight of how much more we could do for customers looking to play table games and slots and sit at the sportsbooks. They realized that a lot of their stuff was dated, from the chairs to the look of the layout. The minute they narrowed in on the gaming floor with COVID restrictions, they started to realize how much money could be gained. They redesigned the rooms and layout and got new chairs, lighting, and games. It’s a complete Renaissance for gaming floors on the Strip.”
The Sierra Nevada Hospitality Forum model was initially created by Caesars Entertainment and Gary Platt’s design teams worked closely with Caesars to customize the chair to further enhance the convention area’s new look and feel, Corrick said.
The Forum chair has also made its way into the new Resorts World Las Vegas, “where unsurpassed comfort can be found in every area of the casino,” Corrick said.
The line features more than 100 different chairs for a wide variety of needs across the operation, including bars, restaurants, and banquet/convention spaces.
Gary Platt will also display its patented Tesla and innovative Savannah models, originally designed for San Manuel Casino’s new Vault Gaming & Provisions high-limit area.
Gary Platt is expanding its office-seating portfolio with the new Maximus chair that will be on display. Specifically designed for larger users, the Maximus is BIFMA x 5.11 certified for large-occupant seating and passes BIFMA testing up to 500 pounds.
