What do cars have to do with casinos?
A lot, at least according to the panel assembled for “Technology, Tradition, & Transformation: Guiding Tribal Resorts into the Digital Era” at the recent Indian Gaming Association Tradeshow & Convention in San Diego.
Elena Gonova, senior associate and office director for Cunningham, an architecture and interior design firm from Las Vegas, said there are many considerations including self-driving cars, ridesharing services, and the role of valets. “From a design standpoint, we look at that in a unique way and work toward implementing that.”
“As operators, we think differently and we need to account for rideshare,” said Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Chief Gaming Officer Peter Arceo. “Not only do we need to account for rideshare, we need to account for rideshare that may be driverless, because you don’t want a driverless car running over your players. … The next resort we build we have to keep these things in mind; otherwise, we’re going to miss out.”
The panel, moderated by Cunningham Principal Brett Ewing, explored various aspects of casino design that must be accounted for while generational differences also are a concern.
“We’re surrounded by AI and robotics,” Ewing said. “We all deal with this technology and at the same time, there’s a generational shift. People like me, Boomers, are more concerned about materials. Gen X and the younger generations are about, ‘Look where I am. Look what I’m doing.’”
At Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, a Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation property, Arceo said customers have the option of robots delivering food and other services to their rooms. Robot services have become crucial during an era where finding workers can be difficult.
“You’ve got to lean heavy on the people who decide to show up for work, and that oftentimes puts a strain on your existing staff,” Arceo said. “This helps alleviate the strain. And we have a saying that we are helping people, not replacing people with our technology.”
Kevin Nephew, Seneca National CEO, noted that there is risk associated with artificial intelligence. But associated rewards can be achieved through AI.
“I know it’s probably not sexy,” Nephew said. “It’s not giving everyone AI right out of the gate, but in the long term, it probably will protect your greatest assets, sovereignty and information. Information is key, probably one of our greatest resources today.”
App design is also a consideration. Arceo joked, “No one drives and texts,” but the Yaamava’s app was designed to be convenient and usable with one hand.
“We have 114,000 total users that come back every single month,” Arceo said. “These are highly engaged people in our database who are loyal to the property, because we’ve created an experience that’s unique. … You’ll notice that it’s not like anything else you’ve ever seen. And that was done in house with an intent to drive home the usability of the of the app.”
Nephew spoke of the importance of infrastructure modernization, which is of paramount importance to Seneca. Also, a new casino-management system was implemented with the help of Light & Wonder.
But the most important thing, Nephew noted, was arguably first page of Business 101.
“What do we ultimately want?” Nephew said. “We want our customers to be not just happy, but wanting to come back and visit Seneca, not just one time, but over and over again.”
