Convenience Over Interactions

The land-based casino industry has adopted a lot of policies to increase convenience, but that comes at the expense of the overall experience.

I recently wrote a Stray Thoughts entry about how small, subtle changes can lead to dramatic, sweeping changes over time.

If you want evidence, I suggest looking at the land-based casino experience, particularly in Las Vegas. The city has changed in many small ways over the years. In isolation, it’s no big deal. In totality, those small changes would make the city virtually unrecognizable to someone who hasn’t visited in 20 years.

---

SPONSOR’S MESSAGE - Sporttrade was borne out of the belief that the golden age of sports betting has yet to come. Combining proprietary technology, thoughtful design, and capital markets expertise, our platform endeavors to modernize sports betting for a more equitable, responsible, and accessible future.

Sporttrade’s newest feature, The Tape, prints all trades made on the app in real-time.

---

The Las Vegas I first visited more than two decades ago was built on value and perks. The theory was that if you give customers cheap or comped rooms, some show tickets, affordable dining options, and a little taste of the high-roller lifestyle, they would spend their money at your gambling tables and machines and become loyal customers, at least to some extent.

For example, in 2004, I was in Las Vegas with a group of friends during the Super Bowl. We had nowhere to watch the game, so we went to an off-strip property, played some low-limit blackjack, and inquired about their Super Bowl party. They let us in.

The entire trip, during Super Bowl week, was cheap, and we had a great time. We frequented that casino on return trips, not because it was conveniently located, a great value, or because it was nicer, but rather because we had a great experience there and, in some ways, felt like we owed them.

Visit Las Vegas during Super Bowl week now, and you won’t find a cheap hotel room until you hit the city limits in Reno. There aren’t any reasonable dining options anymore or an available table for a private Super Bowl party.

The room will have surge pricing, you’ll pay resort and parking fees, and every meal (a high-end celebrity chef restaurant or overpriced fast food) will be over-priced. Inquire about a perk, and they’ll run your player card number to see if you qualify… and you probably don’t. There are no such things as loss-leaders anymore.

That’s business, so it’s not the casinos’ fault. However, it calls into question the overall strategy: whether it’s wise to base decisions on this quarter’s bottom line rather than long-term investments in customers.

Quite frankly, when I go to Las Vegas now (or any casino for that matter), I don’t feel like I owe these properties anything, let alone a return visit. The relationship is 100% transactional. The way I look at it, they owe me because of the cost. When the customer is paying top dollar, you better be perfect because they are judging everything and looking for reasons not to return.  

The Las Vegas of today no longer allows the little guy to feel like a big shot. Instead, it caters to the actual big shot. Like a Disney vacation, there’s no way to avoid spending money without detracting from the experience, and when people are shelling out that kind of money, the guy in the Goofy suit better be friendly and accommodating.

Unfortunately, unlike a Disney vacation, there are signs that the casino industry no longer sends people home with fond memories.