A diverse range of events during the third week of April kept many resort properties packed in Las Vegas.
One of the nation’s largest trade shows, a popular rockabilly festival, and a sold-out weekend eSports event were among the many that kept resort properties busy and at or near capacity much of the week.
Leading the busy week were more than 100,000 attendees at the annual National Assocation of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas.
Put on by the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) April 16-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the event features several smaller associations and themed days, including television and radio broadcasting days. It’s the broadcasting industry’s largest tradeshow and draws many high-profile luminaries from across the broadcasting industry.
Among high-profile events scheduled were the induction of television producer, writer, and creator Chuck Lorre into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Lorre was the driving force behind the hit show Two and a Half Men and others, and actor Jon Cryer emceed his induction ceremony.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler also was among high-profile attendees, and joined other regulators in leading discussions on retransmission consent, future video technology, and other regulatory matters.
The event also featured some 1,700 exhibitors displaying the latest in technological advancements, including using drone technology to create aerial content. Dozens of special sessions focused on drone applications in broadcasting.
Show organizers say they drew some 103,000 attendees from 166 nations and every state in the U.S.
The annual event is ranked among the five most-attended conventions each year. The Las Vegas Conventions and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimates attendees spent more than $96 million while in Las Vegas, and the trade show generated more than $163 million in economic activity.
With some 103,000 people expected in Las Vegas, the week proved bountiful for the hotel industry. Midweek room rates on the Las Vegas Strip averaged more than $300 per night at several properties.
The LVCVA estimates large events like NAB generate room rates that are three to five times greater than normal midweek room rates. The NAB has sponsored the trade show every year since 1975, and permanently located it in Las Vegas in 1991.
Also going on during the trade show, the Mandalay Bay Events Center hosted the Spring Split playoff for the League of Legends championship series sponsored by Riot Games.
The millennials-driven event featured two days of head-to-head competitions by some of the world’s top League of Legends players and teams, which were competing to win spots in the world championships to be held later this year.
The Mandalay Bay Events Center seats about 12,000, and fans mostly ranging in age from their late teens to mid 20s packed the arena. League of Legends is a free online “battle arena” game first made available in 2009.
It’s among the many eSports-type of contests that many casinos and resort properties are looking to host in order to attract more millennial-age guests and bettors.
Studies show millennials don’t like slot machines like their older counterparts, and that means declining slots revenues on the Las Vegas Strip, as millennials visitors continue growing in numbers.
Millennials prefer more interactive forms of skills-based gaming, such as eSports. That leaves the potential for millennials anteing up cash to vie against others in casino gaming rooms and arenas, with the winner taking the pot, minus whatever the house takes off the top.
eSports also provide the potential for connecting players at multiple properties to compete in large-scale tournaments for truly large sums of money. But all of that would require regulatory approvals.
Another popular annual event continued drawing an older crowd to The Orleans, which hosted the annual Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival.
This year’s event was held in the casino’s open-area, multi-purpose area behind its arena and featured classic cars, live music, and lots of people in ‘50s throwback outfits.
The rockabilly festival, eSports tournament, and NAB are all prime examples of the events-driven activities that are drawing owners and operators.
