Caesars Entertainment Corp. is testing the concept of the “Fan Cave” where millennials can watch NFL games on a 98 inch screen from a comfortable L-shaped couch, and, when they are in the mood, switch over to Xbox to play video games. There are also virtual reality headsets and games by Oculus.
The 98-inch screen can be converted to four screens or two 49-inch TVs. It’s kind of like a “man cave” but instead it’s a rentable “Fan Cave,” one of 12 such spaces of 200 square feet where Caesars is testing out ways to tempt this elusive generation into venturing into a casino, something many of them consider the entertainment of their parents or grandparents. They are contained within a 44,000 SF space located in the Ling Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
“This is like our lab,” Christian Stuart, executive vice president of gaming and interactive entertainment, told the Review-Journal. “So, what we are doing is spending the money here, and when we find the things that really connect with customers, we will leverage it up to other properties.” The Fan Cave will be completed the second quarter of this year.
The lab is about four times larger than the next largest attempt at something like this, the Level Up, which the MGM Grand opened two years ago.
The area in the Ling will have the fan caves, four virtual reality games, a collection of skill-based slots, state-of-the-art digital table games, a digital bar (you can order drinks without a bar tender) and LED screens. Each fan cave accommodates up to ten patrons, who must spend as much as $1,500 ($4,000 on Super Bowl Sunday) on food and beverages. Which is easy to do when you consider that guests can self-serve from two dozen taps.
“This is not a traditional sports book where you sit in a big row,” said Stuart. “You own this space, so it’s much more social. You can hang out with your friends, pour your own beer, order your own food.” Patrons can also control what’s on the TV, something that is considered a selling point.
It will cater to the use of mobile platforms and social gaming, which is popular with millennials. It will include regular slot and sports betting tournaments and patrons will be able to compete for prizes.
The idea is to give a defibrillator treatment to revenues that have flattened in the last ten years as the millennials have generally avoided slots. Gaming revenues peaked in 2007 at $6.8 billion, just before the Great Recession. Last year’s revenues were $6.5 billion.
Other properties are conducting similar experiments. Chad Beynon, a gaming analyst at the Macquarie in New York, told the Review-Journal “We think that it’s important to test out new concepts such as esports, virtual reality, skill-based gaming, mobile sports betting, and others to broaden the customer base of future Gaming customers. By piloting and testing these new features and concepts in Las Vegas, Caesars can stay ahead of the pack in a cost efficient manner.”
