With the average age of slot players over 50 years old, casinos must expand their offerings to cater more to millennials, the largest generation in the nation. This group prefers games with some skill involved, especially if that skill can be used in competition against other players. They also prefer being in a social setting where, instead of sitting alone at a machine.
But casinos are responding. MGM Resorts International Chief Executive Officer James Murren said, “The slot floors that you see today are not going to be in existence 10 years from now.” Many casinos have been reducing the number of slot machines to make room for more popular table games and restaurants. The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, for example, opened in 2011 with 1,500 slot machines and now has 1,300, but increased table games from 77 to more than 120.
The new slots that casinos do add are more similar to video games, and many are jumbo-sized. They come complete with moving chairs, escalating jackpots, animated touchscreens and video clips of popular TV shows, celebrities and movie characters.
Gamblit Gaming Chief Executive Officer Eric Meyerhofer said the future casino floor will resemble a “modern-day arcade for adults,” with games requiring some element of skill. He said when those games are approved, most likely first in Nevada and New Jersey, they’ll transform casinos across the U.S. and around the world.
Meyerhofer also predicts gambling and non-gambling activities no longer will be kept separate but will be combined with food service, bars and lounges incorporated into the casino floor. The Encore Players Club at Wynn Las Vegas offers traditional table games, sports betting, interactive gaming tables, pool and shuffleboard, sports on TV and DJ music. At the iGaming lounge at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, most visitors are under age 30, and congregate there to socialize, relax on a couch, order a drink and at the same time play a variety of games, for free or for real money, on their mobile device or on a giant size touchscreen.
Steve Marshall, senior vice president of the Las Vegas casino consulting firm the Fine Point Group, said the casinos of the future will have many more social games, plus slots with themes that millennials can appreciate, as well as server-based games, where players can push a button to choose from multiple options—what game to play, solo or against other players.
In addition, the newest casinos being built are not giant behemoths like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but are boutique size, such as the Cromwell on the Vegas Strip. The 60,000 square foot SLS Las Vegas, also on the Strip on the former site of the Sahara, offers 800 slots and more than 70 table games; the 80,000 square foot Sahara had 1,070 slots and 56 table games.
Another trend is blending gaming and with retail and dining. A new casino restaurant offers table games on the premises, and the casino sportsbook connects to a burger bar and beer garden.
Still, analysts caution only 7 percent of most casinos’ profit comes from millennials. At the recent East Coast Gaming Congress, GameCo Chief Executive Officer Blaine Graboyes said casinos need to appeal not just to millennials, but to players of all ages. Scientific Games Senior Vice President of Product Development Philip Gelber said traditional slot games are not going to disappear anytime soon; many people who have played the games for years still prefer them.
Panelists also cautioned about replacing existing games with new ones. Several recommended focusing on incorporating the latest technology into existing games. Also, participants said younger players would be attracted to games that offer an experience similar to the online and video games they are familiar with, but not identical to them.
In addition, an increasing number of casinos are leasing slots to have flexibility regarding keeping the winners and replacing those that are not profitable. For example, 30 percent of the games at Hard Rock Casinos are leased.
Across all demographics, slot players will continue to spend, but they are more cautious about it. As a result, slot machines are offering more consistent payouts with a better overall experience.
