Resorts World Las Vegas, set to break ground on their multi-billion dollar resort on May 5, looks at Vegas’ past to move forward. After years of very click, chic resort-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, Resorts World will differ by offering a Chinese theme, and feature a Great Wall replica, live panda exhibit, and indoor water park.
Billy Bai, professor and associate dean of UNLV’s hotel college, said, “Eighty percent of visitors are repeat business, so we need to provide something new that the repeat visitor has never experienced before.” This means the design tactics are constantly changing, and at times, cyclical. “Casinos must strike a balance between gaming and non-gaming,” Bai said.
The older, themed casinos tend to bring in the most gaming revenue. George, Schumacher, author of Sun, Sin and Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas, said, “Excalibur after all these years continues to make boatloads of money even though it’s dismissed by discerning architecture critics. Schumacher isn’t stunned by the new theme, saying, “People flock to things they’re comfortable with. {Resorts World isn’t} going to be goofy about it. They’re going to be clever about it and careful not to offend.”
