Millennials aren’t as interested in slot machines and table games as their parents and grandparents. As a group they are more focused on video games, social media and amenities, such as spas and saunas.
It is this group that casinos such as the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens are trying to appeal to. The Bike was formerly just a really big card club, without many amenities beyond a bar and deli.
Last month, however, it became a casino resort wrought by the expenditure of $50 million that went for a 99-room hotel, a fitness center, pool, spa, sauna and a high-end restaurant, the Bike Brewery that serves 28 kinds of beer.
Alan Velasquez, a 27-year old who fits the profile of just the sort that the casino is trying to attract, noted that while he likes to play on mobile platforms, “It’s more exciting to be here in person.” He added, “The draft beer helps.”
Veteran poker player Nichoel Jurgens told the Los Angeles Times, “With the hotel here, you are not just coming to gamble but to eat and hang out.”
The Bike is one of the first clubs in Southern California to make such an effort, but it won’t be the last. Last month the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians in nearby Riverside County broke ground on a $285 million additional new 568-room Four Diamond hotel, a two-story spa and salon, more dining and a fitness center to compliment its existing casino resort.
The band just announced that it has made a strategic partnership with Ruby Seven Studios to launch a social casino, including free-to-play gaming on the tribe’s website. This will include video poker, bingo, keno and blackjack and will also feature online slots games that highlight existing games and features at the casino.
The new games will be launched within the next few months.
Pechanga Development Corporation president Patrick Murphy said, “We are very excited about this partnership that will help us extend our brand beyond Southern California while giving our players the opportunity to engage with Pechanga anytime on any device and from anywhere in the world.” He added, “This new and exciting social casino will bring the unique Pechanga experience to a global audience.”
Ruby Seven CEO Michael Carpenter added, “We want to help Pechanga expand their brand to the global social casino market while also creating a superior free-to-play gaming experience for their resort and casino customers.”
A dozen or so miles further south across the San Diego County line at Pala Casino Spa & Resort they recently opened a “wine cave” and outdoor patio that can host concerts and events.
Mike Crenshaw, vice president of casino operations at Pala told the Times, “I think we are all trying to expand our offerings to reach out to a new audience.” The tribe also plans to open a $5.6 million RV park in May.
Casino executives have noticed that since the Great Recession that while the number of visitors to casinos has stayed around the same, the amount that they bet during each visit has declined. The object of diversification is to give them non-gaming entertainment options to spend their money on.
But despite changing how money is invested in casinos, there isn’t much data yet to suggest that millennials are any more likely to visit than before. According to Lucy Dadayan, a senior policy analyst for the Rockefeller Institute, quoted by the Times, “They may try to attract them, but I have not seen much increase in millennials visiting casinos.”
A recent survey of 2,800 persons by MMGY Global noted that millennials expect their traveling to increase this year, but only 38 percent said that gaming is part of their traveling experience. On the other hand 70 percent expect to sample new cuisine.
Which may explain why some casinos are expanding their dining options.
Another Southern California tribe, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, spent $50 million to build a larger high limit room at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, and to bring in more Asian restaurants and bars. Casino COO John James said it wouldn’t stop there. “We want to offer an array of things for our guests. We want to keep the newness here,” he told the Times.
