Insight CASINO DESIGN
It is fascinating among the bigger casino chains to see the evolution of the product over the years, and having been involved in the business for 20 plus years, Paul Sculpher of UKCasinoChecker continues to enjoy the throwback touches that you rarely see and, in some cases, wonders how they ever existed in the first place.
Personally – maybe due to where I trained as a dealer about a million years ago – I’m a bit of a sucker for the old school, gold-effect latticed ceilings that used to be everywhere, although there are only a few relics left with this design feature. One site that used to have such a ceiling was the old Golden Nugget off Leicester Square, now sadly closed – although if you look hard enough, there are a still a few out there.
The most interesting facet of touring the whole UK casi- no landscape is the evolution of the casino look as a whole. 25 years ago, before companies started trying to recognise, in the context of gambling in general heading towards social acceptability, that there was potential to open the casino world up to the general public, the majority of UK casinos were low ceilinged, smoky, dark affairs with a preponderance of serious faces, staff dressed formally and an atmosphere if not of danger, then at least of some serious business. Bars were there as a tertiary activity (and of course drinks weren’t allowed on the gaming floor) and restaurants, where they existed, were generally pitched as mid to high-end A La Carte offers. It was all about gaming.
The first round of improvements and attempts to pitch the offer more into the mainstream began with some casino relocations towards the end of the millennium. The new sites, with Grosvenor Newcastle being the first to my memory, were much larger, and much, much brighter. The idea was clearly to de-mystify the casino experience, bringing it out into the sun, so to speak. More upscale bars with staff dressed in a more casual uniform (including, memorably the most hideous piece of clothing ever designed in the original Grosvenor “Splodge” shirts), a simplified (some might say dumbed down) menu that could be cooked by people more or less on minimum wage, and a shift towards a higher standard of customer service were the notable changes. Where a few sites went, many followed and essentially there was a major shift towards larger, brighter sites, often further from the town and city centres, with park- ing available and operations geared up towards many thousands of admissions per week.
So did all this change light a fire under the industry and galvanise a quadrupling of GGR ? Well not entirely. As one might expect, the designers got some things right, some things were irrelevant and some things were downright wrong. While the course of legislation cer- tainly had a notable effect on casino design, the most striking part in my opinion of where the offer was pitched wrongly was the lighting levels.
If a current casino regular – or executive – were to wander into one of the new style casinos of 2001, the first thing they would notice was the blinding (relatively speaking) light levels. In those days it was all about transparency, with a brightly lit gaming floor showing there’s nothing to hide here, nothing underhand, every- thing is wholesome and out in the open. Recessed blue and red neon in the ceiling was a particular favourite – which if overdone could lead to a slightly unhealthy
look to people on the floor – and generally you felt like you were in an operating theatre.
The second wave of casinos in the latter part of the 2000’s – I can’t quite bring myself to say the Noughties – took a different approach. Starting (to my memory) with Aspers, also in Newcastle, casino designers started to go a lot darker. In retrospect – having seen both ver- sions – it seems pretty obvious, heading into a modern casino these days is much more atmospheric experi- ence. My view is that even first timers want a casino experience to feel, if not dangerous, then a little bit – well – edgy, as if it’s something genuinely different. Then they can head to the bar and have a drink (if the bar is close to the gaming) while watching this new, unfamiliar, exciting activity and get used to their sur- roundings. Of course, it’s also worth bearing in mind that
Paul Sculpher UKCasinoChecker
Nobody ever went bust underestimating the intelligence of the casino punter, and this type of feature – a huge screen behind the bar that reacts to customer move- ments in front of the bar – is exactly the sort of thing that will pique the interest of the first timer.
Whilst on the subject of first timers, it’s interesting to see a newer approach to casino signage. In times gone by, the only signage would have been a fairly mystical reference to a club of some sort, while now – assisted by legislative change – operators are far more direct. Any new casino will tell you on the outside what goes on in the inside on the main sign, which in retrospect seems a pretty obvious move, of course. The interesting semi- exception to this rule is the larger Genting sites. It’s something of a mystery to me why the larger sub-brand of Genting are named “Genting Club” – somewhat obfuscating the purpose of the place to people who want to play – but these sites too list the contents of the building for all to see.
Another focus of casino design has tended to be making flexible space. With a little more room to work with in places like Southend and Sheffield, building in flexibility can help to future proof these large investments. Why fit out an area so that it can only be used as, for example, a poker room when you can design it such that it could, on different days or even day parts, be used for functions, business meetings, overflow poker, a buffet area or even more exotic pursuits like fashion shows and the like.
Something of a casino geek, and having been a self-employed casino consultant for the last six years Paul can’t help dropping into casinos wherever he goes in the world. Eventually, after visiting half the casinos in the UK, he decided to make some use of his obsession with
www.ukcasinochecker.com, a website reviewing every casino in the UK. It started as a bit of fun, although the ambition is for it to become the authority site for people looking for information about UK casinos.
people, generally, are much more attractive in a more subdued light level, and that’s likely to make everyone feel better about a casino visit.
Coming right up to date, the most recent casinos to open in the UK such as the new Genting sites in Sheffield and Southport and the newer Grosvenor Casinos in Reading and Southend have moved the concept on a little. The level of detailing has moved up a notch, and of course both of the major operators are moving towards a total brand offer, with recognisable elements common to multiple casinos, such as Grosvenor’s Gold Room – pre- sumably for VIP players, although I have yet to see one in use. Designers are bringing in fun elements, like the table top media stations at Genting, and one of the best I’ve ever seen, the motion sensitive big screen display at Grosvenor Casino Southend supplied by Crab Creative.
There is, quite rightly however, something of a balance to be struck between providing an environment enticing to first time players, while still comfortable for regular, transactional players who, after all, come to the casino to play. The 80/20 rule is likely in effect – 80% of income coming from 20% of the players - and to com- promise the heart of the business to facilitate the players of the future is a dangerous approach. Certainly the lower lighting levels suit everyone – as long as the tables themselves are well lit – but thought needs to be given to all elements, for example the location and soundproofing of stage areas. I’m not much of a player, but I’ve walked into one or two larger casinos and walked straight out again when there’s a noise like a cat being tortured with a rusty spoon emanating from the stage and interfering with the game on the tables. Old casino staples like not having clocks were there for a reason – it’s not manipulative as such to stick with these principles. The lack of natural light is another approach from decades ago, but certainly it’s quite off- putting to play in a casino with natural light streaming in through the reception area, particularly in the summer when it just doesn’t feel like a casino even as late as 9pm.
As with every element of design, the whole process is a never ending story of changes, some of which work and are widely adopted, some of which fail and are never considered again (cinema in a casino anyone ? Thought not). Whether there’s genuinely an opportunity to bring the UK casino truly into the main stream and jack up that stat saying that only 3% (or whatever your local casino executive uses) of UK people have ever visited a casino remains to be seen, but the designers are certain- ly headed in the right direction. Removing the FOBT casino-style machines from every street corner would be a start, but that’s a whole different story …..
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