each pavilion, taking advantage of the absence of height restrictions to create installations more akin to trade show booths than casino décor. Guests move from one pavilion to another as if walking between stands at ICE or G2E. Each area is filled exclusively with one supplier’s latest cabinets and games, including some first-to-market titles.
“It is the closest you can get to an exhibition environment in a casino,” agrees Kiossis. “Players are not used to selecting by brand, they choose by game. But now they are beginning to say, have you tried the Light & Wonder pavilion, or the Aristocrat pavilion? It is a different perception.”
BEYOND GAMING While the pavilions are the anchor, the Piazza is designed as a rounded entertainment space. A central stage hosts concerts, DJs, comedy, and brand activations, while the long bar and food stand rotate themes from gyros to sushi nights. “For us, the non-gaming elements are essential,” says Kiossis. “Lefteris Pantazis (LePa), a famous singer for many years in Greece played on the second night of the official opening of the Piazza, drawing a crowd of over 6,000 people. We had 12,000 visitors across the opening weekend. If a group of five comes, and only two are players, the other three still have reasons to stay. Tat is our strategy.”
Romania etc. At the other end are locals who might come for a concert, a cocktail, or to enjoy the high-quality food offer.
“We are going for mass attendance,” stresses Kiossis. “We protect our core base through our extensive loyalty programme, but we also need to attract new guests. We are not Athens, Tessaloniki has fewer direct flights and far less winter tourism. Tat said, we are the market leader in Greece in terms of visitation and revenues, and we believe projects like this reinforce that leadership.”
MEASURING SUCCESS Te KPIs are clear: increased visitation, higher dwell time, and incremental slot revenues. Early figures are positive, with slot revenues in smoking pavilions running at up to double those in non-smoking areas, and attendance up more than 10 per cent since the soft opening in summer. “Yes, it was a risk, a big one,” admits Kiossis. “But our shareholders believed in the concept, and our partners believed in it too. We have delivered something unique in Europe, and it has already created international awareness for Tessaloniki.”
A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE? Could the Piazza Project become a template for other markets? Kiossis thinks so. “I believe Athens will see collaborations with suppliers when the new casinos open
We are incredibly proud to partner with the Regency Casino Tessaloniki team to bring to life this innovative gaming and entertainment experience that is the Aristocrat Pavilion at Te Piazza. We are all about bringing next-level experiences to our players, and this project is exactly that. Congratulations to all the teams involved, as this was truly a collaborative partnership from ideation to reality.
Kurt Gissane, Chief Revenue Officer, Aristocrat Gaming
Te casino already operates the Vergina Teatre indoors, with 450 seats filled for shows every Friday and Saturday, plus the casino offers multiple award-winning restaurants. Te Piazza adds an outdoor summer-style dimension, extending the property’s reach across demographics and creating reasons to visit multiple times a week.
A MASS-MARKET APPROACH Te target audience for the Piazza is deliberately broad. At one end are Regency’s core and VIP players, supported by a robust loyalty programme and an international marketing focus that draws visitors from Israel, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Bulgaria,
there. I don’t know if they will be exactly the same, but there will be projects along similar lines. Other operators are already watching closely.”
If successful, the Piazza could signal a shift in how European casinos think about slot machine space: not as banks of machines, but as branded entertainment environments integrated with live events and F&B. “Las Vegas has long set the standard for combining entertainment and gaming,” concludes Kiossis. “Te Piazza is our way of bringing that model to Greece, and perhaps of creating a new idea that others will follow.”
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