Inside Asian Gaming

5 10 The first is that we get you in the door, and the second is we keep you there a really long time – in order to do that, the inside has to fulfil the outside’s promise. “The length of the average visit to a ca- sino property in Las Vegas is four hours. It’s longer than an American baseball game.” Still, adults have a short attention span, and“if you take a stop watch to every experi- ence in Las Vegas, virtually none of them are longer than 90 minutes,” explains Mr Steel- man.“Why do you think there are no theme parks in Las Vegas? The experience is too long.” Thus, Mr Steelman stresses the need for a “multiplicity” of short experiences to keep visitors within a facility. Ho Tram vs. Macau The US$4 billion Ho Tram Strip will be Viet- nam’s first luxury gaming resort, featuring five casino resorts, a Greg Norman-designed gold course, and a bevy of retail, dining and entertainment offerings, including a massive arts and entertainment district with several theatres and museums, a cultural centre, and an ongoing parade of events. Phase One will cost US$500 million and is scheduled to be completed by late 2009, and will comprise 1,200 hotel rooms, a 7,200 sq. m Vegas-style casino, 10 restaurants, an 8-acre swimming pool, and 200-acre golf course and country club. At the centre of the Strip will sit a dra- matic complex in the shape of a phoenix. “It’s a little bit risky to build that as a first building, but we’re hoping for a piece of monumental architecture that could also give Vietnam what a lot of people look to Dubai for now,” reveals Mr Steelman. There is also obvious symbolism, with the devel- opers seeming to suggest Ho Tram will has- ten the country’s rise from the ashes. “If we create a symbolic piece of architecture, it ends up on Condé Naste Traveler ,” adds Mr Steelman. “When you have the ocean and beautiful landscapes, architecture contrasts very well to that.” Vietnam and Macau are “obviously very close to each other,” points out Mr Steelman, and the latterwill benefit fromamuchgreater critical mass of resort development in draw- ing visitors. Still, Mr Steelman believes the Ho Tram Strip can compete with Macau because it offers “a multiplicity of experience.” “The thing is, we categorise vacations,” explains Mr Steelman. “You’ve got a city va- cation like going to Madrid. You’ve got an entertainment vacation like coming here [to Macau].You’ve got a beach vacation, which a lot of people like – beaches, the water, rivers, lakes, that type of thing. And you’ve got the adventure vacation – you go rock climbing, Machu Picchu, or something of this nature.” Ho Tram will offer “three of the four vacation types” – all except the city vacation. While the beach could draw visitors away from Macau, it could also lure guests at the Ho Tram Strip’s resorts out of the casinos. “If you go to a beach casino,like the Freeport ca- sino in the Bahamas, at night it’s jammed, but at 10 in the morning, there won’t be anybody in the casino,” says Mr Steelman.“The beach is a long visit. People are out there sleeping, reading, sun-tanning. The casino doesn’t get utilised as much.” The challenge at Ho Tramwill be“how do we make the beach become a part of our ca- sino?”If any architect is up to the task,it’s Paul Steelman. “Stay tuned,” he concludes. “Just like the stadium casino, stay tuned.” The Ho Tram Strip