Inside Asian Gaming

DECEMBER 2017 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 85 one is that on steroids,” says Wucherer, whose company designed the project. “They added in a food component, they could add in a gambling component too if they wanted and that’s really where the trend is heading. We’re doing an eSports arena at the moment that will not just be an eSports facility, it will be a whole experience in itself and the goal is to capture those social moments so that your customers are really generating your buzz for you.” “One of our clients calls them hero moments, that selfie the customer has to have. You go all the way back to the Bellagio fountains – it’s hard to find someone even in China that doesn’t recognize the Bellagio fountains and have a photo of them with the Bellagio logo on the tower behind it. It’s a wonderful social mechanism and that happened to be a happy accident if you will because social media wasn’t even around when we designed that place. “But that’s what people want – they want to be able to go into the facility, to have an experience, they want it in a smaller environment and they want to be able to talk about it.” It’s the sort of social media mechanism that has helped the Venetian Macao – renowned as the largest integrated resort in the world – become one of Macau’s must-see attractions or the replica Eiffel Tower at neighboring Parisian Macao become a favorite photo spot for tourists. But, in time, it is likely that this new use of space won’t be restricted simply to an integrated resort’s non-gaming amenities. With customer demographics rapidly changing and customers looking for a different type of experience from their entertainment spend, it is inevitable that casino gaming floors will also soon feel the squeeze. “The one big question over time is what happens to the negative space where we have always put slot machines?” askes Wucherer. “Traditional casino design has a large gaming floor that has a bunch of amenities around the perimeter and it’s really the negative space that creates the casino floor. “I think part of where the younger generation gets intimidated is by those big, open spaces that we have to start making a little bit more cosy and friendly from their perspective so that they’re not just out there in the middle of a 90,000 square foot or even a 50,000 square foot negative space. Rather than negative space, it will need to be a designed, specifically built environment. “That’s where this is going to go.” “That’s what people want – they want to be able to go into the facility, to have an experience, they want it in a smaller environment and they want to be able to talk about it.” Diners expect a lot more from restaurants in today’s IRs FEATURES