Build Your Own Casino: Part 1

Inspired by reading the various casino reviews here where various things are shamed or given kudos, this thread asks what you would do if you were in charge. It actually got too big (definitely only for people with time on their hands) so I'm breaking it up into three parts...

Part 1: General Atmosphere
Part 2: Gaming
Part 3: Amenities

The scenario is that a small-to-midsize Vegas casino (there is no associated hotel) has gone bankrupt before it could open. You have used your entire life's savings to buy and finish building it. Although you plan on upgrades a few years down the line, for now your resources are limited and some questions (in all three parts) will reflect this.


PART 1: GENERAL ATMOSPHERE

1) What will you name your casino?
2) What will its theme be?
3) Will you cater to high rollers (perhaps with a dress code to keep out the riffraff)? Low rollers? Both? [Note: The casino is too small for a high limit room unless you make the entire casino high limit.]
4) What demographics will you target? Young? Middle Aged? Retired? Asian? Latino? Locals? All?


DECOR DILEMMA: There are three areas of decor you must address: the Road Sign/Marquee, the Building Facade/Main Entrance, the Interior Decor. There are three main levels of decor: below average/unremarkable, average/some glitz and glitter, above average/in your face Vegas. For opening day you have enough money to go "average" in all three categories. You may also upgrade a category to "above average" by lowering another category to "below average". You may also upgrade a category to "signature status" (the type of thing that Hollywood will show on TV and movies as shorthand for Vegas) by downgrading both the two other categories to below average. (Remember, you plan on doing more upgrades in a few years but you only get one chance to make a first impression.)

5) Following the rules above, what level of decor (below average, average, above average, signature) will your casino have on opening night? For a category that's "above average" or better, describe any special features of note.
a) The Road Sign/Marquee =
b) The Building Facade/ Main Entrance =
c) The Interior Decor =


6) Will your casino have its own official "colors" that will be reflected in uniforms, table game felts, the carpeting etc.?
7) Will employee uniforms (such as for dealers) be heavily themed? Modest functional?
8) Cocktail waitress uniforms will be Pretty? Sexy? Slutty?
9) Will you have a photo-op mascot (such as a centurion at Caesars)?
10) On a scale of one-to-five, with "one" being "polite and courteous" and "five" being "intimidating goons", how will you instruct your security staff to behave?

11) What is your casino smoking policy? Everywhere? Some places? No smoking?
12) What type of music will you play on the floor? Rock? Country? Casino Glamour Tunes?

[Part 2 coming soon]

I don't think the current regs allow you to keep an unrestricted license without a hotel. However, in the interest of a thought exercise:

1) What will you name your casino?
- "The Black Hole"

2) What will its theme be?
- All things Las Vegas Sports, with an emphasis on the Golden Knights and Raiders

3) Will you cater to high rollers (perhaps with a dress code to keep out the riffraff)? Low rollers? Both? [Note: The casino is too small for a high limit room unless you make the entire casino high limit.]
- Host services will be available.

4) What demographics will you target? Young? Middle Aged? Retired? Asian? Latino? Locals? All?
- Sports fans of all ages, focusing on football and hockey.


a) The Road Sign/Marquee = Go as big and bright as possible.
b) The Building Facade/ Main Entrance = Keep it average/below average for $$ savings for now.
c) The Interior Decor = simple, but exciting. durable and functional.


6) Will your casino have its own official "colors" that will be reflected in uniforms, table game felts, the carpeting etc.?
Yes. Black and Silver / Black and Gold

7) Will employee uniforms (such as for dealers) be heavily themed? Modest functional?
Jerseys.

8) Cocktail waitress uniforms will be Pretty? Sexy? Slutty?
Sporty. Think women's beach volleyball.

9) Will you have a photo-op mascot (such as a centurion at Caesars)?
Not a high priority. Rather spend the money on the video wall.

10) On a scale of one-to-five, with "one" being "polite and courteous" and "five" being "intimidating goons", how will you instruct your security staff to behave?
Tough love will be required with this crowd. So, 3.5.

11) What is your casino smoking policy? Everywhere? Some places? No smoking?
I would love to make the whole place non-smoking, but it isn't profitable. With a small place, there isn't enough room to have a separate area.

12) What type of music will you play on the floor? Rock? Country? Casino Glamour Tunes?
Stadium music. Energizing pop mix.

Inspired by reading the various casino reviews here where various things are shamed or given kudos, this thread asks what you would do if you were in charge. It actually got too big (definitely only for people with time on their hands) so I'm breaking it up into three parts...

Part 1: General Atmosphere
Part 2: Gaming
Part 3: Amenities

The scenario is that a small-to-midsize Vegas casino (there is no associated hotel) has gone bankrupt before it could open. You have used your entire life's savings to buy and finish building it. Although you plan on upgrades a few years down the line, for now your resources are limited and some questions (in all three parts) will reflect this.


PART 1: GENERAL ATMOSPHERE

1) What will you name your casino? Ace's
2) Classic Vegas, 50s/60s. Rat Pack, Mob, art deco, classic hollywood, etc.
3) Will you cater to high rollers (perhaps with a dress code to keep out the riffraff)? Yes. The top restaurant would require formal attire. The rest of the casino would have some minimal dress code.
4) What demographics will you target? I'd hope for old high rollers, but I think a lot of people would check it out.


DECOR DILEMMA: IDK


6) Will your casino have its own official "colors" that will be reflected in uniforms, table game felts, the carpeting etc.? Yes. Maye black ad white.
7) Will employee uniforms (such as for dealers) be heavily themed? Something based on how people dressed back then.
8) Cocktail waitress uniforms will be: Sexy but relatively modest, reflected of age.
9) Will you have a photo-op mascot: Yes. I suppose some famous people from the era.
10) On a scale of one-to-five, with "one" being "polite and courteous" and "five" being "intimidating goons", how will you instruct your security staff to behave? Beat people up, leave a few in the desert. It's part of the theme, they'll get a kick out of it.

11) What is your casino smoking policy? Everywhere? Some places? No smoking? Smoking, except the usual places.
12) What type of music will you play on the floor? Period music.

[Part 2 coming soon]

On dress codes - does anyone know of any casinos that have an enforced formal dress code?

The only one I know of is The Greenbrier, in West Virginia of all places. Men are required to wear a jacket and tie after 6PM.

When AC opened, they required sports jackets for the first month or so. They had a huge selection of ugly jackets you could borrow.
Casinos in Puerto Rico required jackets and shoes, no sneakers when I lived there in late 80s.

Quote: gamerfreak

On dress codes - does anyone know of any casinos that have an enforced formal dress code?

The only one I know of is The Greenbrier, in West Virginia of all places. Men are required to wear a jacket and tie after 6PM.

Supposedly you cannot wear shorts to Casino di Venezia. I'd imagine some in Monte Carlo might be similar.

StarWorld Casino in Macau would not let me enter because I was carrying a bag of Koi Kei Bakery almond cookies. I discovered later that I could buy the cookies at the airport!

Quote: MaxPen

Supposedly you cannot wear shorts to Casino di Venezia. I'd imagine some in Monte Carlo might be similar.

I was required to wear a borrowed jacket when I visited the Casino di Venezia. I wish I had taken some pictures of my visit.

wasn't all this decided by the Revel whose owner thought high rollers would flock to his casino simply because he wanted them to do so?

upscale dress code? in a low scale area? Stock fancy wines, but customers order cheap swill?

Or to paraphrase Mickey Spillane: you can stock lots of caviar, but you will sell salted peanuts.

If the scenario were real, the first question to answer before sinking any money into the project would be "What changes can I make that will make the business successful?" I am sure the prior owners all thought their signage, costumes and theme would be successful, but they didn't make Scrooge McDuck High Dive Into a Pool of Money bank. They lost it all. Successful "new" small to medium casino? Are there any exemplars in Las Vegas? There are alot of examples of non-successes.

Quote: Ayecarumba

If the scenario were real, the first question to answer before sinking any money into the project would be "What changes can I make that will make the business successful?" I am sure the prior owners all thought their signage, costumes and theme would be successful, but they didn't make Scrooge McDuck High Dive Into a Pool of Money bank. They lost it all. Successful "new" small to medium casino? Are there any exemplars in Las Vegas? There are alot of examples of non-successes.

Emerald Island is a typical small casino that is thriving and expanding.

I name my casino "Casino of 4's"

Why? Because every bank of machines comes in a set of 4 -- two on one side and two on the other. No slot machines with 88 cent bets. All max bets are 4 times minimum bet.

As soon as you walk in, there is a staircase that goes straight upstairs to the second floor. Next to it is an escalator that goes up to the second floor.

All the video poker machines are set to a max coins of 4 rather than 5. Bet 4, win 800 times bet for a royal flush. 99% payback tables for everything except 1 cent denomination for Deuces Wild 1-2-2-3-5-9-15-25-200-800 (the 100.76% version) for people to have fun playing and making money while not costing me very much at all.

No baccarat and no pai gow tiles.

Each stool has a footrest (close to the floor for ease of use but it needs to be there) for the cocktail server to place his/her foot on while taking and serving drinks.

Homeless people are banned. People who are rude to the dealers get banned.

Blackjack with awesome player rules... single deck, BJ 3:2, dealer hits soft 17, double down any two cards, double after split, surrender, re-split aces, but cannot hit split aces. House edge is 0.09%. However, most players don't play perfectly, and most players make side bets where the real money is made. To reduce losses from the occasional card counter, different tables with bet limits of $5-$25, $25-$100, $50-$200, and $100-$200.

All the employees dress professionally but no player dress code.