Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

So, I'm sure you're all aware that on Sunday morning, the Wynn vs. Okada fight went from a couple of dudes duking it out in the quad to a full-on thermonuclear war.

Lots to talk about here. We're doing a special Vegas Gang show this week to discuss.

I'm very happy today to have a post from a guest writer, Paolo Mello.

Many of you will undoubtedly know Paolo from Twitter, where he posts as @paolomello. You'll also find him contributing to comment threads here and at VegasTripping.com where his username is 'middleclassbuzz'.

Paolo is a Nevada native and Vegas expert, currently living in New York City. In this excellent piece, Paolo muses on the future of leadership at Las Vegas gaming companies.

You'll find his text after the jump - enjoy!

The Casino Formerly Known as the Atlantic City Hilton (and currently known as the ACH) has just announced its new name: the Atlantic Club. It's also got a new game: the locals and low-rollers market. I'm really undecided about this one, but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts.

Episode #73 is up!

Listen here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com/2012/02/vegas-gang-73-february-7th-2012/

This time on the show:

- Wynn Las Vegas Web Site
- Wynn Resorts Board Fight
- Casino Debt
- Diamond Ratings at Resorts

** Sure Bets **

Chuck - Van Halen
Dr. Dave - Star Blazers
Hunter - Apogee Jam for iOS

I've been spending a little time at the M Resort, partially for a column you'll be able to read in Vegas Seven this Thursday, and it's gotten me thinking about star/diamond rankings. What use are they, and what exactly do they do for you, the paying public?

Monte Carlo has introduced a new iPad app, featuring 3d-ish walk-throughs of parts of the property.

If you ever used the flawed-but-ahead-of-its-time Quicktime VR, you have a sense of how this works. Pick a part of the facility and you have a finger-pannable panorama, giving a good feeling about how the place looks and feels.

Tour the rooms, restaurants, casino, spa, meeting rooms and even Hotel32. All of the major areas are represented here.

The iPad-only app weighs in at a relativey hefty 151MB and includes a few extras like integration with Google Maps and their various social media pages.

Overall, the app is a bit clumsy and feels more like a technology demo than a finished product: the pseudo-slot interface certainly doesn't help. That said, there's something about these realistic panoramas that really make you feel like you are there.

I give Monte Carlo points for doing something different and blazing a new trail, especially when it comes to building apps on smartphones and tablets.

More of this kind of innovation, please.

[Thanks to Dave for pointing this out.]

As probably everyone that reads this site knows, Wynn Las Vegas launched their re-designed Web site yesterday. The result is another sad chapter of decline for the company.

Chuckmonster at VegasTripping.com sums it up very well:

What you see before you on WynnLasVegas.com is not only a representation of Steve Wynn's declining eyesight, but the sheer lack of vision (and courage) by the team he has hired to execute orders.

Read the whole piece, it's a great take on the seemingly Jitterbug-inspired abomination they've created.

Not only is the new site ugly and brand destroying but it's also less functional. They removed restaurant menus, all the information on the casino including credit applications, the poker room stuff (there is a separate site for poker but good luck finding a link from the main site) and more. Maps? A site map? Gone. Pretty much the only thing it has going for it is some great photography. The in-room tours are basically just re-encoded versions of the videos that run on the Wynn TV channel in the guest rooms.

Again, back to Chuck:

Steve Wynn trusts Roger Thomas to turn every drywalled cube into a lustful space filled with fantasy and wonder. Where is Steve Wynn's "Rog Thom" of the internet?

Excellent point. Wynn as an organization has never fully mastered the 'net. That was starting to happen a few years ago as the e-strategies team filled out and their advice was heeded... and then they all left as the Spiegel-era set in. This is the result.

It's pretty amazing to see a well-respected company fall so hard on it's face with something as public as a Web site, especially an organization that's ostensibly all about design. I'm sure the people that worked on this project are nice folks but this is just embarrassing. It never should have left the lab and honestly, someone that's doing this level of work shouldn't be at an organization like Wynn.

The fact that Steve made a big deal on their earnings call about how proud they were shows that he's completely Internet-tone-deaf. Somehow a guy that typically has excellent taste not only approved this but thinks it's great. Steve - you may be an expert on hotels but I am confident I am more qualified when it comes to the Web: this is not good.

I showed this off to colleagues that build Web sites. They burst out laughing... and don't I wish I could share the choice comments that some in the industry sent to me.

Wynn should ask for their $29.99 back, revert to the old site immediately and, if they really want to break ground on the Internet, start over and do something that's worthy of all of the brand equity they've created through excellent hotel design.

Blow our minds with some cutting-edge responsive design that seamlessly works across all screen sizes and platforms. Integrate more of their backend systems to give the guest more power to control their stay from the Web. There's a ton of things they could do to be a leader in their industry online.

Or just leave it like it was...

Episode #72 is up!

Listen here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com/2012/01/vegas-gang-72-january-25th-2012/

Thank you all for voting for us in the Trippies. Thanks to you, we took home our first prize. Personally, it's something I've really wanted to win since we started the show. I know Jeff would have been really proud. I can't thank you all enough.

You know, we're still trying to find our way without Jeff. It's tough to find a rhythm. I hope you enjoy this interview, despite the fact that it was somewhat self-indulgent on my part, digging into technical topics that may be more interesting to me than others.

Still, gaming technology is fascinating... and will only become more important - so I recommend you listen.

This time on the show:

- An interview with Aron Ezra and Keith Michel from Bally Technologies.

** Sure Bets **

Chuck - Underpants
Dr. Dave - Fresh Beat Band
Hunter - Instacast

Vegas Mate 3.5, the latest version of my award-winning iOS travel app, is now on the App Store. This update is free for all existing users.

New Features

We've added iCloud support. What that means is if you have both an iPhone and iPad, when you create a trip plan on one, it will be synced to the other automatically.

In addition to that, we've improved the search quite a bit for special terms like 'view', 'brunch', etc... It even works with the names of some of the famous chefs. Now that we have the mechanics for improved search, we'll be adding to this regularly so that no matter what you're searching for, you'll find it.

The 'Places' and 'Nearby' tabs have been combined - you can now sort places by name, distance, rating or cost easily.

For iPad users, there's a new feature that lets you view hotel prices, by date, on the map. So for instance, you can put in your dates and see a color-coded heat map of where the expensive hotels are. It's a fun way to get an idea of where you might want to stay as you're planning a trip.

Vegas Mate 3.5 has a new 'featured content' tab where you'll find special articles and from time to time, messages from other people that we want to highlight.

Also, the app is now more aggressive about updating certain bits of content in the background so you'll get some of that stuff, like restaurant hours, just as soon as we input it. We discovered that some people were not applying the content updates and didn't have the most recent data so we're doing some technical wizardry to help make that more automatic.

And on top of all of the above, we've got some bug fixes and other random improvements.

iTunes Reviews

If you have a minute, please go hit the App Store and leave a review. These are cleared out with each update and they make a big difference for us picking up new users.

The app has a constant stream of updates and new features. If you want to say thanks, this is the best way to do it.

This link will take you right into the iTunes page.

Featured Content

From time to time, we'll allow partners to bring messages to our users via the Featured tab. If you're interested in learning more about this, check out this page.

Thanks

I also need to take this opportunity to thank the testers.

This release took forever to get straight, mostly because iCloud sync was a lot of work. Thank you guys and gals... and special thanks to Pete and Paolo who both went above and beyond.

The December and January sales rush for Christmas and CES brought in ton of new users, plus a lot of usage from existing folks that were visiting the city. Your help is much appreciated by all of us.

NOTE: The original 3.5 release had a bug that could cause crashes for some users. Please grab the 3.5.1 update in the App Store.

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that voted for us in the Trippies 2012 awards.

Best Blog - Two Way Hard Three
Best Podcast - The Vegas Gang
Best App - Vegas Mate

That blog award covers not just posts from me but also Jeff Simpson and Dave Schwartz, as well as some great comments from regulars and newbies. Also thrilled to see that Jeff won the Twitter award. I know he would have been very proud.

There's a lot of good stuff on the list. Check it out!

Yesterday I wrote a few reports for the Center for Gaming Research summing up the financial performance of the "average" casino on the Strip, in Downtown Las Vegas, and in Reno. Because people here like talking about the Strip more than, say, Reno/Sparks, I'll break down the Strip results for you.

Disclaimer: I really have no idea what I'm talking about. For all I know, Okada is a lunatic and Wynn Resorts are protecting themselves from a madman with some sort of hidden agenda. Still, for the purposes of this post, let's assume he's a reasonable, successful businessman that's a bit weirded out that a company he owns 20% of is being secretive about their finances.

Well, I guess he's not gonna be chairman anytime soon.

Today we learned that Kazuo Okada, the largest individual shareholder in Wynn Resorts and a board member, is suing the company (SEC document). Why? He questioned a few of the company's large financial transactions and wanted to examine the books. The company said no. He believes that his shares, and probably more importantly his place on the board, gives him the fiduciary bonafides he needs to get that access.

The way the suit reads, Okada was against a $135 million donation to the University of Macau. He objected. The board didn't listen and went ahead anyway and from what I can tell, that set him off.

He wants the details on that transaction, wants to know where a $120 million he invested in the company in 2002 went (supposedly earmarked for Macau development ; the company at first claimed they didn't know he invested it - not confidence inspiring) and additional details on the amended shareholder agreement that went through after Steve and Elaine Wynn divorced in 2010 (the agreement split the ownership but effectively left the voting control with Steve).

What would one find if they examined the books of the pre-public company? Well, we have no idea... but I don't think it would be a surprise to see some lavish spending on executive travel to Macau, office suites and the like. Maybe something more juicy? Maybe, uh, 'gifts' to government officials in China? Without any details, we can't judge but something about that time period has Okada at least curious... Maybe there's some potential for embarrassment if some of this comes out? Who knows.

As far as the Macau University donation goes, given the term of the payments and them coinciding with the current expiration of Wynn's concession in 2022, I can't help but wonder if this 'civic good' is at least partially motivated by that renewal process. From what we're told in these documents, a donation of that size was unprecedented... and as far as I know, none of Wynn's kids want to go to school there (the Steve Wynn Center for Gaming Research? Paging Dr. Dave).

Why would the company say no? Either there's something in there they don't want to share or they simply don't believe the request is legitimate... but given that it's now a public spectacle, there has to be more to it. Perhaps the relationship between Okada and Wynn has completely broken down?

For Okada to go to court against a company where his investment is worth over a billion dollars, he had to be really pissed. How could this impact future gaming expansion in Japan, where Okada's partnership was seen as giving Wynn Resorts a powerful leg up? One thing for sure: this will be something to watch.

Update: Wynn Resorts responded today with a strongly worded press release suggesting that Okada's request was without merit and pointed to a potential falling out between Okada and the board over his participation in a casino project in the Philippines.

The Gaming Control Board released the November 2011 revenue results for Nevada casinos this morning. I've banged out two reports, and am now ready to pull everything together in a quick, easy-to-read narrative.

Between gambling, food, booze and rooms, I spend a lot of money in Vegas casinos every year and yet I've never had a host that I could call to reward me for my loyalty. As a result, I haven't been shown much... and hey, as a 'journologger' (love making up terms), maybe I shouldn't be seeking that out anyway. I'm not too worried about myself but I definitely see a weakness here. Lets look more closely.

Over the past decade and especially since the Great Recession, we've seen some of the historical institutions of the casino industry remake themselves. These days, gaming revenue makes up only 39% of the average total, a shift from 15 years ago when it was closer to 58%.

What should be the next sacred cow to fall? The casino host.

Ok, maybe 'fall' is not the right way to look at it - how about transform instead? There was a time when the goal of these sales-oriented-sometimes-mercenary employees was simply to get you on property to sit at a slot machine or hit a dice table, plied by free drinks and a couple of comps to the coffee shop. At this point, that's old-style thinking.

Capturing every ounce of revenue from both gaming and non-casino operations should be the goal of every property GM or president. Why is it then that loyalty programs are still mostly gambling centric? How about a new class of 'property hosts', rewarding recurring visitors, not just to the penny slots but to the suites as well? The current system is a relic of a previous age.

Along with revenue diversification should come promotional and loyalty diversitifaction as well. We've seen some of that with new programs designed to highlight the 'leisure spend' dollar - but not nearly enough. Plus, they still charge for crappy Wi-Fi that barely works (no, I'm not gonna stop bitching about that).

Sure, Las Vegas casinos will always need a few high-end hosts to take care of the big players but there's a whole new and emerging market of customers who want to be taken care of for just spending money on stuff outside of the casino: Rooms. Suites. Shows. Clubs. Food. Retail. Better food. Golf.

Free tip: Care about these people, even if they don't gamble. You'll make more money.

If I spend $1,800 on a couple of nights in a suite, why is that worth less than dropping the same amount on Wheel of Fourtune? Sure, you had to pay a housekeeper to clean the room but the marginal cost there is negligable (or at least that's what they taught me in college). Sure, casino dollars may drop fastest to the bottom line but this a newly competitive economy. Money is money is money.

Now, there are definitely properties that have been working to moderninze along these lines, even if they still use the older nomenclature of 'casino host'. The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas Sands (Venetian & Palazzo) and to some degree Caesars' Total Rewards and MGM, among others, have all started to credit for some non-casino spend.

Great but not enough. Looking at overall spend should be the standard, not a 'revolutionary practice' or half-measure.

This is not new ground to cover. Some Vegas casinos have affiliations with national hotel brands that have this mastered and in some cases allow customers to spend those points in Clark County. Learn from them!!

The traditional marketing strategy of casino-centric hosts is outdated. The sooner it is replaced by something that captures and rewards every dollar coming into the city, the better off the Strip operators will be, serving happier and more loyal customers.