If you think that casinos in Vegas are all about playing the odds and taking chances, it sounds like you’ve never taken a closer look at how they function at their core. These are places that ride their luck and hope for the best — they have long-term strategies that are rolled out several decades into the future. Everything is built on diversification and driven by continual investment.
More than a gambling city
Las Vegas may have started as a casino hotspot, but today it’s so much more than that. Everything is driven by the vision of the casino owners and their willingness to constantly push boundaries in an attempt to bring more people to the city. The key point here is that from the very early days casinos turned themselves into hospitality complexes because they knew they had to offer the complete package.
The city has come to life in the middle of the desert, which means that it needs to look and feel like an oasis if it’s going to be able to attract attention. Once visitors arrive, it then needs to offer so much more than good odds and the chance to win it big. Take a look at all the major Vegas casinos and you’ll see that they have hotel complexes, exhibition halls, and luxury hospitality all under the same roof. Welcome to a truly diverse city that is so much more than a gambling hotspot.
A willingness to spend big
Casinos want to show that they are the best places in the world to hang out for a week or a long weekend, and that means they have to spend big on entertainment. David Copperfield and Adele have long-term residencies at casinos, as have dozens of major entertainers over the years. Things don’t stop there with the city continually investing in live events and one-off spectacles that put the eyes of the world all in one setting.
Go back 10 years and we’d be talking almost exclusively about pro boxing and prize fights, but things are so much more diverse and varied in 2024. WNBA teams, the NFL, MLB, and UFC are all regularly putting on live events that sports fans fly in to come and see. While this is not driven solely by the casinos, they know the importance of playing a role in making all of this happen. You only have to look at the economic performance of Vegas casinos to see that they’re taking a long-term approach here.
Extending the length of every stay
Casinos know that the longer someone plays, the more likely they are to profit as a result of their visitor’s willingness to try and beat the odds. They also add in luxury hotel rooms and some of the finest culinary hospitality in the world to help them turn a quick overnight stop into a week never to be forgotten. You can read more in this blog if you’d like to take a look at the hotels and casinos Vegas has to offer.
What’s really interesting is how the casino hotel operators combine and leverage all of their different entertainment options. Hotel rooms and fine dining are often comped to help players feel like they are getting something for nothing. Others will find that they get free upgrades and a chance to redeem loyalty points based on the amount of time they have spent playing. And because everything is so tightly regulated and legally enforced in a 100% transparent way, there is no uncertainty about what’s on offer. This last point is of paramount importance when you’re trying to piece together why Vegas casinos are unique in the global market.
A dominant industry that people trust
You can learn a lot about how an industry operates by how it is perceived by the people who work within it and live alongside it. While Las Vegas residents certainly don’t want to see the same impact of the tax rises in other states on their monthly household budgets, this is a matter for the politicians. The casinos are seen by many as a trusted employer for life and the backbone of much of the local economy.
Outreach into the local community is commonplace with youth groups funded and schools being offered assistance when required. All of these initiatives go a long way to continuing to smooth the road for residents and make them feel like they benefit directly from having the world’s biggest casinos on their doorstep.
By taking a proactive approach to engaging with the local community, Vegas casinos go a long way to improving staff morale. With the vast majority of workers living in the local area, they need to know that they are well looked after by their employers. Add in the fact that casinos are in the hospitality and entertainment business and you start to see that all the pieces have slotted neatly into place.
In our opinion, it’s this comprehensive approach to long-term strategic planning and real-world execution that makes Vegas hotels and casinos unique in the global market.
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