Summer BOGO! 

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Roger Gros introduces the July edition, alongside the return of a publication favourite; Casino Style

Those summer sales at the beach where you buy one, get one, are always fun—beach towels, umbrellas, flip-flops, whatever—so we decided to replicate it for the July issue of Global Gaming Business.  

As you page through this issue, you’ll find what you might expect, like the fascinating cover feature, about the evolution of Playtech, one of the most powerful suppliers in the gaming industry, which has far surpassed its narrow focus on online gaming in the early days. You’ll also see informative features on the potential impact of the Caesars Entertainment sale to Tilman Fertitta and his Landry’s company, as well as the new shape of player rewards in the age of AI. On the Casino Communications page, you’ll see my conversation with Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn Entertainment. 

But that’s not the end! You’ve got an entire magazine still to go.  

And it’s my favorite GGB publication of the year, Casino Style, an annual celebration of design, construction and the hard attractions you’ll find in any casino resort. You won’t read anything about online gaming in that section—although we won’t rule out AI. Casino Style is dedicated to those who create the magic that attracts visitors to our land-based facilities.  

Truth be told, I had a yen to become an architect when I was coming up. But once I learned you had to be good at math, calculations and geometry, writing became my fallback position. But that doesn’t mean I don’t admire a creatively designed buildings or renovation. Back in the day, we even created awards for those design arts, the Sarno Awards, named for the troubled genius who dreamt up Circus Circus and Caesars Palace back in the 1960s. Jay Sarno was really something, and he’s admired by all current casino architects and designers. 

I learned about Sarno from Steve Wynn, who once sat down at a dead baccarat table at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City where I used to deal and waxed poetic to us dealers about how Sarno changed Las Vegas—only to see Wynn do the same a few years later, when he designed the Mirage and all its successors: Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore. Some of the architects who learned at Wynn’s feet—Paul Steelman, Joel Bergman, Roger Thomas, and DeRuyter Butler, just to name a few—have themselves influenced dozens of other architects, who today are producing some of the most dramatic projects of our time.  

But the business has changed. No longer is it just Wynn and his cadre of architects—although he would often bring in Don Brinkerhoff, founder of Lifescapes Solutions, to build a volcano at the Mirage or a mountain at Wynn—or just one architectural company. Today’s projects—small ones and massive, multibillion-dollar resorts—are usually a collaboration of many firms, designers, construction experts, purchasing agents and now, very importantly, financiers.  

But these changes haven’t stifled the creativity of the designers. Just look at the Building Excitement section of Casino Style. These projects were responses to market conditions and player preferences, and the designers have responded brilliantly.  

In the next few years, more brilliance will emerge as two brand-new New York City casinos rise from the ground. Hard Rock Chairman Jim Allen says his collaboration with financier and New York Mets owner Steve Cohen will have all the bells and whistles of the top casino resorts around the world. Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s and a native New Yorker, told me that his project in the Bronx has a “bit of poignancy,” and pointed out that 16 million New Yorkers will have a great choice among the three new casinos that will be open in 2030.  

So welcome to Casino Style 2026. We hope the articles make you think about the importance of design and what it means to the future of land-based casino resorts. No, you won’t read anything about online gaming, but you’ll learn how the land-based sector is responding with experiences you can’t get anywhere else, in completely unique environments. Soak it all in!