The Fun Industry
My friend Bo Bernhard, a UNLV professor and former International Gaming Institute executive director, coined the term the “fun economy”—a combination of the tourism, sports and entertainment industries. Bernhard says this metric adds up to 14 percent of the world’s economy, a stunning number and something our small industry needs to consider.
What he’s talking about essentially is the experience you have when you participate in this economy. Remember what it’s like to go to the beach, enjoy the waves and relax in the warm sand. Or a movie theater where the darkness combines with lights and sound to mesmerize us. Or a football game, where you’re among other fans, rooting for your team and feeling that camaraderie.
The gaming industry is part of the entertainment segment of the fun economy. And fun should be at the center of the experience you provide at your casino resort.
Fun is the feeling your customers should get when they come to your casino resort. The glamour of sitting at a table game and risking a few bucks on cards or dice. Sitting in front of one of those modern slot machines that tower over us while we’re engulfed in the graphics and the sound, all with the promise of a jackpot.
Maybe it’s not gambling. Maybe it’s attending a concert of your favorite musician, hearing songs you’ve always sung along with. Or a comedian you’ve seen in the movies, making you laugh at some of his silly jokes.
How about taking a spa day? You’re pampered by the spa staff with all kinds of treatments, including a wonderful massage that makes every muscle in your body unwind. When you return to your room, your limbs feel like spaghetti and you’re so relaxed, you take an unusual afternoon nap.
And what a room! With a view of the surrounding nature, you’ve got a comfortable couch, a giant king-sized bed and a bathroom fit for a king or queen.
When you get hungry, so many choices make dining fun. The high-end restaurants—maybe some branded with celebrity chefs. The specialty outlets—maybe a great noodle shop. And the comfortable coffee shop where you can count on hearty food and a great atmosphere. Maybe the GM is sitting at a corner table.
Going to a casino resort is an experience in and of itself. Before you leave for your trip, people tell you to have fun. And that’s what we should provide—going the extra mile to make guests comfortable and able to forget their daily lives and responsibilities for a few days.
So how can we emphasize the “fun” that’s expected every time a guest walks through your doors?
We all know you can have the most top-line amenities: the great rooms and suites, the most popular restaurants, a casino with the latest slots and table games—but nothing will matter in the end if the service isn’t the best. So training your staff must be extraordinary. I always point to Wynn Resorts when I think about training—because it’s not really the training, it’s the attitude of the executives that makes the difference.
When I worked at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City—the first one, not the second one that’s operating now—Steve Wynn set the standard, and all his execs followed suit. Say what you will about Wynn, he valued his employees like no one else. I had worked for Caesars Atlantic City before the Nugget, and while Caesars was the top-earning casino in Atlantic City at that time, its employee loyalty wasn’t at the top. I guess I’m the prime example, since I joined the Nugget after three years at Caesars. Today, even with its charismatic leader gone, Wynn Resorts still represents the best in customer service.
So training works, but the message from the top is more valuable than any hospitality course.
Bottom line? It was fun to come to work at the Golden Nugget. You were encouraged to interact with the customers to make their experience fun as well. Not at Caesars, where I learned the term, “Dummy up and deal.”
To be truly part of the fun economy, we have to be the fun industry. Gaming isn’t just about gambling, it’s about creating an experience that people what to relive, over and over again.
Make it fun and you’ll make it very profitable as well.
