The five-year mark is notable as The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opened five years ago this month. The casino-resort was marketed with the “right amount of wrong” in mind. This was really the first property that was focused on the revenue generated by the parts of a Las Vegas casino-resort that weren’t gambling. Instead, the Cosmo was focused on a great nightclub, great dining and great bars when they opened. To this day, Chandelier Bar is one of my favorite places to grab a drink on the Vegas Strip.
The Cosmopolitan loaded up on revenue from the non-gaming parts of the property. Generating gaming revenue was secondary to building a unique hotel brand. They lost a lot of money in their first few years of operations and the property was sold. The current operators have been growing gaming revenue and they may eek out a profit soon, but that’s not why I’m referencing The Cosmopolitan today.
While the increased non-gaming revenue came at the expense of profit for a few years they were able to create a unique identity on the Vegas Strip. This is not an easy task, but they showed other properties that there are new ways to generate revenue for a casino-resort.
Updating a casino floor without making drastic changes is tricky but other properties are indirectly taking cues from the Cosmopolitan. In 2013, MGM Grand opened Whiskey Down. This was a bar and lounge dedicated to whiskey (duh) with blackjack tables and video poker at the bar. The concept was unique and it spoke to the fact that some customers were looking for a different casino experience. The entire casino floor wouldn’t change, but this was the beginning of a new trend.
The casino-lounge isn’t the only version of these new segmented gaming areas. When The Linq Hotel and Casino opened where Imperial Palace and The Quad once stood, they took this idea a slightly different direction. They have a lounge-casino area in the center of the property called 3535. The bar segues into a lounge which segues into a small gaming pit with a single DJ playing music for all three parts of the lounge.
The Linq also re-opened O’Sheas as a mini-casino inside of the casino. The separate room has two bars, beer pong, a performance stage, about 20 table games and bartop video poker. O’Sheas is always busy at night and has become one of the most profitable bars at The Linq.
More recently, Lavo Club Casino opened at The Palazzo. This casino-lounge is reminiscent of Whiskey Down but focused on craft cocktails and bottle service. You can play blackjack and craps while sipping on a fancy drink instead of sitting in the massive gaming hall inside The Palazzo and drinking whatever well and premium liquors you're limited to. Lavo is using bringing their nightclub experience to the casino. Lavo Club Casino seems to be off to a good start.
The trend of gaming lounges continues at Encore, where they just opened Encore Players Club. This 5,000-plus square foot casino-lounge includes traditional casino games like roulette, craps, blackjack and slot machines and adds a lounge with big couches, craft cocktails, a DJ, shuffleboard (the table game, not the floor game), over 20 TVs and mobile sports betting. This is like the casino-lounge for customers with a short attention span.
The days of just sitting at a table for a 12-hour blackjack and vodka bender may be a thing of the past. The casino floor in Las Vegas is changing and there’s simply more to do than just sit at a table and stare at the dealer. You can now play blackjack, take a break with a delicious cocktail while watching and wagering on the games and head back to the table to continue the blackjack session without moving more than 50 feet. It’s tough to hate that.
