The Global Gaming Expo, G2E, has come and gone.
If you’re not familiar, it’s the casino industry’s annual gathering. Executives discuss hot topics in the casino business in The Venetian ballrooms while game manufacturers try to sell new games to properties.
I often refer to it as the slot machine conference when people ask, and most understand, since those are the games that occupy most of the expo and casino floor.
I approach the G2E as a fly on the wall with the executives in panels. This always gives me an understanding of the other side. When I hit the expo floor, I’m usually looking for unique games, or I know people would like. I’m also “video poker guy” at IGT, so I always have a clear path to the newest games.
Here are some takeaways that might relate to TravelZork readers more than people looking for a general overview of the popular games.
The Loyalty Squeeze
I’m pretty sure most of you are familiar with the Pareto Principle, AKA the 80/20 rule. This is a general idea that 80% of a business’s revenue comes from 20% of the customers.
In casino parlance, this would mean that only 20% of rewards members are in the upper tiers, while 80% are in the bottom tiers. This is roughly reflected in the Las Vegas Visitor Profile, where less than 15% of tourists stay in comp rooms.
This may no longer be the case with some casinos. The new split could be as wide as 90%/10% depending on the casino market.
This coincides with what I’ve seen in Las Vegas.
Over the past few years, I’ve been writing frequently about hotel room and high-limit space upgrades. Around 10 casinos have expanded or renovated their high-limit slot rooms in the past year. A similar number have upgraded their hotel rooms.
For the past year or so, MGM Resorts has been focused on the ABC casinos: Aria, Bellagio, and Cosmopolitan. Why? As I’ve shared before, Luxor and Excalibur account for 6% of profit in Las Vegas. The money is with the rich people.
More recently, I learned that MGM has sold out the Bellagio Fountain Club that blocks the view of the casino every year it’s been open. It charges $8,400 per person and generates more than $33 million in gross revenue. Not too shabby.
This is a long way of saying the squeeze we see in the real economy is happening in casinos. The rich will be treated better while execs figure out how to placate the normies like me.
If you’re a high roller or spend big cash, you’ll be good to go for the foreseeable future. The rest of the visitors will deal with the leftovers.
Cruises Are For Boomers
I’ve heard something like this repeatedly for the past year. Boomers are no longer just boomers. It now includes elder Gen X, which makes this young Gen X feel strong like an ox!
While casinos are evolving for millennials and Gen Z, many older players are taking their gambling to cruises more often than ever. Hurdy Gurdy Justin does a great job keeping you updated on cruises.
Since many of you are my age or older, you should continue to see more cruise offers. I’ve noticed the trend, but it was interesting to hear cruise and casino executives discussing gamblers.
This isn’t my world, so it stood out to me.
RIP Video Poker (Not Really, but Kinda)
Video poker isn’t totally dead. It’s just not a big priority for casinos. Standalone games in Las Vegas seem to be going the way of single-line reel slots we all grew up with.
IGT is the main manufacturer of video poker games, and they had fewer new games than ever.
The variants are fun, but the returns will be lower than most of you will play. I’m at the point in my video poker life where I’m looking for fun games as often as I am good paytables.
Some of the newer variants are already in casinos. You can see everything here.
One thing that I did like to see is that they’re now making variants of 3-Way Action Poker. This is a fun game that isn’t in many casinos but should be in more in Las Vegas and around the country.
Most casinos have the newish curved Peak Bartop machines, and it seems as though more will be offering the new Super Star Poker options that include my favorite variant, Dreamcard.
IGT is pausing production of the tall video poker games on the Crystal Curve cabinets. These games are visually appealing and fun to play. The cabinet is being retired, and new versions could appear in the future.
Top Dollar Megabucks
When I was walking through the IGT booth, I noticed a Top Dollar Megabucks machine that nobody seemed to be aware of.
We all know the house edge of Megabucks games is as large as any in Las Vegas. That said, so many of us love Top Dollar and play every new version.
Would you drop a few bucks in one of these games?
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
You’ll get insider updates, deals , commentary and “what’s up”
2x a month with no spam ever.
Sign up-> HERE
GET MORE from TRAVELZORK
Book Travel with: TravelZork Travel
Stay up to date with: ZorkFest
Join the TravelZork FB Group -> HERE
Also: Watch, Like, and Sub on YouTube
Check it out: The Yo-11 Minutes Playlist on YouTube
Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.