Casinos ditching Slots in Favor of Tattoos, Nightclubs

Casinos have a problem these days: millennials aren’t attracted to traditional gambling like their parents and grandparents are. So many casinos are looking for alternative ways to attract younger players.

Rhode Island’s Twin River Casino, for example, has removed 274 slot machines in favor of poker and other table games that younger visitors enjoy. Additionally, Twin River is using some of their space to host mixed martial arts (MMA) events that appeal to millennials.

The Herald Dispatch reports that Connecticut’s Foxwoods resort has transformed one of its gaming areas into “The Fox,” which features a tattoo parlor, a fashion retailer, bars and the “Shrine,” where top electronic music acts like Deanu5 and Tiesto play.

“It’s kind of like the party place,” says Foxwoods CEO Felix Rappaport. “It’s really energized the casino floor.”

25-year-old Sunny Chopra echoes the idea that casinos are making the right move by dumping slots for other attractions to entice millennials. Chopra particularly enjoys the electronic games like roulette at Massachusetts’ Plainridge Park.

“I’ve never played slot machines,” he said. “I’m not that old.”

Steven Norton, a casino consultant based in Illinois, says that now is definitely the right time for casinos to tailor some of their offerings towards millennials, given that many of them have spending power in their 30s.

“You want to develop good customers now so that we don’t become the horse racing industry of the future, where all of our people have died off and we don’t have any new blood coming in,” says Norton.

Washington, D.C.-based Marketing Research Association did a report on millennials’ thinking towards slots, and the younger generation “widely viewed” slots as “antisocial, non-intuitive and generally boring.”

This problem has been somewhat remedied by adding new and interesting themes like Star Wars and other pop culture references. However, by and large, casinos know that they must take more-drastic steps to interest millennials. Philadelphia’s Parx Casino, for instance, recently installed a Shaquille O’Neal-themed electronic blackjack game.

Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun is another casino that’s adapting by adding pool parties and rooftop concerts. However, Mohegan Sun’s general manager, Ray Pineault, does warn that all casinos need to still concentrate on their core demographic – older people.

“You can’t over emphasize millennials to the detriment of your other customers,” he said. “They’re still young and have less disposable income than their more established parents.”