The gaming experience in Las Vegas has long revolved around two basic formats: banks of brightly colored slots where individuals try their luck against the flashing, dinging machines and gather-round table games where players place bets against the house or each other. They've formed a classic pair on the Strip, but today neither seems to hold much appeal for millennial visitors.
Millennials are simply gambling less than other generations.
According to 2015 research by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 63% of millennials gambled while in town, compared with 71% of Generation Xers and 79% of baby boomers. Millennials also passed less time gambling (1.9 hours daily) and spent significantly less money at the tables and slots ($366 per trip vs. an average $579 across all generations).
In light of this, many in the casino industry have seen the need for a new generation of gaming experiences to cater to a new generation of casino guests.
"Like many others, we've recognized there is a growing market looking to experience gaming in an atmosphere that is more social and engaging than the traditional casino floor," said Justin Andrews, vice president of national marketing at MGM Grand. "A few years ago our company created a committee that was dedicated to reimagining the gaming experience with the emerging millennial demographic in mind."
Through focus groups, competitive analysis and consultations with industry experts, that committee tried to envision the next evolution of the gaming environment, one that's more social and skill-based and welcomes both gamblers and nongamblers alike. The results of their work opened at the MGM Grand in late December as Level Up.
A hybrid bar, gaming lounge and arcade, Level Up is a bit like Dave & Busters meets Las Vegas. There's a bar, of course, with specialty cocktails and 24 beers on tap, and the design is modern industrial with vibrant murals by more than a dozen local artists.
But the 12,000-square-foot venue is really a player's paradise: Think pay-to-play bar fixtures like pool, foosball and pingpong alongside multiplayer arcade games like QuadAir Hockey and Giant Pac-Man.
There are high-tech enticements like the Golfstream Suite, where golfers try their hand at real courses through augmented reality, and innovative gaming spaces like Level Up Arena by Interblock, which puts casino dealers onstage in front of dozens of players seated stadium-style.
Inside the Arena, up to 40 people can place electronic bets on the same rounds of roulette, craps, blackjack or baccarat, and players can participate in all four games simultaneously.
"Level Up offers some traditional casino games, but in a nontraditional way," Andrews said. "[The Arena] replicates the traditional concept of table games in a more social environment."
And while the venue guests see today certainly offers a new take on gaming, it may look different the next time they visit.
"Level Up is intended to evolve over time and showcase new technology and skill-based games as they arrive in market," Andrews said.
That idea is crucial, because the next big thing may not have been invented yet.