From Sin City To Spirit Mountain: Wide-Ranging Casino Investment Raises The Bar For All

The casino industry, much like the overall entertainment business, has long been considered recession-proof, and has overcome major hurdles including the 2008 housing crisis and the prolonged COVID shutdown.

To the average observer, the casino industry’s resilience may be a surprise. Rampant inflation on everything from groceries to rent has put a squeeze on consumers, seemingly making destination resorts — and betting against the house on the casino floor — an extravagant luxury.

But big bets in the form of cold hard cash had already put the wheels in motion to
diversify and expand entertainment and hospitality options at casino properties of all
types, with a proliferation of private and Tribal properties building new resorts and venues, while Las Vegas raises the stakes to continue its rightful reputation as a one-of-a-kind
entertainment destination. COVID may have immediately paused foot traffic, but casino development and momentum continued onward and upward.

Examples include the 2021-opened Resorts World, a $4.3 billion project making it the most expensive resort ever developed in Vegas and first major one to be completed since 2010 — and its 5,000-seat theater instantly a regular residency home for stars including Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.

Following immediately behind was the new Fontainebleau, a $3.7-billion project that opened on Dec. 13, 2023, with two nights of Post Malone and a hefty concert calendar at its BleauLive Theater, with its 3,800 seats hosting The Smashing Pumpkins, Anderson .Paak, Keith Urban and Jane’s Addiction. Meanwhile, stalwart properties like Caesars Palace remain a destination, including the “Weekends With Adele” being the only place in the U.S. to see the star since 2016. That’s the same year the Dolby Live theater opened at Park MGM, home to blockbuster residencies by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and others.

Those investments in entertainment seem to to have paid off at the gaming floor, too.
“The overall state of the casino industry is really strong,” said David Forman, vice president of research at the American Gaming Association, which tracks more than 1,000 casinos across the U.S. “Last year the U.S. gaming industry brought in about $110 billion in just gaming revenue, so that’s a healthy 10% increase over the year before. So far this year we’re running about 7% ahead of last year in terms of gaming revenue.”

Again, similar to the concert industry, Pollstar’s 2024 mid-year numbers showed all-time highs in total gross revenue from concert ticket sales, crossing the $3 billion threshold and up 8.7% over last year. Per-show average grosses and attendance was down, however, meaning the revenue beat was thanks to an increase in ticket prices and number of shows overall.

That means the agents and talent buyers working within the very specialized casino business are as competitive – and sometimes contentious – as ever.

“Music is one distinguishing factor you can have that makes your casino maybe stand out from another, and we try to strive to be more diverse, with quality over quantity,” said Kell Houston, a veteran talent buyer whose Houston Productions works with roughly 20 tribal casino properties in the U.S., with venues including Sandia Amphitheater in Albuquerque, New Mexico; AVA Amphitheater in Tucson, Arizona; and Rolling Hills in Northern California. He says there’s an increasingly younger demographic not only among guests but the artists themselves, meaning successful casinos are getting with the times. “Some casinos have been slow to respond to the new artists coming out. It’s about their marketing and entertainment people putting together an actual strategic plan, a budget and how they’re going to approach entertainment.”

He cites recent examples at Sandia Amphitheater including sold-out shows with Trevor Noah, Kevin Hart and Kane Brown. “In that blue-collar market in Albuquerque, people are going to pick and choose what they go to,” said Houston. “You have to get the right act.”
As the meaning of the word “casino” can vary as much as “venue” or “festival,” the challenge for casino properties is competing not only among other concerts, festivals and tours but also other casino properties, sometimes located just miles from each other in a particular region, and sometimes even with the same talent buyer.

“We have multiple casinos that are all in our backyard, and everybody’s venues are all almost about the same size, so we’re all competing for the same thing,” said Nick Sitar, the new entertainment director at Agua Caliente Casinos near Palm Springs, which includes the 2,000-capacity The Show, a popular concert venue with upcoming concerts featuring Rod Stewart, Nikki Glaser, Jerry Seinfeld and others.

Sitar, who’s been on the job for about four weeks, was most recently at Caesars Entertainment as regional director of entertainment programming, meaning programming 20-something non-Vegas properties. He says he’s excited to work exclusively with one property, one with a purpose-built concert venue rather than a showroom or temporary outdoor setting.

But Agua Caliente isn’t the only player in market, which includes Pechanga Resort & Casino, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa and Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, whose $760 million renovation in 2021 included the opening of a new concert theater that has hosted top acts including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Nicks, Ed Sheeran and P!nk.

“We’re seeing more venues popping up than ever before,” Sitar says, “So we’re having a lot more competition. There’s only so many artists out there, so we’re all just naturally watching our volume kind of drop. Now’s the time everybody needs to be making the smart, right choices for their rooms.”

Another relatively recent splashy opening was the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, part of the major expansion of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which reopened with “the Guitar Hotel” tower in 2019. The property’s 7,000-seat theater has seen underplays from stadium acts like The Rolling Stones and Metallica, and often serves as an arena play, boasting hefty grosses and multi-night stays.

“The benefit of having a Hard Rock Live Hollywood in the network is that we get the call most of the time,” said Andrew Saunders, vice president of entertainment and booking for Seminole Gaming / Seminole Hard Rock. “We’re part of almost every conversation, so we can talk about Rod Stewart, who is touring select markets next year, and we know it’s going to work in Hollywood but could it also fit in northern Indiana? Could it also fit in Sacramento? Could it fit in Tampa? That’s the benefit of having the flagship, the one everybody in the industry is talking about.”

Hard Rock is opening two new properties this year, with casino resorts in Rockford, Illinois, and Bristol, Virginia, which will both have concert venues in the 1,500-1,800 capacity range. A similar project is under construction near Bakersfield, California, and there’s another “Guitar Hotel” project replacing the venerable Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip in 2027.

“We’re feeling as bullish as ever about the business,” Saunders said. “The Bristol and Rockford properties coming online this year is super exciting because we can round out our little route in the Midwest with northern Indiana and Cincinnati.” A new hire, Xavier Henry, has been brought on to oversee Midwest bookings for Hard Rock specifically.
In a setting chock full of entertainment options and no shortage of ways for guests to spend money, selling tickets to casino shows comes down to offering can’t-miss entertainment and effective story telling.

“Since COVID, we’ve been able to get really creative and create more VIP experiences,” said Amy Graca, senior vice president of entertainment at Caesars Entertainment. She mentions a pre-show experience with Sting that included a Q&A in an intimate setting with 30 to 40 people. “It was such a neat way for him to be able to interact with fans in a way that was, in my opinion, so much more meaningful than a meet and greet.”

Another example was a John Legend experience at PH Live at Planet Hollywood, which included a reception, private performance and impromptu Q&A on the theater’s mezzanine before his show. “It was, again, something separate from the show that was unique and special. Those are the things we look to continue to elevate entertainment. It’s really about coming to Vegas to experience something you can’t get anywhere else at our venues.”

It’s great for artists, too. “We worked in most all of them,” says this week’s Pollstar cover subject John Anderson, “It’s a great job. You don’t have to worry about the money. And the hospitality is great. A lot of our casino business is return business, so I’m thankful for that.”

As with all marketing, seizing the moment is important in selling tickets.

“We had Ludacris already booked and signed on the bottom line, and then later I get word that he’s going to perform at the Super Bowl on Sunday with Usher,” said Joey Perez, marketing director at the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, California, which recently opened a new, modern casino facility with dedicated showroom.

“So, as soon as halftime is over, we put our advertising on social media, we locked in all the videos,” Perez said. “Next thing you know, it was the fastest-selling concert in Eagle Mountain history.”

Demographics and the prototypical casino guest — and entertainment booking — continues to morph.

“We just had our first general admission show in June, which was Los Tucanes de Tijuana (a Mexican Norteño band), where we added a fun experience, a courtyard party outside the event center,” says Tamara McKnight, special events and entertainment coordinator at Spirit Mountain Casino in Oregon. She says bookings overall have picked up in recent years at the casino’s 2,000-seat event center, with a diverse audience in mind to go along with the staple country and classic rock offerings. “We are looking next year to add a couple more Latin shows, but also adding Asian shows as well.”

The talent buying landscape within the casino business has led to a situation where there may be more casino venues than talent buyers — and talent – to fill them.

“We pride ourselves in working with what we consider the best casino clients out there,” says Del Williams, global head of talent at Danny Wimmer Presents, which handles talent buying for a dozen or so casino properties. Williams said DWP will continue to be selective but expand its casino client roster, which recently added the sprawling Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

“They need to be as committed as we are to providing a great experience for the fans, because it’s going to translate to the floor inside the casino and every other aspect of it. We book the casinos as if it’s our own money, because we look at it as a partnership. Our reputation is on the line with the artist community as well as with the casinos and the fans.”