Outside Entertainment Benefits Las Vegas

The increased focus on entertainment amenities at gaming destinations outside of Nevada should spur even more growth in Las Vegas, industry insiders said Wednesday.

The comments came as the American Gaming Association released its latest G2E Future Watch, an unscientific survey of gaming industry executives.

Association President Frank Fahrenkopf said the survey shows industry executives believe the casino industry's next transformation won't be on the casino floor but in its entertainment, shopping and dining.

"The increased diversification in amenities has turned Las Vegas into a major entertainment and shopping destination, and we're beginning to see these same changes in other gaming communities," he said.

Of the amenities likeliest to expand outside of the Strip, 95 percent of executives responding to the survey named full service spas, 53 percent cited celebrity chef restaurants and 26 percent cited trendy nightclubs.

Jim Medick, chief executive officer of the MRC Group, Nevada's largest market research firm, said entertainment amenities will not help other destinations as much as they have helped Las Vegas.

"When you look other markets, our recent surveys show the main reason for going to a riverboat or an Indian casino is to gamble. While they have shows, they're so limited they don't have the same impact as they do in Las Vegas," he said.

"When it comes to entertainment, retail experiences and dining, they just can't compete with the critical mass we have built in Las Vegas," Medick said.

University of Nevada, Las Vegas history professor Hal Rothman said entertainment amenities at out-of-market casinos should boost visitor interest in Las Vegas, as they have in the past.

"We are the pinnacle, and amenities elsewhere will do what gaming has done. They will seed the markets for people to come to see us," Rothman said.

As a percentage of overall revenue, 58 percent of respondents expected the importance of nongaming amenities to continue to increase, with an additional 42 percent of respondents saying they expect them to increase significantly in coming years. No respondent expected a decrease.

All respondents agree that Broadway productions will become a permanent part of Las Vegas entertainment. At the same time, 90 percent say there always will be a place in Las Vegas for the single-act headliner.

However, most respondents are unconvinced that expensive, Cirque du Soleil-type shows or condominiums will catch on outside Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

The gaming executives surveyed also gave the local surge in condominium development a strong vote of confidence. Fully 95 percent of the executives surveyed said condominiums will either "definitely" (42 percent) or "probably" (53 percent) have a positive effect on the industry.