Case 33 – the Casino Industry in 2011

Case 33 – The Casino Industry in 2011 Brant Davis Problem Summary The Las Vegas and Atlantic City locations have lost revenues in recent years. In addition to the economic slowdown, these gambling locations are also facing new competitors in the market that are providing attractive choices to the customers. Though there are some external forces beyond their control, it seems that attractiveness and accessibility are very important focus areas for these cities. Analysis Using the SWOT analysis, we can get a broad picture of the Las Vegas and Atlantic City locations.
Some of the strengths of these two cities are; the variety of entertainment they offer, the accommodations available, the atmosphere delivered, and providing a benchmark of quality service expected by the customers. Weaknesses of Las Vegas and Atlantic City are that they can be heavily affected by changes in the economy and the rising numbers of competitors. As the number of competitors rise, Las Vegas and Atlantic City have lost some of their business to places that are simply closer to the customers home.
This has opened up some opportunities for these casino giants to make their locations more attractive and accessible to the customers and steal back some of the lost business. One of the largest threats to Las Vegas and Atlantic City locations is that it is getting much easier for the customers to gamble without traveling far. In fact, now the customers have the ability to gamble online right from their homes. Alternatives There are several courses of action these cities can take to grow. The first would be to make it even easier to get to their locations.

There were times in the past when Las Vegas and Atlantic City used to basically pick the customer up and bring them into town. If it was easier for the customers to reach them, they might take back some of the business lost to more local casinos. The downside to that of course is the cost of travel would then be transferred to the casino cities. The real gamble here is that there are always people just looking for a free vacation, and just bringing them into town doesn’t guarantee that they will spend a lot while staying there.
Another alternative is that Las Vegas and Atlantic City could both focus their efforts on the Legislation that has been keeping gambling from being legal online. Though this would require a lot of employed lobbyists, lawyers, and Politians to side with them. The con to that plan of action would that it would be hard to corner the online market so late in the game. Finally, Las Vegas and Atlantic City could focus on what it can offer to the customers that the other locations don’t. Recommendations
Though gambling is such an important part of their revenue, they should focus even more on bringing the customer in for the experiences that can’t be found anywhere else. This would require even more advertisements that give emphasis to the features of the city, and not just the slot machines. Though the retro rebranding of Las Vegas as “Sin City” seemed like the honest move, they need to make it the place for anyone to come and enjoy. Because Atlantic City has so many people within driving distance, they should focus more on picking families up and bringing them in as well.
Often a family will travel on only one major vacation per year. Why not have that location be a city that just happens to have gambling. Additionally, MGM Mirage should be the poster casino for revenue. Las Vegas and Atlantic City have to get further away from the focus of gambling and make themselves the entertainment capitals of the east and west coasts. They need to advertise their cities as the places for people to escape and experience something that can’t be seen at home.
They also need to lure in people with discounts and free complimentary benefits so that when the customers arrive, they can justify spending money on the entertainment. Finally, they need to have patience while staying aggressive. The economy is bound to improve, but they can’t just throw money into new buildings that people won’t travel to. They should slow some of the growth for the next few years and focus on advertising what they have to offer. Customers shouldn’t have to learn about all the great stuff by arriving there, they should go there because of all the great stuff they have already heard about.