As other hotels continue to focus on speed, Resorts World and Fontainebleau have created fine dining and live music options for fans of a night out in Las Vegas. Sportsbooks usually paint a picture of large television screens, people yelling at players on said screens despite, what most assume, is a severe lack of an ability to hear on the players’ part and betslips being thrown around through a cloud of smoke. It’s an intense atmosphere, one filled with broken dreams, broken parlays and the slim chance one could see a stranger hit the bet of their life. What one may not find within this atmosphere, however, is something they can recognize.
People who spend nights out recognize bars, restaurants and a sense of entertainment. In the Resorts World and Fontainebleau hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, these locations take common aspects guests can see anywhere and deliver them in a place where sports betting remains not only prevalent but still the focus. The hotels took sports betting and reimagined it into more of an experience, not just an atmosphere. Perhaps they were inspired by Circa's sportsbook in Downtown Las Vegas...?
Dawg House Saloon and Sportsbook in Resorts World is a 15,000-square-foot venue where guests can eat, drink, listen to live music and throw some money on the underdog to pull off an upset. Dawg House isn’t just a sportsbook; in fact it doesn’t even like to sell itself as one. It’s a place people can go to have fun, whether they enjoy sports or not. Which, in reality, should be the whole point if thought about deeper.
“Our former President had the idea of integrating a restaurant with the sportsbook and creating a different atmosphere for customers,” Dawg House Sportsbook Supervisor Chase Johnston said. Management for Resorts World has undergone changes as well, however, which seemed to have an effect on generating business from locals.
“For the sportsbook part to be successful, everything needs to work together. Last year there was a different General Manager who began charging $100 to stay during busy times like football season. That ruins it for locals because they can go to off-strip properties and get a similar experience. But we still have locals driving down here and were slammed for March Madness this year,” Johnston said.
Despite the changes, Dawg House remains a property that chose to go outside the box. Why create an environment only sports bettors would want to be in? Why not create something their spouses or friends would enjoy? If John Doe can dance with his wife to a live country band, order dinner with a couple of drinks and then place a quick bet before the big game starts, that sounds like a night out, not a trip to the sportsbook. Because a trip to the sportsbook is quick, it’s “I’ll just be a second.” Dawg House doesn’t want its guests’ experience to be quick, because quick is limited. And limited means less bets. “If you want the ability to actually be able to hang out at your sportsbook, this is the best experience. I don’t think some sportsbooks are necessarily designed to do that like ours is,” Johnston said.
If someone were to offer a sportsbook the chance to have its guests stay for five hours or five minutes, the choice is obvious. Which is why hotels such as Resorts World build Dawg House, because then its consumers don’t have to watch sports, they don’t even have to know what game is on; the experience is what captivates them. Creating this type of welcoming environment can lead to discovering an entirely different scene of gamblers. It’s a better way of building interest in a sportsbook without turning off potential consumers by shoving mobile betting advertisements in their face.
The Tavern at Fontainebleau creates an elegant dining experience while broadcasting live sports in a comfortable setting with lounge chairs and numerous TVs. Guests can dine at one of the premier restaurants in the Fontainebleau while also maneuvering over to relax after a meal and enjoy the biggest sporting events. The idea isn’t to create an experience where guests have to separate if they see a respective hotel’s sportsbook, but instead to have families, couples or any group stay together to enjoy an evening that also happens to include sports. Ultimately, the more people a sportsbook attracts and the longer they stay, the more bets can be placed.
Having convenience and speed is great if hotels and casinos want someone to place a bet and move on, but Resorts World and Fontainebleau differ. The aforementioned Circa Sportsbook, located off-Strip, has become one of the most popular to visit due to its sheer size and accommodations. The Oyo hotel, formerly Hooters, completely revamped its sportsbook to feature a bar and restaurant scene as well.
Places like the New York, New York (NYNY) hotel, which have highly functioning sportsbooks, may not see a need to change what already works. It makes money, has restaurants around the corner if one chooses and someone will always come to take a drink order (eventually). It’s difficult not to notice the difference in customer retention, though, having seen each sportsbook in person.
“Our space definitely does help keep customers around, keep them coming up to kiosks or our stands and placing bets. If we didn’t have this much space and entertainment, they would probably just place their bets and then head up to their room. Now they stay, go to the bar, watch the game and stick around to place bets on the next game as well,” Johnston said.
At NYNY, most people walk up to a touchscreen booth, place a bet and then typically walk out the casino door right to the Strip, while having to brush away employees asking if they are signed up on a betting platform. In Dawg House and The Tavern, people don’t walk out the door after. They stay, order food and drinks, spend money and enjoy themselves. Their significant others walk up to the betting stations with them and ask questions instead of standing by the door with impatience over how long it takes to place a bet.
This isn’t an attempt to say any one sportsbook is going about business the wrong way. Bettors will always exist, sports will always exist and the two will continue to interweave with each other for an eternity. The idea of what a sportsbook can be is changing, however, and the days of consumers seeing it as a one-stop shop may be ending.
The more hotels continue to offer elevated experiences and recognizable atmospheres within sportsbooks, ones that purely focus on the bet could be found obsolete, especially on the Las Vegas strip where many are in close proximity to one another.
