Dear Las Vegas casino owners,
I recently read in the Arizona Republic that you think my peers and I don't gamble enough (as if we really had the money to gamble). The Republic reported that, while 20-somethings are attracted to the nightlife and gaming tables, we apparently aren't playing the slot machines the way our parents and grandparents do (or did, as the case may be).
Apparently, slot machines are your industry's biggest moneymaker, while the tables are slower-paced and more costly to maintain. Because of this, it is understandable that you are concerned about your economic future.
However, it isn't really much of a mystery why your slot machines aren't doing as well with my technology-savvy generation. In fact, I can summarize it for you in one simple word: yawn.
That's right; the standard machines where you pull the lever and wait see if three cherries line up are mind-numbingly dull. There's no interaction; you just plunk in a quarter and about two seconds later, you're 25 cents poorer. There's no real excitement for the trouble.
Meanwhile, the gaming tables actually offer some interaction with other people. And the outcome is not based solely upon luck; poker, blackjack and other table games actually require some thought and strategy to win. You have a chance to control your money's fate, rather than being subjected to the cold, cruel whims of a sexed-up computer.
I know you've tried to make some improvements. Some of the slot machines on the casino floors now have animations and bonus rounds for those of us who were raised on Nintendo and Sega. While these machines are flashy and might even catch the occasional roving eye, once you actually sit down to play them, they are simply more of the same.
However, it seems many of you are willing to bank on the idea that these games will be a hit. The Hard Rock Cafe is reportedly so impressed with these new animated games that they are planning to build a promotion campaign around them next year.
Well, I was at the Hard Rock Casino in September, and if the machines they plan to promote are the same ones I saw on the floor then, their campaign is going to be a bit of a hard sell.
Just because the cherries jump around and start blinking at me when I get three in a row doesn't fix the underlying problem: I need a little more interaction to make my time and money worthwhile.
How might one go about doing this, you ask? Well, I am certainly not a video-game designer, nor should I be one by any stretch of the imagination. But there are highly paid people out there who, I'm sure, could come up with a few good ideas. Maybe you could get an extra spin if you beat a level, Mario-style. Or maybe the number of moves executed correctly on a Dance Dance Revolution machine could determine the number of coins you win after a match.
Obviously these are pretty off-the-cuff ideas, but I'm sure there are plenty of talented people who could come up with much better ideas. One thing is certain, though (and I'm sure my peers will agree): Once you find a way to engage and actively involve a generation raised on high-tech video games, you will surely see your business improve.
Julie Messner is a journalism senior. Reach her at julie.messner@asu.edu.
