This is an article I wrote a couple of years ago, one that would be read by casino executives. But I am guessing that many players who read this blog may find it elicits some “amen’s.”
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We may be getting gray – us oldsters, but we have considerable financial assets we have accumulated from years of wise saving and have more disposable income now that our children are leaving the nest and aren’t dependent on us for their heavy expenses. We have more time for adult entertainment choices rather than family activities which was our focus for many years. And where do so many of us want to spend our increased discretionary income and our increased leisure time?
Yes, you guessed it – in a casino!
I am getting a little tired of hearing how casinos want to spend a major part of their marketing budget to attract the “Millennials.” I’m not fond of using labels – “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” “Y, or “Z” – since no one agrees on the exact age range of each group. So I will talk more using age numbers. And here is my personal take on this new casino marketing preoccupation.
The “kids” who are now in their 20’s – or will be turning legal in the next 10 years or so – will first want to come to casinos to enjoy the heady nightclub/pool /music scene. They won’t be interested in grandma’s slots. They don’t want to waste their limited bankroll on gambling at all – they prefer to spend the time at the pool ogling prospects for a romantic interlude. If they gamble at all, it will be at a table game where they can play and socialize with their friends at the same time. With few exceptions they are in entry-level jobs and have to team up with a large group of friends in order to afford luxury hotel rates and monstrous nightclub bills on their once-a-year splurge vacation.
As these youngsters get older, they start thinking less about just having fun with no responsibilities and, becoming more mature, start considering long-term relationships and families of their own. And then there will be the period of 20 or so years when parents are too busy or don’t have enough money for a lot of casino gambling. It may happen later for the “millennials” but it will happen just as it did for all of us gray-haired oldsters.
I’m not saying that the casino shouldn’t look ahead and consider how to update their casino offerings to appeal to a more electronic-orientated casino visitor – a successful business must always look many years into the future. However, I feel that the casino is missing the point that the gray population is still paying a lot of their bills and this will always be true. Life expectancy numbers are constantly rising, and projections show that more and more people will be able to enjoy a fuller and healthier life in a much longer retirement stage.
So if the age of a typical casino visitor will probably always be skewed upward, the casinos should probably spend at least a good chunk of their time and money to take this into consideration as an on-going policy. What will make a casino more appealing to an older customer? Address our physical limitations. More handicapped parking. Easier wheelchair accessibility in all areas. Grab bars, low shelves and hooks, and higher commodes in the bathrooms. Fewer long lines – at the players club desk, at the cage, at the buffet. More food choices in the restaurants, for the older customer who often has diabetes, heart issues, or digestive problems that require a special diet.
Some casinos are already doing a good job of appealing to seniors. They are tapping down the loud music blasting from the casino speakers, even playing some “oldies” in the weekday mornings and afternoons when the younger customer is away at work. They are running senior days for the over-50 crowd, with food discounts, tournaments, and drawings – many with the promotions in the daytime since many seniors don’t want to drive at night.
Each casino will need to address the issues of a large market base of older visitors and come up with ideas that fit into their unique master plan. However, so many of the executives in marketing departments are very young, hired for their understanding of the younger potential customers, but totally unknowledgeable about the likes and dislikes of their older customers, ones who will continually be important to that all-important casino bottom line.
How can a younger casino staff cope with this challenge? They need to talk to and get to know seniors. How about more well-run focus groups, with some great benefits for those who attend, i.e., a gourmet dinner and some generous free play. This is a great double-duty technique – a way to reward the senior customers you already have – and a way to keep them – and find out how to attract more of them.
you are so right. My wife and I are 67 and we go to Vegas 4 times per year. We love to play table games and slots. We are moving away from weekends cause the music is so loud it bothers us immensely. I have hearing aids and it is punishing to to not only myself but to the much younger pit crews who all walk around with earplugs. it has driven us out of the casinos early in evening when normally we would play late into the evening. there are very few if any younger people even playing in the casinos.
One thing the promotion planners need to realize…we prefer to spend our time playing, not running from one casino desk to the other area to collect perks…we will exercise in the gym but rather spend casino time gambling, not touring your facility from one end to the other with slips of paper in hand.
Casinos need to be reminded that gray is where the green is.
George
Absolutely true, wish more executives would take this under serious consideration .
I perceived this shift several years ago. It’s all part of the “what happens in Vegas blah blah” approach. The corporations running the megajoints no longer look to the casino parts of their operations as the primary revenue stream. Instead, they tout Vegas as a let-your-hair-down destination for millennials. Leave your brain in the glove compartment! Come drink and dance and be deafened. You’ll pay $700 for two nights on the fantabulous Strip (plus resort fee and parking!), guzzle $15 cocktails and $8 beers, and pay a cover charge to be crammed into a room with spinning lights and 120-decibel (louder than a jet engine ten feet away) music. Do we, the casinos, even CARE if you gamble? Naah!
How does the kindly old local with a bucket of nickels fit into all this? Not at all, except for those casinos that, as you note, specifically cater to that crowd. (I wonder if AZ Charlie’s Decatur still sends buses over to the old folks’ home.)
Another on spot one. However…both my kids are in their thirties…my son is a food and beverage manager….he will tell you that what sells is what gets stocked or put on the menu no matter what the age! He’ll also tell you that one thing can be hot for one part of the population/ethnic group and something else for another group. You kinda gotta know your customer and go with it…..and then a big convention comes to town and different stuff is in demand. It’s constantly changing and only awareness will bring good results…..no matter what the age.
Jean,
Excellent article. I am 73 and spend 4 days per month in casinos. I agree with your analysis completely.
Millennials, whom we define as those ages 18-34 , now number 75.4 million, surpassing the 74.9 million Baby Boomers (ages 51-69) according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, according to CNN Money, older Americans (age 65+) are 47 times richer then Americans 35 and younger and according to Business Insider, Americans 55 and older control 70% of the disposable income in the U.S. Not too shabby for us old folks.
Great Post! Spot on for us Seniors.
We always went to game and eat the low priced shrimp cocktails at the Golden Gate Casino downtown. (Cocktails are gone.)
About two years ago we were astonished to hear the loud music and dirty rap singer that was on the speakers. I asked a slot person why are they playing filthy music and so loud.
She said ” the new owner is looking for a younger crowd.”
Good luck with that. They will have more room for the younger folks now that we are never going back.
B-)
Amen to all that… loud music is our #1 on the list. Great job on insight as usual, keep up the good work. How was Laughlin last week? Will you be posting a trip report.? John and Lil
Several “amens” from me! This hits home with me for several reasons. The hubby and I are excitedly planning our first vacation to Vegas for next year and several of the issues you have mentioned are concerns for us too (long lines and special diets). Maybe the casinos will realize that those of us with silver in our hair also have silver in our pockets that we are willing to spend when the casinos go the extra mile for us
More great wisdom from our Queen.
I’m in my thirties – an internet marketer and software developer, and i completely agree with this article. The older customer base should definitely be a primary target for casinos, and any casino not catering to this demographic is missing out big time.