It's not just Asian-oriented. It's specifically Chinese-oriented and in all our time covering Las Vegas casinos, we've never seen "narrowcasting" like this.
All of the signage is Chinese first, with English positioned as the secondary language (though you won't notice, because the Chinese characters look like designs to those who don't speak the language). Staffers speak Mandarin. All five restaurants serve, almost exclusively, Chinese food. The numeral 4, which, when spoken, sounds like the Chinese word for "death," will be nowhere to be seen on the property. No room number will contain a 4 and there will not even be a fourth floor in the adjoining nine-story hotel. The kitchen has been blessed by a feng shui master and, for extra good fortune, the bar is octagonal.
Heck, it was even built with Chinese money, courtesy of the EB-5 Visa program, whereby overseas investors get permanent green cards in return for $500,000 capital contributions to American developments.
"With their affinity for baccarat, the most lucrative game in Las Vegas, Chinese gamblers have long commanded special treatment," reported the Los Angeles Times, "be it with private Chinese gaming salons, Lunar New Year festivities, or performances from pop stars flown in from Hong Kong and Taiwan."
"No General Tso's or egg rolls here," said Lucky Dragon COO David Jacoby of the cuisine, which aims to be as close to Mainland China as possible.
The Lucky Dragon got its start partly because developer Andrew Fonfa had a parcel of undeveloped land near the Las Vegas Strip, originally intended for a second tower of the Allure condominiums. When the condo boom went bust, the land went into hibernation. Macao casino veteran William Weidner (late of Las Vegas Sands) gave Fonfa the idea to create a casino for Chinese-speaking players, a valued demographic in the casino business; gambling is deeply engrained in China's culture. No pool parties, though: "because Chinese tourists often don't like to sunbathe, Lucky Dragon's pool isn't much bigger than the backyard variety," the L.A. Times says.
Although the Lucky Dragon recently received its casino license, we haven't been able to find any photographs of finished interiors. A recent L.A. Times montage showed construction still very much in progress and we suspect this will be the case right down to the last minute. Not since Paris-Las Vegas in 1999 has a Sin City casino been completed ahead of schedule.
"Let them fight over the one percent," Jacoby says of Strip casinos' pursuit of Chinese high-rollers, "and let us fight over the remaining ninety-nine percent." That means broadening the casino's appeal to include Chinese-Americans, particularly of the middle-class stratum. In fact, even though some Lucky Dragon players will be flying in straight from Beijing on Hainan Airlines' inaugural Dec. 2 flight into Las Vegas, the casino expects to draw 35% of its business from locals.
There's peril in that business plan. Locals avoid the Strip and Lucky Dragon will have to pry Chinese-Americans away from Chinatown-area Palace Station and Gold Coast where, through the cigarette smoke, you can witness the kind of "hard, desperate gambling" associated with Macau. Lucky Dragon is only planning on getting 10% of its players directly from China. A third (hopefully) will come from Southern California and 20% from the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. But if Lucky Dragon gets even a fraction of the 206,743 Chinese who traveled to Las Vegas in 2015 -- a steeply growing trend -- it should do very well for itself.
If Genting Group ever gets in gear with Resorts World Las Vegas, the Strip will have a second Chinese-themed casino, if not so assiduously crafted with one demographic in mind. Paul Steelman's design is much gaudier than Lucky Dragon's, complete with a faux Great Wall of China (the proposed panda habitat has been shelved). At $4 billion, it's also a much pricier and riskier proposition than Lucky Dragon (rumored to cost $370 million, which executives deny). Of his innovative casino, Jacoby says, "We're trying to take [Chinese gaming] and bring that front and center instead of hiding the most valuable customer in a segregated portion of a large building."
Will Fonfa and Weidner's experiment work? We'll find out when the ball drops on Chinese New Year.
[Editor's Note: Completely coincidentally, Anthony Curtis was invited on an exclusive tour of the property the night before this QoD runs. His quickie report (with photos!) follows.]
I like it. The place is small, but it's been well thought out and there should be a whole lot worth visiting. But first things first. All we've seen to this point is that the opening date is Dec. 3, but the real (soft) opening takes place at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19, just one week from today. The casino will be open to the public at that time if you want to get a jump.
We'll cover the resort completely in upcoming issues of the LVA, but here are a few things that got my attention.
It really is "Chinese first." Of 40 table games, 27 are some form of baccarat -- either "EZ" or "midi" (with some video bac thrown in). Try finding another casino like that anywhere in the US. And really interesting, there's no "big bac," which is apparently a dying breed.
The rooms look good, priced at $149 weekdays and $189 weekends. Maybe a bit steep on the former and a good deal on the latter. There's also a spa; no prices were available.
I can't wait to try the restaurants. Dig this: There are more restaurant seats here than there are gaming positions, including slots! There's the Bao Now quick bites outlet (that will send tableside food to gamblers), tanks with fresh fish and shellfish, what's promised to be a serious dim sum joint, and the high-end Phoenix that looks out onto the Strip. Can this place really do a good "night market" (the LINQ couldn't)? We'll see, but it sure looks like it thinks it can. No buffet. If you want a good old-fashioned steak, the venerable Golden Steer is right next door. And I almost forgot -- there's a tea sommelier.
The pool is tiny. Who cares?
The big center bar looks good.
Here's what I found on the floor. There are only four blackjack tables. They're all 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, naturals pay 3-2 (no 6-5, good for them). I could only check the video poker schedules at the bar. There's 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%) from quarters up. Nice. No players club info to report at this time. Also, no sports book, live poker, live keno, bingo, or craps. No craps? Correct, no craps. It's not necessary given the target market.
This place is fascinating. I'm looking forward to the 19th.
