Las Vegas Business Press :: David G. Schwartz : An $800 investment might point way to future of Las Vegas

An $800 investment might point way to future of Las Vegas

Recently, a casino lounge might have pointed the way to the future -- and it only cost $800.

It's ironic that this harbinger of what's to come is at the Monte Carlo, long one of the Strip's least-heralded casinos, and right next to the $8.5 billion development that will make or break an entire company -- and possibly the Strip itself .

Both "projects" represent the next step Las Vegas will take, at opposite ends of the scale.

David G. Schwartz

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CityCenter is a massive undertaking, with thousands of hotel rooms and condos in six towers priced at the upper edge of the market. It features groundbreaking art and architecture. No matter what the critics -- and customers -- ultimately say, no one will be able to deny its significance. Like the properties that Steve Wynn built, anyone looking to build on the Strip will be responding, in some form, to CityCenter.

The Dragon Noodle Co. is by all accounts a pleasant enough Chinese restaurant in a casino that's always been overshadowed.

The restaurant's answer to the question, "How to draw attention to a solid eatery in a respectable casino," is simple: dress the waitresses in its lounge in imitation of popular Japanese animation (anime) characters, who seem to wear mostly modified sailor and maid costumes.

This "costume playing," popularly called "cosplay" by its adherents, has a small but devoted following. There's a substantial subset of cosplayers who veer into adult territory, but much of it is safely PG-rated.

There are precedents for this kind of popular culture-themed entertainment. "Star Trek: The Experience" featured Klingons and Ferengi, in full makeup and costume, mingling with fans. The Nitro Grill at the Excalibur catered to fans of World Championship Wrestling, who could watch televised events "where the big boys eat."

So what makes waitresses dressed as obscure cartoon characters so forward-looking?

For one thing, themed attractions like those mentioned above cost considerably more than $800. And neither has the do-it-yourself practicality of what the Dragon Noodle Co. is trying.

A business owner saw something that no one else was doing. It's offbeat, quirky, and almost completely opaque to 99 percent of the people who will walk past. But it's something different, something that will mean a great, great deal to the 1 percent of those who do.

The Strip needs more of these niche attractions precisely because they aren't popular enough to be seen elsewhere.

Once, casino gambling was itself such a novelty that you didn't need much else. For many years casino managers went out of their way, it seems, to make their resorts as predictable as possible. The tried-and-true mix of coffee shop, buffet, and steakhouse delivered something for all appetites and most budgets. And, in a time when casinos were unusual and a bit scary for many new patrons, they served their purpose well.

Today, however, casinos are nearly everywhere. You don't have to go to Las Vegas to go all-in at a buffet or the tables. There are hundreds of casinos across the country that can do exactly what Las Vegas has done, cheaper and closer to home, too.

They can't, though, deliver the diversity that Las Vegas can, because of its size. With nearly 40 million people a year visiting, even a lounge that caters to 1 percent of visitors can draw about a thousand paying customers a day -- plus their friends and family.

With so many options open to travelers, Las Vegas needs to use its size to its advantage. A town that can support multibillion-dollar developments with wide appeal can at the same time support dozens or even hundreds of "microclimates" within larger resorts that appeal to small, devoted fan bases. Visitors used to finding what they want, when they want it on the Internet will likely find such variety invigorating.

And that's why waitresses in cartoon-inspired sailor costumes could point to the future in Las Vegas.

David G. Schwartz is director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His latest book is "Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling."

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