Changes on customers, products and gambling venues analyzed at ICE North America Digital: Part 3

The moderator was Michael Rumboltz, CEO of Everi, and speakers were: Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President and CFO of Lifescapes International, Thomas Jingoli, Exec VP/Chief Commercial Officer at Konami Gaming, Gavin Isaacs, Chairman, SBTech, Steve Hill, CEO and President at Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Bob Parente, Chief Revenue Officer, Scientific Games and Scott Sibella, President at Resorts World.

These are some of the highlights:

When asked about the impact of coronavirus related economic downturn, Gavin Isaacs answered: "Yes, obviously," he said, and added that people at casinos are saving more money now than before. Julie Brinkerhoff agreed, but added that the Indian casinos that have opened their gambling venues have not opened their pools yet due to coronavirus; "however, they have had an increase in attendance, and that´s good news."

Steve Hill: "The economic crisis, that will come over the health crisis, will be hard to covercome, and I think that the government is not going to pay for that."

They all agreed that their business is downstream but hoped there would be a sustainable recovery in the next months.

Who will be the first market segment to return to casinos and how do we incentivize them to be early adopters? Was the next question from the moderator.

Scott Sibella highlighted the loyalty of customers that are returning to Las Vegas casinos. "I think that it is important that they accept the guidelines, and emphasize on their health security."

Steve Hill: "A 30% of the population isn't considering to come to Las Vegas. From the 70%, there are three parts: the first group that is willing to come back as soon as we open. The second group are still waiting for the both the health situation and the economy to improve, and a third group is not considering travelling for six months. The demographics of those groups target younger, generally male and more wealthy, and generally these demographic just shifted to the other side. In order to receive more public we have to show that Las Vegas is healthy, and we also have to make offerings that make the trip worthy."

Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs: "The  outdoor space is becoming more significant for casinos due to necessary social distance, so I think it is something that will continue to grow both for casinos and restaurants." She also said: "When it comes to pool areas it is interesting to note that offering cabanas to the guests could benefit casinos."