The idea to develop a Jun88 is often driven by circumstances such as having sub-optimized space in the foyer of a hotel, the need to fill a gap in hotel occupancy or the availability of a license as part of a tourism investment scheme. All too often the idea develops a life of its own and the next steps are the creation of a casino design (that neatly fits the development team’s perception of what players want) and the start of construction, followed by the search for casino management.
The problem is that there are common misconceptions about casinos and gamblers that lead developers into pitfalls time-and-time again! More about that later but let’s look at how the most successful operators go about things…They start with an understanding of the market, its willingness, size, disposable income, access, competition (for all entertainment), market-specific needs and compatibility of the player profiles with other users of the hotel, resort or entertainment complex.
This understanding then forms the basis for the remainder of the feasibility study which estimates the number of potential visitors and their frequency of visit, the length of the average gaming session and the average stake. Extrapolating further, projections about the capacity requirements in terms of equipment, floor area and operating times are formulated. Finally, financial spreadsheets are crafted to present a supported and considered opinion on profit, capital expenditure and returns on investment.
But more than just the numbers, the feasibility focuses thinking on how to optimize the opportunity, on flushing out potential fatal flaws and on what will be required to compete effectively in the market. The feasibility does not need to be a lengthy and expensive exercise conducted by a celebrated academic. What’s sufficient in the early stages is to understand whether you have a rough diamond or a worthless glass chip.
A professional casino consultant will be able to deliver an initial feasibility for a reasonable price in as little as 10-working days, providing not only a decision point on the idea or opportunity at hand but also delivering a framework for screening future opportunities. Let’s look at some of the pitfalls…
The “license to print money” myth is a surprisingly popular assumption about casinos and one that seems to prevent people from conducting all the usual due diligence and care that would go into say, a shop or restaurant opportunity screening exercise. Examples that come to mind follow. A large casino was developed in a jurisdiction where there are restrictions placed on slot machine maximum stakes.
The revenue expectations of the slot machines were heavily relied upon to render the casino viable. When a revenue capacity model was run on the slots by an experienced manager several days before opening, it showed that it was a physical impossibility to generate the required slots income with the number of machines installed… Naturally the casino failed to live up to expectations.
A large casino developed in Britain by a US operator failed miserably because it did not understand the propensity for live gaming or the mobility of players in the market, whilst a British company failed spectacularly in Las Vegas because it didn’t understand the customer and made fatal design flaws.
