Building a New Casino? 3 Factors for a Successful Experience

Some localities are slowly allowing legalized gambling in their community by approving the building of casinos. If you are building a new casino, being meticulous about the location and amenities will help make your casino popular without losing money on unnecessary features.

Location

You will need to do your own research or consult an agency to determine the best location for your casino. Several variables can affect the ideal location and you also want to take into account the opinions of citizens living nearby. Generally, people will be opposed to having a casino near residential locations or schools due to the increase in noise and traffic that will come with a casino. Whenever possible, an ideal location will be along the water. Not only does a waterfront location improve the scenery for people walking around, but it also creates a prime opportunity for other businesses who may want to have carts to sell items or food trucks along the water to attract customers. As the owner of the casino, it may be lucrative to rent spaces along the waterfront for other businesses.

Any casino will need extensive space for parking, with the building of a parking deck being the ideal approach. Unlike other types of parking spaces, such as lots, decks make use of small amounts of space by building upward, as opposed to horizontally. Accessibility should be important when deciding on the location. Sometimes people who do not have a car are left out because they may be overlooked by businesses. You should consider choosing a location that is accessible by area mass transit, if available, or near a bus or train station for people who may not live locally, but are willing to travel to visit your casino.

Loyalty Programs

Few casinos do not have a loyalty program because this approach not only attracts new customers but also retains existing customers. You will need to think of ideas to encourage people to sign up for your loyalty program. Generally, signing up with a loyalty program comes with some food, drink, or casino credit incentives. The latter is generally the most popular. Most casino credits require players to deposit a small amount on their card to receive the credit, such as $25 for a $5 credit. You should consider having a tier system with casino credits increasing as the customer makes a larger deposit.

Other incentives you may want to include in your loyalty program can be related to transportation, such as a discount on parking in the parking deck or discounts for people who do not have a car. For example, local mass transit, buses, trains, or ride-share service discounts can be an excellent way to attract people that do not have adequate transportation and would otherwise miss out on the fun. Some casinos work with national bus or train services to offer play credits for people who book a trip to the casino through these forms of transportation. You should make it easy to sign-up for a loyalty program. Consider allowing people to sign-up online and either pick up their card at the front desk or have it mailed to them. Many people may register for your loyalty program in advance as part of their trip planning.

Games

Of course, the main reason people go to the casino is to gamble. Making the decisions regarding which games you are going to include in the beginning can be difficult. Not having sufficient games can make a bad impression on people visiting your casino for the first time and decrease the chances of them returning, but having an extensive number of games in the beginning can be a waste of money if they are unpopular. Slot machines and table games are the general categories of games available at casinos. You can find slot machines from a penny to play up to bets of hundreds or thousands of dollars. It is best to start with slot machines between a quarter and a dollar to play. As your casino becomes more popular, you may find more people who are willing to bet more sizable amounts.

For table games, you likely want to focus on roulette, craps, blackjack, and poker to start. Poker can be more challenging because there are several variations of poker, but No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em and/or Pot-Limit Texas Hold 'Em may be the most popular ones to start. If you will build your casino in an area where online play is legal within the jurisdiction, it may be worth the expense to participate. This allows you to be more competitive with other casinos in the area and people can play different games whether they live in the area or are in their hotel room visiting the area.

When you receive approval to build a new casino several factors should influence different features of your casino. Having a balance between necessary amenities and more luxury amenities will keep your initial costs affordable while preventing you from creating amenities that ultimately make you lose money.