AV Technology and Casinos: Betting Big on Immersive Experiences

Casinos have been at the epicenter of experience for decades. Walking into one, visitors will encounter so many stimuli—lights, sound, smells and more. While their appeal is certainly the gaming and wagering, modern casinos realize the experience extends much further than luck at the crap’s table. They’re seeking to cultivate a total experience. With so many opportunities to enmesh visitors into another world, casino operators and owners are betting big on audiovisual (AV) technology and the creation of immersive experiences.

So, what does that look like in 2023? Now that guests are almost back at pre-pandemic capacity? How can you turn your property into a fete for the senses that keeps them returning?

Let’s review some of the hottest trends in casino AV technology and how they connect to the total experience.

Casino Digital Signage: More Than Wayfinding

Casinos are large properties with gaming, rooms, restaurants, retail, conference spaces and more. It’s easy for visitors to get overwhelmed and need direction. Casinos have been using digital signage to do that for some time, quickly changing content and information as new events come up.

Casino digital signage can do much more than help people navigate. It can become part of an immersive experience that enables interaction. Users can tap on the screens to get a personalized map, playing scenes of where they are headed, from the sizzle of a steak to what the room looks like where they’ll be meeting.

Another option for digital signage is replacing screens that match the vibrancy of the games around them. The newest LEDs, transparent OLED and ultra-fine pixel pitch LED, deliver rich content with the clarity needed in such a dynamic environment.

Placing new screens on the gaming floor that are just as bold as the games is an opportunity to promote entertainment, dining, spa services and more. These screens could also be interactive. The user could scan a QR code and land on a page to make a reservation.

Bringing Immersion to Exciting Spaces

There are unique areas that only a casino has. But then again, every casino has them, so it’s about making them as exciting as possible and thinking about the total experience. For example, sportsbooks were once a place to lay down a bet and catch a game. Sports fans and bettors now have higher expectations to be there in person, considering the watch-at-home experience is exceptional, and you can place a bet in an app.

Las Vegas’ newest downtown casino, Circa, boasts the largest sportsbook in the world with a three-story screen at 78M pixels. It’s an impressive experience for any guest. There are ways to take it even further.

Building out an experience as people move to the sportsbook is an idea. Using triggering technology, as guests enter the area, video walls could turn into the walls of a tunnel with fans cheering them along, just as their favorite sports heroes do. Layering in crowd sounds and whiffs of ballgame food, it would be an immersive experience like none other.  

Using AV Technology to Enhance Your Themes

Most casinos have themes with carefully constructed narratives that mimic the canals of Venice to the streets of New York City. Immersive AV technology can take guests farther into these worlds. Some AV technology to create this would include projection mapping to give the architecture a dimensional feel, perhaps with everyday scenes from the actual canals or streets. Sound is important as well, and with beam-foaming and haptic speakers, you can cover audience areas of any size or shape.

Within these experiences, there’s also the opportunity for interactive displays that deliver information about amenities, events and fun facts about the places the areas recreate.  

Giving Guests a Glimpse of Entertainment and Food

Casinos have more than just games. The entertainment and restaurants they offer are usually some of the best in the world. They often fit the resort's theme or the city itself, especially for Las Vegas casinos. Currently, visitors can inquire at box offices about shows with clips from the entertainment. Yet, that doesn’t do them justice. It’s another opportunity to immerse the guest. You could create an experience that ties in VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) so that visitors become part of the show. Fencing the space with video walls makes it even more impactful. It will catch their attention and make them ready to buy tickets, which could also be available through a kiosk.

For dining, AV technology can focus on the visuals of the food and what it’s like to dine in such a unique atmosphere. For example, the Stratosphere Casino in Las Vegas features the Top of the World restaurant sitting atop the tower. The restaurant actually moves, so guests get a 360-degree view of the Las Vegas strip and surrounding areas. Recreating something like this on the ground through VR, AR or other experiential technology would be highly engaging. In addition, including content about the menu will make guests eager to eat and experience such a distinct venue.

A Digital Art Experience

Immersion intersects nicely with digital art. MGM Cotai in Macau, China, wanted to redefine how visitors experienced art and entertainment, creating “The Spectacle.” It incorporates a collage of changing and shifting digital art engrossing customers in a contemporary, thought-provoking and exciting atmosphere.

The installation features the world’s largest indoor LED screens centered around the property’s atrium, with 25 LED walls capable of displaying images over four stories high. It’s a tightly integrated space that combines the robustness of AV technology and art.  

AV Technology and Casinos: Hitting the Jackpot

Your guests desire an engaging, inviting and exciting experience. Casinos have been providing this for decades, but now consumers demand more than the traditional glitz and glam. Updating and adding new AV technology provides you with all the pieces you need to draft a new canvas of experience. It starts with focusing on the “Total Experience” of hospitality and how AV technology can drive this and be a strategic investment for your casino.