Las Vegas: A Post-Covid Landscape

Analysis and Research into Customer Behavior in a Covid and Post-Covid Environment

The REPORT

Executive Summary & Highlights

2021 will prove an inflection point to future Las Vegas. After every crisis there has been winners and losers and this time is no different. History and analysis instruct us that there is a clear pathway for business success – and a well-worn road to decline.

Current actions include prioritizing health and safety and operational efficiencies. However, a reactionary approach is unsustainable, especially as Las Vegas faces greater competitive pressures for all customers, both with the advent of regional casinos for the gaming customers and more destinations for conventions and business travelers.

Industry respondents note that this is a crisis like no other. There has been a collapse in customer demand (particularly mid-week), due to the inability for many visitors to access the market, and few ways of stimulating demand. Compounding this problem is that there is no horizon to recovery, which limits future planning.

We researched customer behaviors and attitudes from over 1,000 respondents, providing research findings with a Confidence Level of 95% with a margin of error of 2.8%.

Over 50% of Las Vegas customers will continue their past activities with moderate variation of behavior, such as wearing a mask. A secondary group will resume past behaviors once they have been vaccinated or a treatment is proven. A smaller amount will only return to normal gaming activities 12 months after delivery of an effective vaccine.

The data obtained shows valuable insights into future customer behavior, however the real value is in understanding the nuances that sit within the various segments identified, highlighting the real conflicts in behavior and attitudes between different customers.

Based on the analysis we have identified Phase I (during Covid) and Phase II (post-Covid) scenarios for an effective recovery.

We conclude that even in the face of great uncertainty, if there is an understanding of customer behavior – or anticipating customer needs, whether functional, transactional or emotional - and a method to communicate these coherently - then there is a clear path for business success.

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The Authors

“The challenges facing Las Vegas are great and the current responses are varied. For success we need be strategic, rather than tactical. For this report, some of the leading researchers and consultants in gaming and hospitality spent several months assembling primary research and industry insights. We set about compiling all the information required to form a pathway to accelerate recovery, avoiding the mistakes that were made in previous decades.” - O. Lovat

Oliver Lovat - CEO, Denstone Group

Lovat is CEO of the Denstone Group, an executive level consultancy with a focus in customer-facing, asset backed businesses. He has undertaken over 100 development projects across Europe and America. Based in Las Vegas, Lovat is visiting Faculty at City, University of London Business School and is a thought leader in the fields of strategy and resort development, with published research on hospitality, casino and development strategy.

He writes for Gambling Insider, Global Gaming Business and Gaming America magazines. He has also presented at The UNLV Education Series, G2E, ICE, International Casino Conference and has led the marketing track at The World Gaming Executive Summit. He is Vice President at The Economic Club of Las Vegas.

Lovat is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He holds a BA (Hons) Social Science, Politics and International Relations, MSc in Real Estate Investment and an MBA where his thesis researched Strategic Competitive Advantage in Las Vegas Casino Resorts.

David G Schwartz - Executive Vice President and Provost, UNLV

Dr Schwartz is a leading gaming historian, professor and the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He studies gambling and casinos, video games, popular culture, Las Vegas, tourism, and higher education.

He is also executive director of the Far West Popular Culture Association. Dr Schwartz has written several books, including; At the Sands, Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas, Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling, and Boardwalk Playground: The Making, Unmaking, & Remaking of Atlantic City. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey,

Dr Schwartz earned his bachelor’s degree (a double major in anthropology and history) as well as his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania before receiving his doctorate in US History from UCLA.

Brent Pirosch - Director of Gaming Consulting, CBRE Global Gaming Group

Pirosch is the director of gaming consulting for CBRE’s global gaming group in Las Vegas.

Pirosch has been working in the industry for 20 years, with management experience in finance, marketing, sales, casino operations, human resources, and hotel operations.

He has co-authored several widely read and respected forecasts for the Las Vegas Strip and completed gaming and retail consulting assignments in a variety of jurisdictions around the world, including studies in the major U.S. Markets of Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the gulf coast and most regional US markets. He has compiled research and in international jurisdictions of Macau, Singapore, Hungary, Morocco, Spain, and Belize.

Pirosch holds a BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.

Chris White - CEO, Blanc Canvass Consulting

White is a 20+ year commercial development professional with focus on hospitality, entertainment, attractions, and gaming.

Through his consulting company, Blanc Canvass, Chris serves as the COO of Brooklyn Bowl and has executed numerous engagements across the Las Vegas market working with Caesars, Golden Entertainment, The Cosmopolitan and VICI Properties, among others.

While Director of Resort Development with Caesars Entertainment, Chris led the conceptual development and financing for The Linq promenade and High Roller observation wheel.

Originally from New York, White held finance positions in distressed debt investment with John A. Levin & Co. and within the global technology investment banking team at Lehman Brothers. He is an honors graduate of the Stern School of Business at New York University where he received a BS in Finance and Economics.

Josh Swissman - Founding Partner, The Strategy Organization

Swissman is a founding partner of The Strategy Organization, a modern gaming and hospitality consulting firm. Prior to that, he served as Chief Marketing Officer with Station Casinos. Earlier in his career, Swissman advanced through leadership roles in Marketing with MGM Resorts International, in roles expanding beyond traditional boundaries to lead strategic initiatives that ultimately had an impact organization wide; increasing revenue, decreasing costs, leveraging scale and improving capabilities.

He is an active committee member of the United Way of Southern Nevada Marketing Committee, Member of the UNLV Hospitality International Advisory Board, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Leadership Las Vegas Gaming & Tourism Committee member and the Vice-Chair of the Clark County School District School-Community Partnership Program Advisory Council.

Swissman earned his MBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.