The Asian Floor Is Not a Western Floor With Baccarat

Asian gaming markets are usually described in terms of revenue. The archive describes them in terms of plan, and the differences are large enough that a Las Vegas floor plate transplanted to Macau would be wrong in almost every dimension.

The ratio, in one credit line

Start with a number. Oceanus, in A Better Bubble, offers 269 tables and 569 slot machines. Roughly two machines per table.

An American regional floor of the same era would run ten, twenty or more machines per table. That single ratio changes everything downstream: floor area per position, staffing, surveillance density, cash handling, seat geometry, lighting levels and the amount of standing space around each game. A table-led floor is a room full of groups; a machine-led floor is a room full of individuals.

The atmosphere is built low and enclosed

The Asian Equation states the interior principle plainly: Low ceiling heights help create an intimate, cozy, warm and sophisticated mood.

That is the reverse of the Las Vegas instinct toward height and spectacle, and it is consistent with a table game played by a seated group who want the room to end at the edge of their attention. See the ceiling is doing the wayfinding for what a designer does with an imposed low ceiling.

Differentiation came from breaking the norm

Asian Appeal, written as the market opened, is explicit that the winners were the buildings that refused the template. On the arrival of international operators: The Sands Macau was the first departure from the norm, with a truly different and dramatic design that has created huge loyalty among its customers. And on the incumbent's answer: SJM, the former monopoly holder, created a fantasy with the Grand Lisboa that speaks to its customers like no other casino.

The same story frames the market opening itself — by opening up Macau to international development, rather than the former monopoly status afforded to SJM for many years, the Chinese government has given the community a second bite at the apple — which is the regulatory event that produced twenty years of design competition.

Theme is segmentation, not decoration

Shooting for the Stars describes the "Asian-centric" theme of the property as designed to appeal to Macau's largest customer base, the Chinese and other Asian cultures. The theme is a targeting decision with a named audience, which is how it differs from the borrowed theming of an earlier Las Vegas — see theming didn't die, it got specific.

Resorts, not casinos

The flagship Asian projects in the archive are integrated resorts in which the floor is one component among many. Iconic and Profitable covers a $5.7 billion property whose attractions include an outdoor amphitheatre for over 10,000 and commissioned work by Gormley, Carpenter and LeWitt. Shooting for the Stars describes a resort deck of several pools, tropical and Japanese gardens, a traditional Japanese tea pavilion and private cabanas… attractive for private and corporate functions. The Art of the Resort calls Marina Bay Sands a MICE-led integrated resort where there is so much more… than just the gaming aspect.

MICE-led is the operative phrase. Where a licence is granted on a promise of tourism and conference infrastructure, the casino is the part that pays for a building whose purpose is stated as something else.

The delivery structure is different too

Credit blocks on the Asian projects show a consistent split: an international design practice paired with a local architect of record and a regional contractor. A Better Bubble credits Steelman Partners as design firm for an SJM property; Iconic and Profitable credits Ssangyong Engineering & Construction; Sweet Dreams pairs ASYA Design Partners as architect of record with Leighton Contractors on a $1.3 billion Philippine resort; Shooting for the Stars names Gary Goddard Entertainment Design, Alan Chan Design and Shanghai Construction Group on one job.

Three or four practices across two continents is the norm here, not an exception. See how to read a credit block.

It is now a requirement everywhere else

Young Dragons turns the subject back on the American regional market: For some regional casinos, a few observed baccarat tables and a handful of Chinese-speaking staff may currently suffice.

Currently is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and it is meant to. A property serving an Asian-American customer base with a token provision is running the same risk the Macau incumbents ran in 2008 — competing against operators who designed for that customer from the plan up rather than adding tables to a floor drawn for somebody else.