Video game tourneys are back
Agua Caliente offers prizes, hopes to draw nongamblers
The typical casino client may look for the best spot to play poker or bingo, or test their luck on the slot machines. Yet, recent Wednesday nights at Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City welcomed a different kind of player: the video game enthusiast.
The casino’s sports bar began hosting weekly eSports After Dark tournaments in partnership with the Coachella Valley-based esports company Conflux Gaming in late May.
Guests played popular titles such as Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart and Street Fighter V on the bar’s enormous screens for chances to win prizes and advance to finals based on their performance during the eightweek tournament.
Jay Bednar, nightlife entertainment manager at the Agua Caliente properties, said esports tournaments first began in 2018 at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage. Bednar said they used to be limited to six rounds and would end the same night.
After determining which titles were the most popular, Bednar helped expand the events in 2019 to 32-person, bracket-style tournaments where one gamer plays another and the person who wins moves on to battle someone else. In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic
Bar 360Sports at Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City hosts a weekly eSports After Dark tournament. The casino is holding the tournaments on-site again after the pandemic forced players to move online. forced the suspension of many in-person activities, but that didn’t stop the players from moving online.
Last year, Bednar said, the casino relaunched the event in person with DJ performances and averaged about 250 people a night. Luxor in Las Vegas also incorporated video game tournaments and found success, which Bednar said opens up the doors to a different kind of guest.
“We used it initially to speak to a brand new demographic and feed the funnel, so to speak, for the future of Agua Caliente’s clientele,” he said.
Agua Caliente’s tournaments have featured titles like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter V.
While esports events tend to attract a younger crowd, they also provoke curiosity from other guests at the casino. Bednar said staff heard comments from older guests about how far video games have come, and personal stories about how their relatives play for leisure or professionally.
“I’ve seen the whole family come in,” Bednar said. “The father and mother come in for dinner and play on the casino floor while their son plays video games at the sports bar.”
While the pandemic continues to shift between surges and lulls, each player that shows up for the competition takes a different level of caution. Bednar said Agua Caliente provides sanitizing stations, and most players bring customized remotes from home, while some prefer masks and others don’t. He also said guests are happy to compete and socialize in person after the limitations imposed by pandemic measures.
“I think they enjoy being back together,” Bednar said. “We’ve always looked at it as the next level of social gaming, and it seems like the crowd and community appreciates it.”
As for the future of esports, the casino plans to bring back another eightweek tournament in August for guests 18 or older. Bednar said most tournaments fill up, so registering at the casino’s website is the safest bet to guarantee a piece of the action. Guests could also register in person if any spots are available on a specific night.
“Our esports activity will continue to evolve,” Bednar said. “I know Agua Caliente as a whole views it as a way to speak to a future clientele and get them comfortable coming to our properties.”