Strip a small presence at esports conference
More regional operators than Las Vegas ones
If Strip casino operators are interested in attracting esports to their establishments, they didn’t show it at the first Casino Esport Conference.
The conference, held at the Westgate on Thursday and Friday, aimed to bring people from the casino and esports industries into one room to explore how casinos could integrate and monetize esport tournaments.
The two-day closed event featured eight panels to discuss such issues as regulation, marketing and tournaments. Missing from the panels and audience, which numbered about 175, was a big presence from Strip operators.
Representatives from regional gaming operators, including Native American casinos, well outnumbered those from Las Vegas establishments, said conference producer Ben Fox.
Regional casinos “have a tendency to make their decisions quicker and easier because they don’t have to answer to the heirarchy of the old school,” Fox said. “It is extremely hard to turn a battleship.”
While esports and Las Vegas casinos may seem to go together, the two have been slow to form closer ties. MGM Resorts International announced this year that it would construct an esports arena, the first Strip casino operator to do so.
Many esport participants are younger than 21, which prevents them from playing on casino floors or consuming alcohol. Strip hotels can be pricey for young gamers.
The Tropicana in Atlantic City recently hosted an esports tournament on a weekend. The room rates were about $200, and no players stayed there, said esport consultant and panel moderator Mike Chapman.
Chapman said it is not enough to attract the esports community by hosting tournaments. If the casino doesn’t create the equivalent of a college football “tailgate” environment, people like himself will just watch it via livestreaming.
“If you are going to convince me to leave my nice apartment in Phoenix and come to Vegas to watch a tournament, it needs to be fun other than watching a competition,” Chapman said.
Downtown Grand Chairman Seth Schorr was very bullish about the outlook for esports, saying the industry could eventually become as big as the National Football League.
“It is a real possibility because of the media consumption,” said Schorr. “If that trajectory is a trend, then in 10 years from now it is going to compete with major sports” in terms of popularity and revenue generation, Schorr told the audience.
Contact Todd Prince at tprince@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.