Dedication

Acknowledgements

Forewords:

• William R. Eadington, Ph.D. read this forward
  Director, Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming
  University of Nevada-Reno
• Shannon Bybee, J.D. read this forward
  Executive Director, International Gaming Institute
  University of Nevada-Las Vegas

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PART I - Research and Findings - The Friedman International Standards of Casino Design

PREFACE - Conduct of the Research and Organization of the Findings

• Research Methods - Appendix A
• Factors that Affect Player Counts - Appendix B
• Evaluating Competitive Positions among Casinos - Appendix C
• Unique Natural Light Photographs of Current Casinos - Appendix D
• Development of the Friedman Principles

CHAPTER 1 - The Friedman Casino Design Principles

• Two Initial Findings and Their Monumental Implications
• The Definition of Casino Design - More than Decor
• General Design Principles Versus Specific Interiors
• A Summary of the Principles' Traits
• Predictive Power of the Friedman Design Principles
• Predicting a Proposed Casino's Financial Potential for Investors
• The Thirteen Friedman Design Principles
• Friedman International Standards of Casino Design-Rating System

CHAPTER 2 - Principle 1 - A Physically Segmented Casino beats a Completely Open Barn

• Initial Discovery - The Problems with Barn Designs
• Small, Early Nevada Casinos - 1930s-1960s
• Winning Principle 1 - Segmenting a Casino Diminishes the Barn Effect

CHAPTER 3 - Losing Principle 1 - Nevada's Completely Open Casino Barns

• The Fate of Nevada's Barn-Style Casinos
• The Six Earliest Large Nevada Casino Barns - Mid-1960s and 1970s
• The Large Strip Megaresort Barns of the 1990s
• Three Strip Casinos Expanded into Barns in the 1990s
• Five Rotunda-Shaped Casinos
• The Fate of the Seven Little Strip Barns
• Henderson Competition - The Rainbow and the Eldorado
• The Five Stateline Casinos
• Nevada's Earliest Tiny Barns - 1930s-1940s
• Harolds Barn Expansion - 1979
• Atlantic City's Casino Woes
• Harrah's New Orleans Bankruptcy
• The Cross-Cultural Impact of Casino Barns
• The Barn Effect in Small Ancillary Slot Operations

CHAPTER 4 - Principle 2 - Gambling Equipment Immediately Inside Casino Entrances Beats Vacant Raised Entrance Landings and Empty Lobbies

• Winning Principle 2 - The Ideal Entry
• Losing Principle 2 - Raised Landings Deter Potential Play
• Types of Raised Landings
• The Las Vegas Hilton and SpaceQuest, Bally's on the Strip, and the Reno Hilton
• The Riviera on the Strip
• The Sands on the Strip
• The Barbary Coast, the Stratosphere, the Hard Rock, and the Santa Fe
• Six Segmented Casinos With Raised Entrance Landings
• Six Casinos With Raised Interior Landings
• Nevada Designers' Penchant for Barns With Raised Landings
• Solutions for Interior Stair Landings
• Facilitating Traffic Flow With Stairs and Casino Drivers
• Solutions for Escalator Landings
• A Large Hotel Lobby Located in the Casino Entrance - Losing Principle 2
• A Sunken Area Within a Casino

CHAPTER 5 - Principle 3 - Short Lines of Sight Beat Extensive Visible Depth

• Winning Principle 3 - Short Sight Lines
• Losing Principle 3 - Long Sight Lines
• The Boundless Sea-of-Slots Effect - The Never-Ending Layout
• The Overcast-Sky Effect - A Low, Flat, Uninterrupted Ceiling
• Painted Ceilings - Blue Sky and White Clouds
• Ceiling Level Solutions - Multiple Soffit and Coffer Elevations
• Solutions With Other Types of Varying Elevations
• Solutions With Asymmetrical Floor Layout and Ceiling Design Combinations
• The Negative Effect of Long, Straight, Uninterrupted Passageways and Aisles
• High-Profile Slot Cabinets As Visual Barriers

CHAPTER 6 - Principle 4 - The Maze Layout beats Long, Wide, Straight Passageways and Aisles

• Principle 4: The Maze Versus Long Pathways
• Two Maze Styles - Short, Straight Walkways and Frequently Curving Ones
• Nevada's $1 Slot Play from 1970 to the Development of the Maze Slot Layout
• The First Modern Maze Slot Layout - Reno's Cal-Neva in 1978
• The Second and Third Maze Layouts - The Castaways and the Silver Slipper on the Strip in 1980
• Casino Appeal's Immediate Impact on Tourists
• The Casino Industry's Disregard of the Maze Layout's Tremendous Successes
• Ineffective Application of the Maze Concept Deters Traffic Flow and Potential Play
• Properly Integrating Layout Elements

CHAPTER 7 - The Many Advantages of the Maze Slot Layout

• Advantage 1 - Attracting Visitors Throughout the Entire Casino
• Advantage 2 - Focusing Visitors' Attention on the Gambling Equipment
• Advantage 3 - The Illusion of Being Crowded
• The Importance of Being Crowded - The Harolds/Cal-Neva Market Research, the Friedman Critical Headcount Mass Phenomenon, and Shills
• Advantage 4 - Enhancing Excitement By Being Crowded
• Advantage 5 - A Multitude of Small, Appealing Gambling Worlds
• Advantage 6 - Intensified Machine Loudness

CHAPTER 8 - Principle 5 - A Compact and Congested Gambling-Equipment Layout beats a Vacant and Spacious Floor Layout

• Winning Principle 5 - A Jam Packed and Cramped Floor Layout
• Losing Principle - A Spacious Floor Layout
• The Popularity of Congested and Compact Settings
• Advantage 7 - Maze Layout
• The Imagery of Spaciousness Versus Player Preference for Snugness
• Players' Desire for Compactness Can Complement Fire Safety

CHAPTER 9 - The Four Primary Interior Elements Found in Every Super Successful Nevada Casino

• Dominate or Be Dominated - The Four Most Relevant Winning Principles
• The Megaresorts' Weak Player-to-Visitor Ratios
• Ideal Interiors - Not the Famous and Glamorous, but the Busiest and Most Parasitic
• The First Outstanding Player-Appealing Interior - Harolds Reno
• The Four Largest Casinos in the 1960s-1980s - Harolds Reno, Harrah's Reno and Tahoe, and Harveys Tahoe
• Domination of the Strip - The Castaways and the Silver Slipper
• Two Later Reno Leaders - The Primadonna and the Cal-Neva
• Early Downtown Las Vegas Leaders - the Boulder, the Pioneer, and the Golden Nugget
• The Three Oldest Downtown Las Vegas Casinos - the El Cortez, the Horseshoe, and the Golden Gate

CHAPTER 10 - Principle 6 - An Organized Gambling-Equipment Layout With Focal Points of Interest beats a Floor Layout That Lacks a Sense of Organization

• Principle 6 - Organized Versus Disorganized
• Advantage 8 - Facilitating Traffic Flow - Maze Layout
• Advantage 9 - Directing Traffic Flow on Passageways into Gambling Aisles
• Large Department Stores and Disneyland Theme Parks Facilitate Traffic Flow
• Advantage 10 - Focal Points Facilitate Visitor Traffic Flow
• The Disneyland Design Goals
• Sitting Focal Points to Facilitate Traffic Flow and Emphasize Gambling Features
• Producing More Appealing Gambling Settings by Observing the Unique Qualities of Players
• Designing Effective and Strategically Located Focal Points
• Focal Point Architectural Element Variety
• Focal Point Design Diversity

CHAPTER 11 - Principle 7 - Segregated Sit-Down Facilities Beat Contiguous Ones

CHAPTER 12 - Principle 8 - Low Ceilings beat High Ceilings

• Ceiling Height's Powerful impact on Potential Play
• Ceiling Height and Player Count Interrelationships
• The Correlation Between Ceiling Height and Competitive Ranking
• Las Vegas Strip Casinos - Ceiling Heights
• Downtown Las Vegas Casinos - Ceiling Heights
• Las Vegas Neighborhood Casinos - Ceiling Heights
• Laughlin Casinos - Ceiling Heights
• Reno/Sparks Casinos - Ceiling Heights
• South Shore, Lake Tahoe, Casinos-Ceiling Heights

CHAPTER 13 - Principle 9 - Gambling Equipment As the Decor beats Impressive and Memorable Decorations

• Winning Principle 9 - The Gambling Equipment Is the Decor
• Losing Principle 9 - Decor Is Nothing but a Dramatic First Impression
• Only Players Matter
• Differentiating Casinos Through the Use of Decor
• Unforgettable interiors - But for Whom?
• The Woolworth Merchandising Approach
• Highlighting the Gambling Equipment
• Minimal Decor
• Unnoticed and Unremembered Decor

CHAPTER 14 - Extreme Examples of Decor - Beauty Versus Plainness

• The Uniqueness of the Golden Gate
• The Pioneer Versus the Golden Gate
• The Similarity of the Reno Nugget and the Golden Gate
• The Reno Nugget Versus the Flamingo Hilton Reno's Slot Arcade
• Beauty in Whose Eyes?
• Beauty Versus Ugly - The Demise of the Main Street Station
• The Main Street Station's Many Design Weaknesses
• The Friedman Design Principles Predict the Main Street Station's Failure
• The New Main Street Station
• The MGM Grand's Problems Were Foreshadowed By the Main Street Station's
• Accurately Predicting Casino Success in the 1990s Using the Friedman Design Principles

CHAPTER 15 - Designers and Design Decision-Makers - Hung Up on Personal Taste

• Designers Are Unaware of Their Influence on Player Counts
• Today's Emphasis on the Losing Principles
• Rating Interior Designers By Player Counts at Their Previous Projects
• Design Decision-Makers' Ignorance of Their Gambling Product
• Players Define Casino Ambiance

CHAPTER 16 - Principle 10 - Standard Decor beats Interior Casino Themes

• To Theme or Not to Theme
• How Nevada's Therned Resort Casinos Have Fared
• The Performance of Nevada's Quasi-Themed Resort Casinos
• The Curb Appeal of Four Effective Strip Exteriors

CHAPTER 17 - Principle 11 - Pathways Emphasizing the Gambling Equipment beat the Yellow Brick Road

• Accentuating the Equipment Versus the Yellow Brick Road The Mirage's Yellow Brick Road
• Typical Visitor Traffic Flow Patterns on a Yellow Brick Road
• The Main Street Station and MGM Grand Yellow Brick Roads

CHAPTER 18 - Lighting, Signage and Canopies, and Sound

• Functional or Task Lighting
• Directional Signage
• Gambling Promotional Signage
• Strategic Sign Placement and Design
• Sign and Canopy Lighting - Motion, Intensity, and Excitement
• Decorative Lighting as an Attraction
• Highlighting the Gambling Activity
• Light Dimmers and Security Locks
• Down Lights
• Casino Cage Lighting
• Sound Volume Versus Noise
• Casinos With Noisy Hard Surfaces
• Acoustically Reflecting Surfaces and the Sounds of Gambling
• Entertainment Lounge Acoustics and Lighting

CHAPTER 19 - Carpet, Chairs, Arm Rests, Temperature, Smoke, and Player Comfort

• Carpet - Colors and Patterns
• Carpet - Player Comfort
• Seating Comfort and Diversity
• Table Surfaces and Rim Covers
• Temperature Control
• The Special Needs of Live Poker Players
• Cigarette Smoke

CHAPTER 20 - Winning Principle 12 - Perception beats Reality

• Height/Depth Perspective
• Adding Hoods, Canopies, and Signage to Lower Perceived Height
• Decorations Below Ceiling Level
• Structural Posts and Perceived Gambling Ambiance

CHAPTER 21 - Losing Principle 12 - Exterior Casino Design and Perception

• The Relationship Between Perception and Image
• The Approach to the Property
• A Fanciful Marquee Versus an Information Billboard
• Entry into the Property
• Directional Signage Assists Traffic Flow on the Property
• Entry to the Parking Area and Ease of Parking
• The Walk from the Car to the Casino
• The Casino Entrance/Exit
• Seeing Everything from the Visitors' Perspective
• The Fremont Street Experience Versus the Stratosphere Tower
• The Visitors' View of the Establishment
• The Sands' Intimidating Pedestrian Entrance

CHAPTER 22 - Principle 13 - Multiple Interior Settings and Gambling Ambiances beat a Single Atmosphere Throughout

• The Advantages of Multiple Gambling Worlds
• Nevada's First Large Casinos Offered Multiple Settings
• Disney's Theme Parks Offer Multiple Environments
• Ineffective Multiple Interior Designs Cause Disparate Player Counts

CHAPTER 23 - Designing a New Casino Interior

• Goals and Initial Phases
• Traffic Flow into Dead-Ends
• Coordinating Food Functions
• Situating Entrances to Casino Drivers Around the Gambling Areas
• Any Shaped Gambling Area Will Do
• Placing the Gambling Equipment
• The Classic Pit Layout
• Live Poker in Main Traffic Flows
• Games That Share the Same Players
• The Final Two Design Phases
• Lounges to Entertain Gamblers
• Location of the Cashier's Cage

CHAPTER 24 - The Friedman Design Principles Also Apply to Restaurants and Bars

• Segmented Restaurants
• Restaurant Table Spacing
• Enclosed, Intimate Casino Bars Versus Open Island Bars
• Soffitry Over Casino Island Bars
• Multi-tiered Floor Levels
• Outdoor Decor Lacks Player Appeal

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PART II - Applying the Principles to the Casinos of Nevada: The Friedman International Standards of Casino Design

Las Vegas Strip Map

CHAPTER 25 - The Twenty-Seven Major Strip Casinos

CHAPTER 26 - Weak Long-Term Performance - The Las Vegas Hilton and Bally's

• Las Vegas Hilton
• SpaceQuest Casino
• Bally's Las Vegas

CHAPTER 27 - The Desert Inn-Frontier Crosswalk Strip Casinos

• Desert Inn
• Frontier

CHAPTER 28 - The North-End Strip Casinos

• Riviera
• Circus Circus Las Vegas
• Stardust
• Westward Ho
• Stratosphere

CHAPTER 29 - The Small Strip Casinos

• Slots-A-Fun
• Silver City
• Barbary Coast
• Nickel Town at the Riviera
• Hard Rock

CHAPTER 30 - The Middle Strip Casinos

• Mirage
• Treasure Island
• Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas
• Caesars Palace Las Vegas
• Harrah's Las Vegas
• Aladdin

CHAPTER 31 - The South-End Strip Casinos

• MGM Grand
• Excalibur
• Luxor
• Tropicana Las Vegas
• Monte Carlo
• New York-New York

CHAPTER 32 - The Downtown Las Vegas Casinos

• Map of Downtown Las Vegas Casinos
• Horseshoe Las Vegas
• El Cortez
• Golden Gate
• Golden Nugget Las Vegas
• Four Queens
• Fremont
• Fitzgeralds Las Vegas
• California
• Lady Luck Las Vegas
• Main Street Station
• Union Plaza
• Las Vegas Club

CHAPTER 33 - The Boulder Highway Neighborhood Casinos

• Showboat Las Vegas
• Sam's Town Las Vegas
• Boulder Station
• Sunset Station
• Reserve

CHAPTER 34 - The West of the Strip Neighborhood Casinos

• Palace Station
• Gold Coast
• Orleans
• Rio and Masquerade Village
• Arizona Charlie's

CHAPTER 35 - The Rancho Drive Neighborhood Casinos

• Santa Fe
• Fiesta
• Texas Station

CHAPTER 36 - The Laughlin Casinos

• Gold River
• Ramada Express
• Harrah's Del Rio
• Flamingo Hilton Laughlin
• Colorado Belle
• Edgewater
• Riverside
• Golden Nugget Laughlin
• Pioneer

CHAPTER 37 - The South Shore, Lake Tahoe Casinos

• Horizon
• Caesars Tahoe
• Bill's
• Harrah's Tahoe
• Harveys Tahoe

CHAPTER 38 - The Isolated Reno/Sparks Casinos

• Reno Hilton
• Sparks Nugget
• Silver Club
• Peppermill
• Hyatt Regency at North Shore, Lake Tahoe
• Atlantis
• Boomtown Reno
• Map of Reno/Sparks Casinos

CHAPTER 39 - The Reno Downtown Core Casinos

• Silver Legacy
• Eldorado
• Circus Circus Reno
• Harrah's Reno
• Club Cal-Neva
• Fitzgeralds Reno
• Flamingo Hilton Reno
• Reno Nugget

Contacting the Author

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PART III - Conduct of the Research and Background Information: The Friedman International Standards of Casino Design

APPENDIX A - Research Methods

• Twenty Years of Investigative Research
• Nevada's Casinos-The Quintessential Laboratory
• Competition Among Nevada's Major Casinos
• Objective and Quantitative Research Analysis

APPENDIX B - Factors That Affect Player Counts

• The Influence of Location
• Significance of Interior Design
• Interior Design Supersedes Marketing
• Comparing Locations-Results of the Stardust and Tropicana
• Importance of Hotel Rooms
• Monopolistic Casinos Have Competition Too

APPENDIX C - Evaluating Competitive Positions Among Casinos

• Quantitative Analysis of Casino Competitive Positions
• A Casino's Potential Popularity Versus Its Actual Popularity
• Casino Win
• Slot-Win, Total Slots, Slot-Occupancy Rate, and Average Slot Win
• Slot-to-Room Ratio and Player-to-Room Ratio
• The Best Indicator of Profit Potential- The Player-to-Visitor Ratio
• Player Count Methodology
• Estimating Competitors' Player Counts
• Data Sources

APPENDIX D - Unique Natural Light Photographs of Current Casinos

• The Casino Interior Photographs
• The Photographic Panorama
• Two-Dimensional Photographs
• No-Flash Photography
• Disparate Light Levels
• Artificial Lighting and Filters
• Photographing at Slow Times
• Masking the Photograph Faces
• The Photographing Time Frame

TABLE A - Measurements of Interior Physical and Sensory Characteristics

Glossary

CONTACT US

bill@friedmandesign.com

THE FRIEDMAN MANAGEMENT GROUP

Phone: +(775) 372-1271

P. O. Box 373, Amargosa Valley, Nevada 89020, USA

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