Anyone who has been to a casino knows exactly why casinos are an adult’s playground, but in this nocturnal world, is there room for a strange mixture of the casino life and videogames?
Before we get into it, let’s talk casinos.
American casinos are a very prominent Western achievement to say the least. The US alone has made about 50% of international income made from casinos (which is to say a lot of people seemingly like losing at the tables). Las Vegas, with more than 40 casinos on the strip alone, is the prime destination in the States for casino tourism. That doesn’t count the endless amount of casinos that dot the entire Vegas valley. Hell, in Nevada, 7-11’s have enough slot machines to maintain a gaming license.
So, what can we gather from this? People love games, and they love to play games hard. This is the universal truth every club promoter and tourism ad agency will exploit to get business because it’s easy.
The same can be said of video games. In a constantly shifting casino games environment where exciting, suspenseful multiplayer competition is quickly becoming the norm, gamers are finding more and more reason to really get invested in competitive online communities like Black Ops III or NBA 2K16.
On the whole, the gaming and non-gaming worlds alike are beginning to see this. Although many people may have laughed when thinking of eSports as a real possibility years ago, now it is not only accepted but sought out and embraced.
Casinos, with their constant eye on the pulse of entertainment, are beginning to understand this potential.
Las Vegas Weekly even recently reported the Downtown Grand wanted to be a constant gaming convention outlet. Back in November, the Grand said they wanted “to become the premiere video game and eSports destination, which is really something that doesn’t exist today.” GameWorks, a local arcade destination located south of the Strip in a shopping location called Town Square, already hosts open weekly tournaments for many MOBA’s (multi-player online).
That seems to only be the beginning when companies like Turner Broadcasting, ESPN, Twitch and YouTube all strive to make these tournaments and matches more accessible to an open audience.
And speaking of an open audience, although games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends seem to want to steal the show in terms of popularity, it’s only a matter of time before great sports games like Madden 16, NHL 16 and even Forza Motorsport 6 blaze onto the gambling scene.
Either way, the idea of going into a casino, taking a seat at an open eSports betting venue and ordering a drink before placing bets on fan-favorite international teams is a winning combination in any book.
