The Casino of the Rockies Makeover: How, What & Why?

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The Casino of the Rockies is a small and largely inconsequential casino in the grand scheme of things. It is small, has no reputation for large scale events, has no famous patrons and is populated largely by slot machines and terminals that were made during the Pierre Trudeau administration. So why are we writing an article about it?

Because, the casino’s recent renovation and rebranding is indicative of a war that is currently waging in the casino industry: online vs land-based venues. For years the former has been winning easily, with customers being able to take their pick of exceptional games at the sites listed on casino.org/Canada/alberta/, comparison sites list all of the regulated providers in one place, making it easy for players to find trusted providers.

Land-based casinos, just like land-based retailers simply cannot compete with the variety and price points offered by their online counterparts. What they can do however, is maximize their area of strength which is the experience that they can offer customers.

In this article we take a look at the steps that the Casino of the Rockies has taken to realize this and hypothesis as to whether or not it’s a strategy that could finally start to wrestle back control from the remote sector.

The Casino of the Rockies Makeover Explained

Situated in Cranbook in British Columbia, this casino has always been a destination visit as it is seen as a gateway to the Rock Mountains. In decades gone by however, the casino has been largely unloved by owners who have been content to rely on the venue’s location and relative lack of competition as a means of maximizing profits.

The rise of online gambling though has posed an existential threat to the existence of the casino, prompting the owners to employ the services of I-5 Design Build to renovate the premises. The renovation and remodeling of the site has vastly improved the customer experience.

Not only is there a fresher and cleaner vibe to the casino, but the furnishings and décor have been chosen in a way that accentuates the building’s USP, that it is located in the famous Rocky Mountains.

Rather than looking cigarette stained and basic, the Casino of the Rockies now looks like a homely gateway to the famous natural mountain range and, most importantly, like somewhere that people will want to spend time in.

(Casino of the Rockies is located in such an idyllic location that it simply had to update its décor to reflect that.)

Why this Particular Makeover?

The approach used by I-5 Design Build to make the Casino of the Rockies more homely and almost like a stereotypical Rocky Mountain lodge was chosen to make the site a destination visit for casino lovers.

That’s purposeful and clever, because it is the one weapon that land-based casinos have in their arsenal that their online counterparts don’t. There isn’t an online casino on the planet, virtual reality powered or not, that can recreate the feeling that customers experience when they walk through the doors at Casino of the Rockies.

Sure, there are more slot machines available online, the chances of winning are higher and playing on your phone is certainly a lot easier than getting dressed up and traveling somewhere, but is it really as fulfilling?

That’s the question that land-based casinos like Casino of the Rockies are posing to customers, but will it work?

Future Prospects

Yes, we think so, and for reasons that you might find surprising. The events of March 2020 have traditionally been used to explain the boom in online retail and wagering, and of course that makes sense, to an extent.

With stores and casinos shutting their doors, people were left with no alternative than to enjoy their passions online. 4 years on however, the veil is slowly lifting. People are rediscovering the beauty of visiting stores and hunting for bargains.

Likewise they are rediscovering the powerful allure of visiting a land-based casino, and if other venues can follow the lead of Cranbrook’s premier casino then they will slowly but surely start to wrestle back market share from the online sector.

For the better part of a decade online providers have focused on the USP that they offer over land-based venues, now it’s time for bricks and mortar casinos to do exactly the same.

How do Other Casinos Follow in the Footsteps of the Casino of the Rockies?

It’s a lot easier for the Casino of the Rockies to remodel itself as a destination casino because it already was one. Situated in the heart of Canada’s most famous region, this venue already had a lot going in its favour.

So, how do casinos that aren’t situated on the precipice of the Rocky Mountains – or on the edge of the Niagara Falls as with another famous Canadian casino – turn themselves into must-visit destination casinos and tempt back online players? By taking some of the following steps:

Events

During the pandemic we found out that gaming online with friends was a great substitute for actually meeting up and socialising. There’s no denying that running around Verdansk with your headset on whilst chewing the fat with your friends was fun, but are you still doing it now?

Likewise, whilst many of us enjoyed our Zoom quizzes on a Saturday evening, when was the last time you did one? For the most of us, those activities that helped us through the pandemic have been consigned to the past.

As soon as restriction were lifted, people slowly began to remember just how fun it was to actually go out and socialise with their friends. How exciting it was to visit bars, eat good food and enjoy even better company.

The same principle applies to online gambling. Whilst it’s cheaper to play online and an awful lot more convenient, nothing compares to the buzz of playing at a table, in a stunning casino with your friends.

One way that land-based casinos can start to wrestle back customers from the online world is to focus heavily on events. Do this and gambling lovers will start to come to the same conclusion as Call of Duty and Zoom quiz fan did at the end of the pandemic – there’s no substitute for face-to-face contact.

(Warzone was great during the pandemic but since things have opened up again, the player base has moved on.)

Modernise/Adapt Décor

The traditional layout of a North American casino just screams 1980s. The overly ornate fixtures and fittings, the gauche sofas and gaming chairs and the unashamed attempts to plagiarise European architecture.

Millennials and the younger generations below them don’t particularly warm to this sort of décor and, as they are the ones most likely to be picking online casinos over land-based ones, renovations need to be tailored to them specifically.

Whilst the concept of ‘coolness’ is slowly becoming old fashioned itself, the principle behind it is not. Gambling fans from the younger generations are less likely to visit a land-based casino if they walk through the doors and find a building that looks like it’s more suited to their Mom and Dad’s tastes than their own.

Mixed Marketing

If you were to take a straw poll of 100 people on the street and ask them to list their top 5 relaxing methods of entertainment a very small number might just mention a casino game like poker, blackjack or roulette.

The majority would cite things like watching TV, meeting up with friends, playing video games or reading books. That’s because all of those activities are primary modes of entertainment, whereas gambling is a secondary mode of entertainment.

People gamble either for the thrill of winning large sums of money or as a means of escapism, the entertainment aspect is purely secondary. The online industry has used this to its advantage when it comes to advertising and marketing.

The adverts and commercials that you see on social media sites promoting online casinos almost always seem to focus on an aspect of gambling that is way more appealing than the actual act of gambling. Whether it be by focusing on large sums of money through winnings or portraying slot machines as video games.

This is an approach that land-based casinos can take and actually improve as they have far more to offer than their online counterparts. As well as hosting regular events and modernising their décor, land-based venues could and should be doing more to host non-gambling events.

Musical acts, comedy nights or even just straightforward parties are great primary modes of entertainment which get people through the door. Once that’s been done they will then be more likely to enjoy gambling, the secondary mode of entertainment.

In Summary

The Casino of the Rockies has, by taking some fairly simple steps, transformed itself as a destination casino. It has also made itself far more appealing to a younger demographic. Both of these have given the casino a far greater chance of wrestling back customers that it may have lost to the online sector.

Whilst not every casino in the country has the luxury of being located in an area of outstanding natural beauty, there are still things that they can do in terms of renovations and marketing to fight back against the online sector.

That’s not to say that the land-based sector should, or even could turn the tables completely. After all, there is plenty of room for both a health online gambling community and a healthy land-based one too.