The hi-tech future of gaming
Directions 2001 Conference emphasizes the importance of state-of-the-art entertainment
The future of casino gaming, of both land-based and internet gaming, lies on the industry’s ability to provide visitors with hi-tech entertainment. At the recent Directions 2001conference in Reno, community and business leaders were told that the city's (and the future of the industry as a whole) future economy depends on its ability to provide tourists with hi-tech entertainment.
Donald Marinelli, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, told conference attendees that the casino industry needs to update its concept of entertainment. The Y-Generation has grown up on hi-tech, virtual-reality games and the Internet, and this group will become the casinogoers of tomorrow. Marinelli asks, “What is the thrill of coming to a casino when that's the entertainment you are accustomed to? Just sitting at a slot machine is not enough. ''Marinelli stated that the casino industry should invest now in the development of new, high-tech entertainment. "They need to get on the cutting edge," he said. "They should be right there developing the technology."
Bill Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, said that technology places new demands on education and training. Attracting new business will require a qualified work force. Daggett criticized the old-style education systems that are not suited to meeting the needs of the hi-tech world. ''It simply is not going to happen unless you have a world-class education system and a world-class training system,'' he said.
Although the conference was focused on the challenges of the Reno-based industry, the entire industry needs to rethink its concept of entertainment to keep up to pace with the rapidly changing demands of the 21st century entertainment seekers. According to Marinelli, casinos should become a forum for the introduction of new, hi-tech entertainment and invest in its development. "They need to get on the cutting edge," he said. "They should be right there developing the technology."
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