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Dike Bacon, Principal/Planning and Business Development LeaderHBG Design

There is an old saying in thegaming industry – ‘The most impor-tant customer is the one you don’thave.’ This is just as true today as itwas 25 years ago. It is important toconstantly study social, cultural andeconomic changes in search ofimportant influences that will guide client investment and designdirections.

2019 will be an interesting yearof contrasts. The gaming industryhas had the significant benefit of

riding a historic economic tailwind, but that may start tochange. As the national economy evolves and potentially tightens,so may the wallets of the guests. Discretionary entertainmentpurchase decisions will continue to be more informed andselective. Guests will be willing to indulge on some higher-endexperiences, but only for very specific things. Luxury, or at theleast the perception of exclusivity, will continue to be a resortdifferentiator. The caveat is that guests will desire a luxury experience, but won’t necessarily want to pay for it. They willbe willing to make certain trade-offs. As an example, guest roomswill continue to trend smaller in square footage, but will havehigher levels of design, finish, and technology. Guests willcontinue to dine out. As resort operators curate and offermore unique localized food and beverage offerings, margins willcontinue to improve. But all F&B offerings don’t have to becustom. The inclusion of national chef-driven brands andemerging regional brands will continue to be a strong trend.

Technology will continue to condition people to demandmore convenience. In-room technology that is complex or confusing can have the opposite effect. The incorporation oftechnology in the guestroom should be simple and easy tounderstand. Guestroom technology should be intuitive and userfriendly. Guests will continue to become more engaged witha property and will demand a more effortless and personalizedexperience. In a recent national hotel survey, 60% of hotel guestssaid they want higher quality service and a better overall ‘experience.’ This has produced things like the artificial intelligence driven chatbot called ‘Ivy.’ Ivy has already beenimplemented in some casino resorts. Ivy is powered by IBM’s

Watson platform and has the potential of handling over 90% of guest requests. Watson is a question answering machine.One of the most interesting results of the guest/Ivy interactionis the amount of valuable data gathered about the guest’s resortexperience.

The future success of the Indian gaming industry will bedependent on providing experiences that have cross generationalappeal. One of the most interesting emerging generational connectors is health. The flagged hospitality industry continuesto devote more and more attention to wellness as a differen-tiator. Wellness attributes can include things like increased soundattenuation, better artificial lighting and natural lighting, highquality air filtration, and organic materials. Implementingproducts and experiences that have cross generational appealwill continue to be one of the strongest trends for years to come.

Tracy Burris, Member of the ChickasawNation and Gaming Commissioner forViejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians

In 2018 the Supreme Courtruled on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act(PASPA) of 1992. They ruled judi-cially in favor of states in overturn-ing the legal status of regulatingsports betting. We will continue towait and see how state legislatorsand congressional lawmakers willhandle this through the legislativebodies, hopefully to benefit thetribes or through their compacts.

There are two California tribesthat have filed lawsuits against several California card rooms –case # 37-2018-000581-CU-NP-CTL. Of primary concern isthe definition used for years to describe the play and themethod of delivery of this system of play.

Oklahoma tribes are getting ready to address the 2020compact renewal process and what terms will be discussed andaddressed – or if it will even be addressed by the tribes goingforward, because if it isn’t broke don’t mess with it.

We now have new leadership at the Bureau of IndianAffairs. The new Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs is TaraSweeney and now we wonder what that will bring to this federal agency – perhaps more timely action by the agency, suchas land-into-trust, most important for the majority of tribes.

We asked members of our Editorial Advisory Board to share their insights and predictions for 2019. Here is what they had to say…

Spotlight on 2019 and Beyond

Dike Bacon

Tracy Burris

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We are waiting to see if the Administration will keep or replacethe NIGC Chairman Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri, whoseterm was up in April of 2018, while trying to anticipate the issuesthe agency will list as a priority in 2019. I believe that Chairman Chaudhuri’s priority was “gamesmanship,” to deterthe ploys and tactics to gain advantage of tribes by vendors, management teams and others. He has had some success in dealing with this.

There will be a need for tribes to be alert as ever of bothfederal and state legislators from both parties, as we have seenin the past 30 years of IGRA.

Michael Capen, Director of Client ServicesGaming Laboratories International

I am confident that 2019 will befilled with excitement, opportunity,and change throughout IndianCountry. I’m optimistic because ofthe recent ruling by the U.S.Supreme Court striking down theProfessional and Amateur SportsProtection Act (PASPA), which hasopened the door for Indian Nationsto start looking at sports betting asanother gaming option to offer theirclientele. A few tribes have alreadybeen leading the way in implement-

ing sports betting in such states as Mississippi and New Mexico. I believe that other tribes will surely follow as morestates will pass laws that allow sports betting in 2019. This willpresent both opportunities and challenges, as well as raisequestions needing to be addressed.

In my view, the first question that tribes will need to answeris: “Is sports betting right for me and how does it fit in withthe other forms of gaming that I am offering?” While this mayseem like an easy question, it is really involved and requires alot of research on what sports betting will bring in potentialrevenue and new customers versus the risks involved.

The next question I would ask is: “How do I protect theintegrity of gaming once I add sports betting to my gamingmix?” This is an area where tribes excel as they already haveexpertise in adopting technical and minimum internal controlstandards. I believe they can leverage this expertise to establish the controls and safeguards they will need to protecttheir gaming enterprise.

Another question that will need to be answered is: “Whodo I work with to set up my sportsbook and educate my staff?”A tribe may have many vendors to choose from to provide avariety of services, such as their sportsbook trading platform,data, and risk management software, and training for both

regulatory and casino staff. However, because of the complexnature of sports wagering, this will more than likely be a seriesof multiple decisions as one vendor may not provide all of theservices required.

These are some of the many questions I think tribes shouldbe asking when considering establishing sports wagering operations. As I look toward 2019, I am confident that we willsee tribes being at the forefront as sports betting is implementedacross the U.S.

Beth Deighan, PresidentCasino Careers and Gaming Hospitality Executive Placement

As we near the end of 2018, HRmanagement teams (both in largeand small Native American gamingentities) are reviewing the year'srecruiting practices to determinewhat worked best and where thefocus will be in 2019. I reached outto the top HR executives in severalof the most successful gaming enterprises to determine what theirpriorities will be.

Some are implementing myriadrecruitment marketing strategies to

nurture and attract talented individuals to their organizations,and almost all indicated that leveraging technology, advancedanalytics, and process design/integration will be key to theirstrategic plan.

The merger/acquisitions and new facilities of the past yearwill necessitate a focus on company branding. Organizationswill strive to communicate their company's reputation and popularity as an employer, and its employee value proposition,as opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation andvalue to customers. LinkedIn's research indicates that 75% ofjob seekers research a company’s reputation and employerbrand before applying.

Some employers are evaluating their "candidate experience”to ensure current, past and potential future candidates’ willhave a positive overall perception of their company’s recruitingprocess (from sourcing and screening to interviewing, hiring andonboarding). The goal is to manage and improve relationshipswith current and potential future job candidates – a process thatwill strengthen employee referral programs.

Companies located in areas where gaming is oversaturatedwill strive to develop talent pools by tapping internal andexternal databases, which include candidates that have appliedfor jobs, were sourced, or referred by other team members.

HR departments are working with marketing departments

Michael Capen Beth Deighan

to use social media channels and networks for recruiting onFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.), as well as websites such as blogs, forums, and niche job boards, to attractactive job seekers and passive candidates who are interested intrends related to compensation packages, or who want to workin the gaming/hospitality technology industry.

Most organizations are implementingan automation of the recruiting processthat integrates both applicant trackingsoftware and recruitment marketing solu-tions under one platform to streamline,simplify and automate the hiring process.This includes using HR analytics to studyrecruiting methods and determine whichhiring strategies are working well, andwhich ones have room for improvement.

The U.S. unemployment rate in October 2018 was 3.7 percent, unchangedfrom the previous month's 49-year low;leaving most HR departments confrontedwith a tight labor pool. Some non-gamingcorporations are even eliminating drugtesting required for THC, which maymotivate gaming entities to considerstreamlining their gaming licensure procedure to remain competitive.

Progressive organizations will meetthese challenges by predicting potentialfuture skill gaps and identifying candi-dates who will fulfill and support the company's future needs and goals.

Grant Eve, PartnerWipfli/Joseph Eve

An exciting year awaits gaming in 2019thanks in part to changes in regulations andcontinued rapid changes in technology.With the Professional and Amateur SportsProtection Act (PASPA) declared uncon-stitutional in May, states can now establishtheir own regulated sports betting. Manystates have already passed or are workingon legislation for sports gaming. Illegalsports betting is a multibillion-dollar racketin the U.S., and now that states, commer-cial operators and tribes can bring legalsports betting to their jurisdictions, whatwas once a racket is being transformedinto a legal, regulated market with largeprofit potential. How it is regulated, and

the fees involved, will be important items to monitor this year.Corruption, both internally and externally, have been raised asconcerns.

Outside of Nevada, this is “new business” for the U.S., andregulatory challenges will occur, including issues surroundingregulatory fees, Title 31/AML compliance, corruption and

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bribery, payment processing, identitytheft (mobile betting) and bankingconsiderations. Fortunately, regu-lators have a world of experience todraw upon, gleaning intelligencefrom jurisdictions around the globewhere sports betting has been legalfor decades.

In November 2017, the U.S.Department of Treasury namedKenneth Blanco as Director of theFinancial Crimes Enforcement

Network (FinCEN). Bringing 28 years of prior prosecutorialexperience, Blanco personally addressed the casino industry in August 2018, sharing the agency’s focus on four areas ofimportance for casinos. They include understanding the valueof the Bank Secrecy Act data, using information to ensure compliance, increasing information-sharing through the 314(b)program, and the importance of understanding cybersecurityand emerging payments. Given this insight, the industry canexpect increased Title 31/AML scrutiny at the federal level,especially facilities considering sports betting.

With both the expected opportunities and challenges,growth in tribal casino revenue for 2019 should continue,albeit modestly. The Indian gaming industry experienced solidrevenue growth in 2017, as announced by the National IndianGaming Commission this past summer. The commissionreported an increase from $31.2 billion to $32.4 billion in grossgaming revenue – an increase of approximately 4%, and further reflecting an increase of 10 added facilities in 2017. Additional revenue growth in 2019 will come from a strong econ-omy, from the addition of amenities and services and from a fewtribal casinos that are expected to gain significant revenue, suchas Wilton Rancheria’s $500 million project in Elk Grove, CA,managed by Boyd Gaming. In addition, Oklahoma passed ball-and-dice games in 2018, and some of the state’s tribal casinos have already brought the games to their facilities. With2019 as the first full year of ball-and-dice games, it will beworth monitoring Oklahoma gaming revenue in the coming year.

Joe Feldkamp, VP of Marketing andSales EnablementWorldpay Gaming

Indian gaming has been at the forefront of change in thisindustry since its inception in the early 1970s. Over the nearly50 years since the first bingo halls were built to help fund tribaloperations and member services, we have continually seentribes leading the way in adoption of new technologies and pioneering new forms of gaming revenue.

In 2019, we will see this trendcontinue. In May of 2018, the U.SSupreme Court struck downPASPA, opening the door for statesto legalize and regulate sports bet-ting. New revenue opportunitiesnow exist in several U.S. states,which moved swiftly to allow legalsports betting during the latter halfof 2018.

The Mississippi Choctaw wereamong the first gaming operators to

offer legal sports betting outside of Nevada. Others have followed suit including the Santa Ana Pueblo who were the firstof at least 17 New Mexico-based tribes to offer sports bettingunder their existing state compacts. As other states enablelegalized sports betting, opportunities will follow for tribal operators to get involved; most immediately in Michigan,which is expected to enable legalized sports betting in 2019.

Time will tell how impactful this new source of revenue willbe for tribes. In states like New Jersey, which moved swiftlyto enable sports betting, early indications are that sports betting revenues are adding to the bottom line of their licensedgaming operators.

Longer term, there is an opportunity to magnify the impactof sports betting revenues by taking advantage of an omni-commerce approach to running gaming and non-gamingoperations; both online and on-site. Adding electronic paymentsto enable funding players’ wagering allows tribes to use their customers’ payments data to better understand buyingbehaviors and player wagering activity while offering a betteroverall customer experience.

John Hinton, Director of Native American ProjectsBergman, Walls & Associates

The Indian gaming industry has had eight years of consecutive revenue growth and has turned into a well-established gaming market over this time. As the marketmatures, properties are seeing increased competition fromneighboring facilities and we will see this trend continue into2019 as each of these properties seek to position themselvesas the best in their respective markets.

The pressures of an increasingly competitive gaming market will require renovations and additions to maintainmarket share and gain new clientele. Tribal gaming venues havebecome more complex as the gaming industry expands beyondits traditional client base. Additionally, normal wear and tearon casino floors, hotel rooms, and the facility overall necessitate

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Joe FeldkampGrant Eve

the renovation and refurbishment ofexisting casino properties.

Material costs continue to rise,leading to construction costs escalating at a faster pace than we’veseen in the past. With continuedprice volatility expected to persistinto 2019 and beyond, we shouldanticipate increased constructioncosts and budget accordingly. Frominception to the start of construc-tion, design and documentation ofa typical project can take up to a

year. Owners that are currently planning for new projectsmust ensure they are carrying budgetary line items for not onlythe anticipated typical escalation, but also for less predictablefactors such as the effects of tariffs on building materials.Without such proactive measures, owners may find that theirprojects are over budget when construction starts.

The traditional casino clientele and their entertainmentexpectations have matured, and operators must ensure theyare meeting the varied expectations across all generations.Consistent client demands today include higher-end finishes that feel organic and clean, exceptional customer service, and entertainment and amenities, which create memorable experiences. To continue to be successful and maximize market share, these facilities will be designed toattract multigenerational guests, from Baby Boomers to Millennials and Generation Y as they come of age. Newamenities being added to casinos are being designed formultiple functions to augment properties’ bottom lines. Forexample, pool areas which were historically used during thedaytime only are being designed to host after-hours eventsand for private functions.

With the recent trend of adding amenities over the pastfew years, I think we have lost a little focus on the gamingfloor. I anticipate gaming will become a renewed concentra-tion for tribal casinos in 2019. Gaming floors are becominga more dynamic, diversified area and not just a large spacefilled with banks of slot machines. As new types of casinogames are developed, the gaming floor should be flexibleenough to house new offerings that have not yet debuted.Since PASPA has been overturned, tribal gaming facilitieswill be looking at ways to incorporate sports betting, as evidenced by the level of interest operators displayed atG2E this year.

Tribal casinos are the most visited entertainment venues intheir communities and are well positioned to roll out new amenities and entertainment options to maintain that status.I see 2019 as another wonderful year for Indian Country.

Kell Houston, PresidentHouston Productions

Tribal casino entertainment isgoing through a definite change. Weare in a period of transition from theolder norm of concert acts that havebeen the dominant concert drivingforce, to a more diverse and youngergenre. With that transition, we areseeing popular artists with one ortwo hit songs and not a long list ofhits spanning many years. Multipleband packages are more availableand popular, as well as some types ofmusic you never used to see in

casinos. This is in part due to the growing younger customer basethat is coming to casinos. The properties in secondary and tertiary markets are slower to respond to this change. As the older

John Hinton

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Kell Houston

artists and customers age out, it's an inevitable change. Casinosare the centerpiece for entertainment, socializing, fine dining,getaways, etc. It’s only in a stage of transition.

Internally, tribal casinos are creating more individual addendums and processes to try and control the provisions oftheir existing entertainment programs. This is causing a majorroadblock when dealing with the traditional processes of doingbusiness with the major talent agencies. It means dealing witha lot of legal issues as common ground is found. This is taking away from the intent of putting on concerts and showsfor guests and customers, and becoming a real challenge to getthrough. Instead of talking to agents and agencies, more timeis being spent talking to attorneys. Hopefully this will becomea smoother process going forward.

Knute Knudson, VP of Business Development and Tribal RelationsIGT

Boundaries are being broken anddefended in tribal gaming. Barriersto sports gaming, technological limits, and state and internationalborders are disappearing. In 2019, I believe tribal gaming operators willcontinue their history of revenuegrowth with new games, new tech-nologies, and new markets. At thesame time, we can expect tribes tocontinue to protect the boundariesprotecting their gaming exclusivity.

New games in this case are literallygames – sports that is. Sports betting is now an option in all stateand tribal jurisdictions thanks to the recent Supreme CourtPASPA decision. Tribes were among the first to act on the opportunity in sports betting. The first tribe to seize thisopportunity was the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians at theirthree Mississippi locations. They became the first non-Nevadatribal casino to open a sports book post-PASPA repeal. ThePueblo of Santa Ana in New Mexico commenced their sportsbetting operation in October. We anticipate increasing tribalactivity in this market as tribes and states clear statutory and compact hurdles and take advantage of this new opportunity.

Sports betting is a textbook example of the opportunities tocreate excitement with new technologies. Traditional, on site,sports books remain popular, but mobile technology is substantially enhancing the sports betting experience on-site – particularly with players who may not seek traditional casinoentertainment. Current and developing technology will allowtribes end-to-end sports betting management tools and the framework necessary to enable operators to develop

promotions, bet structures and offers that meet individualtribal operator requirements. At G2E, we saw a full rangeof these products. Tribes will benefit to the extent that theycan shape their mobile sports betting product to fit thecharacteristics of the market they serve.

In addition to using new games and new technologies togrow tribal government revenues, tribes are seizing opportu-nities in commercial markets – international and domestic. Thisis a natural development built on tribal expertise as operators.

The Seminole Tribe in Florida have been leaders in thisregard through their Hard Rock brand. The Mohegan Tribehas also been aggressive in leveraging its tribal experience. And,Wind Creek Hospitality, the casino division of the Poarch Bandin Alabama, have made substantial developments and acquisitions including the Sands Casino Resort in Pennsylvania.That trend may head west soon. I would not be surprised tosee an enterprising tribe diversify their casino portfolio toinclude a Las Vegas property in the coming year.

The Cherokee Nation and the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahomawere instrumental in (successfully) promoting a ballot measureto authorize casino gaming in Arkansas. This opens the doorto non-tribal opportunities.

On other fronts, tribes have mounted strong defenses of theboundaries of their gaming exclusivity. In California, New York,and elsewhere, tribes can be expected to continue to push backat non-tribal threats to tribal exclusivity.

Focusing on the growth side, tribal gaming has manyexamples of tribes pushing the boundaries in games, technology,and markets. I’m confident these trends will continue in 2019.

Rick Meitzler, President & CEONovomatic Americas

The Indian gaming industry continues to expand and leadin bringing new technologies to the gaming industry. Sportsbetting is becoming a significant focus with the repeal ofPASPA. Some tribes are strategically working to bring sportsbetting to Indian gaming and others are just now placing abroader focus on this new segment as it has an enormouspotential to add to their overall success. Compacts will needto be re-negotiated and clear; actionable plans developed tolaunch this newly approved market segment. The sports betting initiative will see forward movement in 2019.

Experienced-based omnichannel retail designs are the real future of casino gaming. Multi-channel entertainment iseveryday life for players, including iGaming and social gaming.Millennials are becoming the dominant demographic in theU.S., with the growth of iGaming/social being tools for Indiangaming to drive innovation across those channels. Indian gaming operators are innovators looking outside of the typicalcasino technology providers and are setting the new entertainment

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Knute Knudson

standard for gaming experiences.Games continue to evolve with moremodern technology, with screensbecoming more prominent and programs more engaging. 4K capabilities allow for depth anddimension in a gaming experience,which are only in the infancy designstages of development. ETG’s aregoing through a creative growthphase and, adding in the social media aspects with the iGamingcomponent, Indian gaming will con-

tinue to improve appeal with the younger clientele, which leadsto a more broad and engaging overall entertainment experience.

Indian gaming focuses on experience-based investment innew categories like the expansion of skill-based gaming and fantasy sports lounges. They are creating immersive, engagingentertainment experiences and a social, memorable connectionthat encourages people to stay and play. These experiences genuinely establish incredible connection and conversation.

With the ongoing tax pressure, the continued convergenceof Class II and Class III gaming is anticipated, which encouragesinnovation within the overall industry.

Driving even more innovation and taking a page from Amazon, analytics involving data warehousing solutions willexpand. The use of predictive analytics/AI to anticipate andunderstand changing player demographics will help to increasethe participation of customers, drive trips and hopefully totalspend. Experiential campaign management goes to a new levelin 2019 and flexible, back-end systems become integral tofacilitating that growth.

The Indian gaming community is always accessible, easy towork with and eager to grow their business with new andunique opportunities. We eagerly look forward to 2019 andgrowing with this incredible market.

Sheila Morago, Executive DirectorOklahoma Indian Gaming Association

It’s often said that the only real constant in life is change.In tribal gaming, that is certainly the truth. Our industry is bynature fast-moving, ever-evolving, entertainment-driven andalways exciting. Industry professionals engage researchers andtrack trends in order to find new ways to engage and amaze ourcurrent audiences while simultaneously dreaming up ways toentice new audiences. Predicting the future can be an inexactscience, it’s true, but the depth and breadth of the analysis andresearch involved in the tribal gaming business allows us to lookto the future with a bit more clarity.

In Oklahoma, 2018 saw the legalization of ball and dice

games in our state. Casinos, wellversed at immediately adapting, wereready to launch their roulette andcraps programs the moment it waslegal to do so. We know now that thefacilities that have launched rouletteand craps games have experiencedincreases, and the preliminaryresearch suggests strongly thatincreases will continue into 2019.Our first full year of data regardingball-and-dice games will be available

this summer, and tribal gaming will take what is learned fromthis inaugural year to fine-tune offerings moving forward.

Research also indicates that tribal gaming in Oklahomawill experience continued growth and market maturity as wemove through the New Year. We will continue to adapt ourentertainment offerings based on what our audience researchtells us. It’s still very much the case that younger audiences, the

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Rick Meitzler Sheila Morago

24 Indian Gaming December 2018

Millennials, want immersive experiences and things they canenjoy doing together. Casinos are continually responding bycreating excellent dining experiences, golf courses, spas, big-name entertainers, resort-quality pools and other amenitiesto create a variety of immersive experience.

Sports betting is a topic on everyone’s mind, and while it’sstill not clear exactly what will happen in Oklahoma, what iscrystal clear is that tribes are preparing. As it was in the lasttwo legislative sessions, sports betting will be a topic of conver-sation this year. A May, 2018 New York Times article had thisto say about the tribes’ impending compact negotiations withthe states: “With billions of dollars at stake, such discussionsare likely to represent some of the sharpest negotiationsbetween the tribes and government officials since 1988, whenCongress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ... Thereare now 238 tribes in 28 states offering some form of gaming,according to the National Indian Gaming Commission.”

At this writing, seven states offer legal sports betting: Nevada,New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvaniaand Rhode Island. New Mexico has not passed a sports bettinglaw, however the Santa Ana Star Casino & Hotel started takingsports bets last month through a tribal gambling compact.

As always, compact negotiations is one of the most important items on the horizon. My crystal ball is a littlefuzzy when it comes to specific predictions about complex eventsso far in the future, but I can say with certainty that betweennow and then, our industry’s efforts will be geared towardachieving a positive outcome in 2020.

Matt Reback, Executive Vice PresidentAGS

In 2019, the most obvious question that will be facing tribaloperators and regulators around the country is whether and inwhat format(s) should they implement sports betting on theirproperties. While this is certainly an important issue, I wouldprefer to weigh-in on a more financially significant matter thatis receiving less media coverage, but lies at the core of the tribalgaming business and affects every tribal casino operator.

Across the tribal gaming industry, we are witnessing increasedinterest in the addition of Class II games onto the floors of casinos that have typically been dominated by Class III products. These Class II products have historically been relegated to tribal properties that operate without a state compact, or that prefer the benefits of operating tax-exemptproducts. There are three factors that are generating increasedinterest and placements of Class II slot machines today – customer experience, financial, and negotiation leverage.

First, and most importantly, the quality and availability ofClass II products has increased to the point where in many cases,it is difficult for a typical slot player to notice a difference in

the game play experience betweenthe Class II and Class III versions ofa particular game theme. If Class IIgames perform at levels approach-ing Class III versions, and they can offer patrons a similar gamingexperience, it becomes intriguingfor an operator to consider placingClass II games or replacing Class IIIgames with Class II versions to takeadvantage of tax benefits.

Second, while a performance gapbetween Class II and Class III

games still exists on mixed class floors, the size of this gap isshrinking because of the increased quality of Class II products.The waning performance gap, when coupled with the tax benefits of operating Class II games, often creates a compelling financial case for placing more Class II productson the floor. In some cases, operators can even use Class II products to populate a zone on their floors that can be easilyturned on or off depending on demand at the property, andmany properties are currently doing this.

Third, and most strategically, the presence of high-performance Class II products provides tribal operators withleverage when negotiating their compacts with the state. Whenviewed as a viable alternative to regulated Class III content, itis easy to see how discussions about tax rates and other key termsin the compact can take on a different tone.

Linda J. Roe, VP Client DevelopmentTBE Architects

The single largest influence I see materializing next year isthe volatility in the materials and labor markets. This notonly holds true on the construction side, but also on thestaffing of facilities.

The construction impact is creating an environment rich foropportunities to rethink how the architectural, general contract-ing and ownership teams approach a project. No matter which construction delivery process is used, (design-bid-build;design-negation-build; or design build) the attitude will shift toa more collaborative integrated project delivery method, evenif the contracting method isn’t.

This collaborative attitude will capitalize on each stakeholders’strengths, the design team’s knowledge of gaming trends andamenity directions, and the general contractor’s intimacy withlocal markets. Their ability to get “real” pricing and their knowledge of means and methods complement the owners’challenges and needs with their current and target markets.

I see this approach working because each stakeholder is beginning to admit what they don’t know. More honesty is

ASK THE EXPERTS

Matt Reback

December 2018 Indian Gaming 25

resulting from a true team atmos-phere. Mutual respect for eachother’s strengths is being evidenced,and mentor-based leadership is filling the voids. As odd as it sounds,many times the architectural teamhas insights into phasing a renova-tion that neither the general contractor or ownership team has,and of course the opposite is true aswell. Projects thrive when all membersare working toward the same goal.

The second half of this story isfinding qualified staff for the properties themselves. Staff needsto be able to be cross-trained in serving several areas. Guests stillwant and need contact with staff, so making the staff’s job easieris critical. And, technology still will continue to impact every aspectof the guest experience.

An interesting direction seems to be emerging in both thegaming and amenity offerings in Native American casinos. Anaging population, as well as the coming of age of Generation X(resulting in more disposable income and children growing) willimpact the amenities need to support the gaming floor. Theinclusion of family entertainment centers, which encompasscineplexes, arcades, food services, and the resurgent bowlingcenter, are now desirable additions to integrated resorts. These amenities appeal to the more casual gamer and provideadditional needed employment opportunities to tribal youth,as well as providing places for all to be safe and have fun. All positive results for Native America.

Joe Valandra, Managing MemberVAdvisors

The pace of change within the overall gaming industry isaccelerating. The magnitude of this transition will be felt inevery aspect of the business. Diversity, technology, and demographic transition are the fuel.

For several years, traditional commercial gaming has realized that Indian gaming is an equal in terms of money andinfluence in the market and in politics. Alliances and cooper-ation has had success and will likely be built upon in 2019. Therapid adoption of sports betting by many jurisdictions will nodoubt test some aspects of this common ground and may wellforce compromise in some key areas.

Sport betting and its cousin e-sports will also test the industryin ways it has rarely seen. These cousins are driven by hugedemand, new demographic markets along with the challenge ofnarrow margins. Those that recognize the best path to success willlikely combine practical experience with innovative techno-logical solutions. The industry will see many deals made

and unmade well into the new year.Another likely impact of the

embracing of sport betting will be alarger focus on mobile gaming of alltypes. It is a widely held view thatmobile gaming is the future regard-less of the type of gaming. Thispresents opportunities and challengesfor operators and regulators. Therewill be many approaches taken beforeconsensus is found.

The industry wil l be mostimpacted by transforming demo-

graphics of gaming customers. This change brings differentexpectations of games, amenities, and the overall image ofour industry. The efforts to bring more diversity to the management of gaming companies must be redoubled and madeculturally permanent. The power of this effort will be at leastas impactful as anything else driving change. ®

Linda J. Roe Joe Valandra