NY for part of this week, hanging out at Seneca Data’s annual Partner Connect conference, held at a casino resort.
It’s my first time, as well, at the Turning Point Resort Casino, which is several notches up the Nice-O-Meter from most of the casino resorts I’ve seen on native American land. And I’ve been to more than a few small casinos in my consulting travels. Even played bingo at one last year.
Turning Stone has that slick feel of some of the newer properties, like Red Rocks, I’ve seen on the suburban edge of Las Vegas, and the operators have invested quite a bit in digital signage around the sprawling property, which attracts something like 4.5 million people annually.
There’s a nice 2 by 6 video wall on the main entry header, and a cluster of six super-large displays in a corridor that leads to one or two of the nightclub bars in what I assume is a newer part of the development.
There are also wayfinding stations at main entry and decision points. They look good, but I thought they were a bit of a pain in the butt to use. Judging by ALL the grey hair on the property, I wonder how many seniors would poke at them, but even fewer would use alternatives like indoor smartphone-based navigation.
There are some screens hanging on sticks from ceilings, too high to be useful or noticed, and displays in locations that made marginal sense, but there’s some nice stuff going on here, notably clean, eye-grabbing and well-synced creative. I like the way they do winner recognition, reminding guests that people do indeed win at the slots and other games.