THROUGH its numerous subsidiaries, Thunderbird Resorts develops recreational properties and provides casino entertainment and hospitality services in Central America, South America and south-east Asia.
Founded in 1987, the company now operates 20 casinos and slot parlours, three video lottery locations, two slot routes, seven hotels, and various associated food, beverage, and entertainment facilities. It owns and manages casinos primarily in Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Philippines and Peru.
InterGaming: What are most the important key elements in casino design?
Angel Sueiro: Creating an experience based in a consistent script. Comfort - including air quality, the right sound and lighting, perfect chairs, clear signage and great bathrooms - is a basic component. What creates a memorable space is the creation of ‘movie sets,’ where everybody becomes part of a magical dream - fantasy mixed with the opportunity to be someone else, somewhere else.
Every time we design a casino we brainstorm about the interaction between the people and the spaces. It is not just adding decor elements, it is to understand what kind of feelings we want to generate. Some areas must be easy going, smooth and calm, while other spaces will be crazy and extremely energetic.
In this sense, the main design concept - emotion - is always the same, but the way to express it changes constantly.
IGG: What are the most significant changes to have happened to the casino industry in terms of design over the past 40 years?
AS: The evolution from pure gambling to the entertainment experience. Casino design has been an example of how people’s attitudes have changed with regard to social networks, how people relate to each other, and how people with similar interests get together.
In that sense, I see a very clear trend in casinos offering more choice to attract greater numbers. The strong competitive environment has created a very dynamic culture of quick adjustment to the cultural changes, and strong industry cash flows help to make these changes happen.
IGG: How do you see attitudes to casino design changing in the future?
AS: I see much more female influence and many more digital elements. I think new generations will request a constant overflow of information - data, sound and lighting - and I foresee customised environments that change every night. But, most important, I see the human aspect as the key element.
The more accessible computers are, the more valuable personal relations become. I can see our customers looking for real emotions: the risk, the fear, the challenge, the victory. And casino design will focus on shaping the relationship between the casino employee and the casino customer. Casino design will evolve from architecture to social understanding.
IGG: Do casino design briefs - or, indeed, consumer reactions to design - differ across geographical regions?
AS: Absolutely. Actually, it is very strange if we think all human beings share a common ‘package’ of emotions, but the truth is that the way and intensity of expressing this emotion is totally different from one region to another.
One of the most important things is to understand the concept of ‘proximity.’ If you are in a party with people from different countries, you will see this very clearly. Every place is different, and, in order to achieve a successful product, the understanding of this behaviour is critical.
IGG: Many companies in the industry are designing large-scale, conceptual casino games that take up a huge amount of floor space. Has the development of these products had a positive or adverse affect upon casino design briefs?
AS: The whole casino must be considered as a unit, as a whole, and the more integrated games become with the rest of the product the better. For me, when talking about design, this includes the kind of music, the uniforms and the menus - not only the architectural aspect. The casino as an integral entertainment solution, where everything fits in the overall scheme, so these games are one step ahead on this model.
The importance of a distinctive casino design is based in the competitive advantage it offers. Everybody tries to have the best slots and best tables management. Everybody tries offering the best available customer services. Marketing departments are always involved in an extremely competitive day-to-day war. So the opportunity to create emotional loyalty is built on the kind of experience you generate. If the experience is memorable, customers will come back.
IGG: What do you feel has been your company’s most innovative/impressive/unusual casino design project to date?
AS: At this time we are developing more than 30 projects, so it is difficult to decide. However, I must note that we will soon be opening a 7,000sq.m facility in Lima, Peru, which houses an incredible musical stage surrounded by slots, tables, bars, restaurants and lounges.
The venue has 15 different themed areas, more than a 150 plasma screens, a huge investment in computer controlled robotic lighting and a very intimate connection between the city of Lima and the casino.
