Dice and Dali? Roulette and Rodin? Baccarat and Beethoven? Is the casino sector set to become a most unlikely new benefactor to the arts? Simon Binns looks at how a number of US-based casinos are using painting, music and theatre to develop and augment its entertainment proposition and why casinos are perfectly placed to make an exhibition of the planet's most treasured artefacts and accomplished virtuosos...
England’s King Henry VIII had a vision. The man of six wives, two beheadings, founder of the Royal Navy and self-appointed representative of God on earth, had two loves: gambling and art. Dice and paintings were his passion, an approach that, at the time, made his court the most exciting place to be in Europe and him one of history’s most recognisable monarchs. Five hundred years on, gambling and the arts have become distant cousins as six casinos in the US look to welcome art and music back in to gambling’s family fold.
In the Casino Arizona, Phoenix, the curved walls are bedecked with large paintings by local artists Harry Fonseca, Dan Namingha and Emmi Whitehorse while a Pima-Maricopa Indian Pottery collection, chosen by a dedicated curator, Aleta Ringlero, adorns the lobby. Ringlero believes that: “When you come to an Indian casino you should be able to see the things that are important to Indian culture. That’s why we have an elegant, Kip Harris-designed building. This is, after all, our tribe’s social room, and what could be more appropriate than filling it with beautiful objects our guests will enjoy?”
Casino Arizona’s vision, of casino as a house and host of pieces designed to complement the gaming experience, is shared by a casino 1,500 miles north-east, Milwaukee’s Potawatomi Bingo Casino. The site not only has paintings and sculptures installed by internationally acclaimed artists, historically, it has teamed up with the Milwaukee Art Museum to offer its customers an art and gaming double ticket during the museum’s Leonardo da Vinci exhibition.
Back 1,700 miles west to Southern California, at the Pechanga Resort and Casino, there’s been a realisation that investing in high quality art and architecture improves a casino’s bottom line. “It totally gives us an edge and is definitely worth the investment,” says Norm Runyan, chief operating officer of River Rock Casino. “With art and architecture like this you can attract a much higher quality type of gamer because we appeal to our visitors on an aesthetic level. And all of the art we’ve bought increases in value every year.”
The number one example of the casino’s use of fine art continues to be MGM Mirage’s Bellagio Collection. Rubens’ Salome presented with the head of John the Baptist sits alongside van Gogh’s portrait of a peasant woman sitting in the wheat field in which the artist took his own life. Picasso, Renoir, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Gauguin, de Kooning, Manet, Matisse, Miró, Modigliani, Monet, Degas, Seurat and Pollock have all featured on the Las Vegas casino’s hallowed walls. And why not? Casinos like the MGM have perfect surroundings for art exhibitions, and the people who enjoy them - purpose-built, modern, culturally relevant structures, cutting edge security systems and temperature controlled environments, superb accommodation and superior dining.
While the US casino sector may still be discovering the subtle impact of art, its relationship with music is well-worn. However, in Las Vegas, the Mirage and Venetian resorts are raising the bar.
In June of this year, at Las Vegas’ Mirage, LOVE, a Cirque du Soleil, part-circus, part-ballet show featuring Beatles tunes, opened. Re-mastered by original Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son, Giles, the theatre includes speakers built into the seats, which envelop the audience in sound. For Octopus’ Garden, the darkened arena becomes the depths of the ocean, luminescent jellyfish floating through the air and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is accompanied by thousands of tiny, synchronised lights dangling from above.
At around the same time, at the Venetian, a 90-minute streamlined version of Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera opened in a US$40m custom-built theatre based on the Paris Opera House. Seats surround the cross-shaped stage and rise to the heavens while video screens, ropes, catwalks, the Phantom’s glowing underground lair, Broadway-calibre performers and live orchestra bring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production to life.
These two shows are flourishing in front of large, affluent clientele, willing to pay to see the world’s greatest musicians in aural environments designed to deliver performances of energy, clarity and style. How long before the London, Berlin or Moscow Philharmonic perform? Alternatively, shouldn’t the casino sector grab the bull by the horns and consider creating the first Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra?
The casino sector has always been quick to embrace new ideas; innovation is the lifeblood of the industry. Modern casinos are more than just a place to spin a wheel, flip a card or roll a die, in these most modern of times, they are a total entertainment solution.
Casinos represent perfect locations to house the art world’s most treasured possessions and music’s most accomplished virtuosos. The entertainment capital of the world already welcomes 40 million visitors to see a Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower and King Tut’s Tomb. Why not add a Venus De Milo, The Last Supper and Sunflowers to go alongside? Now wouldn’t that be an exhibition worth visiting?
