18 Global Gaming Business FEBRUARY 2019C
ombining simple rules, advanced strategy and its “beatable”
reputation, it’s no secret that blackjack has been a casino fa-
vorite for decades.
Though the game continues to dominate the casino and certainly has a
future on the floor, some of the biggest names in gaming believe it will take
more than a few new side bets to intrigue the next generation of gamers; ele-
ments of the casino floor need to be completely revamped to create a more so-
cial and welcoming space for new players.
According to these sources, often, millennials aren’t playing table games
like blackjack because they may feel uncomfortable and unwelcome upon
entry onto the casino floor. The intricate “yellow brick road” that winds its
way through a labyrinth of machines and tables, lined with unfamiliar games
and faces, is intimidating to new players. They don’t even have the chance to
make it to the tables.
And these feelings of inadequacy are only amplified when young players
are seated next to older and more experienced players who aren’t always inter-
ested in mentoring the next generation. Mix a fussy dealer and belligerent cus-
tomers in with a poor understanding of the game rules, and a new player’s
first hand of blackjack might turn into their last.
Fortunately, however, casino experts are working hard to understand their
newest players. These experts believe that innovation, collaboration and so-
cialization are the tricks necessary to bring new players to the floor—and keep
them there.The Future of Blackjack
For years, some of the biggest questions about the future of gaming have
revolved around the generation born between 1981 and 1996. What do
millennials want, and how do casinos make a profit from them? Blackjack’s
easy-to-learn rules combined with its advanced strategy and opportuni-
ties for socialization should make it the perfect game for millennials. But
is this really the case?
According to Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor,
“The millennial puzzle is a tough one. You’d expect that millennials
would love a game like blackjack, but from what I’ve observed they tend
to gravitate more towards roulette.”
Dan Sahl agrees. Sahl, associate director of the International Gaming
Institute’s Center for Gaming Innovation at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, uses his background in sociology to provide a theory that may
explain why casinos, even those that offer skill-based games, still have
trouble recruiting millennials to the casino floor.
“Looking towards the future, the question isn’t just about innovating
the games themselves,” Sahl says. “Instead, we should be asking ourselves
if the way we are introducing the social side of table games like blackjack
is appealing to millennials.”
This generation is used to living in an era where all the information
they could ever need is at their fingertips. The unspoken rules and expec-
tations in a game like blackjack, however, aren’t something that a quickCan millennials ever cozy up to the casino’s most “beatable” game?
By Nicole Schultz
BETTINGON
BLACKJACK
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