Vegas’ Winning Hand; Sound Strategy Changing Sin City For The Best

Sound in casinos could be more strategic than noisy.

Before I even begin, I want to make it clear that I know I am not Vegas’ target audience. But what if I could be? What if Vegas could change my mind with a more strategic sound experience?

What if Vegas won me over by taking a note from Disney?

My Experience

As a sound strategist, I’m usually more attuned to the sounds around me than others. My most recent trip was no different. In March, I was attending a conference in Vegas and the noise was deafening.

From the moment I stepped off the plane, the sound of Vegas hit me like a hurricane. The pressure to gamble starts immediately as slot machines are waiting for you literally at the gate. Although I’m not a gambler, an immediate exclamation of “VEGAS” made sense to me as gambling is one of its biggest draws. The sound of slot machines is iconic to the area and in that respect, the cacophony of “cha-ching” made all the sense in the world.

This is good branding.

But that was where the sound strategy ended. At least until my very last day, which we’ll circle back to later.

From the airport, I was whisked away on a Lyft to Mandalay Bay. I had to sign in for my conference before dropping off my bags at Excalibur. Staying at a different hotel than the conference meant I would be walking a lot during the next four days.

Vegas tip: Wear good walking shoes. Ladies…ditch the heels.

I entered Mandalay Bay and was loudly greeted by the sound of about a million different slot machines playing largely different “cha-ching” jingles. It felt like all volume knobs were turned to 11. There was no getting away from this not-so-subtle plug to dump money into a machine over and over again with the same disappointing results (again-not a gambler).

On top of the “cha-chings,” the PA systems were also at an 11 blasting random music to every corner of the huge space. If it had been playing a specific playlist I never figured out which one.

What playlist goes from Michael Jackson to Garth Brooks anyway?

I could feel a headache starting.

No one just “finds” what they are looking for in Vegas so it took me twice as long to locate the conference center than I would’ve liked. Once signed in, I turned and headed for Excalibur. Thankfully, there was a tram.

For the sake of story flow, we will pretend I found it the first day and didn’t wander out to the street with my suitcase.

I stepped aboard the tram. At this point, I had been walking and surrounded by sound for at least an hour or two between the airport and the hotel. Sitting down peacefully on the tram for a whole 2-minute ride sounded delightful.

I spoke too soon.

Instantly after the “tram is moving” announcement, I was bombarded with what sounded like rave music. It wasn’t until I found the screen behind my head the second day, that I realized it was an ad for the Blue Man Group show. Without that context, all it had been to me was VERY loud music in a small space with a terrible speaker that needed maintenance.

My headache was getting worse.

After a not-so-relaxing two minutes, I deboarded the tram and wandered Excalibur until I found the front desk.

Another Vegas tip: Front desks are super hard to find in Vegas. Allow ample time and wear good shoes… always.

My room wasn’t ready yet so I had to wait. The only seats I could find to wait comfortably in were in the casino’s bar. This bar was in the center of everything. I shuffled into a booth and pretended I would order a drink soon.

I never did.

Even if I had been fond of gambling, I was tired. With all my bags in tow, I was not properly ready to “do Vegas” yet.

Now in the center of the chaos, there was nothing left for me to do but to drown out sound with other sounds. I put in my earbuds and listened to a podcast…or two…possibly three while I waited for my room.

Finally, the notification came and I wearily stumbled to the room the MGM app told me was mine. I opened the door, entered, and was greeted by glorious silence, at last.

Nap time!

What Does Disney Have To Do With It?

Walt Disney was a master of experience. He understood that the more the senses complemented each other within the park, the more memorable and magical an experience his guests would have. And the more memorable and magical the experience, the more likely guests would return over and over and over again.

Sound is no exception.

Great pains are taken to create the “Sound of Disney” every day.

From Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, the sound and music change strategically from one land to the next. This experience is so well crafted that the guests don’t even notice.

We can thank Mr. Q in part for that.

A former audio experience engineer at Disney, Mr. Q was acutely aware of a sound design issue in the park. In the 1990s, the volume of sound and music between lands at the park had minuscule variations that would unknowingly disrupt the guests’ “magical Disney experience”.

Even though there had been no formal complaints, Mr. Q knew the experience could be better. He created speakers that had a complex algorithm that regulated the sound between them. He placed these 15,000 speakers strategically around the park. The effect is what we now know (or rather don’t realize) today.

Because of Mr. Q, we can now jump from land to land in a more acoustically seamless way. Does this matter since we’re not even aware of it? Yes, and for that very reason.

Good experiential sound isn’t noticed.

Good sound experiences don’t draw attention to themselves. It is a complement to all other senses at play.

Note: I have never had a headache from a trip to Disney…unless it was ice cream-induced.

Walt Disney and Company have gone far beyond these speakers within their sound strategy but I’ll save those examples for another article. The point is, Disney treats its sound experience with the same level of importance as its visual, textural, gustatorial (taste), and olfactory (smell) experiences.

Back To Vegas

What if Vegas used Disney’s “principles of sound” to invite rather than disorient their customers?

What if Vegas separated and partitioned its casino sounds? What if they created different sections and subsections of these massive halls with sound walls to create a more cohesive experience?

For example, walkways could play filler music, like Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks, directly while the slot machine “cha-chings” enticed people at a muted level from a distance. The music in the walkways could then slowly transition from said filler music to music more appropriate to where the walkway leads.

If you were walking towards a craps table in the New York New York Hotel, and you start to hear Frank Sinatra singing “Luck Be A Lady” (musical theater kid here), would your anticipation to play a game of craps grow?

What would happen if you were greeted at the Paris Casino with some Can Can music or maybe some Caravan Palace?

Would that curated music set to the environment memorialize that specific Casino more than Vegas in general? Would this help its bottom line to know guests favored that hotel over others?

As you approach the gondolas in the Venetian, what if you hear some instrumental traditional Italian music? However, as you get closer, the music starts to transition. The faint sound of O Sole Mio gets louder and louder as you near the canal prompting you to take a gondola ride.

What if Vegas put more thought into the sound experience? Would it matter? Would we notice and be more inclined to participate in what it’s whispering rather than yelling for us to do?

Could sound strategy make Vegas’ self-expression more pronounced and appreciated?

Everything comes to an end

My sound journey was bookended perfectly.

The most memorable Vegas sound of my visit came at the very end. As I lined up to board my plane home, I couldn’t help but snicker at the last song I was hearing in Vegas over the airport’s sound system. I mean really?!

Sheryl Crow’s “Leaving Las Vegas” ushered me back to reality and clearly ended my four-day sound journey in Nevada.

Will Vegas ever discover a sound strategy like what I’ve described? I really don’t know. I may be one of the very few who even notice or care (right now), but I do believe it would be noticeable to all if implemented.

An improvement like this could subconsciously encourage loitering and longer patronage. The employees would be happier with curated sound over constant noise.

With the massive amounts of money Vegas already spends on itself, why not splurge on sound strategy over its constant facelifts?

Dear Vegas, it’s been fun. But just as at the end of my trips to Disneyland, I must bid you adieu. I’ll hear and see you again soon.