Las Vegas casinos likely to use 'Asian' more

With the growing importance of Asian players in Las Vegas casinos, operators will not only leverage many Asian pools residing in the U.S., but will also strengthen the use of Asian languages in games, attracting more visitors from Asia, says one high-profile gaming scholar.

"It's certainly a possibility," David Schwartz, director of the Game Research Center at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, told GRACIA.

Schwartz said the trend was not new. "Most major casinos have dealers who speak the [Asian] language. Many casinos have Asian-only game pits featuring games popular with Asian players."

Schwartz wrote an article in Las Vegas Seven magazine titled "The Language of the Game." There, he claimed that casinos in Las Vegas tended to offer games in bilingual format.

"The challenge now is to play the game in a language other than English, such as Chinese or Spanish, to reach the market as much as possible that wasn't previously developed. Casinos thrived on a wide middle floor but are now more focused on a variety of smaller groups," he wrote.

Data from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Administration put the number of Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. at 1.81 million in 2013, up 23%.

In a report released earlier this month, consultancy HVS International said Las Vegas should "continue to tailor its language, products and services to the Chinese market." HVS added that gaming operators operating in Asia and Las Vegas are already implementing cross-marketing because they "benefit from Las Vegas' lower tax rates compared to the Asian market."

In May, Jeff Freeman, president and chief executive of the American Game Association, told GRACIA that Asian casino operators were "absolutely welcome" in the United States.

According to a 2013 Las Vegas visitor profile study published by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau, the proportion of Las Vegas tourists who identified themselves as Asian or Asian American rose from 2% in 2009 to 12% in 2013. 바카라사이트

On whether Mandarin or other Asian language use in Las Vegas casino games could cause regulatory problems, Schwartz said it depends on the language used.

"If dealers and sponsors use language that no one else can speak, there may be concerns about possible collusion. Having a boss who gives a fluent speech avoids these issues," the scholar explains.