Talk to any of your typical “movers and shakers” in the casino business and you’re likely to find that they arrived at their perch via one of two trajectories.
They either grew up in Nevada or Atlantic City, started working in a casino at an early age and bootstrapped their way to the top, or they started off on Wall Street and transitioned in from the finance side.
But as the gaming industry tries to adapt and appeal to new demographics, a new onramp for professionals into the space is fast-emerging: video game veterans jumping over to the casino world to lend their expertise and credentials to an industry that is anxiously looking to court younger players.
As the slot machines enjoyed by Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers struggle to resonate with Millennials who grew up paying Xbox and Nintendo, video game aficionados like Blaine Graboyes, chief executive officer of GameCo, and Darion Lowenstein – chief marketing officer of Gamblit Gaming – are seizing the opportunity to bridge that gap.
Both GameCo and Gamblit are at the forefront of skill-based, interactive and video game-themed slot machines that aspire to bridge the gap between the preferences of milennials and the features of legacy slot product.
Their stories provide a glimpse into not only what the future of gaming will look like, but what the future gaming innovator will look like.
Both built successful prior careers in video game development, but possessed relatively little familiarity with the ins and outs of casinos. But upon learning about the challenges facing casinos and seeing an area where their skill sets and expertise would be in high demand, both made the transition into the more age-restricted area of gaming.
Before co-founding GameCo four years ago, Graboyes spent 20 years in video game development and prior stints in film and television.
“I developed the idea for GameCo when I was working in eSports and bringing eSports events to casinos. And bringing people to the casino that wouldn’t hit the floor and hearing from casino executives about the challenges with slot machines and their aging player demographic,” he said.
Lowenstein was recruited to Gamblit after a highly-successful two decades of his own in video game development. In stints at Activision, Electronic Arts and Rockstar Games, he was involved in the launch of 10 top-selling mobile games and 14 console games that ranked in the top five.
But their current task is far from simple: creating games that not only meld the traditional gambling experience, arcade-style video gaming and VIP casino hospitality for the millennial customer, but generate a revenue stream that is large and reliable enough to incent the casino operator to keep them on the floor.
Still, the conversation and interest in “skill-based” games or video-game themed games continues to iterate on within the industry, in part because of increasing domestic competition and changing demographics.
“There’s an adoption cycle for all technology, whether it’s in the casino or outside,” said Graboyes. “I do think the adoption cycle for video game gambling and the appeal to gamers in casinos is going to be a little faster than we’ve seen historically in the casino industry just because we’re at such a threshold right now where the casinos need new revenue and need new players.”
When it comes to predicting video gaming trends and positioning himself in front of them, Lowenstein’s track record is impeccable. In 2010, at the pinnacle of his success producing video console games, he made a surprising yet well-timed jump into mobile gaming just as the iPhone 4 was released.
“A lot of people were saying ‘Dude, like why would you leave? You’re producing these massive $50 million to $80 million console games – why would you leave that for mobile?’” he explained.
After a successful stint in the mobile space in which he produced Transformers, NBA Jam, and Tiger Woods Golf, Lowenstein took some time off to identify the next leg of his career. Gamblit, and its aspirations to bring arcade style video gaming into the casino setting, struck a chord when it successfully recruited him three years ago.
“I’d been hit up by casino companies before, both social casinos as well as slots-type companies, but I never had any interest. I was like ‘Guys, I go to Vegas four times a year or so, but I don’t have any interest in gambling games – they’re not fun to me, they’re boring – I’m a video gamer,’” he explained. “They were like ‘No, that’s why we want you.’”
Upon further reflection, he saw an industry that was ripe for disruption – one that was highly profitable yet hadn’t really innovated much beyond its core product.
“I hadn’t seen this level of opportunity for change since I switched from console to mobile,” he said.
But the transition into the world of casino gaming had its challenges – starting with the massive background check he had to fill out to obtain licensure in Nevada, and then learning to translate what he learned from his prior experiences into casino lingo.
Lowenstein credited Gamblit CEO Eric Meyerhofer with having the vision and audacity to give him an enormous amount of freedom and responsibility with regards to the company’s product and marketing operations.
“He took someone like me who did not have a single day of casino experience and put me in a C-level position to run publishing and PR and marketing and licensing,” he explained. “Quite frankly, if I hadn’t been good at it, it would have been a huge massive failure for the company.”
Lowenstein said that Meyerhofer’s willingness to give him a carte blanche of sorts on product and marketing decisions has been a major driver behind Gamblit’s emergence as an upstart game manufacturer, and that approach is what will be needed to lure similar talent.
“When you have that kind of support from CEO to be outside the box, that’s huge to attracting key talent from other industries,” he said. “Especially people who are successful in other industries – it’s not easy to pull them into something totally different.”
Most pleasantly surprising has been the warm reception he’s received from what is oftentimes described as the close-knit and inside world of casinos.
“I would say that I’ve been welcomed into the industry with open arms,” he said. “Every operator has been really kind to me. “They say ‘You’re what we need; we need your experience; we need your viewpoint. That’s all been fantastic.”
