One of my colleagues, just for shiggles, played a little game with himself at this year’s Global Gaming Expo. Whenever he heard the word “millennials,” he drank a shot.
The convention doors swung open at 10 a.m. and by lunchtime, his blood-alcohol level was higher than Doogie Howser’s grade-point average. From the owner of a small-time startup to the CEO of a big-time casino operator, everybody was talking about, or talking about somebody else talking about, this coveted demographic of 21-to-34-year-olds.
With all due respect to Puff Daddy (or Weird Al), it’s clearly not all about the Benjamins (or Pentiums). It’s all about the millennials. This group of adults that has less money than any other demographic; that has a third of its population living at home with mom and dad; and that has reached the requisite age to vote for president but not to run for it, was the focus of our attention and our resources.
OMG. No wonder these kids have such high self-esteem.
“It’s tough to make predictions,” Yogi Berra said, “especially about the future.” Well, undaunted and undeterred, and hopefully unremembered if I’m wrong, here are a few prognostications about the millennial crowd:
#SameOldSame: Sorry, iconoclasts and daydreamers, but millennials will not trigger a radical diversion in casino gambling. True, most young people spend most of their waking hours wired into their wireless devices. But does that mean they want to live life through a touch screen? I don’t think so.
Explain Airbnb, Uber and Electric Daisy Carnival. Technology facilitates the experience. Even Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are social, not solitary. So if you ask me, the only gambling millennials will be doing on their iPhones in the foreseeable future is swiping right on Tinder.
#ByeBadBets: Millennials are the most knowledgeable generation when it comes to gambling. That’s what happens when you’ve had all the world’s information in your pocket for as long as you’ve had pockets.
A recent media report posited that high hold percentages are driving down slot play. Maybe yes, maybe no. That’s an opinion, but so is this: Millennials are going to find a good gamble, or they’re going to find something else to do.
#ChChChChanges: Be careful when taking aim at this target market, because the target is moving. Heed the words of Wayne Gretzky, who attributed his athletic virtuosity neither to size nor strength nor speed nor skill, but rather to his antici ... pation. Gretzky said good players go where the action is, but elite ones go where the action will be.
Great advice, Great One. And it’s something all of us should follow. Well, not follow. Stay in front of.
Test. Try. Experiment — trial and error may not be sexy, but it works. How do you think we slithered out of the ocean and started walking erect?
Roger Snow is a senior vice president at Scientific Games.