Tom Sykes and his partners at SOSH Architects—Tom O’Connor, Bill Salerno and Nory Hazaveh—were inspired to start the firm in 1978 when casino gambling was legalized in New Jersey, specifically in their hometown of Atlantic City.

The city’s first three casinos—Resorts, Caesars and Bally’s—were renovations of existing hotels, designed by out-of-town architectural and design firms. Others were greenfield projects, including Harrah’s, the Golden Nugget and Showboat.

SOSH gained traction and a reputation for innovative design, quality work and a “local” perspective that paid off when gaming expanded across the U.S. SOSH has been active in many commercial and Native American gaming jurisdictions, and it is recognized today for its expertise in gaming design.

“We learned at the beginning by getting the back-of-the-house projects,” says Sykes. “We didn’t get any of the big projects; back-of-the-house projects were our schooling. We learned operations, controls. We learned casino systems. Gradually, we began to work in front-of-the-house, but we never forgot how important the back is. With patience, experience and a rich mixture of projects, we began to understand priorities that allow a casino to serve its patrons and its owners efficiently and creatively.”

Meanwhile, WATG was making a name for itself in hospitality. Since its founding in Hawaii in 1945, WATG has become an industry leader in luxury hospitality design. Its five service lines—advisory, master planning, architecture, landscape and interiors—work together to deliver projects highly regarded for design excellence and long-term performance. The combination of the two firms creates a powerhouse with expertise in luxury hospitality projects, casinos and integrated resorts.

Mark Yoshizaki joined WATG in the 1990s after experience with Walt Disney Imagineering, working on projects such as Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo DisneySea. Now the firm’s managing principal, architecture, he says WATG has always been active in gaming, but the SOSH acquisition takes it to the next level.

“When WATG was brought to the table, it wasn’t as gaming experts, but as hospitality thematic designers,” he says. “Then we started cross-pollinating with experts in the gaming industry. We got the opportunity to work on the MGM Mansion: 28 high-roller suites tucked away behind the green monster there. We worked on the Venetian top to bottom, from concept, teaming up with another firm to help us with the tower—obviously a fairly large project.

“We also worked with Caesars on their Spa Tower and Wynn Encore on their second tower. We touched a lot of signature projects in Las Vegas and are making a strong and purposeful effort to get back into the gaming business.

“That was one of the main reasons for the recent acquisition of SOSH.”

Early Days

The seed of a merger was planted early when the two companies began collaborating on projects. Sykes says that experience gave him confidence that a full merger would work well.

“Our teams were very adaptive and we seemed to blend very well together.” Post-acquisition, he says, “we’ve gotten a very strong reception.

We now have a high level of talent to support every aspect of design, architecture and interiors. All services have really been upgraded.”

Yoshizaki says the early work is focused on doing what each firm did best before the merger. “Our approach really is business as usual. But all the while, behind the scenes we’re integrating our businesses, looking for more opportunistic strategies with new clients and enhancing our offering to existing clients.”

The two firms have similar approaches to business, according to Sykes.

“One thing we’ve always admired about WATG is that they don’t broadcast a style; they broadcast an approach, and it’s very personal. We felt the same way. We each search for what serves that environment, that project, that owner, that budget—allowing us to understand the criteria we need to do the very best job.”

Studio blending will happen “on a case-by-case basis,” adds Yoshizaki. “Obviously, we want to have parity within skill sets. We try to have an equal offering to every client with regards to how we approach projects. That was part of the initial criteria of looking for a great partner like SOSH.

“We were looking for cultural similarities in how we approach projects, how we approach the business, and what we offer to our clients.”

Inside Job

WATG is noted for interior design, with its Wimberly Interiors brand based in L.A. and New York City. SOSH has also designed interiors, and the connection with WATG will strengthen the practice.

“Our team has worked on a variety of gaming projects, but we’re seeing the opportunity for some grander ones,” says Sykes. “There’s a very strong New York office run by Margaret McMahon for WATG, and we’re having the opportunity to blend them together as a very strong artistic presence within hospitality and particularly the gaming programs.”

Presently, the teams are “heads-down working on current workload and projects,” says Yoshizaki. “We do have a brand new opportunity that we have chosen to work together on. And the expertise of the Atlantic City team under Tom has been proven to be very valuable with regards to the casino layouts, back-of-house and operations.

“Blended with our hospitality approach, it really offers clients a nice variety of expertise.”

Rock and a Hard Place

SOSH has long been a favorite designer of Hard Rock hotels. While it didn’t do the Guitar Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, SOSH is the go-to firm for regional Hard Rock casinos, including those in Rockford, Illinois and Bristol, Virginia. SOSH is also designing a hotel addition in Rockford. And in July, a greatly expanded Hard Rock Casino and Hotel will open in Ottawa, Canada.

“Ottawa is an existing property that was built by the government, because Canada had some government-owned casinos,” Sykes explains. “Hard Rock was brought in approximately in 2016 and did some minor additions until 2020. It then made a major commitment and has moved forward to complete an addition as well as renovating the existing facility. Hard Rock Ottawa will be a seamless property: a 150-room hotel, 2,000-seat theater, a casino of about 69,000 square feet, and a variety of food-and-beverage, retail and entertainment amenities.”

Most exciting for WATG is being the interior architect on a Hard Rock concept for a proposed New York City casino resort adjacent to Citi Field in Queens. New York Mets principal Steve Cohen is one of about a half-dozen bidders vying for three “downstate” casino licenses.

“It’s roughly 4 million square feet of building area, 8 million total when you add in all the exterior space,” says Yoshizaki. “This is not just a casino—the gaming component represents maybe 15 percent of the project. This is a very comprehensive entertainment facility. Hard Rock wants to make sure the public understands this is a public entertainment facility, not only for gamers, but also for those who are looking for a show, music, food and beverage, and obviously hotel stays.”

More than 25 acres are dedicated to open space, including a large landscaped field between Citi Field and the integrated resort. “There’s been a very open dialogue on all the needs and wants of the public, and our design team is doing their darnedest to fulfill all the tick marks in there,” he says. “That large expansive concourse will connect all the way back into Corona Park” in the local neighborhood.

Marking the Arrival

Yoshizaki says WATG’s background in hospitality design brings an important element to today’s casino business.

“We obviously focus on aesthetics and the beauty of the architecture, but we pay more attention to the guest experience—how do people arrive at the front door? How do they experience the hospitality spaces, especially the gaming floor? Are we moving people through the space, (eliminating) dead zones or areas that become stagnant? And how do we best service all these spaces? It’s a very complex 3D puzzle. We love the complexity of these types of buildings.

“We always keep in mind how the guests feel when they’re in the space, how they were serviced, and how to keep all the back-of-house hidden from view so the workforce can shine in the front-of-house. Getting all the right F&B mixes, food offerings, music and entertainment, and retail positioned in the right spots—those are all part of the guest experience.”

WATG has worked successfully in the international market for years, and Yoshizaki believes that will continue.

“Hard Rock has been very good to bring us into some of these IR international pursuits. We teamed up with them in Cyprus. We subsequently won that competition but passed it to Melco Crown. We’ve been brought to the table with Hard Rock at other times, and (Hard Rock Chairman) Jim Allen has told us it’s because of our brand reputation globally. That’s important when you’re pitching a large investment and gives certainty that the team can deliver in these foreign markets. Because a lot of them are frankly new to gaming and not as sophisticated as Atlantic City or Las Vegas. So having the right team with the right credentials is important.”

WATG SOSH will also continue its groundbreaking work in Indian Country, says Yoshizaki.

“We just got off four years of work with the opening of the Yaamava’ project for the San Manuel Nation. That’s really doing well as far as performance goes. It’s allowed them to rebrand themselves and become a larger player in the market, especially on the West Coast.

“So Native American gaming is definitely on our radar. We believe we have a lot to bring to the table. We’re starting to knock on doors and trying to find the right partners. We’re not going after everyone, but we’re going after who we believe we can help.”

Future Strategy

For WATG, the SOSH acquisition is part of a long-term strategy.

“Almost two years ago, there was a concerted discussion on how we expand our own business beyond hospitality,” says Yoshizaki. “How do we even out the ebbs and flows of the economy when it comes to hotels and gaming?” With the acquisition of SOSH, “we now have great partners and an East Coast presence.”

“At WATG, we have two distinct approaches to architecture and interiors, not to mention our landscape and our planning teams. So we love the idea that Tom has an integrated blend of services. We’re going to keep it that way. It addresses the gaming market with a much stronger, more purposeful position in terms of new build and renovation opportunities. We’re leveraging that to certain clients as well as looking at traditional architecture. We believe the luxury interior side can grow substantially. So we’re starting to see what’s really working out in the market.”

For Sykes, creating experiences is the most exciting part.

“We use the word entertainment so often, but it’s really about how we engage the guests in a facility that has all the options, including gaming,” he says. “We work so hard to make the aesthetics and the design appealing, but it’s the operations folks who don’t get enough credit—the front-line staff.

“When you walk into a property, you remember the experience, you forget everything else. And that experience is a conglomeration of the people on the front line, the aesthetics in the background and how easy or difficult it is to enjoy yourself… That is so important. We track multiple paths in the guest experiences, and believe we get it right.”