Gasser Chair’s Alto Series Until the 1980s, your favorite slot machine in your favorite casino lacked a place to park your caboose. You wanted to drop coins into the slot, you stood. And you stood some more. You got tired, you went to the coffee shop for a respite.
“But as slots came to dominate casino revenues, casinos began to cater more to slot players,” says Professor David G. Schwartz, associate vice provost, Office of Faculty Affairs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and an expert in gambling history. “Rather than being a quick diversion, slots became something patrons would play for hours. Chairs became important for the overall gaming experience, because anything that enhances comfort is going to lead to a longer gambling session.”
Remember that word: comfort. It’s a key factor when it comes to casino chairs. Or any chairs, for that matter, whether in a restaurant, a lounge or a meeting room, but especially on the casino floor. Especially in front of a slot machine.
“What many people may not realize is every player’s first interaction with the game is the chair. Not a player card, not the button panel, not the bill validator. It’s the chair,” says Joshua Corrick, chief commercial officer at Gary Platt Manufacturing, one of the leading providers of casino seating for more than 20 years. They create chairs for slots, table games, poker, bar-top and bingo, among other areas.
Gary Platt chairs
Gary Platt and other specialized manufacturers design chairs to not only sweep players off their feet, but to make where they sit good for the body. Ergonomics, they call it.
Ergonomic features are paramount as the casino player cannot be compared to any other user of a chair or work station. The configuration of the playing station therefore has to be addressed accordingly, says Luigi Iulita, owner of StylGame, another chair manufacturer.
“We have found in casino after casino, in country after country, the more we focus on player comfort, the more we are able to directly impact increased time on a device, helping to drive revenue in both the slot and table games areas,” Corrick says.
A number of factors come into focus when it comes to posture and positioning, says Kevin Buck, communications manager for Gasser Chair.
“You have to consider seat height, back angle, seat angle, foam density and how all of these properties interact with each other,” he says. “You have to also make sure the player can easily interact with the machine. You do not want the customer to have to lean over to reach for the machine, so having the seat height just right is crucial. This is why having a gas cylinder, or a player-adjustable seat height is very common on the slot stools.”
Durability and Design
But ergonomics and comfort are not the only dynamics at play.
“The most important factor for me is comfort, but followed by look, and finally durability,” says Alex Alvarado, vice president of casino operations at MGM National Harbor.
MGR
When a casino buys slot machines, it can almost immediately check if it made a good purchase based on revenue statistics, says Kelcey Allison, CEO of GSL Gaming Group, distributor for MGR Casino Chairs. But quantifying a chair is not so easy. Casinos can only know if the purchase worked after months or years, he says.
“The chair must ‘invite’ the player, make him sit as long as possible and then play as long as possible,” Allison says.
Indeed, hundreds of hours have been spent by researchers in understanding the relationship between the player and the chair.
“The cabinet designs from the slot manufacturers have greatly changed the way people sit and play slots now,” says Jim Keranen, vice president of sales and marketing for Patir Inc., a Las Vegas-based casino chair manufacturer.
A slot chair is a functional piece of art from that perspective, he adds.
“Being that it is functional, what are the specific needs of the casino operators? How can we make their needs coincide with the designer’s vision? How do we make sure these chairs will last for the next 15 years as well?” Keranen says.
Unlike other furniture throughout a resort, casino chairs are subjected to continuous stress, many times with poor use and washed with aggressive cleaning agents, MGR Global Sales Chief Guido Rizzo says.
Moreover, each chair operates in a 24/7 environment, says Lance Weiss, executive director of KGM Seating Division, which developed a proprietary blended two-part injection molded foam which adds to the overall comfort and durability of its chairs.
In addition to testing for durability, Gasser utilizes aluminum components that resist rust, designs modular stools for quick in-field service, and offers self-return swivels so the chairs are always facing the machine, Buck says.
Then there is uniqueness. “Casinos are requesting more custom slot stool designs that can create a lasting impression,” he says.
At Gary Platt, artisans create the design from a preliminary sketch of a fully realized chair.
“Like all artists, our designers have a process, which starts by considering the comfort level and its relationship to time on the device,” Corrick says. “We are very proud of how our creative teams work closely with our customers’ design teams to create hand-crafted chairs.”
Take the Flamingo in Las Vegas, a Caesars Entertainment property. The casino employs the Gary Platt GX2 model on all of the main-floor slots. Players in the high-limit salon sit on the Sonoma model, and visitors to the casino’s bars can rest on the Monaco chair. The Flamingo transformation began last year with the Lido chair for the poker room.
Bells and Whistles
In today’s environment—and in the future—seating becomes part of the experience.
“There are now seats with built-in speakers and even vibration motors to create a more immersive playing event, something mirrored in seating for video gaming and entertainment,” Schwartz says.
The future could bring a union of the seat and cabinet with integrated chairs.
“We are working on anti-static, anti-bacterial and integrated cellphone charging seats,” Allison says.
KGM chairs
Manufacturers have utilized a variety of gimmicks including vibrating chairs, spin buttons, sound in the chairs and lighting, and these will be enhanced for the future. Also, memory and dual-density foam, flexible back plates, and screens in the back of the chair. In the future, expect wireless charging or electronic funds transfer through readers in the chair, says KGM President Jason Peters.
Gary Platt is incorporating several new technologies into its current sound chair platforms. “We have fully incorporated sound, lighting and a shaker for the chair, all to better create a complete gaming experience for the player,” Corrick says.
Some of MGM National Harbor’s premium slot machines provide more “robust seating” encounters, including surround sound, as well as vibration and movement. “More immersive seats enhance the game and can ultimately make for a more enjoyable gaming experience,” Alvarado says.
The integrated experience between the cabinet and chair has been increasingly of value to the player.
“There’s more and more known technology going into the chairs, and it’s fascinating to see things repurposed into a new function for the slot machine,” Keranen says. “We believe that the sportsbook chair will evolve in the same fashion. This might be a little out there, but the slot chair industry has always been looking at how to make a home reclining chair that meets your dining room chair.”
Operators might look to stadium-minimalism seats for the space-conscious casino. Or the high-limit room bringing further elegance with more lounge-style seating for couples. “The great part about working with our customers is learning the needs that their players pass on to them,” Keranen says.
With the advancement of wireless tools, it will significantly accelerate the technology used in chairs. Peters says the goal is to find something to benefit the user without distracting them. “Radio-frequency identification takes advantage of new technology without the chairs having to be integrated through the floor or attached to the base,” he says.
Tables and Seating
Much of the focus on chairs in a casino environment relates to slot machines because slots generate the most revenue. But chairs have their own affinity with certain table games, notably blackjack.
Patrons still stand while playing craps and to an extent, roulette. And for good reason.
“Mostly this is because of practical concerns. Placing bets in roulette would have players standing anyway, and shooting dice while sitting down would take much of the excitement out of craps,” Schwartz says.
Chairs for blackjack tables need to be solid, having a firm center of gravity, while being easy to slide into position and be very comfortable, Alvarado says.
Patir
Blackjack is more of a social game, with more interactions between players that can have an effect on play, Keranen says. “Think about when someone wins a jackpot on a slot machine; people stop and think, ‘Wow, that’s cool. Hope I win like that!’ Compare this to table games: ‘Look, we are all winning. Keep this streak alive.’ That drives other players to want to come join, hence, more seats are needed around the table for one game,” he says.
Blackjack players stay and play hour after hour, Corrick says. “If they aren’t comfortable or experience discomfort in their legs or body, they leave. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair leaves you feeling physically exhausted; you constantly move your legs, hips and back to make yourself more comfortable.”
There’s that word again. Comfort.
Chair design differs when it comes to table games. Ongoing development of proper ergonomics based on posture of the player is a focus, specifically with table game patrons, as they tend to sit differently than slot players, Weiss says.
“We often see table game players leaning forward, whereas, a slot player is more likely to be leaning against the chair back,” he says.
As designers studied table games, they found that chairs needed to add different heights to ensure the participant is at the optimum height, Corrick says. “The result is much less fatigue to a player’s body or arms. Our research has also led us to create chairs with specialized lumbar support, keeping in mind that the players are leaning forward to reach the table.”
Says Weiss, “Table games such as blackjack require a more supportive seat cushion design to relieve pressure because it is a higher chair. Additionally, we also want to consider different foam densities due to the player’s sitting habits.”
Chairs usually have shorter backs to not obscure the view, Buck says. “It’s not difficult to make a comfortable blackjack stool; it just takes a different approach.”
The foot rest location has to be relative to the seat top and not the floor, as the height is different for everyone.
Dimensions of the seats are also smaller than those with slots, Rizzo says.
The context of chair use with table games is very different, and the importance of the seat is not as crucial as for slot machines, Iulita says. “It is in any case a determining factor that has a great influence on the gaming experience and can prolong the time spent by the player at the table. The ongoing changes in the blackjack field, such as the digitization of gaming tables, do not change the needs of the player when it comes to seats.”
It’s no surprise that casino operators diversify their earning portfolio beyond gaming and into hospitality, whether meeting rooms, restaurants or bars. Chairs play a role in these arenas as well. “They want to give customers a reason to stay longer,” Corrick says.
For example, the convention area is notorious for horribly uncomfortable chairs, he says.
“We asked, why was it supposedly impossible to create a chair that was both easily stackable and comfortable, and the answer is, it’s not,” Corrick says. “Our Kopa model is living proof.“
