Casinos are constantly changing in order to draw guests in and keep them spending money. To be successful, corporate casino operators are always looking for ways to multi-purpose money-making spaces. A big part of the lure to keep customers in the casino is the architectural and design features. Casino flooring design plays an integral part. Not only does the flooring set the tone for a guest’s visit, it creates interesting traffic paths to the casino floor, elevators, restaurants and shops, and points of interest to encourage consumers to explore and participate in the casino experience. Showrooms, bars, night clubs, hotel rooms and restaurants become points of interests for guests while entrances, service centers and loyalty desks support the operational engagement. Traffic paths should be designed to enable guests to move from one point of interest to another, and along the way slot machines and gaming pits should be strategically placed to lure the consumer to gamble.
Casino flooring design options have to be unique and visually pleasing, but because of high volume pedestrian traffic, they also have to be extremely durable and easy to maintain. Finding the right materials to set a casino floor apart from its competition, maintaining design integrity and being practical and cost-effective are key factors when considering casino flooring design options.
“Casino flooring is a specific science that professional interior designers have learned to develop successfully,” Ken Kulas, principal at Las Vegas-based interior design firm Cleo Design told Casino Enterprise Management. “The right product is selected for aesthetic design and durability, as well numerous other qualities that are required for a successful environment. Flooring not only can visually ‘tune up or tune down’ the atmosphere, but the right selection can control or animate the audio environment as well,” he continued. “Hard surfaces, being sound reflective, can add life to a somber space while carpet can help reduce unwanted noise.”
Today, casino flooring design options are endless. From tile to carpet to wood to stone, you can make an impact. According to Jocy Teske, interior design principal at Minneapolis-based Walsh Bishop Associates, when taking into consideration the selection and type of casino flooring design options you must consider a number of factors, including aesthetic requirements of the design, planned replacement schedule, product performance longevity, floor type, under floor accessibility frequency, maintenance practices and geographical location.
Like the hotel industry, casino operators are realizing the value of hard surfaces in aesthetics, health and ease of maintenance, and are incorporating these materials in the common areas — lobbies, restaurants, clubs, meeting spaces, guest rooms, etc. “The use of hard surface flooring, including translucent acrylic panels, with carpet provides the facility with unique design solutions within the casino,” Teske told Casino Enterprise Management.
In the gaming area, broadloom carpet is still preferred over hard surfaces. In the common areas, Axminister still dominates. Many casinos are replacing tired themed pattern carpets with more elegant patterns, which help mask wear-and-tear.
Casino floors that tend to move their machines more often are finding that modular carpet tile gives them the flexibility and access to any subfloor power/data systems. Carpet tile offers the advantage in high-traffic areas of being easily removed for soil, stains or damage, then cleaned or replaced with new tiles. These tiles are available in a variety of patterns and colors and are a natural acoustical conditioner, promoting speech privacy in large spaces, a reduction in fall-related injuries and non-color fading.
With thousands of people walking, drinking and smoking in the casino 24/7, casino flooring needs to be durable and be able to withstand constant high-traffic volume, while being easy to clean and maintain. East Coast Flooring & Interiors specializes in casino flooring design and related public areas.