The Non-Gaming Business of the Gaming Industry: Evaluating
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 12-1-2012 The on-GN aming Business of the Gaming Industry: Evaluating the Contribution of Non- Gaming Amenities at a Casino-Resort Property Elena Shampaner-Ghiassi University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Gaming and Casino Operations Management Commons Repository Citation Shampaner-Ghiassi, Elena, "The on-GN aming Business of the Gaming Industry: Evaluating the Contribution of Non-Gaming Amenities at a Casino-Resort Property" (2012). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1776. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/1776 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Scholarship@UNLV. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE NON-GAMING BUSINESS OF THE GAMING INDUSTRY: EVALUATING THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON-GAMING AMENITIES AT A CASINO-RESORT PROPERTY by Elena Shampaner-Ghiassi Bachelor of Science in Business and Multicultural Communication Tomsk State Pedagogical University 2001 Master of Science in Hotel Administration University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2003 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Hospitality Administration William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2012 THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Elena Shampaner-Ghiassi entitled The Non-gaming Business of the Gaming Industry: Evaluating the Contribution of Non- gaming Amenities at a Casino-resort Property be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Hospitality Administration William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration Sarah Tanford, Ph.D., Committee Chair Anthony Lucas, Ph.D., Committee Member Bo Bernhard, Ph.D., Committee Member Alan Schlottmann, Ph.D., Graduate College Representative Tom Piechota, Ph.D., Interim Vice President for Research & Dean of the Graduate College December 2012 ii ABSTRACT THE NON-GAMING BUSINESS OF THE GAMING INDUSTRY: EVALUATING THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON-GAMING AMENITIES AT A CASINO-RESORT PROPERTY by Elena Shampaner-Ghiassi Dr. Sarah Tanford, Examination Committee Chair Assistant Professor of William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration University of Nevada, Las Vegas Previous studies on this topic show that all non-gaming amenities at a casino- resort property generate revenue in two ways. First, an amenity directly contributes to companies’ overall profits when consumers spend on a particular amenity more than it costs the company to provide that amenity (Roehl, 2006). Second, these amenities can make an indirect contribution defined as the profit impact of an amenity on another profit center at the property (Dandurand & Ralenkotter, 1985); however, this contribution does not show directly on the amenity’s financial statements (Roehl, 1996). The purpose of this paper is to estimate the indirect gaming (both slot and table) and non-gaming contribution of various non-gaming amenities at a casino-resort property (“the subject property”). Gaming research that studied the gaming – non-gaming relationship provided the research context for this paper. The current study incorporated the variables identified in the previous research, included additional variables as recommended by previous studies on the topic, and advanced seven theoretical models to iii examine empirically the indirect effect of the selected non-gaming amenities on gaming (slot and table) volume and other non-gaming amenities. The results of the study show that comped food and beverage covers contribute the most to the gaming revenue at the subject property over the study period, with the majority of this indirect contribution being to the slot revenue. Retail outlet sales contribute significantly to the slot revenue and to the cash table revenue at the subject property. Other retail-related sales (e.g., spa, salon, pool, arcade, etc.) also make a contribution to the property’s slot revenue. Additionally, food and beverage covers and retail outlet sales are significantly and positively associated with the subject property’s hotel occupancy. Hotel occupancy, however, did not produce a statistically significant effect on entertainment headcount at the subject property over the study period. It is important to note that whether a particular independent variable is significantly related to the dependent variable in a regression model depends on what other independent variables are included in the model. The study incorporates variables that were never previously considered for this type of analyses (e.g., daily retail outlet sales, other retail-related sales, golf course sales). Most importantly, the study represents the first attempt to incorporate all the selected non-gaming amenities in one model. Another practical implication of this study is that by using actual operating data and profit margin statistics, the study translates the estimated gaming business volume contribution to the gaming revenue contribution. The study findings show the potential of various non-gaming amenities to attract gamers and suggest that non-gaming amenities at a casino-resort can be significant contributors to gaming (slot and table) revenue and to the performance of other non-gaming amenities. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank everybody who contributed to this research and who supported me through my academic journey. I am especially thankful to my family for their continued support, patience, and understanding. I would like to say a special thank you to my husband who always believed in me more than I ever believed in myself. Without his support and encouragement, my accomplishments would not have been possible. I thank my wonderful daughters, my greatest motivation in life, who helped me put things into perspective and who taught me patience and perseverance and, what is very important, who taught me to multitask, prioritize, and keep pursuing my personal and professional goals. This paper would have never been written without the help of many UNLV faculty members. I am very fortunate to have all of them donate their time and knowledge. My special thanks go to my chair, Dr. Sarah Tanford, whose input throughout this process was absolutely invaluable. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to her for being patient and flexible in accommodating my schedule and in taking the time to understand my professional interests and ambitions. I realize how much time and effort this research assignment demanded. I truly respect the depth of her knowledge and commitment to my success. For that, I will always be grateful. I am very grateful to my committee members – Dr. Anthony Lucas and Dr. Bo Bernhard – who were very instrumental in finalizing this paper. I thank Dr. Alan Schlottmann, my Graduate College representative, whose wisdom and sense of humor never cease to amaze me. v This paper would not be possible without the help of Dr. Sammons. I thank her for all the editorial help. I always thought that it was impossible to memorize all the nuances of the APA style. Well, Dr. Sammons proved me wrong! My sincere gratitude goes to Beverly Petrelis whose patience, organizational skills, and much needed guidance helped me navigate through the doctorate program. Finally, I would like to thank all those who have helped me throughout this process and who made sure that I can graduate. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................1 Research Objectives and Justification ...........................................................................2 Research Propositions and Proposed Methods ..............................................................4 Definitions......................................................................................................................5 Study Delimitations .......................................................................................................6 Dissertation Organization ..............................................................................................6 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................8 Introduction ....................................................................................................................8 Non-Gaming Amenities in the Gaming World ..............................................................8 Increased Role of Non-Gaming Amenities ..............................................................8