All About Casino Carpet Design
“Casino carpet is known as an exercise in deliberate bad taste that somehow encourages people to gamble,” David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, wrote in an essay. So, Why Are Casino Carpets So Loud and Colorful? Conspiracy theories? Ambiance? Casino themes? Here’s All About Casino Carpet Design.
Why Are Casino Carpets So Colorful and Loud
Wear and Tear, Spills, and Burns
I’ve always heard that busy casino carpets are that way for one reason. They cover up the many stains of daily use. “Casino carpet is known as an exercise in deliberate bad taste that somehow encourages people to gamble,” wrote Dr. David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Wait a minute. How does it “encourage people to gamble?” Hmmmmm, maybe its intention is different. Maybe the casino industry has hidden reasons for those ghastly patterns. Read on.
Exciting Atmosphere?
Bill Friedman, the author of Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition, says, “…..gambling is a hyper experience….. [patrons] gamble for the adrenalin rush. Therefore, a more exciting carpet pattern may create a more exciting atmosphere, but nobody has demonstrated that.” But maybe it’s true.
‘It’s all about keeping you stimulated. [Gamblers] spend money when they are not asleep.’
Chris Maluszynski
Round and curved objects are welcoming and relaxing. But jagged, sharp items are intense. They unleash an assault on the senses to keep players wide awake deliberately!
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Don’t Look Down!
Some experts said the long-held tradition is that loud carpeting makes people look up and rivet attention on slot machines and table games.
“I think there is something to that,” said Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno. “It is the same thing as putting canopies on tops of tables, which has become popular. That lowers the ceiling. People don’t look up at the spaciousness and concentrate more on where the action is.”
Other experts said that finding subtle ways of keeping eyes focused on the gaming machines follows a business tradition dating long before Reno and Las Vegas became gambling cities.
“The fact is, at the places that have the most play, the attention of the visitors is focused on the gaming equipment, just like in a department store which (Frank Winfield) Woolworth thought of in 1878,” said Bill Friedman, “Šauthor of the book, Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition.
Conspiracy #1 – Why are casino carpets so ugly?
Rumor has it that the casino carpet is deliberately designed to camouflage gambling chips after falling onto the floor. The casino sweeps these chips up in huge numbers every night. So, are the carpets just another source of revenue?
Conspiracy #2 – Why are casino carpets so ugly?
Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, has a different theory. Eadington questions whether the carpet can put the subliminal whammy on casino customers.
Let’s face it: the pretentiousness of some casino carpets doesn’t happen by accident, do they? It takes a genius to develop something so offensive to the eye. Dr. David Schwartz considers the possibility that symbolism incorporated into the carpet encourages us to continue playing. But, on the other hand, is it simply that the floors are so hideous that the carpets encourage people to look away from the floor and up at the gambling tables?
Related Post – Why Is It Called a Casino?
Theme and Ambiance
Maybe the carpet scheme goes with the casino’s decor, and that’s all there is. At MGM Springfield, in Massachusetts, MGM has paid lots of attention to Springfield’s history.
So, depending on the casino theme, objects on the carpet may represent the casino’s motif.
From the Artist’s Viewpoint
Chris Maluszynski, 35, has spent over four years snapping the carpet designs after noticing them on a Las Vegas business trip. They include MGM Grand, Bellagio, Luxor, and The Flamingo samples. “I noticed the carpets were as loud as everything else, and I was blown away by the detail and effort that had gone into them. They are like carpets you see nowhere else. Only in Vegas, as the saying goes.”
Summary
Let’s be honest. Gambling and casinos have had conspiracies attached to every facet of the industry. But one thing is sure: gamblers can be pretty sloppy and careless. So I bet the designers want something flashy that accompanies the casino atmosphere and covers stains of all kinds.
That’s all for now.
Binbin