- ATLANTIC CITY, NJ-Originally constructed to celebrate the opulence of ancient Rome, Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City refurbished many important elements of its property this summer to continue that theme of luxury which extends to its AV technology. Notable to casino enthusiasts is the construction of the Asian pit, another manifestation of a culture of opulence.
With Harrah's Entertainment acquisition of Caesar's and other Atlantic City properties in June, 2004, James Esher assumed the role of entertainment technology manager. "Harrah's Entertainment is much more technology- and sensory-driven," said Esher. "With the acquisition, we've deployed a lot more audio and video to send streams to entertain customers."
In this phase of the refurbishment, the entire second floor of Caesar's was renovated utilizing 22 Crown amps, 385 JBL Control 24CT in-ceiling loudspeakers and 100 Control 19CT in-ceiling subwoofers. Brand new to the casino are: the Asian pit, the Simulcast, the Diamond Club, and the Total Rewards store.
Harrah's Entertainment acquired Caesar's, among other Atlantic City properties in June, 2004. With the acquisition James Esher assumed the role of entertainment technology manager for Harrah's Entertainment. Esher leads an entertainment team of 15 full-timers at Caesar's, 18 at Bally's, 16 at Showboat, and 12 at Harrah's.
"Harrah's Entertainment is very technology- and sensory-driven," said Esher. "With the acquisition, we've deployed a lot more audio and video to send streams to entertain customers." The goal now is to unify the four Atlantic City properties across a Crestron based application. "We've begun to deploy Crestron control in just about every venue that we do in the properties to control audio and video."
Asian Pit
The Asian pit, known as the Palace East was opened just in time for the Fourth of July this year. With grand palace-like atmosphere and historically inspired decor, it was designed with attention given to the placement of elements to influence players' luck and to create the most lucky seating in the gaming pit with its 22 table games and 20 slot machines. The exact science of luck is not disrupted by the art of JBL 24CT and 19CT speaker placement, all powered by Crown. Hidden in the pagoda are 24CT speakers installed delicately since the wall covering is gold leaf foil.
In Caesar's Asian pit, the exact science of luck is not disrupted by the art of JBL Control 24CT and Control 19CT speaker placement, all powered by Crown. Hidden in the pagoda are delicately installed 24CT loudspeakers since the wall covering is gold leaf foil.
The Diamond Club
Honoring faithful patrons to the casinos, the Diamond Club in Caesar's provides a posh dining experience with easy access to the casino and an impressive view of the ocean. The Diamond Club was extensively remodeled with a new AV system as well. There are five plasmas deployed throughout the room. Two at the bar are always on, the other three are concealed until needed behind artwork, which is raised automatically when the display is powered up.
With a touchpanel, the host or hostess adjusts the eight zones of audio in the club. "The bar has a separate audio zone," said Esher. "Various zones can follow video, or leave the background music on." The infrastructure is driven by Peavey X-Frame. All power is Crown and all ceiling speakers are JBL 24CTs and 19CT subs.
Another value-added luxury for casino enthusiasts is the Total Rewards Store featuring interactive kiosks for guests to use their cards to make reservations at any of the Harrah's Entertainment hotels and plan trips.
Coordinating with the video wall and islands that have yet to be installed, there are 10 audio zones in the store featuring the 24CT and the 19CT, again all driven by CTS8200 Crowns to eight-channel Crowns.
Bally's Club
Unlike Caesar's, that chose to go with the classic marble column motif, the Bally's Club dining room is slightly larger with much more media.
"There are 23 LCDs throughout that room," said Esher. "At the Bally's club room we chose to build the columns square and put a 32-inch Sharp Aquos LCD on all four sides of the five columns that run down the middle of the room."
As far as the audio goes, Bally's is similar to Caesar's club using the JBL 24CT and 19CT speakers deployed in multiple zones across the room. "The difference is in the multiple zones across the room accommodating the video scenario." JBL's Contractor series is used throughout.
Virginia City Buffet
One of the recent refurbishments in Bally's is the Virginia City Buffet. "Originally this had no music in it," said Esher. "When Harrah's bought us, a lot of the things were slowly brought in to its corporate model. Harrah's is very proactive on deploying music and media in to restaurants. We added 24CT loudspeakers throughout the ceiling in here."
Slot Signage
Casinos are familiar with maximizing technology with psychological tricks. In case there wasn't enough to see and hear walking through a slew of slot machines, strategic tracks of audio are also part of the experience. "There are slot machine tracks that continuously play in the overhead speakers to get that sound and keep the theme going," said Esher. "We can control that track and the volume. We can also control it at the slot machine. We have the capability if we're trying to energize the crowd."
Crown Audio...www.crownaudio.com
