Laughlin Hits Jackpot With Seniors

This hustling, bustling Colorado River gaming town, hardly out of puberty, has rapidly come of age--thanks chiefly to seniors.

One look in any Laughlin casino tells you just how completely mature travelers dominate this gambling scene. That’s not a floating dense cloud of smoke, just a bobbing sea of gray hair.

That seniors are No. 1 has been confirmed in a 1989 “Visitor Profile,” prepared for the Convention and Visitor Authority of Las Vegas, 90 miles north.

The study discloses that more than 70% of all Laughlin visitors are 50 years or older, the average being 56 years. Those 65 or older make up 33% of all visitors. Almost half (49%) of the visitors are retired (slightly more women than men--52% compared to 48%). Those 40 or under make up only 14% of the total.

Keep those statistics in mind and reflect on these: More than three-quarters of all Laughlin visitors (77%) are repeaters, having averaged four trips in the past year. Nearly one-quarter (23%) of all visitors are day-trippers, the majority on senior-sponsored motor coach tours.

What does the typical Laughlin (pronounced LAUF-lin) visitor do during a three-day, two-night stay? Without question, it fits the profile of a price-conscious senior traveler.

They (57% of all visitors) mostly play the slots, more than 70% of which are the nickel and quarter variety in the eight major casinos. Similarly priced video poker is a second in play (19%). As a result, the Hilton has made 80% of its slots for nickels and quarters.

Slot machines account for 78% of Laughlin’s gaming revenue. Compare that to 45% for the Las Vegas Strip or 61% for downtown Vegas.

The only table game in Laughlin to get major play (15% of the visitors) is blackjack. Craps rates only 3%, roulette less.

The survey also shows typical Laughlin visitors eat and sleep inexpensively.

They spend only $21 a day on food and drink, mostly in low-priced casino hotel buffets or coffee shops. And with summer mid-week overnight rates from $19 to $31 a day single or double, it’s easy to see why $36 is an average year-round overnight expenditure.

Less than 10 years ago there were only a few small casinos, topped by Don Laughlin’s Riverside. Laughlin not only put the town on the map and gave it his name, he set the way for growth. Ten years ago the population of Laughlin was less than 100. Today it draws more than 2 million visitors a year.

After the riverboat-style Colorado Belle opened with 1,238 rooms in 1987, it was followed by the 406-room Ramada Express and 989-room Harrah’s de Rio. Last month, Sam’s Town Gold River added 788 rooms to make it an even 1,000. Meanwhile the Riverside and others were adding more rooms as well.

During this expansion, the average occupancy rate was rising from 95% to 98.8% and shows no sign of slowing down.

Laughlin’s total of 5,260 rooms will increase by 2,000 with the opening of the $90-million Flamingo Hilton on Aug. 1, a room and casino space increase that should have a bigger impact on Laughlin than the 4,000-room Excalibur did for Las Vegas.

Hilton expects to fill all 1,000 rooms with a single or double rate starting at $31 a night midweek through December. That lure, plus four restaurants, a mini-showroom, Laughlin’s first real room service, and 50,000 square feet of casino with mostly low denomination slots, and a large triple bus bay check-in for group tours, were all designed to cater to the mature traveler.

Before next spring, the Laughlin Golden Nugget will open the first of two 1,000-room towers and the Edgewater Hotel will add a 872-room tower to its present 600-room spread. Several other new casino-hotels and additions to older hotels are also in the works.

No matter how much Laughlin expands, there’s still a big difference between it and Las Vegas.

You won’t find big-name stars in huge showrooms in Laughlin. Don’s Celebrity Theater at the Riverside, with the likes of Sha Na Na, Connie Stevens and Merle Haggard, is about as big-time as it gets. And instead of the Follies Bergere, Laughlin recently hosted the Bulgarian Gypsy Festival.

Other casino hotels have open showroom entertainment, mostly on a par with a good Las Vegas lounge act; sometimes better. The accent is on country, the Big Band era or good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. There’s no charge and usually no minimum. You can nurse a $1.50 beer through two sets without raising an eyebrow.

The Flamingo Hilton will add a mini-showroom with two afternoon and twice-nightly musical revues aimed right at the middle-of-the-road mature traveler. Next year’s Gold Nugget also plans a small showroom.

Although Las Vegas easily tops Laughlin in entertainment, I’d rate Laughlin’s typical hotel buffets and low- to mid-priced meals to be as good--often better--than those of Las Vegas. I was impressed by the buffets and service at the Colorado Belle. But then, the Belle is part of the Circus-Circus operation, folks who know the buffet business well.

There’s usually a prime rib war going on in Laughlin, with prices $3.49 to $6.95 for generous prime rib dinners.

In the summer, the sauna-like heat outdoors, with help from the Colorado River, tends to keep all but the most determined visitor inside the air-conditioned hotel-casinos.

That’s why most Laughlin casino-hotels have at least five dining rooms or snack areas. All feature buffets averaging $2.49 for breakfast and $3.99 for dinner.

More hearty eaters or big winners will find better dining in the Colorado Belle’s Orleans Room, Edgewater Hotel’s Embers Room or La Hacienda at Harrah’s.

Lindy’s Deli of New York City fame and a fine Italian restaurant, the Alta Villa, both in the Flamingo Hilton, also hold promise of gustatory gratification.

Although Laughlin lacks gourmet dining, it has a few nice things that Las Vegas seems about to copy: nonsmoking casino sections and a policy allowing photo-taking inside casinos.