The Golfstream simulator is one of several gaming attractions at the MGM Grand’s Level Up Lounge.
The MGM Grand Resort and Casino’s latest move to attract millennial customers is to build the world’s first indoor laser golf course, called Golfstream. The virtual golf course is going to be part of a private lounge in its latest addition, the “Level Up” Lounge.
The new attraction will be located between the MGM Grand’s famous Race & Sports Book and the Hakkasan Nightclub. The virtual golf system is the brainchld of Michael Brenner, Sameer Gupta, and Darren Dummit, who introduced the system at Wheels Up Super Saturday Tailgate Party (Super Bowl party) in San Francisco last year.
Golfstream: A VR Golf Experience
The innovative virtual golf experience uses a combination of technologies, including laser guidance systems and “augmented reality” (VR technology) to produce an interactive golfing experience. One promotional ad described the experience as transporting players “through a sweries of fast-paced mini-challenges in a new approach to skill-based contests.”
The Golfstream experience being installed in the MGM Grand was a developed in conjunction with interactive game designers, roller coaster engineers, and NASA rocket scientists (20 of them). The hybrid virtual experience allows anyone from a scratch golfer to a pure novice to test their golfing skills on a moving greenscreen. Apparently, golfers can choose anything from pro-level courses to mini-golf landscapes.
Level Up Lounge Information
Level Up was launched by the MGM Grand last year to attract the 25 to 34-year old demographic. Now known as the “Trillion Dollar Generation”, the millennials represent the largest demographic in the United States at the moment, so maintaining their interest level is the key to growth for Las Vegas Strip casinos.
Level Up is a 12,000 square gaming area which includes traditional and non-traditional casino games. Players find arcade games like Giant Pac Man and Frogger alongside versions of blackjack and roulette. All games allow players to win cash prizes, which makes Level Up a more interesting play option than restaurant-arcades like Dave & Buster’s.
Golfstream Suite
The Golfstream Suite has a putting simulator with computer-adjustable slopes, to increase or decrease the difficulty of the game. One fan-friendly technology is the laser-guided tracking, which helps players location the right trajectory for their putt. Putting is a matter of “touch”, so the laser-guided program does not preclude putting competitions. The 30-second times Putting Challenge is the basic putting competition.
Golfstream also has virtual driving ranges, much like golfers might find at larger golf pro shops. This includes longest drive competitions and closest-to-the-pin competitions, which are held by driving a ball into a greenscreen which calculates direction and distance.
Group Play and Group Rates
Each range has room for up to 10 players or spectators. While people are gaming, food and drink is served to the guests. Golfstream even has a caddy available, to help players operate the simulator. Rental rates are $75-an-hour during off-hours and $175-an-hour from 7pm to 11pm daily. Such rates are commensurate with the brick-and-mortar golf entertainment chains like Top Golf. The MGM Grand allows walk-up usage, but also allows group reservations.
Sameer Gupta and Darren Dummit say they hope to eventually add more types of competitions to their simulator. At the moment, the 30-second Putting Challenge, Longest Drive Challenge, and Closest-to-the-Pin Challenge are the basic games available.
Ben Crenshaw on Golfstream
Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw is an investor in the Golfstream project. Crenshaw, who has 19 PGA Tour wins alongside his 1984 and 1995 victories at August National, wrote a statement about the virtual golf experience on the Golfstream website: “The way they have used technology to blend the world of golf and entertainment is something that is overdue in both the golf industry and the live entertainment industry. This is truly a game changer.”
Millennials in Casinos
Starting in 2014, Las Vegas Strip casinos began to chart a fall-off in the level of participation on slots row. Data analysis showed that the millennial generation did not enjoy slot machine gaming the way older generations had. Since slot machines generate about 70% of gaming revenues for Vegas Strip casinos, that was considered an alarming fact by operators.
Since then, the Vegas casino executives have lobbied Nevada lawmakers to allow more millennial-friendly games for casino gamblers. Now, skill-based slots, virtual sports, and eSports are available for players. The various Las Vegas casinos have begun to experiment with these games, often building separate lounges to attract millennial gamblers. The Golfstream virtual golf experience is the next gaming system being tested, based on the popularity of businesses like Top Golf with the younger generation.
