Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Innovation and differentiation will cement Las Vegas' position as the world's No. 1 tourist destination over the next five years, an industry leader said.
"The first half of the 1990s was about distribution -- the expansion of gaming domestically to make it more readily accessible to a wide range of people," said Glenn Schaeffer, president of Circus Circus Enterprises Inc.
"The next five years will be about differentiation -- who can offer a product different from and better than the competitors."
Noting that Las Vegas is home to "the boldest and most expensive buildings under construction anywhere in the world," Schaeffer said such entertainment megastores "are to tourism what the Pentium chip is to computer technology."
They will help draw 40 million visitors annually to Las Vegas by the year 2000, he said in the keynote speech at the opening session of the 14th annual International Gaming Business Expo.
Circus' Luxor resort at the south end of the Strip attracts more visitors each year "than all of Egypt, by a factor of three or four," he said.
"Great buildings are markers of history," Schaeffer said, "where form takes precedence over mere function.
"Great buildings are meant to serve the spirit, to attract an audience, to provide a theater where you can suspend your disbelief.
"In Las Vegas, we promote the sights, sounds and spectacle you can't find anywhere else."
The spectacle can't end on the sidewalk, he said, but must be brought into the megastore's interior as well.
"We have to bring customers into an environment beyond the ordinary where special events occur. We have to create the world's leading spaces of imagination."
It isn't cheap to do, and only a few companies have the financial strength to accomplish it, he said, noting that the top five out of 32 publicly traded gaming companies constitute 80 percent of the industry's stock market capitalization.
"The stakes to play have gotten huge," he said. And so have the rewards.
"Like the gravity of dense objects, billion-dollar buildings will attract the biggest crowds for the longest stays."
Schaeffer's speech provided an upbeat start to the expo, which has attracted hundreds of casino executives and dozens of equipment and game manufacturers reeling from a sharp decline in industry stock values over the past several months.
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