Casino Creativity

A hundred years ago when the American West was being settled, entertainment was scarce. Gold digging and cattle herding, taming the elements and avoiding bandits was probably enough to keep the most ambitious of folks from having much time to play games. Yet casinos were a staple of life (or so Hollywood has led us to believe) and remain today a big part of Western culture (Las Vegas.)The Casinos have hung around, but life has changed alot since the 19th century. Now we have electricity, iPods, and most importantly, video game consoles.  Ask any seven-year-old what "gaming" means, and they will tell you it means swinging a Wii numchuck, blasting space aliens in Halo, or mastering the latest iteration of the Sony Playstation.  And yet casinos, from Vegas to Branson, havn't caught on.  (Not that they are trying to attract minors, but in fifteen years, they will be.)  In casinos "gaming" means playing cards, throwing dice, or spinning slots.I recently stood in front of a Craps table in Washington State and watched cluelessly, for a few moments, as casino people (croupiers?) shouted encouragements, hoping I'd lay down some cash.  I didn't because I don't know how to play the game, and no one was going to explain it to my satisfaction.  What I do know how to play, and what I'm pretty sure most people my age know how to play, are video games.  Sit me in a recliner, in front of a Plasma, and ask me to throw down a few bucks on the next play in a game of Madden NFL, or the next round in Counterstrike, and I'd be much more tempted than I would be to throw a pair of dice, or watch someone flip playing cards over and over.If casinos are smart, I think, they'll catch on.  Antiquated games of Blackjack, Poker, Slots, Craps, and everything else cowboys and indians used to play during the age of manifest destiny should be updated to include Space Invaders, DOOM, The Sims, Halo, and the other digital incarnations of playtime.