Deal them in

For Bente Giljarhus, an exchange student at Sierra Nevada College, it's all about the free drinks and the socializing.

"You get the free drinks at the blackjack and roulette tables, not at the video games" the 27-year-old student from Norway said. "They never give you free drinks there. And video games are not social games. Craps is more social."

Younger players like Giljarhus and her friends are an attractive group for Nevada gaming companies, but also an elusive one. Larger casinos, such as the Eldorado in Reno, attract the 21 to 35 market with clubs, flashy bars and high-profile entertainment. The Eldorado has its own martini bar, Roxy's, the BuBinga night club and Brew Brothers Microbrewery.

But smaller casinos, such as the Piñon Plaza in Carson City, know their market is senior citizens, and they don't have the capital to invest in attractive venues for the hip crowd that isn't known for dropping buckets of quarters in the slots.

"We don't market to that group," said Sean Sever, director of operations for the Piñon Plaza. "We market to seniors more. We find they're our audience."

Seniors at the Piñon Plaza get two-for-one meals on Thursday and Fridays and free Bingo nights. Sever said this is what works for them. The executives didn't see any potential for them to break into a younger market.

Giljarhus was waiting in the buffet line with her friends at Casino Fandango, a 70,000-square-foot casino at 3800 S. Carson St. Arno Pechtl, a 23-year-old student from Austria, agrees that it's the table games that keep him coming back.

"I'm totally with her," he said, nodding to Giljarhus. "No slots. Just blackjack, craps, roulette."

"It's fun to see the rich guys at the table spending big money," said Giljarhus, who then laughed.

"We never play big."

"We have a limit."

Have they ever won? Giljarhus said maybe she's won as much as $90 at one time. You've got to bet big to win big.

The shallow pockets of these students is the reason why smaller casinos aren't shelling out anything extra for the 20-somethings.

Steve Forester, Casino Fandango general manager, said his casino uses penny video games and entertainment to reach a younger crowd.

"Of our 700 slots, 660 are penny video games," he said. "The most popular game in Nevada is Star Wars. Now what's popular are the movie themes."

Casino Fandango has four Star Wars video reel games located near a bar. With a $1 million jackpot, three players were attracted to the flashing machines that feature the Death Star placed prominently at the top of each machine. The players were all over 40. At the touch of a button the five reels spin images from the movies. Match up Princess Leia, a pod racer or Han Solo for credit. The video game includes a "Death Star Bonus," where you can shoot a storm trooper.

Five years ago when Forester worked at Caesars Tahoe, of its 1,100 games only about 5 percent were video reels. Now 90 to 95 percent of reel games are video.

"They've completely taken over," Forester said.

Kelly Brant, director of casino promotions, said the Carson Nugget has entertainment six nights a week for younger people - from country to R&B.

"We think a lot of the things that attract senior gamers are attractive to gamers of all ages," he said. "Those things are value, slot machines with liberal payoffs, restaurants, good food and prices."

Keeping the gaming true brings in players of all ages, Brant said.

n Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

BLACKJACK

why is it so popular?

The objective of blackjack is to beat the dealer's hand by either having a total that exceeds the dealer's total and by not going over 21 when the dealer does. Casinos have the edge because players must go first and when they bust their hand they automatically lose, even if the dealer also busts.

All cards count their face value in blackjack. Picture cards count as 10 and the ace can count as either a 1 or 11.

The Horizon Casino Resort is hosting a $150,000 Blackjack Competition from June 7 to 11. This will be the largest blackjack tournament ever at South Lake Tahoe, with the largest purse.

For more information visit www.horizoncasino.com/

Source: Casino.com