Winning at roulette wasn’t exactly what artificial intelligence (AI) was designed for. But AI’s ability to speed up complex tasks has found a natural home in the unlikeliest of places — the casino. AI is helping brands roll out high-touch, personalized experiences for every guest, not just high rollers. Think Mr. Papagiorgio from Vegas Vacation, but scaled for every patron.
Yes, it’s early, and many businesses are still figuring out how to best use AI. But as they tentatively zig towards AI, the gaming and hospitality industry is clipping ahead. As Andre’ Gowens, Hard Rock’s VP of Enterprise Architecture and Software Engineering, explains, the opportunities for AI in this space are vast. This blog post examines the five use cases — Gowens’ top five — that he believes are important for the gaming and hospitality industry. They’re reshaping how we stay, play, and experience the world.
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Targeted Marketing and Customer Segmentation
Customer personalization has been the cornerstone of the hospitality industry. From the games you play to the teams you root for to the offers you receive based on your interests, brands spare no effort in tailoring guest experiences. While it’s always been done, it was manual — time-consuming and inconsistent. But now, with AI, hospitality companies can personalize offers more accurately — and at scale. Generative AI (Gen AI) makes automating communications like emails, text messages, and push notifications even easier.
From the front desk to the pool to the casino floor, from recommending local attractions and restaurants to offering complimentary drinks tailored to individual preferences, AI-driven solutions make guests feel valued and cared for at every touchpoint.
AI in Action — Examples:
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Creates segmented marketing campaigns for specific audiences
- Social Media and Online Engagement: Sprinklr, an AI-powered platform, helps casinos and hotels monitor social media interactions to understand customer sentiment and personalize engagement
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Personalized Customer Experiences
Andre’ Gowens believes, “Understanding what’s important to the customer is critical — and for us that means delivering personalized experiences across our various websites, online, and in-person games.”
“When you’re sitting at the slot machine, and you get a personalized offer for a drink you prefer, or round-the-clock assistance before your customers even ask for it — that’s personalization.” The good news: AI achieves it at scale.
For example, AI call assistants can answer guest inquiries faster, reducing the load on front desk staff while improving service levels and increasing guest satisfaction.
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Predictive Analytics for Customer Retention
Customer retention is a top priority for gaming and hospitality companies. Predictive analytics helps identify patterns and behaviors that indicate churn — when customers might stop engaging or switch to competitors. AI systems analyze these patterns and proactively generate offers or strategies to retain customers.
Churn Prediction
Churn prediction is critical for companies such as Hard Rock to retain customers. With AI, companies have a better handle on knowing beforehand if a customer’s going to defect to a competitor. There are patterns AI detects to determine the likelihood of a customer walking away. For example, if a customer has been inactive for a certain period, the system detects this trend and alerts you. Using Gen AI you could incentivize the customer with targeted offers or promotions, to re-engage these customers and encourage their loyalty.
Dynamic Pricing Optimization
Dynamic pricing is widely used by major hotel chains like Hard Rock, Marriott, and Caesars Entertainment to increase revenue while delivering competitive pricing to customers. Using AI, room rates are adjusted based on market demand, competitor rates, and customer preferences — in real time. Tools such as Duetto, a revenue management software, enable real-time price adjustments based on market demand, competitor pricing, and customer preferences.
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Fraud Detection and Security
There are some common security practices gaming and hospitality companies employ. For instance, when you walk into a casino, cameras capture you. AI paired with facial recognition software like Cognitec FaceVACS analyzes if you’re someone on a watch list, banned, or wanted, and if that’s the case, security pays you a visit. AI helps brands keep things safe, secure, and fair. For example, machine learning fraud detection tools like Featurespace ARIC are designed to spot unusual betting patterns signaling fraud. It’s all about protecting players and ensuring a fair gaming environment.
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Empowering Developers With AI
“At Hard Rock, we’re all in on AI,” explains Gowens. When employees worry about AI replacing them, he reassures them, explaining, “We’re not replacing people with bots. Instead, we’re using AI to make work more exciting.”
Think about it—rather than being stuck doing boring documentation, teams can focus on learning skills like Python or diving into more advanced projects. AI helps brands do incredible things for customers, grow revenue, cut costs, and make work more enjoyable.
At the end of the day, AI is a tool we use to do better—better for our customers, better for our business, and better for our people. And this holds true for any industry looking to set new standards in innovation and excellence.
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