GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 8 - April 2009

You’ll run into everything from a drunken man lying to his wife on his cell phone say- ing he’s “working late again” to a grumpy, yet striking, coatcheck girl whose just-as- busty and blonde twin sister works at the check-in desk across the hall. And don’t be surprised if you encounter an Elvis impersonator or Tom Cruise lookalike screaming, “Show me the money!” It’s all part of the act. There’s also a live lounge you can enter to watch live-stream video entertainment acts (the Irish stand-up comedian is a hoot) if you want to kill time in between sessions at the Flash-based, instant-play casino games and slots. In addition to the bingo hall, a sportsbook is also in the works at Buzzluck, as are private suites for gamblers, which they will be able to decorate themselves and install their fa- vorite slot machine. “We wanted to create a Web 2.0-driven, broadband experience that you can’t get anywhere else,” says the affable 48-year- old Czajkowski, whose site began beta testing in February and officially launched in March. “A visit to Buzzluck is constant- ly full of surprises. We give you plenty of reasons to keep coming back, and no two visits are ever alike.” Czajkowski is passionate about his belief that online gamblerswantmore fromtheir gaming experience than simply gaming, even though it’s a philosophy that isn’t shared by everyone in the industry. “Plenty of our competitors think that what we’re doing is a distraction to the player and will just get them away from doing what makes the casino money and that’s gambling,” he says. “But that’s what everyone told Steve Wynn in Las Vegas. And they were dead wrong.” Czajkowski is, of course, referring to the man who revolutionized the way people thought of Sin City. For decades, Las Ve- gas was considered a place to just go and gamble. But that all changed when the in- trepid Wynn opened The Mirage on the Strip in 1989 for the price of $630 mil- lion, which at the time was the most ex- pensive hotel-casino ever built. The new resort helped usher in a new era in Las Vegas with its headliner acts and never- seen-before attractions outside the gam- ing area. “The other casinos and the people in downtown (Las Vegas) said, ‘What the fuck are you doing with a volcano explod- ing out in front of your casino? People are going to get up and leave the tables,’” Czajkowski says fervently. “And Wynn just said, ‘So what! We’ll save their seat for them and when they come back they’ll be entertained. And they’ll still be sitting in my casino.’ “That’s exactly the model we’re trying to follow at Buzzluck. What all of these other [online casinos] don’t understand is that people can go to their site and gamble, but as soon as they leave the table, they leave the brand. At Buzzluck we’re providing a casino-branded entertainment experi- ence. It’s larger than the casino games themselves.” While Czajkowski is at the forefront of what he hopes will be a 3D online casino revolution, he’s certainly not alone. The use of 3D software in the online world has been tried and tested before, but with varied success. The folks at PKR.com, however, appear to have found the right formula for a poker-room version. Despite launching just a few months be- fore the dreaded Unlawful Internet Gam- ing Enforcement Act came into play, PKR saw its membership rise to almost 2 mil- lion members within two years – making it the fastest growing online poker room that does not accept U.S. players, accord- ing to PokerScout.com. By 2009, PKRwas up to 2.4 million users and in January it broke its record for concurrent players, reaching 15,000 simultaneous users for the first time. In addition to Buzzluck’s emergence on the scene in March, renowned French casino giant Lucien Barriere Hotels and Casinos got itself into the online game and did it with 3D graphics. The striking scenery that you see on your computer once you log into LeCroupier.com may look familiar if you’ve ever visited Casino Barriere de Deauville in France, which served as the inspiration for the new site. LeCroupier players are encouraged to create their own personal avatar and “A visit to Buzzluck is constantly full of surprises. We give you plenty of reasons to keep coming back, and no two visits are ever alike.” — Alex Czajkowski, CEO, eGaming 2.0 32