GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 8 - April 2009

38 GPWA Times | like it, but to our core audience it’s obvi- ously pushing the right buttons,” Walters says. “It’s been described as ‘poker for the PlayStation generation,’ which I suppose it is since our core client/server team used to make PlayStation games.” Walters says the PKR audience prefers the 3D offerings because they give people a chance to “express themselves and com- municate at the tables.” “People feel a huge emotional attachment to their avatars,” says Walters, who added that he thinks other casino games would lend themselves “perfectly” to the PKR technology if the company ever decided to get into multi-player games. “Allowing people freedom of expression and to cre- ate a unique persona is a hugely powerful loyalty driver. It also looks damn good.” But, as in real life, looks can only go so far. Another key element to PKR’s success has been the manner in which it marketed the product. “Speaking as a developer, we tend to have a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude,” says Walters. “But I think our marketing has been incredibly well-targeted and our strategy shows no sign of diminishing re- turns yet – so I’ve learned to respect what our team does.” Both Walters and Czajkowski stressed that even though they both feel that their casinos offer superior graphics, in the end the game still has to be attractive to hard- core players. “While I think we can improve a game’s interface, you have to remember that the player is there to play, so you don’t want to mess with the game itself,” says Cza- jkowski. “As a player, when your head is down you can be anywhere in the world playing the game. It’s when you look up and look around at things other than the game...that’s when the total experience is going to capture you. But at the end of the day blackjack is still blackjack.” Adds Walters, “The card room [devel- opers] are poker fanatics who really un- derstand the poker player mentality and are always looking at new ways of setting games up. These ideas are quality innova- tions that would work on any site, so it’s not about whether the site is 2D or 3D. It’s about serious poker.” In essence, Buzzluck and LeCroupier are attempting to do exactly what PKR has done to succeed: combine innova- tive graphics with sound marketing tech- niques and impeccable customer service. But if that’s all that has to be done in order to flourish as PKR has, it begs the question: Why hasn’t this phenomenon caught on quicker? When asked, Czajkowski goes straight back to his Steve Wynn-Las Vegas analogy. “The elders in this industry are just like those old guys in Las Vegas who doubted Steve Wynn because they see us taking the gamblers away from gambling and say, ‘Why would I ever want to do that?’” he says with a sarcastic laugh. “But hey, some people have an appetite for inno- vation and some people are just worried about keeping their revenue steady and remaining status quo. “Steve Wynn changed the face, the focus, and the fortunes of Las Vegas. We feel like our efforts are going to do the exact same thing in the online space. It’s that simple.” Banking hard on 3D Casinos “For us it is essential that each customer enjoys themselves — because this means they will play longer and keep coming back.” — Jonathan Strock, COO, Lucien Barriere The decor and appearance of LeCroupier.com (left) was inspired by the Casino Barriere de Deauville in France (right).