They should look at problems they all face and work to solve them. For example, we are working with McCarran Airport to solve some of the major transportation problems facing the Las Vegas hospitality industry. It is a problem that is growing and we need to make the Las Vegas experience more pleasant for visitors. We would like to do more research in the area of human resources. We have to learn to attract and retain good employees.
Labor is the largest chunk of the industry's expenses.
Upcoming projects will look at marketing relationships, training and recruitment and gaming marketing strategy. It has been a challenge to get the industry more aware of what we can do for them. Once the industry starts funding more research, we can offer these projects to the faculty. This will enable our faculty to do research that is useful to a wide audience and not be in the 'publish or perish' mode to get published just for the sake of being published. The most prevalent reference is to sports activities, but it is now being applied to other kinds of experiences and products.