A new gaming salon is coming to Park MGM that would be different from the other private gaming areas on the Strip.
Gaming salons are special rooms in which high rollers and celebrities can gamble out of public view. Most high-end casinos have them and offer play in them to big spenders, entertainers and professional athletes who don’t want to see pictures of themselves spread on social media.
But the salon at Park MGM will be different because it will have technology to record audio and video of an individual’s play.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday unanimously recommended approval of licensing for a salon at the MGM property adjacent to T-Mobile Arena.
MGM representatives said placing a salon at Park MGM is important to the company because of its close proximity to T-Mobile and they expect people attending concerts and sporting events at the arena to gamble there afterwards.
“There’s a natural flow of individuals coming from T-Mobile, and as T-Mobile is holding more events, Park MGM’s appeal has grown to the point that Park MGM has decided to apply for a gaming salon,” said Chandler Pohl, vice president and legal counsel for MGM’s regulatory division.
“Our MGM Interactive team has believed that there is some interest in the gaming community for the recording of people’s play for their enjoyment,” said Pohl. “In that salon environment, this will be the first one of its kind where, in a public setting, the public could enter the space and game as per normal, and there would be an opportunity that the play could be recorded and shared with the people who have been playing in that public setting, should they want a copy.”
Another potential application, he said, is that influencers who want to publicize their play can make a recording for broadcast or streaming, similar to popular poker events such as the World Series of Poker.
“It’s much like when you ride the roller coaster at New York-New York, afterwards you can buy a photo of yourself on the roller coaster,” Pohl said.
Pohl explained that MGM would provide forms for people to sign giving the company permission to film bystanders in the salon and there would be signage alerting people that filming is in progress.
The Control Board’s recommendation will be considered for final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission on March 26.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
