The scene is Las Vegas. It’s late October. The sun has set. And it’s cold.

I’m standing on Fremont Street but it’s away from the “Experience”. So needless to say it’s pretty much deserted save for the person wanting nothing more than to get the hell to where ever it is they’re going.

I’m talking with Richard. We’re standing just outside the El Cortez. Richard is doing security for the casino and at least for the next few minutes, the corner is his station.

Richard and I are talkin’ personal history. He’s telling me how when he was a teen he was best friends with a famous (at least within that circle) pool hustler. This guy was so good and such a Natural if you just shook his hand you’d be able to make that crazy bank shot with ease. So needless to say Richard would tag along and as time passed became a half-way decent hustler himself.

Now at this point you are probably asking, “What in the hell does this have to do with casinos?”.

I bet you think casinos are all about bringin’ ‘em in and leavin’ ‘em high and dry. Am I right?

Well, if that’s the case then I hope you give me a chance here to educate you.

It’s not about the money. OK. OK. It’s about the money.

But money doesn’t just happen. OK. OK. It happens if your name is Bernanke.

What I’m talking about here are stories. We all have ‘em. And the casino is like a frickin’ Story Book Land ride on prescription drugs. And believe it or not, it’s that social appeal in an environment where every body “has a shot” is what makes the LV world go round. They are all “filling the void” in one way or another, whether they just lost their job or their wife just died, they’ve got a place to go “where everybody knows their name” and like I said, there’s at least a shot at the big numbers. And nowadays, that’s saying more than a frickin’ 401K.

I want you to freeze frame that scene with Richard and now think of the online world. There exists a very graphically pleasing experience called World of Warcraft. Notice I called it an “experience” and not a “game”. There are “games” and then there are “experiences”. WoW is an “experience”. There are certainly other socially interactive experiences on the Internet, such as “Second Life”. So if you think of “the online experience” in terms of “Second Life”, that’s fine. The important point of them both is that they are able to create virtual worlds where you interact with a combination of AI (artificial intelligence) characters and human controlled characters (avatars).

If you haven’t experienced any of these “virtual worlds” then for the purpose of this mind adventure just imagine a scene in one of your favorite movies. Now what I want you to do is imagine your favorite place in this online experience (or movie) and ponder this question: What if it were real? I mean, what if you could actually travel to a place that you know so intimately online and experience it “in the flesh”.

Are you piecing it together yet? Do you see it? Do – you – know – what – this – means? If you run a casino it means half of your first time visitors, the people who have NEVER set foot in your establishment, know EXACTLY where the nearest bathroom is. Because in a crucial way, they have been “there” before. And not only do they recognize the layout, they recognize the people.

Getting excited yet? I thought so.

Let’s bring it back to Richard. Is Richard real? Does he have to be? If he is “real” does he have to be “stuck” on that street corner? Well, maybe if he wants to keep his job. But in the virtual representation of that street corner, the… how should I phrase it… the parameters or boundaries of what Richard and you are permitted to experience, by the very nature of the Internet, can be expanded.

Whether it’s Valet or the Front Desk or “Pit 3″, virtual interaction between staff and players, both based on real people and artificial intelligence will lead to the desire to satisfy curiosity and enhance their virtual experience.  What they will invariably say is, “I want to go there“.

BTW, Richard was quite real. Would it not be cool to see his “virtual equivalent” and interact with him?

…next Category Post will answer questions like:

1. What about gambling in the virtual casino?

2. Couldn’t the virtual employees lose their job by “going to far”?

3. Would it be possible to use such a virtual casino for training casino personnel?

4. Would it be practical to use such a virtual casino as a lab, testing without having to physically build?

and many more…