Upscale dining should be an experience that helps showcase the cuisine, and Carbone, at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, delivers. BWA’s design team created a celebrated concept that pays homage to the glamour, showmanship and tableside service of mid-20^th century Italian-American restaurants. The Michelin-starred restaurant features the Blue Room, with a lively atmosphere and bar, and the Red Room, with a sophisticated ambiance inspired by the Milan Opera, and a private, intimate dining room.

Event centers incorporated into well planned and designed properties can accommodate a variety of functions, while providing a comprehensive and engaging guest experience. For the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel property in Prior Lake, MN, BWA created a master plan that unified the property with an updated, cohesive, and open design. BWA also added a hotel tower expansion, retail space, bars and dining outlets, an expanded casino floor, a 21,024-SF entertainment center/showroom, and 21,000-SF of convention space.

Bringing the excitement of major gaming venues together with the natural beauty of a property can add up to a significant draw for event guests, as it has at Snoqualmie Casino. BWA worked with the Snoqualmie Tribe to realize their vision of creating a great lodge, with a fun and exciting atmosphere. Along with 11,500-SF of convention space, the property features a 50,000-SF casino and 1,000-SF of retail space, with elements the decidedly northwest flavor of its Washington state location, both inside and out.

As in-person events return, conference centers with flexible spaces that make gatherings of every size and type feel special will be essential. For the Apache Casino & Hotel in Lawton, Oklahoma, BWA designed a new 53,000-SF events center that features themes inspired by the Fort Sill Apache Tribe’s history and the local countryside. The center can be configured as a 1,200-seat showroom, ensuring no guest is more than 100 feet from the stage, or easily divisible for smaller events. Four large VIP suites provide additional functionality. BWA also created an expanded back of house to create more space for operations, training, and improved efficiency.

Did you know that ESPN’s sports betting show, The Daily Wager, comes to you from the network’s studio at the LINQ Hotel + Experience in Las Vegas, in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip? BWA designed the space, which serves as the epicenter of ESPN’s sports betting-themed content for linear, digital, and social shows. The state-of-the-art multi-studio space (opened in Fall 2020) also will play an important role in Las Vegas major sporting and marquee events, and in producing segments for ESPN’s SportsCenter.

As you browse Indian Gaming Magazine's 2021 Buyer's Guide & Directory, check out BWA's ad on page 38, featuring our recent renovations for Morongo Casino Resort & Spa. Completed in 2020, the project included Casino Gaming Floor Renovations, and multiple exciting new dining options to satisfy the tastes of a variety of guests: Splash Bar, Pink Coffee, Mozen Asian Kitchen, Good Times Café, and the Crystal Hearts Bar.

Want to know more about the project, and how BWA can help you realize the vision for your own project? Contact John Hinton, jhinton@bwaltd.com

Casino gaming operators know that today’s guests want dining options that cater to a variety of tastes, moods, and moments. For the recent expansion and remodel at Swinomish Casino & Lodge in Anacortes, WA, BWA updated a range of food service amenities, from the Bay Food Court, to fast casual and upscale restaurants, and Center Bar for craft cocktails. BWA also added a larger kitchen and increased back of house areas.

Not your dad’s sports bar: The Book, Caesars Entertainment’s sports lounge at The LINQ Las Vegas, is the latest evolution in sports books, with state-of-the-art sports betting, augmented reality, and non-gambling gaming activities geared towards younger patrons.

To appeal to the Millennial and Gen-Z demographic, BWA elevated food and beverage offerings with a wall of self-serve beer taps, and the bright and lively Sticky Chicken food truck, with fast-casual options that guests can consume while betting or watching the big game at one of The Book’s Fan Caves or various seating configurations.

In a venue the size of the Las Vegas Convention Center (one of the busiest convention centers in the world), the ability to easily navigate your way through food options and quickly return to your event is an important part of the dining experience itself.

BWA revitalized the layout and design of multi-venue food courts in the LVCC’s North Hall, South Food Hall, and the Concourse. Key issues to solve included creating a space where convention goers could select food items from various vendors and pay at one central location, and the means for patrons to circulate, select food, eat, and return to the show quickly, particularly during peak dining times.

BWA designed food and beverage venues, created comfortable and flexible seating arrangements and clear wayfinding indicators, and simplified the main circulation paths for a more intuitive user flow. The result is a more unified design aesthetic that helps users make their way through the dining experience efficiently, while easing the stress of navigating a high traffic/high turnover environment.

As casino gaming and entertainment offerings evolve to further enhance the guest experience, so are their dining options. Food halls, regional cuisine, and fresh new thinking about buffets - along with environments that make the space itself part of the draw - are key to the new dining excitement.

As part of their renovations at the Apache Casino Hotel in Lawton, OK, BWA designed the Apache Grill with elements including natural wood tones in a basket weave pattern, and basket-style light fixtures. Completed in January 2020, the design pays respect to the Fort Sill Apache Tribe’s long history of making beautiful and functional baskets.

Location IS everything (along with memorable guest experiences, of course), as illustrated by this drone shot of the Swinomish Casino and Lodge in Anacortes, Washington. BWA remodeled and expanded the existing hotel tower, taking advantage of the breathtaking views of the Swinomish Channel to the east and Padilla Bay, San Juan Islands and Mount Baker to the north. BWA also remodeled and expanded the casino floor to improve sightlines and increase gaming options, designed a new center bar, and added convention and retail space, and new dining options. The project was completed in 2019, on a fast track schedule; design through construction had to be completed in 12 months. (BWA is currently working with the tribe on carpet replacement for the event center).

Everyone at BWA, particularly Leonard and George Bergman, were saddened to learn that legendary magician and entertainer Siegfried Fischbacher passed away. He was very close to their father and BWA founder, Joel Bergman. When Joel received the HOSPY Lifetime Achievement Honoree in 2014, Siegfried and partner Roy Horn generously paid tribute to Joel for his contributions to casino design.

The three developed a lifelong friendship after Joel met them, along with a lion, while remodeling the Stardust in 1970. (Siegfried & Roy appear in the following video at 6:30).

Southern California’s tribal casinos have been in an expansion boom in recent years, with more multimillion dollar projects underway. One of the major projects completed in 2020 was the Morongo Casino Resort renovations in Cabazon. BWA's Morongo projects included Casino Gaming Floor Renovations, Splash Bar, Pink Coffee, Mozen Asian Kitchen, Good Times Café, and the Crystal Hearts Bar.

Congratulations to James Horvath, BWA Senior Vice President in his new role as 2021 President of AIA Las Vegas.

Designing for the gaming, entertainment and hospitality industries requires in-depth understanding of the functional, operational, economic and aesthetic considerations behind each. With more than a quarter-century experience with every project type, BWA has helped clients plan, design and renovate the projects that have kept their properties on the map as destinations of choice.

From the moment guests arrive, their experience is BWA’s responsibility—from configuring access to the property to setting the ambiance and creating moments that enhance their enjoyment and bring them back again.

Casino Style Magazine, BWA talks about the process the firm undertook to transform the tent structure of the Apache Casino Hotel in Lawton, Oklahoma into a permanent facility. Completed in early 2020, the renovated property houses casino gaming operations and a variety of exciting new amenities that elevate the guest experience.

Bergman Walls & Associates (in conjunction with Kenneth Ussenko Design) recently completed a number of renovations at Morongo Casino Resort, including a casino floor expansion that increased the size of the gaming floor by 30%, and added new slots and table games, along with several new restaurants and bars.

Among Bergman Walls & Associates’ recent renovation work at Morongo Casino Resort is Mozen Asian Kitchen (in conjunction with Kenneth Ussenko Design). The restaurant, designed as an indoor/outdoor style environment, features dining spaces with beautifully detailed paneled walls, fabrics and textures inspired by the Far East, and a ‘street side’ canopied bar.

Photos by John Thomas Photography/Courtesy of Yates Construction.

Pink Coffee is among the recent renovations by Bergman Walls & Associates (in conjunction with Kenneth Ussenko Design) for Morongo Casino Resort. The bright, playful, Parisian street café inspired space features signature roast coffees, pastries, housemade gelato, and other refreshments.

Morongo Casino Resorts’ Crystal Hearts lounge, designed by Bergman Walls Associates (in conjunction with Kenneth Ussenko Design), is among the renovations BWA completed earlier this year at the property. Located in the heart of the casino near the blackjack tables and high-limit slots, the high-style bar feature signature cocktails and rare liquors.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Southern California casinos have marked a year of growth, with several moving forward with construction projects and expansions, and openings of new amenities. Among them is Morongo Casino Resort in Cabazon. Bergman Walls & Associates recently completed renovations for Morongo include Casino Gaming Floor Renovations, Mozen Asian Kitchen, Good Times Café, Pink Coffee, Crystal Hearts Bar, and the Splash Bar.

BWA Vice President and AIA Las Vegas President-elect James Horvath, AIA, was a recent guest on AIA LV’s Allied Member virtual event “Coffee with an Architect”. James answered questions and shared his observations and insights on how hospitality design firms and their clients are weathering pandemic-related challenges.

In October 2020's Indian Gaming magazine, BWA's John Hinton shares his insights regarding amenities tribes can re-imagine or add to safely draw patrons to their properties, and to create new revenue generation opportunities during the pandemic and beyond.