Presenting across two booths at this year’s G2E, Gasser Chair spotlighted its new Agora chair for sports books, along with its newest gaming series, the Alto, the company’s communications manager Kevin Buck explains.
Casino Review: How did this year’s show go for Gasser Chair?
Kevin Buck: It was another successful edition of G2E for Gasser and we saw a lot of interest across all our seating segments during the three days of the show.
This year we really wanted to take the opportunity to underline our ability to be a one-stop shop for seating solutions. We’ve been manufacturing chairs for over 70 years, on the hospitality side as well as the gaming side. So we really wanted to get the word out that while we can provide chairs for operators’ slot machines, table games and poker areas, we can also offer seating for their convention halls, banquet centres, restaurants, and hotel lobbies – in fact pretty much all areas of their resorts.
In line with the continuing growth of our hospitality seating business, earlier this year we made one of our largest ever installations at the Aria Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, which saw us supply some 17,000 custom chairs for their convention centre.
Alongside this, while Gasser has always offered sports book seating, with the ongoing sports betting expansion in the US, this is another growing market for us. With new sports books opening nationwide we’ve seen a significant uptick in demand across the last 12 months.
CR: Reflecting that growth, I believe Gasser debuted its new Agora chair for sports books at G2E. What are some of its standout features?
KB: The Agora boasts a modular design – in fact this is true of a lot of the chairs we produce – which makes it both easier to customise and aids in-field serviceability.
Some of its standout features include a fully upholstered, ergonomic backrest, with Gasser’s Patented Flex Back Technology, which offers additional comfort for the person sitting in the chair.
It also includes 6” high density foam cushioning on the seat for a further level of comfort, along with a dual-diameter cup holder in the armrest, as a standard feature.
As another example of the chair’s modular construction, the upholstered armpads can be swapped out in seconds if someone spills something on them or in case of cigarette burns.
Additional options include our tilted seat and back, which adds a lot of comfort and allows operators to recline even more. Operators like to position sports book chairs close to televisions, so having that extra room to recline is something their customers look for. At the end of the day, a comfortable customer is one that’s going to stay and play for longer.
We can also integrate a lot of technology into our sports book products, such as USB charging ports and power outlets, so people can keep their phones charged and stay connected to their social media while they’re in the casino.
We’ve incorporated Qi wireless chargers as well, so players don’t even need a cable, they can just set their phone down on the armpad and it will charge.
We also have an integrated iPad stand that can be mounted on the chair. This gives operators the freedom to offer their customers food and beverage menus, live video, and betting interfaces allowing players to bet right from their seat.
So with the Agora we’ve once again strived to combine comfort and convenience in order to incentivise longer play.
CR: Gasser’s newest gaming series, the Alto was also on display, could you tell us more about this?
KB: Earlier this year, Gasser moved all of our manufacturing facilities on to a single campus in Youngstown, Ohio. This has allowed us to streamline and refine our manufacturing process and we’ve taken all those efficiency savings and passed them directly on to our customers.
Our first new line following the move was the Alto series. It’s really orientated towards high-volume projects, casinos that are looking for full renovations or new builds, and we can offer them the Alto at a very accessible price point.
But at the same time, our customers can trust they’re buying an American-made product, which includes all of the recognisable Gasser features such as our Easy Change Seat, which makes in-field service very straightforward.
The Alto also offers a range of base options including Gasser’s Patented HALO Base, a Solid Oval Aluminum 4-Leg Base, a 5- Vane Base with Casters, and Player Adjustable Seat Height (PASH).
Additionally, we also highlighted a number of our custom products at this year’s G2E. We work closely with our customers to design solutions that directly address their needs. Our flexibility in terms of customisation is another of Gasser’s key strengths, and really allows us to offer our clients bespoke seating solutions.
