Feng shui and superstition shape Asia’s casinos

Published in: Latest Intelligence
When it comes to Asia’s gleaming casino resorts, architects and interior designers are continually striving for groundbreaking and grandiose developments. However experts warn that failure to pay attention to Asian superstitions and feng shui may spell disaster for a project.
For starters, there is a fundamental difference between gamblers in the West and the Far East, according to Patrick Burke, lead designer and principal-in-charge of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa. “A large segment of the gaming audience in the West is there purely for fun – they are there to ‘let loose’ and there is likely to be a lot of alcoholic beverages consumed. In Asia there are more gamers in the casinos there purely for gaming action and see this as serious business. The Asian casino will be busy all day and most of the gamers are drinking caffeinated beverages instead of alcoholic beverages.”
From an aesthetic viewpoint, contemporary designs tend to dominate developments, particularly in Singapore and Korea. However, Burke notes that traditional and contemporary tastes coexist generally in Chinese architecture and décor. “The traditional is typically European, not Chinese, and is used to suggest luxury’ or quality, but is often poorly done, over the top, and seems to a westerner to be very out of place. The younger generations in China are seeing how fake and misused that western traditional aesthetic has become in China and there is a growing interest in a contemporary Chinese aesthetic.”
Renowned casino architect Paul Steelman, CEO of Las Vegas-headquartered Steelman Partners, has been responsible for a string of mega resorts across the region since his first development in Manila over 20 years ago. “Many Asian customers are consumer driven and heavily influenced by the major brands,” he explains. “Their tastes tend to be a modern theme with palatial scale, with white, gold, and warm finishes accented and highlighted by red, the power colour.”
Indeed, red is synonymous with good fortune, prosperity and warding off evil spirits, which explains the ubiquity of this primary colour in Macau casinos and why the more superstitious of Chinese gamblers don red underwear.
Numbers, too, are especially important for the Chinese; the number eight is considered lucky, nine is linked to longevity while four is associated with bad luck. It means designers invariably eschew grouping four slot machines or four gaming tables together. Even installing a sculpture comprising of four subjects would be deemed a no-no.
“The number four is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word ‘death,’” Steelman states. It explains why you won’t see a number four seat at a baccarat table in Macau, while properties go as far as omitting the fourth floor. Management won’t book a Chinese gambler into a room with a four in its number or chauffeur him around with this jinxed unit on the car registration plate.
“The casinos do all the tiny things we wouldn’t think about to ensure that it doesn’t affect the mood and psychology of their gamblers and VIP guests,” says Desmond Lam, associate professor of marketing at the University of Macau’s Faculty of Business Administration.
Likewise, strictly adhering to the principles of feng shui (literally translated as ‘wind’ and ‘water’) in order to channel good energy and deliver prosperity, good fortune and health is also paramount. These ancient tenets are entrenched in casino construction, design and layout, says Steelman. “Feng shui is very important and the buildings must be designed to accomplish good feng shui for both the player and the casino owner.”
Indeed, Asian visitors will often judge a casino’s architect based on feng shui, luck, numerology or colours. “But if a casino is not popular, it has no energy – and then no good chi,” Steelman warns.  
Worse still is committing a feng shui faux pas like Las Vegas’ MGM Grand did when it opened 20 years ago with visitors entering through the jaws of a lion sculpture. Chinese gamblers considered this to be unlucky so some used a back entrance while others avoided the place altogether. It was a costly design decision.
In Asia, developers will automatically recruit a team of feng shui experts throughout the design process. “Superstitions play a great role in the gamers’ perceptions,” says Burke. “In our Resorts World Sentosa casino the design team knew that the layout and design of any space had to generally observe feng shui principles – these principles didn’t necessarily steer the design, but we did make sure that we did not break any feng shui rules.”
Flowing water and fountains are an integral part for Asian casinos and good feng shui, says Lam. “The VIP rooms at one Macau casino had flowing water features in front of them but they were doing badly back in 2008 and suffering losses, so management turned the water off and restarted it in the hope that it would bring in better luck. So, water is a very important element.”
Overall, though, it’s the meticulous attention to detail that counts, especially for the Macau casinos where alienating your core clientele by not following crucial design principles is more than foolhardy. “There is no point challenging beliefs and risking your business,” Lam says, “so you wouldn’t even do it in the first place because they are very susceptible to superstitions.”