A casino guest sits down at a slot machine and uses the integrated QR code or touch screen to order a drink. The request is received by a digital point-of-sale system, and an automated Smartender by Smart Bar USA dispenses the beverage. A human or potentially a robotic server grabs the drink and delivers it to the guest. 

While this scenario isn’t yet a reality in local casinos, it is indicative of what’s being studied inside UNLV’s Black Fire Innovation facility, where hospitality companies, entrepreneurs, and researchers are experimenting with technologies that could shape the future of the gaming industry.

Exploring What’s Next for Hospitality

Black Fire Innovation opened in January 2020 as the flagship technology hub within UNLV’s mixed-use Harry Reid Research and Technology Park, a 122-acre site in the southwest valley.

“At its core, Black Fire is a hospitality innovation lab,” says Zach Miles, interim vice president for UNLV’s Office of Economic Development, which oversees Black Fire Innovation. “This is a place where innovators and high-tech businesses can come together to create the future of the hospitality and entertainment industry in Las Vegas.”

The 43,000 square-foot living lab is designed to test and develop next-generation concepts. The facility includes a replica integrated resort setup featuring mock hotel rooms, a casino floor, and an esports studio.

“We’re looking at what’s coming down the pipeline for the market,” says Mike Fahnert, director of industry engagement with the UNLV Office of Economic Development. “But it’s more than that. It’s also a place where industry brings their latest innovations and does proof of concepts and finds out if they work.”

With that goal of fostering more industry engagement, Caesars Entertainment was brought on as an initial principal collaborator, with that role transitioning to Boyd Gaming in late 2023.

“Boyd already had an innovation lab down the street, but they wanted space where their lab intersected with UNLV and the greater community,” says Miles. “They’ve since moved their entire innovation team into our building, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work side by side with them.”

An Industry-Driven Innovation Lab

Working with industry partners creates opportunities for collaboration among companies, UNLV students, researchers, and the greater community.

Black Fire provides the space and infrastructure for proof-of-concept testing, while industry partners bring firsthand knowledge of the challenges involved in operating a hospitality business.

“We have other gaming technology companies working here, and now they have a direct connection to UNLV, Boyd, acceleration programs like Zero Labs and gener8tor, Desert Forge Capital, and myriad other programs and services to engage industry in mutually beneficial collaborations,” says Miles. “Plus, if a student or researcher has a great idea, it’s very easy for them to connect with potential industry partners to move that idea forward and test it.”

That kind of collaboration is difficult to replicate on a working casino floor. Casino operators can’t easily test new concepts in their properties, as taking part of a casino floor out of operation is expensive, and regulations may limit what can be tested.

“Gaming is a highly regulated industry, and we give them a sandbox to try things out that they couldn’t try in the real world on their floor,” says Fahnert. “We provide an environment where they can try things they can’t try anywhere else.”

A Glimpse at the Bar of the Future

This fall, Black Fire will unveil its newest hospitality innovation space: the Beverage Innovation Lab, a high-tech bar designed to explore how technology could change the way beverages are ordered, prepared, and delivered.

At the center of the lab is Smartender, an automated cocktail system developed by Smart Bar USA that can store multiple types of liquor and mixers and dispense hundreds of pre-programmed drink recipes. The Office of Economic Development is working with a number of partners on the space, including IGT, Boyd Gaming, Paltronics, and T-Mobile, among others.

“We’re looking at what would happen if we could deliver beverages faster,” says Fahnert. “How would that impact the customer experience? Would they stay at the property longer? How does it impact labor costs?”

The partnership with Smart Bar USA brings a longtime Las Vegas connection back to UNLV. Barry Fieldman, a 1981 UNLV graduate with a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management, is a local real estate developer and business owner. He and a business partner became the majority owners of the company in 2014.

Today, Smart Bar USA’s technology is used in casinos, hotels, theaters, restaurants and bars, arenas and stadiums, and some of the busiest airport terminals in the country. The premise is straightforward: automation handles the pouring, allowing staff to spend more time interacting with guests while also getting beverages into customers’ hands more quickly.

“I always ask restaurant operators one question: how long does it take for a customer to get a drink?,” says Fieldman. “Most say 15 minutes. Well, the average stay in a restaurant is an hour or less. If you could get a drink in a customer’s hand in less than five minutes, you have a better chance of keeping them there.”

For Fieldman, the value of bringing Smartender to Black Fire goes beyond testing future capabilities of the technology. It creates an opportunity for students and researchers to explore how automation and hospitality technology could work together, while giving business owners like him access to research and new ideas.

“Having Smart Bar USA be a part of Black Fire benefits not only me, but the university and students,” says Fieldman. “We’re excited to see what the students might do with the Beverage Innovation Lab, what research they might choose to do. And as a company, being here allows me access to market research that I wouldn’t be getting otherwise.”

Beyond Black Fire Innovation

While Black Fire Innovation is one of the most visible physical assets associated with UNLV’s economic development efforts, it is part of a much larger ecosystem designed to help ideas move from concept to market.

“This office has two main functions. First, we want to turn hi-tech ‘a-ha’ moments into life changing products and services. Second, when the industry has one of those moments, we want to make it easy for them to connect with UNLV to research and test it and form a mutually beneficial collaboration with our university,” says Miles.

The Office of Economic Development supports entrepreneurs and startups through a number of programs and resources and Black Fire Innovation and beyond. Black Fire offers access to co-working spaces, a makerspace, and on-site small business support through the Nevada Small Business Development Center. UNLV technology experts, and an entrepreneur-in-residence program supported by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, also assist faculty researchers with commercializing their discoveries. 

Additional partners include Black Fire-based startup accelerator Zero Labs, which offers a number of programs for entrepreneurs. The office also offers entrepreneurship and technical support for promising businesses through public and privately funded collaborations including SAGE South, InnovateNV, and Desert Forge Ventures. 

At the center of that work is a focus on connecting the ideas generated at a university with the resources and expertise needed to develop them into something that can have an impact beyond campus, and creating an environment where industry can access the UNLV’s many unique and high value personnel, student, and physical assets.

“Most of the things you use during your day that make your life better have some origin at a university,” says Miles. “Our office is the catalyst to being able to translate ideas into something tangible and make communities better.”

An Innovation District Takes Shape

Black Fire Innovation and the Office of Economic Development are also part of a larger vision taking shape in southwest Las Vegas. Clark County recently created an Innovation District around assets already in the area, including UNLV, Switch, and UnCommons.

“The idea was to build on some organic things that were already happening in the area, Black Fire Innovation being one of those,” says Shani Coleman, director of community and economic development for Clark County. “We wanted to put a name to what was happening and create an environment where entrepreneurship and innovation can thrive.”

As the district develops, UNLV’s role will expand beyond providing a physical hub for innovation to helping supply the talent needed by the companies and technologies taking shape around it.

“We can be that workforce driver. We have strong programs in innovation and technology and are creating that workforce,” says Fahnert.

Next Chapter of Innovation

As technology continues to evolve, so will Black Fire Innovation. Miles and Fahnert hope to expand into areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation, while looking for new ways to involve UNLV, companies, and the greater community in the innovation happening inside its walls.

The goal is not simply to keep pace with emerging technology, but to create an ecosystem capable of adapting to whatever comes next. That could mean expanding Black Fire's existing capabilities or creating entirely new innovation labs within the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park.

“We want to replicate what we’ve done here into other areas, including aerospace, sports, energy, biotechnology, and water,” says Miles. “We want to have an ecosystem in the Tech Park that has different types of innovation labs and spaces that can cross pollinate.”

That vision extends beyond Black Fire Innovation itself as the Tech Park continues to develop. A new standalone Intermountain Health children's hospital – a first of its kind for Nevada – is planned for the area that could create additional opportunities for collaboration among industries and the university.

“The future vision of the Tech Park weaves through everything we do,” says Miles. “We know companies want to be close to this type of innovation district and the Office of Economic Development can be the facilitator for that and bring UNLV and its various assets into that ecosystem.”