New Phoenix Casino Makes LED Halo Over Gaming Floor Bar A Focal Point For Guests

November 15, 2023 by Dave Haynes

Here’s a great example of how LED is increasingly becoming a material for people who design built spaces – in this case a splashy new casino in the greater Phoenix area.

The Santan Mountain Casino in Chandler is a 160,000-square-foot gaming destination features that, among many things, has a central bar that serves as a congregation spot for guests. Called The Hive, it has a 58-foot-long, five-foot-high Halo that uses Planar’s CarbonLight CLI Flex LED product, with a 1.9mm pitch.

Planar’s case study says:

During sporting events, like football, the halo LED display can be divided into sections to show multiple games simultaneously.

The casino also created custom marketing content for the display including animated videos and digital art that “add to the ambiance and excitement of the property,” says casino GM Blake Katsnelson. “It’s a design feature that serves as an impressive focal point. The LED display can be customized to anything we want. We look at it as another guest service initiative that takes the whole experience to the next level.”

Hat tip to the owners for recognizing the big halo is just a big, round LED screen and not a feature in itself. It works because it was clearly decided there needed to be a healthy budget for creative, and that the LED halo should help with the feel of the place – not just market games or dinner specials (or show ESPN).

Immersive Studios did the design for the halo LED display.

Santan Mountain Casino also has a monster set-up in its sportsbook – the largest sportsbook video wall in the state, using three Planar TVF Series video walls side by side to create a 129-foot-long continuous display. The main part of it is nearly 95-feet-long, and 11-feet-high.