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A Trip to Vegas: Every Casino on the Strip Knows Exactly Who They’re For

A Trip to Vegas: Every Casino on the Strip Knows Exactly Who They’re For

What walking through Vegas taught me about product positioning, knowing your customer, and the courage to let some people walk away.

Stefanie Brown
October 24, 2025

In partnership with

👋 Hey friend,

This week, I was in Vegas for a music festival.

We had a few extra days after the festival so, we spent our days walking the Strip. And I couldn’t stop thinking about product strategy.

Stay with me here…

The Walk That Became a Masterclass

We started at Luxor, the giant black pyramid with the sphinx out front. Inside, it’s all Egyptian drama. Dark, mysterious, a little theatrical. The vibe screams: “You’re here for an experience.”

At the other end, we hit Fontainebleau, the newest addition to the Strip. Completely different energy. Sleek, modern, sophisticated. Everything gleams. The vibe here says: “You’re here for luxury without the old-school Vegas kitsch.”

Then we walked through Circus Circus. Bright colors. Arcade games. Families everywhere. The vibe? “You’re here to have fun.”

Every single casino on that strip knows exactly who they’re for. And they commit to it completely.

The Cosmopolitan isn’t trying to win over families with kids. Circus Circus isn’t competing for high rollers dropping $10K at the blackjack table. Caesars isn’t chasing budget travelers.

They’ve made a choice. And everything, from the aesthetic to the offerings to the price points, reflects that choice.

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Two Casinos, Two Completely Different Customers

On the bus ride back to our hotel at the Westgate, I got into this whole conversation about how differently casinos approach their customers.

Take Ellis Island, for example. It’s off the strip, not flashy, but incredibly customer-focused if you’re a member. They never lower their standards on accommodations. More importantly, they’ve built an entire ecosystem to keep you engaged. Play $5 on slots, get $5 off at the restaurant. Player card deals for dinner. Partnerships with every restaurant inside to create more reasons to stay and play.

Everything about Ellis Island says: “We’re building a relationship with you. We want you to come back.”

The Westgate, where we stayed? Completely different strategy. They’re not trying to build the Ellis Island experience. But if you’re a poker player who wants to grind for 30 hours a week and potentially earn a full-time wage? The Westgate is your place. They’ve optimized for a totally different customer with totally different needs.

Neither one is better. They’re just for different people. And they’ve both committed fully to who they serve.

The Temptation to Be Everything

Here’s what Vegas casinos could do: try to appeal to everyone.

Caesars could add a kids’ arcade to capture the family market. The Venetian could lower table minimums to attract budget gamblers. Luxor could tone down the Egyptian theme to feel more “accessible.”

But they don’t. Because they know that trying to be everything means being nothing.

When you walk into the Bellagio, you know immediately if it’s for you. If you’re looking for a fancy, upscale experience, you’re home. If you’re looking for a casual, low-key vibe, you’ll walk right back out. And that’s the point.

The product isn’t trying to convince you. It’s showing you who it’s for, and letting you decide.

What This Has to Do With Your Product

Ellis Island and the Westgate taught me something important: positioning isn’t about being better, it’s about being better for someone specific.

Ellis Island could try to attract poker grinders by offering better table rates. The Westgate could try to compete with Ellis Island’s restaurant partnerships and loyalty perks. But they don’t, because they’ve each made a choice about who they’re optimizing for.

I see PMs (myself included) fall into the “everyone” trap all the time.

A customer from a use case we don’t really serve asks for a feature. We think, “Well, if we build this, we could capture that market too.”

A competitor launches something flashy. We think, “Should we build that? Are we missing out?”

A stakeholder says, “This would be great for [insert segment we’ve never targeted].” We think, “Maybe we should try to serve them too.”

And slowly, feature by feature, the product loses focus. It becomes a little bit for everyone and a lot for no one.

The Best Products Know Who They’re For

Think about the products you actually love using.

Notion isn’t trying to be Excel. Slack isn’t trying to be email. Figma isn’t trying to be Photoshop.

Each one has made a choice about who they serve. And everything else flows from that choice.

When you know who you’re building for, decisions get easier:

Which features to prioritize? The ones your core customer needs.
Which feedback to act on? The feedback from your target persona.
How to design your UI? In a way that resonates with your customer’s values.

When you don’t know who you’re building for, every decision becomes a debate. Every feature request feels urgent. Every competitor move feels threatening.

📌 Try this: Write a one-sentence positioning statement: “[Product] is for [specific type of person] who wants to [specific outcome] and values [specific thing].”

If you can’t fill that in clearly, you’re probably trying to serve too many people.

2. Let some customers walk away

This is the hardest part. Saying no to potential revenue feels wrong.

When someone asks for a feature that doesn’t serve your core customer, it’s okay to say: “That’s not what we’re built for. Here’s a product that might be a better fit.”

You can’t win every customer. And trying to will make you lose the ones you’re actually built to serve.

📌 Try this: Make a list of customer types you’re not building for. Keep it visible. When a request comes in from someone on that list, it’s easier to say no.

3. Make your positioning obvious in 30 seconds

A visitor should land on your homepage, or open your app, or see your onboarding, and know within 30 seconds: “This is for me” or “This isn’t for me.”

That clarity isn’t exclusive, it’s helpful. You’re saving people time. And you’re attracting the right customers.

📌 Try this: Pull up your homepage or your product’s first screen. Show it to someone who’s not on your team. Ask: “Who do you think this is for?” If they can’t tell you clearly, your positioning needs work.

4. Don’t dilute to capture more market

Every time you add a feature to serve a new segment, you risk diluting the experience for your core customer.

More isn’t always better. Sometimes more is just more.

Your product has a core identity. Protect it.

📌 Try this: Before building a new feature, ask: “Does this make our product better for our core customer, or does it just make our product bigger?” If it’s the latter, reconsider.

5. Your aesthetic is a promise

Everything about your product, from your marketing to your UI to your support tone, should signal the same thing: “This is who we’re for.”

Your product’s aesthetic (visual design, copy, feature set, pricing) is a promise about who you serve. Make sure it’s consistent.

If your marketing says “simple and intuitive” but your product has a steep learning curve, you’ve broken the promise.

If your pricing says “enterprise” but your support feels scrappy startup, you’ve broken the promise.

📌 Try this: Audit your product’s touchpoints (homepage, onboarding, core feature, support). Ask: “Do these all feel like they’re for the same person?” If not, something’s misaligned.

The Courage to Choose

The hardest part about positioning isn’t the strategy. It’s the courage to choose.

To say: “We’re for this type of customer” means accepting that you’re not for everyone else.

To say: “We’re building this type of product” means saying no to features that don’t fit.

To say: “This is our aesthetic” means staying consistent even when a trend pulls you in a different direction.

But here’s what I learned walking the Vegas Strip: the most successful places aren’t the ones trying to be everything. They’re the ones that know exactly who they are and commit fully to it.

Your product can do the same.

Pick your customer. Build for them. Let everyone else find their casino.

You’ll end up with a product people actually love, instead of one that everyone kind of tolerates.

📚 If You Want to Go Deeper

Read these:

“Obviously Awesome” by April Dunford – The best book on positioning I’ve ever read. Practical, tactical, full of frameworks you can use immediately.
“The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick – How to figure out who your real customer is (and stop building for imaginary ones).
“Crossing the Chasm” by Geoffrey Moore – Why trying to serve every segment at once will kill your product.

✅ Your Challenge This Week

Get crystal clear on who your product is for.

Write your positioning statement: “[Product] is for [specific type of person] who wants to [specific outcome] and values [specific thing].”
List 2-3 customer types you’re not building for
Show your homepage (or product) to someone outside your team and ask: “Who do you think this is for?” Listen to what they say.
Find one feature request or roadmap item that doesn’t serve your core customer. Say no to it.

Then reply and tell me: What did you learn? Was it hard to say no?

I promise, the more focused you get, the better your product becomes.

See you next Friday,

– Stef

P.S. Struggling with positioning or not sure who your core customer really is? I’m mentoring on ADPList! Book a free session and let’s figure it out together.