MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino has gone high tech. This is regarded as marketing millennial style 101, when the casino hotel brought in the world’s first indoor laser golf course and private lounge. Named as Golfstream, It is set in the new Level Up lounge and located between Hakkasan Nightclub and the MGM Grand Race and Sports Book at the MGM Resorts International.
The team that developed Golfstream includes game designers, roller coaster engineers, and 20 former NASA rocket scientists. It enables both the experienced professionals and novice mini-golf players to test their golf prowess on a patented moving green. The revolutionary game uses a combination of two advanced technologies, namely laser guidance and augmented reality.
The putting-green floor of the virtual golf field is computer-adjustable and add slopes on the surface. Amateurs can locate the right direction for a stroke. This is purely a simulated environment that adds reality to the players’ imagination. According to the developers of Golfstream, “the technology is used to transport players through a series of fast-paced mini-challenges in a new approach to skill-based contests.”
The key people who are involved in its development are Michael Brenner, Sameer Gupta and Darren Dummit. It was launched in San Francisco last year ahead of the Super Bowl at the Wheels Up Super Saturday Tailgate Party. It attracted investments from 2X Masters Champion, Ben Crenshaw, who is point guard for the LA Clippers and media personalities, Chris Paul, and Michael Strahan. This has been revealed by the co-founders’ Gupta and Dummit’s YouTube video introduction.
The laser guided mini golf course is set in the 12,000 foot Level Up space. The lounge at Level Up allows for up to 10 people, which is inclusive of the participants as well as viewers. The Level Up features a mix of gambling experience that includes blackjack and roulette. In addition, there are a number of non-traditional casino games available, which includes Connect Four, Giant Pac Man and Konami Gaming’s first-ever Frogger machine. Anyone, whether an expert or a fancy player can try his hands in the laser guided gulf course just for rental rates are $75/hour during off-hours, and $175/hour from 7 to 11 pm at the suite.
Currently, three types of tournaments at MGM that includes a Closest-to-the-Pin Challenge, a 30-second timed Putting Challenge, and a Longest Drive Challenge. In the interim, the Golfstream Suite is also available for open for walk-up use by players and group reservations. A news agency has revealed that Dummit and Gupta are hopeful of adding more tournaments to the existing list.