Located on the corner of Flamingo and Swenson, on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), campus, the 35,000-square-foot Stan Fulton building is a premier addition to the International Gaming Institute, part of the School of Hotel Administration.  According to
architect Steve Wise of JMA Architectural Studios, this will be a landmark signature building for the campus.

�This facility will be a major new training center for the 1,900 undergraduates in the college of hotel administration.  It will also house a gaming lab where gaming-machine manufacturers can try out prototypes of new machines, plus it will be used to hold special conferences for gaming executives from all over the world,� Wise said.

The contemporary three-story curved structure incorporates cinder block and glass, and offers a 60-foot observation tower.  The facility includes a full kitchen for training future chefs, a restaurant and bar, and a multipurpose room designed to be similar to a convention area with state-of-the-art video and audio equipment.

There will also be a large gaming area with slot machines, black-jack tables, craps tables, baccarat and poker tables, and a soft-count and hard-count room. The casino will feature a complete security system with computerized surveillance so students can learn how security systems work.  The second floor will house classrooms and faculty offices, with the third floor offering a special gaming library and high-tech video-conference room.

From a design standpoint, the building offered challenges, both externally and internally.  �It�s an interesting building in the sense that the primary pedestrian access will be from a parking lot, and students will have to cross over a bridge spanning a rerouted wash,� Wise said.

�Also, because it�s going to be such a major part of the UNLV campus, we had to incorporate UNLV�s �Running Rebel� red as a trim accent.  We also used some 300,000 concrete blocks for durability and a lot of glass.�

The design also includes two viewing decks, one off the third-floor conference room; and a second one in the 60-foot tower, facing the Las Vegas Strip and surrounding properties.
Inside, the key word was �flexibility.�  Wise said that they relied on the expertise of Harris Consulting Engineers (HCE).  �Harris is one of the primary consultants on many of our projects.  They were the mechanical, plumbing and electrical engineers for this project,� Wise said.

�Flexibility was key, especially in the multipurpose room. Basically, we had to design the room so that it could function as one room for large events but could also divide into four rooms, each having full projection screens, for small classes.  Harris also assisted us in hooking up kitchen equipment with quick-releases so that equipment could be rolled in and out as needed.�

Tom Harris, president of HCE, a professional mechanical and electrical engineering firm serving the Las Vegas area since 1983, stated: �It is always a pleasure contributing to our local community but it�s an even greater compliment to be considered because of our flexibility.  I attribute our flexibility to strong individual and team efforts, and adherence to the highest professional standards.�

Classes in the new facility could begin as early as September 2000.