Customers are increasingly expecting a high level of customer service from their Casino, and MotorCity is constantly evaluating their business model to make sure they are providing top notch service while optimizing their expenditures and staffing levels. Students on the MotorCity team will use internal and external data to develop a system to forecast demand (number of people at the casino) and a strategy to determine the optimal level of staffing.
Students on this team must be a minimum of 21 years old to be legally allowed in the casino facility. There will be several trips required to develop an understanding of environment on the casino floor, the users’ experience, and staff knowledge. You must turn 21 years of age on/before January 4, 2023 in order to be a member of this team.
Abstract:
Casinos and gambling houses have been around since at least the 17th century, but today’s casinos are constantly evolving in their use of modern technology to improve the customer experience. The MotorCity Casino is Detroit’s only locally owned and operated casino, and has a cutting edge, vertically integrated information technology department. Customers are increasingly expecting a high level of customer service from their Casino, and MotorCity is constantly evaluating their business model to make sure they are providing top notch service while optimizing their expenditures and staffing levels.
One of the challenges of casino management is forecasting when casino floor demand will be high. The better job MotorCity can do at this, the more optimally they can schedule staff (dealers, bartenders, etc.). Students on the MotorCity team will develop a system to forecast demand (number of people at the casino) and a strategy to determine the optimal level of staffing. They will have access to internal business variables (e.g., historical casino utilization, food and beverage sales and staffing levels, etc.) and will also consider external environmental variables (weather, traffic, conflicting events, etc.).
Impact:
A successful project has the potential to both increase the quality of the patron experience as well as simultaneously increasing profitability.
Data Analytics (2-3 Students)
Specific Skills: Broad range of analytics techniques, particularly forecasting models. Propose, formulate, and evaluate predictive model enhancements.
Likely Majors: DATA, IOE, CS, SI, STATS, ECON
General Programming (1-2 Students)
Specific Skills: Creation of tools and database to support analysis, Managing/importing data via API and/or scraping.
Must have completed EECS 281 or equivalent prior to Winter 2023 term.
Likely Majors: CS, DATA
Optimization (1 Student)
Specific Skills: Formulate and solve the optimal staff scheduling problem, Develop forecasting model.
Must be able to code enough to utilize/develop tools in Jupyter notebooks or similar.
Likely Majors: IOE, Math
Business Analysis (1-2 Students)
Specific Skills: Evaluate the business environment (process, current knowledge, etc.), conduct stakeholder interviews, Support development of forecasting model. Evaluate benefit and potential business process integration of modeling solutions.
Requires general coding skills and quantitative evaluation.
Likely Majors: BBA with CS minor, CS with BBA minor, IOE
Sponsor Mentor
Brian Pasmanter
Director of Application Development
Brian has been with MotorCity Casino Hotel since 2006, and is a life-long Michigan native. He currently leads a team of developers that create software solutions to tackle the ever-changing business needs of the competitive gaming industry. Brian and his team have designed and developed several key systems used by both guests and employees, including Mobile Apps, Guest Kiosks, Company Intranet, Hotel Booking Engine and Data Analytics Tools. Outside of work, he enjoys woodworking and brewing beer.
Faculty Mentor
Gail Hohner
Director, Multidisciplinary Design Program
Gail Hohner has been director of the MDP for over ten years where she is responsible for overseeing the whole program and has previously been the faculty mentor for multiple sponsored teams. She brings 17 years of global industrial experience, including leading global research in game theory/combinatorial auction design, commodity forecasting, business analysis, consumer product development, and primary chocolate research. While in industry she created a number of University/Industry research partnerships. In addition, she was a founding member of a successful internet-based logistics website and maintains a small consulting practice in procurement auction design. Gail holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Food Science, both awarded by Cornell University.
Course Substitutions: CE MDE, ChE Elective, CS Capstone/MDE, DS Capstone, EE MDE, CoE Honors, IOE Senior Design, SI Grad Cognate
Citizenship Requirements:
- This project is open to all students
- International students on an F-1 visa will be required to declare part-time CPT during Winter 2023 and Fall 2023 terms.
IP/NDA: Students will sign IP/NDA document(s) that are unique to the MotorCity Casino.
Internship/Summer Opportunity: No summer activity will take place on the project.