Co-owners of AD X Media Gary Evans and Eric Meagher have been commissioned by Pokerstars.net for the last three years to add some pizzazz to the World Series of Poker at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, not at the tables, but outside the hotel. This year, a projected video approximately 19 stories high (60’-wide by 175’ tall) graced the façade of the hotel for a week through the final rounds of the tournament in July.
The setup included four edge-blended Barco FLM HD20 video projectors, a Barco MatrixPRO 8X8 DVI Router, and an Apple Mac Pro with Pro Video Player. Houston-based Wagner Media, the exclusive projection hardware supplier to AD X Media, created a custom multi-projector stacker (MPS) actually capable of stacking up to 16 projectors for a potential output level of 352,000 lumens. Wagner also supplied the projectors and developed cage systems to turn the projectors on their sides for increased length. Wayne Wagner and Reggie Hemmes (technical engineer) represented Wagner Media.
AD X Media storyboarded the content, created a simulation for client approval, and then got to work making the projections happen. AD X’s Mike Burns was technical director on the project, and director Jack Hattingh and Texas Video & Post created the content, including 3D effects of fireworks, balloons, banners, poker chips, and more. Pokerstars.net also provided content, but all had to be 3D-mapped.
The projections were done from a staging area built as a weatherproof box with peek holes, situated 435’ away in a median along Hugh Hefner Drive where visitors pull into the hotel. The accompanying audio was confined, set up like movie theatre sound, only audible in an optimal viewing area so as not to disrupt guests.
AD X Media also created a permanent installation at the Tropicana Resort Hotel. It’s the largest permanent physical digital projection in the world, covering an area of 40,000sq-ft. with 900 of the hotel’s windows wrapped in reflective material.