Gambling on the Square … Time Square A conversation with South African casino executive Bryan O’Connor. By Peter White
Time Square has developed into one of South Africa’s most dynamic entertainment destinations. How would you define its core identity today? Is it primarily a casino, or a broader leisure and entertainment precinct?
Time Square is fundamentally a casino-led destination, enhanced by a strong leisure and entertainment offering. While gaming remains at the core of the business, the property is differentiated by its diverse facilities, including live entertainment, hospitality, and a wide range of restaurants and bars that cater to different guest preferences, and extend the overall visitor experience.
Looking back since opening in 2017, what do you believe have been the key strategic decisions that have driven sustained growth and performance?
A key strategic decision driving sustained growth has been the development of three integrated facilities – the casino, arena and hotel – that complement and support each other throughout the year. This integrated model attracts a broad range of markets with varying disposable incomes, creating multiple reasons to visit, and ensuring that each component reinforces overall performance and resilience.
How do you see Time Square evolving over the next five to 10 years within the South African gaming and entertainment landscape?
The group is focused on delivering a robust, omni-channel strategy aligned with our online brand, SunBet, to retain customers across both platforms. Time Square will continue to differentiate itself through unique offerings and promotions, ensuring relevance, sustainability and alignment with changing customer expectations.
The casino floor remains central to the property’s success. How has player behavior changed in recent years and how has Time Square adapted to those shifts?
Player behavior has shifted in response to increasing economic pressure in South Africa. While customers continue to visit the casino, they are more price-conscious and have reduced disposable income. Time Square has adapted by refining its gaming mix, and by continuously updating slot machines and table games to ensure the offer remains relevant, engaging, and aligned with changing player expectations.
What role does innovation in gaming product, floor layout and customer engagement play in maintaining competitiveness?
They ensure ongoing relevance as the market evolves. As younger, digitally influenced players enter the casino environment, they expect an experience aligned with what they encounter online, making continual innovation critical to maintaining competitiveness.
How do you balance traditional gaming revenue with the increasing importance of non-gaming income streams?
Time Square Resort Hotel Casino remains a gaming-led business, with the casino as the primary revenue driver. Non-gaming income streams – including the arena, hotel, and food and beverage – are strategically positioned to support and enhance the gaming business. Each is managed within its own budget and performance framework, while contributing to overall footfall, spend, and customer engagement across the property.
Image: Bryan O'Connor General Manager, Time Square Resort Casino
The SunBet Arena has hosted major international acts and large-scale events. How important is live entertainment to the overall Time Square proposition?
Live entertainment is a critical component, serving as a powerful marketing tool and a key revenue driver. Hosting the right international and large-scale events increases visitation. It materially supports gaming, hotel, and food and beverage revenue across the property.
How does the integration of gaming, concerts and conferencing work operationally within a single destination model?
The integration is enabled through close collaboration across operational teams to ensure seamless service delivery across gaming, arena and banqueting functions. Gaming remains the core business and is prioritized in the allocation and use of shared spaces. Other activities are coordinated to complement and support the overall destination model.
Do you see the arena becoming as commercially significant as the casino itself in the future?
The arena is not expected to rival the casino in commercial significance, but it plays a critical supporting role by driving visitation and spend into the casino and restaurants. At the same time, the arena is managed to operate efficiently and perform strongly as a stand-alone business.
Food and beverage has become a defining element of modern casino resorts globally. How has Time Square approached F&B as part of the guest-experience strategy?
Food and beverage is a key pillar of the Time Square guest experience. We pride ourselves on a diverse and high-quality F&B offering, supported by a strong team capable of delivering both exceptional day-to-day dining and bespoke events. Our VIP strategy is closely integrated with F&B, leveraging curated experiences such as chef’s tables, private dining, plated dinners in the arena, food festivals, and cooking competitions to elevate the overall guest experience and drive loyalty.
With such a large and diverse dining offering across the precinct, how do you maintain consistency and quality at scale?
It is done through robust training and development programs, underpinned by a structured induction process across all kitchens. This is complemented by strong leadership at management level, ensuring clear standards, effective skills transfer, and consistent execution across our diverse food and beverage operations.
Time Square has positioned itself strongly as a conferencing and business destination. How significant is this segment to the overall business mix?
The conferencing and business segment is a meaningful contributor to Time Square’s overall business mix. It provides strong midweek demand and supports multiple revenue streams, including events, banqueting, and food and beverage. Representing approximately 10 percent of the business mix, this segment delivers stable base business and plays an important role in balancing performance, particularly against higher leisure-driven demand over weekends.
What types of corporate clients or events are you increasingly attracting, and what does that say about the brand’s positioning?
Time Square is increasingly attracting blue-chip corporates, financial institutions, government and association conferences, alongside local and international events hosted in its multifunctional arena. This includes large-scale business events, conferences, entertainment-led gatherings and premium productions. This demand reflects a brand positioned as professional, credible and versatile, capable of delivering both complex corporate events and world-class, live experiences within one integrated precinct. It reinforces Time Square’s positioning as a destination where serious business, major events and entertainment converge, appealing to both local and international audiences.
The modern casino customer is increasingly a leisure consumer first and a gaming customer second. How is Time Square responding to this shift?
It has always been Time Square’s philosophy that gaming forms an integrated part of our overall entertainment offering, rather than existing as a separate experience. What we are experiencing now is a clear shift in consumer behavior. Guests –whether they are visiting for leisure or gaming–have become far more discerning and value-driven in how and where they choose to spendtheir entertainment budget. They are increasinglyselective about the quality of the experience,the environment and, ultimately, the return onexperience they receive for their spend.
How important is it to create a complete destination experience where families, business guests and gamers all coexist in the same environment?
It is crucial to our strategy. As mentioned, Time Square delivers seamless entertainment experiences, regardless of the guest’s primary reason for visiting. In many ways, Time Square defines what seamless entertainment truly means. Under one roof, we offer the 8,500-seat SunBet Arena, the multi-star-graded Time Square Hotel, a diverse range of restaurants catering to every taste, The Magic Company and bowling complex, world-class conferencing facilities, and of course, the casino, featuring the latest slots and table games. This fully integrated ecosystem ensures there is something for everyone.
How would you describe the competitive landscape for integrated resorts in South Africa today?
It is extremely tough and increasingly unforgiving. Guests have more choice, greater access to information and higher expectations than ever before. As a result, scale and facilities alone are no longer sufficient; success is driven by seamless integration, strong execution, speed to market, service excellence and the ability to create meaningful, memorable experiences that build an emotional connection with guests.
What do you believe sets Time Square apart from other large-scale entertainment and gaming destinations in the region?
It is our continued focus on gaming innovation, particularly in how we are adapting to the evolving online and digital market landscape. We are proactive in investing in new gaming products and technologies, ensuring our offering remains relevant, competitive, and aligned to changing player preferences. This forward-thinking approach positions Time Square as a dynamic and future-ready entertainment destination.
What is your personal leadership philosophy when managing a complex, multi-layered operation like Time Square?
My leadership philosophy is grounded in clarity, accountability and collaboration. In managing a complex, multi-layered operation like Time Square, I focus on empowering strong teams, maintaining clear priorities, and ensuring alignment between strategy and execution. By staying close to the business, listening to customers and staff, and making data-informed decisions, I aim to drive consistent performance while remaining agile and responsive to change.
Finally, what would you most like Time Square to be known for internationally within the next decade?
We would like Time Square to be recognized internationally as a leading integrated-entertainment destination that seamlessly combines world-class gaming, live entertainment, hospitality, dining and conferencing under one roof. Our ambition is for Time Square to define the benchmark for a modern, omni-channel casino resort — delivering consistently high-quality experiences that appeal to both local and international guests through innovation, scale and flawless execution.
Casino Life Magazine would like to thank Bryan O'Connor General Manager, Time Square Resort Casino for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview along with the Media Communications Team for all their help and assistance with this interview.
*** This original exclusve feature interview was originally published in Casino Life Magazine May 2026 edition Issue 188 Volume 22
