For sports fans, there is no place on earth like the Game-On sports bar and restaurant in the shops at Caesars Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Like its sister location near Fenway Park in Boston, Game-On Atlantic City bills itself as "The Official Bar of Any Game That's On," and offers an unparalleled immersive experience for fans of any and all sports.

Nearly 100 EAW and JBL ceiling speakers blanket Game-On's interior with sound, while Cat-5 cable transports video throughout.

"We've taken the experience of watching a sporting event to a new level," said John Lyons, president and founder of Los Angeles design/build firm John Lyons Systems, who recently outfitted the space with AV systems. "Game-On is a place where you can watch sporting events in a party atmosphere enveloped by high-definition video and a professional-quality audio system."
The creation of Game-On Atlantic City comes at a time when home theater technology has advanced and prices have dropped, making HDTV and surround sound affordable for the average consumer. As a result, entertainment destinations like sports bars need to rise to the next level by providing an experience that a sports fan can't get at home.

Game-On's answer was to install 96 HDTV displays on a 16x64 video matrix. Inputs include 13 cable and satellite receivers so fans can literally catch any type of sporting event at any time around the world. The large collection of hi-def video displays include three Panasonic 50-inch plasmas, 19 Phillips 42-inch LCDs, 40 Phillips 32-inch LCDs, seven Phillips 26-inch LCDs, and six Phillips 20-inch LCDs. Even the 7-inch displays installed in the bathroom are hi-def.

"The technical 'wow' factor is the AV matrix, with feeds routed to so many different outputs for a basic sports bar," Lyons noted. The displays are either installed as standalone displays or in groups with the goal to give each fan the best sightlines no matter where they stand or sit in the room.

If those aren't enough video options, six Casio XJ360 2,200 lumens projectors and one ASK Proxima C450 4,000 lumens projector were also installed around the bar area. "The projectors are used like large TVs. Every hi-def projector can show a different sporting event as well," explained Richard Worboys, vice president at John Lyons Systems.

Infrastructure for the install is Cat-5 cable with video baluns at each end to transmit from standard twisted pair to component video. Cable and satellite programming is controlled by a media PC running Knox Video software so Game-On staff can automatically program which sporting events will spear on which display throughout the day.

The hi-def video displays include 3 Panasonic 50-inch plasmas, 19 Phillips 42-inch LCDs, 40 Phillips 32-inch LCDs, 7 Phillips 26-inch LCDs, and 6 Phillips 20-inch LCDs.

The video sightlines at Game-On won't compete with Game-On's high-end sound system. "We installed a system with dance club capability, except that all speakers are hidden in the ceiling," Lyons said.

Nearly 100 ceiling speakers blanket the entire space with sound. 46 EAW Commercial CIS400 ceiling speakers, 16 EAW JL12 custom 12-inch coaxial ceiling speakers co-developed by Lyons and EAW, and 24 JBL 328c 8-inch coaxial ceiling speaker were used. Low-frequency coverage is provided by four each of the JBL 312CS 12-inch high-output ceiling subwoofer and the EAW SB250 subwoofer.

DSP for the system is handled by BSS Audio Soundweb London, with one each of the BSS Audio BLU-80 and BLU-32 installed in the rack. Zone control is provided by one BSS Audio BLU-10 programmable controller and twelve BSS Audio BLU-3 wall-mount controllers for source selection and volume control. Six VIP suites at Game-On use the BLU-3s to control and change their own AV source.

In addition to the audio and video, Game-On sports a small lighting rig consisting of several Robe fixtures on a separate controller. The lighting elements are used to emphasize when a team scores during a game or create excitement and call attention to what's on-screen. "Lighting will continue to play a larger role as entertainment destinations like sports bars try to offer a larger-than-home experience," Worboys noted. "Even now and in the future, there won't be a sports bar without hi-def."