I think “jumped to a conclusion” is a bit strong; there are several possible explanations aside from “designers got it wrong until Thomas figured it out”:
The “Maze” structure was the most profitable when casinos were new, but it is now an overserved niche, while the market for spacious, beautiful gambling is (or was until recently) underserved.
Women used not to gamble so much, but the successes of feminism mean that more women are able to do what they want with more money than before, so designing spaces that appeal primarily to women has become more profitable, and different designs appeal to women. (These first two points in conjunction would also explain why the masculine luxury setup didn’t work—men were already well served by existing casino layouts.)
Our cultural standards and expectations have changed, so the Maze used to be optimal always and everywhere, but now the spacious rooms are better at generating revenue.
Building things like Thomas does used to be prohibitively expensive relative to the extra revenue it generates, but the cost relative to a “Maze” layout has declined.
There is a new (relative to casinos) class of mass affluent, who don’t go to super-exclusive places to gamble, or even the high stakes tables, but demand a more “luxurious” experience and don’t like being trapped in a maze
The maze was obviously a local maximum, and experimentation is expensive. Thomas may just have been lucky that his wild guess was right. The “men’s club” luxury setup was an expensive wrong guess.
I think “jumped to a conclusion” is a bit strong; there are several possible explanations aside from “designers got it wrong until Thomas figured it out”:
The “Maze” structure was the most profitable when casinos were new, but it is now an overserved niche, while the market for spacious, beautiful gambling is (or was until recently) underserved.
Women used not to gamble so much, but the successes of feminism mean that more women are able to do what they want with more money than before, so designing spaces that appeal primarily to women has become more profitable, and different designs appeal to women. (These first two points in conjunction would also explain why the masculine luxury setup didn’t work—men were already well served by existing casino layouts.)
Our cultural standards and expectations have changed, so the Maze used to be optimal always and everywhere, but now the spacious rooms are better at generating revenue.
Building things like Thomas does used to be prohibitively expensive relative to the extra revenue it generates, but the cost relative to a “Maze” layout has declined.
There is a new (relative to casinos) class of mass affluent, who don’t go to super-exclusive places to gamble, or even the high stakes tables, but demand a more “luxurious” experience and don’t like being trapped in a maze
The maze was obviously a local maximum, and experimentation is expensive. Thomas may just have been lucky that his wild guess was right. The “men’s club” luxury setup was an expensive wrong guess.