Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2010 of the latest RFID technology available with all the company’s casino currencies. In June 2009, GPI announced it had won a US$2.7 million order to supply all the gaming plaques for the 550 tables at Melco Crown Entertainment’s City of Dreams casino resort in Macau. GPI’s high-frequency RFID chips and plaques provide security against counterfeits, staff pilferage or errors, and are compatible with special player tracking hardware and software that allow for accurate tracking of play data from tables so casinos can follow player bets and accurately rate and reward players. Honourable Mention: CSA Automated Baccarat Display CSA Automated (Macau) Ltd is a leading systems integrator in Macau and a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Automated Systems Holdings Limited. “The CSA Baccarat display is very easy to use. Any incorrect results can easily be rectified and changes to minimum bets or table differential can be easily input with the use of a keypad,” stated one of the judges. The CSA Baccarat display provides historical and predictive trends—an important feature for ethnic Chinese players, who tend to look for patterns in the results of each hand. “The CSA Baccarat display is integral to our business in that it is a fundamental piece of equipment that baccarat players demand. Additionally, the display units are networked, making upload of advertising or promotional content easy. CSA also provide functionality that enables hand-rates to be recorded and extracted via an excel report,” stated one of the judges. Best Table Gaming Innovation Selections for this category were made at the discretion of the judges, who were instructed to choose any product they felt had provided an outstanding contribution to the development of the Asian casino table gaming industry in the last year. Winner: Sasian Gaming – UP2U Baccarat UP2U Baccarat, from Sasian Gaming, is a baccarat variant that offers the player a choice between traditional player/banker bets and reverse commission bets. With the latter, players get paid more than even money for wins on one to six points. With the reverse commission formula the house advantage of the new betting configuration also increases, making the formula a winner for both players and the bank. While house advantage on the traditional player/banker bets remains the same, the UP2U player/banker bets offer increased payments, as well as a bonus opportunity. Sasian states that UP2U Baccarat can increase average house advantage by 43%, compared to the traditional format. It adds that its house advantage comparison chart is GLI certified. UP2U Baccarat was introduced to Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian Macao and Sand Macao properties in December, 2009. Honourable Mention: Walker Digital – Elite Baccarat “The Elite table remains faithful to our Chinese guest’s favourite game [baccarat], but allows them to switch, press or make a late tie bet after the first four cards have been exposed,” said one of the judges. The Elite system takes card data from any smart shoe, reads the amount of the player’s bet with RFID technology and then calculates instantly in real time payout odds based on the guests betting choice and amount of their wager. “Truly groundbreaking stuff… currently up and running at Genting Malaysia and about to be introduced in the Philippines,” added the judge. The game is currently awaiting approval from Macau’s regulator, the DICJ. Editor’s Pick Winner: TCSJOHNHUXLEY – TouchTable MultiPLAY Craps TouchTable MultiPLAY Craps is one of Inside Asian Gaming ’s favourite product releases of 2009. It’s the best table surface simulation we’ve seen so far in terms of speed and response of play. The screen surface has such high definition you can even make out the strands of ‘virtual’ baize cloth on the surface. According to IT experts who knowabout these things,TouchTable MultiPLAY’s screen definition is four times better than standard HD and a significant improvement on the touch screen computer technology that so excited audiences in the recent James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Being a high quality TCS JOHNHUXLEY product, it won’t come cheap. But it promises strong return on investment because of its flexibility. It’s available in two- or three-game configurations for craps, roulette and/ or sic bo , and can be swapped from live dealer to automatic mode at the flick of a switch. And in keeping with TCS JOHNHUXLEY’s policy of working with local partners in specific markets, the table surround can also be customised to local players’ tastes. 24 Supplier Awards TouchTable MultiPLAY Craps Nominees: Manufacturer Title Sasian Gaming UP2U Baccarat Shuffle Master i-Table TCS JOHNHUXLEY AccuPLAY System Walker Digital Elite Baccarat Bourgogne & Grasset RFID plaques UP2U Baccarat