TCSJOHNHUXLEY’s new table bonus product is designed to boost player time at the table whatever the game
Supernova Table Bonus System from TCSJOHNHUXLEY exploded onto the scene at the company’s VIP off site event during the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
For the second year running, TCSJOHNHUXLEY built a temporary showroom in the sky at Palms Resort several miles from the main show at Las Vegas Convention Center. And for the second year in a row, the industry turned out in numbers to inspect what was on offer.
Supernova Table Bonus System is described by the company as a powerful progressive and game bonus product that drives increased revenues by adding higher levels of player excitement and loyalty to your table games. One of the most exciting things about Supernova is that it can be applied to any table game. Its multi-level mystery bonus mode can be employed even on games that don’t normally run progressive jackpots.
“You can add the Supernova system to any game, even one without a progressive jackpot, and just have it running in mystery mode. You could even put it onto a roulette table if you wanted,” explains TCSJOHNHUXLEY Australasia Technical Director Harley Jackson, who headed up development of the system.
Sensors
Bets are made and recorded when chips are placed onto the Supernova sensors fitted to the table. Players can play the base game alone, or they can choose to play the base game plus a mystery bonus and in many cases a progressive jackpot too if supported by the base game.
“The multiple levels means you can get all the tables in your casino to contribute to the prize pool or you can operate it on a single table basis. The mystery trigger could be, for example, somewhere between $50 and $100 contributed to the prize pool. [From a ten-dollar chip] you the player could be contributing one dollar towards the mystery [jackpot] and maybe five dollars to the main progressive and four dollars towards the house.
“It’s really going to drive participation in the progressive bet and therefore the base game. Nobody’s going to get up and leave the table if the table’s progressive pot has built up to say $90 and the players know that the upper limit of the mystery pool is $100,” says Mr Jackson.
For markets where players like communal table play, such as Macau; Supernova can be configured—subject to any necessary jurisdictional approvals—so that jackpots can be shared among all the players at the table who have contributed to it.
“We’re talking about a jackpot controller and obviously that’s going to require GLI or other test lab testing and then regulatory approval,” explains Harley Jackson.
Flexible
“Being a brand new system, how the jackpot levels are implemented and how you reward players has all kinds of possibilities. You can, for example, have a multilevel jackpot where there’s one top prize, or one shared prize.”
Supernova also offers operators the flexibility to stay within their comfort zone in terms of the margin (above and beyond the theoretical house edge) they want to see on each table.
“You can invent your own progressive. It can be based on a game event such as a baccarat dealer dealing four eights in one game. You just have to figure out the odds of the event happening and work out your contributions accordingly,” says Mr Jackson.
“So the thing is not only self funding but there’s a little bit left over for the house as well.” Operators can also choose the reset level for the mystery jackpot after it’s gone off.
“The more you as an operator make, the less, obviously, will be fed to the jackpot meters. The property may choose to keep zero commission and contribute all of the progressive or mystery jackpot stakes to the meters simply to drive participation in the base game.”
A star is born
“This product came about because we wanted to dramatically improve on the existing progressive table technology well established in the market—both visually and by adding mystery jackpot levels. We call it Supernova because when it goes off it’s bright and explodes with colour. You can theme it however you like, to suit your local market.”
Supernova is also fitted with TCSJOHNHUXLEY’s Wide Screen Omni Progressive Display. It comes supplied with an intuitive touch screen dealer console and is easy to retro fit to existing tables. The display can contain multiple odometers representing the various progressive and mystery levels, and as with all of the Omni display range it can be graphically re-skinned and themed to integrate with the base table game and to reinforce the overall property brand.