TransAct’s Epicentral Print System is developing new modules to make it an indispensable part of casino inventory
TransAct Technologies—a global leader in market-specific printers for transaction-based industries—launched its ground-breaking Epicentral™ Print System for casinos at G2E 2010. Since then, the company has been expanding the available applications.
Epicentral works in conjunction with TransAct’s Epic 950® ticket printer—a product that is already installed in many slot machines in Asia. Epicentral allows casino operators to create promotional coupons and marketing messages for uncarded as well as carded players and print those promotions in real time at a slot machine, an electronic table game—or even at a live table in properties where ticket-in/ticket-out technology is available on live games. The system also works with the casino operator’s own database, rather than trying to create a new database from scratch.
TransAct recently launched Epicentral in casinos across the United States. Inside Asian Gaming spoke to Tracey Chernay, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, at G2E 2011, to learn about the latest developments.
IAG: What has been happening since we saw you at G2E Asia in June?
Tracey Chernay: What we’ve done this year at G2E is to launch three new modules for Epicentral to make it even more robust and easier for the casinos to use.
The new modules are Epicentral Campaign Center, Epicentral Mobile Host, and Mobile Player. Campaign Center is really the core of the product. It allows the casinos to write new coupon and messaging rules and schedule those. If you can use Microsoft Outlook, you can use Campaign Center. It’s very easy to use. In fact, we’ve made it super-easy to use.
It allows operators the flexibility to create an endless number of promotions, and they don’t have to engage back with us, the software provider. Campaign Center gives them the flexibility to customise Epicentral as much as they’d like.
What about Mobile Host?
Mobile Host is the version that can work on an iPad or an iPhone, and this is for the casino host. It allows the casino host to ‘comp’ [issue complimentary benefits such as free show tickets] a player while they’re at a game. The host can also choose from a library of coupons that are available from the marketing department. That promotional inventory can be updated constantly. That maximises the host’s options for providing players with promotions that are directly of interest to them—and all from the interface of the host’s mobile device.
And Mobile Player?
Mobile Player is based on a player’s iPhone or mobile device. The player opens the casino’s iPhone application to see what promotions he or she has qualified for. The player can then choose the ones he or she wants. Then when he or she puts the player card in the slot machine, the promotions pop out in ticket form.
So where is Epicentral live on casino floors at the moment?
We’ve installed at Foxwoods in Connecticut, where Epicentral is on 1,100 slot games. We printed 350,000 coupons over the course of six months, and it’s run flawlessly there. And because this is not deemed to be a gaming system, but is deemed to be a marketing system, we haven’t had any problems with regulatory issues. We’ve also received regulatory approval from the state of Washington here in the US, and that’s actually where we’re getting ready to do our next install.
Are there any applications for Epicentral we haven’t mentioned?
Epicentral applications are not just about giving things away. They also involve communicating with the player. In Canada and in New South Wales in Australia, for example, messages warning about problem gambling are considered a priority by the jurisdictions there.
Another example is the tax form a player is required to submit if they have a win at a US casino. The tax reporting form is printed automatically via Epicentral. So when you hit the jackpot, and the machine says ‘Cash out,’ you get your cash out voucher and you automatically get your tax form right along behind it.
Without Epicentral it’s really time-consuming for casino staff to fill in the tax reporting form. And the players get frustrated when they have to wait for the attendant to come over and help fill out all the form. So Epicentral makes use of the identifying information already available to the casino when a carded player puts their card in the machine. Here in the United States the casino already knows your social security number, your driver’s licence details, etc., when you get the player’s card.
So Epicentral fills out all the information the casino already has on the player on the tax declaration form, and then the player pretty much only has to sign at the bottom. The casinos are very excited about this application.
