DEQ’s Real Link progressive for table games has the company in solid growth mode across Asia
It’s a long way from Quebec to China, but DEQ Systems will be feeling right at home this month at G2E Asia, buoyed by the recent extension of the company’s cutting-edge Real Link wide-area table games progressive link to all four Las Vegas Sands casinos in Macau.
The installation of 15 of DEQ’s G3 i3 progressive systems brings the total to 53 at The Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, Sands Cotai Central and Plaza Macao.
“We are very proud of the performance of Real Link in Macau at the LVS Group,” says Earle G. Hall, president and chief executive of Levis, Quebec-based DEQ, which is providing advanced table games technologies to hundreds of casinos in more than 30 countries. “It goes without saying that Real Link is managing a level of daily transactions that are second to none in the table game sector and the performance of the system is exceptional.”
Real Link, the company’s flagship technology, is a secure wireless progressive jackpot management system that links and manages multiple casino locations to a single shared table game prize. It offers multiple reserve jackpots with single-table locking for easy payouts. It has the ability to offer two completely separate progressive jackpots and pays out at the table while keeping all other tables operational. Features include offline and online transaction management, remote access for monitoring and reporting, a dynamic system offering precision performance alerts, real time communications via e-mail, and the ability to integrate with existing automated surveillance systems.
Operators also like the fact that the communication protocol is based on an approved encryption to be used on existing TCP/IP and wireless infrastructure so no special hardware is required to install it.
This also makes integration with the innovative G3 bonusing platform seamless, and the scalability is unlimited, so the system functions as a complete package rich with player-centric features that include multiple credit betting, the ability to bet on the dealer’s hand, multiple jackpots, random bonusing with high hit-frequency mystery prizes and Single or Double pay table and jackpots.
Its highly secure payment sequence is customizable based on hierarchical key levels. The wireless connectivity between table and server reduces implementation costs, and because the system has proven so reliable, its maintenance requirements are low.
“The scalability and robustness of Real Link gives a best of breed solution to all of our clients to connect their table games together to create more attractive, larger jackpots,” says Mr Hall.
And now with G3 i3 (the three i’s being “innovation, intuitive response and improved performance”) the system delivers additional player-participation features with user-friendly applications to any live table game.
The word is spreading throughout Asia. DEQ is now in Singapore, the Philippines and in Genting Highlands in Malaysia.
“We are very excited to start the task of growing our footprint in these countries and taking our place as the progressive jackpot technology leader in the casino industry,” says Mr Hall.
The latter installation—22 G3 progressive systems on Genting’s branded Genting Stud Poker tables and 10 G3s on its Progressive Genting Hold’Em Poker tables—occurred last spring and was especially significant. “Genting has been a primary focus of DEQ in Asia since we started commercialization two years ago,” Mr Hall said at the time. “Replacing their current legacy technology they had with the exclusive and patented features of the G3 was a very exciting project for us, and Genting has given us great positive feedback since the beginning.”
Last month, the company scored its first installation in Australia: 20 G3 i3 progressives at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
DEQ, which is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, holds more than 20 patents in 50 countries, many of them for a portfolio of innovative variations on traditional table games the company commercializes often in tandem with its bonusing and tracking technologies. These include EZ Baccarat, which eliminates the 5% commission on winning “Banker” hands without modifying any of the existing drawing rules of the game, and EZ Pai Gow, which enables more hands to be dealt per hour by replacing the commission on winning hands with a side bet called Queen’s Dragon that pays 50:1.
The company also markets an LCD-based hand-tracking system for both traditional baccarat and EZ Baccarat called EZ Trak. Fitted with a double-sided 22-inch screen and customizable colors, EZ Trak performs both traditional “5 Method” Asian and simplified format scoring. It also tracks the frequency of DEQ’s proprietary Panda 8 and Dragon 7 side bets, and it interfaces with most electronic card shoes so no dealer intervention is required.
