DEQ is enriching traditional table play with big jackpots and new levels of experience
DEQ’s singular “vision,” says Chief Executive Earle G. Hall, is “to take away the wall between physical and virtual gaming”.
Progressive side bets and their related networking technologies are first steps toward that goal, as he sees it, and the Quebec-based table games innovator has found ample scope for both in the largest table games market in the world.
The recent addition of 15 Sands China poker tables to DEQ’s G3 i3 progressive system brings to 53 the number of games at The Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, Sands Cotai Central and Plaza Macao participating in the company’s cutting-edge Real Link wide area jackpot network. It’s a level of critical mass that has been known to generate six figure jackpots, and for Mr Hall it is just the beginning for DEQ in Macau.
“Now migrate that over to baccarat,” he says, “and take that massive amount of tables linking to one progressive. You’re talking about life-changing jackpots happening so fast it’ll be like a multi-state lottery.”
DEQ is ably positioned to make it happen thanks to EZ Baccarat, a variation on the traditional game whose innovation is the elimination of the commission on winning “Banker” bets. Freed of having to calculate those payments, staff can deal more hands per hour. It also makes for a better break for the player. The casino is compensated by means of higher-house-edge side bets.
EZ Baccarat has proved so popular it is currently running on some 400 tables in more than 100 casinos worldwide. (In Macau it can be found at the MGM Macau, City of Dreams and Wynn Macau.)
Mr Hall attributes its appeal to its “mass market point of view”. For a game mostly known as the sport of high rollers, he sees EZ Baccarat as “natural evolution.”
“EZ Baccarat will win with players over time,” he says. “Once players get hold of the game, they’ve made it their game of choice, right out of the gate. They see they get a better deal.”
Real Link is the technology making it happen—a secure, wireless, wide-area progressive jackpot management system that offers multiple reserve jackpots with single-table locking for easy payouts. It has the ability to offer two completely separate progressive prizes and pays out at the table while keeping all other tables operational. Its 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.
“We are very proud of the performance of Real Link in Macau at the LVS group,” says Mr Hall. “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.”
The word is spreading throughout Asia. DEQ is also now in Singapore, the Philippines and in Genting Highlands in Malaysia.
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.”
Recently, the company also 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 table game variants the company often commercializes in tandem with its bonusing and tracking technologies. These include EZ Baccarat and EZ Pai Gow.
The company also markets an LCDbased 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.
