internationalcasinoreview The sportsbook at Tropicana


in the same way the financial markets trade – we are essentially creating a Wall Street in the desert. Instead of building algorithms on stocks and bonds, we’re creating algorithms on team and star player performances. Bets through Inside Wagers can only be placed during a designated betting window on a first-in, first-out basis. Once the window of time closes, additional bets are not allowed. All bets are then reviewed and either accepted in total, in part, or declined by the sports book based on demand of the wagering marketplace. Because lines continually move and Inside Wagers betting windows will open and close throughout the week starting on Thursday, patrons can take advantage of making bets based on the anticipated movement of the line, just as you would in the financial market. We’re in the business of creating unique gaming experiences and continuously updating our products and technology to offer customers a gaming experience that they can’t get in any other sports book.”


CR: What kind of security is present on these terminals? SK: We have everything as locked down as it is possible to be – don’t forget our parent company, Cantor Fitzgerald, handles billions of dollars worth of trades on the stock and bond markets on a daily basis, so we’re used to dealing with financial transactions in a secure environment. Our field trial took place over several months in 2008 at the Venetian and we were approved in November 2008.We also rolled out both mobile gaming and In-Running at the M Resort in March 2009. There have been three major upgrade releases already and we’re constantly fine-tuning the product. We continue to evaluate additional form factors and handset types, making sure the experience and level of security is consistent for every customer. To this end, we have designed a system that will create a seamless gaming experience – we’re not trying to compete with the existing slots and tables within the casino, rather to complement them. Being able to game at the pool or in a restaurant, for example, will be appealing to some people and gives groups of people the chance to all do something they like together rather than having to split up.


38 February 2011 • interview


CR: In terms of the sports betting side of things, how can you be sure you’re not getting past-posted or that the whole process is secure? Surely there is some human involvement somewhere, in terms of updating the game situation so that the odds are correct – and a process is only as secure as the trustworthiness of the weakest part of the chain. SK: As you know, Cantor has been around for over 60 years and has invested over a billion dollars in technology that enables secure transactions. Our team has leveraged that experience and technology to build the platform that we are using today. So simply put, we’re confident that we’ve developed a secure platform. As far as past-posting, we continually tweak our overall system to ensure that this does not happen. We ensure that our live feeds are as fast as possible, at least equally as fast as the picture any of our customers will be viewing during an In- Running contest [this is confirmed later when the score on the handheld terminals on a basketball updates moments before I see the team score on the sportsbook TV]. Furthermore, every transaction is recorded with a full audit trail and through our account-based wagering system, so that if anyone is trying to do anything fraudulent, we immediately know who they are. We don’t take any shortcuts in the setup stage, and make sure there are separate teams on the coding and programming. With our financial experience, we know how to avoid things like programming back doors. Our RNG system for eDeck/pocketcasino is totally separate from all the rest of the infrastructure, and connectivity is done through encrypted pathways that strengthen the stability of the overall platform. Once we are done with development, the system(s) are then submitted to the Nevada Gaming Control Board where they are tested yet again for integrity.


CR: And how is business going so far? SK: The products are doing really well. As you know, football season is probably our busiest time of year and we continue to realize significant growth every week. After the Superbowl, we anticipate a surge with March Madness [the annual college basketball tournament] which was tremendous for us last year. Like


football, the nature of basketball works really well with In-Running betting. But every day is different, and the whole process has been both challenging and a lot of fun. While Cantor has tremendous experience in all of its business, Cantor Gaming poses unique challenges that our team continues to work through every day. We’re recently up and running in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and in December we opened temporary books at the Tropicana and the new Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The full books at both of these properties, as well as a new book at the Hard Rock, are planned to open in early 2011. We’ll be aiming at other jurisdictions too, but right now Nevada is our primary focus and is taking up the majority of our time.


CR: What’s actually involved in terms of the deal and the hardware? SK: While each deal obviously presents its own nuances and subtleties, Cantor is really focused on finding the right partners with whom we can grow together. As I said, our products are meant to complement a property’s existing operations and provide more choice for the customer. As far as device hardware, there are a few different things at work here. First, each handheld device has two RFID chips involved, a


passive one to attach the device to the chip we stick to the customer’s loyalty card and an active one that makes sure the customer is within the green zone. We also have functionality where the customer has to confirm their password every now and again if inactive. ID confirmation is required to establish an account and again to withdraw cash from the system. We envision the mobile gaming product to become more of a platform with numerous types of new and exciting gaming opportunities and content.


CR: What’s next in terms of technology? SK: We’re developing a similar application for smart phones, and there’s much discussion within the business as to where the future lies. When we originally started down the line of mobile gaming, smart phones didn’t really exist, but there’s no doubt that as market penetration of these hand-held computers increases, we have to be mindful of how the technology and its adoption continues to evolve. We’re certainly keeping abreast of the direction the market is taking, with a view to being able to provide app-type solutions for various personal data devices, depending also on how legislation develops.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98