internationalcasinoreview
2012 Report
GPI’s RFID technology offering efficiency savings
Gaming Partners International was showcasing its wide range of RFID-enabled applications, including RFID Poker with an optional side-bet driven jackpot as well as the stunning behind-the-scenes technology that can strip huge costs out of operations.
flushwithtechnology GAMING PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL
Live poker is, of course, one of the most popular games on the casino floor these days and a real attraction for visitors. For all its popularity, however, and while it is not exactly a loss-leader, nor is it one of the best earners, cer- tainly given effort involved in maintaining it. For opera- tors, therefore, the drive has to be towards efficiency - which means increasing hands per hour - and towards finding ways of generating additional revenues. GPI has taken the chal-
lenge head on in two ways. The first is its RFID Poker, which uses technology embedded in the chips and the table to calculate pots instantly.
“It means there are no
errors and that the time when players are not playing is dramatically reduced,” said marketing manager Nicole Grauzer. “This technology can really help operators tighten their margins and improve game speed. It’s a great way to make the game more profitable.” There is no doubt that RFID Poker costs more than
“What this application
upgrade now provides is a connection into casino man- agement systems,”
said
Marketing manager Nicole Grauzer at GPI’s jackpot-enabled RFID Poker table
a non-technology-enabled table but the return on investment comes quickly - for operations of all sizes but especially for those running a good number of poker tables.
“There is a real shift now
in getting operators to understand that RFID is not just about security but also crucial to efficiency - and when economies are still sluggish, that is a hugely important factor,”
said
Grauzer. “There is also a lot of benefit to be gained from the extra data the system provides, including account- ing efficiencies between the
table and the cage, for example. And it’s something that doesn’t affect the player’s experience of the game - in fact, the faster pace is a real attraction.”
What also adds to the
player’s experience, and to the earning potential of every poker table, is the optional RFID Progressive Poker, which works on one table, across several or even a whole property and beyond to provide a three- level incrementing prize for a side bet.
Also being demonstrated at ICE was GPI’s Chip Inven- tory System (CIS) 2.0.
Grauzer. “It provides real time data about chips and chip movements. It’s a big step forward: so much of that knowledge is still held man- ually and if there are big movements - say a large buy- in by an unknown high-roller for example - it can be some time before the management can catch up.” The company has also made some significant advances in developing custom branding and secu- rity of its world-renowned core products, non-RFID gaming chips. “Exclusively under the B&G brand, we are now offering B&G Custom Chips, allowing operators to select up six separate shots into the mould,” said Grauzer. “The most other companies do is four. What it means is that the range of colours and security features we can incorporate increases dra- matically, including clear design elements, transpar- ent colours and laser-etched textures. This is a service that absolutely meets any casino’s security and brand- ing objectives.”
High performance motherboards set to make big leap forward
advantech-innocore CIRCUIT REIGNING
Advantech-Innocore demon- strated its powerful range of motherboards, especially its DPX-S415 and DPX-S425, the latter being currently the company’s top-selling model. Since 2010, Innocore has been part of Advantech, now the world’s largest industrial PC manufacturer. “Our amalgamation has meant that we are now able to show a huge range of industrial motherboards,” said the firm’s Koen Stomph. He said that Advantech-
Innocore will launch a brand new product in June that will feature a new chipset. The
42 March 2012 •ICEreport
Advantech-Innocore’s sales director Koen Stomph with the DPX-S425 motherboard
upcoming DPX-S430 will represent the latest inte- grated gaming boards based on the latest chipset technol- ogy from AMD. Based on AMD’s latest
embedded chipset for 2012 (the name of which is still to be officially released by AMD), the computer will feature a high-performance APU with ‘Discrete-level
Graphics’. The integrated graphics core represents a significant step up in what chipset graphics can do. Fur- thermore, the chipset graph- ics can output to multiple independent monitors and support DisplayPort. Stomph said: “We are sure customers will be impressed with the upcoming DPX- S430 which retains mechani- cal and programming compatibility like the rest of the DPX-S series range. The basic functionality is the same as the existing DPX-S series which is state-of-the- art technology, but it repre- sents a huge leap forward in terms of graphics and per- formance.”
Grand Prix series finds favour in Eastern Europe
Janez Petkovsek (left), general manager of Gambee, with the latest automated Grand Prix Sic Bo machine
vortexmessaging GAMBEE
Slovenia-based Gambee is looking strongly at the UK market as part of its inter- national expansion plans for 2012. The company launched a new automated roulette machine at ICE in January - a re-designed model from its Grand Prix series. “It’s a deluxe model, and is completely new, but maintains the same general feeling as the previous suc- cessful models,”
general manager Janez Petkovsek. The previous wooden
cabinet has been replaced by a metal cabinet, the inte- gral roulette (or Sic Bo, depending on model) wheel is now larger and the new materials used are more robust and hard wearing. Each cabinet is modular in design, so that they can stand alone or linked up depending on the needs of the operator. “We’re looking specifi-
cally at entering the coin- op market with these. We have, of course, made allowances in the design so that the machines can have hoppers, coin-in, bill acceptors or ticket-in, ticket-out and fully com- patible with SAS protocol so that they can be equipped for casinos too,” said Petkovsek. Gambee’s latest Grand
Prix offering is also com- patible with its Lucky Jackpot system. The Lucky Jackpot is a progressive jackpot that can be config- ured to hit as often as the operator wishes, depend- ing on how busy the floor is at any given time. Once all the bets have closed, the computer randomly generates a single number (from 0-36 in the case of roulette) and everyone who has selected that number wins a special bonus amount.
said One of Gambee’s
Eastern European installa- tions boasts 197 GP roulette cabinets and has grown from an initial 30. The firm has also enjoyed success with Sic Bo, housed in the same cabinet, in Casino Povoa in Porto, Portugal. The three-dice game is powered by Gambee’s futuristic-looking ‘vortex generator’, which can be branded up to suit any casino’s identity. Europe, Latin America
and Asia are the company’s strongest markets, said Petkovsek. “ICE is the event of the year for us and to prove this we’ve increased our stand size by almost 20 per cent. We don’t go to G2E in Las Vegas, but we will be exhibiting in Ireland, Italy, Spain and Macau. We’ll be strongly investigating the coin-op market this year.”
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