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TABLE GAMING
supplying RFID kit to casinos on five continents, with The GPI system tracks every chip around the
chip security a leading application for the casino floor, improving security and providing
technology. Pilferage and counterfeiting become information that allows for quicker and better
almost impossible, it seems, when every individual decision-making in game management. For instance,
chip or plaque has not only its own unique ID, but any chip that is placed on a reader anywhere in the
can also be tied to a particular property or a single casino that shouldn’t be there is flagged up on the
operator with what amounts to an indelible, invisible pit boss module screen. The system also provides all
internal marker. Chip tracking and better control the information the floor manager needs – the
over inventory are other major benefits GPI says. number of chips, total amount, table-by-table, and a
According to the company, one of the most full- single report details the initial, current, fills, credits
fledged RFID sites in operation is located in and drops - the floor manager has access to all the
Manchester, UK. Since May 2008, a total of 11 server- information about all the gaming tables on the floor.
based, RFID-enabled tables as well as cage and chip Real-time alerts are possible, table-by-table, so the
bank readers have been in place, making automatic manager can see what is sliding, and take remedial
chips inventories. RFID table float trays are read on a action.
continuous basis to provide exact inventory, calculate
rolling floats, track fills and credits transactions, and JCM joins the RFID revolution
to give win/loss ratio in real time with full reporting. “What they did on slots 20 years ago, we’re now
It seems the casino staff and management are very doing on table games,” says JCM Global’s Senior Vice
enthusiastic about the system. Manual inventory has President of Operations, Tom Nieman. He’s referring,
been halved while three-quarters as many staff are of course, to the Trident Table Safe, which
now needed open the tables. incorporates a bill and ticket acceptor with JCM’s
“Monitoring tables and tracking chips flows, as they secure Intelligent Cash Box to add to live table
do at the Manchester casino are the main features of gaming the same levels of cash handling security,
our RFIDTablesSolution platform that we presented at automation and accounting that slot operators have
IGE 2009,” explained Christophe Leparoux, GPI enjoyed for some while.
International’s Sales & Marketing Manager. What prompts Nieman’s enthusiasm is the way that
It seems that the GPI system can save at least 20 JCM has teamed up with GPI to implement the vision
minutes a shift for a supervisor, who can be covering of a fully-integrated table gaming system, with Table
eight or nine tables, rather than the four or five that Safe technology linked in to RFID chip handling and
would be supervised by one person on a traditionally- accounting to round off the integrated system.
equipped gaming floor. “This means that staff can be Full integration of tables not only provides greater
out talking to customers more,” explains GPI’s security – important, given that table games are the
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer venue for the vast majority of criminals attempting to
Greg Gronau. And it’s not just a matter of saving time pass counterfeit bills, according to Neiman – but will
– applying technology can allow time to used more also lead to a more unified mode of operation across
profitably by staff: “they can be doing other things – a property. TITO will be the next development,
such as tracking high rollers and signing players into Nieman reckons, “which should help cross players
the club.” over from the slot floor and allow you to make them
Cleary, GPI feels that it now has the joined-up offers as you do.” He remains surprised that, for now
solution that will allow RFID to realise its potential. at least, it seems that JCM has a clear run, with no-
“Everybody knows we can do RFID chips, more one else offering bill acceptors on the baize…
people know we can do RFID readers, and now they
know we have the complete solution – the chips, the TITO on the Table - FutureLogic’s TableXchange
And why not? Virtual horse racing turned readers, and the software solution,” enthuses JCM Global, as you might expect, isn’t going to be left
into a table game by F2.
Christophe Leparoux, Manager International Sales alone as the only player to integrate modern payment
and Marketing. technology with traditional live table games.
“We have a wider range of applications now – back FutureLogic’s TableXchange, currently in the final
office, front office, gaming floor and poker. So we can throes of development, is essentially a TITO module
offer ‘one stop shopping’ for RFID. Customers can aimed at encouraging slot players to walk across the
come to us for the chips, for the hardware and for the floor and cash in to table games with their tickets.
software that they can calibrate with us for the TableXchange is designed to provide “a bridge
development of their own needs and system.” between slots and tables, and help casinos identify
GPI’s integrated solution runs across all elements valuable crossover players – as well as helping to
of the gaming floor – from a scanner module at the streamline operations by virtually eliminating the
entrance/exit that can detect attempts to ‘smuggle’ need to replenish chips at table game,” according to
chips in our out of the property, to the cash desk, FutureLogic.
where automated and almost instant counts of the It may be a moot point whether or not slot players,
player’s chips are delivered at cash-out, to the vault or at least the current generation of slot players, will
or bank, where racks of chips are stored, tracked and ‘cross the floor’ to table gaming, but TableXchange
Putting TITO on the table:
identified and on to the tables where Poker, Baccarat will allow them to present a ticket and buy chips,
FutureLogic’s TableXchange. or Roulette are played. receiving ‘change’ in the form of another ticket, if
44 MARCH 2009
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