p36-42 table gaming:Layout 1 04/03/2010 09:37 Page 37
TABLE GAMING
Shoe Auto, a card-reading shoe for Blackjack and or slow processes that can hold up the game,
Baccarat, or the i-Deal shuffler – but he doesn’t need maintains the house edge, and it is compatible with
to become involved in the betting process itself. any table. Unlike many other enhancements to table
games, it also does not require electronics.
Automating this increases the number of rounds
played per hour by as much as 30 percent, according Abbiati’s American Roulette wheels remain
to Shuffle Master (and similar figures are quoted by mechanical devices at heart, but they have not been
other vendors), as well as eliminating errors and untouched by new technology either. An electronic
providing a wealth of statistical data. The i-Table is system checks the wheel’s level; laser photocells track
also more versatile than a traditional, wholly non- ball movements and send the data to a processing
electronic table, in that it can be simply switched chip, so that information on winning numbers can be
from Blackjack to Baccarat to Poker. sent not only to management and security but also to
display screens and remote terminals, enhanced by
A similar setup is employed for Shuffle Master’s statistical summaries to pique players’ interest.
suite of Rapid Table Games, again mixing a live dealer
with a digital betting interface. Baccarat, Craps, The laser system, whose beams can be made visible
Roulette and Sic Bo are available in the series. or invisible as each casino desires, also measures the
speed of the rotor and ball, turn direction and so on,
But although the actual play of most table games in order to detect any anomalies.
remains firmly rooted in tradition even when their
mechanics have been transformed by technology, Cammegh has also been at the forefront of
there is some innovation in creating new games too. Roulette-related technology, with a raft of
For example, ICS’s Rocket7 is a one-roll dice game in developments over the last two years. At the recent
which one player throws the dice, as in Craps. Where IGE show, they launched their Double Shot feature,
it differs from Craps is in the addition of two
progressive jackpots available to players through a
single bet.
Electronics can record lots
of data – not just for
ICS has also added new twists to old table games,
such as Multi-Jack, its side-bet system for Blackjack
management and security,
and Poker. Players at different tables can participate
but also to heighten players’
using ICS’s Coinless Side-Bet Units (CSUs), pressing a
button to place their side bet without slowing down
interest…
the pace of the game. The amount of the bet is
divided into equal allocations for each of the
available progressive jackpots, significantly increasing which allows players to bet on a second or even third
the chance of a win and encouraging use of the number, randomly selected; the advantage of this is
CSUs. that the layout and wheel remain untouched, and the
advancement comes via use of the Cammegh
A new spin on Roulette Billboard (or similar) product. The opportunity to
Another tweak of a familiar gaming standby is create side bets and progressive jackpots with
TCSJohnHuxley’s Double Action Roulette Wheel, minimum hassle for the operator is exceptionally
based on its Mark VII model. The Double Action appealing.
wheel produces two winning numbers with every spin;
two sets of numbers are marked around the wheel, so Cammegh's EyeBall is another high-tech answer to
that wherever the ball falls, it indicates one from the question of obtaining accurate Roulette results.
each set. Generally, the two numbers for each Part of the firm's Billboard Display System, it sends
position are different, although doubles can the same codes as the manufacturer's Mercury 2 and
occur. AR1 wheels, meaning that the winning number isn't
just checked by the camera after the event - it
Complementing this, the firm’s Double directly detects the number in real time. For security,
Action table layout has two separate but the camera can also record irregularities in play.
identical betting areas, one for each set of
numbers. A third area, the Double Action Tracking with RFID
Track, is used to bet on the chance of the ball Not all technological developments in table gaming
indicating a double number – a bet that pays are directed at the player. Abbiati, for example, has
1200 to 1. been building radio frequency identification (RFID)
technology into its gaming chips since 1997. Much as
TCSJohnHuxley says that while Double Action adds RFID is used to track goods in warehouses and the
a new dimension to Roulette – indeed, the firm calls like, the system involves a tag on each chip that emits
it “the first significant change to Roulette since it was a unique signal via radio waves.
invented” – it does not introduce complex new rules
40 MARCH 2010
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