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BALLY’S SMARTPHONE APP


CI: Presumably most of the architecture you deal with on the systems side uses a Windows platform, so did developing for the iPhone bring any problems for you?


JK: iPhone uses a language called Objective-C, and


we used iPhone simulators and software development kits to create the product. Most of what we do is Windows based as a company, but we also have IBM mid-range systems, Java for our slot-based system… Arun and his group learned XCode and we bought Apple laptops and equipment, but we were really starting from scratch with the prototype. We had to learn best practices as we went along, before we were completely satisfied the product could be rolled out - only then we reached out to our other customers to offer it to them.


CI: Is there any potential conflict between, say, the iPhone’s operating system and, say, a Bally back-office system? That’s like a Mac talking to a PC, isn’t it – possible, but not without problems?


JK: Not really. Yes, there are lots of different


systems to maintain, lots of devices that have to communicate, but to keep this relatively sane, what we have done is standardize the interface, so it’s always going to be ‘web services’ and we always pass the same information back and forth. What we are planning to do is, whether the application is using Android, Windows 7, iPad or whatever, we will only have to develop the user interface [UI]; the back end of the system is going to remain the same. It doesn’t matter whether I am looking at it in Windows or an iPad.


CI: So using a web-based system, it’s like two people accessing a web page from an Apple computer or a PC, or any other web-enabled device.


JK: Exactly.


CI: What benefits does this bring to the players inside or outside of the casino?


JK: From a casino point of view, there are a couple of options available with the iPhone. The main use of the iPhone is when you are not in the casino, you are able to look up your points and comps, which is pretty simple; but you are also able to look up offers and promotions that are currently going on; you can look up progressive jackpots that are going on. The advantages of the iPhone are stronger when


the player is outside the casino, though. You are still tied to the casino, with access to it, which historically people have not had. The other things we are looking at are using your iPhone to gauge how far the player might be from the casino, or whether they are going away or coming in. We can then do promo coupons or offers based on the player’s location. If you’ve just landed in Las Vegas, for example, we can know that and do location-based comps accordingly. That’s the potential of the app. Currently, people are working


with SMS – you can do SMS-based spam, for example, in airports. But now, instead of spam, you can target the people you want, give them offers that are right for them, and take the experience to another level. Another thing we are working on is, if you enter a


casino parking lot, for example, you can see from your iPhone and see whether your favourite slots are occupied or available. Let’s assume you always love to play a Quick Hit Platinum slot, you can go to the app and enter the slot number and tell the app that this is a favourite. When you’re outside the casino, you can pull up your phone and see which of your favourites are available. Maybe it’s a big casino, and the slot you want is on the north side – you can then park on that side and your walk is much shorter, for example, and you can see if the machine is in use. Greektown is rolling this out very soon, with a


sticker on each slot so people can note it down. The potential for this application is huge. Another option we are planning to roll out is a beverage- ordering system, so even from outside the casino you can see the drinks on offer to slot players, and order a drink from your phone. When you walk in the casino and put your player-loyalty card in, the casino’s back office will see that you have a pending drink order that needs to be processed immediately. A table can be booked in a casino restaurant from the parking lot… the sky is the limit.


CI: What about resort casinos, and the


customer is nearby, could this be used for customer recognition at the check-in desk?


JK: This is possible, and we are working on this with one of our customers, but we cannot say too much about it right now… It’s a possibility for the future.


CI: What is the ultimate goal for the application?


JK: The goal of our product, the path we are


taking… what we have seen in Greektown is just the beginning of this mobile platform. Our goal would be that any information or streams that the property would like the patrons to s


NOVEMBER 2010 73


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