DATABASE MARKETING
perfectly, boosting the house edge to 1.5%. As it stands, without a concrete way to determine the
casino’s edge on a player it is up to floor personnel to take their best guesses at a patron’s skill level. As they walk by and quickly assess the game, they may decide that both players appear equally competent and incorrectly assign them both the same skill rating. Through this system, despite the casinos true edge being 326% higher on Patron B than Patron A, both could receive the same ADT rating and thus the same promotional efforts. In fact, most floor staff don’t attempt to rate player skill at all, as it is too tedious a task. They assign a standard house edge to all players, regardless of the inaccuracy it creates. As this is only one of three variables that are currently
products of estimation, the need for an accurate data collection system is clear. So, what’s the hold up? Why is it so difficult to collect?
Table Games are Lagging Behind
Unlike their computerized counterpart, the slot machine, table game hardware is not responsible for collecting, storing and categorizing its own data. It’s incredibly difficult and time consuming to collect equivalent data from table games. Innovations like the Smart-Shoe or RFID chip technology have attempted to remedy this issue, but have fallen short of providing a complete solution. As a result, most casinos still rely on manual input as a means of table game data tracking. Expecting to create a database of quality information
by asking floor personnel to manually record game data is an outdated idea by modern standards. The current system of loosely categorizing players based on subjective generalizations of their play style could seldom ever be regarded as quality data, and ADT calculations in their current form are, at best, a loose representation of a player’s true theoretical value to the casino.
AI - The Great Problem Solver
Needless to say, calculating precise ADT ratings would instantaneously increase the return on investment of casino’s direct marketing efforts. Fortunately, advancements in artificial intelligence technologies are creating solutions to issues that were never thought possible before, and those plaguing the gaming industry are no exception. Armed with the latest technology that the world has to
offer, teams of developers across the globe are creating a future where every player’s precise ADT is calculated by our AI companions. With access to live game footage, advanced algorithms are able to detect just about everything happening on the table in real time and with near perfect accuracy. Information on players’ initial and side bet utilization, skill level and more will be continuously collected and stored in a database just as it is on a slot machine. Never again will floor personnel need to waste time looming over tables trying to guess what a players average bet or skill level is, nor will promotional dollars be accidentally spent on undeserving
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patrons who return little value to the casino. As a result, the most desirable patrons will finally receive exactly the recognition they deserve at the most efficient price possible; Database marketing at its absolute finest. Exactly what these solutions will look like depends on the specific product and the team behind it. Companies in the field, such as HookMotion, Dallmeier and Angel Playing Cards to name a few, all take a slightly different approach. For some, it looks like the addition of extra table hardware to facilitate such accurate data collection. Others promise access to the same data without the addition of extra hardware, only access to existing surveillance systems. Regardless of their physical appearance, they all ultimately represent a pristine database of accurate player information the likes of which casino marketing departments have only ever dreamt of.
What the Future Holds
The truth is, data collection is the tip of the AI iceberg. The same companies looking to automate table game data collection are also looking to automate other parts of the table game experience as well, like fraud and error detection or catching advantage players. The race to innovate the casino floor is on, and as
technology advances every day, winner’s may be right around the corner. As vendors begin bringing their automated data collection solutions to market, it is becoming increasingly alluring for casinos to take a calculated risk and bet on the future of data collection: Artificial Intelligence.
Studio Romantic/Adobe Stock
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