Official: Innovations for table games on rise

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 10:46 a.m.

Spurred by the current rage of pokermania, table games will make a resurgence in casinos, an MGM MIRAGE executive says.

Felix Rappaport, president and chief operating officer of the New York-New York hotel-casino, said Tuesday that while table games will never reach the popularity -- or profitability -- of slot machines, more casino players are gravitating toward blackjack, roulette and craps.

As a result, many of the technological advancements in casinos are focusing on table games, Rappaport said in a presentation Tuesday at the Gaming Technology Summit.

"Technology is frightening to people, but it's the way of the world," Rappaport said. "If you stand in the way of technology, you're going to get steamrolled."

Rappaport said the resurgence in the popularity of poker and the fact that tournaments are televised and celebrities are playing in them has opened the door for other casino table games as well.

"The Hard Rock and the Palms have proved that a hip young crowd is starting to play these games," Rappaport said.

He said he expects table game and technology trends to continue as more players who "come from generations that are comfortable with video games, PCs, laptops and iPods" find gambling as an acceptable form of entertainment.

He also said companies that develop player tracking systems and other equipment would develop innovations that would be used at table games. Rappaport cited Las Vegas gaming equipment suppliers Mikohn Gaming Corp. and Shuffle Master Inc. as potential leaders in the field.

Tracking systems not only keep watch on players to ensure that the best ones are appropriately comped for their play, but systems also observe employees to help them learn to better serve customers.

Table watching systems also can protect games so that dealer misplays are minimized and cheating can be uncovered.

Tracking systems are capable of developing reports that enable game supervisors to help dealers play faster.

By encoding cards and chips, casinos and their table systems also can watch for unusual play patterns.

Player tracking systems have been used by major casino companies for years to market to players, inviting them to special events that would appeal to specific visitors. Rappaport said those systems are likely to become even more sophisticated through player analysis offered by new technology.

Other technological advancements Rappaport expects include more advanced card shuffling machines to speed play and illuminated roulette tables to attract attention and reduce dealer errors and player cheating.

While some innovations on the horizon will be comforting, others are likely to be controversial. Rappaport said new table game designs would enable craps players to sit instead of stand. He said that innovation might require security cameras to be trained in different directions than they are currently.

A new model of bill validator for use at table games is also coming. Rappaport said some naysayers had predicted that customers wouldn't accept bill validators on slot machines. But now, they're a virtual casino staple, just as coinless slots have won over the hearts of players despite some critics saying people would never play them because they enjoy the clanking sound of coins in a tray.

One of the controversial technological advancements ahead, Rappaport said, is the potential placement of credit card readers on slot machines.

Problem gambling advocates are likely to question those innovations if they ever come before regulators.

Another table game innovation, Rappaport said, is the integration of video poker machines into blackjack table positions so that gamblers could play both games simultaneously.

"I'm not sure I could do that," Rappaport said. "With all the crowds and the cocktail waitresses and the music, it's all pretty distracting. But maybe it would help our hold percentage. I've seen lots of people play two or three machines at a time, so God bless them."

In a separate presentation Tuesday, a panel of experts said with Las Vegas resorts paying more attention to revenue generated outside the casino, food and beverage divisions should pay closer attention to expanding business through advanced technology.

Panelists agreed that "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it" and that good business intelligence is critical to improving the bottom line for catering and restaurants.

Keeping guests happy is the bottom line, said panelist Paul Armstrong, executive vice president of new technology for MICROS Systems Inc., Columbia, Md.

Armstrong explained that the food and beverage division of a resort property should be tied in to the central customer data base of the resort so that restaurant staff can better serve customers and learn their preferences.

With knowledge of customer likes and dislikes, restaurant staff should be able to provide table preferences and reservations as well as book other activities, such as golf outings and shows.

Panelist Scott Martiny, vice president of product development for InfoGenesis, a Santa Barbara, Calif., developer of hospitality software, added that it is as critical for a restaurant staff to know its customers as it is for casinos to know theirs.