Casino Enterprise Management January 2012

Table Games Forecast  
Dave Krise
Senior Vice President of Product Development
DigiDeal Corporation

Without a doubt, technology will be the driving force in transforming not only the casino, but especially the pit in 2012.  Instead of giving away more of the pit to other games, the addition of key technological improvements to tables will let casinos keep the “felt” and lose the inefficiencies.

Going electronic the right way will not only keep the key elements of a pit but also deliver new-found accountability and efficiency with actual player tracking, better reporting and elimination of errors.  Smart operators will be able to sustain all the pivotal advantages that a pit renders for a casino including the social interaction and that special entertainment and excitement only table games can create on a floor. 

Since our first table technology patent was issued for than a decade ago, we have envisioned traditional tables with a unique high tech edge.   

Today with our versions of our table game, it is still a felt table. It is still real blackjack with the same game play and strategy.  And because a pit is not a pit unless there is somebody behind the tables, here are still live dealers or hosts. 

With computing technology imbedded into tables, the dealer is freed from the math, game tempo is faster with more hands per hour and there is real accuracy in reporting and player tracking.

Yet even that may not be enough for casinos still recovering from the economic downturn.  We all have seen how in the past few years table games operators have tried to improve their bottom line with changes to the house edge.  Blackjack is now offered at odds of 6:5 rather than the traditional 3:2 to help the pit stay in contention with slot revenue. 

Even as the forecast for 2012 indicates a better economy, asking operators to add technology to control costs and maximize revenues in a pit is one thing. Even better is providing casinos with e-table technology that tallies even more to the bottom line. 

As a result, we are planning for a 2012 that will buzz with new table games enabled by technology.  Traditional table games with additional side bets or “games within games” will power revenue for the pit.  Previously these would be too difficult to deal, pay or keep track of.  Now with the e-table, all of that can be relegated to the built-in tech.

With the e-table, all kinds of additional wagers and different variations are possible and present real opportunities for added returns from these tables.  These add-ons bring new game play, extra betting and even more excitement to the traditional table games. 

Players have the opportunity to bet a little more and get extra action with the opportunity to win more.  For example, we see real interest in our newly introduced “Pik-It Poker” which offers in one game both three-card and five-card poker play along with special bonus bets. 

A third trend we see is the convergence and integration of table games across to what could be called the “slot” side.  These games don’t resemble the look of traditional tables but are rather full-fledged electronic versions designed to reside in self-contained cabinets and have options for single or multiple players. 

Internationally, these fully electronic table games represent 11 percent of the casino floor.  In the U.S., the percentage now is less than one percent but we see that changing and changing fast.  

These casino games bear more resemblance to a slot cabinet but offer a full range of traditional table games.  Our electronic X-Table is multi-player set for up to eight at a time and can be switched between diverse game themes:  Classic BJ, Classic Baccarat, along with proprietary games such as Texas Hold’em Xtreme, Royal Roulette and Racing Card Derby.  There are bill acceptor/ticket printers at each position and complete connectivity to operational and tracking systems.  Our newly introduced X-POD terminal is a single-player table game. 

Whether single or multi-player versions, we are looking at these bringing table games to casinos and players in whole new way. 

In all, 2012 will be the year of table games for both the traditional pit and the slot floor.    Our partner TCSJOHNHUXLEY and Roger Hawkins, the company’s CEO for the Americas, agrees that these “hybrid gaming products” will see continued success in 2012.  For Hawkins, this is a growing market and with a recently signed agreement between the two companies allows for a product offering that covers all the requirements of casino operators.