By Howard Riell
This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine's special section, FOCUS: Self-Service in Entertainment & Gaming, Aug 2007.
It's getting crowded at gaming tables -- and it's not the gambling grannies, the chic sharks or the pretty partiers who are eating up the space. It's the technology.
Mounting manufacturers, such as Innovative Office Products Inc., have found a way to help clear the tables. Space-saving arms and mounts keep flat-panel monitors, notebooks and tablet PCs off the tabletop, providing much-needed assistance in the entertainment and gaming arenas.
"Every square foot is precious in the casino because everything that's not being actively used as gaming space is wasted," said Joe Tosolt, Innovative's marketing manager. "They wouldn't want to set these monitors up on the table because then you're taking up a seat."
For the fast lane
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| Technology is as important in the gaming industry as anywhere else, but space is tight. Mounted touchscreens offer information and interactivity without taking up a player's seat. (Photo courtesy Innovative Office Products) |
"It goes without saying that maximizing the number of tables that you can fit on the gaming floor is key to a casino's performance,' said Suzanne Leckert, director of gaming analysis and development for the New Orleans-based Innovation Group. "Making space usable for both the dealers and gamers makes it more enjoyable for everybody and can definitely increase the attractiveness of your casino."
Mounted monitors are popping up at tables in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, including at the Paris and Rio casinos. "At the dealer tables [they are] starting to use touchscreen kiosk monitors with card readers, which they will attach to the table," Tosolt said. "They're using them for a few different things. One is to track the affinity programs and the frequent-user cards that regular visitors get. You sit down at the table and give them your card and they swipe it through. It is a more efficient way to monitor game play."
The monitors also give casinos real-time feedback on how each table is doing.
Jerry McGowan, regional sales manager for Bally Technologies Inc. in Atlantic City, N.J., said his company shopped extensively for mounting products. "Basically, I looked to see what was successful. [Innovative's mounts have] been used throughout Harrah's Entertainment Inc. for a while. They're really slim, priced very well and very competitively, and they easily support the weight. There is no drooping involved. They're easy to use, moving in a lot of different directions without" a lot of wear and tear, he said.
At Bally, the units are used almost exclusively by supervisors. "Sometimes it actually is used by a dealer," McGowan said. "The nice part about the brackets is the way they bend and how flexible they are. They actually can go right in front of the dealer if they do their business that way."
Every inch counts on the gaming floor, McGowan confirmed. "There are just so many other things that get in the way. For example, the drop box where the cash goes, the tip box for the dealers, the shuffle machines. We're running out of space. And as technology grows there is just less and less space for the table games."
