Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | May 2008 20 Vendor Profile IAG: How important is the Asian market to your business and why? Scott Madding : The Asian market is extremely important to our business and we have committed a significant amount of resources to growing in this region, from expanding our sales force to our focus on research and product development. The game of choice in the region—baccarat—requires the use of so many cards which of course drives demand for our products, and this, combined with the growth of the gaming marketplace in Asia, provides an excellent opportunity for us in the region. To the casual observer a playing card seems like a simple, low-tech piece of equipment. Please explain a little about the technical process involved in making USPC products. People would be surprised to learn of the significant amount of technology that goes into making our cards which is one of the important reasons why our brands continue to thrive in markets throughout the world. First, we are the only producer of playing cards to manufacture our own card stock. We focus exclusively on this single-purpose card stock to get the highest quality, most consistent material that forms the base of our best products. The paper we use to make our card stock contains a blend of hardwoods native to North America as well as cotton linters. When combined with proprietary paste and coatings,USPC card stock maximizes the benefits afforded by this type of Winning Hand The United States Playing Card Company (USPC) is the leading supplier of playing cards in the Americas and has a solid and growing presence in Asia, where its BEE ® brand has been sold for more than 100 years. Other internationally recognized brands in its portfolio include BICYCLE ® and KEM ® . Inside Asian Gaming spoke to USPC Director of International Casino Sales & Business Development Scott A. Madding about the company’s plans for Asia paper-base. The benefits of this include the luxurious feel of the cards in players’ hands and the consistent performance in shuffling machines. This provides a superior gaming experience for players and operators alike. We also continue to invest heavily in equipment that delivers preshuffled cards from our Cincinnati, Ohio factory to the casino floor. We began shipping GLI Certified Random product about 12 months ago and have received very positive feedback; so much so that we are in the process of tripling our capacity this year. This serves the Asian market particularly well given the increased security one gains by removing the human element in the presence of loose cards. Focusing on casino cards, can you give us some facts and figures on the life of an average USPC deck? How many games/days is a pack kept in play? Howmany times is a single pack shuffled? Can you give us some idea of the criteria that casino operators use when deciding when a pack is ‘worn out’? This decision is made by the gaming facility but generally the amount of time cards are used depends on the type and speed of the game. In the game of baccarat for example, where players can squeeze the cards, those decks are used once and then destroyed. Other games where tableside shuffling machines are used and there is little or no player interaction with the cards,the cards are kept inplay anywhere from two to 24 hours for purposes of game protection. How does USPC work with operators to reduce risk of crime and fraud in casino games? In addition to our factory preshuffled product, we are working with operators for on-table technology to help secure the high dollar tables that are at most risk for fraud and cheating. Our “Bee” Baccarat dealing shoe is an example of this—as each card is dealt the shoe identifies the value and announces the results according to the game rules. If the actual results do not match the expected results indicated by the shoe, the issue is identified and action taken by floor personnel. Preshuffler