Inside Asian Gaming

July 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 37 “Right now, probably only the top 2-3% of players at casinos get personalised service. They have a host assigned to them, they’re catered to in every possible way. But having this window there, suddenly a lot of those functions that require human interaction can now be done self-service. And I don’t have to do them at a kiosk, I can do them right at the machine. “If I want to see if there are show tickets, or the line is crowded at the buffet, or I want to order a comp or drink. Or get the valet to bring my car. All those things I can now do self service at the machine without getting up. I think now from a player’s perspective, they can do that all at the machine. “The big venue-wide debut of the Service Window will be CityCenter”—the sprawling US$9 billion development jointly owned by MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World, set to open in late 2009. IGT will also install a server-based network and provide other IGT sb™ (server-based gaming) products and its underlying casino management system to the casino at CityCenter. Replacement cycle Bullish stock analysts gush that the ad- vent of server-based gaming will shorten the slot machine replacement cycle, just as the adoption of ticket-in ticket-out technol- ogy drove a major replacement cycle from the beginning of this decade. Having just completed a major accelerated replacement cycle, however, and suffering an economic slowdown in major markets like the US, casi- no operators may be wary of making further large investments in laying networks. Although few would now dispute the economic benefits of converting to ticket- in ticket-out slot machines, those previously unwilling to make the investment argued it was a solution in search of a problem. The adoption of server-based gaming will require a larger investment, especially at older properties that need to be networked. Yet the potential benefits are much greater and more diverse. Downloadable technology allows casi- nos to change a slot machine’s games, de- nominations,bonus payouts andpromotions from a central computer server rather than requiring technicians to perform the work manually, which can take hours. Apart from direct labour cost savings, this also boosts revenue by enabling casinos to configure their floors in real-time according to the time of day or customers in the property. Server-based gaming will also drastically shorten the casino marketing cycle, which is currently about a month, as Mr Schneider explains:“The players come in and play. The casino takes a couple of days to look at the data. They say ‘this guy is a good player, let’s try to get him to come back.’They then send a mailer. It enters the mail. Maybe the player opens it, maybe not. Then he comes back a month later, based on the software.” Server-based gaming will give casinos the ability tomeasure what players are doing in real time, and offer a real-time response. “I think what’s really compelling when we show this technology to the operator, is they say ‘wow, now I have in real time the ability to measure what the players are doing.’” Thus, rather than only being able to send themmarketing offers after they’ve returned home, “I can talk to them right on property. So I can convince them to book their next visit right then and there, or convince them to stay an extra day, or whatever it may be.” IGT’s server-based gaming system is an “experiencemanagement system,”claims Mr Schneider.“We’ll be able to gauge what the player’s experience is in real time. Knowing that information, we can apply some good business intelligence to that, again in real time, and be able to enhance that players’ experience. Whether that’s through making him a gaming offer of a special bonus screen, or whether it’s making him an offer of some other amenity you have on that resort. We think there’s real value in managing the players’ experience, and in using all the assets you can to make sure the experience your customer receives at your property is better than the one he’s going to receive at your competitor’s place across the street.” Another benefit for players “that will come once we get this whole high-speed network interconnected, is you’re going to be able to create game features that you haven’t been able to contemplate before. So now every game knows what every other game on the floor is doing, potentially. Or I know that I’m playing on this machine, and my wife is playing on another machine there, so we can team up to play together. If you think about just what the technology brings, in terms of creating fun and more entertaining game experiences, I think that’s the big benefit that the player is going to receive.” How and when, not if There are contrasting views on when server-based gaming will take off in Asia, and the timetable could be slowed by both the need for regulatory approval and unwill- ingness of casinos to make the investment. There is also no clear consensus on what form the server-based gaming casino of the future will take. Will the slot banks consist of row upon row of generic cabinets only differentiated by their on-screen images, or will slot floors continue to purchase cabinets from different suppliers (or at least different shaped-cabinets from the same supplier), in order to vary the scenery of the slot floor and keep it exciting for players? How much freedom will casinos give players in picking games or denominations in different areas of the casino? Despite the disagreement on when and how it will happen, however, there can be no questioning that it will happen—though some will still try,even as some tried to argue at thepeakof the replacement cycle to ticket- in/ticket-out slot machines that cashless gaming was a passing fad. Moreover, Asia— and Macau in particular—is witnessing the development of a string of major new casino resorts that will drastically raise capacity. For new properties, adopting server-based gaming is a purchasing decision, not a costly investment in laying a network in a running property. In preparation for the coming server- based gaming revolution, Mr Schneider advises Asian casino operators: “As they start to think about their system purchases and start to think about how they’re laying infrastructure on their floor,in terms of wiring and networking and all that, they need to make sure to talk to their system vendors and make sure they’re putting the right equipment in, which will allow them to take advantage of this new technology. And also, when they’re making game purchases, they need to demand that their suppliers at least have a roadmap laid out for when the games are going to be G2S [the Gaming Standards Association’s open standard server-based gaming protocol] compatible.” A potential bump on the road to server- based gaming in Asia is that the region’s leading slot machine supplier, Aristocrat, does not seem totally committed to G2S yet, and“not all Aristocrat products being sold in Asia today are G2S compatible,” reveals Mr Schneider.“So that’s a hurdle we’re going to have to face in Asia, and get those folks who are supplying games in Asia to make sure they are G2S compatible.” Server-Based Gaming