Inside Asian Gaming

19 18 ast month, LifeTec Group (1180.HK) changed its name to Paradise Entertain- ment Ltd in order to reflect the shift in the company’s focus from biopharmaceuticals to the development and supply of innova- tive casino gaming technology. Shortly after, Paradise unveiled its vision of bliss for the hardcore electronic table game player – the Paradise Box™. The Paradise Box is the second genera- tion terminal for the company’s LIVE Baccarat system. As discussed in “Sharing is Winning” in last month’s issue of Inside Asian Gaming , Paradise has earned the envy of other lead- ing gaming industry technology suppliers by parlaying its extensive “local connections” to Paradise Found Hong Kong-listed Paradise Entertainment Ltd continues venturing where no casino gaming systems supplier has gone before, adding to its position as the only supplier to secure profit sharing agreements with Macau casinos by coming out with a revolutionary electronic table gaming terminal to be showcased at an exciting new venue secure profit sharing agreements with two Macau casino operators – erstwhile monop- oly operator Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) and Hong Kong-based Gal- axy Entertainment Group. All other suppli- ers are restricted to either lease or purchase agreements with Macau casinos. The first LIVE Baccarat terminals were in- stalled in May last year at the Greek Mythol- ogy Casino, which operates under the license of Stanley Ho’s Sociedade de Jogos de Ma- cau (SJM).Paradise announced its agreement with Galaxy in April this year, installing 40 ter- minals at Waldo Casino that month to bring the number of terminals in Macau to 280. Paradise bears all installation, mainte- nance and tech support costs, as well as pay- ing the salaries of promotional staff for LIVE Baccarat. In return, SJM and Galaxy provide the venue and dealers and give Paradise a 31% share of net wins from the terminals.The average net win – i.e.after Macau’s steep 40% government tax on gross gaming revenue – per terminal per day has reached about HK$1,000 (US$128), which enables Paradise to recoup its capital expenditure in just a few months. LIVE Baccarat is a hybrid system, with players sat at electronic terminals that pro- cess bets on a game dealt by a live dealer. Having a live dealer makes LIVE Baccarat appear “more fair and believable” to players than fully automated baccarat multi-termi- nals,according to Paradise Entertainment Ltd Executive Director Aaron Park. Players also appear to be more engaged when playing against a live dealer, than a computer gener- ated image, and consequently are likely to bet more aggressively on the LIVE Baccarat system. Meanwhile, the automated process- ing of bets dramatically increases productiv- ity of a dealing table while preventing fraud and errors. A more intense experience Paradise is constantly working to take feed- back from players and make its products more responsive to their needs. A dealer on the LIVE Baccarat system currently handles two tables simultaneously (scaleable up to three tables), with each table linked to a separate section of up to 25 terminals. One hand is dealt to each section of terminals ev- ery fifty seconds – twice as fast as each hand is dealt at a regular baccarat table. Chinese gamblers are renowned for the intensity at which they play, and Mr Park ac- knowledges the LIVE Baccarat players in Ma- cau are“pretty hardcore.”Many of themwant the game to go even faster. “It usually only takes people ten seconds, maximum, to place a bet, so they have 40 seconds of downtime,and during that down- time they’re very fidgety,” Mr Park reveals. “A lot of customers have been complaining there’s too much downtime. They say ‘Hurry up.You guys are supposed to be an electron- ic table game. Go faster,’” he says, suggesting players feel a sense of urgency to ride a win- ning streak before their “luck runs out.” According to Mr Park,“it’s not uncommon to see one person standing up and moving between both sections,”so that they can play two hands every fifty seconds – four times the pace at which they could play at a regu- lar table. Paradise has responded by developing the second generation Paradise Box, which provides a more intense gaming experience without players ever having to leave their seats. An additional screen at each terminal offers a server-based slot game to keep play- ers occupied during the downtime. Mr Park points out: “It’ll be the first electronic table game with a live dealer plus a server-based game. The Paradise Box will have three screens. The pair of screens on the left will provide a live feed of a game dealt by a live dealer and the interface to place bets on it. The single screen on the right will offer a choice of serv- er-based slot games. A key feature of the Paradise Box will be its plush, ergonomically designed seats with arm rests. “Comfort is the most important factor.We want people to sit down at the ma- chine for hours at time.We want to give them no reason to go, so we’re going to spend a lot of money on chairs,” says Mr Park. The Paradise Box could be considered al- most an extension of the hardcore gambler, reminiscent of the pilot seat in “The Matrix” films, suggests Mr Park. Players will be able to quickly“tap”in their bets on the live game, and then swivel over to the right to tap in their bets on the server-based game. Each detail of the Paradise Box has been thor- oughly considered – for example, a focus group was conducted to determine whether to place the server-based screen on the left or right side. Palace revived Paradise will score another first for a gaming supplier in Macau by taking over a casino. The Paradise Box will breathe new life into L