Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2008 20 Shuffle Master say the rollers are starting to wear out, it can remotely call for service on its own. You certainly don’t want your shuffler to go down in the middle of the game. So the fact that the shuffler can identify when it needs maintenance is a great advantage for the casino. “It is installed in the table with an auto-discard rack, so the lines of sight for card security and card control are much better than they were on prior models. “One additional feature that is certainly an interesting thing to note, is because of the card recognition technology, the shuffler can actually take a deck of shuffled cards and sort it back into the original configuration that it came out of the box.So if you’re using your cards across multiple table openings,you don’t have to do that manually or back of house through a card sorter.The shuffler can do that right at the table.It is programmed to recognise any card type.So if the casino wants to sort the cards and put them back into the box, the i-Deal™ does it automatically and puts them right back in perfect order in a matter of seconds. It’s one of those features that is not something that it was engineered initially to do, but it’s an added benefit of having that card recognition technology.” Ms Clark also points out that “all of our shufflers work with any playing card, unlike other shufflers which only read proprietary cards. For example, the Angel Shufflers need to be used with specially marked Angel cards, whereas “we work with any brand of card. We haven’t come across a card that we couldn’t read,” remarks Ms Clark. Game offerings Also in focus at G2E Asia was Shuffle Master’s Rapid Baccarat™ game, “which we’ve shown for a couple of years, but is just starting to get some traction,” says Ms Clark. “We’ve made some cabinet changes to make the cabinet more versatile and somewhat smaller for casinos. The new cabinet is about 30% smaller than the prior versions, so it has a smaller footprint on the casino floor. It’s also easier for them to service and maintain.” She continues:“It’s also more efficient, more durable, and certainly more flexible. There are a wide range of configurations that were not available on the prior cabinet—with our new PC4 platform,which has enhanced graphics,picture in picture capability, things like that.” ShuffleMaster also presented some newproprietary table games. The Casino War® title, which was introduced about a year ago, has been installed at several casinos across Macau, and is expanding into further properties. The success of Casino War® has “given us a good indication of the interest in some of these non-traditional types of table games,” says Ms Clark. The company is also offering “a couple of different baccarat side bets,one of which is a progressive.”Although logistical and regulatory constraints would limit it to a local area progressive in Macau at the moment, “down the road it could be a multi-property progressive,” according to Ms Clark.“The jackpot is triggered by a particular hand. Say for progressive jackpot baccarat, if all six cards that are dealt out for the player and banker total cards are the same, that triggers 100% of the jackpot. It doesn’t change the traditional game of baccarat. It’s just an additional side bet”—and potentially a lucrative one. The company is currently seeking approval for it from the Macau gaming regulator. On a roll Craps has gained traction after being introduced in Macau over the past year, and Ms Clark remarks:“One thing in hindsight we wish we would have brought to show was our Vegas Star® Craps. We have a fully electronic version of craps, rolling the dice using a touch screen.Our developers have done a phenomenal job on the product.” The labour-saving electronic version of the game would also prove welcome in Macau, where dealer salaries have soared owing to the ban on employing foreign workers as dealers. Vegas Star ® Craps Shuffle Master products on display at G2E Asia