Inside Asian Gaming

33 Robot Baccarat Some manufacturers have opted for robot baccarat machines with the player terminals clustered in an arc around the robot, in imitation of how players crowd around the dealer at a busy casino table. This is the set up chosen by BingoTIMES. Jumbo by contrast has opted for what might loosely described as the cinema or theatre configuration. Players in that case sit behind a row of terminals in a shallower arc similar to seating in a theatre. The robot dealer is housed in a physically separate unit in front of them. Well armed The robot arms on display at the Hot Games Show had either a suction device on the business end or a suction device and a mechanical pincer. The difference is more a matter of showmanship than practicality because both formats of machine do the same job. With robot dealer baccarat, the cards in the shoe have been randomlypre-shuffledbymachines like the cards at a conventional baccarat table. The robot doesn’t choose the cards, it simply draws them like a human dealer, but always from a transparent shoe so every player can see there’s no cheating. Unlike conventional table baccarat, the actual cards never reach the hands of the players. Once the players have made a bet though they can choose to peek at their dealt hand just like in the real life table version. The process of ‘peeking’ works in the same way as modern multiplayer baccarat. A virtual hand is displayed face down on the player screen. By touching a corner or side of the virtual card, the player can reveal as much or as little of the card as he chooses. Alternatively players can peek at the actual three-dimensional cards via a screen on their player panel. The robot does the work for them, passing the cards tantalisingly slowly over a glass panel set in the surface of the robot’s dealing table. A small camera monitors this from below.The view from the camera appears as a pop up panel on the player’s computerised screen, or can be monitored from a dedicated screen on the player panel. After that, the robot holds the card face up for every player to see, to assure him or her there’s no cheating. BingoTIMES says that a useful side effect of having card ‘squeezing’ done electronically is that a single pack of cards can be used 500 times. With conventional table baccarat, the cards get such a pounding from enthusiastic players that for anti fraud and administrative reasons packs need to be replaced after only a few hands. Flexible system BingoTIMES’ Robotic Arm series can be configured for what the company describes as ‘land based’ play, where each player has his or her own computer terminal. This format is designed for the VIP rooms now increasingly seen in slot clubs and arcades. Players can relax on sofas in such rooms, which offer a less frenetic and less noisy atmosphere than is generally found on the main floor. The other more familiar format for BingoTIMES’Robotic Arm series is the ‘terminal’ type arcade multiplayer, with seating for four, five, six or eight players. The use of glass panel touch screen technology in the terminal version allows players to switch easily between different languages.As with server-based slot games, the touch screen system also allows a simple interface with other game content. National variations “In India, in Goa, for example they like the player and banker symbols to be in different colours from those found in the China market,” says Mr Shen of BingoTIMES. “It can be configured like any baccarat game in the world. In the Philippines for example people play baccarat differently from say Macau,” explains Mr Shen. “Play can be on a commission or a non-commission basis. Our accounting software can set up the system to suit operator requirements. You can set up minimum bets, you can have five different chips at a time, you can have jackpot systems,” adds Mr Shen. No ghost in this machine How robot baccarat works from the players’ perspective Advertise with Inside Asian Gaming For advertising enquiries, please email: ads@asgam.com or call Matt at: +852 95797383