Inside Asian Gaming

May 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 37 ShuffleMaster E verybody’s feeling the pinch, but some companies see the slump in sales as an opportunity to develop new products and services, and reposition existing ones. ShuffleMaster’s product director for Asia, ToddHaushalter, says tablegames andcasino products fall into two categories when times are tough: games that would be “nice to have”; and products that assist operators in their race to best practices. Purchases of the former, which include new games, are likely to be delayed during a spending freeze, he says. Whereas products that lead to new and better operating efficiencies rise to the top, fuelled by pressure to reduce expenses and maximise profits. Nobody bats an eye when casinos are making billions of dollars a year—there is no need to worry about how many hands per hour are dealt or the odd payout mistake here and there. In such an environment, inefficiencies become acceptable, breeding complacency. The contracting economy has since wrenched operators out of that comfort zone, forcing everybody to take a second look at their businesses. “As an industry, gaming made so much money that it was allowed to have inefficiencies. By adopting best practices, we [operators and suppliers] are doing things we should have been doing all along,” admits Mr Haushalter. ShuffleMaster is in a unique space in the market, he asserts, because its products meet operators’ need to reduce expenses and increase operating efficiencies. Shufflers are a good example. ShuffleMaster dominates the category, which is being seen in a new light in the current economic environment. “Gaming and casino operators are asking how they can get the most value out of their remaining tables: Are dealers fast enough? Is shuffle downtime significant? Should they consider putting a shuffler on the game?” In a game of blackjack, for instance, an automatic shuffler reduces shuffling time and can increase game time by 10%, or 2.5 hours per day. “We didn’t create shufflers for tough economic times, just likeWalmart [a discount department store in the US] didn’t open in anticipation of them. The economy created opportunities for us,” he acknowledges. ShuffleMaster is developing two new products for Asian markets which will be launched at G2E Asia. While they were not designed directly in response to the global recession, Mr Haushalter believes they will serve operators well. One, the i-Table, is an electronic table that uses digital chips, but is played with real cards and a live dealer. “Imagine a big i-phone mounted into a table—players slide the chips around on the interactive screen with their fingers to bet,” he explains. The result is faster play, with the potential for up to 30% more hands dealt per hour. More importantly, though, Mr Haushalter claims i-Table eliminates payout mistakes. “The risks of a dealer overpaying, mistaking a win, or miscounting a hand are impossible because the calculations are done digitally. The table knows if the player won or lost and will automatically add or subtract chips,” he explains. The cost of human errors to casinos is significant, as was established through a comprehensive study of blackjack in California. Over 45 days, researchers recorded a blackjack table 24 hours a day and analysed every hand using an optical recognition system called Tangam. The study found that 1.25 payout mistakes per table go against the casino in every 24-hour period. Innovating Through Recession Gaming operators’ priorities have changed as a result of the economic slowdown, and with them, suppliers’ orders Todd Haushalter The i-Deal shuffler