Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | March 2011 28 operators to look for new ways of offering the excitement and communal feeling of live table games play—but with lower staffing overheads, more hands per hour, no mispays and consequently a lower cost per bet for the players. Another is that in the new casino market of Singapore, many players from the region are already fans of electronic multi-terminal games, having played them in clubs or casinos in neighbouring markets such as Malaysia and Cambodia. A third reason is that the intensification of competition in the multi- terminal segment has helped to raise standards all round, creating new value for operators and fresh excitement for players with innovations on some electronic table games such as side bets and improved ergonomics. Winner: Alfastreet – SL Line terminals The 115 SL-M3 terminals installed by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in November complemented the 66 R1SL terminals initially ordered by the property for its opening in February last year. The reduced footprint of the SL-M3 is an important innovation. Floor space is a valuable commodity in all casinos but especially in Singapore where the casino area is capped by the government at a maximum 5% of usable floor space in both casino resorts. The versatile Alfastreet SL Line terminals are highly configurable. At RWS, the terminals are based around semi-automated wheels that feature a live dealer spinning the ball, whereas the terminals in Marina Bay Sands are based around fully automated wheels without dealers, and the terminals are capable of being reconfigured between semi-auto and fully-auto modes with a simple software upgrade. Alfastreet has also developed multi-game functionality for its terminals, and is currently waiting for approval from Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) in order to roll out the multi-game product in the Lion City. Honourable Mention: Shuffle Master – Rapid Table Games It’s not every day that a gaming product gets a special mention in a casino company’s earnings conference call. But that’s what happened in the case of Shuffle Master’s Rapid Table Games installation at Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Marina Bay Sands. The installation was singled out for special praise for its combination of live dealer action and electronic betting providing more games per hour and more security than traditional live tables. Shuffle Master has supplied a total of 370 Rapid units to MBS and 133 to Resorts World Sentosa. On the strength of its Singapore success the company also recently fulfilled an order for two major installations of Rapid Roulette and Rapid Sic Bo at The Venetian Macao. Honourable Mention: TCSJOHNHUXLEY – Novo Unity II TouchBet Roulette Best Multi-Terminal Innovation Selection in this category was at the judges’ discretion and features any product or product area they felt had provided an outstanding contribution to the development of electronic gaming in the Asian casino industry in the last year. Winner: Elektroncek – Organic Island Organic Island makes its appearance in this category as its installations at Resorts World Genting and Resorts World Sentosa were still undergoing regulatory approvals at the time of going to press. The RWS installation is the biggest single Organic Island array in the world with 206 play stations offering multiple games including baccarat and roulette. Such was the scale of the installation that the company reserved a whole Boeing 747 cargo aircraft to transport it from its factory in Slovenia to Singapore. Honourable Mention: Aruze – Shoot toWin Craps Supplier Awards Nominees: Manufacturer Title Aruze Lucky Sic Bo Elektroncek Organic Island Alfastreet SL Line terminals Novomatic Novo TouchBet Multiplayer Shuffle Master Rapid Table Games Nominees: Manufacturer Title Alfastreet SL-M3 terminal Aruze Shoot to Win Craps Aruze Lucky Sic Bo AutoGaming Super Odds 1000/1 Roulette Elektroncek Organic Island Organic Island Novo Unity II SL-M3 Rapid Roulette and Sic Bo Shoot toWin Craps