High Tech Slot Machines & Gaming

High-Tech Slots Could Transform Gambling

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (AP) - Engineers at PureDepth Inc. spent years developing tools for helping the military plot 3-D maps of war zones, eventually licensing top-secret technology to the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

But the Silicon Valley startup hit the jackpot in October when it inked a deal with International Game Technology Inc., the world's largest maker of slot machines.

Industry experts say a realistic digital video display is the final hurdle that will completely digitize one-armed bandits. The new displays by PureDepth and others - set to debut later this year - could profoundly change the $85 billion U.S. gambling industry and how it's regulated.

When high-tech slots are in place, programmers will be able to control nearly every aspect of the game - cost, payout, even the images that line up on the payline. Casino operators will be able to make changes in real time through back-end servers that talk to computer chips inside the slot machines.

"This is the last piece of the puzzle," financial analyst Aimee Marcel Remey, who follows the gaming industry for Jefferies & Co. "These new systems are so different from the slots out there now. You feel like it's an exact science, every time you pull."

If the Beach Boys are playing the Luxor in Las Vegas, next-generation slots could display images of band members instead of cherries, numbers or other symbols. If band members' faces line up, an embedded printer could spit out front-row tickets.

Or suppose the penny slots area at a tribal casino empties out around 7 p.m., when big spenders arrive. With a few keystrokes, programmers could change the minimum bet to $1 and offer a progressive jackpot with all slots in the house - or even with thousands of machines statewide.

"If the NASCAR folks are coming to Vegas, they could change the fruits to cars," said Fred Angelopoulos, CEO of Redwood Shores-based PureDepth, founded in 1999. "You can start thinking outside the box, literally."

Without digital displays and servers, employees would have to manually close out meters, change glass, change reel strips and physically relocate and remove machines.

Digital slots, however, are vulnerable to the same bugs and malfunctions that plague personal computers. Regulators say they'll be seductive targets for hackers, who have been trying to rig games for decades.

In 2000, a programmer in Edmonton, Canada, found a software glitch that let him regularly win $500 or more on some video poker machines. The maker of the machines - WMS Industries Inc. (WMS) - estimated the incident cost at least $1 million and sued the man, who threatened to publish the flaw online.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board, which sets the pace for regulators nationwide, adopted new rules last year for digital machines. The board must approve all software modifications - even pictures on reels. The approval process takes up to 30 days.

The board employs 11 experts in computer science, electronic security and wireless networking. It will double the number of these specialists by late 2007 and build a new research facility to deal with an expected profusion of digital slot machines, said Mark Clayton, who heads the board's technology division.

Executives at the top three manufacturers acknowledge that networked slot machines are a seductive target for hackers and are reluctant to call them hack-proof for fear of inviting challenges from would-be invaders. Instead, they're working with regulators to reduce the potential damage if such an attack occurred.

Roughly half the 835,000 slot machines nationwide have video displays and many are networked, but industry officials acknowledge that most are flops, lacking the visceral "clunk-clunk-clunk" of wheels hitting the payline.

Video slots with an authentic feel are the holy grail for manufacturers.

PureDepth searched for a mechanical alternative to the traditional optical tricks for fooling the eyes and brain into seeing depth. Such tricks - fancy versions of 3-D glasses - induced nausea and headaches and were rejected by casino operators, who stuck with mechanical reels or flat video displays with no depth.

With the cost of liquid crystal displays dropping, engineers at PureDepth's lab in New Zealand decided to house two or more LCDs in one physical unit to create depth - a deceptively simple idea protected with 45 patents and roughly 70 patents pending.

Reno, Nev.-based IGT is hoping to debut the first machines with PureDepth's multilayer video display in November at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The company won't say how much they'll cost, but they'll be more than mechanical reel machines, which cost up to $15,000.

A different approach on a 3-D video slot system will debut next month, when Waukegan, Ill.-based WMS is expected to introduce a "Monopoly Super Money Grab" slot machine. Its hybrid display features a mechanical reel behind a video display that activates when the payline hits certain combinations.

Traditional three- and five-reel slots have a finite number of combinations, but adding a video layer allows programmers to exponentially expand the possibilities.

"The mathematics drive the game, and the more mathematics you can derive, the more combinations you can create," said Larry Pacey, senior vice president of product development at WMS, which developed the patented technology with Tokyo-based Pachinko powerhouse Aruze Corp.

One thing that's unlikely to change in the new era of digital slots: the slim odds of winning big.

"Let's be honest: Everything about a casino design is meant to play on the player's psychology," said Jeffrey Allen, director of business development for Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies Inc. (BYI), another top slot machine maker. "Why else would there be no clocks and comfortable chairs and subdued lights?"

Ed Rogich, an IGT vice president, said players who tested video display prototypes earlier this year could hardly tell the difference between them and manual reels. That's a good sign: Many old-school gamblers prefer low-tech slots.

Earlier this month at Cache Creek Casino in Brooks, Margaret Spence criticized the present version of video slots and wistfully recalled the days of old-fashioned reels.
"I still miss pulling that old lever, and I miss that big tub of money that would fill up with coins when you hit the jackpot," said Spence, 71, a Concord resident who currently favors $1 "Blazing 7s" machines. "The video machines seem like a waste of time - like a video game."

Okay slot machine players, it is time to take them to the next level. This should do it. One thing will remain in place however, "the odds of winning big are still against you". However, as long as you are having a good time and enjoying yourself without being financially irresponsible, who cares about the odds. Have fun!

"All that we are is a result of what we have thought"

Bobby Sharpe www.myspace.com/akuasharpe BobbySharpe.blogspot.com

Casino Revenues In Atlantic City

Ever since casino gambling began here in 1978, revenue at the gambling halls has been on a one-way trip — straight up.

But for the first time, annual revenue from Atlantic City's casinos could decline in 2007. The industry faces increased competition from slot machines in neighboring states, new restrictions on smoking and the closing of one casino.

The first monthly revenue figures of the new year were down, raising concern that it could be the start of a yearlong trend.

If revenue does go down, it could have negative consequences for the industry, its customers and the state of New Jersey, which relies on casino taxes.
"There will be an impact, no doubt," said Carlos Tolosa, eastern division president for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. "The Pennsylvania slots parlors will certainly cause competition. In the past, people just came to Atlantic City. That's the part that always scares you. Atlantic City relies on high-frequency customers."

Already, Pennsylvania slots parlors are cutting into Atlantic City's pie. Figures for January, when Atlantic City went head-to-head with two new Philadelphia-area slots parlors, had New Jersey casino executives reaching for the antacid tablets. Overall revenue at Atlantic City casinos declined 2.9 percent compared with a year ago, but the decline in slots revenue was even sharper at 7.2 percent.

Philadelphia Park, in Bensalem Township, about 20 miles north of Philadelphia, opened Dec. 19. Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack opened on Jan. 22. Executives of those gambling halls said they targeted gamblers who otherwise would have gone to Atlantic City.

On the Atlantic City Expressway, among the billboards featuring local entertainers and buffet deals, one billboard for Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington beckons departing drivers to "come play with us" next time.

But what's bad for the casinos may be good for their customers, at least in the short term. Many observers say they expect casinos to be even more aggressive about offering financial incentives such as free rooms or show tickets to keep players coming.

Also, a revenue dip may only accelerate a movement already well under way here: Making sure there's a lot more to do in Atlantic City than just gamble.

"Clearly, Atlantic City recognizes that for its overall revenue to grow, it has to become less gaming-centric," said Joseph Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a casino consulting firm. "A majority of Atlantic City's customers will be able to play slots somewhere closer to home. Atlantic City has to give them a compelling reason to drive farther, stay longer and spend more."

Lorrie Harm came to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa to play the slots, when she easily could have gone to a Philadelphia-area facility near her home in Cherry Hill.
"The restaurants are great, and I love to shop," she said. "I like the atmosphere here. There's more to do."

Weinert said he expects overall 2007 revenues to be about flat, with a possible fluctuation of 1 percent above or below the break-even point. But Frank Fantini, publisher of The Gaming Morning Report, says a decline of as much as 5 percent is possible this year.

In 2006, Atlantic City's revenues came in at $5.2 billion, up 4 percent from the year before.

The closing in November of The Sands Casino and Hotel is also expected to hurt the bottom line.
"Some of that money will flow to other casinos, but some of it won't be recovered until another property takes its place," said Fantini. There are now 11 Atlantic City casinos, down from 12 last year.

Smoking restrictions are another wild card. As of April 15, casinos must designate at least 75 percent of their gambling floors as smoke-free. The industry is worried about losing its smoking patrons, as well as the millions of dollars it will cost each property to wall off smoking areas and install expensive ventilation systems.

The state has an interest in keeping casino revenues flowing as well. The casinos pay 8 percent tax on their gross revenues, and pay another 1.25 percent toward projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Last year, that worked out to $417.5 million in revenue taxes, and $65.2 million in reinvestment obligations.

But even if revenues decline this year, almost no one thinks it would be an irreversible trend. Tolosa, the Harrah's president, noted that casinos shut down last July during a state budget crisis, a revenue loss he doesn't expect to recur this year.

Three casinos are adding 2,500 hotel rooms over the next several years, and still other companies are considering building new gaming halls here.

"I don't think anybody doubts that long-term, Atlantic City is going to remain a powerhouse," Fantini said.

So, for the first time since they opened, casino revenues are down in Atlantic City. This, however, should not come as a huge surprise. As the article states, "there is competition" all around. You have slot parlors in Pennsylvania and slots at ractracks in Delaware. Not to mention that more and more states and areas are offering gaming these days.

The problem though extends further than just AC. It is consistant throughout the US these days. For a variety of reasons. A lack of "foreign tourist" is a big part of the problem. They have other "alternatives" to take advantage of these days. You can pretty much go anywhere in Europe or Asian countries these days and find Disney Worlds, Universal Studios, Marine Water Parks, and, yes, "state of the art casinos"! They are closer to home for a lot of these people. They are cheaper and less expensive to get to. And, they do not have to go through the security bs they have to deal with here in the US. Oh, and based on some intell that I just recently got, "our technology is following far behind some areas of the world".

In closing, what I am saying is, "the whole gaming, entertainment, and tourist industry needs to start looking further into the future and start trying to come up with "the next BIG thing".

Now if you just want to get away without caring about any of that materialistic crap. You can always go to Hawaii and get some natural beauty and soak up some rays. And, it does not have to cost you a fortune. My brother, Bill, has a vacation rental on the Big Island that is waiting for you.Vacation Rentals .com - Keaau Hawaii Patience & Malikai's Place Check out the link and start planning your vaca now!

Peace & Soulz,

Bobby Sharpewww.myspace.com/akuasharpe