Inside Asian Gaming

October 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 29 Feature makes sense for them. And I don’t think they’ve done that yet.” Step 1 has been to cut down on paperwork in the pit and at the same time Tracking table games play has always been more of an art. It’s been the domain of floor and pit supervisors to record buy-ins and time of play, observe a few hands and estimate average bet and skill level in order to calculate the value of the player and how much it’s worth in comps and perks to keep him or her coming back. But art is giving way to science. Optical scanners and radio frequency identification (RFID) chips are giving operators an accurate reading on wagers. Coupled with analytical software they can track skill levels, helping casinos determine whether a blackjack player spots the house a large advantage, a small one, or in the caseof advantageplayers, no edge at all. Even slot-like bonusing is now a reality. And the combination of all these technologies can enhance game security, rank dealers for speed and efficiency, spot cheaters and scams and evaluate traffic and occupancy rates. The elements of near-total automation of the pit are in place, or soon to be in place. But the key to making all this work and bringing table tracking up to scientific par with slot tracking is going to be cooperation among manufacturers, says Mike Patterson, vice president of table games at Barona Resort & Casino in Lakeside, California, USA. “There are a lot of components to these products,” he says. “You have bet recognition, you have strategy, or what I call play recognition, and then you have player recognition. And everybody seems to hold a component. What the operator really needs is to bring it together into a complete system that’s functional at a cost-effective price that Elevating the Pit Tracking slot machine play is science. Every penny is followed electronically. If the customer uses a rewards card a wealth of information is available on wager sizes, wins and losses, duration of play, game and denomination preferences Bally’s TableView combines touch screen data entry for game ratings with the ability to perform a variety of vital accounting functions