Tracking TR points on table games

For you table game players, some interesting news.

Found this out at a hair salon...who knew! Lol

I was getting my hair done this morning and I overheard the gentleman next to me talking with his stylist, and I realized that he worked at Rincon. So I struck up a conversation with him. He is a craps dealer there. He mentioned that they were doing a lot of work beneath the table games, beneath the concrete. I had noticed some extensive work last time I was there.

He said that they are putting electronic chips into the gaming chips and all of the associated electronics beneath the flooring. The purpose of the "chipped chips" is to keep track of player's bets for Total Rewards points and amount of play given. The plan is to try it out on blackjack only right now.

I commented that it seemed like an awful big project for that purpose and he said that it would take a lot of pressure off of the managers/floormen (I dont know the correct titles) and that it would also hopefully be more of an incentive for players.

I don't know the details on how the chips will be connected to a specific player, etc. I didn't have time to get into those details (I had to get shampooed and rinsed). 

It makes sense for a game like blackjack, especially since it's vulnerable to card-counting, and tracking the history of bets (amount wagered) over time would likely be able to tell if someone is a counter.

With blackjack, UTH, baccarat likely, PGP, etc -- it makes sense, especially since only you can bet in your area. With craps, it's very different as you have chips moving around constantly. It sounds like a logistical nightmare for the dealers to have to place the chips exactly in your position in order for it to not mess everything up. As a dealer, there is essentially no extra room between bets if you have 8 players on each side.

If it works.....first the floor & pit bosses will love it as it makes their jobs easier, but down the road they won't like it because management would likely see this as a way to save money and get rid of a few employees. Not that this is a smart decision, because floor/bosses look over much more than just average bets and comps. You can see it today with grocery stores and the self check-out lines. Instead of having 4 cashiers running 4 cash registers and lines, now you have 1 cashier running 4 self-service check outs.

I've been reporting on the development of RFID bet tracking ever since the technology was unveiled at the Global Gaming Expo more than ten years ago. There are articles about it on www.alanbestbuys.com in this section: http://alanbestbuys.com/id335.html

More than ten years ago the manufacturers demonstrated bet tracking on blackjack games -- it was easy to accomplish because there was plenty of space between players.

It's also possible for craps play, but a separate RFID reader is required for each player. If you have 10 players at a table (the usual maximum for a Vegas casino) you would need 10 sensors in each betting box such as the hard 8 or the place 8. You would also need sensors on the passline and don't passline and where odds would be placed. This would required new tables with the electronics installed. That's easy for 8 blackjack positions (or 6 or 5) but with 64+ possible bets on a craps table X 10 players that's a lot of electronics.