We don't hear much about the use of RFID chips in casinos anymore, and perhaps it's because it is all old news.

Let me refresh some memories.

A few years ago when RFID tags or chips started to be used to track shipping boxes and consumer items with electronic scanning, someone got the idea to put the same kind of RFID tags or chips inside casino chips.

When I first saw RFID in casino chips demonstrated at the Global Gaming Expo in Vegas (I covered it for KCAL so this goes back about 6 or 7 years ago) the casino playing chips with RFID inside them were supposed to do two things:

1. the RFID tags could be used to prevent counterfeit chips from being introduced into games or cashed at the cage as each RFID tag had a unique ID or serial number.

2. scanners at the tables could immediately and without error, count the bet that players made at their position on the table and allocate comps and ratings accurately. The demonstration was on a blackjack table and there was an RFID reader at each player position which scanned the chips above it. A similar system was under development for craps tables, but the multitude and close proximity of chips on a craps table was causing some problems.

There were also reports from the industry that the RFID tag scanners or readers could also determine who in the casino had chips in their pocket, what chips were leaving the casino, and if chips were being exchanged by players. In other words, the casino would know everything, even if you were taking your chips to an elevator to go to your hotel room.

There aren't many casinos with RFID chips in use today. Wynn uses them in its higher denomination casino chips or "cheques." Aria, I was able to confirm, also uses RFID tags. Bellagio, I found out after the craps table robbery, did not have RFID in use.

But RFID technology also opens the door for other uses. For example, if an RFID tag is put on your players card, the casino could track your movements. They could do the same with a room key card with an RFID tag. This way they could get a better idea about how you spend your time in the casino, and at restaurants, and how fast or leisurely you walk through their shopping mall, or even if you stop to look at one of their promotional signs.

It wouldn't be hard to put RFID tags in casino chips, players cards or room key cards. An RFID might appear as just a printed dot just like the period at the end of this sentence.

However, I haven't heard of any of these possible uses. Have you? Please share.