During the 1990's, Las Vegas casino resorts positioned itself as:

d

- - - - - - - - - - - -

c

- - - - - - - - - - - -

b

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Changing times reinforced the new casino corporate culture. However, it wasn't just the ownership switch that altered the traditional corporate culture. When Las Vegas and Atlantic City found themselves inundated with all kinds of new gaming venues, the competition for employees became intense. Finding trained employees was a big problem. Anyone with any qualifications or experience quickly climbed the corporate ladder, and there was always an enticement from the next casino or riverboat for higher wages. There were too many jobs and not enough workers. As a result, computer management tools became important. For example, gaming management systems united the departments. One system could be used for slot management, patron management, table game systems, cage and credit systems, and to integrate all that information into one database.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Players clubs were created as a marketing tool. A newcomer stops by the players' club booth and signs up by giving the casino their personal and financial information. In exchange, the players put their player's club card in the slot machine to measure their rate of play. Simple. The people voluntarily give the casino important personal information that allows them to develop a database of clients, and then people use the club card, which shows the casino exactly how much the player is worth. The player club card inputs time spent at each machine, how much money was bet, and the overall amount of money spent per visit. This information is necessary for the player rating systems.

Now everyone over 21 can be evaluated and tracked for their value to the casino. The information gathered from the players along with other information gathered from other electronic databases allow for an effective marketing campaign to be developed

to attract players, especially those considered to be of high value to the casino. Casinos have also integrated this information with their customer relationship management (CRM) systems to become even more sophisticated in providing excellent service to their guests, which in turn will help create life-long customers.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

For a long time, surveillance personnel carefully kept records of cheats in the black books. However, computer links have changed all that. Now facial recognition programs can zoom in on a person, identify him or her, and determine whether surveillance should be concerned. Information on cheats and troublemakers are available globally so that tracking a roulette scam team or a notorious card cheat is easy. This allows surveillance to be aware of cheating teams who might be in the area, and to pass on this information to other casinos. This is an example of how competitors can also cooperate when it is in their shared best interest.

If casino personnel are puzzled about a situation or person, they can contact an independent surveillance team. These teams can link their computers with the casino cameras to see all the action without even being in the same town. The video feed can also be passed on to experts anywhere in the world. If the casino suspects illegal activities, but are unsure, they are able to share that video feed with an expert on such activities by allowing him or her to view that video feed in real time via a virtual private network established over an internet connection. Casinos no longer have to have someone with this level of expertise on the property at all times. An expert can be shared with several different casinos, which creates significant cost savings. This allows more eyes and more knowledge to be pooled toward protecting the casino and the customers.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Some of the newest technology in slot machines prints tickets containing all of a player's credits; the player does not have to carry around loose, heavy coins that can be dropped and lost. This also makes it easier for the casinos because they do not have to store a vast number of rolls of quarters. On riverboat casinos, this is especially helpful because they are concerned about how to balance the weight of the coins on their boats. Finally, the slot machine data system enables all the information about every slot machine, every minute of the day, to be gathered and be available for analysis. Individual machines can be checked for cash flow, malfunctions and security compromises. This technology was attempted in the mid to late 60s but none of it was successful. Finally in 1973, Electro Module Inc., IBM, and Harvey's Wagon Wheel at Lake Tahoe developed the first viable system.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

In the 1980s the evolution of the stepper slot allowed greater versatility and fewer parts to break down. Microprocessors enabled people to receive credits for their wins, therefore resulting in less handling of the actual money and speeding up the play. Although it had been thought that slots were more attractive for women because they were simple to learn, mechanicals (more affectionately called one-armed bandits) rapidly grew to be the overall favorite over table games. By 1983, Nevada slot revenues actually surpassed table revenues. Many casinos found that slot revenues now comprised 60-80 of the revenues, and the shift to add more slots and less table games ensued. The growth of the progressive IGT slot system in 1986 meant that people could win very large jackpots because the slot machines were linked to a central computer, and all bets were pooled into one large collective prize. Gaming machines were so popular that in early 1990, newer, larger denomination machines such as the 5, 25, 100 and even the 500 machine entered the market.

Gaming machines are now faster and allow for less failure in operations. The coin acceptance devices have electric sensors to detect fake coins. A computer chip randomly generates a series of random numbers and selects reel spin/stop sequences. In addition a player Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) computer chip allows diagnostic troubleshooting, bonus modes and site-specific player information. A Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) displays the game information, attract sequences, diagnostic errors, and also sets up informational messages. A player switch illuminates when coins are inserted or credits are won. Another chip records security violations and detects failures or errors. All the critical game data is stored in the random access memory (RAM) with a long life battery attached so that data is not lost in case of a power failure.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

T

- - - - - - - - - - - -

T

I wish all teachers could be as helpful as you instead of making us do things the complicated way...