Prairie Band Casino & Resort

As gaming has grown, most of the technology has been related to slot machines, whether it’s the data we gather on a slot machine's performance or player data. It’s where casinos in the United States generate the most revenue.

Each October, Las Vegas hosts the largest gaming convention in the United States, Global Gaming Expo (G2E). Most casino operators and suppliers, from food and beverage and uniform suppliers to slot machine manufacturers, attend this convention to network, learn, showcase their new products and technologies. What I’ve been impressed with over the past few years are table limit signs.

You may wonder why I say that, because they’re just signs that show what that particular game's limit is and maybe some advertising. A few suppliers have added cameras to their table limit signs. Players typically will not notice them, as there are surveillance cameras all over a casino. So, why do these cameras matter? To start, the cameras can incorporate an artificial intelligence component. They can help detect cheating, such as collusion or card counting, but they can also detect if a player has been banned. Even though many people are watching over table games, from surveillance operators to pit supervisors, it still sometimes happens. Another feature these cameras can perform is recognizing side bet usage. There are many side bets on a table game, especially blackjack. Surrender, for example. If a dealer is showing a face card, the average blackjack player will assume the down card is also a face card, giving a total value of 20. If the player has a sixteen, you can assume your next card will be larger than a five and you will break or go over 21. If you signal to the dealer that you would like to surrender, you will get a portion of your wager returned and the hand is over.

Typically, a pit supervisor will input an average wager for a player who buys into a game, but it’s only the wager. The cameras inside the table limit signs can detect a wager has been placed on a side bet and can give operators data on how often a player places a wager and how much that wager is.

“AI will assist casinos in analyzing a player’s betting behavior and use the data to provide players with offers, such as complimentary hotel stays, food and beverage or free play.”

The cameras can detect how much a player is actually wagering, rather than just their average wager. By capturing actual wagering activity, casinos can analyze the data to understand what players are wagering and whether they’re playing side bets. This data will assist casinos in making decisions on whether a particular side bet is being utilized and if it isn’t, they can adjust the side bet accordingly. The cameras will also help casinos understand the true value of their table game players. AI will assist casinos in analyzing a player’s betting behavior and use the data to provide players with offers, such as complimentary hotel stays, food and beverage or free play. It is easy for casinos to reinvest in slot players because all a slot player who uses the casino’s player card has to do is insert it in the card reader, play their favorite slot machine and the casino captures that data automatically.

Finally, the AI component can assist casino operators with a table games dealer’s performance. For example, operators can analyze how many hands per hour a dealer can deal. A casino can expect a blackjack dealer to deal 100 hands per hour on average. If a dealer is dealing 60 hands per hour, the casino can use the data to train the dealer to speed up their dealing. On the other hand, if a dealer deals 140 hands per hour, it is not a good experience for the player, especially if they are losing. This is another opportunity to use the data to train the dealer to deal more slowly. Both examples may deter players from playing with particular dealers. We also can’t completely rely on AI to perform the job of the table games supervisors. There will be a lot of trial and error in using AI in table games, but it will not eliminate the human component of oversight. Regardless of whether a casino uses this technology, we should all want our guests and team members to have a great time and gamble responsibly.