When Kelly Shaw of Aristocrat Technologies talks about success stories in 2018, she mentions a gaming and cigar patio at a Maryland casino.
But gaming industry consolidation is one of the things that keeps her up at night.
Shaw, vice president of Oasis Systems North America for gaming manufacturer Aristocrat was a featured speaker at a wide-ranging discussion this week at TribalNet, the Native American conference and trade show at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Live Casino & Hotel in Anne Arundel, Maryland – near Baltimore – opened an 8,000-square-foot patio that offers slot machines and table games with a bar and the ability to puff cigars and cigarettes in a state that doesn’t allow smoking inside casinos.
It’s the state’s first full-service outdoor gaming patio.
At Live, Aristocrat installed the first version of its TrackIt for tables with vouchers and RFID that allows players to move from slots to tables without getting in line for a cashier.
The implementation of the technology, along with the smoking patio, has been a boost for Live, which competes with MGM National Harbor and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Live trailed only MGM Harbor in revenue generated in 2017 among the Maryland casinos.
“We had a situation where Maryland Live was seeking technologies to differentiate in the market given the concentration of table play with MGM National Harbor opening, and they had tremendous table game play coming into MGM,” Shaw said. “Maryland Live was concerned about their marketing position to be competitive.”
Shaw said Aristocrat partnered with Genesis Bravo to create a “cool innovation around RFID and voucher at the table” so patrons could go from the main floor to outside and smoke cigars and play table games.
“It created a unique experience for them that helped stave off some of that competitive erosion from MGM,” Shaw said. “That is a great success story, and they would say that too.”
When asked by program moderator and TribalNet executive director Mike Day for some industry concerns that “keep her up at night,” Shaw cited continuous consolidation and what it might mean to her company as a supplier going forward.
“It’s about understanding the implications of that landscape, what it means, and how far and how deep it will continue,” Shaw said. “What does it mean to us as a supplier as more systems are converged within large enterprises?”
Another major concern is how the gaming industry can attract new and exciting talent that can lend a fresh perspective that will drive it to a new level of innovation and thought leadership, Shaw said. The industry tends recruit in the same circles.
Shaw said she worries about the industry keeping up with changes in patron behaviors and developing the right services solutions and products to not only keep up with that change but to be able to pivot quickly.
One of the challenges of the gaming industry is how to engage players whether they’re in a gaming or non-gaming environment, Shaw said. It’s important how you bridge that gap between gaming and non-gaming spend that creates an experience that keeps patrons loyal to the brand.
She added that it’s about a loyalty club today rather than a players club, and it’s not just about table games or slots but marketing tools that bridge that gap into mobile and digital engagement.
“We had a customer advisory council, and what (came) through is that not our customers gave us feedback to contemplate the non gaming spend of patrons,” Shaw said.
In response to a question about where the industry is spending on innovation, Shaw pointed to her smart phone. It’s about the mobile digital experience and to seamlessly integrate cell phone technology to the game floor and non-gaming outlet, she said.
“For us it’s a lot of investment to create a unique experience,” Shaw said. “Our focus is in the mobile and digital segments and that we’re using the entirety of our product portfolio (inclusive of games content) to create a deeper engagement with the patron.”
In the future, patrons could take their game experience home from the casino, play the game and come back to the casino to connect to their favorite game, Shaw said.
