Every casino that offers any comps at all, from a coffee shop meal for one to a penthouse palazzo, has some sort of table-game rating system. Tiny casinos with a table game or two and no rooms, restaurants, or gift shop have no real reason to rate your play as they have nothing of any real value to offer in the form of comps. So, as a rule, the bigger the casino, the better the comps and the more sophisticated its tracking system.
It all starts about the same: You belly up to the table, money and players card in hand. What you do with your players card depends on the sophistication of the tracking system. In older and smaller casinos, you toss your players card to the dealer, who then passes it to a floor person, who takes your card for a walk. The floor person must now spy on/watch you to see how much you buy in for and how much your first few bets are. Then he goes to the pit stand (podium) and either writes your info down on a rating sheet or, if it’s a newer larger joint, inputs it into the casino computer.
The computer systems vary. Microsoft Windows interface-based card readers are mounted along the table cushion rail; the player inserts the card when he starts playing, then removes it upon completion of play. Some casinos have card readers mounted on the pit side of the table, through which the dealer or floorman runs the players card. The old AS 400 or Stratton-Warren systems require the floorman to input your info by hand. Though these latter systems are usually efficient and trustworthy, the information is input via a human being and, as we all know, humans are prone to making mistakes.
Casinos are usually open for discussion when one feels they were rated incorrectly. However, surveillance cameras are everywhere and the pit relies heavily on them to help settle disputes, such as how long a patron played or what his average bet was.
Electronic trackers, such as the Windows, S/W, AS-400, and IBM systems, have a direct connection (with almost live-time reporting) to surveillance. This allows surveillance employees to perform sample audits on players in order to verify that they get compensated fairly for their play and, more important, that the floor person’s players ratings are on the level, in other words, that they’re not overrating friends or family.
Another wrinkle on e-tracking is RFID. We covered Radio Frequency Identification in QoD 8/16/06. Simply stated, with RFID markers embedded in casino chips, the casino can keep track of a player's buy-in, betting amounts, and wins and losses. Foxwoods, Hard Rock, the Wynn, and some MGM Mirage are among the casinos that are already using these chips.
As far as which casinos electronically track table-game players, we haven’t done the down-and-dirty research, because it’s a safe bet to say that all the major casinos on the Strip and in the neighborhoods utilize electronic rating systems. You can also verify this yourself by watching the floor person to see what he does with your card after you hand it over. If he runs it through a card reader or inputs information via a keyboard, it’s electronic.
