Any Plans for Vegas Casinos To Adopt Drink-Ordering Systems on Slots?

I was at Harrah’s New Orleans last week and I ordered my drink from the menu on the machine. The screen confirmed my order was placed, gave updates that the drink was on the way, and — when delivered — the attendant keyed in on the machine that the order was delivered. Any plans for Vegas casinos to adopt this technology?

These drink-order-on-demand systems are nothing new.

One we know of is called "B.O.S.S.," short for Beverage Ordering Service System. Another, the one that Caesars uses, is a “Total-Touch” system. Digital drink menus are programmed right into the slot machine and usually tied in to the players club system.

As mentioned in the question, players order drinks from their slot screens; the B.O.S.S. system displays a martini glass or the like that, when touched, brings up the drink menu. When the drink is ordered, it appears on a display system at the nearest bar; the cocktail waitress also gets an alert. Throughout the process, as also mentioned, players can track the status of their drink orders. In the B.O.S.S. system, if the player moves to another machine in the interim, as long as his or her players card is inserted in the new machine, the waitress will know where and to whom to deliver the drink.

The menus can be tied to the type and denomination of machines and the club tier of the players. Those in the upper tiers, or firing up a high-denom machine, for example, often get an enhanced menu with premium liquor.

In places that offer the menu, not everyone uses it, so servers still roam the floor assisting those who don’t. But in most of the reviews we’ve seen, the efficiency of drink delivery is greatly improved by these systems. Pechanga in southern California, for one, claims that delivery times have been cut from an average of 20 minutes to eight, more than doubling the number of drinks that can be delivered.

The Westgate in Las Vegas rolled out B.O.S.S. years ago (2018). But most of the casinos that utilize these systems seem to be in jurisdictions, such as Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana, along with tribal casinos in California (Pechanga), where casinos aren’t allowed to comp drinks.

This makes sense, to us, anyway. It’s in the interest of the casino to deliver drinks as quickly as possible to slot players who are paying – and tipping – for them, while it’s not in the interest of casinos to quickly deliver comped drinks, such as in Las Vegas.

But there's another upside when casinos use the systems, whether players pay for their drinks or not. Casinos can gather data about alcohol, such as drink trends, how many drinks players order, and if certain drinks are popular at certain times. In addition, what kind of drinks individual players prefer can be tracked for various purposes.

It seems to us that just as more and more functions in the casino are becoming automated, these systems will catch on sooner than later, even in Las Vegas.

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O2bnVegas Jun-04-2023

Horsehoe in Tunica

The Horseshoe in Tunica put them in decades ago.  I don't know if they still had them, but very handy, very quick.  That may have been when it was Horseshoe and not Harrah's Horseshoe, which changed things for the worse, but it was good.  You could select categories such as wine, beer, cocktails, even specify the liquor like Bourbon, Gin, etc., and within each of those was a long list of options.  Also had options for coffee, soft drinks, etc.  If your drink wasn't listed there was a way to enter it.  It was a good system.

Candy

Lotel Jun-04-2023

Self Serve station

Like other states I wish Las Vegas had Self Serve  soft drink stations. You can get your own water, pop, coffee , tea etc. and  not have to wait for a waitress.  especially during the day when their are few waiters.  I have no idea why Vegas does not have them , May be a Vegas union problem.

rokgpsman Jun-04-2023

drink stations

The M Resort had free self-serve soft drink stations on the casino floor back for awhile when it first opened. You could get your own sodas, water and other non-alcohol beverages. I think they were trying to quickly become a locals casino since they are so far from the Strip. Having that would make it faster and easier to get something to drink, but any non-gambling person in the place could also partake. There's a lot of sightseers walking thru the Strip casinos that never put a quarter into a machine, so the free drink stations would be a big loss-leader and would require constant cleanup and refilling by staff. So I'd be surprised if any Strip casino ever does this, unless they had a way for your slot machine to print a free drink voucher after some amount of play that you could insert into the automated drink station. That way non-gamblers couldn't get a freebie.

Matthew Jun-04-2023

Data mining

Do bartenders enter what drinks they are serving? If so, could casinos use that data to track drink popularity trends as an alternative to using BOSS to track popularity?

John Hearn Jun-04-2023

The Queen would agree

I haven't faithfully read Jean's QOC blog posts, but part of this ties right into a recent one. The Queen noted that the sophistication of the casino's tracking of EVERYTHING, hundreds of data points, is mind-boggling. It's not just about what you play and how much. What did you eat? Drink? Spa? Gift shop? Did you valet? All those things and dozens more, and the data processing and reporting heft to leverage that data. This is just one more arrow in the casino's quiver, seems to me.

Bob Jun-04-2023

Self Serve

While I appreciate the self serve coffee and soft drinks at casinos across the country... in Vegas, it would be like throwing a couple french fries to a Seagull.

CLIFFORD Jun-04-2023

OH THE HORROR

SOMEONE MIGHT GET A 24 CENT CUP OF COFFEE OR POP WITHOUT THROWING MONEY AWAY.  GEE, THAT SOMEONE MIGHT EVEN COME BACK LATER AND PLAY.

[email protected] Jun-04-2023

Cheaper and Easier

I use the "self-serve" feature by taking a beer (or two) from my ice chest in the room (small hotel so its maybe a 5 minute walk) to the floor and then play until it's gone and then return to the room for the next one. (Also gets a little exercise  to burn off the calories). Once in awhile I will order one from a waitress walking by and them tip a couple bucks. At the end of the night I've likely gone thru 8 or 10 beers and about $4 in tips.

Dave_Miller_DJTB Jun-04-2023

Not in Vegas

Self-serve will never happen in Vegas, at least not in the strip, or Fremont properties, because it would be abused by homeless people.

[email protected] Jun-05-2023

Atlantic City

Most of the casinos in Atlantic City have had this system for years and it's fabulous. Th best part for us coffee drinkers is they also include cappuccinos which I've never found on one menu in Las Vegas!

Diane Crosby Jun-05-2023

Linq

I thought I recalled this system (or one like it) being used by the Linq at one time. Am I wrong?

Gramps Jun-05-2023

Drinks

Horseshoe in Tunica and Tropicana in AC have them and I think they are great. I've talk to some of the waitresses and they like it to, more money for them and less walking around. I wish they all had it, whether you pay or they are comped, just remember to tip!  On a side note, when I do go to Tunica they also have My Favorite drink button, and it goes right to what I order.

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