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15 September 2000 , InterGaming

- An ingenious yet easy to play roulette game developed in Australia has succeeded in attracting players back to the tables.

Rapid Roulette is a patented game developed as a joint venture between Australian-based StarGames and Crown Limited, and has been operating at Crown Casino for the past two months with spectacular results.
"The four Rapid Roulette tables outperform our standard tables by more than 75%," said Andrew MacDonald, Executive General Manager of Table Gaming Operations.
"Compared to a standard roulette table, we have been able to drastically reduce labour costs, and performance per unit is 75-100% higher," he said.
Rapid Roulette is a semi-automated version of a regular roulette game. Even though a real dealer is involved, players can sit in comfort at a touchscreen terminal and bet by placing on-screen chips onto the replicated layout.
And that's not all. Arguably, the most innovative and lucrative feature of Rapid Roulette is the ability for the game to offer a hybrid combination of a table game, slot, racing and numbers bets all in one.
"We see this new, patented game as a way to address the worldwide decline in table game profitability, " said Mr MacDonald. "The game is fast-paced and dynamic, and offers all the functionality of traditional roulette in addition to slot features such as mystery jackpots and progressives, quick picks, and racing options such as quinellas.
"Whilst these betting options have always been available, it's been hard to find a way to easily incorporate these into traditional, mechanical versions of table games," he explained.
The nature of the game also means that Crown can drastically increase the "spin rate" or speed in which each game is played.
An active roulette table at Crown averages 36 spins per hour, which includes delays for the dealer to clear chips off the table, stack chips from the chipper champ machine, and pay the winning players.
Rapid Roulette, while currently averaging 37-40 spins, will soon be running at the highly productive rate of 45 spins or games per hour.
"At the moment there's only a six second interval in Rapid Roulette between closing off bets and spinning. This still represents time wasted. There's only an upside in terms of where we can go to reduce dead time and increase active play."
Compared to a traditional roulette table that comfortably caters to six players per game, Crown's Rapid Roulette maximizes return on floor space by allowing 12 players to bet on the one game.
Indeed, the game is not only modular in size. The variety of configurations available can drastically reduce labour costs for the casino operator.
For instance, during October an additional 10 Rapid Roulette units are expected to be installed in the casino. In a two table configuration there will be 22 betting positions and 2.5 staff. This represents the floor space of four roulette tables, requiring 6.25 staff. The calculations are simple: Crown will have automatically reduced its labour component by 60%.
StarGames, the manufacturer and marketing representative of Rapid Roulette, has entered into a letter of intent with John Huxley (Casino Equipment), to distribute the product worldwide with the exception of Australia, New Zealand and North America. The agreement with John Huxley is expected to be finalised during August, and discussions will also take place at this time with WMS Gaming to distribute the product in North America.

Rapid Roulette - the key is winning the player and the operator

Player Features

1. Personal space
"The most interesting thing we've noticed from a player's perspective is that, regardless of sex or age, they like Rapid Roulette because it provides them with their own space, at their own dedicated terminal" said Andrew MacDonald, Crown's Executive General Manager, Table Games Operations. "It's comfortable, and there's no pushing and shoving to place a bet."

2. Security
"I'm in control of placing my own chips," commented a Rapid Roulette player at Crown casino. "Nobody can come and move my chips or steal them, which I worry about when I play at a regular roulette table."

3. Comfort
"I can sit down and relax like I do when I play the slots," enthused another player about Rapid Roulette. "Plus, I can have a smoke and a drink."

4. Easy to learn
The game has the same rules as traditional roulette - 35-1 for straight up, spread betting and the like. The game at Crown is attracting the traditional roulette player, in addition to the slot player.

5. Privacy
"For a new player like me, Rapid Roulette is the way to go," explained a young female Crown Club member. "It's far less intimidating, and I can also learn to play by pressing the help buttons on my terminal."

Features for the Casino Operator:

1. Reduction in labour costs
"First and foremost, the biggest investment in table game operations is the labour cost," explained Mr MacDonald. Rapid Roulette has the opportunity to change the standard roulette ratio between the dealer and customer. Four roulette tables average 5 dealers, a supervisor and a "swing" for breaks. In same space with a 22 station Rapid Roulette unit (which equates to the same player capacity), only 2 dealers + Â½ swing is required.

2. Increased promotional capacity
Enhancements available through Rapid Roulette allow a cross-pollination of other forms of gambling, including mystery and progressive jackpots [slots], quinellas and trifectas [racing], and quick picks [keno].

3. Security and player tracking
Rapid Roulette inherently offers a complete audit trail of every transaction, unlike the traditional game of roulette which relies on manual input and counting. In addition, players are able to accumulate loyalty bonuses through their casino member card.

4. Modularity and customisation
Rapid Roulette is extremely flexible in terms of size, and can be adapted to both small and large casinos to maximize profitability of floor space. In addition, the game can be customised or themed, to suit a particular casino.

5. Regulatory advantages
Rapid Roulette is essentially a table game as its patent specifies a "dealer-determined Roulette game dedicated to electronic betting at the table where the Roulette wheel is situated...". Casinos in jurisdictions where there is much higher tax rate on slots compared to gaming tables, will no doubt find this product appealing.