"Technology has remained reasonably static over the past few years, with little innovation. All manufacturers have realized new platforms that have greatly improved the functionality of the product. Although the recently approved Monopoly and soon to be released Wheel of Fortune games are new to the Australian market, they have existed in other parts of the world for many years."
Perhaps more importantly, there is little ability to enhance existing gaming venues due to the pending Gaming Reform package."

Slated for introduction January 1 next year, the changes include a reduction in the opening hours of clubs, restrictions on any increase in the number of gaming machines and for clubs such as Canterbury, an immediate reduction of gaming machines on the floor by 10% - all in the name of reducing the incidence of problem gambling.

Mr Levett stated, "We have been advised by many counselors that such an action will not in fact reduce the incidence of problem gambling. It may in fact increase, which is naturally a situation we would like to avoid."

One form of new technology that Canterbury has embraced is the ticket printer for poker machines, which is a stepping stone to cashless gaming. While its popularity is evident in Las Vegas casinos, it has not been pursued to any great extent in Australia.

"I believe that ticket printers are a natural progression from coin to cashless and is a measure which Canterbury has been pursuing for a number of years," said Mr Levett. "This technology is now well advanced and is a move towards a no-coin, no-note - a complete card environment that we will consider in due course."

Essentially, a ticket printer on each machine greatly improves the security on the gaming machines, increases performance of the product and reduces the possibility of human error with payouts. The ticket is issued on cash out, and the player simply takes the ticket to the cashier or the automatic ticket machine for redemption.

To this end, all 551 machines at Canterbury have ticket printer functionality. IGT's Elephant King II is currently the best performing machine at the club in the 1c area, in part due to the new OA4 platform that allows increased functionality. Of the 451 Aristocrat machines, a number of the latest Mark VI games are also performing well, including Geisha, Spring Carnival, Scatter Magic 2 and Show me the Money. Konami's Cash Charmer and Congo are also good games. Unfortunately, the lack of a ticket printer system within StarGames, Pacific, Ainsworth Game Technology and other manufacturers prevents Canterbury from purchasing that product.

According to Mr Levett, pokies are not as interactive with the customer as they could be. "I'd like to see a lot more entertainment in the games," he said. "We have a huge population base and are competing with a lot of other forms of entertainment."

"Games could also offer a lot more animation - not just features such as winning 15 free games". Perhaps advances in technology allow for a change in the way the games come up and what happens. Effective research into customer preferences from a players perspective would certainly be a good guide as there is currently very little research undertaken in the industry.

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Cashless gaming at Wentworthville

Another top 20 NSW club has completely embraced cashless gaming, bypassing the system of ticket printers. Wentworthville Leagues Club commenced a trial of Ebet's cashless system last November with 14 slant top machines of 1c denomination, located in a dedicated area in front of the gaming cashier. As the only club in NSW to trial the system, the results were so successful that an application is currently pending with the Dept of Gaming and Racing to install a permanent cashless system for all 327 machines.

"We were very pleased with the result," said Tony Toohey, General Manager of Wentworthville Leagues Club. "From an operational viewpoint it has given us a great learning curve on how to implement a completely cashless system, and understand player acceptance levels."
In effect, every current membership card was activated to become cashless and store winnings. The process of converting all poker machines to cashless will include eliminating all coins, but retaining the bill validators. "If player is not a member of our club they can still continue to play poker machines in the usual fashion with payouts via the cashier as normal," he said.

Apart from the revolutionary cashless system, Mr Toohey is less than excited about the range of gaming machine products currently available. "From a suppliers point of view there are no showstoppers out there at all."

While the display and graphic capabilities from the poker machine manufacturers are reflecting improved colours and resolution, the player interactivity options are still limited. In terms of new trends, Ainsworth Game Technology's new Ambassador machines with oversized screens could be a winner, depending on their ability to use the total size of the screen to enhance player interactivity.

"We are lacking a range of options where players can make decisions apart from usual bonus games - which don't really offer the player a range of choices," said Mr Toohey.
"Free spins, however, give a good pause in the game and serve as a good harm minimisation measure. If a player is sitting not doing anything for 10 or 15 free spins they have a bit of time out."

Known to locals as Wenty's, the club is constantly revamping and testing new ideas, which no doubt accounts for double digit growth in gaming revenue and climbing profits in the food and beverage departments. Mr Toohey, who has been Managing the club for three years, explained to Hospitality that this is due to a better product mix and improved customer service.
For instance, the club is currently looking at alternative options to the usual linked meters, as "they're all starting to look exactly the same."

In terms of keno, Wentworthville Leagues is actively trying to create more improved customer service and visual impact in their venue. To this end, they are trialling a 1.5 metre plasma screen as an information board for the players, as opposed to the traditional TV screen that has limitations. A pseudo-dedicated keno lounge has been created, with the screen close to the keno counter. Apart from
Educating the players and keeping them up to date with the latest results, these efforts have resulted in an upturn of keno revenue.

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Best performing pokies

With an installed base of 327 poker machines, Wentworthville Leagues Club is rated as one of the top 20 NSW clubs for gaming profit.
"Overall, Aristocrat still produces the best performing pokies, especially Spring Carnival and Geisha" said General Manager Tony Toohey. It's no surprise, then, that the club's product mix comprises 73% Aristocrat, 11% IGT, 9% Konami, and 6% Vidco/Stargames.
"IGT's games are going well, with our 11% installation producing 11% turnover. One advantage is that IGT offers a suite of games, which allows the operator to change games if one isn't popular.
"Stargames also have a few good combinations such as Sea Lion, which has been around for some time and is consistently one of our top 20 performing games," he said.