There’s a Green Felt Journal in today’s Vegas Seven, focusing on what many slot players don’t see:
To most players, slot machines are only screen deep. The spinning reels are what’s important. But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that makes the action possible. Without back-end systems to track play and account for payouts, those slot machines would be very expensive ornaments. Through fiber-optic cable and data drops, a series of networks connects slot machines to each other, to master systems, and even to software that lets managers analyze the casino in real time. Though invisible to the players, these systems are absolutely essential.
I actually could write a book about all of the stuff that goes on at Bally’s–I toured their facility last week and was very impressed by both the sophistication of the technology and the scale of what they’re doing.