LAS VEGAS -- The celebratory sound of silver dollars clanging into slot-machine trays may be going the way of the 8-track tape.
Cashless slot machines currently make up less than 1 percent of the American market, which has more than doubled since 1991 to encompass over 400,000 machines that pull in around US$14 billion a year.
After a slow start several years ago, cashless machines are now proliferating rapidly. Gambling industry executives examined the issue this week at the annual International Gaming Business Expo in Las Vegas.
The category encompasses a range of technologies, from smartcard and debit-card readers to printed coupon systems. Nevada draws the line at credit cards because of the potential for abuse by gambling addicts. But the basic idea is the same: Instead of putting in and cashing out handfuls of coins, players do it digitally.
For casinos, replacing clunky coins with weightless bytes is a faster, more efficient way to separate punters from their money. Cashless machines don't need to be constantly refilled. They're easier to maintain and harder to steal from. Digital data is also easier to store than truckloads of nickels and quarters.
Most machines allow players to gamble up to 145 coins on each spin, which encourages many to boost their wagering. Cashless machines also subtly encourage people to play more. Printed coupons from one machine can be used in another, so players don't get actual money in their hands until they go to a cashier to redeem their winnings.
"Cashless machines have been a rip-roaring success in Mississippi," said Ezzie Rooks, an official with the Mississippi Gaming Commission. "They bring in up to $200 a day in extra revenues, compared to regular machines."
For players, cashless machines mean an end to hauling around plastic buckets brimming with nickels and waiting for casino employees to pay out large jackpots. Still, the machines are generally restricted to the low end of the market -- quarter, nickel, and even penny slots. Many California Indian casinos use only cashless machines. But in Las Vegas, they are more likely to be seen in strip malls than Strip casinos.
There are obstacles to their wider use. For example, there are no universal protocols that would allow players to move credits between machines made by different companies. The greater barrier, however, is customer acceptance. Most gamblers still want to hear the sweet sound of a jackpot clattering into a tray, not just soulless electronic bleeps. An attempt by the huge MGM Grand casino to introduce cashless machines several years ago failed dismally. MGM has since yanked all its cashless units.
But the gaming market is undeniably changing. Ten years ago, only two states permitted casino-style gambling. Today, gambling is allowed on American Indian reservations, riverboats, and at race tracks in 30 states.
"You now have frequent gamblers who don't just go to a casino once a year, but three or four times a week," insisted panel moderator Mick Roemer, an executive with VLC, a leading cashless slotmaker. "They don't want to handle all those coins anymore."
That logic is convincing to Rick Martell, director of slot operations for Vegas' high-end Bally's Casino, who is looking to buy larger-denomination machines once they come on the market.
"The tourist segment won't go for them," said Martell. "But repeat gamblers are just kind of irritated by the noise. They're just looking for play."
