Casinos face some wide-ranging challenges in managing all aspects of operations – from gaming and loyalty programs to hospitality services and regulatory reporting. Keeping up with all that is no easy task, but CasinoTrac works to offer a unified data source to better serve the casino industry in this capacity.
The system covers every aspect of a casino’s operations – the gaming floor, the marketing office, slots, table pit, the cashier’s cage, hotels and restaurants, and more. The platform offers detailed analytics management and staff can track in real time. As the name implies, if it’s happening in the casino, CasinoTrac is tracking what’s going on.
“Everything is reported,” Vice President of Development Tom Livingston says of the software. “The accounting is spot on to the penny. The players are taken care of without overly investing in players for marketing purposes and keeping the property on track so that they can continue to generate revenue for their tribe or their property owner.”
Some recent additions have made CasinoTrac an even more powerful tool for operators. The newest version has been in the works for the last four years and enhances the marketing and promotion side, adding more features and functionality.
“It’s an immersive 3D-rendered map for the floor,” Livingston says. “We’ve been in gaming for 30 years, and we spent those 30 years listening to what our customers want in a casino management system. We’re incorporating those desires, wants, and changes, so that we make the next casino management system we offer our customers to include all the things they’ve been asking for for awhile.”
Livingston recently took a look at some of the other aspects of the company, much of which was on display at this year’s G2E.
Reprint Enrollment Kiosk
This new product is a one-stop shop for properties seeking to minimize staff hours on the floor. Customers can insert their IDs in the kiosk and reprint their player’s card, check their loyalty points totals, redeem promotions, view a property map, and take advantage of other features. New members can also enroll and print a card.
ProgressiveTrac
This tool allows properties to record progressive meters easily and accurately to meet regulatory requirements. Many properties now have staff members using a clipboard for this task, but ProgressiveTrac simplifies the process.
“What we’ve built is a way to scan using a cell phone or an iPad or some type of electronic device with an app we developed,” Livingston says. “They can utilize the camera to scan the progressive. It will translate the image into actual numbers and record them for reporting purposes.
“It’s a handy tool for sites that are looking to minimize man hours. Right now, the whole world knows staffing is expensive. So we need steps we can take to make it accurate and cost-effective. Keeping costs down for staffing is something sites are really interested in these days.”
Security & infrastructure
Cyber criminals have victimized casinos over the last few years with several major cases making headlines. Preventing online attacks has become a major focus in the industry and as a platform running on its own operating system, Livingston believes that gives CasinoTrac a leg up in security terms. Because the system isn’t Windows based, CasinoTrac isn’t generally part of a security breach.
“When a property has an outside access event or an intrusive event, there’s another layer of security on the CasinoTrac server that is traditionally not part of the scope of the intrusive event,” Livingston says. “Our databases are encrypted out of the gate. We’re not running an SQL, so we’re running a different type of databasing structure than SQL.
“Our servers are not running in a Windows environment, so we have two separate layers that are not standardized just for other systems, meaning we have other layers of security.”
The company takes even more precautions, minimizing access to servers to a small number of people on the property side.
“We supply and provide all of the support they could possibly need on the server level,” he says. “We send them reports for what’s happening at the server level. If backups are failing, or we have a hard drive that we see is blinking, we’ll talk to their IT department about switching over to the other side and reseating a hard drive. Our network operation is in constant contact with all the servers in the field. It’s just one more thing that sites don’t have to spend time or money or energy on in terms of making sure that the CMS is running and operational.”
Support, training, & installation teams
For CasinoTrac, servicing clients is a major focus of the business. The support and training team are all U.S.-based and the team installing the platform is the same group making site visits and answering the phone after hours. That personal touch goes a long way.
“The team has a very clear idea of what the property is dealing with, who the people are at that property, and we develop a relationship with our customers, which sets us apart,” Livingston says. “We have a good working connection with every site. We can accommodate and work with the site to make sure the system’s working the way they need it to, and their staff are comfortable with it. Because if the staff aren’t comfortable with the system, then they’re never going to succeed.”
