JCM Global says it will “wow the world once again” at the Global Gaming Expo next month with a host of new technologies designed to enhance the guest experience, boost security, and increase efficiencies across the casino floor and in the count room.
Dave Kubajak, senior vice president of sales, marketing, and operations at the transactions-technology company, said JCM looks forward to the return of the in-person conference in Las Vegas.
“Much like everybody, JCM is looking forward to attending G2E this year,” Kubajak said. “It’s been a long two-year period. The industry is struggling to find ways to come together and work around travel restrictions, but we’re hoping this year’s G2E gives people, especially those in North America, the opportunity to meet again in-person and share unique ideas, new concepts, and some of the technology that has evolved out of this COVID era.”
JCM has focused on what the world looks like as it goes through the pandemic and beyond and what key technology changes they see coming to the gaming industry.
“JCM has more than 65 years of product innovation that we have brought to bear to address the needs of the market in this COVID and post-COVID period,” Kubajak said.
Robotics automation is at the top of the list as a way to increase efficiencies in the count room, Kubajak said.
JCM’s latest partnership with Cash Processing Solutions (CPS) has dramatically done exactly that with flexible and modular count-sort solutions, including the 7000i, X Range, and V Series and ECM enterprise-wide cash-management software.
But JCM’s new ICB Automated Secure Asset Processing (ASAP) is the biggest technological advancement to come to the count room since the company first introduced its ICB more than a decade ago. A network of four industrial-grade robots and industry-standard automation devices, ICB ASAP streamlines the count room, enhances productivity, reduces human contact, boosts security, improves throughput, and increases reliability, Kubajak said.
Kubajak said one of the challenges they’ve seen through the pandemic is the concern of people being in close proximity to one another. “The casino count room is traditionally a small high-security room with on average 10 to 20 employees who count and process all the cash that goes through a casino.”
By automating processes that employees were handling inside the count room, it reduces the number of people, reduces risks, and increases efficiency; the robots can process twice the number of notes per hour than a human can, he said.
“It also boosts security, because instead of having 10 or 20 humans unlocking boxes to count all the cash inside, the robots take over that entire process,” Kubajak said. “The secure cash box moves into a locked environment with these industrial robots that unlock the box, remove the cash, and put it into secure cassettes that can be processed by the count-sort machine. Humans do not have to touch the cash inside the cash box anymore. ICB ASAP allows the humans to focus on customer-service-oriented activities, instead of the repetitive processes in the count room.”
At G2E, JCM will also focus on other products that boost security.
Its bill validators are legendary worldwide for acting as the first line of defense against counterfeiters and cheats, Kubajak said. JCM will display standard-setting technology, centering around the award-winning iVIZION, which set new standards for sensing technology and has unmatched industry performance, he said.
JCM’s FUZION technology connected to the iVIZION boosts security with real-time digital imaging, increased surveillance capabilities, better management of support resources and financial asset tracking, and trusted Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for secure contactless transactions, Kubajak said.
JCM systems that enhance the guest experience include FUZION and associated technologies, including the Peripheral Network Adapter, NFC Mobile I/O, and iTITO, all of which give players more choices and operators greater abilities to reach guests. JCM will also showcase the ICB Intelligent Cash Box system and PromoNet systems.
“We’ll be focusing on the different systems,” Kubajak said. “ICB (Intelligent Cash Box) automates and tracks all of your cash-box assets on the casino gaming floor, whether it’s on slot machines, tables, or kiosks. A product called PromoNet allows you to turn every slot machine into a promotional kiosk. Instead of having to get up and walk over to a promotional kiosk to print out a ticket for a discount like two-for-one at a buffet, free show tickets, a discount off retail or hotel rooms, or a matchplay coupon for the table games, you can do it right at the slot machine or at the table game.”
FUZION brings all of that together and allows casinos to connect every machine, monitor them for real-time maintenance, and give the security team the ability to pull high-resolution, full-color, digital images of any currency or coupon that goes into a slot machine or table game, Kubajak said. It also automates manual processes, such as software upgrades and downloading performance data, so employees can focus on more productive customer engagement, he said.
JCM’s leading printers, including the GEN5 Thermal Printer and CouponXpress, empower operators to communicate directly with customers at the EGM, table game, kiosk, and players club, Kubajak said. JCM’s partnership with CountR and their secure TITA system enables high-speed cash processing, TITO transactions, and debit/POS transactions at live table games, giving players more options.
JCM’s digital signs are innovative and as flexible as the spaces they illuminate and as varied as the content they display, Kubajak said. JCM will feature a broad range of displays, including DSS FLOOR and CUBE in stacked and hanging configurations, the DSS FLEX, and the DSS MAX-R video wall.
“We’ll have a good blend of high-resolution LED screens that create unique experiences and environments inside a casino,” Kubajak said. “Instead of rectangular signs on a wall, you can do a lot of unique architectural designs with digital signage to create a memorable experience for a player in a high-roller room or VIP room or to create a unique environment like you see in a lot of casinos with specialty gaming areas, such as the Buffalo Zone or Buffalo Link from Aristocrat.”
JCM will be in booth number 4039.
