Tracking keys avoids costly slot machine shutdowns

Mar 1, 2006 12:00 PM, Erin Semple

An industry with high key exposure needs protection.

One of the Boyd Gaming properties, Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, located in Tunica, Miss. has integrated solutions from Axcess, a Dallas-based company that provides active and semi-active RFID technology. The ActiveTag system monitors more than 100 slot machine keys, reducing the possibility of a key being lost, which can cost a casino more than $25,000 due to state laws that mandate a costly shutdown of slot machine operations following the loss of even a single key. The installation in spring of 2005 marked the seventh casino to use the company's active RFID.

“We recently had incidents where employees accidentally walked out of the casino with the slot machine keys with each occurrence leading to the required shutting down of the slot machines until a costly re-keying could be undertaken,” says Mary Davenport, engineering technician of the project at Boyd Gaming. “The revenue lost during these shutdowns is significant, so we had to ensure such an incident did not occur again. Since installing the system, the slot machine keys are more secure, and we have not had any additional revenue loss due to the misplaced keys.”

In the event that a key is removed from the building, the Axcess active RFID tags affixed to the slot machine keys will automatically activate and transmit a signal to a receiver to alert the staff that a key is outside its range. This will prevent the key from being removed from the casino.

“It is quickly becoming a best practice within the gaming industry to protect keys and other assets,” says Allan Griebenow, CEO and president of Axcess. “We see many opportunities to expand our casino installations with future upgrades including personnel tagging and providing gamers with smart cards for automatic customer recognition.”

Axcess' RFID ActiveTags locate, identify, track, monitor, count and protect people, assets, inventory and vehicles, using small battery-powered tags that, when automatically activated, transmit a wireless message typically 30 to 100 feet to hidden palm size receivers. The receivers are connected via a standard interface to existing security alarm equipment or networked on an existing corporate network.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

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Axcess

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