Casino Enterprise Management

Managing competing priorities while striving to keep costs in check across an entire enterprise is the stuff ulcers, high blood pressure and negative stress are made of. This is especially true for CIOs in the gaming industry. Most folks can’t imagine what it must be like to have a portfolio of projects that represent five, 10 or even 50 man-years of effort at any given time.

Macau’s gaming revenue has shown tremendous growth in the past decade, from $2.26 billion (USD) in 2001 to $33.43 billion (USD) in 2011. Throughout this period, the VIP segment has constituted about 70 percent of Macau’s total casino gaming revenue, as illustrated in Table 1. Such economic significance has naturally led to the concern of how VIP room contractors control their internal operational risk when millions of dollars in cash change hands.

A common phrase in the slot gaming industry is “The only constant is change!” A constant factor of change, meanwhile, is time—and time is constantly changing! And what changes we have seen over time in the slot gaming industry, with vast improvements in the technology of gaming products. With these changes, however, we have also seen major shifts in slot floor revenues, play time, and the way we must analyze game play and profitability.

During my many years of consulting, I have witnessed a continued evolution and growth in the casino management software needs of various casinos around the world. It is an area that is often overlooked in the development stages of a new casino or during a pending software update. However, this area should not be ignored. There are actually many different options available, but most suppliers only recommend a few of the larger systems to casinos.