Sometime ago, I posted an article that described the new mobile gaming offerings that the new M Resort in Las Vegas would be implementing in its new casino with.
Well now that the casino is up and running, the mobile gaming sportsbook at the M Resort, run by Cantor Gaming is garnering a lot of attention.
The article below was printed in the Las Vegas Review and describes how the “tablet-like” devices are being utilized in the sports book area of the M Resort. Of course, I know that the devices being used are actually Sahara Slate PCs i440Ds which were modified to fulfill the strict standards set by the Nevada Gaming Commission…
New system lets bettors wager on games in progress
(reprinted from the Las Vegas Business Press, April 01, 2009)
Wagering on the NCAA men's basketball tournament took a different twist this month at the M Resort. Gamblers could not only place money on the outcomes and point totals, but on certain games bets were accepted while the action took place. The bets were possible through M Resort's "in-running" wagering, in which betting lines were changed as game play dictated.
Cantor Gaming, a technology company trying to bring hand-held wagering devices into Nevada casinos, is managing M Resort's sports book. The company, a subsidiary of the worldwide financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, introduced the "in-running" betting system to the sports book.
Customers can place money on account at the sports book and will get a device that resembles a tablet personal computer. The device only works in the M Resort sports book.
On the tablet, betting lines are changed and updated while a game takes place, allowing gamblers to wager on the action. Customers can cash out when the game ends.
"I think this really provides an exciting opportunity to sports bettors and M Resort's customers," said longtime gaming executive Phil Flaherty, who is a consultant to Cantor Gaming. "It was interesting to see how quickly it was accepted by the customers."
M Resort is serving as the showroom for the gambling technology. Cantor Gaming wants to bring the devices into other Nevada sports books. Flaherty said the NCAA basketball tournament was the perfect event for introducing the system. Not all the games during the first two rounds and Sweet 16 were available for the technology. However, all the Final Four matchups Saturday and Monday will be part of "in-running" wagering.
The system will be in full swing, Flaherty said, during the National Basketball Association playoffs and the Major League Baseball season. He expects the technology to receive its biggest challenge during the college and professional football season.
"It's designed to enhance the experience, but it's also designed to enhance the handle (amount wagered)," Flaherty said.
M Resort first tested the system on a National Invitational Tournament college basketball contest between Baylor and Georgetown. Baylor started out as a three-point favorite and had a 10-point lead at halftime. Baylor had to rally, however, to win the game by two points.
Flaherty said wagering on the game increased significantly over what the handle would have been if just the outcome and total had been on the board. The back-and-forth lead changes during the game's second half factored into the wagering.
Early statistics from the system show customers placed anywhere from $200 to $2,000 on accounts for "in-running wagering." Customers have placed between eight and 50 wagers per game. The typical bet is in the $20 to $40 range, but some players have gambled as much as $250 each time the line changed.
"It's been quite fascinating to watch," Flaherty said. "We've also seen a number of women using the system."
For M Resort Chief Executive Officer Anthony Marnell III, new ideas that bring customers into the month-old property might turn them into long-term customers. The sports wagering idea adds to his goal of making M Resort one of the leading casinos for technology.
"Everything is done in real time and you can see the points, spread and money line fluctuate as the game goes on," Marnell said. "We're giving M's sports bettors the most innovative way to bet in the country and the most exciting way to do it."
