Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Industry Recognition  Jan 5, 2007: Game-to-System (G2S) protocol won first place at the 4 th Gaming & Technology Awards of 2006 and was named “Best Productivity-Enhancement Technology”  Jan 22, 2007: G2S won Silver award from International Gaming & Wagering Business magazine’s “Top Three International Gaming Products” for Selected by a panel of independent international judges on the basis of “innovation, efficiency, ease of use, end-user value, adaptation/integration, long-term value and revenue potential.”

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Our Mission The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) Is An International Trade Association That Creates Benefits For Gaming Manufacturers, Suppliers, Operators And Regulators. GSA Facilitates The Identification, Definition, Development, Promotion, And Implementation Of Open Standards To Enable Innovation, Education, And Communication For The Benefit Of The Entire Industry

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Our Platinum Members

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Membership Technology Driven Market Driven

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Value Proposition  Visibility  Standards enable data communication on three levels – GDS, G2S, S2S and provide 360º visibility of patron behaviors, playing habit, game preferences, dining, hospitality, entertainment activities…  Portability  More choices, simpler repeatable solutions  High quality consistent data, consistent, shared  Exit option  Investment Protection  Open standards are more robust  Smooth migration path…adapt to meet business needs / trends  Increased speed to market…enjoy market momentum  Increased ROI  Increase revenues by 360º visibility on customer data  Decrease costs by using more effective and efficient tools to manage, analyze and evaluate productivity and profitability of operations

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Standards Scorecard As of 01/06/2007

Good Things Happen When We All Pull Together

GSA / HTNG Operator’s Forum The G2S Advantage January 31, 2007

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage  EGMs Evolve with GSA’s G2S Protocol  New Concepts Introduced with G2S  Access New Information with G2S  Download vs. Configuration – what are they really?  General Discussion Agenda

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Current EGM Status with SAS

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Current EGM Status with SAS  SAS and one or more proprietary protocols are needed to get data from the EGM to the Slot System  All slot floor information is filtered through the Slot System  The duplicate database does not provide direct or real time information  Each system’s database has unique data structure and access methods  One monolithic Slot System for all functions

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Co-existence with Existing Slot Floor Apps

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Server Assisted Gaming – Part 1  First Step - remotely configuring EGMs with G2S  If G2S is only used for configuration, a second connection to the EGM is needed  You can start with any area of the gaming floor – one bank or area to start  Start with a wireless network, if desired, to minimize infrastructure costs

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Server Assisted Gaming – Part 1  Using G2S, one configuration workstation can configure any manufacturer’s games  Basic G2S commands can change active games, denominations, enable or disable the EGM, etc.  Make changes from your desk or via a schedule (no more trips to every EGM)  Change one, several, or all G2S EGMs - resulting in a much more flexible slot floor

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Moving from Configuration to Download  G2S Download is used to move new content to the gaming floor  Use G2S to control which modules are downloaded, just like configuring the EGMs  Then use configuration commands to activate the modules

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage G2S Impacts the CMS and Accounting Systems  Operators can now add and subtract services, rather than replacing the system to get a new feature  Services are business functions such as EGM configuration, voucher servers, slot analysis applications, etc.  Vendors can now compete on software applications  G2S allows open access to the data locked inside your EGMs

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Example – Slot Analysis  Discover which themes / paytables are most popular  Which denominations are most popular when?  Make changes remotely, then use this data for impact analysis  gamePlay device meters include all performance meters for each theme/paytable combination in the EGM  Class meters accumulate the totals for the EGM

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Historic Approach to Adding Functionality Slot Floor System VouchersBonusing Player Media Server

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage G2S (Web Services) Approach Slot Floor System Code DownloadVouchers Media Server Config Server Player Bonuses

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage G2S Promotes Innovation  Any authorized server can directly access any EGM’s data  Servers are authorized by the System Administrator  Each EGM has a registered host list  All communications use SSL – same as for business transactions on the Internet

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage G2S Promotes Innovation  G2S allows any server that speaks the protocol and is authorized by the Operator, to participate in the slot floor network  Event and Meter subscriptions allow a host to subscribe to specific information  Operators can “try out” new products to see if they like them  Products can compete using the same data – e.g. two data mining packages can be connected to the network at the same time.

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage SAS Problems Fade Away What causes SAS implementation problems?  Polling requires responses at inconvenient times  Responses must meet strict timing requirements  Implied acknowledgement of messages  Multiple interpretations of the SAS protocol make interoperability testing a requirement

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage SAS Problems Fade Away Why is G2S better?  G2S is made to be easily extended to accomodate new features and functions  G2S is an event driven protocol – the EGM (or system) acknowledges immediately, and then replies as soon as it is able  G2S uses proven Internet technology such as TCP/IP and Web Services, and is designed for reliability in a high traffic network

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage G2S Certification – Planned at the Start  The G2S Certification program is designed to minimize interoperability problems  With Certification testing, there is only one correct interpretation of the protocol for all EGMs and Systems  Feedback loop from Operators will ensure the Certification program remains viable (and relevant)

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Move to G2S?  Capabilities such as EGM configuration and Download become available  Better access to the data on the floor  SSL encryption on all communications from the EGM to the back of house severs  More flexible back of house configuration – modular system blocks that can be swapped in and out

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Move to G2S?  Real network protocol proven to provide reliable communications in high traffic, multiple host environments  Standard, off the shelf, proven network equipment  Certification program will be responsive to Operators  Fearless Installs – when EGMs correctly communicate to host systems when they are installed on the floor

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage EGMs Evolve with GSA’s G2S Protocol Questions?

Accessing the New Information

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Owner and Guest Hosts  A host is a software application  A host can be on a stand-alone server or one of several applications on a larger server  Individual hosts are separated to make their function clear – they do not have to be on an individual box  Within each EGM is a list of Registered Hosts – the only ones they will talk to

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Lots of New Information is Available  Owner Hosts control devices, change their settings, and generally cause things to happen on an EGM (write access)  Guest Hosts can’t control devices; but they can read information within the EGM’s data model (read-only access)  The Owner and Configuration host for each device is configured in the EGM (manually or via the commConfig class in G2S)

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Some Things an Owner Can Do  A host that “owns” the device has write access to that device – it has COMMAND and CONTROL authority  Cabinet – disable EGM, Money In, Money Out, Game Play  Currency Devices – Control which denoms are active, disable the device  Game Play Devices – Enable / disable, change active denominations  Player – Send messages, set point calculations, change hot player levels, double points, etc.

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Lots of New Information is Available  There is no protocol limit to the number of Hosts that may be exist on a network, but an EGM may have a limit based on its resources  An application can reside anywhere, as long as it can connect to the network and speak the G2S protocol  There may need to be some “regulatory adjustments” needed in order for non licensed manufacturers to connect servers to the slot network

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Can Any Host Do G2S? Can anyone put a host or guest host on the system?  No – A host must be specifically authorized by the system administrator  No – The host must be added to the registered host list in the EGMs to which it will be talking  No – A host must have a security certificate to set up the SSL encryption.

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Lots of New Information is Available Game Control Casino Host Marketing Surveillance Slot Director G2S Coin Acceptor Coin Hopper Note Acceptor Printer Touch Screen EGMGuest Hosts IT

Meters and Events

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Accessing Meter Information G2S Provides 4 ways to get meter information 1.End of Day Meters – Each host can specify a set of meters to be sent once a day at a specified time 2.Periodic Meters – Each host can specify a set of meters to be sent on a fixed interval (e.g. every 10 minutes). 3.With events – Each host can subscribe to events and have the Meters associated with that event included in the message 4.On demand – Any meters can be directly requested by any G2S application

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Types of Meters  Device Meters – Records the activity for an individual device  Class Meters – Records LTD activity for the EGM  Currency Meters – Provide a breakdown by currency for currency devices  Wager Category – Bets by Wager Category  Game Denom – Wager activity for each denomination within a gamePlay device

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage More on Meters  G2S mandates that all meters are updated before being reported through G2S  Meter updates always balance  All activity that occurs within the EGM is available through G2S meter reporting  Events affecting meters can include the affected meters

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Event Subscriptions What is an event?  Events describe almost everything that happens on and to an EGM – cabinet door open, service light on, game started, player card inserted, etc.  Event subscriptions allow a host to indicate the events in which it is interested  A host can also request that certain affected data be included with the event  Class or Device Meters  Transaction Log record  Device Status information

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Event Subscriptions  The G2S protocol is comprised of 24 classes  All G2S Classes have events – Handpay Class, Bonus Class, Progressive Class, etc.  Event subscriptions result in the requested information being sent directly to a specific host, whenever the event occurs  A host can always change its subscriptions

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Event Subscriptions 1.Ask the EGM for a list of events it supports 2.Set your event subscription with associated data 3.Sit back and wait for the events to start rolling in Having a standard protocol, data model, and transport make it easy to develop killer applications…

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Examples of Events Some Player Class Events  G2S_PRE100 Session Started  G2S_PRE101 Interval Rating  G2S_PRE102 Hot Player Threshold Reached  G2S_PRE103 Session Ended  G2S_PRE108 Player Override Set  G2S_PRE109 Player Override Activated  G2S_PRE110 Base Countdown Activated  G2S_PRE111 Player Carryover Set  G2S_PRE112 Player Point Balance Set  G2S_PRE113 Host Points Set  G2S_PRE114 Session Updated  G2S_PRE115 Un-Carded Hot Player Level 0  G2S_PRE116 Un-Carded Hot Player Level 1

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Examples of Events  G2S_CAE109 Coins Accepted  G2S_CAE107 Drop Door Opened  G2S_NAE114 Note Stacked  G2S_NAE112 Stacker Door Opened  G2S_GPE103 Primary Game Started  G2S_GPE105 Primary Game Ended  G2S_GPE110 Secondary Game Ended  G2S_GPE111 Game Result  G2S_GPE112 Game Ended

A Little Bit About the Network

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage No Traffic Jams on the Information Highway Network Backbone = 1 Billion bps

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage No Traffic Jams on the Information Highway  New Network infrastructure  1 Gbps backbone  100 Mbps to every EGM  Staff must transition from slot machine mechanics to network configuration and management  Slots + IT = Success  Don’t go cheap - like a computer, your network can’t be too fast  Can implement gradually, but your slot floor management system must get on board soon...

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Co-existence with Existing Slot Floor Apps

Download vs. EGM Configuration

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage What Are We Talking About  Software Download – Ability to transfer software from a content server in the Casino Server Room to an EGM on the floor, directed by a single Download Management terminal in the Slot Management Offices  EGM Configuration – The ability to remotely configure the EGM, including active game content that is available to patrons (game theme, denomination and paytable), by enabling and disabling software stored on the EGM from a Central Management Terminal

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage An Overview of the G2S Download Process

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Download?  Download NEW software to the EGM.  Remove or replace software due to operational or regulatory concerns  Can also download new game themes  Manufacturers can remotely update the Game Content Server(s)  New themes available automatically for trial or immediate placement on Casino floor

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Download?  Automatic peripheral software update  Update note acceptors remotely  Download new printer templates  Can manage downloads to occur automatically during slow periods  Automatic queuing – no need to shut banks down for software upgrade  New programs can be downloaded at night for later activation

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Download?  Goal for software download  Provide complete control of the software content on the floor from a central location  Know what is on the floor in all EGMS all the time  Agile floor configuration can rapidly adapt to any changes in an operator’s business

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Download Liabilities  Standalone EGMs have different requirements for Software Download  A Management System must provide software coordination between EGMs and the content server  Software downloaded must be verified as being complete and authentic for multiple manufacturers

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Challenges Facing Download  New Solutions are needed  Content Servers  System Management Point (SMP)  Firewalls for remote Content Server update  Peripheral equipment needs to be upgraded  Regulatory Approval is not trivial  Regulations do not exist in some jurisdictions

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Remote Configuration?  Select from any game currently configured on the EGM (enable / disable)  Indistinguishable from Download in most situations  No delays for software download – G2S remote configuration provides virtually immediate changes  Can change as a result of patron input provided software currently exists on the EGM  Software pricing is more defined

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Why Remote Configuration?  All software is already on the Casino floor  Most machines can be upgraded to be Remote Configuration capable  More defined regulatory approval  Remote configuration systems already approved in some jurisdictions  With G2S, all EGMs speak the same language, can all be configured via simple commands

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Challenges of Remote Configuration  Cannot automatically put new software on the floor.  Cannot remotely update software library  Cannot remove revoked software from the floor  Change of software confined to software already on the EGM  Cannot upgrade peripheral devices  Still need a high speed network However, this is a nice first step!

Next Steps

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage Current Realities  Novomatic adds G2S and demos at ICE, joining WMS and IGT in IGT’s SBG demo – changing theme and denomination on a schedule  Atronic demonstrates Option Configuration at G2E and ICE, changing language, sound volumes, denominations, and game themes  Labs will start certifying G2S in March  Several other EGM and system vendors are pushing towards G2S  International interest in G2S is very strong

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage What to Do  Conduct strategic planning sessions  Start planning for new casino floor infrastructure  Have a party for Slots + IT + Marketing  Figure out how to offer new features before your competitors  Plan to minimize disruptions on your floor while adding this new capabilities  Department disruption will be greater than TITO  JOIN GSA, get involved. The hard (intense technical) part is done. Now is certification and implementation planning.

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage An Easier Strategy  Do nothing  Go to trade shows once or twice a year – make sure there are plenty of parties and golf outings  Read an occasional trade magazine  Be surprised when your customers start going to other properties  React violently without advance planning  Good News – you still have about 2 years of peace

Jan 31, 2007Operators Forum - The G2S Advantage The Ending Note For on-going questions or inquires on protocols, please contact Marc McDermott Russ Ristine This presentation is available on GSA’s Website: [Now is the perfect time for questions and comments]