Felt is a full LED screen

Classic met modern at Harrah’s Las Vegas this past week, as the casino “rolled out” a new game called Roll to Win Craps. It is a craps table, to be sure, but replacing the traditional chips and felt is a giant, full-table-size LED screen.

adds video game-type elements to the craps experience

The Roll to Win Craps table adds video game-type elements to the craps experience, though the game itself is still the same. To make things more entertaining, the table uses its technological capabilities to add animations and sounds to the game. For example, the giant video screen might display dancing flames when a shooter gets hot. The table also displays relevant game information to make what is often a chaotic game easier to follow.

Players do not put chips on the table to place their bets with this new electronic craps table. Similar to how online casinos work, each player places their bets on a personal screen. Each station at the table accepts cash and pays out with tickets that can be cashed out later. The only equipment that is touched by anybody are the screens and dice – players still get the thrill of rolling the bones – which can be easily cleaned.

Making it easier for beginners

Rob Ziems, president of Aruze Gaming America Inc., the company that makes Roll to Win Craps, said that the goal of the table is to lower craps’ barriers to entry.

discover how exciting a great craps roll can be”

“All table games can be a little intimidating for new players, and craps is one of the most complex,” Ziems explained to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “By letting players learn at their own pace, we are helping a new generation of players discover how exciting a great craps roll can be.”

Each betting station has an “easy help” feature that, like playing online, gives the player information on odds and the mechanics of the game.

Aruze created Roll to Win Craps well before the COVID-19 pandemic, but is happy that it can be of benefit to casinos, limiting what players and dealers touch on a regular basis. Each station, as is the case with other table games, is equipped with plexiglass barriers. There are gaps, however, so that the thrower can lean in and have a proper roll of the dice.

Casinos moving to touchless, cashless gaming

Though video gambling machines have been around for decades, this is one of the first to take an entire table and make it electronic, rather than shrinking it to a slot machine-type terminal. It is similar to electronic poker tables, such as PokerPro by PokerTek, that started to gain traction in the mid-aughts.

Kickstarted by the pandemic and the desire to reduce touchpoints and, in turn, possible viral transfer, Nevada casinos have taken steps toward becoming cashless. Even before last year’s shutdowns, The D Las Vegas introduced “cashless ATMs” at casino tables, though they do come with hefty customer fees.

In June 2020, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved eight amendments concerning cashless gaming to help casinos move toward electronic payments for more games. Ellis Island Casino, Hotel and Brewery in Las Vegas launched Konami’s cashless casino slot markers that allow gamblers to use an electronic wallet to cash in and out of slot machines.

And just last month, the Nevada Gaming Control Board green-lit IGT’s cashless wallet technology for slots.