Betting Chips Meet Silicon Chips As Casinos Integrate Technology; Keeping Tabs On Bets; Radio frequency ID tags could help reduce fraud and streamline gambling.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Publication: Investor's Business Daily

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Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA

Betting chips, usually made of plastic or fired clay, are getting a new ingredient: silicon.

Over the last five years, various casinos have tested the idea of adding radio frequency identification tags to their betting chips. The RFID tags send data to a dealer's personal computer, making it easier to track the amount that individual players are betting in games like blackjack or roulette.

Some early tests didn't get far. One problem was the cost of RFID chips, which had been priced at several dollars apiece. They've also been a bit slow, taking several seconds to kick out data.

Now Progressive Gaming International -- a Las Vegas-based developer of gaming technology -- has come up with a cheaper, faster RFID betting...

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