When I think of NFC technology, I think my office key fob or tapping my credit card on a card machine to pay for something worth £20 or less.  NFC and also Beacon technology have been around for a while now and many of us take advantage of it in everyday life, even if we aren’t aware of it.

NFC and Beacon technology have clear benefits for the gambling industry, especially when it comes to land based casinos and their mobile apps.  The technology enables patrons to receive offers on their mobiles for casino games, online and offline and also for shops, restaurants, clubs, etc, from within the property.

Tapcentive, one of the GiGse 2015 Start-Up Launchpad finalists, is a mobile engagement platform company that bridges the physical and digital worlds by using both NFC and Beacon technology.  I spoke with the company’s CEO Dave Wentker to find out how his company’s innovative technology can deliver gamified targeted incentives to patrons and why this is such an effective engagement tool for casinos.

Becky Liggero: Thank you so much for joining me today, Dave.  Lets start with how NFC and Beacons have changed the mobile marketing landscape and what the difference is between the two technologies? 

Jeffrey Haas, Group Director of Poker at bwin.party digital entertainment delivers his baby and then the news that he will be leaving the soon to be acquired outfit to experience a new adventure.

Jeffrey Haas delivered a baby.

A real, bloody, screaming and kicking baby.

Think about those moments. You know the ones of which I speak. The ones you hope never come your way: spending a day in Ikea with the wife, gardening, watching cricket – delivering a baby.

The Latin American Poker Tour stop in Peru has come to a climax with the Chilean Claudio Moya taking the Main Event title and America’s Scott Davies doing likewise in the High Roller.

I told you a big fat porky pie yesterday.

When bringing you the news that PokerStars had announced plans to merge the Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) Season 8 Finale with the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Millions, I told you that the only event left on the tour stop, until that point, was Uruguay.

I was wrong.

Frenchman Laurent Polito has won his fourth World Poker Tour National Series Main Event in less than three years, after victory over Michal Mrakes at the recent series in Brussels.

I heard someone say the other day that repetition is the bane of sensationalism. Today, that quote reminds me of Laurent Polito. It might not be a name that you associate with sensationalism, and that’s rather my point. But he is a master of

[Image Credit: WPT]

repetition – one of the best in the business.

In this week’s confessions series Lee Davy carries out a time and motion study in an Orbit with a Writer.

07:26 – I see green. I rip the frog from my eyes (another story for another time). I roll over and pick up my mobile phone. It’s on the floor reducing my risk of head cancer.

07:28 – That’s not bad, I told my brain to wake me at 07.30. Who needs an alarm clock?

07:30 – My alarm clock scares the shit out of me.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands fell prey to Macau’s doldrums, reporting across the board declines in the second quarter of 2015.

Revenue in the three months ending June 30 fell 19.4% to $2.92b, while adjusted earnings fell 22.6% to $1.02b and net income fell 30.1% to $469.2m. Sands China remained the primary moneymaker, although its revenue fell 25.6% to $1.77b, adjusted earnings fell 29.5% to $564.5m and profit fell 37.3% to $388.7m.

VIP gambling turnover was down across the board in Macau, with Sands Cotai Central taking the biggest hit, falling a whopping 61.1% year-on-year. VIP turnover was also down double-digits at Venetian Macao (-38.1%), Four Seasons (-26%) and Sands Macao (-49.9%).

Mass market gaming was similarly sucky, with Sands Macao falling 28.9%, while Venetian Macao (-25%), Sands Cotai (-22.3%) and Four Seasons (-24.5%) were also sharply down.