2009

In Las Vegas, Sports Books in a Pocket

12/27/09

LAS VEGAS — For decades, sports bettors in this city have queued up at sports book windows and handed over cash in exchange for paper tickets formalizing their bets.

At the Palazzo, using a device called the PocketCasino for sports bets.

Tracy Vale, right, placed a wager last week during a Monday Night Football game, with David Ehrlich at the Palazzo Las Vegas.

But on a recent Sunday in the sports book at the M Resort in nearby Henderson, gamblers seeking action on professional and college football games were engaging in a much different ritual: betting through hand-held devices no larger than a smartphone.

The technology, part of a new system from Cantor Gaming, a subsidiary of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, lets gamblers place bets on certain sporting events like football or baseball, tennis matches and horse races from anywhere in the casino and play other games like blackjack and baccarat.

Gamblers can also for the first time wager on the outcomes of events as the events transpire. When a football team lines up for a field goal, for example, bettors can bet on whether the kicker will make it or miss.

Not surprisingly, casino operators like it. They are always trying to make their books more profitable. While annual casino revenue in Nevada hovers around $10 billion, last year revenue from sports bets was only $125 million, or 1.25 percent of that amount.

“All of a sudden, these same people who were betting once or twice a game at the beginning of a sporting event can place wagers every minute if they want,” says Anthony A. Marnell III, chief executive of the M Resort. “Having this technology changes the entire equation for everyone involved.”

To wager, bettors still fork over cash to human ticket writers in the sports book, but those workers simply convert the money into electronic credits, which are stored in a triple-encrypted database hosted on backroom servers.

At the M Resort, gamblers have two options to use these credits: they can sit in front of touch-screen monitors in the sports book that resemble airline check-in kiosks, or they

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can check out location-aware wireless hand-helds, called eDecks. These devices then connect to the casino servers over a secured wireless Internet connection.

The eDecks resemble chubby iPhones, and can be taken almost anywhere in the casino — into the lounges and restaurants, for example. Bettors, however, cannot use them (or any other devices) while playing table games.

At the sports books at the Venetian and the Palazzo on the Strip, eDecks are the only option, and have been rebranded as PocketCasino.

In both introductions, the portable devices offer standard sports bets and are already loaded with software that allows supplemental wagering in the form of blackjack and baccarat games. The games include basic wagers, as well as propositional bets that dynamically calculate odds based on the cards dealt.

The betting during events option is called in-running betting, and Lee Amaitis, chief executive of Cantor Gaming, says oddsmakers have dreamed of this for decades but have lacked the number-crunching resources to hang lines at game speed.

To solve this problem, Cantor Gaming sets its in-game lines based upon algorithms from the financial services world. Mr. Amaitis says these algorithms are variations of those created by a sister company, Cantor Index, a financial spread-betting company in London that offers bets on various markets including equities, indices, bonds and commodities.

“We’ve created an environment in which we’re trading sports,” Mr. Amaitis said. “With markets, realities and probabilities of future events are changing constantly. It’s no different in sports; each game has millions of permutations and potential outcomes we can offer as odds.”

Despite its pedigree, Cantor Gaming’s eDeck technology had to overcome a number of challenges before it was approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission in 2008. First was the issue of security. The company requires all eDeck users to obtain a plastic card embedded with a Radio Frequency Identification chip. When bettors check out a device, ticket writers program it to work only within a few feet of that chip, so no other people can pick up the device and wager on the original user’s account.

Sunny Tara, Cantor Gaming’s chief technology officer, says that as soon as the device can no longer read the RFID chip, it prohibits any further betting before being reset.

Mr. Tara said another security precaution was to protect all monetary transactions by relegating them to back-end servers. “The portable devices are sophisticated, but they really are just tools to access the real technology, which sits on the servers,” Mr. Tara said.

He added that the devices transmitted data over channels “not normally used” for mainstream Wi-Fi.

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A second challenge for Cantor Gaming has been persuading old-school sports bettors to embrace the new approach.

Mark Goldman, director of race and sports for the Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas, said his sports books were licensing 200 eDecks. Older gamblers have been slow to adopt them, he said, but younger bettors have shown interest. The overall betting has increased since October.

“Once most people know this is available, they seem pretty interested to try it out,” Mr. Goldman said. “This is something we’ll probably have in our sports books for a long, long time.”

2009

Global Gaming Business - Online

12/25/2009

International gaming companies go wireless

As the world becomes increasingly connected, casino operators are seeking ways to take advantage of new technology. Mobile gaming-the use of hand-held devices to play casino games-is quickly becoming more prevalent, with advancements in Nevada and across Europe enabling casino companies to bring gaming into the future.

In Europe, mobile gaming is tied to internet gaming, with licensed internet gaming companies providing accounts for users to remotely access games via iPods or other touch-screen, hand-held devices. In the United States, internet gambling is illegal, but in 2005, Nevada passed Assembly Bill 471, legalizing mobile gaming in connection with land-based casinos. The bill allows "the conduct of gambling games through communications devices operated solely in public areas of an establishment which holds a nonrestricted gaming license and which operates at least 100 slot machines and at least one other game by the use of communications technology that allows a person to transmit information to a computer to assist in the place of a bet or wager and corresponding information related to the display of the game, game outcomes or other similar information."

In 2009, Cantor Gaming became the first company in Nevada to successfully implement mobile gaming in select casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

Gaming on the Go

Cantor Gaming has benefited from the passage of Assembly Bill 471 in Nevada. During the four years since the state's legalization of mobile gaming, Cantor has worked to craft a system that adheres to Nevada's regulations while also broadening the gaming industry's horizons. The end result, a mobile gaming system that is currently operational at M Resort, the Venetian and the Palazzo, has been a success, says Cantor President and CEO Lee Amaitis.

According to Amaitis, mobile gaming revenue comprises approximately 75 percent of the company's business these days.

"I think the business is going to explode; it's just a matter of when, because we already see the interest of the client in it," Amaitis says. "There are regulatory hurdles that have to be met on everything that happens on the new products... But that's the way it is, and we knew that going in. We've felt that we spent a lot of time developing technology, manufacturing the devices, making it a good user experience. We're happy with the results to date, even in a down economy."

The appeal of mobile gaming is twofold: For casino operators in Nevada, mobile gaming enables guests to continue playing, even if they walk away from the casino floor. Though amenities like restaurants, pools and spas have become an integral part of a casino's success, they are also dead zones as far as gaming goes. Now, players can

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take the games with them. For players, hand-held devices provide the freedom to move around the casino without worrying about having cash on hand or using chips.

Amaitis says properties that offer swim-up blackjack and other means of gaming away from the casino floor have faced an interesting conundrum that mobile gaming resolves.

"Let's say I'm in my bathing suit; I'm at the pool," he says. "I'm on a pool chair. I don't have the luxury of, let's say, a cabana. Do I have my wallet with me? Probably not. Do I have my room key? Yeah, because that's how you get access to the pool. Now I need my players' card. I've got to take a marker. Do I bring cash with me and put it in? Most people don't. Let's say I buy a $1,000 marker at the pool. They give me $1,000 worth of chips. Let's say I'm now at $600. I don't want to play anymore. I can't buy my marker back because it's a $1,000 marker and I only have $600 worth of chips. To do a partial is a lot of paperwork. Most people don't have the patience to do that. Now I have to take $600 in chips with me and put them in my bathing suit. It's not really conducive.

"What does mobile gaming do? You have the device. It's brought to you by an attendant, or you check it out from an attendant. When you leave, you drop it to the attendant. Your account is credited or debited based on your play. When you want to pick up your money, you just go to the cage and pick up your money. It is far more convenient to use a mobile device."

In Europe, the impetus behind mobile gaming is different in that gaming via hand-held devices is not directly tied to land-based casinos, though casinos can work with mobile gaming companies to create promotions that will encourage players to return to their properties. Alvin5, an Istanbul-based mobile gaming company, offers its gaming applications on Apple's iPod products, which its casino clients in turn can provide as complimentary gifts to guests.

"After a couple of months of working and talking with clients, we realized that the iPod Touch is so cost-effective, and this cost-effectiveness enables operators to give this device to its customers as a gift, as part of a promotional or marketing or royalty program," says Alvin5 CTO and founder Bora Turan. "This concept created another concept, and that is when the customer takes his gift iPhone or iPod, with the games installed, and takes it home and plays outside the casino. This gives operators an opportunity to offer gaming-mainly online gaming-outside their casinos."

IGT's remote gambling subsidiary, WagerWorks, is also based in Europe, primarily in the United Kingdom. WagerWorks is able to provide its parent company's content to mobile gaming customers through iPhones and other touch-screen devices.

"Through the simple integration of our mobile system, our current online customers can now offer their players the same great titles on mobile that they currently play online and through their television," says WagerWorks General Manager Oliver Lofthouse. "IGT's group strategy is to offer great content across all platforms so that players can access

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the games they like, wherever and whenever they like. In the remote gaming market, game content is now available online, mobile and via interactive digital television."

Euro Vision

With online gaming licensed and regulated in Europe, gaming companies which operate on the continent are able to offer games on mobile devices in the same way American companies offer apps on the iPhone. Alvin5 is currently partnering with internet gaming company Betfair to make online gaming via iPhone or iPod advantageous for both the internet gaming sector and the application developer.

"If I have some sort of website, and if a customer registers its service, or if a customer registers Betfair from my referral or from my website, Betfair gives me 25 percent of the net winnings of this customer any time he plays," Turan says. "If land-based casino operators offer this service within their property and they enable customers to register for Betfair, they will be affiliates of Betfair. What this means is that Betfair or any sports betting operator will give some revenues to the casino. This is also something unique in the industry. This has not yet been tested, but we hope to make this concept a reality in January."

Though Alvin5's concept is not applicable to the United States as long as online gaming is illegal there, Turan says the company is working to make remote gaming for prizes or sweepstakes instead of cash a possibility for American customers.

WagerWorks General Manager Oliver Lofthouse says the European practice of offering online gaming on cell phones is simply the next step in a century where mobile devices can be all things to all people.

"Ten years ago the mobile was purely a communication device for making calls," Lofthouse says. "Now it is a camera, music player, organizer and internet device. With mobile phone technology advancing rapidly, it is only a matter of time before more gaming operators tap into the benefits of mobile gaming. WagerWorks therefore sees the evolution of mobile gaming as a positive development for casinos that will stand as a companion and indispensable extension to their current games offering."

Cantor Gaming began its mobile gaming operations in Europe with its Cantor Mobile application, which was developed to display interactive prices from the company's bookmaking business in the United Kingdom. Cantor then began offering the abiity to trade U.S. treasuries on Blackberry phones, which Amaitis says was indicative of Cantor's ability to provide secure, regulated networks.

Though Cantor is now focused on bringing mobile gaming to America, its Cantor Mobile product has been applicable to its U.S. business. The company recently introduced eDeck, a hand-held device from which Nevada players can access games within the three casinos that are Cantor's clients.

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"Nevada was one of the first states to pass the internet gaming bill way back when, but never enacted it because the federal government said, 'You can't regulate that; there's no way you can do that so you cannot,'" Amaitis says. "I read that, saw that, and came with the concept to Nevada and said, 'Look, I can control the network where it never leaves Nevada.' In theory, yes, you can operate inside the state boundaries where you'll never violate a federal law. That was sort of the concept around eDeck."

Back to the Future

As mobile gaming expands its reach in gaming jurisdictions around the world, its possibilities seem endless. Cantor Gaming recently rolled out its new in-running sports betting system via hand-held devices, allowing players to place bets on sports games after an event has begun.

"You could actually do more things-propositional betting, whether a team could make a first down or not in a series of downs, and so forth," Amaitis says. "In-running allows you to trade your position, and basically do other things that are evolved, such as the propositional bets you can make to enhance your wager. As the technology and the knowledge and the people's ability to use the technology evolve, we'll actually offer more products. We have it operational at M, and we operate it for the Venetian and Palazzo. We've seen an uptick. More clients come in; more clients feel comfortable making a bet. 'I've missed the kickoff; now I'm stuck.' No, you're not stuck. Here's a bet you can make."

While Cantor is developing new ways to apply its offerings to mobile gaming, other companies are waiting to see what the future of internet gambling will be in the United States. If the U.S. decides to lift its ban on online gaming, mobile gaming could spread throughout the country.

"The future of remote gaming in the U.S market is still unknown; however, the recent interest in mobile lotteries and mobile skill gaming suggests it may be something that develops in the future once legislation changes," Lofthouse says. "WagerWorks strongly believes in regulatory compliance as one of its strategy pillars, and once the regulatory and control authorities are in place for mobile gaming, WagerWorks will look to expand into the U.S market."

2009

2009

Cantor Fitzgerald Hopes to Bring Spread Betting to Las Vegas Casinos

Brokerage's Cantor Gaming subsidiary already makes markets for spread betting in the U.K. and sports wagering in Las Vegas resorts. Next, it hopes regulators will permit spread betting in Nevada.

By Penny Crosman Dec 14, 2009

People often refer to Wall Street as a casino, but New York City institutional brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald's Cantor Gaming subsidiary brings a literal truth to that metaphor. Last year, it brought the eSpeed trading platform its brokers use out to Las Vegas, where tourists use it to bet on sporting events via wireless devices. Next year, Cantor Gaming hopes to debut wireless betting on the financial markets at the Vegas resorts.

How does a firm go from Wall Street voice brokerage to survivor of the devastation of September 11, 2001 to Vegas? The force behind this is Cantor Gaming's CEO, Lee Amaitis, who is also vice chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald's affiliate, BGC Partners.

Amaitis began working at Aqueduct racetrack at the age of 16 and eventually became a horse trainer. In the 1980s, he worked at Fundamental Brokers in New York City. In 1995, he joined Cantor Fitzgerald; a year later, he moved to Europe to run the U.K. division. "We started in the U.K. getting involved in things like internet gaming and developing technology for people to bet on the financial markets," he says. Internet gambling and "spread betting" are popular in Europe. Spread betting is similar to day trading in that you're betting on which direction a stock will move, but it's tax-free and doesn't require the actual purchase of stock.

"Pretty much everyone in the U.K. gambles, they either gamble during the day or they gamble at night, but they gamble," Amaitis says. Cantor formed Cantor Index, one of the first financial service companies to offer spread betting. Cantor Fitzgerald built the technology in-house to support it.

In the U.S., spread betting and internet gambling are illegal. Nevada was the first state to pass an internet gaming law but never enacted it because of federal restrictions. "I said, 'I've got to figure out a way to cross that bridge,'" Amaitis recalls. He came up with the idea of building a wireless network and mobile devices that would allow people to gamble only in Nevada. "I presented that concept to the Nevada Gaming Control Board five years ago and they thought I was completely insane and that the operators and builders of these casinos would kill me," he says. But Amaitis said he didn't want to run a casino, but only to build and license the technology for wireless gambling. "I didn't want to give up because I thought it was too good an idea," he says.

Amaitis pursued the idea in several follow-up meetings with the Nevada officials, who said they would need a new law to allow mobile gambling. So Cantor wrote and sponsored a bill that was passed in 2005. In October 2008, Cantor's mobile gaming system was approved and in March of this year, it was deployed at the M Resort. "Our philosophy is to use the applications we're so versed with in financial trading and apply them to gaming," Amaitis says.

Cantor Fitzgerald had rolled out mobile trading in 2005. "We were the first to put U.S. Treasuries on a BlackBerry in real time, with a guaranteed latency of less than 100 milliseconds; that was unheard of," Amaitis says. Components of eSpeed's matching engines and the BlackBerry trading application were rolled into the handheld gaming device, eDeck.

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eDeck offers in-running sports wagering, which means people can place bets at any time throughout sporting events such as college football games. "In the U.K. and Europe, 70% of all wagers on sports are made after an event starts," Amaitis says. "In the U.S. that number was zero, until Cantor started offering it at the at the M in March." Today, about 8% of Cantor's "handle" (total amount of money bet on events) at the M sports book is in-running. "It's still a small number but at the end of the day it's above zero and it's getting more popular as the day goes on," Amaitis notes.

Cantor is the principal on those transactions, so there is risk, which the firm monitors with a risk management system attached to its price making system. "It's impossible to match every bet against every bet," he says, especially when there are 150 sporting events in one weekend. "But you can manage the probabilities of risk. You start to see the profiles of players and you understand which way people go, which you can factor in." Cantor Gaming bought odds maker Las Vegas Sports Consultants, Amaitis says, "so we have a vested interest that the line is a true line."

Casinos carry little to no risk, Amaitis explains. "Casinos have a mathematical hold on the game and the longer players play, the more chance they have to not win," he says. "The only time casinos lose money is if someone comes in for a short hit, wins money and leaves. If a player stays at the table, he's going to lose his money. That is why they built these buildings — they weren't built for losing, but for winning."

Sports wagering is different, he says, because the amounts wagered are smaller and the line is harder to hold. "The way you do it is you apply the mathematics of probability," he says. "We put seven million permutations into our pricing model for the NFL alone. The development work for that mathematical formula is tremendous investment, it's not a short-term gain." It's similar to the price modeling performed on Wall Street. Just like the quants who price bonds, the firm performs Monte Carlo simulations to come up with the odds.

The application Cantor Gaming is hoping to bring to Nevada next year, pending approval from state regulators, is called Financial Fixed Odds. It's operational in the U.K. and it allows people to bet against movements in the markets. Cantor makes prices for these bets based on algorithms developed in eSpeed. Wagers can be placed over two-minute, five-minute 30-minute or day's long increments of time. The amounts wagered can be $10 to $1,000. "This will allow people in the state of Nevada to trade the market without having to go through a brokerage account," Amaitis says. "If I like gold or don't like gold today, I've got to go through all the paperwork to invest in stock, options or futures. There's nothing wrong with that, but this system will allow you to bet $100 on gold now for the next two minutes and then walk away."

Regulations require that Cantor Gaming keep its IT infrastructure — wireless devices and the servers that serve data to them — at a licensed operator. "Ideally we'd love to have a giant server farm in the middle of the desert to supply all the technology to all the casinos," Amaitis notes. "That's how we do our electronic trading in BGC, through massive server farms around the world."

Cantor's competition in Las Vegas is what Amaitis calls the "box guys," vendors of slot machines such as Bally's, IGT and WMS, who see the mobile gaming devices as a cannibalization of their business, "just like electronic trading was somewhat of a cannibalization of the voice brokering business," Amaitis says. Yet he believes his firm is meeting the needs of people who want to enjoy the restaurants, bars and shows in Vegas and gamble in a more comfortable environment than a casino. "We've been able to convert what most casinos call dead space into a casino space," he says.

2009

2009

Cantor Looks to Score with Sports Gambling September 10, 2009 Joe Giannone Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the worlds biggest bond dealers, is bringing Wall Street to Las Vegas. Cantor Gaming, a unit of the New York securities firm, offers a wireless handheld device that allows visitors to Las Vegas Sands Corp’s Venetian, Palazzo, and M Resort Spa & Casino wager on sporting events, both pregame and while they are in progress. “I’m in the brokerage business. We are the ultimate book-maker. We pair off everybody,” Cantor Gaming Chief Executive Lee Amaitis told Reuters in an exclusive interview. He expects to sign up three or more casinos by the first quarter, expanding its foothold in the gambling mecca. “Over the next five years, I think you’ll see a giant up-surge of sports wagering. We expect the sports wagering handle in Nevada to double,” the bond market veteran said. Cantor officials say running a sports book is not a big stretch from what the firm’s traders have done for more than 60 years: match buyers and sellers. Moreover, Cantor Gaming’s “In Running” sports gambling system evolved from the wireless bond trading technology Cantor has used since 2002. Cantors systems even use computer algorithms to calculate odds for mid-game events. The potential is high said Amaitis, who set up residence in Las Vegas to oversee the business. Compared with Britain, where wagering on sports and game outcomes is well established, Las Vegas is playing penny ante. BIG STAKES Statewide, Nevada’s casinos in the year ended July 31 won $10.7 billion from slots, blackjack, roulette and other table games, according to a recent state Gaming Control Board report. Of that, only about $120 million came from sports. “They don’t focus on sports betting. They look at it as a service, to keep people happy,” he said of Nevada’s casinos. That’s just not paying attention to the opportunity.” By comparison, Amaitis said British bookmakers handled $100 million of bets during one Wimbledon tennis match. Two-thirds of UK Sports wagers are made after a match starts, he said. Allowing gamblers to make bets once games begin will help Las Vegas casinos expand the volume of sports wagers and potentially create some repeat customers. As professional football season kicks off in the United States this week, “In Running” gamblers can place bets on total points and first down or complete a field goal. Amaitis said the service will also be available for other baseball and other sports.

2009

Continued… PAVING THE WAY Cantor jumped through a lot of hoops to launch the business. Amaitis said he and other Cantor Gaming partners had to secure licenses from the state. The closely held firm also drafted legislation allowing it to operate a wireless gambling network within Nevada casinos. State authorities wanted to prevent gambling where casinos could not observe bettors, he said. As a result, Cantor’s mobile devices work only in public spaces, such as convention facilities and restaurants, that are under surveillance; not in hotel rooms. Amaitis expects demand or sports gambling, as well as Cantor’s “edeck” mobile casino games, will catch on over time with visitors. There is also a learning curve for casino operators. Amaitis, who over the years was tapped to lead Cantor’s expansion into Europe and run a number of important businesses, said he is pitching mobile gaming all over Las Vegas. “We facilitate markets. Gaming is just one opportunity we saw where out technology and expertise make it possible to handle transactions and provide liquidity,” he said. “There is a big market here yet to be realized.”

2009

A Market Approach to Sports Betting Business October 20, 2009 By Eileen Di Rocco "Trading sports." That’s the term Lee Amaitis prefers to use when talking about the sports betting business. The Cantor Gaming president and CEO effuses enthusiasm when discussing the concept and likens the race and sports book industry to the financial markets.

But before getting too deeply into his subject, he took a slight detour as we sat in the back of M Resort’s sports book over the weekend. He wanted to clear up a persistent rumor floating through the race and sports book industry.

"Lou D’Amico still works for us," he said with no hesitation. "We hired him before we opened to run the race book; that’s where his expertise lies. We have Mike Colbert as manager of the book and Andrew Garrood handles risk management.

"In addition to the horses," Amaitis continued, "Lou is also under a consulting contract to help us develop new promotions and ways to use the technology we’ve introduced."

It was clear Amaitis considered these men a team, each with his own area of responsibility and expertise.

With that out of the way, he turned his attention back to trading sports, in-running betting and account wagering.

In-running betting (IRB) is an idea that evolved from the Cantor Index, a leading financial spread betting company established in 2000. The London company – an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald, a major player in global financial services – offers spread bets on various markets, including shares, indices, bonds and commodities.

It was simply a matter of "tweaking the algorithms a bit" to apply them to the sports betting world, according to Garrood, who has been with Cantor for 10 years and is clearly infected with the same enthusiasm Amaitis displays. Currently, Andrew is executive director of LVSC, which sets the lines for Las Vegas sports books and is also owned by Cantor.

In-running betting "will reshape the way sports wagering is done," Garrood asserts. "It adds an extra thrilling dimension."

The concept is simple. After a game has started, bettors are given an opportunity to continue to make bets on various propositions that are offered throughout the game via handheld devices or at gaming terminals at each seat in the M sports book, which is managed by Cantor.

A great example is Sunday’s New England-Tennessee blow out, one of Cantor’s IRB options. While Titans bettors around town were dismal, those at M Resorts participating in IRB were busy taking advantage of opportunities to recover their initial bets.

"We had action the entire game," Mike Colbert told GamingToday Monday morning. "At one point the line was Patriots -59; that’s probably the first time in NFL history a line has been that high."

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In addition, players could bet on the outcome of every drive during the game or play the over/under line. According to Colbert, thousands of dollars were wagered during the last six minutes of the game.

How do you get in on this? Simply open an account in the sports book at M, or The Venetian or Palazzo, which have contracted with Cantor to offer the in-running option.

Once an account is open, you can sit in comfort and make all your bets – horse wagers, sports wagers, in-running wagers – and never have to stand in line again. Or, if you feel like playing a little poker or blackjack while a game is going on, simply sign out a handheld device and take it with you. You can then continue to make in-running bets anywhere throughout the casino.

In either case, when you make a score, your winnings are automatically credited to your account – instantly.

IRB is exactly what Amaitis is referring to when he talks about sports trading.

"When the markets open in the financial world that’s when people trade," Amaitis said. "When there’s a kickoff in a sports bet people have nothing to do but watch the game. What we’ve done is create a platform for people to trade sports."

But can Cantor make money with this type of wagering?

Indeed, Amaitis insists. As in the financial world, he says, it’s a matter of volume and liquidity.

Although neither Amaitis nor Garrood would discuss actual dollars, both insisted account wagering, which makes up about 75% of the handle at M, and in-running betting are providing substantial volume and have the potential to exponentially grow the betting handle.

What’s in the future?

Plenty, but again neither gentleman would disclose too much. However, they did say propositions for horse racing would be available on handheld devices in the near future, and there was mention of match bets and scratch cards, but no details were given. They will also be adding a betting window in the VIP seating area to accommodate some of their higher wagering customers.

Cantor Gaming is a forward looking company capable of thinking outside the box. In the current economy, Las Vegas is struggling and the operating models that worked for years now seem ineffective. Maybe thinking outside the box is exactly what we need.

See you around town.

2009

Sports bets at your fingertips In-Running Wagering at Palazzo offers gamblers instant accessibility to the book October 13, 2009 By Howard Stutz Kelly Allbright of Atlanta quickly became a fan of In-Running Wagering, a mobile gambling system offered at Lagasse's Stadium sports book inside Palazzo. After a weekend of wagering on college and professional football, Allbright had made so many wagers using the hand-held device that he lost count.

Prior to the kickoff of Sunday's NFL afternoon action, Allbright still had $900 of his original $1,000 bankroll.

"If I'm losing, it allows me to cover my wagers and bet the other side," Allbright said of the device, which is a little larger than an iPhone. "I pretty much blew out the battery Saturday."

In-Running Wagering, dubbed "PocketCasino" at Palazzo and The Venetian, allows gamblers to bet on whether a team will make the next first down or make a field goal as well as the point spreads and money lines on selected games. On other games, just the point spreads and money lines are updated.

Las Vegas-based Cantor Gaming developed the system and introduced it in the spring at M Resort during the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

"If you can use a BlackBerry, you can use this," Allbright said.

A few tables over at the Palazzo, Gregg Layman of Panama, who works for an online wagering site, found the system similar to what Internet sports bettors are offered.

Layman won wagers the first two times he tried the system, taking the Cincinnati Bengals on the money line just before the team scored a last-second touchdown to beat the Baltimore Ravens. He also wagered successfully on New England scoring a touchdown against Denver.

"This is going to grow in popularity," Layman said. "I wish I could use it from home."

Danny Tubiolo of Rochester, N.Y., was hooked after the opening drive of the New England-Denver game.

"It's fun to bet if a kicker will make or miss a field goal," he said.

By letting customers bet as lines change throughout the game, In-Running Wagering drove up the daily betting handle at M Resort's sports book, which Cantor operates under a management contract.

At the time, Cantor officials thought the system was made for college and professional football because it offers more betting action.

"I think we're being proven correct," Cantor Gaming Chief Executive Officer Lee Amaitis said after the technology company brought In-Running Wagering to The Venetian and Palazzo sports books in time for football

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Mark Goldman, director of race and sports at the two casinos operated by Las Vegas Sands Corp., said he has seen interest in the product climb week by week.

"We have ambassadors working the room, handing out information," Goldman said. "Once people understand it, it's pretty easy to use. I think it adds to the excitement."

Customers check out the In-Running Wagering devices and place money on account to be used for wagers. On the tablet, betting lines are changed and updated throughout the game.

Gamblers cash out when the game ends and the device is returned. Technology allows In-Running Wagering to be active throughout the casino.

"Without giving away any proprietary numbers, we have easily seen handles well over six figures on certain games in which In-Running Wagering is used," Amaitis said.

Cantor designates only one morning and one afternoon game for In-Running Wagering, as well as the Sunday night and Monday night professional football games. Individual college games played on Thursdays or Fridays are also entered into the system.

"We try and find the games that we are pretty sure there will be a lot of interest," Amaitis said.

Goldman said the In-Running Wagering game can be switched at the last minute. Last weekend's planned afternoon NFL contest had been Atlanta and San Francisco, which turned out to be a 45-10 blowout win by the Falcons.

Luckily, Goldman said, Cantor switched the game just before kickoff to the more competitive New England and Denver game, which the Broncos won on a field goal in overtime, 20-17.

Cantor was the first company licensed by gaming regulators to bring hand-held wagering devices into Nevada casinos. In-Running Wagering is a product of that system. Cantor Gaming is a subsidiary of the worldwide financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald.

After its successful tryout with the NCAA basketball tournament, In-Running Wagering was used for the National Basketball Association playoffs, horse racing events and selected Major League Baseball games.

"We want to get people interested and we think the product will expand," Amaitis said.”

Danny Tubiolo of Rochester, N.Y., keeps a close eye on a football game as he holds an In-Running Wagering device Sunday inside Lagasse’s Stadium at Palazzo. The so-called PocketCasino enables Tubiolo to make bets on the fly.

Photo by David Becker/Review-Journal

2009

KVVU FOX Fox 5 Las Vegas September 11, 2009 7:22 am “Cantor Fitzgerald and its affiliates process over $140 trillion worth of financial services business a year, so we use that technology to create mobile gaming and in running sports wagering… In-running allows you to make wagers during a whole sporting event which is a dramatic breakthrough in sports wagering. We think it’s going to change the face of sports wagering”

CNBC

“Fast Money” September 18, 2009 5:44 pm “Cantor Gaming recently launched a new way for casino go-ers to place their bets on sporting events in Vegas… It fits in the palm of your hand and you can make wagers during the game. It’s been very well received”.

2009

September 16, 2009 By Chad Millman Vegas has made in-game betting a reality, so the action truly is endless. You've got that innate football fan instinct, right? The one that, because you've watched so many games over the years, tells you by the way a

kicker walks, by the way a QB drops back, by the way a runner shifts his weight, whether or not he will miss it, complete it, break it open. Well, now you can prove it. For years, the sports betting world has slowly been moving away from stogie-chewing wise guys making power ratings to quant geeks making complicated, game-predicting formulas. Now the bookmakers are catching up. The newest innovation in Vegas this season is what the M casino is doing on Sundays. And Saturdays. And Fridays. And even on Thursdays if they can. It's called in-game wagering and it means exactly what you think: Every play is, well, in play. "You can bet on what the outcome of every drive is going to be," says Andrew Garrood, the genius who came up with the program for Cantor Gaming, a subsidiary of the financial services firm Cantor- Fitzgerald, which runs in-game wagering for the M. "Will it be a punt, a pickoff, every time there is a play there is a new prize. The numbers change in the blink of an eye." Garrood is an Englishman and avid bettor who spent 11 years working around Europe as an investment banker in the derivatives market. But about a decade ago he got hooked up with Cantor and began applying what he learned about financial markets to betting markets. "We were moving away from people with experience to models that could analyze complex derivatives," says Garrood. "Now we are doing it with sports." While that could potentially spell doom for Vegas bookmakers -- those guys train for their jobs the way blacksmiths once served apprenticeships -- it's a boon for bettors. Garrood has been plying his in-game wagering system in Europe for a few years, on games punters (British slang for bettors) love like soccer, rugby and cricket (British for baseball that is longer, more boring and more complicated.) The handle was stretching into the hundreds of millions, and that action is beginning to overtake what bookies saw in pre-game bets. Naturally, Garrood and his Cantor colleagues began thinking about bringing their concept stateside. That was nearly three years ago, with visions of in-game Super Bowl betting. Then, 18 months ago, they committed full bore, writing millions of algorithms so odds can be calculated and changed in milliseconds, on every play of the game. Here's how it works: Bettors go up to the M's counter, put down a lump sum of how much they want to bet for the day (you can always add more or cash out whenever you want, win or lose) and are given a blackberry-sized tablet with an account number. That account number is synced up with your deposit and it tracks the total amount in your account as it changes with every bet. You can bet up to $1,000 at a time and the system takes bet every two seconds. Dangerous. From your seat you can tap into your tablet and make bets on the game (money line and spread) as well as total points and first half winners (money line and spread) with all of these odds and spreads changing as the game goes on. For example, the M offered in-game wagering on the Colorado-Toledo game last Friday night. The over/under started at 55. But as the score climbed, so did the total. During the course of the game the Cantor algorithms changed the total 60 times, with the last over/under bets coming in at 90 points. The final score of the game was Toledo 54, Colorado 38.

2009

Continued…

That's 92 points if you're scoring at home. But you can also bet on how every drive will finish, will a drive have a first

down (or will an in progress drive have another) or will a kicker make or miss a field goal. "And we are a heartbeat away from offering a bet about whether or not the next play will gain 20 yards or more," says Garrood. One of the benefits of the system is that players don't have to play an entire game to win a bet or satisfy their jones. In one series they can walk away winners. Of course, at $1,000 a bet every couple seconds, they can also be flat busted in minutes. Last weekend, in addition to the Colorado-Toledo game, the M had in-game wagering on two other college games and six NFL games, including both Monday Nighters. And as the Patriots game wound down, one of the bets being offered was whether or not the drive that ultimately became the game-winner for New England's would end in a touchdown. "While it's great when Tom Brady throws a game-winning touchdown pass, its not uncommon," says Garrood. "You know what the percentage of this happening is. You just have to dig in and put all these factors together in the right way to come up with the odds people can bet on. There is actually very little we have never seen in sport." That is, until now.

2009

September 2009 By Gary Trask Lou D'Amico has been involved in the sportsbook business in Las Vegas for the last 35 years so it's safe to say that he's seen it all. But even a guy with the

veteran status of D'Amico has had an extra hop in his step this week, thanks to the new "In-Running" sports betting product that will be available for the 2009 NFL season at The Venetian, Palazzo and the M Resort Spa Casino. "It's going to be very exciting, even for an old guy like me," laughed the Director of the M Resort's Race and Sportsbook as he made preparations for this Thursday night's NFL season-opener between Tennessee and Pittsburgh, which will be the first NFL game to offer the new "in-running" wagers. "This is the kind of thing that will really give the football season a shot in the arm. We're kind of going into unchartered waters with this, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun." That is, until now.

"In-Running" betting allows players to wager on live sporting events during the actual flow of the game. So once a game kicks off, you will be able to wager on things like who will win the game (with an adjusted money line as the score changes) and the over/under, as well as whether the current drive will yield a first down or result in a punt, field goal, touchdown or turnover. Bets will be made on whether a field goal that being set up will be good or whether or not the next play will gain 20 or more yards.

"It's really a phenomenal experience for the player," says D'Amico, a native of Brooklyn who has worked two different stints as the sportsbook director at Caesar's Palace and was also responsible for starting the book at the Plaza Hotel & Casino. "And the technology that's provided by Cantor Gaming is tremendous. It's really a credit to Lee Amaitis (President and CEO of Cantor Gaming).

"This is really a unique concept. And now that we're going to have it at two first-class Strip properties like the Venetian and Palazzo as well as here at the M, we're hoping it will bring a lot of new customers into our sportsbooks."

M Resort, which opened in March and is located in Henderson, about 10 miles south of Mandalay Bay, began offering "in-running" bets last spring during the NCAA basketball tournament. It then used it in the NBA Playoffs and Triple Crown horse races as well as the baseball season. But this is the first time it will be offered for football, which is, by far, the most popular sport to bet in Las Vegas. In addition to NFL games, "in-running" will also be available for select NCAA football games this season.

Here's how it works. The sportsbook at the M Resort has both mobile handsets and mobile gaming stations. On a typical Sunday, D'Amico and his staff will pick two games from the early card and two games for the late card as the games that will offer "in-running." In addition, the Sunday night and Thursday night games will always offer it. Players deposit a certain amount of money to wager with onto their mobile device and then as the game goes along, different wagers are posted. All wagers are made from the mobile devices so there is no rushing to the window to place a bet. The minimum bet is $10 and the max is $1,000.

At least two members of the sportsbook staff will be watching the games and posting lines as the action plays out, with D'Amico standing nearby to help make any tough decisions.

Customers at the sportsbook of the M Resort in Las Vegas will be able to take advantage of "in-running betting" this football season.

Photo courtesy of M Resort Spa Casino 2009

2009

Continued…

"We have all of the data and information that we need right in front of us so we can make a fair line on every wager," D'Amico explains. "To be honest, it's not as difficult as it would seem to be. We have the whole format down

pretty good. We know what we're doing."

All of the lines posted by D'Amico and his staff at the M will be transported in real time to both The Venetian and Palazzo.

"The addition of 'in-running' is certainly going to enhance our sportsbook offering and be a huge hit with the many sports aficionados who spend time at our properties," said Robert Goldstein, president of the Las Vegas Sands-owned Palazzo and The Venetian. "We are constantly looking for opportunities to add new and exciting amenities to our overall guest experience and this is the type of 'only in Las Vegas' concept that helps differentiate The Venetian and Palazzo from other properties on the Strip, and also demonstrates the true uniqueness of Las Vegas and why there is no city in America quite like it."

While The Venetian and Palazzo will be the only sportsbooks on the Strip to offer "in-running" this football season, D'Amico said the popularity of the new concept may help it proliferate to other books in the very near future.

"Las Vegas and the sportsbook industry in particular have always had a 'walk before you run' type of attitude," he says. "This something new and different and I think a lot of the other properties are taking a wait and see approach. But once they see how successful it's going to be for us, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of them start to offer it next season, or even later this season."

2009

M RESORT SPA CASINO NOW OFFERING ‘FAVORITE VERSUS FIELD’ WAGER ON SELECTED HORSE RACES

Las Vegas’ Newest Casino Adds Another Wagering Innovation August 27, 2009 By Editors M Resort Spa Casino has announced the addition of a unique new bet in its Race and Sports Book. Customers can now place a bet on whether they think the morning line favorite will come home first, or if they think any of the other horses in the field will win - a bet which is only available at the M Resort. All lines at the M Resort Race and Sports book are set by Mr. D’Amico. Throughout the wagering world, he has established an unparalleled reputation as one of the true innovators in the race and sports book business. For over 30 years he has worked at premier casino properties in Las Vegas including the Dunes, the Las Vegas Hilton and Caesars Palace, where he served as Vice President of the Race and Sports Book for seven years. Mr. D’Amico is probably best known for his knowledge of horse racing, and his Kentucky Future Book lines and propositions have become Industry standards.

CANTOR GAMING ANNOUNCES IN-RUNNING WAGERING FOR THE NFL SEASON Kicks Off September 10th with First Game of the Season September 1, 2009 By Editors Cantor Gaming, an affiliate of the global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, today announced that its extremely popular “In-Running” sports betting product will be available at The Venetian, Palazzo and the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas for the 2009 NFL season, beginning with Tennessee at Pittsburgh on September 10. In-Running betting allows wagering on live sporting events throughout the event. In addition to NFL games, In-Running will be available for select NCAA football games this season. “In-Running is particularly well suited for football because of the popularity of the game and the huge number of football fans interested in sports betting. With In-Running, customers can place bets during the game, so fans can have a stake in the action all the way through the event,” said Lee Amaitis, President and CEO of Cantor Gaming.

2009

Kicks Off September 10th with First Game of the Season September 8, 2009 By Editors Cantor Gaming, an affiliate of the global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, today announced that its extremely popular "In-Running" sports betting product will be available at The Venetian, Palazzo and the M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas for the 2009 NFL season, beginning with Tennessee at Pittsburgh on September 10. In-Running betting allows wagering on live sporting events throughout the event. In addition to NFL games, In-Running will be available for select NCAA football games this season. "The addition of "In-Running" is certainly going to enhance our sports book offering and be a huge hit with the many sports aficionados who spend time at our properties," said Robert Goldstein, president of both The Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas. "We are constantly looking for opportunities to add new and exciting amenities to our overall guest experience and this is the type of "only in Las Vegas" concept that helps differentiate The Venetian and Palazzo from other properties on the Strip, and also demonstrates the true uniqueness of Las Vegas and why there is no city in America quite like it."

M Resort takes bets to Brave New Era September 08, 2009 By Micah Roberts

Have you ever been in a pub chatting with the guys while a game’s going on and someone makes an outlandish claim like, "I’ll bet you" this team comes back from a 14-point deficit and wins? We’ve all done it, but for the most part there are no takers, other than someone willing to give you 2-to-1 beers as the odds on the wager. Not many people actually want to be the bookmaker when real cash might have to be paid out with large odds attached to it. That all changed last March when the M Resort, Spa & Casino opened their sports book and unveiled the latest in sports gaming technology called In-Running Wagering. The product was developed and operated by M partner Cantor Gaming and allows for those who have a hunch a team isn’t dead in a game to actually be able to lay some cash down while the game is going.” We wanted to create something unique and different for the Las Vegas wagering community," said Director of Race and Sports Lou D’Amico. "In this format, you get to play the game within the game and be the coach."