Mobile Casinos discussed at Blackjack table
Future Mobile Casinos

The future of mobile casinos is discussed by eight insiders of the mobile industry at a blackjack table in a Las Vegas casino after a long day at CES 2011.

Throughout human history, the rich and the powerful were supported with a close knit circle of advisors, confidants and muses. The hit HBO TV series, appropriately titled ‘Entourage’, shows the dynamics between the ‘A list’ movie star and his companions. The keynote speakers of the 2011 Consumer Electronics Association (CES 2011) Tradeshow in Las Vegas are no different.

Grand Poobahs of such powerhouses as Intel, GM, Motorola, AT&T and dozens of other who control the world’s mobile technology are insulated by multiple eccentric circles of bodyguards, secretaries, executives, assistants, journalists, friends and the curious plebian masses. Unscripted interviews extract little information from such people, who are well known to be as closed mouthed as Swiss bankers.

Despite the catchy marketing slogan, not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. In one of the posh casinos on the Vegas Strip, around a packed blackjack table (with a surprisingly low limit), eight men are unwinding after a hectic day at CES 2011. They know each other by reputation, following the circuit of mobile technology conferences around the world.

They are not the leaders of multinational mobile conglomerates, but inner circle members of eight different tycoons who control most aspect of the mobile industry. Behind each man at the blackjack table is a mini-cheering section composed of a couple of close friends of each player. (It turns out that members of an entourage of a powerful CEO must each have their own mini-entourages.)

Most are young, tech savvy futurists with 1600 SAT scores, photographic memories and a myopic gaze permanently imprinted on faces only after years of squinting at computer code or the micro-circuitry within mobile smart phones. After a few free drinks, the lips of this obvious group of teetotalers loosen and so began a loud (and very learned) discussion about mobile gambling news and the future of the mobile casino industry.

There is a general consensus that within five to ten years, mobile devices, tablets and laptops will merge into a single unit connected to a device that will resemble a smart phone attached to collapsible glasses capable of producing a three dimensional display. Online casinos will become virtual 3d worlds, each with its own theme: from a blackjack table on a space station to one in the middle of ancient Rome. Digital avatars with realistic facial expressions, precisions movement and voice, controlled by human players or operated by the mobile casino software will play tens of thousands of mobile casino games over a global, lightning fast, wireless network.

As the blackjack shoe was being slowly reshuffled, this informal gathering quickly broke up. The sad expression on the face of the middle aged dealer contrasting with the radiant grins of the leaving players was perhaps forecasting the bright future of the mobile casino industry and the exciting mobile casinos and games of the near future.