Published May 2003

Casino is ‘high tech’ facility, says engineer

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

After working on the wiring of the Tulalip Casino, electrical engineer Bud Reichard is fascinated by the facility as a unique “high-tech project.”

As president of AES Inc. of Seattle, Reichard knows about things that most visitors will never see — the miles of wire and cables that weave under floors and behind walls to run the 2,000 video slot machines, hundreds of fiber-optic “stars” in the domed ceiling and the mood lighting in dining areas.

Because the tribes wanted a first-class entertainment center, he said, they went to great lengths to be sure guests would never have their gaming or dining interrupted.

Snohomish County Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT
More than 2,000 video slot machines at the Tulalip Casino can be monitored, repaired and even have new games installed by technicians in the hidden mezzanine area of the casino, thanks to extensive wiring and cabling networks.

For guests, the high-tech, uniquely designed system means even in a major power outage they won’t notice a flicker or a blink of a gaming screen. Games won’t go down just as players are engrossed in what they’re doing. Power outages won’t black out the games — or the casino itself — sending players home disappointed.

“This is a one-of-a-kind casino. It’s great. The way we set it up, it’s the first in the nation to have ‘no blink’ gaming. The electronics and cabling behind the scenes is an important part of the whole design,” he said. “This is essentially a 24-hour operation. You have to plan to keep it running.”

In typical casinos, some computer servers and network hubs are on UPS systems for backup power, he said, but “no other casino puts every game on UPS. ... Here, the whole grid has backup, redundant power.”

Calling the system “pretty cool,” Reichard said the casino’s generator has enough power to run all of the electronic games and 90 percent of the lights in the casino, thanks to a 2-megawatt generator in a nearby building. Ultimately, it will be joined by a second one to function as a backup power supply.

Coupled with thousands of lights inside and outside, 2,000 video slots, 16 ATMs, dozens of point-of-sale devices for handling purchases, and hundreds of other energy demands, he said it’s not surprising that the electrical service for the casino includes two 3,000-amp circuits, each with its own transformer. By comparison, a typical home has a 200-amp circuit.

“Just think about the lighting, alone. The casino has halogen, incandescent, neon cold cathode, metal halite, fiber optics and low-voltage lights, all controlled by switches and a series of dimmers in the mezzanine area.

“They’re interconnected and controlled from a computer that can operate any light in the casino, so long as he has the right computer code for access. That’s strictly controlled.”

The high-tech planning for the casino also provided for all of the servers, routers and power supplies to be located in five mezzanine areas above the gaming floor where they are able to remotely handle the “full load of the gaming equipment,” he said.

“That way, everything from servicing machines to moving games around can be done from the mezzanine, so service crews don’t have to bother the players,” Reichard said.

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