AI systems help casinos cut utility costs drastically, which is now more important than ever
Any company is always exploring ways to reduce its expenses without impacting the services it offers.
Casinos typically have tremendous utility overhead, especially those that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so anything that can be done to reduce costs is a huge benefit. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic causing significant drops in revenue, proper money management is more important than ever.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming into play, and can help casinos monitor things like water usage to cut their expenses.
A number of resorts, such as the Atlantis Casino Resort in Reno, NV, started integrating AI to help with water conservation last year. Given the size of the property, investment in the AI technology is well worth it, as it results in automatic control of water use around the clock. According to the property’s director of facilities, Perry Sanders, “One of our largest expenses as a corporation is of course utilities, since we are a 24/7 operation.” He adds, “What [the AI system] does you run a thirty-day testing period, where the system actually runs and algorithm. It monitors your water usage, and figures out at seven a.m. that you have breakfast and at eight a.m., you run dishes. It learns all of your usage patterns.”
When that test period ends, the system is put in motion and, every time there is a peak in usage, an alert is sent. Sanders explains, “So we have used it to detect leaks, to if someone has taps on to defrost a turkey. So, we can modify our behaviors here at the Atlantis to be more efficient with our water usage. You really have a triple threat because not only do you pay for the water your wasting, you pay for the energy whether it is electric or gas to heat the water, and you pay for the sanitary sewer. You are literally washing dollars down the drain.”
Since the system was implemented, the property’s water utility bill has dropped by 15%. That may not seem like a lot on a residential level, but for a company that spends several thousand dollars a month, it amounts to huge savings, all thanks to AI.