A Las Vegas technology start-up is going all-in on germ warfare.
Smith Rosen Gaming Partitions has begun manufacturing and distributing scratch-resistant slot machine partitions that not only enforce social distancing, but actually clean themselves through the application of concentrated UVC light on the surface of the partition.
SAFEPLAY UV is the first of many patent-pending UVC solutions Smith Rosen has developed for the specific purpose of keeping casino guests and employees as safe as possible.
Jamie Klingler, vice president of product development at Smith Rosen a former figure skater diagnosed with the chronic form of the pulmonary disease coccidioidomycosis, also known as valley fever, understands first- hand the dangers of being immunocompromised in a casino, and is acutely aware of the dangers that she feels many people may not understand.
“The illusion of public safety is more perilous to the gaming industry than the casinos taking no action at all,” Klingler says. “Plastic dividers, although well-intentioned, inadvertently create a catch basin for every single thing that flies out of people’s mouths. Plus, in addition to completely destroying the aesthetic of the casino, require a small army to maintain.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus that causes Covid-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can be spread when people are in close contact with one another (a proximity of about six feet or less).
The CDC also suggests that the novel coronavirus may live for hours to days on some surfaces made, making regular cleaning and disinfection a must to prevent Covid-19 and other viral respiratory illnesses in community settings.
“Because gaming operators are not scientists, they are vulnerable to misinformation proffered by vendors that are looking to make a quick buck,” says Darryl Rosenblatt, director of marketing for Smith Rosen. “Now that they’re slowly starting to understand the science, they are making much more informed decisions.”
Smith Rosen Gaming Partitions is developing its products in concert with the UNLV School of Life Sciences and the National Gaming Institute. The alliance was born when Rosenblatt approached the school for clinical testing of Smith Rosen’s UVC slot partitions.
Jeff Smith, CEO of Smith Rosen, says UVC has been used safely to disinfect surfaces, air, and water for more than a century. “Static plastic barriers and (inactive) machines are not actively killing anything. Out of plain old fear, we designed something big and pretty, to kill stuff that’s small and ugly. We didn’t invent the wheel, we just figured out which direction to spin it.”
Smith Rosen Gaming Partitions is now hiring dozens of new employees to meet the growing demand for its product, and is also working on technology to make table games safer. The Reverse Oxygen Yoke (ROY), named for late Las Vegas entertainer Roy Horn, absorbs airborne particles to keep players from potentially sharing viral contagion.
“ROY creates an invisible vacuum barrier in front of a player and the player’s neighbors,” Rosenblatt told Fox-TV station KVVU. “It’s created with a copper alloy because copper is extremely bacteria-resistant.”
ROY functions as a suction machine, with rubber hoses “that take this air and process it through a tube, which is treated with UVC light,” said Rosenblatt. The air moves into a pressurized air basin for about four minutes, then is sent through HEPA filters and returns to the casino.
Rosenblatt said he wanted to create a solution that improves on sneeze guards. “If a player is forced to sit in that kind of uncomfortable position in front of a window, it’s very, very likely that they’re not going to sit and play for as long as they normally would,” he said.
For more information, visit https://www.smithrosen.com/copy-of-safeplay-uv.
