Tribal Casino Communication Excellence: Point Casino's Unique Approach

Will Quasne, IT Manager at The Point Casino & Hotel, never has a dull moment at his job. Not only is he responsible for managing the dynamic challenges of 24/7 hotel and casino operations, but as a tribal casino part of the S’Klallam Nation in Washington, his responsibilities often extend beyond just the operations at the casino to other businesses owned by the Tribe. He cares deeply about his work because he knows that the casino is the economic engine of the community. He knows that every dollar he saves or earns through his efforts directly benefits the community he cares so much about.

Legacy Radio Systems: A Tipping Point

Never complacent, Will had reached a tipping point with the legacy radio systems he was using. The radios were expensive and a huge line item in his budget, in part driven by replacement devices and batteries. It would be one thing if they worked well, but because of the size of their properties and many of the staff moving between the various Tribal businesses, it was often hard to get hold of someone when they were needed the most because they were out of range. Channel limits were also beyond frustrating for him. In his limited number of channels, the staff was constantly unintentionally talking over each other. Coverage issues and radio traffic both introduced unnecessary friction into their operations.

Finding extended range and channels in Relay

Through his own research, Will found Relay. He was drawn in by the promise of unlimited channels, nationwide coverage, and lowering his costs. After implementing Relay, he began to see how his business operations transformed when they were not limited by legacy technology.

One operations leader at The Point Casino is out of the country several times a year, and before Relay, he felt completely disconnected from his team because he could not participate in the day-to-day operations on the ground through their radio system. Now, he connects his Relay to WiFi, and the team does not skip a beat. He can now maintain communication and reduce downtime for the department anywhere he has WiFi.

Before Relay, The Point’s security team meticulously recorded radio traffic and transcribed it not only for compliance and audit reasons but as a strategic way to analyze incidents to improve security. This was not easy to do; it required hours of maintenance every week and complex third-party software. The security team was blown away when they learned that they have the option to enable automated recording and transcription in any channel and that it’s accessible through an easy-to-use dashboard. The security team has been able to spend less time on maintenance, compliance, and audits, and more time on actively improving security.

There have been operational improvements across all the teams that use Relay at The Point, but the Food & Beverage team, in particular, has felt the impact. The F&B staff were often dashing between the upscale kitchen, restaurant, event space, or food truck to find the right person or convey a critical message. Now, because they have their own traffic-free channel and know where everyone is with location tracking, they save an incredible amount of time by not having to physically deliver messages.

“I pride myself on looking for better ways to do things. The more efficient we make this place the better it is for our tribe, the better it is for our employees, the better it is for our guests.”

A system that adapts and improves just like The Point Casino