Adept USA with Mahesh & Eshan Jituri

Good morning, Dan. How are things in Sin City today?

Wonderful, Nick. Good morning. It's good to see you.

Yeah, likewise. I'm heading over next week. Took a peek at the weather forecast today and was shocked to see it's already hot as hell. This is odd for May, is it not?

Summer is arriving for sure.

My Lord. Yeah, it's over 100 degrees today?

I hope not.

Okay. Well, that's what I'd read, it said. Yeah, whatever, 38 Celsius. That's definitely 100 degrees. All right. Well, Dan, we have two guests with us today, so we're going to keep the pre-interview short. Just one quick news item. We're recording on May 8th and Wynn Resorts held their much anticipated Q1 conference call yesterday. So CEO Craig Billings announced that there'll be some modest delays in their Al Marjan project due to the regional conflict. Billings explained that the central issue is shipping and logistics, which considering that they're literally just around the corner from the Strait of Hormuz there, this makes perfect sense. Nonetheless, he stated that their resolve is unwavering. They've already deployed a billion in capital. More than 22,000 workers remain on site and the logistics teams are busy rerouting shipments and securing alternative materials and things of this nature. Although he didn't provide a revised opening date for obvious reasons, analysts suggest that it may slip from, let's say, spring of '27 to something like Q4 of '27, but obviously it's pretty much anybody's guess as to how and when this whole mess is going to end.

So Dan, I was thinking about this and I suppose that one of the more complicated aspects of this actually relates to insurance in that there's obviously political risk policies that are routinely purchased in volatile regions and stuff. But I believe that most standard policies, most insurers and reinsurers as well, disclaim damages due to war or political upheaval, things of this nature. So I'm doubtful they... I even wonder if they'd cover anything beyond physical damage and destruction, like taking a missile in the porto or something like that. And it's hard to imagine that delays and elevated costs are covered. So I know that the US government and Chubb put together some kind of backstop for the maritime side of things, but do you know how this works? Does it cover just the vessels or... Yeah, I don't know. I see you smile on that.

Nick, I have absolutely no idea. I was terrified you were about to ask me a question completely out of my element here, so I can't help.

Well, yeah, it's just such a strange thing. I mean, it's just this whole thing is such an incredible mess and without a doubt, when we were talking before we started recording, it's obviously impacting tourism just generally and not to mention the flow of goods. So yeah, I have to say my heart really goes out to those guys because they are dealing with one hell of a mess there, that is for certain.

Okay. Well, Dan, we'll move into today's guest because we have quite a few questions and quite a bit to jug through today. So this is a father and son team, Dan, our first ever, and we'll begin with dad. So he grew up in India where he received his engineering degree, then immigrated to the US where he did his MBA at Temple, then a master's in mechanical engineering at Villanova. And after working as an engineer with FMC, he started a custom software development company that entered gaming when it landed a custom dispatch development project with SugarHouse in Philadelphia, now Rivers Philly.

As for the son, he's a relatively recent graduate of NYU Stern School of Business. He spent the first part of his career in financial services, having done VC hedge fund and investment banking work with various firms, including Rockefeller Capital Management. Earlier this year, he joined the family business where he now serves as head of growth. I'm referring, of course, to Mahesh and Eshan Jituri of dispatch solutions provider, Adept USA. So, good morning, gents. Thanks for joining us today.

[inaudible 00:04:37]. Thank you for having us.

Absolutely. Lovely to have you. So, Mahesh, in the intro, I mentioned your engineering background and that a contract software development group you started in the '90s landed a project with what's now Rivers Philly. So can you walk us through how you came to establish that company? It was called Adept Consulting Services, that SugarHouse project and what it was about casino work that made you decide that gaming would be your primary focus.

Yeah, it's a great question. But before I get to that, I wanted to say that the gaming industry is such a rich and interesting space, but it doesn't always get the coverage that it desire, I mean, it deserves. So what you guys have built with ReelCast is really great and we are excited to be here and be part of this conversation. So thank you, Dan, Nick, again for having us here. Like you said in the intro, yes, I born and brought up in India, got my bachelor's degree in engineering in India. I came here for greater opportunities, did my master's in engineering, specialization in CAD/CAM, got a job with FMC Corporation, which is a very large conglomerate at that time, and handling all the software development for the engineering space. So we would build software to assist or aid the engineering department to do things much faster.

So when I was doing this, I did it for about seven years and I said, "Wait a minute." I mean, it was like mid '90s and things were really picking up in the software computer space. So I said, "Why not offer this services to other companies as well?" And that's when we started Adept Consulting Services. My business partner was also my colleague and my boss at FMC Corporation. So we left FMC and started Adept Consulting. This was back in 1995. It was a rough ride. I mean, leaving a cushy job and starting a business and we were expecting our first child was on its way. And at one point, I was looking at my newborn son and my wife and I said, "What the hell did I do here?"

Yeah, I've been there.

[inaudible 00:07:18]. But anyway, things worked out. We got into other projects that we started out, mostly custom software development. We built systems for banks, for insurance companies, for state and local government. So this was going on for good about 15 years or so. And in 2010, I was at a networking event in Philadelphia where I met with Bob Sheldon, and you guys might know him from right now, he's in Penn Gaming, I believe, in Vegas. So he was a GM of SugarHouse Casino at the time and the casino was still under construction and Bob was impressed with what I had to say at that event. So he said, "Why don't you come and meet with my director of IT, Nick Kontonicolas." So he's still with Rush Street Gaming in Chicago. So Nick was looking for a mobile dispatch solution at the time and there was nothing out there in the market that offered that particular solution.

So Nick asked me, "Can you build this?" I said, "Yeah, that's what we do, custom build software solutions." And he said, "Well, I only have three months for you to build this." This was in July of 2010, and September, they were going to be opening. And I said, "Yes, I will build it for you." And we had, I tell you, marathon JAD sessions with their team to capture the requirements and we had the system designed, tested, and ready for their opening within three months.

So that was something that was, he was really impressed. And at the opening of the SugarHouse Casino in September, the executives from their other properties also were there and they saw this solution and they said, "Well, we want to have that too." So that's how we got into the other Rush Street or Rivers properties. And after we did that, we noticed that the technology solutions were kind of lacking in the gaming industry. So we started building other solutions for the industry as well. But I have to say this, I owe this success or the reason for being in the gaming industry to Nick Kontonicolas, who over the years, he has referred us to several of his peers in other properties who have switched over to our solutions. So thank you, Nick.

Okay, very good. And then let's see. So you restructured then into Adept USA this year, I believe. So tell us what's changed and why this restructure was important to your ongoing growth.

Yeah. So unfortunately, last year, Nick, my partner, passed away.

Oh, sorry to hear that.

Thank you. He was much older. He was almost 85, 87 years old. And that caused me to take a step back and really think about where Adept had the greatest opportunity going forward. So what became very clear to me was that the gaming technology had the most potential for growth between the things that we were doing with other consulting engagements and all that. And I liked it. I was passionate about that. So for the last 15 years, Adept's gaming segment had mostly grown entirely through word of mouth. We had built strong products, earned the trust of great casino operators and delivered real value. But many people in the industry still don't know who we are and what we can do. So that realization led to the restructuring. So I made the decision to sell the consulting side of the business and take full ownership of this new entity, Adept USA, and just dedicate to the gaming technology.

The goal was to create a company with one clear focus and that was helping gaming operators run more efficiently, be connected within their departments, and have a responsive casino floor. It also allowed us to position Adept more clearly in the market and not as a broader consulting business with multiple segments, but as a dedicated technology partner to the industry. So for us, the restructure was really about focus, focus on the industry, focus on the operators we serve, and also focus on building the next generation of solutions that can continue adding value for our casino partners.

Now, just out of curiosity, Mahesh, had you had any exposure to the casino industry at all prior to SugarHouse or was that the very first one for you?

That was actually the very first one. But to be honest with you, we have been into so many different industries, like I said, banking, insurance, state, federal. This comes very natural to get into different domains for us. And this excited me. I mean, I saw a real opportunity to grow in this area.

Okay, very good.

Mahesh, Eshan, thanks so much for joining this morning. Eshan, as Mahesh mentioned earlier and Nick mentioned, you worked in financial services and investment banking prior to this. So tell us about your first foray into gaming and what the experience has been like from your perspective.

Yeah, no, definitely. I'm very happy to. So my introduction to gaming so far has been super exciting. Coming from investment banking specifically, I spent a lot of time studying both businesses and generally markets as well. So understanding what drives growth, where industries are headed more generally, and then also seeing where companies can create real value for their customers. That lens, to me, made the gaming industry really, really interesting. I saw that it's a large, durable industry with a strong recurring customer base, but it's also incredibly operational. Casinos are constantly thinking about guest experience, labor efficiency, maintaining slot uptime, communication, and just more generally how to run their floor more efficiently. So as I learned more about the industry, I saw a lot of opportunity for technology specifically to play a bigger role in helping operators solve their challenges. This is honestly a big part of what made Adept compelling for me.

I saw the business up close through my dad and when I looked at it from a market perspective, I saw a real customer need, a very, very strong and sticky product and a category that still has a lot of room to grow. Technology and gaming, I think especially on the casino operations side, felt like an area where the right tech can have a very, very tangible impact and I wanted to be a part of that. My introduction to the industry has also been super great. One of the things that stood out to me, especially compared to my past experience, is how welcoming and relationship driven the gaming community is. People have been extremely generous with their time, feedback, and perspective as I've gotten up to speed and have also developed a much deeper appreciation for how important slot operations specifically are to both the business and also the guest experience.

Things like machine uptime, response times, coordination, like as I mentioned before, they sound a bit operational, but they also directly affect the guest experience in the casino and just the top line as well. So for me, the move was a combination of personal connection, a genuine interest in the market, and business conviction as well.

Yeah. And you decided to move from a highly regulated industry to one of the only industries that's even more highly regulated, especially the technology side.

It's a pretty unique transition, definitely. I don't know if there's a transition that's similar to that in terms of more regulated, but yeah, definitely happy and excited to be here.

Yeah, perfect. So if you don't mind, let's jump into the product portfolio a little bit. As you all have alluded to, you have quite a few product offerings and I think the core product is the mobile dispatch, as you mentioned, but you also have a mobile service ticket system that you utilize for distributed gaming and route operations. You have an on floor service focus to a communication app, some jackpot celebration technology, and also a mobile game finding app. So if you don't mind, maybe just give us a little bit of a deeper dive on your product offering and what sets the Adept USA portfolio apart.

Okay, let me take this. So absolutely. At a high level, Dan, Adept is focused on giving casinos and the route operators a better real-time visibility, faster service workflows and more connected teams. So at a high level, that's what we try to do for our operators. Our core product, like you mentioned, is the Adept mobile dispatch system, which was again, like we talked about it earlier, it's a first mobile slot dispatch system on the market and it still is a foundation of our platform. It helps customers automatically route alerts to the right team members, dispatch them to almost a dozen different departments or roles, if you will, that we support in our system like attendants, techs, hosts, servers, security. It also gives the managers live visibility and intelligence into what is happening real time on the floor, but also from a historical reporting purposes as well.

Our system, I like to call it as an alert engine. And it not only dispatches alerts from your gaming system like your jackpots and the paper outs, but it also can receive alerts from if you have a kiosk system, we can get alerts from those and we also provide our APIs. So operators can also use this API to inject additional alerts into our system. So one of our properties, just to give you an example, uses AMDS to automatically dispatch an alert to beverage servers. So with, let's say Dan walks in, Dan puts his card in the machine, and Dan's favorite drink is gin and tonic. So they insert an alert into our system where Dan is playing to the beverage department saying, "Hey, Dan is here at this machine, please take his favorite drink, gin and tonic, over to him." So this is just one of the examples on how our system is flexible to manage the entire casino floor alerting, if you will.

Coming to the mobile ticket management system, it's actually a cloud-based system that we have developed using, again, AMDS as the foundation, but it's more for the distributed route operators. So it helps operators generate and manage service tickets, dispatch work across locations, track tickets from when they're created to when they're closed out and gives, again, managers better visibility and reporting into the field activity. Since technicians in that space, in route operations, are constantly driving around to service different location, our cloud-based solution, which offers them this GPS feature, a manager or supervisor sitting in the office can see everything live as to where their technicians are, what tickets are they working on, geographically, where our different properties are and what type of tickets are open. So it gives them a very good feel for operating that particular operations, even though it's not in one building like the casino is.

We then have this AdeptConnect, which is relatively a newer offering that we have, which is a mobile communication tool for casino. The idea is to move beyond the limits of traditional radios by giving teams voice, text, and image-based communication. And the beauty of this is all of the communication that goes on on AdeptConnect gets stored. So a supervisor or a manager can go back in tomorrow and say, "Hey, what did Nick say at 2:00 on this channel?" So it replicates the radio channel system, but in addition to that, it allows you to go back and search and play some of those messages or look at those messages that we've shared.

Now, are these all standalone applications? I imagine the mobile ticketing is, or is it customers are coming to you primarily for mobile dispatch and then these are ancillary offerings as part of the core product?

That's a good question. So we do offer these as individual or independent applications as well.

And Mahesh, are those typically native applications that you're building for the Android and iOS?

Yes. So our applications are available on Android as well as on an iOS platform. Yes, thank you for bringing that up. Yes. And then we have a Game Finder System which allows staff to find a machine for their guests depending on various parameters like team, denom, smoking preferences, game type, and so on. And the beauty of our system, Dan, is that all of these apps that we are talking about, they operate on the same device. So whether it's Android or an iPad or what have you, everything resides on that one device. So they don't have to carry a separate for radio or separate devices for different tasks that they have to perform. Last but not the least, we also have this show control system, which is a jackpot celebration and it's an event trigger technology.

So what happens is since we receive the data from the CMS system through AMDS, we help properties connect this with their audio/video system. So let's say they have their lighting video or signage system. So properties can automate their jackpot celebrations or other promotional campaigns that they might have without relying on manual coordination. So everything gets automated and we provide them with an engine where they can configure it, where they can configure appropriate type of celebrations that they want to have depending on the amount of the jackpot and also based on the location of the jackpot. So those are, at a high level, some of the services or products that we have. But the biggest reason Adept works so well is that it has really been shaped by casino operators themselves. We are now on our ninth release of AMDS and many of our new features have come directly from the feedback that we get from our customers.

So to be honest with you, we owe a lot of our success to the operators who have invested their time giving us the feedback and trust into the product over the years. We have always encouraged our operators and seek their feedback to incorporate into our system, especially when they can share what more they would like to manage their operations better with. So we build our solutions around that feedback. I think when the operators see the platform, it feels practical because it was built around real casino workflows. That is what supports a lot of AMDSs other advantages like connecting the entire casino floor, greater business intelligence, it's easy to use, cost-effective pricing, and our support. And one comment I would like to make regarding our support is that one of the directors at Churchill Downs, IT director, has given us a fabulous testimonial. You can see it on our site. He's saying, "With more than 30 years in gaming industry, I can confidently say that the support I've received from Adept, and I mean, Mahesh and his team he refers to, is truly top tier."

So we really pride on the type of not only just the providing operators with the great solutions, but our service is just super. So while we are proud of our technology, the real differentiator is that Adept has been refined, if you will, over many years, with the people actually using it on the casino floor. And that is what makes it easy to use, operationally relevant, and it's hard to replicate.

Now, when Dan first, we were first talking about bringing you guys on, I checked out your site and there was one product there that I found that was really interesting. I actually called Dan about it because I hadn't heard of this previously, which was where somebody wins a jackpot and you actually hit a database for people who are behind on child support payments. It was kind of a deadbeat dad type of thing. I saw that and I thought, "Wow, that's a great initiative." And I called Dan and I said, "Man, that must get really ugly on the floor sometimes." And he said, "Oh, yeah."

Yeah, that's absolutely true. I mean, there are some states, I think they're like, I forget, maybe Eshan might know, maybe six or seven states that require this mandatory check to make sure that if they hit a jackpot, that if they owe any child support or any kind of alimony payments and that's what that other product, which we have not included in here, but it's there. Yeah, we offer that as well.

Yeah, it's fascinating. I really liked hearing about that. Now, I've spent a pretty good piece of my career on the system side of the industry, so I wanted to talk to you a little bit about interfaces. So I've had sit over several projects where we're connecting to alarms modules and dealt with all this kind of stuff. So on this point, really, two questions. Are the outputs of these things now getting pretty standardized and predictable more so than they have in the past? And looking at your account base, I take it you've built quite a library of interfaces and now, this is a big advantage for you?

I would say that the outputs themselves have not fundamentally changed all that much. Each CMS system still has its own nuances and there is no standard across the industry when it comes to interfaces. So building reliable interfaces into those systems, you need technical resources to do that. So yes, over time, we have built a strong interface library and a lot of experience working across the different platforms, but I would not say that the interfaces alone are our competitive advantage. To us, that is more the, how do I say it? More like a foundation, but the real value is what you do with the data once you receive it. And the bigger challenge is turning those signals that you're talking about into operational workflows that actually help a casino run better, which is what Adept has been able to do really, really well. We have delivered faster response times, better visibility, cleaner accountability, and more informed decisions on the floor. So the interface, again, it matters, but the real competitive advantage is translating that data, like I said before, into practical operational value for the casinos.

Very good. Okay. Now, and a few of the things you just mentioned there, efficiency, better uptime, things of this nature, A lot of this moves toward the notion of communicating ROI and value to the operators. So is this something you can typically do pro forma? How do you do that? Or is this just something that you wait for the results and then communicate that? How do you position that?

You want to take it?

Yeah, yeah, no problem. So there's a couple different ways we do that. The first approach is making ROI very tangible. Dispatch can definitely look like an expense line item at first, but when you break down what is actually happening on the floor, the value becomes very clear. Every minute a machine is waiting for service, that means lost revenue for the casino, a frustrated guest, or both. Based on our analysis for a thousand-machine property, reducing average response times by just one minute can recover more than $10,000 in lost revenue per year. And that is only one part of the value. It doesn't fully capture labor efficiency, faster issue resolution, better communication, or more importantly, the impact on the guest experience, which is a huge part of our intangible ROI case. We recently heard from a prospect, excuse me, where guests were hitting the service light in their casino more than 25 times in a row just to get an attendant's attention. That's not a operational issue. That's a guest experience catastrophe.

A strong dispatch system helps make sure guests are served quickly, issues are resolved faster, and the experience feels more seamless. I think the key with Adept is that we don't treat ROI as only a theoretical pro forma exercise. The pro forma is definitely helpful when it comes to an initial intro call or one of our demos. And it also gives the operator framework for thinking about the value. But the more powerful piece from our end is how we can show the value also after the system is installed. We've seen that value come up in many different and concrete ways from a majority of our customers, all of our customers. American Place in Illinois has achieved average response times of 39 seconds. Ocean Casino in Atlantic City has seen double-digit efficiency gains compared to its prior dispatch system.

And Live! Maryland was also able to reallocate six full-time employees from dispatch related roles into direct guest service. So the ROI conversation definitely may start with a pro forma business case, but it quickly becomes measurable after implementation. Operators can track performance, compare it to their previous processes, and keep improving over time with Adept. That's kind of what moves Adept from just an expense line item to an operating tool that can improve revenue, labor efficiency, and guest experience.

Yeah, absolutely. And the whole psychological aspect of wait time on the satisfaction of the guest too, I'm wondering where's the line? Are you providing technology and saying, "Hey, go use it." Or having done this now for 16 years, have you identified best practices on helping operators target whether that's, hey, waiting one minute's okay, waiting two minutes' okay. Are there other best practices and KPIs or have you identified that sweet spot on where operators should try to get to in terms of that wait time or are you leaving it up to operators to manage how they will?

I think what we do is we try to share the performances that our other customers that have achieved with our system with our prospects. So we can say from what you have today, after you install our system, this is what you are likely to see. To give you an example, Dan, at IGA, we met one of the properties based in, I think, Wisconsin and they said to us that, "We have another dispatch system and everything is working great, everything is fine." So we said, "Why don't you just take a look at it?" And we came back from IGA, we set up a demo, we did the demo for that customer, they saw the demo and then next day, they were ready to sign with us immediately. I mean, obviously, they asked for a proposal, we sent the proposal and they said, "I've included you in my budget for 2027."

And just to elaborate on that point as well, in that demo, we didn't provide a barometer for this is the kind of response times that you'll see using our system. It's more so after seeing the system, the prospects, the wheels in their heads start spinning in terms of how they can use our system more effectively than their current operations.

Gotcha.

Yeah, they see an immediate difference between the way they're operating today with or without another dispatch system and what they could achieve with what we have. And also keep in mind, I mean, we have some excellent, excellent references as well. So if they look at the customers that we have, there's always somebody that is connected with them, and that also has become a big benefit for us.

Can I ask you, Mahesh, so you've had this module done now for, I guess it's 16 years, right?

Yeah.

What's changed the most on the casino floor? Because I imagine, and you'll correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine the data points that are coming off the machine are pretty much for the most part exactly the same as they were 16 years ago in terms of machine accounting standards, but obviously, the technology out there is advanced leaps and bounds. So what's been the biggest change from your perspective as it relates to your area of the casino floor?

That's a great question. So Dan, the biggest change I think I have seen is how connected the casino floor has become. So when we started, and you probably will attest to this also, back in 2010, many casinos did not even have Wi-Fi on their floor.

They wouldn't allow it. It was completely prohibited.

Right. So I mean, I still remember when we built this system, obviously, we built it for Wi-Fi, but then I remember a couple of properties came and say, "Oh, we don't have Wi-Fi." So then we actually built... I mean, we modified our system to actually work without a Wi-Fi and still give them the access and privilege of using the system with other functionality that our system had to offer. So operators mainly wanted, at that time, a better way to dispatch slot attendants and technicians instead of relying on radios, overhead calls or manual processes. Today, the expectation is much broader, in my opinion. Casinos do not just want slot dispatch. They want dispatch and communication across the whole casino. That includes attendants, techs, hosts, beverage teams, security, and management all working from a more connected system. And Adept supports that. We have more than a dozen roles, if you will, in our system that supports that.

The other main change, that major change I would say that I have seen is the importance of data. So operators want to understand what is going on on the floor at any given time, where are the delays that are happening and to be notified if there are any delays, how teams are performing, what kind of service levels we are providing to our guests. So I would say the casino floor has moved from being more reactive and radio driven to being more connected, mobile friendly, and intelligence driven. And that shift has really shaped how Adept has evolved over the last 16 years. So if you look at our solutions from back then to now, I mean, we have heard what our operators' needs are and we have incorporated those features or those solutions to bring everything together for them.

Great. One change in the last, well, really the last six months or so, so for the USA operators, they'll be familiar with this, is the provision in the Big Beautiful Bill last year that increased the lockup slot jackpot taxable threshold from 1,200 to 2,000. And we've talked a little bit in the past, Nick and I have, about some of the challenges that operators were facing with the manufacturers in terms of executing these changes. For the most part, that's happened or it's in process of happening. But one of the things that I've heard in conversations with operators is some of the ripple effects from this primarily around just the number of transactions and jackpots plummeting. I've heard anecdotally in some cases, depending on whether it's a VIP-driven property or more of a local's retail property, that reduction in jackpot events and in totes has been somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 50% and at some properties, even more, which is a massive impact both on obviously the earnings of the slot attendants, but also in the labor needs.

So this obviously has ramifications and impacts on the kinds of services that you're providing. So I'm just curious, is this a topic that's come up over the last few months in your discussions with operators? And is it something that you're considering as you continue to support the technology on how it changes the relationship between customers and I'm assuming ultimately fewer transactions and fewer service folks on the floor?

Yeah, so I'll take a first stab. So we've definitely seen how time-consuming that process is for just adjusting the machine lockup threshold within machines at some of our recent go lives. And I also think that the $1,200 limit was set originally in 1970s. So we would've thought that the new threshold would be around $5,000 plus based on current dollar values.

Yeah, that's for sure.

Yeah, people are hoping. People are still hoping, obviously.

Yeah. I think on the bright side, we have seen, in some of our properties, taxable jackpot volumes have come down pretty meaningfully, potentially as much as 60% in some of our properties, but we haven't heard any material reductions and headcount tied to this new jackpot threshold. And while jackpot alerts are definitely becoming less frequent or taxable jackpot alerts are becoming less frequent, jackpots are only 1 of 40 alert types that are processed through our dispatch system. The majority of service activity we see is still driven by service lights and other operational issues on the floor. So as it relates to the regulatory changes and how that can impact our customers, we're absolutely keeping a watch on it, but as it relates to our systems and the overall value we provide, we don't really see it as a concern.

Gotcha.

And I just want to add to that. I mean, then like Eshan said, jackpot is definitely an important alert for processing through our system, but there are so many other alerts that we process that are paper outs, that are service light, that are technician, BV jams, tail printer errors. And then if you get into the other departments like beverage, the security, the casino host. So even though the jackpots may have dropped, on an overall scale, the percentage drop is not as substantial as far as we are concerned, meaning our Adept system is concerned.

Gotcha. Thank you. Can I ask you about AI, how you're thinking about AI and incorporating AI within your product offering? And are we at a bit of an inflection point in terms of how it's being incorporated in some of the operational technology that you're providing?

Yeah, no, definitely. And we at Adept, we're very excited about AI, but we're trying to think about it in a more practical way. For us, the near term opportunity is not just AI for the sake of AI. It's using AI to make casino operations more efficient, more predictive, and overall just easier to manage. Adept already processes a lot of key operational data across the casino floor like response times, completion times, machine level activity, staff activity, and some more data points as well. And we think that AI can help turn that data from reporting into recommendations. Instead of only just showing operators what happened, the system can start helping operators understand what to do next based on the data that they're receiving. Some of the areas we're exploring include predictive maintenance, identifying machines or areas that may be more likely to have issues and also helping operators think about staffing based on traffic patterns, alert volume, and historical demand.

We also think AI can change the way team members interact with operational technology more generally. So today, most of that interaction happens through a mobile device or a PC. Over time, we think AI agents can make those workflows more natural through some alternate hardware interfaces as well. So I think yes, and Adept thinks yes, we are at an inflection point, but the impact in the short term will be very practical. The winners will not be the companies that are just talking about AI. It'll be the companies that use AI to solve real operational problems, reduce friction for staff, and also more importantly, help operators make better decisions faster.

So I guess right now, the dispatching methodology and algorithm is probably more of a rules-based process where you're setting up rules in terms of how I'm prioriting different types of transactions or different types of card tiers or things like that. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. It's definitely more role-based.

And the kind of transition then that you're talking about is eventually that kind of migrates into becoming more AI driven in terms of how you optimize and how you prioritize?

Yeah, definitely. And I think based on the data that we received through our systems, I think we'd like to use and are looking at using AI to enrich in our prioritization process. We've taken it a long way, but there's definitely more value that we can take advantage of just by using AI to help our prioritization go that much further.

Great.

Prioritization is just one of the things. I mean, there are other things with scheduling of the resources can also be done through AI and also predictive maintenance and those kind of things can also be incorporated with the amount of data that we have collected from the system.

So guys, I'm kind of curious, we touched on just briefly the route operations a bit earlier. So can we talk about if we compare a resort model versus a route model, the need sets that are in each and how each is really unique in terms of dispatch?

I would say both the route operators and the traditional casinos are focused on reducing response times, reducing their completion times, and at the end, the downtime, machine downtime. So the end goal is the same. Get issue resolved quickly so machines stay productive and guests or players are not waiting. The difference is really in the operating environment. In a traditional casino, the machines, the attendant, the technicians are all on the same property. The priority is real-time coordination across the floor, making sure the right person gets to the right machine quickly and calls don't fall through the cracks and the management has the visibility into what is happening. On the route operation side is different because the assets are distributed across many locations. And for those who may be unfamiliar, a route operator manages machines across airports, restaurants, bars, gas stations and other third party locations. So the challenge is not just dispatching someone across the casino floor, but it's managing technicians across a geography or different cities or different locations.

So that changes the priorities. Route operators care much more about things like technician routing, the GPS visibility that Adept provides, vehicle and fuel tracking, automatically creating service tickets through incoming phone calls or voicemails, documenting what happened at each location, and making sure the technicians are spending their time efficiently in the field. One of the examples I would like to give you is from our system, similar to a casino operation, in route operation, there are account managers that take responsibility for certain bars and cafes that they're assigned to. So our system actually generates a report for that account manager to give them, okay, what is the quarterly report for this XYZ bar? So they will print this out and they go to the owner and they sit down and say, "Okay, here are the five calls that we had. Here is the resolution we have made. Here are the two calls that are still open that we are working on." And they are thrilled. I mean, the account managers really love our system because that's something that really benefits them to see and talk to and discuss with their customers.

In traditional casinos, on the other hand, tend to care more about floor visibility, guest experience or guest service response time and communication. In a casino, a few minutes of delay can directly affect the guest experience. In route operation, the bigger issue may be the travel time, the repeat visits, incomplete information, or not knowing where the technicians are in the field. So with our GPS technology that we have incorporated into the system, they get a good understanding of what's going on with their operation. So the core dispatch problem is similar, but the product emphasis changes. Casinos need a system that connects the casino floor. The route operators need a system that connects more of a distributed field operation.

Okay, great. And earlier, we had mentioned, so you've restructured, your son is on board now, you're super focused on the gaming side of things. So where do you see Adept really evolving over the next, let's say, five years or so? What do you have planned?

So over the next five years, I see Adept continuing to evolve from a dispatch platform into a more broader operational technology partner for casinos. So we have a great strong foundation. It is already the real-time operational layer on the floor, so connecting attendant, technicians, hosts, and other department and we'll try to get other teams involved in this platform at the same time. From here, our focus is on building around that foundation. We want to continue expanding the departments and workflows we support while also developing complimentary intelligence systems that can feed into the platform. So that could include better tools for slots, marketing, guest engagement, staffing, reporting, and other areas of the casino operation.

AI is definitely a part of the roadmap, but we think about it practically, like Eshan mentioned. The opportunity is to take the operational data Adept currently captures and turn it into some better insights, recommendation and workflow for the operators. That could mean predictive maintenance, smarter staffing decisions, more intelligence reporting, or just simply better ways for teams to interact with the system in all in real time. Our goal is not to chase technology trends. It is to keep solving real problems for operators. AMDS has earned trust because it is reliable, it's practical, and built around real casino workflows. Over time, we want to build on that trust and become an even more important partner in how casinos operate across more areas of the business.

Okay.

That sounds great. Mahesh, Eshan, thanks so much for the time. Before we go, where can folks go to learn more about Adept USA and are there any trade show appearances, speaking engagements that you want to mention?

Eshan?

Yeah, no, so if you want to learn more about what we do, feel free to go to our website. It's adeptusa.com. And if you're going to be at the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Trade Show in July or G2E in September, just feel free to stop by our booth then. Thank you so much, Dan and Nick, for having us on the podcast.

You bet, guys. Thank you really for your time today. It was really great to learn more about Adept. And yeah, you did... I realized going through this, Dan, we're not going to have any editing job on this one at all. These guys are just so articulate and dialed in. It's a really good, really easy one, I have to say. But thank you so much, gents, for your time today.

Thank you, Nick.

Really appreciate it.

Thank you, Dan. Appreciate it.

Thank you.