Gambling for Blind People

Dear Forum,

Recently I talked to a blind woman from the Las Vegas area who told me she likes to play video poker. Unfortunately, she needs someone with her at the video poker machines to describe each card and its location. While this system works, I imagine it is boring and tedious for the personal helping her, and I assume she cannot always find someone to help her. It got me thinking, wouldn't it be very easy to add optional audio to a video poker machine for the visually-impaired? Are there any machines with this capability already?

I read that in 2002 a slot machine there was a Ray Charles-themed slot machine with Braille and audio features for the blind but I don't think the slot machine was even on the floor for a year. In my opinion the slot machine doesn't look very appealing for sighted people which might explain why it was not successful. Have any of you heard of other ways that gambling has been made accessible for the blind?

Quote: harris

Dear Forum,

Recently I talked to a blind woman from the Las Vegas area who told me she likes to play video poker. Unfortunately, she needs someone with her at the video poker machines to describe each card and its location. While this system works, I imagine it is boring and tedious for the personal helping her, and I assume she cannot always find someone to help her. It got me thinking, wouldn't it be very easy to add optional audio to a video poker machine for the visually-impaired? Are there any machines with this capability already?

I read that in 2002 a slot machine there was a Ray Charles-themed slot machine with Braille and audio features for the blind but I don't think the slot machine was even on the floor for a year. In my opinion the slot machine doesn't look very appealing for sighted people which might explain why it was not successful. Have any of you heard of other ways that gambling has been made accessible for the blind?
link to original post

Sure, let's add optional audio to video poker machines for all 5 visually-impaired people who like to play video poker solo. NOT.

Nope, but there's a lot of 80 year-olds that frequent the casinos and they are likely really deaf too and never learned braille. I don't think any of these games are accessible without a tag-along friend.

It got me to thinking that I sit in front of my stereo and have the perfect volume most of the time, so when I go outside to other places and wind up talking to other people I'm really hard of hearing because I'm not in my perfect listening environment. Casinos are noisy and have excess background noise that must be murder on people wearing hearing aides.

Quote: AxelWolf

Sure, let's add optional audio to video poker machines for all 5 visually-impaired people who like to play video poker solo. NOT.
link to original post

It would have to be in the form of an audio jack like they have on ATMs. No big deal really. I'd estimate it might add $10 or so to the cost of building the machine.

Although I'd like the OP to consider this: crooks will come around and press the cashout button and steal the voucher if they see a blind person is playing. So if the machine detects the audio jack is being used, it should say something through the audio like: "Cashout requested. Press buttons # and then # to verify."

Random blindness thought: When Stevie Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely?" to commemorate his newborn daughter, it was not merely a rhetorical question.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: AxelWolf

Sure, let's add optional audio to video poker machines for all 5 visually-impaired people who like to play video poker solo. NOT.
link to original post

It would have to be in the form of an audio jack like they have on ATMs. No big deal really. I'd estimate it might add $10 or so to the cost of building the machine.

Although I'd like the OP to consider this: crooks will come around and press the cashout button and steal the voucher if they see a blind person is playing. So if the machine detects the audio jack is being used, it should say something through the audio like: "Cashout requested. Press buttons # and then # to verify."

Random blindness thought: When Stevie Wonder wrote "Isn't She Lovely?" to commemorate his newborn daughter, it was not merely a rhetorical question.
link to original post

I seem to remember an audio jack on certain SG cabinets. I don't know that I've seen one on LNW cabinets.
If you've got room for a USB port for the player to recharge, it would seem there is room for a headphone jack.
Adding audio instructions for cashout confirmation is a really good idea.

Unpopular observation:
Every blind person I know has an iPhone that they use as a talking camera to help see the world. Enhancing the camera app to understand VP screens is probably the sensible approach that might get grant money.
(Source: my blind sister who teaches blind people how to get around life)

We have machines for the deaf. (the volume button)

The audio jack idea might have happened already if someone sued under the disabilities act.