Surface = One-armed Bandit?
OK, so maybe that's an exaggeration...but this post from Frank La Vigne sounds interesting:
Microsoft Surface may be headed to the casino floor as both Microsoft and Harrah's Entertainment experiment with the new device.
The article talks about several scenarios, including one from one of the promotional videos.
Possible applications include allowing Harrah's customers to place their Total Rewards player's club card on the table and access their account instantly, making it possible to take virtual tours of other Harrah's properties. Guests would have a wealth of information particular to any venue at their fingertips of guests.
However, the article also says that researchers are "exploring ways to apply Surface capabilities to electronic gaming devices and quite possibly change the way gamblers play slots."
So, it may be that the first large scale Surface deployment will be at the casino.
The gaming industry is already a very heavy user of technology. I remember a year or two ago seeing a special on the hardware and software of today's video slot machines, and it was fascinating.
Frank found the link via Surface Sightings