The RFID Journal's Claire Swedberg reports that the Las Vegas hotel and casino Treasure Island uses RFID for precise tracking of liquor poured at its bars.

The system being used is the Beverage Tracker by Capton, which consists of RFID-enabled liquor spouts and an RFID "interrogator," or reader.

"The spouts, which TI employees attach to every liquor bottle, contain a battery-powered 418 MHz RFID tag and a measuring device," Swedberg writes. "Whenever a Bartender pours a drink, the tipping of the bottle turns on both the tag and the measuring device, allowing the spout to measure the volume of liquor poured (in ounces) before the employee tips the bottle back up. The tag then transmits that information to the interrogator's antenna, attached to the ceiling above the bar."

The system records the brand and type of liquor used, the amount poured, and the exact time of the pour -- all of which is transmitted wirelessly to the receiver within a second of the pour. Sounds extreme? Liquor "shrinkage" is a big expense for all bars, and this kind of precise tracking helps to eliminate the problem.