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The recent opening of SLS Las Vegas and Delano Las Vegas have underlined the growing trend for luxury and sophistication on The Strip.

High-profile openings mark a new chapter in the Las Vegas experience

A UNITED STATES

brand new Strip resort opened on August 23 amid a big brash party featuring the hottest talent on the US music scene - a throwback to the glory days of the Ratpack at the Sahara Casino, which the new operators have remodelled, recycled and renamed as SLS Las Vegas.

The seven-year project saw the former resort stripped out, refurbished and reclad to become a hyper cool boutique destination. ‘Boutique’ is a key word: the new venue is smaller than the one it replaces and smaller than all its rivals on the Strip - that said at more than 1,600 rooms it qualifies as bou-

tique only by comparison.

The gaming floor extends across an area of 5,600sq.m - 25 per cent smaller than its predecessor. However, the layout is modern and far more distributed than is traditional, with some games finding space in one of the nightclubs and others in the lounge area of restaurant.

Even the sportsbook has the burger bar and beer garden.

Robert Oseland, president of SLS, said: “We’ve learned over time that you can’t just force people into a casino and expect that that’s where people are going to discover gaming.

We’ve also created experiences where there’s natural traffic and so in addition to

the main casino floor we’ve decentralised some of our gaming experiences.”

The opening of SLS was followed on September 2 by the debut of Delano Las Vegas. Developed through a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Morgans Hotel Group, which operates the Delano brand, the $80m (E62m) hotel property brings a touch of South Beach to The Strip.

“Delano Las Vegas marks a new chapter in the Las Vegas hotel experience, ushering in elevated levels of personalised service, style and attention to detail,” said general manager Matthew Chilton.

More than a transaction.

A connection.

“We’re challenging the quintessential over-the-top Vegas experience by introducing a new brand focused on understated luxury, appealing to in-the-know travellers,” added Chilton.

Operators across the US continue to look for new ways to attract guests. Each Las Vegas resort needs a market in mind beyond pure gamblers, who could fall into any venue to get what they want. The market has to be segmented: SLS with its hyper fashionable locations on both sides of the continent already has privileged access to a wealthy base who might already enjoy gambling, so it has a head start. All it has to do

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now is remain fashionable.

MGM, meanwhile, has underlined its commitment to the luxury and boutique market by bringing on board truly high-end hospitality brand. As Jason Kalisman, chairman of Morgans Hotel Group, explains: “The arrival of Delano to the Las Vegas Strip is a historic moment... A Delano is so much more than just a physical structure; it is a special experience that transports guests into a world that combines fantasy and modern luxury.”

Vegas, it appears, is tackling the worldwide issue of stuttering growth head-on.

Bring them in, and then let the fun and games begin.

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News World

RESORT CASINO

Just open, the new SLS Las Vegas aims to bring fashionable LA to a very unfashionable part of LV in a genuine test of the SLS brand’s power. More tables, fewer slots and more emphasis on partying is the resort’s formula.

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UNITED STATES

SLS Las Vegas: Upcycling the north end of the Strip

ugust 23 saw the opening of SLS Las Vegas.

The culmination of seven years’ work, the new resort-casino occupies the site of the former Sahara Casino, with 1,600 rooms and 5,600sq.m of gaming space.

There is more emphasis on the traditional games, with 70 tables across the resort and 800 slot machines: that compares to the 56 tables operated by Sahara at the end of its life alongside well over a thousand gaming machines.

While gaming remains central to the viability of the resort, what will attract the young and affluent crowd that the operators want to tempt away from rivals - especially, one might imagine, The Cosmopolitan - are the achingly hip nightclubs and restaurants that have opened.

SLS’s owner SBE, with its charismatic founder, chairman and CEO Sam Nazarian, owns several of the best known nightclubs in Los Angeles including Create and The Sayers Club, as well as hotels in both Beverly Hills and South Beach, Florida.

Only The Sayers Club has been recreated at the Las Vegas property: the remaining nightclubs of varying style and design, including LiFE and Foxtail, will have to build their own reputations.

The resort features three hotel towers, with the original entirely re-clad in cool monochromes. The inside, however is entirely different, a riot of strong design from the modern and edgy at the Story Tower, to the modern and kitschy at the allsuite Lux Tower and the modern and functional at the World Tower. The towers are a collaboration between Gensler Architects

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and Philippe Starck. This is the third iteration of the partnership, after SLS Beverley Hills and SLS South Beach.

Starck told USA Today: “Everywhere you put your eyes, there will be a subtle surprise, something that will open your mind, open your eyes.”

The Story Tower rooms are designed to be ‘indestructible’. Starck said: “The bedroom is very heavy duty, very comfortable.

You can sleep anywhere. It’s very cosy, very sexy.”

Despite the big names and a resolution to remain at the quality end of the scale, the project took a model $415m (E315m) to complete, a bargain by modern standards.

After a week in operation, Rob Oseland told press: “We have been sensitive to the market as the only one open on the north end. We feel like being at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue is an advantage and people are rediscovering this section of the Strip.”

He continued: “We don't get a of walk-in traffic with nobody else in this part of town. I’ve been very pleased with the response we have gotten from locals. So far things are going well.”

Sam Nazarian, founder and CEO of parent company SBE

Delano taps high-end m

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he highly anticipated, all-suite Delano Las Vegas debuted on September 2, bringing a touch of South Beach to The Strip.

The Delano is the result of MGM Resorts International’s summer-long $80m (E62m) renovation of The Hotel, a 1,100-room non-gaming property on the south Strip attached to Mandalay Bay. The remake - a partnership between MGM and Morgans Hotel Group, which operates the Delano brand - includes redesigned entry and lobby areas with new restaurants and public spaces. Floor access was increased for improved traffic flow, and all the rooms and suites have been given a fresh look.

Delano Las Vegas’ dramatic stone entryway immerses guests in a carefully curated arrival experience inspired by the city’s

surrounding desert.

Guests are welcomed by a striking installation of a 10ft tall, 126,000-pound divided boulder sourced from the Nevada desert.

Down the inviting gallery and near the reception area is a gravity-defying art installation comprised of hundreds of small rocks by renowned South Korean artist, Jaehyo Lee. Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore said the property will be able to offer a higher room rate than normally seen on the Strip - averaging around $200 (E154) a night because the Delano brand “signifies a certain quality level and price point to consumers”.

“Overall, MGM continues to make market shares gains from re-programming properties with smartly invested dollars,” Shore said.

And gaming? Well, that’s the question. Can the

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ICR NEWS: WORLD 1-5 EUROPE 6-11 ASIA & OCEANIA 12-17 AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST 18-19 NORTH AMERICA 20-23 SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA 24-25 COMMENT & ANALYSIS 26-27

t’s good to see a new resort opening in Las Vegas again. It’s even more of a pleasure to see SLS’s commitment to recycling the buildings of its illustrious predecessor, allowing it to create something new without breaking the bank. Each Las Vegas resort needs a market in mind beyond pure gamblers, who could fall into any venue to get what they want.

The market has to be segmented: SLS with its hyper fashionable locations on both sides of the continent already has privileged access to a wealthy base who might already enjoy gambling, so it has a head start. All it has to do now is remain fashionable.

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-end market Delano draw in different style punters - a new market for the Vegas casino stalwarts to court? Las Vegas trends are always interesting to watch: broadening the allure, bringing in new people, offering new styles is one thing, but making sure that all roads lead to the casino is another. But rest assured, no one does that better than Vegas.

REVENUES

Vietnam draws closer to permitting citizens casino entry

Mass market bump may rescue Macau stumble

VIETNAM MACAU

he financial ministry of Vietnam is finalising a proposal that would grant its citizens permission to gamble in the country’s casinos.

The final draft of the document is to be sent for the approval of prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung as early as October, and is forecasted to be passed into law by the end of the year.

“There are many Vietnamese who gamble at casinos in Singapore and Cambodia, and it’s obvious that we’ve lost some state revenue here,” Phan Thi Thu Hien, deputy head of Vietnam’s banking and finance department, told Bloomberg News Agency. “We’ve studied what regional countries have done and think we should do the same. These changes would help increase government income.”

In 2013, the single-party socialist state’s budget deficit widened to 5.4 per cent of GDP. With a population of over 90m, if just five per cent of Vietnamese nationals visited a domestic venue once per year, the revenue generated under the current proposals would total approximately $360m (E278m), an earning otherwise lost to competing regional markets.

The planned legislation would still place strict restrictions on operators, who are

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R Presidential Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam

required to invest at least $4bn worth of equity in the southeast Asian state, with a maximum limit per venue of 200 table games and 2,000 machines per venue. The state’s ruling Communist Party has also insisted that participating Vietnamese must meet a criterion of financial stability: as in Singapore, all participating citizens and permanent residents will pay an initial entry levy, or annual permit fee as a disincentive to poorer nationals. The legislation will apply to all those aged 21 and over.

Vietnam currently boasts six major casino resorts, with a seventh due to open later this year. In 2012, the state taxed $12m (E9.3m) from five operational venues.

FINANCIALS

Profit falls for New Zealand casino operator NEW ZEALAND

kyCity Entertainment Group, New Zealand’s only listed casino company, has posted a 23 per cent drop in full-year profit, as a high exchange rate and the rebuild of its Adelaide casino weighed on earnings.

Profit fell to NZ$98.5m (E63m) in the 12 months to June 30, from $127.3m (E81m) a year earlier, the Aucklandbased company said. Revenue dipped 4.8 per cent to $902.5m.

An improved performance at the company’s flagship

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Auckland facilities and relatively steady returns from Darwin and Adelaide were masked by the impact of Australian earnings on the kiwi dollar, which averaged 10 cents higher than in 2013.

“The overall financial result for 2014 was mixed, with some very pleasing improvements offset by the costs of transitioning some of our key businesses, positioning them for future growth,” chief executive Nigel Morrison said in a statement.

“While general economic conditions have been buoyant in Auckland, conditions in Hamilton, South Australia

and, to a lesser extent, Darwin have been more challenging.”

Extensive construction works at the existing Adelaide Casino had also had an impact.

SkyCity recently struck a deal with the government to build a new convention centre for Auckland in exchange for increased gaming concessions. The group announced that the New Zealand International Convention Centre complex (pictured) would include a 300-bed hotel, a pedestrian laneway of bars, restaurants and boutique shopping on its property on Nelson and Hobson Streets.

evenues in global gaming hub Macau have fallen for the third consecutive month, reaching lows not seen since 2009. The drop has been attributed to falling house prices in mainland China and a targeted anti-corruption campaign that has impacted the flow of VIP money across the border. Gambling revenue fell by 6.1 percent during August when compared with the same period in 2013, with figures dropping from MOP30.7bn patacas (E3m) to MOP28.9bn (E2.8m).

However, this news has not slowed the progress of development in and around the Cotai Strip and a number of construction projects are still underway. Operators such as Wynn and SJM are among those contributing to eight new casinos.

The region’s current crop of 35 resorts can attribute some of the revenue downturn to the effects of labour disputes, with dealers at the Grand Lisboa casino undertaking a landmark piece of industrial action by slowing or stopping games on the venue’s baccarat tables.

Croupiers at the site, which is owned and operated by SJM Holdings, were demanding better pay and working conditions.

An impending smoking ban, which takes effect in October, is also expected to have a small, but noticeable negative effect on Macau revenues.

Riding to the rescue may be a predicted increase in the number of ‘mass market’ visitors during the next few months, whose revenues are recorded separately to VIP totals. Although these players wager less per capita, they come in large groups and travel directly to the casino, rather than via junket companies or handlers.

Image by J. Patrick Fischer

ANALYSIS

ACCESS

September 2014 casinoreview

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LEGISLATION

RESEARCH

NJ study highlights benefits of online gaming UNITED STATES

nline gaming is attracting new and younger players to bricks and mortar casinos, new research indicates.

According to data from Commercial Intelligence, a market research joint venture between Clarion Events and Vivid Interface, one in five online gamblers in New Jersey aged 21-24 first wagered with money at a land-based casino since November 2013 when regulated online gambling was launched in the US state.

The finding - part of the Wave 2 of New Jersey Player Survey conducted by Commercial Intelligence in June 2014 - suggests that regulated iGaming has been effective at bringing a younger player demographic to bricks and mortar gaming establishments.

The data released in two stages in February and in June reports other positive effects of online gaming regulation in the state, most importantly a “significant decline” in proportion of those playing on non-approved sites, with a reduced 16 per cent of players declaring in June that they kept loyal to the sites they had been using before November 2013 against the 24 per cent in February.

The findings in both the Wave 1 and Wave 2 reports provide an indication of how US online gamblers behave across a multitude of platforms, including laptop, smartphone and tablet; what games they choose to play; how they respond to various incentives and marketing initiatives; which brands they are loyal to; how they rate customer services; and what problems they encounter when gambling online.

Luisa Woods, director of online and internet marketing at Tropicana Entertainment, commented: “Resources like this, which provide an unbiased view of the broader marketplace and how our players perceive the service we’re delivering, are invaluable in benchmarking and identifying opportunities for growth.”

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Regulation re-haul aims to restore Bahamian gambling fortunes BAHAMAS

An overhaul of the island nation’s regulatory legislation paves the way for huge gains in casino revenue. So, will The Bahamas be gaming’s next big thing?

he Bahamas has tabled a series of new gambling acts aimed at lifting dated restrictions and opening up the sector to new expansion and technology.

Minister of tourism Obie Wilchcombe introduced the new gaming bill to the Carribbean state’s house of assembly, along with supporting legislation providing for the regulation of online and mobile gaming, proxy wagering, in-play sports betting and debt enforcement.

If passed, the proposals would replaces the country’s Lotteries and Gaming Act 1969, which though amended sporadically in subsequent decades, has remained largely unchanged since inception.

“I am pleased to bring to parliament a new, cutting edge, comprehensive gaming

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bill,” Wilchombe announced to the media. “These bills are designed to more effectively control and revolutionise gaming in The Bahamas for the greater benefit of the economy and the people of our country.”

The proposals were welcomed by executives at the upcoming Baha Mar megaresort, due to open in Spring 2015.

“These regulatory updates would provide The Bahamas and Baha Mar with a sustainable competitive advantage, which is vital for an economy driven by international tourism,” commented Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s chairman and chief executive officer. “They’ll also allow us to offer private VIP gaming salons, enhanced lines of credit, gaming junkets and other amenities vital to attracting affluent international casino customers.”

The prospective opening of

the Baha Mar comes at a crucial time for the Bahamian tourist industry. which accounts for 55 per cent of jobs in the country, and nearly half of gross domestic product. However, Bahamian gaming revenues have been falling steadily in recent years, dropping more than a third between 2007 and 2011 alone.

Once dominant as a global casino destination, recent years have seen the Bahamas struggle to keep pace with domestic US locales as well as newer Asian rivals Singapore and Macau.

Currently, the Bahamian government levies just $15m (E11.6m) per annum from casino activity. Government sources believe the latest raft of legislation, if ratified, could treble this figure.

Following a nationwide referendum held in January 2013, it remains illegal for Bahamian citizens and permanent residents to gamble.

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News Europe

DIVESTING

Long-planned, it seems that pressure is high on the new finance minister to deal with the ownership question of Casinos Austria: it could be a simple transfer of the holding to another stateowned company, it could be something more radical.

Austrian National Bank to s Casinos Austria Holding AUSTRIA

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part from rebalancing the budget and undertaking tax reform, the new Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling, appointed on September 1, has another smaller if no less pressing matter to deal with: the sale of a one third interest in the Casinos Austria Group (CAG) currently held by the state-owned Austrian National Bank (ÖNB) the Austrian Mint.

The move is part of the coalition agreement between the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Austria People’s Party (ÖVP), which retained power in the General Election last December.

Schelling’s predecessor, Michael Spin-

6 | casinoreview September 2014

delegger, resigned from all political positions at the end of August over disputes about tax policy. A change in the c7asino operators’ ownership was first signalled four finance ministers ago in 2010 under Josef Pröll, however other matters, including the award of the new round of licence concessions got in the way.

At the end of August, a director of the ÖNB, Kurt Pribil, gave a speech in which he stressed the importance to the bank of divesting itself of the CAG holding. He said: “It is not our core business.” ÖNB is not the only shareholder looking to offload: Schellhammer & Schattera, a bank 85 per cent owned by

the Austrian Catholic church, wants to sell its stake of around ten per cent, while long-time shareholder MTB Foundation is also reported to be in the market to sell its almost 17 per cent interest.

A syndicate agreement requires that any shares for sale are first offered to the other shareholders: Raiffeisen Bank is the second largest shareholder after the Mint but is understood not to be interested.

One option is for the Mint’s holding to be transferred to ÖIAG, a stateowned investment company. When first planned four years ago, the value of the stake was believed to be around

E800m-E1bn; given the huge losses made by Casinos Austria International over that period, the current value is likely to be less. And although Casinos Austria won the renewal of all 12 of the domestic licences it operated under the previous concession, some analysts believe that its failure to win any of the three new, extra licences, especially one in Vienna, has damaged its value still further.

(CASAG is currently appealing the award to a joint venture of Stadtcasino Baden and the Gauselmann Group at the prestigious Palais Schwarzenberg claiming it was unfair and not based on the merit of the CASAG bid but on extrane-

ous factors.)

However, there remain other possibilities for the holding, not least that Casinos Austria’s arch-rival Novomatic, awash with cash from its successful international and manufacturing and operating inter-

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ANALYSIS he only really difficult outcome for Casinos Austria in terms of its ownership would be a sale to Novomatic: the two companies have robust and often negative opinions about each other. Whoever acquires ownership would bring new ideas and hopefully new investment, which can only be a good thing.

Still, Casinos Austria, despite having been through a bad patch, is pulling itself up by its bootstraps, so there ought to be a measure of competition for the shares when they become available.

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to sell g New finance minister Jörg Schelling

ests, could make a bid. Such a move would undoubtedly interest the competition authorities.

The discussions over the future structure of Casinos Austria come just as CAI reported a five-fold increase in its losses for the first half

of the year, rising from around E500,000 in 2013 to just under E2.5m in 2014.

Revenues from gaming were down this year - not helped by the revocation of the Argentinian gaming licence - but also 2013 result was supported by the sale of its casino in Chile.

Nevertheless, CAI is in a better position than it was a few years ago when it reported losses of E35m and more. It has managed largely to turn round its operations in Germany, has restructured the Viage Grand Casino Brussels, and is to close the casino in Glasgow. It is also selling its Australian interests, which will net it around E70m, it is reported.

EUROPE ROUNDUP

PERFORMANCE

Online regulation bolsters Bulgaria’s state coffers

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Bulgaria is reaping the rewards of online regulation, with its half-year report indicating that gaming revenues of more than E15.3m have been raised.

BULGARIA

he Bulgarian State Gambling Commission (SGC) announced in its half-year report that the country’s total gaming revenue from fees, gaming taxes, fines and penalties was just under BGN30m (E15.3m) According to the SGC, the revenue was almost entirely profit considering expenses only totalled about E390,000 during the same half-year period. The first gaming licence in Bulgaria was handed out to the Rational Group-owned PokerStars in February 2014, with Betfair receiving its licence soon afterwards.

Despite the fact that Bulgaria has a relatively small population of 7.3m people, lower fees and taxes have allowed gaming operators to compete and grow their player bases.

Earlier this year, Rational Group’s head of corporate communication Eric Hollreiser said the Bulgarian market was full of promise. “We believe in the potential of the Bulgarian market and that is why our company has invested in the local licence,” he said in February when announcing the launch of what was then the only legal poker website available to Bulgarian players. “Regulation provides peace of mind for players and ensures that local regulators can protect consumers and collect much-needed revenue.”

Because Bulgaria did not choose

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atvia’s Olympic Entertainment Group (OEG) is restructuring sections of its business by merging selected subsidiary companies. The Baltic gaming provider is combining Olympic Casino Latvia SIA and the casino operator Altea SIA, which it acquired during summer 2013.

The merger is expected to be competed before the end of 2014 and will result in the two subsidiaries’ current crop of casinos all moving under the Olympic Casino Latvia SIA brand.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is poised to rule on a Danish tax case that may set a precedent for many similar disagreements across the continent. On 26 September, 2014 the CJEU will announce whether or not it agrees with the assertion of Danish land-based operators that the higher taxes levied on their businesses when compared with online operators amounts are illegal. The Danish

to close its market like other European countries such as France or Italy, with the launch of PokerStars.bg, Bulgarian players have the chance to legally join the room’s international players pool and compete against other players from all over their world.

According to the Bulgarian Trade Association of Manufacturers and Operators in the Gaming Industry (BTAMOGI), the country’s gaming market remains dynamic and full of potential. “New Gambling Act introduced in 2012 laid the foundations for new opportunities for the industry by legalising gaming and betting through online, mobile and other platforms,” the association said in its 2013 annual review. “Regulatory system has evolved and in the last few months it was finally completed with all technical requirements to the organisers, manufacturers and consumers. Although the actual implementation of the new regulatory framework happened more than a year after the legal act entered into force, new processes make progress.”

Ognemir Mitev, chairman of the SGC, said: “Legislative changes in the legal framework are necessary in order to reduce the administrative burden and facilitate the licensing regime. This will encourage investment in the industry and an increase in economic activity. It will increase tax revenues and lead to greater efficiency of the administration.”

government has argued that the disproportionate tax rates are designed to encourage online companies to apply for expensive operators licenses.

Elsewhere, major Spanish operator Cirsa has posted positive financial results, as the country shows signs of recovery after it was badly affected by the global recession. Cirsa’s operating profit rose 8.3 percent to €154m during the first half of 2014, when compered to the same period in 2013.

Operating income was up 13.9 percent to €760m, with turnover rising 11.5 percent to €370m. The rise was credited, in part, to a solid performance by the company’s Latin American ventures and Italian VLTs.

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ILLEGAL MACHINES

With a comprehensive entertainment programme and the installation of the Duma progressive system and Sphinx 3D slot machine, Slovenian operator Hit is hoping its flagship Perla casino will continue to draw the crowds for another 21 years.

One million slots seized in Russia over five years RUSSIA

Hit’s Perla venue celebrates A 21st anniversary SLOVENIA

erla, the flagship casino of Slovenian operator, Hit, celebrated its 21st anniversary on September 11, with the owner implementing a varied entertainment programme in celebration of this milestone.

As one of eastern Europe’s most successful gaming operators, Hit owns eight casinos and slot halls across Slovenia, along with Coloseum Club in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Maestral Resort and Casino in Montenegro.

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Located in Nova Gorica, a town and a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy, Perla’s longstanding success has been attributed to the fact that it brings Las Vegas-style gaming to a southern and eastern European audience.

The open-plan casino features 946 slot machines, 83 table games, private gaming rooms, poker and bingo.

“The Perla combines a wide range of tourist programs and activities throughout the year, 24 hours a day,” said Hit amid the casino’s 21st anniversary celebra-

tion. “Comfortable accommodation option, including 225 rooms and 24 suites, four restaurants, a modern spa and conference facilities represent only part of the services we offer under one roof.”

As part of the celebrations, guests on September 11 were greeted with refreshments and musical entertainment in the form of a string quartet on the casino floor. A Latin dance troupe and concert by Italian singer Paola Turci also featured on the entertainment roster.

According to Hit, the success of Perla comes from this combi-

nation of gaming and entertainment, which has helped the casino remain on the local and international tourist map. More than 15m visitors have walked through the doors since the casino opened in 1993, with 52,300 people visiting in August 2014 alone.

The operator continues to refresh the gaming offer at the Slovenia venue. In May 2014, the casino hosted the European premier of the Duma progressive system, while in September the casino installed GTech’s innovative Sphinx 3D slot machine.

REGULATION

Portuguese regulation to benefit state PORTUGAL

he Portuguese government’s plans to regulate online sports betting market would benefit not only consumers but also the state, according to Remote Gambling Association (RGA).

After noting the opposition of charity and incumbent gaming operator Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa (SCML) to the government’s plans to regulate the online sports betting market, the RGA said that the Portuguese plans for reform - in particular,

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the prohibitive taxes that will apply to online sports betting - will make the establishment of a competitive licensed market “almost impossible”.

“SCML appears to see the establishment of such a successful online betting market as a threat rather than an opportunity,” the RGA stated. “However, in other jurisdictions, such as Denmark, the incumbent monopoly operators have thrived under new licensing systems. There is no reason that SCML could not be at least as successful in a regime where there will be room for many dif-

8 | casinoreview September 2014

betting market by future Portuguese licensed online sports betting operators.

“A forthcoming study by PWC will, among other things, make it clear that any fears of cannibalisation of Santa Casa’s offline sports betting product are wholly misplaced,” the association stated. “Furthermore, it is clear that if the punitive taxes for online sports betting in the draft law remain, there will ferent kinds of operators to The RGA is of the view be a clear ongoing risk of run profitable tax-paying that the taxes set out in the many Portuguese conbusinesses, provided that a draft law are the result of a sumers using illegal and/or sensible tax on gross prof- fear of cannibalisation of unlicensed operators after its is introduced.” the SCML offline sports regulation is enacted.”

round 1m slot machines have been seized at underground casinos in Russia over the past five years, the Prosecutor General’s Office has announced.

Gambling was banned overnight in Russia on July 1, 2009, with the exception of four designated areas.

One gambling zone is currently in operation on the border of the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region in southern Russia.

The other three areas are under construction in the Kaliningrad Region on the Baltic Sea, the Altai Territory in south Siberia and the Primorye Territory on the Pacific Coast.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law in July setting up a gambling zone in Crimea and Sochi with its Winter Olympics venues.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, more than 100,000 facilities have been inspected since gambling was banned in the country.

Reports emerging from the region indicated that fines totalling RUB684m (E14m) have been imposed and criminal proceedings initiated in more than 1,660 cases.

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T E C H N O L O G Y

OCTAVIAN DE ARGENTINA S.A. San José 83 Piso 3 C1076AAA Buenos Aires Argentina Phone: +54 11 4383 4131 Fax: +54 11 4383 4131

AGI GAMING COLOMBIA S.A.S. Autopista Norte N. 122 - 35 Lc 2 Edificio Mezco Colombia Phone: +57 1 2130 388 Fax: +57 1 2141 571

Please note that Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI) has acquired the Octavian companies listed above and certain assets and/or rights to offer ACP and other Octavian products. AGI and the companies mentioned above including their products are not related to Octavian International Ltd. (UK) which is under administration.

CR143-p06-10-Europe_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:02 Page 4

News Europe

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

CLASS EVENT: MACAO POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND MGS ORGANISERS WILL BE RUNING A SPECIAL CLASS ON GAMING EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENTS DURING THE MACAO SHOW.

APPOINTMENT

ADVERTISING

PERFORMANCE

Caesars UK appoints new CFO

Dutch advertising clampdown ‘successful’

Sweden continues to slide

UNITED KINGDOM

C

aesars Entertainment UK has appointed former its head of planning analysis, Alex Oswald, to the position of chief financial officer.

Oswald served the position of head of business intelligence at the Aspers Group from July 2013 through July 2014.

“Caesars Entertainment enjoys a unique position in the UK casino market,” Oswald said.

“We have the scale and authenticity that our Las Vegas credentials give us yet we’re able to offer a ‘tailor-made’ service and environment in each of our venues.

“This enables us to offer the best gaming experience in the market.

There is also a real commitment from the top to innovate and grow, I can’t think of a more thrilling place to be in the gaming world and I’m excited by the prospect of driving the business forward.”

Caesars Entertainment UK’s CEO Mike Rothwell said: “Caesars Entertainment has always been a market leader, driving innovation and change to the casino and gaming world. I am focused on building the best team around me so that we can continue to deliver the very best experience for the discerning gamer.”

Caesars Entertainment UK owns and operates 12 land-based casinos, located in the UK, South Africa and Egypt.

Alea Glasgow

NETHERLANDS

he Dutch gambling regulator’s clampdown on “excessive” online sports betting advertisements surrounding the World Cup and Tour de France has been deemed successful.

The Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) embarked on a ‘cease and desist’ campaign against eight sports betting operators who were advertising gambling promotions online ahead of the popular sporting events.

According to the authority, all eight warning letters were heeded by the operators, who cancelled their targeted advertising campaigns in the face of a E780,000 fine.

As the Netherlands continues to work on liberalising its online gaming market, sports betting in the Netherlands is currently only permitted through the state-owned Toto.nl website.

Marja Appelman, director of the Kansspelautoriteit, said she expects the parliamentary process to be com-

SWEDEN

F

T

pleted by January 1, 2015. “It is up to us as the Dutch Gaming Authority to translate the new legal framework into practical procedures, processes and guidelines,” she said earlier this year.

While Appelman said she could not reveal full details of the bill, she said the Dutch Gaming Authority was working closely with other regulators around the world. “Online gaming operators work in international markets, and we know that you don’t want to have different technical standards

FINANCIALS

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

UK gambling group appoints new chairman UNITED KINGDOM

he Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG), which is comprised of the five main trade associations from the UK’s gambling industry, has appointed Barry Hardy as its new chairman.

Formed in March 2014, the IGRG provides a structure to promote socially responsible gambling in the licensed UK gambling market.

The group is comprised of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB), British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA), The Bingo Association (BA), National Casino Forum (NCF) and Remote Gambling Association (RGA).

Hardy is a chartered accountant who has been involved in the leisure and gaming industry since 1975. He is currently a non-executive direc-

T

10 | casinoreview September 2014

between markets,” she said. “We have been co-operating with other gaming authorities and exchanging best practices in an effort to harmonise, where possible, the technical and administrative procedures. I hold the opinion that such co-operation is absolutely necessary.”

In other news, a Dutch-Belgian couple have been fined E80,000 by the Kansspelautoriteit for organising an illegal lottery, with a villa in South Africa being the top prize.

tor of Gala Coral Group; chairman of Regency Casinos in Greece; and a non-executive director of Peermont, a South African gaming company.

Hardy commented: “The wider gambling industry has done much over the years to promote socially responsible gambling, and those developments should be acknowledged. However, we must proactively strive to identify and implement further improvements where we can.

“The IGRG has unmatched reach across the UK gambling industry and I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the associations have been working together. I am very much looking forward to the coming months as we begin to do more detailed work in areas such as staff training, customer interaction, and messaging.”

Partouche fortunes wain, after poor third quarterly performance

FRANCE

rench casino operator Groupe Partouche has posted another heavy decline in earnings, with a third quarter revenue of $79m (E102m), down 6.4 per cent year-onyear.

The group’s online business contributed just $0.7m (E0.6m) for the period, with casino earnings down 6.8 per cent to $113m (E87.6m). The group’s hotels have also suffered, with quarterly gross revenue of just $13.7m (E10.6m): a 13.6 per cent fall on last year’s taking.

Founded in 1973, Partouche operates 46 casino resorts throughout France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Tunisia.

To date, the current financial year has seen Partouche garner $351m (E279.2m).

F

igures release from Sweden’s gambling and lottery authority - Lotteriinspektionen - has revealed that the country’s tightly controlled gaming market is continuing to slump.

According to a recently released report, revenues during the first half of 2014 fell by three percent when compared with the first half of 2013.

Sportsbetting was the only bright spot for the Swedish gaming industry, with every other sector reporting a negative or negligibly positive half-year. Gaming revenues shrunk by 11 percent to SEK7.8bn (E0.8bn), while gross turnover came in at SEK19.3bn (E2.1bn). Lotteriinspektionen communications manager, Joakim Rönngren, called the year “sluggish,” and noted that the Swedish market had become a “slow player for most customers.”

The state’s gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, foreshadowed these figures earlier, when it revealed a 6.2 percent decline in profits and fall in net gaming revenues from SEK2.5m (E0.27m) to SEK2.29m (E0.25m) during Q1 2014. In an attempt to rescue its ailing performance, the operator has applied for permission to establish an online casino. The prospect of Sweden’s gambling monopoly moving in on the online market has irked some, with Unibet CEO Henrik Tjärnström saying that the move “would seem to be putting fuel on the fire.”

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CR143-p12-16-Asia_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:13 Page 1

News

Asia & Oceania INTEGRATED RESORT The Aquis promises to be one of the most spectacular resorts in the world

Another potential obstacle has been cleared by Tony Fung in his quest to build a spectacular new integrated resort north of Cairns.

He now seems to have a clear run to approval some time next year.

AUSTRALIA

No competition concerns fo Aquis acquisition of Reef

T

he A$269m (E195m) sale of the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns by CAI to Tony Fung’s Aquis group will not face opposition from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), it has been announced.

Aquis is currently well advanced in the approvals process for a huge, new A$8bn (E6.8bn) resort complex 15km north of Cairns a decision by the government of Queensland is expected next year - and there were some concerns that two casino licences so close to each other could

12 | casinoreview September 2014

limit competition. However, the ACCC said the two would serve very different markets.

Commissioner Jill Walker said: “The ACCC understands that the resort, if developed, would be of a scale that is unprecedented in Australia. The total expenditure required to develop the first stage along would be over A$5bn [E3.6bn]. The ACCC was satisfied that…the Aquis Resort will focus primarily on international VIP customers because the size of the proposed investment would require a much

higher return than could be obtained from non-VIP customers.”

She noted that the Reef’s customers, by contrast, are locals and domestic tourists betting at a much lower level. “The Reef Casino makes most of its money from gaming machines rather than table games.”

The sale of the Reef was a coup for cash-strapped Casinos Austria International. CAI CEO Alex Tucek said recently that the approach by Tony Fung was unexpected: “My assumption is that he wants a bit

more experience in operations. But he made us an offer that was very hard to refuse. We had to ask ourselves if we were going to stay in the market for another five years then sell it as a small casino in a big world. This way we can use the money where it can do us the most good.”

Justin Fung, the entrepreneur’s son and CEO of the proposed resort, said: “The acquisition of [the Reef Casino] is an important part of our overall vision for the Aquis integrated resort at Yorkey’s Knob.”

Aquis promises to be

massive with 750 gaming tables and 1,500 gaming machines. The entire resort will be centred on a large manmade reef lagoon and feature eight hotels as well as 1,200 apartments, 135 villas, shopping mall, cinema, 18-hole golf course, a convention centre and a 25,000seater sports stadium. If it goes ahead, construction of the first phase of the resort could be complete as early as 2019, creating around 9,300 jobs, and when operational would employ around 10,000 people.

Fung has undertaken to build the resort in the most

CR143-p12-16-Asia_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:15 Page 2

AUSTRALIA / CAMBODIA / JAPAN / MACAUYXYXYXY / SAMOA Macao Gaming Summit, November 18-20

MACAO SUMMIT: THE MACAO GAMING SUMMIT WILL FEATURE OVER 20 UNIQUE SESSIONS FOCUSING ON THE ASIAN GAMING WORLD. THE 2014 SUMMIT THEME IS ‘ASIAN GAMING: LOOKING BEYOND THE HORIZON’.

CONSTRUCTION

ANALYSIS ony Fung’s Aquis project does have competition, albeit not in any way from the Reef Casino, whoever owns it. Its competition will come from Macau and its everincreasing supply, from other Australian resorts, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, even Russia and of course potentially Japan. All are chasing the wealthy Chinese market and for the moment at least demand remains good. Is the demand bottomless?

Probably not. Can we see the bottom? Not yet. But in ten years time, when most of the new developments have been built, we may see that their returns are not quite as good as their operators had counted on.

T

Parisian Macao receives construction permit MACAU

as Vegas Sands Corporation (LVS) and its majorityowned subsidiary, Sands China, have received the government permit needed for construction on the $2.7bn (E2.1bn) Parisian Macao to resume.

Group chairman Sheldon Adelson unveiled plans to develop Parisian Macau in September 2012. The 3,000-room hotel-casino project will include a scaled-down replica of the Eiffel Tower.

The company said additional permits would be necessary as the development continues, but after undergoing a brief work stoppage, this latest approval enables work on the critical podium structure to restart immediately.

Venetian Macau, a division of Sands China, holds one of the six gambling concessions in Macau.

The company owns the Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, the Plaza

L

Macao and Sands Cotai Central.

It also owns Cotai Expo, one of the largest convention and exhibition halls in Asia; the Cotai Arena; the 1,800-seat luxury Venetian Theatre; and Cotai Water Jet, one of two major highspeed ferry companies operating between Hong Kong and Macau.

Elsewhere in Asia, George Tanasijevich, LVS’ managing director of global development and CEO of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, confirmed the Las Vegas-based operator was

analysing the potential of South Korea as its next big project.

He described South Korea as “a top development opportunity” for the industry and the company.

According to reports, Tanasijevich said LVS was looking for a site to support the group’s business model, and has gone as far as officially proposing to the Seoul government that the operator build “a truly iconic building” at the site of the 1988 Olympic Games stadium in Jamsil, southern Seoul.

ASIA ROUND UP yanmar looks set to lay the foundations of a regulated casino market catering to foreign tourists, amid wider moves of economic liberalisation within the southeast Asian country.

The bill currently under draft by the Myanmarese ministry of home affairs, would legalise gambling for foreign visitors in specified hotel resorts. The announcement comes amidst reports of alleged unlicensed gambling already taking place within the country’s self-administered border regions with China and Thailand.

Meanwhile, an Australian select committee inquiry in New South Wales (NSW) has concluded the local government should step-up its efforts to protect consumers from the perils of problem gambling. It’s report found the concentration of games machines within deprived areas par-

M

DEREGULATION

s for ef environmentally sensitive way possible and to keep locals on board with the plans.

The Reef is currently the only casino in Cairns but the state government is pushing for the development of more to stimulate the economy and create jobs by appealing to the ever-growing Chinese and wider Asian markets. Australia can already count on well in excess of 1m visitors from Greater China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) arriving annually with another 1.5m – 2m from other countries.

Universal linked to casino deal JAPAN

A

s Japan moves closer to potentially signing new legislation that permits the development of casino resorts in the country, Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is seeking partnerships with foreign casino operators, reports suggest.

The operator of Osaka’s 13-year-old Universal Studios Japan is understood to be in talks with MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Genting for a possible partnership to run a casino resort.

“We have operational capacity, experience know-how, and I don’t think we would be stretched to participate in more than one [casino],” chief executive officer Glenn Gumpel said in August.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is seeking to pass a law to legalise casinos during the Diet session starting this autumn, as part of plans to boost tourism along with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Universal’s intentions mark an interesting

division between the group and rival operator, The Walt Disney Company.

In December 2013, Disney, the world’s largest media enterprise, announced it was bringing an end to licensing deals in the slot machines, online gaming and lottery tickets sectors. The group said it would phase out its Star Wars and Marvel slot machines in the US, in line with its ‘family-friendly’ policies.

Martin Scorcese, directing a triumvirate of Hollywood royalty for Melco’s high-profile Studio City opening

ticularly troubling, and recommended an independent review of local impact, machine design and features, and maximum bet limits and jackpots.

Back in Asia, Melco Crown’s luxuriant Studio City resort is due for completion in Macau next year, driving the Hong Kong conglomerate to assemble some of the finest talents in Hollywood to create a promotional film due to debut at the venue’s grand opening. Martin Scorcese will direct Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Robert DeNiro in the short feature, the first assemblage of all four men on a single project. Whilst details of the film’s plot remain obscure, production company RatPac Entertainment confirmed the footage would be used in Melco’s wider expansion into Asia.

September 2014 casinoreview

| 13

CR143-p12-16-Asia_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:18 Page 3

News

Asia & Oceania

Slot Experience Center, MGS, November 18-20

SLOT EXPERIENCE CENTER: VISITORS TO NOVEMBER’S MGS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEST DRIVE THE LATEST MACHINES AND PROVIDE CRUCIAL FEEDBACK TO PARTICIPATING MANUFACTURERS. EXHIBITIONS

NEW OPENINGS

Leading industry organisations sign MGS partnership The Gaming Standards Association and the International Masters of Gaming Law have both been confirmed as co-organising partners for Macao Gaming Show’s November conference.

GSA president, Peter DeRaedt

MACAU

he organisers of the Macao Gaming Summit, which takes place alongside the Macao Gaming Show (MGS) in November, have announced that the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) and the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) have both been confirmed as co-organising partners for the November conference. “It is with great pleasure that we are able to welcome both IMGL and GSA to the Summit as coorganising partners,” said Ira Iskandar, conference manager at Koelnmesse, the event and conference management partner of MGS. “The combined depth of knowledge and unique insight into their respective fields will be invaluable to the show and all in attendance.”

Commenting on the partnership, GSA president Peter DeRaedt (pictured), said: “Since 2003, the Gam-

T

ing Standards Association has had a strong presence in Macau and established a close and collaborative agreement with the Macau Polytechnic Institute (MPI) in 2007.

“GSA continues to believe that innovation will grow exponentially in Macau and throughout Asia.

We are looking forward to working closely with the MGS conference as coorganisers.”

GSA is an international trade association that facili-

tates the identification, definition, development, promotion and implementation of standards to enable interoperability, innovation, education and communication for the benefit of the entire industry. Its members include international manufacturers, suppliers, operators and regulators.

IMGL is one of the world’s pre-eminent global gambling law networking and educational organisations, and counts members from across the full spec-

trum of gambling sectors, including compliance, cross-border regulation, iGaming, legislative affairs, education, lotteries, taxation and land-based gaming and betting.

The Macao Gaming Summit runs alongside Macao Gaming Show, which is the first large scale gaming and entertainment exhibition organised and run by Macau organisations and supported by government departments. Taking place at the Venetian Macao on November 18-20, MGS 2014 will have a floor area of over 10,000sq.m Exhibitors and buyers eyeing the Asian market will be coming from all corners of the world.

The event covers six gaming industry segments: gaming equipment and accessories; gaming promoters, junkets and VIP clubs; casino fixtures and fittings; promotional services and memorabilia; food and beverage; and entertainment and performance.

IPG secures operation of Samoa’s first casino venture SAMOA

ustralia-based casino operators Indo Pacific Gaming (IPG) have been contracted to operate the first two casinos to open on the Pacific island state of Samoa.

Located at the Aggie Grey’s lagoon beach resort, August 30 saw prime minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegao announce the grand opening of the White Sands Casino, Mulifaunua. A second venue, under construction in the nation’s capital of Apia, is due for completion in the second quarter of 2015.

The move, backed by Grey’s Investment Group (GIG), Gaming Concepts Group and public funds from the State of Samoa,

A

represents the culmination of protracted debate in the country, in which opposition to gambling licenses was raised from both senior church and government officials.

Fred Grey, director of Aggie Grey’s, commented to the Samoa Observer: “The opening of White Sands Mulifauna allows Samoa to enter into a new level of tourism. We have engaged IPG to ensure that the casino is operated to the highest standard of professionalism.”

IPG specialises in the supply and upkeep of gaming equipment as well as wider casino operation management. With extensive experience throughout emerging south-east Asian markets, White Sands Samoa represents its first move into the Pacific island region.

EXPANSION

Galaxy to boost workforce by 8,000 as Cotai Strip reaches second phase MACAU

G

alaxy Entertainment Group, the Macau casino operator, will increase its workforce by 50 per cent as it prepares to open the second phase of its Galaxy Macau resort on the city’s Cotai Strip.

The Hong Kong-listed company will begin recruit-

ing 8,000 workers at the end of this year for the HK$20bn (E1.95bn) property, which is on schedule for completion by mid2015.

The news came as Galaxy reported that adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the three months ended June rose 15 per cent to HK$3.5bn

14 | casinoreview September 2014

(E342m) from a year earlier as mass-market gamblers offset a slowdown in high rollers’ wagers.

“During the half year we made excellent progress in realising our primary strategic objectives across our flagship properties including enhancing our existing operations as the market evolves and building foundations for the Group’s long term sus-

tainable growth,” said Galaxy chairman, Lui Che Woo. “We are confident that Phases 2, 3 and 4 of Galaxy Macau on Cotai, relaunching the Grand Waldo Complex and our conceptual plans for Hengqin Island will enhance Macau’s world-wide reputation as a tourism capital, catalyse our earnings growth and maximise long term shareholder returns.”

www.wms.com

CR143-p12-16-Asia_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:21 Page 4

News

Asia & Oceania

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

STEPPING UP: ARUZE GAMING MACAU HAS CONFIRMED ITS RETURN TO MGS TO SHOWCASE ITS LATEST INNOVATOR SERIES OF STEPPER GAMES. CUSTOMER SERVICE

INTEGRATED RESORT

NagaCorp to expand VIP operations with the formation of private airline NagaCorp is to fly high-rolling customers directly to Phnomh Penh, following a meteoric rise in VIP revenues. Cambodia’s largest casino operator has purchased two Airbus A320 planes and applied for an airline licence, as it plans to offer bespoke flights to the capital’s international airport for its VIP customers.

Crown reaches landmark agreement with Victoria government AUSTRALIA

C

CAMBODIA

agaCorp are certainly not hiding their light under a bushel: the decision to purchase aircrafts to fly VIPs into their resorts is both brave and brazen. And why not; after all, the announcement comes off the back of compelling financial results for the year to date which showed gross gaming revenues up twentyseven per cent year-on-year to $180.3m (E136.6m), with the growth largely attributable to a 61.3 per cent rise in VIP taking.

In the first half of 2014, VIP spending accounted for over sixty per cent of Naga’s total table-game revenue. NagaCorp’s flag-

N

ship resort is NagaWorld in Phnomh Penh, offering 169 tables and over 1,500 individual electronic gaming machines. As of last year, its maximum tablegame bet limit ranged from $100,000 to $150,000.

Since 2013, NagaCorp has invested heavily in VIP market incentives - aiming to maximise the footfall of those willing to part with a minimum of $20,000 per head.

With this latest, high-flying move, chairman Tim McNally believes that NagaWorld has firmly established Phnomh Penh as Asia’s primary destination for the so-called ‘premium-mass’ player demographic: “NagaWorld offers VIP services that this level of player would not

16 | casinoreview September 2014

receive in Macau,” he said.

It’s certainly true that the flow of wealthy Chinese nationals to Cambodia is growing steadily: Chinese visitors to the Kingdom are second only to those of its neighbour, Vietnam. In the first five months of 2014, nearly a quarter of a million Chinese nationals had made the journey: a 19 per cent increase on last year.

In recent years NagaCorp has signed up several promoter groups from the Southeast Asia region, the core of them based in Malaysia. However, the operator has now announced that it is in the final stages of lining-up another seven or eight junket operators based exclusively in Macau.

“With the signing of

these Macau groups, we expect a better quality player in terms of sizeable rollings,” says McNally, forecasting a consequent improvement in win-rates.

Whilst it’s private flight operation will commence from late September, NagaCorp will also begin construction of a separate terminal building to process all of its alighting passengers. The $15m venture will include its own customs and immigration facility, VIP lounge, as well as tailored food and beverage outlets.

Upon completion, the company is hoping that the addition of this premium international transit service will double the volume of Chinese customers to its venues.

rown Resorts has reached agreement with the Government of Victoria on a number of reforms to the Melbourne Casino Licence, which will purportedly improve the competitiveness of the Crown Melbourne integrated resort as a tourism destination.

The group’s casino licence in Melbourne has been granted a 17-year extension, from 2033 to 2050.

Amid the licence extension, Crown said the socalled ‘super tax’ on international and interstate VIP play would be removed from 2015. In addition, the group will be able to increase by 40 the maximum number of table games permitted to operate, which brings the total figure to 440 tables plus 100 poker tables at the resort. Crown will also be able to increase by 50 the maximum number of automatic table games to a total of 250, while the number of slots will increase from 2,500 to 2,628.

“The reforms will help boost Victorian tourism and create new jobs as they will allow Crown Melbourne to compete more effectively in interstate

and international markets,” the company stated. “Victorian taxpayers will also benefit from a substantial upfront licence payment to be made by Crown.”

Under the terms of the new agreement, Crown will make a series of payments to the state, including a one-time payment of A$250m (E176m) once the legislative amendments have been ratified. A further payment of A$100m (E70m) in 2023 will also be actioned if the gaming revenues at Crown Melbourne grows by more than four per cent each year over the 2014-2022 period. An additional A100m will be paid if compound revenues grow by more than 4.7 per cent during this period. Crown has guaranteed to pay the state a minimum of $35m (E25m) per annum in gaming taxes in relation to the new gaming product over the six-year period commencing 2016.

James Packer, chairman of Crown Resorts, commented: “Crown is one of Australia’s most successful tourism companies. In the 10 years to 2016 we will have invested A$1.7bn (E1.2bn) to upgrade the Crown Melbourne integrated resort to make sure we remain competitive with the best integrated resorts in the world.”

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CR143-p18-19-Africa_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 12:54 Page 1

News

Africa & Middle East

ACQUISITION

Asian firm buys Sun’s venues outside South Africa

Sun International has launched into a new partnership with an Asian company that will bring investment and new opportunities for business outside its South African core market.

S SOUTH AFRICA

un International has announced the sale of joint or controlling interests in eight African casino resorts outside South Africa to a Thailand-based international hospitality firm Minor International Pcl (MINT) for R679.5m (around US$64m).

The deal sees Sun cede 50 per cent of its Zambian business along with 80 per cent of its businesses in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.

The new strategic partnership for these African Assets, said the companies in a statement, “intends to leverage both companies’ core strengths”.

Sun International will continue to manage the casino operations, while MINT will take over the hotel management, marketing and distribution under its Anantara and Avani brands.

The resorts involved are:

18 | casinoreview September 2013

Royal Livingstone and Zambezi Sun in Zambia; the Gaborone Sun in Botswana; the Kalahari Sands in Namibia; the Lesotho Sun and Maseru Sun in Lesotho; and the Royal Swazi and Ezulwini Sun in Swaziland.

Sun International said: “The proposed transaction and the partnership with MINT in Africa are in line with [our] strategy to optimise [our] capital allocation and resources. The Partnership enables Sun International to remain invested in the African Assets but with responsibility for the casino component only, as well as to partner with MINT in other African opportunities that have a casino element.”

It continued: “Going forward Sun International will be able to give greater focus to opportunities identified in Latin America and Asia (where MINT has a strong presence) as further key

growth markets for its core casino business.”

MINT has said it will commit to a pro rata share of new capital expenditure to realise the revenue potential of the resort, thus giving Sun more room to consider capital investment opportunities elsewhere. Sun will use proceeds from the disposal to reduce its debt and fund its strategic expansion initiatives.

For MINT the transaction is another milestone in strategic expansion in Africa, where it already owns eight luxury game lodges and resorts in Kenya and Tanzania under the Elewana Collection brand, as well as five hotel projects in Mozambique already using the Anantara and Avani brands.

Sun International CEO Graeme Stephens said: “With MINT now taking the bulk of management respon-

sibility for the African Assets, the proposed transaction allows Sun International and its management team to increase their focus on the core casino assets that are driving its financial performance and strategy. In addition, Sun International will remain invested in the partnership and will continue to benefit in the future growth of these African Assets under the new alliance with MINT.” William Heinecke, MINT’s chairman and group CEO, added: “Over the past few years, MINT has strategically expanded its hospitality business into many regions, and Africa is one of the continents that MINT saw substantial growth potential and has put its focus on, as evidenced by a number of acquisitions and partnerships in the region.

According to Dillip Rajakarier, chief executive

of MINT’s Minor Hotel Group division, this move is just the start. He said: “Starting with the existing African Assets, it is the intention of the partnership to explore together other hotel and gaming opportunities that may arise in Africa and Asia, where MINT would manage the hotel component and Sun International would manage the casino component”.

The only African property outside of South Africa owned by Sun International and not part of the deal is the Federal Palace in Lagos, Nigeria. However, the companies said that they are currently in discussion about the property and a possible investment by MINT. Completion of the deal will come once regulatory approval has been gained for all eight properties: the sale has been agreed as a nondivisible package.

CR143-p18-19-Africa_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 12:55 Page 2

SOUTH AFRICA YXYXYXY Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

REVVING UP: PERFORMANCE CAR BRAND LOTUS WILL BE EXHIBITING AT MGS. THE FAN CLUB LOTUS MACAU WILL BE AT THE VENETIAN MACAO WITH FIVE LOTUS FROM THE ELISE AND ESPRIT RANGE

The Royal Livingstone resort in Zambia is one of the flagship properties in the deal

ACQUISITION

FINANCIALS

GPI acquires controlling stake in electronics manufacturer

Sun finds warmth in Chile and African resorts on the horizon

SOUTH AFRICA

Building on its agreement to manufacture Merkur Gaming’s slot machines in South Africa in 2012, Grand Parade Investments has acquired a controlling stake in Tellumat, one of the country’s leading electronics contractors.

ANALYSIS sian interest in Africa is a major driver in development there at the moment. In most cases it is Chinese firms that are making the running - this is a rarer case of a large Thai company getting involved. Investment is key: only premium quality environments will attract highspending customers.

MINT also has the advantage of a huge international hotel network and a database that will prove an important marketing asset.

A

rand Parade Investments (GPI), the JSE-listed holding company with investments and operations in the South African gaming and leisure industry, has entered into a manufacturing joint venture with leading electronics contract manufacturer, Tellumat.

The deal will see GPI acquire 51 per cent of the joint venture company Grand Tellumat Manufacturing, with Tellumat owning the balance of 49 per cent.

The transaction is a merger of the engineering skills and manufacturing capabilities of Tellumat with the investment know-how of GPI. The newly created company aims to position itself as the manufacturer of choice for electronic and related technology products designated as requiring minimum levels of local content to be eligible for procurement by government departments and local infrastructure projects. The partners anticipate that the government’s localisation initiative will create more local manufacturing opportunities and act as a catalyst for job creation.

Tellumat is a privately owned South African company founded in 1998 from businesses that originally were part of the UK-based Plessey group that established operations in South Africa in the 1960s. Tellumat currently manufactures and assembles a wide range of electronic products including some that are ulti-

G

mately delivered to leading companies such as Boeing, Airbus and Eskom. By Tellumat adding its proven manufacturing capability, high level of quality systems and a wealth of manufacturing expertise in the aerospace, defence, energy, telecommunications, transport and consumer electronics industries to the joint venture, Grand Tellumat Manufacturing is well positioned as a localisation partner for foreign and local vendors bidding for government procurement and infrastructure projects.

GPI CEO Alan Keet said: “As a broad-based empowerment company GPI’s focus is to invest in companies that will not only deliver good returns for our shareholders, but also create jobs. For us the deal makes sense as we have determined the capability of Tellumat during our investigations into the manufacturing of gaming machines and it became apparent that there is a much greater contribution we can make as a combined entity in the existing environment.”

At the end of 2012, GPI entered into a deal with German slot machine manufacturer Merkur Gaming to manufacturer the company’s gaming machines in South Africa. The groups formed a new arrangement where they could manufacture, assemble and distribute slot machines, sports betting and lottery terminals through a joint venture with Tellumat as the contract manufacturer.

Tellumat CEO Andrew Connold said: “We have a wealth of experience and skill in electronics and electronic engineering and possess the capability to manufacture any electronic product locally. We offer a full turnkey solution that provides our customers with a complete product entirely produced, tested and packaged for onward sale at our premises. We can even build high tech robotic products and systems, if that’s what a customer wants.”

SOUTH AFRICA

A

fter taking a big hit in Chile thanks to the introduction of a smoking ban in March 2013, the big news from Sun International’s most recent financial report was the emergence of some rapid green shoots of recovery.

The Monticello casino - in which Sun International owns a 98.9 percent stake - reported that revenues for the first half of the year were down 22 percent in the wake of the ban.

However, the quick construction of smoking decks in September and October appears to have healed some of the damage, with revenue climbing back 10 percent through the second half of the year.

Sun International reported that EBIDTA in Chile climbed 56 percent during the latter half of the year to CLP9.5bn Chilean pesos, creating an EBITDA margin of 24.8 percent. “The

recovery in revenues in recent months and a comprehensive restructure of the business which creates a positive outlook for the year ahead,” said a company statement.

Overall, total group revenue for the period ended 30 jun, 2014 increased by 5.4 percent to ZAR10.8bn, with EBITDA moving up 5 percent to ZAR3.1bn. The company also saw a marked revenue increase during the year, rising from 3.6 percent during the first half to 7.4 percent in the second.

The release of these financial details follow swiftly from an announcement that Sun International is to partner with the Minor Hotel Group (MHG) to own and operate eight properties in five African countries. “MHG is strategically expanding its hospitality business into many regions and Africa is a key focus where we have seen substantial growth potential,” said Minor Hotel CEO Dillip Rajakarier. “We are excited to be partnering with Sun International with their vast experience on the continent and this latest acquisition significantly strengthens MHG’s position in Africa.”

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News

North America

MARKET CONDITIONS

Three major casinos close within a few weeks of each other. Trump Taj Mahal may follow suit. From 13 casinos a year ago, Atlantic City could be down to eight by the turn of next year.

R UNITED STATES

KEEPING AN EYE: IGAMING IN MACAU FORMS THE CORE SESS CHALLENGES, IGAMING PAYMENT METHODS, OPPORTUNITIES

Revel CasinoHotel: Defunct

Revel, Showboat and Plaza bring down the shutters

evel, the great blue hope for the revitalisation of Atlantic City’s casino industry, closed on September 2, ten weeks after it went into bankruptcy protection for the second time in its 30month life. Two days earlier, Caesars’ Showboat shut its doors for the final time - a move announced in late June.

The closure of both sees the loss of almost 4,900 jobs.

Then, just as the dust covers were being thrown over Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts revealed that it had obtained permission to close its Trump Plaza resort on September 16 with the loss of another 1,000 jobs. All told, the losses account for around a fifth of the entire casino sector in the city.

In January, the Atlantic Club casino closed at the cost of 1,600 jobs.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has called for a summit to discuss how to inject new life into the ailing

20 | casinoreview September 2014

city, which has seen revenues from gambling halve since reaching a peak of $5.2bn (E4bn) in 2006.

Revel’s closure had been brought forward a week but remained open over the important Labor Day holiday weekend, which traditionally marks the end of the summer season in the US. In a statement released on August 15, the operator said: “We thank all of our employees for the professionalism, dedication and hard work. We know that they have provided an outstanding experience for out guests and will continue to do so throughout this process.”

The $2.4bn (E1.8bn) resort opened in April 2012 but underwent Chapter 11 restructuring less than a year into its operation. After exiting, it limped along for another year before heading back to court protection in June. It is unlikely - for the moment at least - that the bulldozers will move in but

as yet no buyers seem to on the horizon.

Revel’s concept was to create a luxury resort with gaming, rather than a casino supported by luxurious amenities. It was the first to be entirely non-smoking; it also chased higher-end customers by concentrating on fine dining and more expensive gambling. Customers stayed away in droves and for all its newness, it remained one of the lowest earning casinos in Atlantic City, amid the downward spiral of gaming revenues across the board. In the end it has come down to a simple economic equation: takings were not enough to cover costs, especially given the substantial debt burden left over from the construction process.

Caesar’s decision to close Showboat was made, according to the announcement made by CEO Gary Loveman in June, in order to shore up the company’s other businesses.

AC mayor Don Guardian was sanguine at the time, calling it “part of the transition that Atlantic City needs to have…”.

His sanguinity remains in evidence: speaking outside the Margaritaville resort, he said: “We’ve been down before but we’ve always come back up… We know 6,000 families will be impacted by the casino closures. My administration is working with the union, faith-based organisations and the state to be there to offer them assistance. No doubt this is a very difficult time.”

The closure of Trump Plaza was not unexpected, after press reports in July.

The final decision was approved by regulators on August 31 but only made public on September 2; Trump Entertainment Resorts has not released a statement explaining the reasons.

However, late reports suggest that the other TER

The sanguine mayor of AC, Don Guardian

venue, Trump Taj Mahal is also heading for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the company has failed to reach an agreement with its creditors principally Icahn Enterprises and Beal Bank. Icahn had reportedly rejected the sale of the venue to Meruelo Group earlier in the year.

Donald Trump, whose interest in the company that still bears his name is less than ten per cent, has come in for significant criticism for “gloating”. On his Twitter feed he said: “What is happening in Atlantic City, casino closures, is very sad but does anybody give me credit for getting out before its demise? Timing.”

In fact, Trump’s interests have been hugely eroded by bankruptcy and restructuring over time, and his remaining shareholding was in return for the brand value associated with continued use of his name. Even so early in August, he began a lawsuit to have his named removed from the venues.

CR143-p20-22-NAmerica_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 13:36 Page 2

YXYXYXY ATLANTIC CITY / BALTIMORE / CANADA / LAS VEGAS / MARYLAND / NEW YORK Macao Gaming Summit, November 18-20

E CORE SESSION ON THE OPENING DAY OF THE TWO-DAY MACAO GAMING SUMMIT. TOPICS INCLUDE REGULATORY ORTUNITIES IN THE WIDER ASIA PACIFIC MARKET, AND CONVERGENCE BETWEEN LAND-BASED CASINOS AND IGAMING. NEW OPENING

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore opens to capacity crowd UNITED STATES

he Eastern Seaboard can boast another impressive venue modelled on the Las Vegas gaming experience, with the opening of a new Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Maryland.

August 26 saw 15,000 customers queue for its doors to open, pushing its 122,000 square feet of gambling space to capacity, and filling its parking facilities.

“I think it was pent-up demand,” commented general manager Chad Barnhill. “We had everybody in the doors shortly after midnight.”

Constructed with the aim of expanding tourist and entertainment traffic south of Baltimore’s inner harbour, the Horseshoe Baltimore represents a joint venture between Caesars Acquisition Company and Caesars Entertainment Corporation, who also operate the Horseshoe brand in both Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio.

T

ANALYSIS he pace of casino closures has been shocking: four confirmed within the space of nine months is unprecedented. But it can’t be a surprise for anyone. Revenues have fallen so far for so long that the supply simply ended up outstripping the demand. As dreadful as these events are for the workers, however, it could mean that those in the resorts may be able to rest a little easier. With players spread between fewer venues, they may see a pick up in their earnings. If, that is, they don’t lose out again to casinos of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

T

With high levels of poverty and unemployment, the casino’s opening has proved a boon to the local economy. A total investment of $442m (E335.2m) has seen the creation of 2,000 construction jobs within the city, as well as the addition 1,700 of ongoing permanent staff positions.

Offering more than 2,500 slot machines and 100 table games, the Horseshoe also boasts its

own range of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The entire complex remains open on a 24 hour basis.

Commenting on the opening, CEO of Caesars Entertainment Gary Loveman said: “Horseshoe Casino Baltimore is well-positioned to serve the approximately one million members of our Total Rewards loyalty program who live in the BaltimoreWashington metropolitan area.”

NORTH AMERICA ROUND UP n Oklahoma the Kaw Nation has completed the first phase of construction on the SouthWind Casino Braman, which is now open to the public. Located on a 21 acre stretch of land, the first section of the casino incorporates a modular building that contains 100 class II slot machines and bingo-style games.

Phase two of the construction is due for completion in early 2015 and will add a larger permanent building to the venue, complete with a café and bar, table games and nearly 300 class II and class III slot machines. The third and final phase of the SouthWind will include a restaurant and bar, alongside an expanded gaming floor for for more than 500 games and machines.

In bordering Kansas, a further development could be on the horizon, as reports of new potential state-owned casino have emerged. There are already local government owned casinos in Dodge City, Mulvane and Kansas City, with a site in the southeast of the state long rumoured as the

I

FINANCIALS

Strong attendance boosts Great Canadian earnings CANADA

G

reat Canadian Gaming Corporation, operator of 17 gaming properties across Canada and the Northwestern US, has reported a 76 per cent rise in profit for the second quarter of 2014, as a surge in gambling and hotel visitors at River Rock Casino in Richmond helped bolster the company’s top line.

In the three months to June 30, net income for the group totalled C $19.9m, compared to $11.3m in the prior-year period.

Revenues for the British

River Rock Casino, Richmond

Columbia-based group rose 12.3 per cent to $114.7, representing the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s 32year history.

Revenue at River Rock Casino, which is a fiveminute Canada Line ride from Vancouver International Airport, spiked 33 per cent to $53.8m during the quarter, compared with the same period a year ago.

CEO Rod Baker said River Rock recorded the highest revenues in the property’s history, and that much of the casino’s success stems from wealthy Asian visitors.

On July 3, Great Canadian

announced plans to rebrand the Boulevard Casino - in Coquitlam, British Columbia as ‘Hard Rock Casino Vancouver’ under a trademark license from Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Plans for the second phase of the casino’s redevelopment include a hotel, conference facilities and additional dining options, although a recent management statement from the group indicates the property’s performance, has “experienced substantial erosion”, as the local economy continues to struggle against the effects of the economic downturn.

likely location for a new construction. Local press are reporting that representatives from the Quapaw tribe and the Ruffin Companies are partnering to revive the plan.

Elsewhere, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has indicated that she will vote in favour of repealing the 2011 state law that permitted ‘Las Vegas style’ casinos in the state. State residents will vote in November over whether they wish to keep the law in place, but Warren has indicated that she will not vote in favour of the gaming industry. The senator’s statements come on the eve of regulators awarding the hotly contested license for a largescale casino in the Boston area.

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News

North America

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

GOVERNMENT BACKING: THE DICJ AND IPIM HAVE GIVEN FULL SUPPORT TO MGS AS “RECOGNITION OF MGS’S

EFFORTS IN PROMOTING THE GOVERNMENT’S POLICY PLAN OF DIVERSIFYING THE MACAU ECONOMY.” PROMOTIONS

PROMOTIONS

Old Lion State breaks casino revenue record

After reporting a dramatic rise in second-quarter revenues, Station Casinos’ Boulder Station casino resort in Las Vegas marked its 20 anniversary with a variety of entertainment and gaming promotions throughout August.

UNITED STATES

Boulder Station celebrates 20 years of catering to locals UNITED STATES

oulder Station, a locals’ favourite casino on the Boulder Strip in Las Vegas, celebrated its 20th anniversary on August 23. The property marked the celebration with a variety of entertainment, food and beverage specials and gaming promotions throughout August.

The opening of Boulder Station in 1994 marked a significant time for Station Casinos’ growth, as it was the company’s second property to open - nearly 20 years after Palace Station first opened its doors as, simply, ‘The Casino’.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations,

B

Boulder Station implemented a number of dining and drinks deals, along with a variety of gaming promotions.

The celebrations at Boulder Casinos’ iconic venue came as the operator posted its highest second-quarter revenues since 2008. The company’s top line grew 2.4 per cent to $324.2m (E244m). Earnings totalled $55.4m (E42m), compared to $7.3m (E5.5m) in the second quarter of 2013, due primarily to the opening of the Graton Resort and Casino in Northern California during the interim.

Station also reports its adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization and management (EBIT-

DAM) fees, which is not a generally accepted accounting principle but remains a useful indicator of progress in the group’s established casinos. Using that measurement, the company’s earnings were $104.4m (E79m), excluding its online affiliate Fertitta Interactive, marking Station’s 13th consecutive quarter of growth in that category.

“Despite a challenging operating environment in the second quarter, Station Casinos continued its positive trend of year over year,” said Marc Falcone, executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer.

During the second quarter of 2014, Station Casinos

said it made “significant progress” on the $55 (E41m) investment in renovation and capital improvement projects at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas and Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

This includes new food and beverage options and renovated guest rooms.

In July, the operator partnered with Princess Cruises to offer a variety of cruise benefits to Station Casinos’ popular Boarding Pass loyalty cardholders throughout its 19 entertainment destinations throughout Southern Nevada.

All chairman-level Boarding Pass card holders - the highest status level of the loyalty card program are now eligible to receive a complimentary cabin for

two on select Princess Cruises each year, and other Boarding Pass card holders will receive exclusive cruise fares and onboard special offers.

Station Casinos has rewarded its guests for their gaming play since 1999, when the Boarding Pass loyalty card programme was introduced. Players earn cash back or points for redemption of free perks or discounts at over 50 restaurants, 10 hotels, five bowling centres, seven movie theatres, two spas or for hundreds of concerts by playing casino games including video poker, slots, video keno, table games, poker, race and sportsbook wagering and during bingo sessions.

RESORT CASINO

Empire presents Montreign casino plan UNITED STATES

mpire Resorts has presented its $1bn (E775m) entertainment project to the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, including plans for a resort casino located in the town of Thompson, 90 miles from New York City.

E

Developed by Empire subsidiary, in conjunction with codeveloper, EPR Properties, the Montreign Resort Casino is a planned 18-storey casino, hotel and entertainment complex featuring an 80,000sq.ft casino with 61 table games and 2,150 state-ofthe-art slot machines; 391 luxury hotel rooms; multiple dining and entertainment options; meeting

22 | casinoreview September 2014

and conference space; and other resort amenities.

“We were very pleased to have had the opportunity to present our integrated entertainment and lifestyle complex to the Location Board,” said Empire chairman, Emanuel Pearlman. “We presented a compelling case as to why we are the best choice to drive tourism back to the Catskills

by offering something much more than a conventional casino.”

The Montreign Resort Casino is part of the larger Adelaar resort, a four-season destination resort developed by an Empire subsidiary and EPR.

L

ast month saw Maryland’s casino takings top the $80m threshold, the first time since the state’s legalisation of casinos in 2008.

August saw its five casinos generate $80.6m (E62m), breaking the previous record of $77.9m (E60m) achieved in March of this year.

August 26 also saw the opening of The Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore. Owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment, the state’s latest venue has averaged a daily posting of $1m.

Even excluding The Horeshoe’s latest contributions, year-on-year contrast remains impressive: with a 5.4 per cent rise on August 2013.

By far the most prolific earner was privately-

owned Maryland Live: its Hanover operation garnered $57.3m (E44m) of the state’s total monthly take, representing a 7.4 per cent rise on the same period last year.

Maryland’s star seems set to rise further, with MGM Resorts investing $925m (E715.5m) in the construction of a new casino, The MGM National Harbor.

Located on the banks of the banks of the Potomac just south of the nation’s capital, the new complex is scheduled for completion in 2016.

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Offering a range of configurable security alerts, the system highlights and flags events allowing actionable messaging to be delivered to any location on the gaming floor in real-time.

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News

South America

LAW REFORM

Fernando Zárate Salgado, head of Mexico’s Gaming and Lotteries Commission

After decades in the shade, casinos and gaming are set to be brought into the light by comprehensive reforms proposed that appear to have the support of all sides.

MEXICO

Mexico reveals gambling law reforms

T

he Mexican government has released the first details of comprehensive gambling law reform that it hopes will finally close the loopholes in the current mish-mash of regulation.

Existing federal legislation dates back to 1947 and over the years has been amended numerous times; states and cities have also put local variations in place and operators have won derogations and additional rights through the courts.

The legal uncertainty has allowed significant corruption and criminal activity to pervade the industry.

24 | casinoreview September 2014

Fernando Zárate Salgado, head of the Gaming and Lotteries Commission in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, announced in August that the government, legislators and business people had reached an agreement to introduce a new law.

The full text has yet to be presented to parliament but Zárate outlined the major provisions, including the abolition of the current general directorate of gaming and lotteries (DGJS). It will be replaced by a new decentralised body comprising representatives from the

ministries of Tourism, the Economy, Health and Government, as well as from non-governmental organisations and will be responsible for granting licences.

“In this way, the wider society will be able to participate in the development of public policy, revise internal

rules, establish procedures and impose sanctions on casinos,” said Zárate.

The law will also set a term limit on each licence of ten years, with one renewal of a further ten years allowed. Previously licence duration was unlimited.

According to a document

released by AIEJA, the trade body representing licensed gambling operators in Mexico, the law will allow only licensees and their operators to conduct gaming, thereby eliminating the involvement of third parties.

In addition, the legal age

ANALYSIS omething is rotten in the states of Mexico. The provisions of the country’s only federal law on gaming have necrotised over the course of almost 70 years and the sector stinks with so much corruption that even those who try to operate cleanly are at risk of infection. The prescription proposed by the Gaming and Lotteries Commission, at least at the first look, is sound but like any remedy it must be thorough and complete if the patient is to reach full health.

S

CR143-p24-25-SAmerica_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 11:05 Page 2

ARGENTINA / BAHAMAS YXYXYXY / MEXICO Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

PASSING THE TEST: TESTING LABORATORY BMM TESTLABS ANNOUNCED ITS COMMITMENT TO MACAO’S GAMING SECTOR BY CONFIRMING ITS ATTENDANCE TO NOVEMBER’S MACAO GAMING SHOW.

for entering a casino will be raised to 21.

Zárate added: “We have changed the legislative logic by first presenting the initiative and then negotiating with all the stakeholders.

We have listened to the casino associations, NGOs, civil society, all the politicians and the federal government.”

An important change under the new legislation will be the requirement of each casino and gaming venue to have its own licence. Until now, one licence could cover up to 70 locations.

That will not necessarily mean a reduction in the number of venues. One of the aims of the legislation will be to make sure that the state benefits more from spending by tourists and to that end, AIEJA has already begun negotiations with various hotel companies in respect of placing gaming machines in lobby areas.

However, gaming machines are set to be removed entirely from pharmacies and supermarkets.

Casinos will also have to undergo a process of examination to obtain licences, including those that exist already. Any that fail the strict set of tests will be closed.

“The transition process to become a new establishment will be extremely strict,” said Zárate. “The aim is not to keep casinos open but to ensure those that pass through meet rigorous and comprehensive rules.”

Transparency will be key: casinos and casino operating companies will be required to provide comprehensive details of their ownership, and of the other activities of the owners.

Zárate said the state would regain its stewardship role in regulation and also in the prevention of criminality associated with gaming in the country, including drug trafficking and dealing and money laundering. The government will also oversee the creation of a fund aimed at the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction and for now will not lift the ban on ATMs within casinos.

TRADE BODY

WLA to establish South American presence At the behest of its regional partner, the world’s leading lottery members body, the WLA, is to found its first office in Latin America.

ARGENTINA

he executive committee of the World Lottery Association (WLA) has given its unanimous approval to the opening of a Latin American office in the Argentinian capital.

Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, the committee agreed that it’s Buenos Aires branch will oversee the continued activities of the Latin American Corporation of State Lotteries (CIBELAE).

“We’re proud to be able to welcome the WLA to Buenos Aires,” said CIBELAE president Luis Gama.

“It represents an elevated commitment to the region, which will strengthen ties between the both the WLA and CIBELAE, benefitting the gaming industry as a whole.”

Founded in 1988, CIBELAE is an independent, non-profit members organisation, which aims to the promote the interests of state lottery stakeholders within South America, and encourage crossborder dialogue and regulation.

T

The objectives of WLA are in close alignment, albeit on a global scale. Established in 1999, the fellow members-based body prides itself on aiding the establishment of responsible and innovative gaming networks. With over 80 individual companies operating across six continents, in 2014, its annual revenue of its membership exceeded $200bn (E155bn).

This latest decision came after a direct petition from both Gama and CIBELAE executive director Dr Nestor Cotignola. “This is an incredibly important achievement,” commented Cotignola. “It is a clear example of the enhance-

ment and strengthening process commenced by Luis Gama, which will see the growth of the IberoAmerican market.”

CIBELAE are due to host WLA as a key contributor to their upcoming Del Juego international seminar (SiJUEGO) in Columbia.

The three-day October conference will address how lottery organisations can modernise in confronting the continued threats of illegal gambling, fraud, and wider organised crime.

For their own part, the WLA’s biennial World Lottery Summit 2014 will take place this coming November in Rome.

SOUTH AMERICA ROUND-UP evenues for first-year Uruguayan operator Enjoy are up by 19.4 percent in the second quarter of 2014, thanks to a large influx of tourists. The company’s casinos saw a gross gaming revenue increase of 64.9m through the period, with general manager Juan Duardo Garcia predicting that the company is on its way to being one of Latin America’s leading operators. The jewel in its crown is the Conrad Punta del Este Resort, which has been a fixture of the local casino industry for many years.

In Honduras, a major change to the country’s gaming law has been proposed by Deputy Augusto Cruz. A member of the Democratic Christian Party, Cruz is proposing quadrupling the current tax rate on slot machines, returning the rate to its previous total of HNL25,000

R

MANAGEMENT

Wynn veteran joins executive team at Baha Mar BAHAMAS

A

lex Pariente has been named executive vice president, international marketing, of the upcoming Baha Mar casino and resort near Nassau, Bahamas.

Located on the capital island of New Providence, the $3.5bn (E2.7bn) resort is due for its official opening ceremony in Spring 2015. Along with four luxury hotels, a 3,000 foot stretch of white-sand beach and a designer golf-course, the Baha Mar will also house a 100,000 squarefoot casino: the largest in the Caribbean.

Pariente’s appointment follows on from a decade of experience at Wynn Resorts in the US, where he served as executive vice president, international and domestic marketing, overseeing the launch of both the Wynn and Encore

Alex Pariente, Executive Vice President, International Marketing, Baha Mar Casino & Hotel

resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Alex brings a wealth of experience in marketing and operating international luxury casinos and resorts to Baha Mar,” said Joe Brunini, president of global marketing and customer development for the Baha Mar casino. “It’s people like Alex that underscore Baha Mar’s commitment to becoming an iconic gaming destination.”

(E918). Earlier legislative reform had dropped the tax to HNL5,000 (E184) for slot machines in locations such as casinos, convenience stores, markets, bars, cafes and restaurants.

Finally, businesses from Argentina and further afield are preparing for SAGSE Latin America, due to be held on 1113 November at the Costa Salguaro Convention Centre in Buenos Aires. Major local companies will be on hand, including BCM, Sielcon, Permaquim and Intrercron. These will be joined by the biggest players on the international stage, including Novomatic, IGT, Aristocrat and Ainsworth.

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Comment & Politics

NORTH AMERICA

Making sure every cloud has a silver lining

A

Attendance growth at the largest gaming trade show in the Americas, though welcome, is by no means an indicator that the region faces a cloudless future. But, writes James Walker, they are certainly determined that any clouds will pass quickly.

MEDIA WATCH

s the American Gaming Association prepares to build on the successes of last year’s Global Gaming Expo, the US casino industry has been filled with an air of cautious optimism. Gambling revenues in Nevada were up one percentage point in July to $932m (E720m), and this was joined by slight growth in other key states such as Pennsylvania (up 1.9 per cent to $61.1m) and Colorado (up 0.5 per cent to $68m).

What excellent timing - and long overdue.

New casino and large-scale resort projects have dominated local and national news headlines over recent weeks. Some operators are building upon the existing gambling and tourism infrastructure in established states, while others are vying for control in new markets - as with the battle for the muchcoveted Greater Boston resort casino licence.

On August 21, Nevada gaming regulators approved licensing for SLS Las Vegas, setting the stage for that weekend’s opening of the $415m (E320m) redevelopment of the former Sahara (see World, p2). Elsewhere, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, has reported a 76 per cent rise in profit for the second quarter of 2014, and Empire Resorts

26 | casinoreview September 2014

opening up for operators in key markets around the globe, while others continue to struggle against the effects of the economic downturn and unfavourable legislation.

The shifting industry landscape has been compounded by a number of high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the supplier sector, and this looks set to continue. Discussing the global gaming industry in 2014, Gavin Isaacs, CEO of Scientific Games, told International Casino Review: “As the consolidation progresses, we should expect to see more joint partnerships, tuck-in acquisitions and mergers with smaller firms within and on the periphery of the gaming industry.”

When asked to describe the 2014 gaming landscape, Isaacs said it would be best described as “challenging” and “changing”.

Amid an ever-shifting regulatory and economic backdrop, it will be interesting to see how the industry addresses these issues, both at G2E and in the months that follow.

Equally interesting will be how the legislators and lawmakers adjust their stances and loosen the regulatory noose: after all, a vibrant casino sector equals a vibrant community.

What about that for a vision of the future?

Fisticuff fall-out fails to deny Packer from landing a s

N

Packer passes muster in record time, architects weigh in on casino battle and the BBC uncovers illegal Burmese gambling hub.

presented a $1bn (E775m) entertainment project to a New York planning board.

Yet while reports of new developments and bullish operator activity have been welcomed by industry observers, attentions will not be distracted from the fact that not every region in the US is experiencing a revival in gaming revenues. Mississippi suffered a 10.7 per cent revenue drop in July to $84.7m (E65.5m), and Downtown Las Vegas also took a hit.

It is Atlantic City, however, which finds itself amid the most protracted decline of all US states. As International Casino Review went to press, Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy and threatened to shut down the Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City. Three other Atlantic City casinos - the Atlantic Club, Showboat and Revel - have closed this year, as the industry struggles with competition online and in nearby states.

This slide will need to stop, not just for the industry, but as importantly, for the local community that depends on a vibrant casino sector.

In many ways, the current situation in the US is representative of the world gaming industry as a whole. New opportunities are

ews of James Packer’s unusually swift Sydney casino approval has made its way to The Daily Mail - the renowned anti-gambling national newspaper. “Packer’s new Crown Casino was cleared to run a new high-rollers casino in just three months, which the body responsible for approving it believes could be the fastest time in history,” says the paper, which notes that the process usually takes an entire year to complete. Packer’s application was rushed through, in part, because regulators were permitted to reference investigations done during a recent Crown application.

Doubt had been cast over the application after Packer was caught on camera engaging in a fist fight with television executive and long-time friend, David Gyngell. However, in the opinion of the New South Wales casino regulators, this did not provide sufficient grounds to doubt the suitability of Crown Casino.

“That’s not to say that if someone was a person with a significant history of the use of violence for commercial objectives that we wouldn’t take a very, very serious view about whether they are a suitable

person,” said Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority chief executive Micheil Brodie to the Sydney Morning Herald. “But someone who ends up having a bit of a set-to with their mate out the front of the house one Sunday afternoon doesn’t, by definition, mean they’re going to be unsuitable to be a director of a company that will hold a licence under the Casino Control Act.” The Morning Herald has also raised concerns about the speed of the approval, specifically in relation to a similar application by Genting Hong Kong, which has been in a holding pattern since June 2012. In response to accusations of favouritism, Authority chairman Chris Sidoti claimed that progress on Genting’s case had stalled because the company had not co-operated with requests.

“When the investigation began more than two years ago, the authority made clear what documentation it required,” he said in a letter to The Australian Financial Review. “It has been in constant contact with GHK [Genting Hong Kong] since then and GHK is fully aware of these requirements, which remain unfulfilled.”

CR143-p26-27-Comment_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 12:12 Page 2

YXYXYXY TO MAKE A COMMENT, HAVE YOUR SAY OR WRITE A LETTER TO INTERNATIONAL CASINO REVIEW: EMAIL JW@SJC.CO.UK Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

BY ASIA FOR THE WORLD: MGS MEANS BUSINESS DELIVERING THE ONLY SHOW THAT IS TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ASIAN GAMING INDUSTRY WWW.MACAOGAMINGSHOW.COM INDUSTRY G2E’s show floor will be the largest in five years, showcasing more than 450 exhibitors from around the world

Live Multi Game: a viable live table substitution from LT Game Jay Chun, chairman and managing director of Paradise

TOP 20 US CASINO MARKETS BY ANNUAL REVENUE Casino Market

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2012 Annual Revenues

Las Vegas Strip, Nev. Atlantic City, NJ. Chicagoland, Ind./Ill. Detroit, Mich.

Connecticut Philadelphia, Pa. St Louis, Mo./Ill. Gulf Coast, Miss.

The Poconos, Pa. Tunica/Lula, Miss.

$6.207bn $3.052bn $2.243bn $1.417bn $1.230bn $1.167bn $1.108bn $1.095bn $902.48mn $821.95mn

Source: American Gaming Association (AGA)

ing a sucker punch In the United States, the battle between Wynn and Mohegan Sun to see who will be granted the right to construct a casino in the Greater Boston area continues apace. The Boston Business Journal is reporting on an announcement from the Massachusetts chapter of the American Institute of Architects firmly in favour of Mohegan Sun’s Revere-based application. According to the architectural group, their preferred choice is “markedly superior in every design aspect,” having been described as playful and pedestrian friendly. If it were to be accepted, the Institute suggests that Wynn’s planned Everett undergo an extensive redesign.

Elsewhere, a BBC reporter has ventured in Myanmar’s Special Region Number 4, also known as Mong La. This region, which borders China, exists outside the control of the central Burmese government and has become a hot bed for crime un-licensed gambling. Prostitution and the sale of black market animal parts is rife in the region, which subsists largely on revenue from Chinese tourists, who choose Mong La over legal and regulated environments, such as Macau.

Entertainment, parent company of LT Game, discusses highprofile global distribution deals and the continued growth of the company’s Live Multi Game solution.

C

asino Review: What milestones can LT Game report in 2014?

Jay Chun: We signed an Australian distribution agreement with Ainsworth in March, and this was followed by another important milestone in August: an exclusive distribution agreement in the US and Canada with IGT. LT Game’s innovative E-Baccarat table and cash handling machine was deployed in Macau Jockey Club, making it the chip-less casino in the world. Finally, the second generation of Live Multi Game and eDropbox are under development, with deployment expected in the fourth quarter of 2014.

which has almost everything you can imagine for the small scale of casino, such as slot machines, casino management system, live table games, cash access machines and eDropbox.

CR: How did the deal between your company and IGT come about?

Will you be targeting any specific US jurisdictions?

JC: IGT will be our exclusive distributor in US and Canada, and we will be their slot exclusive distributor in Macau. It is win-win solution. Of course, we will target Las Vegas and other key jurisdictions in North America.

CR: In Asia, your Live Multi Game Machine (LMG) is attracting a great deal of attention. Has this product been successful in overcoming the table game limits in Macau’s casinos?

JC: Yes, we deployed the first 250 sales to Sands China in Macau at 2011, and have deployed over 3,400 LMG terminals to various venues in 2014.

One leading casino operator has been aggressively discussing orders for next year. We believe our LMG is the only live table substitution in Macau.

CR: What will be your main focus at the forthcoming Macao Gaming Show?

JC: LT Game and IGT will have joint booth this year in MGS this year. The booth set up will be like a mini casino,

www.ltgame.com

sales@hk1180.com

September 2014 casinoreview

| 27

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Everyone in Macao To say ‘hello’ to the A - Z of world gaming, register at:

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Come and see the entire gaming industry

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The Macao SAR Government is once again offering attractive subsidies to qualified buyers from air fares to hotel accommodation, making MGS the key annual meeting hub for casino procurement teams.

CR143-p30-31-Interview_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 12:37 Page 1

Interview SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION

‘As consolidation progresses, we should expect to see more joint partnerships’

I The global gaming industry still faces numerous challenges, but tough times are often times of great opportunity, according to Gavin Isaacs, the newly-appointed head of Scientific Games. James Walker speaks to the CEO of one of the world’s largest gaming groups about the current state of the industry and the number of highprofile acquisitions we have witnessed over recent months.

30 | casinoreview September 2014

CR: How would you summarise the gaming industry in 2014? How successful has the industry been in addressing the economic and legislative challenges it has faced in different markets around the world?

Gavin Isaacs: If I were to describe the 2014 gaming landscape in two words, I’d say ‘challenging’ and ‘changing’. Our industry has rapidly evolved over the last decade, from traditional land-based casinos to multi-channel distribution of imaginative and engaging content that has the potential to create an entirely new demographic.

If money were no object, imagine what the industry would look like today. But money IS the object; casino operators and consumers are playing catch up with the economy and watching where they put every euro, dollar and pound.

Ten years ago, traditional gaming was a vibrant marketplace where players grew accustomed to great entertainment on the latest products - they would happily spend many leisure hours on the casino floor and get entertainment value for their money.

When the economy took a downturn, three trends emerged. First, with limited financial resources, gamblers made fewer trips to the casino and spent less money on casino play. Additionally, many operators reduced their capital investments by cutting back on fresh content and the latest in gaming technology. At the same time, some operators increased their hold percentage.

As a result, casino patrons weren’t having as much fun - if they were playing the same amount of money, it didn’t last as long. We are still in recovery mode, and players want the best value for their limited entertainment dollars.

Tough times are often times of great opportunity, and I believe this is the time to get our mojo back. Macau and Asia have boomed, many casinos have opened globally and whilst there are some difficult comparisons, there are many examples of growth in otherwise difficult times. We all have to work together to ensure that gaming remains a major form of entertainment and that casinos remain a great place for players to go and have some fun.

With regard to the legislative challenges, we’d like for it to move faster, but it’s a process and rarely does. Given what’s at

stake and the players - government, lobbyists, regulators, consumers - it’s moving as quickly as expected. We’ve seen some positive progress in the last twenty-four months with Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware coming online. I do believe there is much to gain in increased revenue and job growth for all, and the industry needs to tell a compelling story so that our legislative partners

see the short and long term benefits.

Within the space of two months last year, the industry saw two major transactions: Bally Technologies purchased SHFL Entertainment and Scientific Games Corporation completed its acquisition of WMS Gaming. We can now add to that the recent announcement of GTech buying IGT. Do you feel we will witness any similar high-

CR143-p30-31-Interview_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 12:37 Page 2

SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION YXYXYXY

GAVIN ISAACS: “OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO BE THE PARTNER OF CHOICE IN EVERY MARKETPLACE, FOR ALL OUR CUSTOMERS - LOTTERY, GAMING, AND INTERACTIVE...” profile consolidation in the near-term?

GI: Consolidation of the industry and convergence of technology have been going handin-hand for some time.

As the consolidation progresses, we should expect to see more joint partnerships, tuck-in acquisitions and mergers with smaller firms within and on the periphery of the gaming industry.

ICR: Could you outline Scientific Games’ current growth strategy?

Will you look to bolster you presence in established sectors, or are you looking down new avenues?

GI: Our primary goal is to be the partner of choice in every marketplace, for all our customers - lottery, gaming, and interactive.

We are living in a horizontally connected world, where consumers expect to engage with their favourite games and brands anywhere, easily and when they have the inclination.

One of the reasons we bought WMS Gaming is that we believe in providing a treasury of world-class content across every platform, in the casino, on a tablet or smartphone, or on a VLT in the UK, and in supporting our customers in their efforts to support their players. It’s very clear to me that we are better together as one company, and if you don’t get it now, you will.

We are, and will always be, customerfocused company intent on providing the great products, creative content, technology and services that customers can continue to expect in the many years ahead.

Our customers and their customers, the players, are a top priority. The combined company allows us to put greater effort, and broader and deeper resources behind our customer initiatives than ever before.

That is, and will remain, our strategy.

ICR: You joined Scientific Games at an extremely interesting time. Many sectors are at the very least sharing ideas, and some are converging completely. Particularly in terms of product development, has Scientific Games been leveraging any synergies between its own different business segments, or do these divisions operate as separate entities?

GI: We are one company operating in different verticals. However we are working diligently to identify every opportunity to leverage revenue, talent and creative synergies so that we can produce compelling game content on the best platforms and on every available channel. It’s been just a few

months, yet, I have already seen the deep passion and dedication our people have to create and produce the best products and services possible for our customers and players.

I’m really excited about the many new products that will be coming - from promising new slot games like Bier Haus 200 and OMG! Kittens to the new multi-state lottery draw game under the Monopoly Millionaires Club brand, which will offer tens to hundreds of individual million-dollar prizes with the possibility of a lifechanging jackpot for one player. The Monopoly Millionaires Club game is a perfect example of Scientific Games working to leverage our licensing knowledge, marketing creativity and global contacts for use across all of the company’s channels.

We are better together as one company and it is showing.

Until recently, gaming manufacturers were approaching Asian operators with the same products they were offering US and European customers. The players weren’t buying it. They wanted localised products with a true reflection of their culture and tradition. Scientific Games has been actively engaged in the Asia-Pacific marketplace for many years, with customers in Australia, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and it was obvious to us that a key to growing our businesses was in the development of exciting content developed specifically for the region using local game design resources, featuring culture-specific themes and artwork, and relevant math models.

Over the last 12 months, we’ve introduced a range of localised products on some of our newest platforms; and customers and their players are responding.

We are of the mind that if you give players what they want – they’ll come back again, and again. That’s our goal.

ICR: Are there any geographic markets regions you feel are leading the way in terms of the development and adoption of new technologies?

GI: On the interactive side, Europe has leads the way with the adoption of new gaming technologies, in part due to a general openness to online gambling and betting, and in the creation of standards for the gaming industry. The rapid acceptance of smartphones is driving the rise in mobile gaming, with nearly half of the EU5 smartphone users also gamers, according to comScore, a leader in digital analytics.

The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most unique and dynamic gaming environments in the world. The marketplace has expanded quickly in the last few years, with new casino multiplexes in Macau and Beijing and in developing regions, such as Cambodia and the Philippines.

ICR: What does the remainder of 2014 have in store for Scientific Games? What will be your top priorities as CEO during this period?

GI: I’ve been on the road since Week One, getting to know the business - good and bad. It’s been an exciting few weeks. This is a time when we get to know one another and build the partnerships that will carry us forward. Then, in September, it’s off to Vegas for G2E and Atlanta for NASPL, our industries’ most important domestic trade shows, and Rome’s World Lottery Summit in November. My new home is a seat in an exit row with, hopefully, a small neighbour!

Over recent months, major acquisitions have occurred or been announced involving some of the global gaming industry’s major players, specifically Scientific Games, WMS Gaming, Bally Technologies, IGT, GTech (and, on the hardware side,

JCM Global and FutureLogic).

Is there a primary driving factor behind this unusually high rate of acquisitions in a short period of time?

Consolidation of the industry and convergence of technology have been going handin-hand for some time.

As the consolidation progresses, we should expect to see more joint partnerships, tuck-in acquisitions and mergers with smaller firms within and those on the periphery of the gaming industry.

Why? It’s been a challenging time and companies recognise that by combining and integrating corporate assets via mergers and acquisitions they are better positioned to compete, deliver shareholder value and create unique customer value.

The success of Scientific Games lies in our ability to deliver the best products and services - and the best value - to our customers. The consolidation is enabled by emergence of a culture of convergence, not just in the gaming industry, but in film, television, and the web – a culture where consumers have a huge say in how we operate and the speed with which we innovate. The player is driving change across all platforms and distribution channels.

ICR: Following its acquisition of WMS Gaming in 2013, Scientific Games again hit the headlines last month, with its intent to acquire Bally Technologies for $5.1bn. How will Bally fit within Scientific Games’ existing business structure? Will the companies continue to be operated as largely separate entities or fully integrated into Scientific Games?

GI: Today, Scientific Games is one company operating in different verticals - lottery, gaming and interactive - and we are working diligently to identify every opportunity to leverage revenue, talent and creative synergies so that we can continue to produce the most compelling game content, on the best platforms and on every available channel. With the acquisition of Bally, we will take an important step to create a stronger, customer-centric company, while maintaining the Scientific Games, WMS, Williams Interactive, Bally and Shuffle brands.

Following the pending acquisition, we anticipate all of our customers will have an opportunity to benefit from the depth and breadth of our instant lottery products, lottery systems, gaming machines, gaming operations, interactive gaming, proprietary table games, electronic table systems, gaming systems, and various utility products.

September 2014 casinoreview

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CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 10:12 Page 1

Preview

G2E Las Vegas

COMMENTARY

WMS Gaming: ke players in the ga

G2E 2014: Shifting Sands

A second year of attendance growth is anticipated at this year’s G2E, as operators look for news ways to develop their business in the wake of the economic downturn, writes James Walker.

L

ast year, Global Gaming Expo (G2E) welcomed nearly 16,250 attendees through its doors - the event’s highest since 2008.

In addition to the high attendance figures, G2E 2013 featured the largest trade show floor since 2008, with more than 455 companies exhibiting across more than 285,000sq.ft of hall space.

Once again, the global gaming industry heads to Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Once again, a cautious level of optimism is in the air. As is evident throughout the following pages, this year’s show will be dominated by innovative content, next-generation systems and the latest hardware, from table games to slots and everything in between.

International Casino Review’s G2E Preview provides an in-depth look into some of the best new products on the market. But in addition to viewing the leading products and solutions on the show floor, operators and suppliers are this year being invited to an expanded G2E conference programme.

These seminars highlight the key issues currently relating to the global gaming industry, with topics of discussion spanning revenue optimisation, compliance, table game scams, online gaming and branding.

In the week leading up to G2E 2014, the event organisers announced that the 14th annual trade show in Las Vegas will unite one of the greatest collection of industry leaders in the show’s history, including: Sheldon Adelson, Thomas Graf, Patti Hart, Jim Murren, Jamie Odell and Steve Wynn.

Adelson and Wynn will provide keynote addresses to G2E seminar attendees on Tuesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 2.

“We’re thrilled to bring together an impressive group of industry leaders who have helped to lead the growth of our industry into the economic engine it is today,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “We look forward to hearing from each of our speakers about how we can strengthen gaming in the years to come.”

32 | casinoreview September 2014

WMS GAMING

W

At G2E 2014, WMS Gaming will showcase its commitment to helping its customers engage and attract players. It plans to do this by combining groundbreaking technologies and exciting game content to create products that are designed to provide returns on casino operators’ investments by engaging core players and attracting newcomers.

MS Gaming, a Scientific Games company, is dedicated to providing value to casino operators by offering a wide range of gaming solutions and cabinet configurations. Leading the company’s cabinet offerings at G2E 2014 will be the Blade cabinet, currently among the industry’s strongest performing platforms thanks to superior graphics and increased player engagement enabled by its nextgeneration CPU-NXT3 operating platform.

WMS plans to demonstrate the expansion of its extensive Blade cabinet content library with several new and groundbreaking for-sale games, including the Cool Jewels, Double Buffalo Spirit, Snow Leopard, and Sweet Nothings themes. Two new Blade cabinet themes developed in follow-up to the player-popular OMG! Kittens game - the OMG! Puppies and OMG! Kittens Safari themes - will also make their G2E debut.

WMS will also showcase its Blade Stepper cabinet that represents a natural evolution of the proven-performing Blade platform. Included on its G2E line-up, and available for the Blade Stepper cabinet, will be the Monopoly Luxury Diamonds theme.

Available as a five- or nine-line game

JCM GLOBAL CM Global is set to show an impressive array of transaction technologies at G2E 2014, with the company’s comprehensive Dynamic Network Applications (DNA) solution taking centre stage.

DNA represents the combination of JCM’s iVizion enhancement tools, building upon their intelligent validation functionality. DNA empowers both operators and regulators with the abilities of real-time monitoring, triggered event alerts and peripheral component management.

Providing real-time health and event monitoring of all peripheral EGM components, DNA can utilise either a wired or wireless local server connection. Bill validators, table game validators, ticket printers, card readers, digital displays and coin acceptors can all be monitored by the

JCM to J exhibit DNA at G2E

one product.

Data pertaining to diagnostics, analytics and value-added features can all be managed through DNA’s user-friendly mobile dashboard.

Specifically designed for platform flexibility, the dashboard runs easily on PC, tablet and smart-phone devices.

DNA’s user interface was developed to be centred on customised feature functionality: allowing the user to get the information they want, when they want it, all in real time: from cashbox management data, to meter reconciliation and preventative maintenance capabilities.

Its flexibility in regards to platform allows for its use in a wide variety of settings: multiple-property or single property slot operators, route opera-

CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 10:13 Page 2

JCM GLOBAL / WMS GAMING G2E Las Vegas 2014

JCM GLOBAL DNA, IVIZION WMS GAMING BLADE CABINET, CPU-NXT3 PLATFORM

g: keeping e game in wide area progressive and standalone progressive configurations, this Blade Stepper cabinet product pairs the classic Monopoly board game with the jackpots mechanical players love. And for the first time on the Blade Stepper cabinet, the Monopoly Luxury Diamonds theme includes a mechanical wheel, which features the iconic properties from the board game.

A key highlight of WMS’ appearance at the Vegas show will be the debut of the Blade s23 cabinet, a next-generation slant cabinet that brings together dual 23-inch HD displays with the key playerfavourite features of the upright Blade cabinet and the latest, high-performing Blade cabinet content. The versatile processor at the heart of the Blade s23 cabinet enables intensely fast boot times, superior graphic capabilities and advanced hybrid lighting packages with game-specific effects. Innovative design and fresh aesthetics leverage

WMS’ distinct ‘halo effect’ lighting to fully immerse players in the game for an engaging and exciting new Blade cabinet experience.

Additionally, the Blade s32 cabinet will debut at G2E, and features dual 32-inch full HD displays with an ergonomically angled button panel tablet with a projected capacitive touch screen for better gameplay integration. This new cabinet will launch with two themes, Hot Hot 8 and Dragons over Nanjing.

Beyond its class-leading gaming cabinets, WMS remains focused on expanding its strong library of branded content. Topperforming brands such as The Wizard of Oz, Monopoly, Battleship, Powerball, The Lord of the Rinds and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory themes will return to the G2E show floor and will be joined by several exciting new brands, including The Flintstones, Mad Men, Gremlins, Elton John, Elvis and Austin Powers themes.

Finally, with an eye towards international markets, WMS has upped its global support and brand presence through a stronger focus on local needs and preferences, multi-game solutions, increased LAP offerings and a new direct-to-market approach.

STAND: 1116

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Learn how to specify cashboxes in your property that fill up faster than ever before.

Stop by booth #4747 during G2E or call +44 (0) 118 938 1100 to schedule a SC Advance demonstration. range, as well as its iPro bill acceptor, and a wide collection of other advanced bill validators.

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September 2014 casinoreview

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CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 10:20 Page 3

Preview

ADVANTECH-INNOCORE / NOVOMATIC GROUP OF COMPANIES

G2E Las Vegas

G2E Las Vegas 2014

ADVANTECH INTEL XEON MOTHERBOARD, LCD MONITORS NOVOMATIC ACTION-GAMINATOR VG, REEL TOURNAMENT

NOVOMATIC GROUP OF COMPANIES

ADVANTECH-INNOCORE

Novomatic brand given ‘greenlight’ as new US branch prepares for first G2E showing The establishment of Novomatic Americas brings additional regional focus to the Austrian group’s eclectic showing this year.

Novoline’s Magic Joker Jackpot

ith 2014 seeing the foundation of Novomatic Americas Sales, this year’s G2E will see extensive participation from the Austrian conglomerate.

Recent months have seen the firm’s new American subsidiary appear at a number of North American trade events, with licences already in place to utilise the Novomatic brand-name within the domestic US market for the first time.

Showcasing alongside Austrian Gaming Industries (AGI), Novomatic will be represented by a diverse gamut of its international subsidiaries: exhibiting a myriad of new gaming attractions.

Both the company’s Novo Line Interactive and Coolfire II ranges will be demonstrated, between them displaying a huge selection of games. Aimed specifically at the US market, the Action-Gaminator VGT combines a mix of internationally established Novomatic titles in a choice of either an upright of slant-top cabinet. Reel Tournament is the company’s latest marketing tool, enabling real-time tournament play at the push of a button. A wide selection of new cabinet designs will also take the stand, in the form Dominator, Super-V+ Gaminator III and Novostar SL. Making its US debut, the Novostar VIP cabinet is set to impress audiences, with a large Crown VIP chair, advanced ergonomics, and an additional 46inch upper-screen enriching player enjoyment and comfort.

The company’s Novo Unity II system will show its provision for multi-game functionality, allowing the operator to link any chosen number of terminals to a limitless number of different games.

Meanwhile, the Novomatic booth will also

A

W

Jens Halle, Managing Director, AGI and CEO, Novomatic Americas LLC

feature options from its Mystery Progressive Jackpot themes for all platforms, including its Magic Joker Jackpot line (pictured). Representatives from Novomatic subsidiary Octavian will be presenting its Accounting Control Progressives (ACP) casino management system, which can be adapted to the both operator needs and regulatory requirements. ACP’s features include profit calculation, floor monitoring and player loyalty management.

From its roulette range, the company will demonstrate the Lotus Roulette wheel: an automated six-player island configuration, consisting of individual player stations centred around a magnificent veneered table.

Each of the player stations is equipped with a high-resolution touchscreen monitor with automated cash handling facilities. The Panther Roulette II will display alongside its fore bearer, with a new start button and an additional 32 inch high-definition screen.

Finally, Novomatic subsidiary Greentube will present the latest in its iGaming innovations, with its own specialist design team from iGaming2Go exhibiting a cross-section the latest from their games portfolio.

“G2E is now of even more significance for Novomatic Americas as it is the first big show presentation of our growing range of licensed products for the US market,” said Jens Halle, managing director of AGI and CEO of Novomatic Americas. “We have done our homework and are now in a ‘green light’ position to present an initial and growing US portfolio that caters to special market requirements.”

STAND: 2653 34 | casinoreview September 2014

AdvantechInnocore bringing Xeon pioneer to Las Vegas s the gaming subdivision of billion-dollar enterprise Advantech Group, this year’s G2E will see Advantech-Innocore highlight its Intel Xeon Gamingboard, the industry’s first Xeon motherboard, as well as its existing DPX series and a diverse selection of products from the group’s other product divisions.

Showcasing platforms will feature the latest in AMD and Intel chipsets, as well as other embedded computing products. Industrial motherboards and modules in a variety of formats will also be on display, including the MiniITX, COM- Express and micro-ATX. IDS, Advantech’s growing line of industrial LCD monitor products will also be given floorspace with screen sizes ranging from 7 to 55 inches and above, and specialist product options including high visibility, touch screen and sunlight view innovations.

Two new DPX gaming products will be on show: with new units for both its established DPX S and E series. Of particular focus will be the company’s new DPX-S435, the first Xeon capable motherboard in the gaming industry.

Other new additions include the DPX-E130, developed with upcoming regulatory changes within the Italian marketplace in mind. Finally, Advantech’s new DPX-S1435 will also feature, as a system level product based on the company’s latest DPX-S1000 enclosure.

G2E comes towards the end of a successful year for the company, in which it has relocated to newly opened headquarters in Taiwan, and added additional manufacturing and research and development facilities to its property portfolio.

STAND: 1623

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CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 11:19 Page 4

Preview

GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK / KONAMI GAMING

G2E Las Vegas

G2E Las Vegas 2014

GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK INTERNET GAMING SYSTEM, SIMULATED GAMING KONAMI GAMING SYKNROS SYSTEM, ROKUREEL KONAMI GAMING

Konami prepares to wow Vegas crowd Las Vegas-based Konami is slated to introduce a record number of new game themes on the Las Vegas showfloor. onami Gaming will feature more than 100 games running its comprehensive Synkros casino management system at G2E 2014. This includes the developer’s new Rokureel six-reel product, Inari Riches Reeleven game title, Engine Ablaze standalone progressive, Rapid Blitz Riches linked progressive and more.

“The themes we’ll be presenting at G2E focus on providing maximum flexibility and diversity of product for operators appealing to a wide-range of target markets,” said Matt Reback, vice president of marketing at Konami.

“Konami empowers operators to get more from their floor by offering products which provide everything from creative game play mechanics, to cabinet-specific extended features, to system-delivered community gaming, so they can create variety on their floors and leverage successes for the strongest return.”

Konami will also showcase its video cabinet line-up at G2E, including the classic Podium upright and slant top, extra-large Podium Goliath and the tall-top Podium Monument, enabling operators to offer a

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variety of interactive experiences that capitalise on each machine’s unique features and functions.

“Guests at G2E will see how standalone progressives such as the new Engine Ablaze and Pick Strike Quad use Podium Monument’s 32-inch vertical top box to launch high-energy mystery games, and how our 2level Gigantic Wheel of Winning reveals a 3D mystery prize wheel across both of Podium Goliath’s oversized monitors,” explained Reback.

“Our cabinets offer flexibility with a vast library of proven, high-performing themes that players love and operators trust. We’ll have numerous examples of this throughout our booth, but most notably at the Dungeons & Dragons showcase display and by way of a major upcoming announcement surrounding classic Konami amusement IP.”

App. This iOS and Android-compatible mobile application harnesses the advantage of Synkros’ real-time data capabilities to empower casino personnel to discover and respond to customer needs immediately for optimal service and efficiency.

“Our all-new Slot Dispatching delivers EGM alerts and service requisitions to slot attendants and technicians in a moment’s time, from anywhere on the property,” Reback said. “Every year we’re expanding Synkros into previously unexplored facets of gaming enterprise management based on our operational experience and the feedback of our customers. Anyone who hasn’t seen Synkros in action should definitely plan to come check out the very Another high-profile latest tools, features and functions for release that gaming professionals won’t casino marketing and operations.” want to miss is the new Slot Dispatching on Konami’s Synkros Konetic Mobile Employee STAND: 1154

GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK

GameAccount on course for expansive G2E GameAccount Network heads to Las Vegas for G2E with the confidence that it can build on a strong 12 months for the company in North America and around the world.

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head of this year’s G2E expo in Las Vegas, Game Account Network commercial director, Daniel Lindsay looks back on an important year for the company. “As our chief executive, Dermot Smurfit, mentioned in our recent full year announcement, the last 12 months has been transformational for GameAccount Net-

36 | casinoreview September 2014

work,” he said. “Our listing late last year, our move to new premises, a scaling up of our highly skilled workforce and progress in all markets has been really encouraging. I think when there is a major sporting event, such as the World Cup, then a lot of industries benefit from an accelerator effect.”

Any trip to Las Vegas can be seen as something of a pilgrimage for gaming companies, but even with its status as the spiritual home of the world’s gaming industry, GameAccount Network put a lot of thought into whether or not a trip is worthwhile.

“When people think about the global gaming industry, then naturally Las Vegas still holds a place in everyone’s heads,” said Lindsay. “We choose when and

where we exhibit very carefully and given our recent success in North America it’s a great opportunity to showcase our company and products at G2E in Las Vegas later this month.”

The team will be on hand to showcase a number of new innovations. “We’ll be talking about our full iGaming solution, including our Internet Gaming System, our unrivalled world class content portfolio and of course our unique Simulated Gaming product,” said Lindsay, “which is gaining some real traction in North America at the moment. It’s important to remember though that Simulated Gaming is suitable for all land based casino operators in jurisdictions globally.”

Not all of Lindsay’s cards are on the table just yet, however.

“We have a couple of exciting new concepts to talk about at G2E as well,” he said, “but you’ll have to visit our stand to find out more.”

With GameAccount’s forays into North America showing great potential, the company is hoping to build on these foundations at this year’s show.

“G2E for GameAccount is about continuing the journey we have embarked on with our US partners,” said Lindsay, “including betfaircasino.com, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Osage Nation, Empire City and Parx Casinos.

Success for us will be working with new land based partners across the US and driving the further roll out of our products and services.”

STAND: 1616

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CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 11:56 Page 5

Preview

G2E Las Vegas

IGT

CASINO TECHNOLOGY

IGT ready to heat up the showroom

Casino Technology diversify for 10th Vegas appearance

From new titles and never-before-seen play mechanics, and from a total-solution systems portfolio to unrivalled iGaming content, IGT’s booth is a must-see at G2E Las Vegas 2014.

38 | casinoreview September 2014

ocated in the heart of the G2E convention hall, IGT’s attention-grabbing booth will be impossible to miss and full of gaming innovations that transcend the company’s pioneering spirit.

“We have taken an especially thoughtful approach to game design and development over the last year,” said Joe Sigrist IGT vice president of game development and global product management. “We have been innovating with purpose and leveraging extensive research with a keen focus on meeting the demands of the player, attracting the next-gen player and maximising ROI for our customers.”

IGT will bring the tropics to the tradeshow with the allnew Wheel of Fortune Jackpot Paradise. This WAP game from ‘Out of the Blue’, sweeps players away to a tropical oasis where graphics are pristine and payouts are plentiful. Housed on the dazzling CrystalCore cabinet, Jackpot Paradise features a touchscreen interface and interactive bonus rounds.

Another game to debut on IGT’s CrystalCore cabinet is Powerhits: the first dedicated theme to join IGT’s multi-state commercial WAP link, Powerbucks. The power-packed gaming experience is poised to launch fully converged for play on land, online and for mobile wager online where allowed. Housed on IGT’s recently launched CrystalCore cabinet, Powerhits is a unique title within IGT’s rich WAP portfolio that provides a compelling visual with every wager below max bet that reveals to the players where all the symbols landed, across all reels, regardless if they were wagered paylines or not.

Building upon the company’s leadership in compelling core content, IGT will broaden

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its offerings in this category by introducing a diverse line-up of themes and play mechanics. IGT is ready to heat up the showroom with several new game series including Hot Roulette, Mega Free Games, Dynasty Edition and King Reels. Hot Roulette puts a new spin on IGT classics as it couples player-favourite themes Wolf Run and Enchanted Unicorn, with bonus content that allow players to engage in a touchscreen roulette game in the top box.

Mega Free Games will launch as a

high-volatility, four-theme family that allows players to win up to a staggering 450 free games and ‘choose their fortune’ by picking between mystery credits and free games in bonus play.

IGT will also unveil the Dynasty Edition series - a revamped, refined and re-launched collection of several of the company’s top-performing titles including Wolf Run, Siberian Story and Treasure of Troy.

The Dynasty Edition series merges original game features and math with enhanced characteristics, such as amplified bonus content, pace and visuals. King Reels offers players a larger-than-life reel configuration with 90 total paylines - 60 in the top box and 30 in the base game. This royal use of the game interface can be found in two King Reel themes Farmer’s Daughter and Turquoise Princess.

STAND: 2139

Bulgarian firm Casino Technology will return to G2E for the tenth time, displaying the latest in its gaming and management technology.

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rincipal inCasino technology’s lineup at G2E this year will be The Big Five management suite, representing the company’s answer to the need for a single-access, multi-tiered management platform.

The Big Five allows operators to access and control data and functionality across all aspects of casino management. Attendees will gain hands-on experience of the product’s land casino, financial, jackpot, remote and online gaming management systems, all combined into the one userfriendly product.

Building upon the ongoing success of its Gamopolis multi-game series, which come loaded with forty individual titles, Casino Technology will also be unveiling all-new additions Highway 65, 66 and 67, each with its own visually compelling themed jackpot graphics.

With ambitions set squarely on further expansion into Asian markets, the company will also be profiling its latest series of products themed for the region: Peacock and Dragon. Featuring graphics and story-lines inspired from oriental lore, the Peacock and Dragon range is presented in the contemporary Aurora upright cabinet.

With its new US release Wild Sunrise also set for exhibition, and an additional remote venture in the form Casino Prince II, Casino Technology are set to celebrate a decade at Las Vegas’ premiere gaming trade event with an eclectic portfolio of innovations.

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BALLY TECHNOLOGIES / CASINO TECHNOLOGY / IGT G2E Las Vegas 2014

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES BALLY’S FRIENDS, DUCK DYNASTY CASINO TECHNOLOGY BIG FIVE MANAGEMENT SUITE, GAMOPOLIS IGT WHEEL OF FORTUNE JACKPOT PARADISE, POWERBUCKS

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES

Popular franchises join eclectic Bally G2E range With Bally’s take-over of SHFL Entertainment long concluded, G2E 2014 will enable the company the chance offer its most diverse product portfolio to date.

This is a special G2E for Bally as it’s the first time we’re demonstrating solutions for the complete gaming floor,” said Bally’s chief executive Richard Haddrill.

“We’re confident that our casino partners will see how they can ‘go all in’ with Bally, as we are uniquely positioned to deliver a single view of the player and connect the gaming world end-to-end like never before with products that will excite their players in the casino, at home, and on the go.”

Bally’s Friends progressive video slot reunites players with the characters from the acclaimed sitcom, and gives them the chance to experience the laughs and loves in a whole new way with a wide-area progressive top award, clips of the

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show’s many popular moments, and a wheel bonus awarding credits or one of four different free games features. It comes in the firm’s new Alpha 2 Pro Theatre cabinet configuration. Making its world debut, the system comprises of two Pro Wave cabinets to by a 55-inch horizontal video screen.

Joining its popular franchised offerings will be Bally’s Duck Dynasty video slot, based on the massive success of the A&E reality show in the US. Created in conjunction with G2 Game Design, the Duck Dynasty slot will also be presented on the Pro Theatre set-up, and will have players hunting for more with a wheel feature jampacked with six different bonuses inspired by the show.

Bally will also unveil two titles

featuring the iconic American superhero, Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman Wild and Wonder Woman Gold will present exclusively on the award-winning Pro Wave cabinet, and will include action scenes and music from the classic 1970s television show, along with three progressive jackpots and additional free games.

Finally, America’s cartoon sweetheart is back in two new games: Betty Boop’s Firehouse will feature on the Pro V22/32 platform, and a luxury shopping spree is the setting for Betty Boop’s 5th Avenue, exhibiting on the Pro V22/22 with a cash wheel.

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From 100 to 10,000 cameras, we plan and build the optimal security solution for your needs!

Our Casino Project Team is a group of internationally experienced experts and specialists. They support you right from the start of the project planning and up to the technical implementation. Moreover, they are available to answer questions and offer advice at any time beyond the project closure!

Konrad Hechtbauer is the Director of the Project & Application Development Team and as such has been heading the planning and realisation of casino projects around the world for more than ten years.

“Dallmeier has planned and realised the world’s largest video surveillance systems for casinos. The experience we have gained through those projects is continuously used in our product development. Therefore, also small casinos are able to benefit from innovative and proved solutions.”

Other members of the casino competence team:

Craig Graham

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Frank Oetjen

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September 2014 casinoreview

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Venetian Macao 18-20 November 2014

By Asia

for the world

For more information and to book your place at Asia’s ‘must attend’ gaming exhibition contact enquiry@MacaoGamingShow.com, visit MacaoGamingShow.com or telephone www.macaogamingshow.com +853 6363 0080 or +852 6329 6008 PRC hotline: +86 180 6387 4408

www.macaogamingshow.com

MGS is back and even better!

Now’s the time to book your attendance at MGS 2014 18th – 20th November.

MGS is the only show that is truly representative of the Asian gaming industry.

And the only event to earn the title ‘by Asia, for the World’.

Come and see the entire gaming industry Gaming Equipment & Accessories.

Gaming Promoters & VIP Clubs.

Casino Fixtures & Fittings.

Promotional Services & Memorabilia.

Food & Beverage.

Entertainment & Performance.

MGS means business Exhibiting at MGS makes fantastic business sense.

Reach out to casinos, integrated resorts, regulators and gaming affiliated businesses.

83% of MGS visitors are either decision makers or have direct input to purchasing decisions.

An overwhelming majority (99%) said they would be returning to MGS in 2014.

Event Organiser

Supporting Organizations

Feature rich Visit the highly acclaimed Slot Experience Center.

Gain invaluable knowledge at the Macao Gaming Summit.

Promote your brands on MGSTV.

The best networking in Asia Invaluable business networking opportunities.

Get to know potential business partners in a relaxed and casual atmosphere.

博彩監察協調局 Direcção de Inspecção e Coordenação de Jogos

Event Co-Organisers

And we will even help pay your way!

The Macao SAR Government is once again offering attractive subsidies to qualified buyers from air fares to hotel accommodation, making MGS the key annual meeting hub for casino procurement teams.

Event Contractor

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Preview

G2E Las Vegas

PATIR DESIGN

AMATIC INDUSTRIES

Patir’s Cobra in the limelight at G2E

Amatic to exhibit table and multi-game offerings in Vegas

As Novomatic’s provider of choice for luxury game seating, Patir Design will showcase its advanced Cobra chair in Las Vegas after fresh achievement in Uruguay.

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Suleyman Yilmaz, export manager at Patir

pecialist casino seating provider Patir Design will be exhibiting its innovative Cobra Gaminator chair at G2E, on the back of an exclusive contract with Novomatic and continued success in South American markets.

With its sleek, serpentine design, the luxury sliding chair offers both flexibility and comfort for players of all sizes and includes state-of-the-art surround-style speakers.

Unveiled to much acclaim at London’s ICE earlier this year, Patir have subsequently entered into an exclusive contract with manufacturing giant Novomatic, providing the Cobra as the seat of choice for their VIP machines.

Whilst a cursory glance at the Cobra might deem it a niche product, with VIP revenues up across the breadth of the sector, Patir’s export manager Suleyman Yilmaz notes the

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increasing trend for bespoke high-end gaming floor space, adding: “The Cobra fits perfectly with these areas and help give VIP guests the feeling that they are special.”

Based in Munich, Patir operates worldwide, offering a diverse portfolio of seating options for the sector: from bar stools and lounge chairs, to fold down cinema-style seating as well as regular and luxury casino chairs.

The Cobra’s continued popularity comes at an exciting time for the company which this year has experienced particularly encouraging growth in South America.

“We’re seeing continued success in Uruguay,” says Yilmaz. “The Casinos del Estado in Montevideo has now installed 1,300 chairs, with another 950 on delivery.”

Yilmaz is more measured as to the company’s European faring: “Spain continues to

under perform as a market for us,” he says, claiming that the same is true in Germany, where amendments to gambling regulation aren’t due until 2017. However, Patir is eyeing fresh European pastures with a degree of anticipation: “Licences are now completed for a number of new casinos in Hungary,” says Yilmaz, “and so we’re optimistic that new horizons will present themselves there.”

The Cobra will be showcased at G2E both on the Patir and Novomatic stands.

Alongside it, Patir will be displaying an eclectic cross section of its current product catalogue, including its innovative Multifoot ‘easy-move’ base solution - allowing operators the convenience of increased flexibility in floor-plan layout.

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TICKETS

Apex to premier iDrop

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pex Gaming will showcase its complete range of gaming solutions at the forthcoming G2E Las Vegas, including iDrop - a new concept that unites slots and live gaming.

According to the Austriabased company, iDrop makes the transgression between slots and live gaming tables simple. The ticket is placed in the iDrop and the croupier can then hand out the corresponding jetons. The player can choose

42 | casinoreview September 2014

ustria’s Amatic Industries will bring new table-game and multi-game slot machine solutions to this year’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, with its Turbo Card Roulette (TCR) product due to take centre stage.

Having already been spotlit in August at OIGA 2014, TCR represents a joint venture between Amatic and INAG Inc, and has n o w passed all necessary GLI testing requirements. This card-based roulette offers u n i q u e advantages over conventional roulette, in that it requires minimal operator training for operation and eradicates the possibility for operator error and casino bleed.

With Amatic providing the requisite software and touch-screen technology, TCR allows for a constant hourly decision rate irrespective of player number and fluctuation. The game is fully expandable and is already approved for use in Oklahoma as well as in several other US states.

Returning to its traditional multigame focus, Amatic’s Performer C22 upright cabinet is also due to make an appearance at the Nevada convention.

“We are convinced that Turbo Card Roulette is a perfect solution for gaming in the United States,” said sales manager Thomas Engstberger. “Concerning multi-game, we invite visitors to see the Peformer C22, and a magical combination of great games in a stylish and secure cabinet.”

any amount on the ticket to exchange in jetons, and the remaining amount can be printed back out as a ticket by the iDrop. Similarly, players can swop back jetons for a ticket to return to the slots or electronic multiplayers.

The iDrop has the further benefit that croupiers can enter the banknotes into this secure device. Each banknote is validated individually even though the

croupier can enter them in bulk fashion.

The iDrop is connected to the casino management system so operators have real time information on its contents.

Also taking centre stage on Apex’s booth at G2E will be the company’s Mobile Slots offering. These games can be applied to tablet games, and are a useful addition to land-based gaming.

The Apex Player Station, meanwhile, is a fully automatic player station that incorporates a roulette wheel. Three other table gales are available - Sic-Bo, Bacarrat and Quikker.

STAND: 4016

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AMATIC INDUSTRIES / APEX GAMING / PATIR DESIGN / TCS JOHN HUXLEY G2E Las Vegas 2014

AMATIC TURBO CARD ROULETTE, PERFORMER C22 CABINET APEX IDROP, MOBILE SLOTS PATIR COBRA GAMINATOR CHAIR, MULITFOOT TCS JOHN HUXLEY GAMING FLOOR LIVE, CHIPPER CHAMP 2

TCS JOHN HUXLEY

TCS John Huxley to launch new Gaming Floor Live platform G2E 2014 will be an important showcase for TCS John Huxley, as the company launches its new Gaming Floor Live platform and related products. ore than 18 months in development, Gaming Floor Live, the new platform from TCS John Huxley, underpins the company’s strategy to supply products, solutions and support that drive and grow customers’ businesses through enabling technology innovations.

Cath Burns (pictured), group CEO, said: “We are very excited about the launch of Gaming Floor Live and the impact it will make to our customers’ businesses. This is the first time it’s possible for table game products to communicate with one system to provide vital information such as reporting, analytics, optimisation and accountability. With Gaming Floor Live we can collect all this data

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through our TIB (Table Interface Board) and feed it into the operators system for analysis.

What’s more, it’s an open platform so it’s possible to connect not just our own products, but other vendors products too.”

With more than 900 tables installed in Macau, Gaming Floor Live is already maximising efficiencies on the floor and improving dealer speed to increase revenue. By having visibility of enough data and knowledge to refine and optimise processes even a tiny amount, operators are able to save and make more money. Even a slight optimisation on table revenues, adds up to a significant and positive change to profitability.

Although the emphasis has been on

developing and launching the new platform, TCS John Huxley has not diverted its focus from the existing product range. In fact, much of the established portfolio such as the benchmark Chipper Champ 2, Saturn Roulette wheel and e-FX display products are now technology enabled to connect to the new platform.

As part of the Gaming Floor Live platform, visitors to the show will also see GFL Bonusing Solutions, the powerful Floor Wide Event and Mystery Progressive platform that can adapt to almost any table game and GFL Media, featuring e-FX table displays - the most comprehensive range of display solutions available for live gaming,

with the ability to drive results from the game as well as media and event content.

For the first time in the table game sector, Gaming Floor Live provides operators with a powerful single source tool that collects real-time data from all table devices and delivers opportunities to increase revenues as well as highlighting non-optimal game play and dealer inefficiency.

STAND: 4433

www.msi.com/ipc

ipcsales@msi.com

September 2014 casinoreview

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CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 10:57 Page 9

Preview

GTECH / LT GAME

G2E Las Vegas

G2E Las Vegas 2014

GTECH TRUE 3D, SPHINX 3D LT GAME E-BACCARAT, LIVE TABLE MULTI-GAMES SYSTEM

LT GAME

GTECH

GTech to showcase every dimension A number of exciting new games will lead the charge for GTech at G2E, while a solid backing of casino software ensures that the company is covering every possible base.

LT Game brings E-Baccarat to Vegas The 2014 edition of G2E Las Vegas will see LT Game showcase its latest range of gaming products, including the E-Baccarat Table T Game arrives at G2E Las Vegas with a range of new and innovative products. The company’s Live Table Multi Games System has successfully completed a field trial at the Palazzo Casino in Las Vegas, and received a formal written approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for installation throughout Nevada.

In addition, the company recently signed agreement with IGT, which will distribute the group’s products across US and Canada.

The Live Table Multi Games System has been a dominant electronic gaming machine category in the Macau market, and has seen a rapid surge in demand from overseas operators. The approval granted by the NGCB and the agreement with IGT marks an important milestone for LT Game’s expansion.

Its star product for this year is E-Baccarat Table. The newly developed E-baccarat provides five to 10 players the opportunity to play simultaneously, keeping the enjoyment and excitement of flipping the cards and the atmosphere of playing on the tables like in any conventional baccarat table, but their payout will be completed by the system automatically. The players will gain more privacy and security. Meanwhile, other players can also play the e-bac-

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carat table from the betting terminals.

The E-baccarat table makes up the deficiencies of the traditional baccarat table that casino operators usually face.

One of the advantages for the casino operator is having a complete record of betting and credit points.

Also at G2E Las Vegas, LT Game will exhibit Live Multi-Game Machines (LMG), Intelligent Cash Access Machine, as well as web game and Baccarat Tournament System.

The Intelligent Cash Access Solution is another recent release, including far more functions than regular cash redemption machines. The Intelligent Cash Access has added benefits that set it apart from its counterparts, including reduced security risks, lower costs and fewer errors on cash handling. It has a function of putting multiple notes into the machine and buying tickets at the same time. This cash access machine is a smart, flexible and reliable cash and ticket handling solution.

The LMG-6, otherwise known as Multi-Touch, offers a multi-player mode which allows two players to play on the screen or a split screen of one terminal, with the players able to play at least three games concurrently.

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44 | casinoreview September 2014

G

Tech and gaming product brand Spielo are expected to present a dizzying array of games at the upcoming Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

The company is tying together its display with a theme entitled ‘All Together GTech’ - designed to unite the many games, cabinets, systems and interactive solutions it will be displaying.

Some of the most popular exhibits are likely to be GTtech’s new True 3D titles. Building on the success of stereoscopic game, Sphinx 3D, the company will be showing a number of new entries into its 3D range, including Bejeweled, Dragon’s Temple, Dreams of Asia and Aladdin’s Fortune. Community games are also a focus for Gtech this year, with new adaptations in the form of Zuma Adventures and Bejeweled Community making their show debut.

Also in the licensed field, the globally popular quiz show Deal or No Deal will be making an appearance at the Gtech stand in the form of Deal or No Deal Las Vegas!

This new game makes use of the MaxVusion cabinet and features US host Howie Mandell. A game based on TV show The Money Drop also compliments the company’s licensed range.

Looking to the future, an interactive area will allow visitors to take a glimpse into the next generation of casino products, with a portfolio of games, systems and services on show which are designed to work individually or together. Solutions for poker, casino, bingo, sports bettering and lottery markets are included, each designed with the Gtech’s open architecture that allows for fast integration of third-party products.

GTech will also be launching WagerWise at the show, a poker app for tablets, alongside new play for fun and virtual currency solutions. All games will be available to connect directly to the customer platform or through GTech’s player account management system.

Branching out internationally, the company will be showcasing linked products, such as Action Jackpots.

This novelty product that offers four different progressive links tied to a single gaming machine. New suites for the diversity multigame will also be on the show floor along with a new selection of core games.

The Latin American contingent will be well catered for, in the form of Peruvian Riches and the new priGiV Vu My Choice multigame offering.

The Gtech Latin America team will also be on hand to take part in the SpieloPlus.com campaign, with attractive offers live at the show.

On the systems front, a range of Galaxis modules created to cover all areas of casino management. JP2go will also be on display, a standalone turnkey jackpot system designed to boost machine play, as will all-inclusive packaged slot software, System2go.

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sales@amatic.com

www.amatic.com

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Preview

ABBIATI CASINO EQUIPMENT / ARISTOCRAT / COPAQ PLAYING CARDS

G2E Las Vegas

G2E Las Vegas 2014

ABBIATI BACCARAT RFID TABLE, CONTEMPORARY ROULETTE WHEEL ARISTOCRAT OASIS 360 COPAQ PLAYING CARDS ABBIATI CASINO EQUIPMENT

ARISTOCRAT

Abbiati return to Las Vegas with innovative RFID technology

Aristocrat poised for success across multiple channels

Italian manufacturer Abbiati’s radio-frequency technology mean its luxury tables and casino currency are set to impress security-conscious audiences at G2E.

experts who have full market focus,” Lisboa said ahead of the Las Vegas expo.

ristocrat will be bringing a contentled strategy to life across its entire portfolio at G2E this year.

A series of targeted acquisitions, investments in cutting-edge hardware and technology, high-profile licences and market-leading creative talent have positioned Aristocrat and its customers for success across multiple channels.

In Las Vegas, Aristocrat will showcase new developments in its Oasis 360 systems division.

Oasis 360 is the most widely used casino system in North America, and the company is executing a longterm strategy of investment in the product.

For example, the new Oasis HALo suite is one of the industry’s most advanced loyalty-building software, while the new OneLink technology brings property-wide bonusing and digital media to the next level.

Aristocrat will also feature its award-winning Episodic Bonusingand the Elimination Bonusing, a floor-wide bonusing programme played on the nCompass media window.

In addition, Aristocrat will present nearly 200 new games at G2E 2014, along with several innovative new cabinets. The company’s licensed titles and core game segments - E-Series, J-Series, and C-Series will combine to present a diversified games portfolio that is stronger than ever and will deliver excitement and performance across a diverse player range.

The manufacturer will also premiere new titles including Sons of Anarchy, a new video slot that brings the intensity of the TV show to the slot floor, and Britney Spears, where players can immerse themselves in a heart-thumping gaming experience backed by hits from the Princess of Pop.

STAND: 2130

STAND: 1141

bbiati Casino Equipment will be displaying a cross-section of its current product line at the year’s G2E, along with a number of exciting, brand new offerings.

The wide range of products exhibited will cover all sections from the Abbiati line, including high security casino currency, personalised gaming tables, gaming layouts, American roulette wheels and a wide array of accessories.

“G2E is one of the most important trade events for Abbiati”, said CEO Girogio Abbiati. “It’s a unique opportunity to meet new and existing customers from the Americas, as well as bring the fine craftsmanship of our Made in Italy products to the gaming temple that is Las Vegas.”

The company’s latest generation of customisable chips and plaques will be shown, along with their innovative, radio-frequency identification (RFID) security features. Anti-theft and counterfeiting measures are both areas in which the Italian company has invested in heavily in recent years, and G2E will provide it with an opportunity to showcase the culmination of its research and development efforts to this end.

A

efficiency,” said Abbiati. “The Baccarat RFID table has been designed to be compatible with a huge variety of additional accessories, such as shuffling machines, intelligent shoes and electronic displays to name just a few.”

Taking place alongside the baccarat table, Abbiati will be exhibiting a new luxury blackjack table, manufactured with precious composite materials, featuring high-quality finishings and allowing for the provision of DEQ Digital Gaming’s EZ Baccarat title, the table will represent an attractive and versatile addition to any VIP setting.

Finally, Abbiati will be returning with their Contemporary roulette wheel, which incorporates patented invisible laser technology. Competitively priced, the laser sensor in the ball-track is undetectable to the human eye, providing first-class security without cost to discretion. Having made an appearance previously at last year’s show, the product remains a best-seller for the company, and continues to impress audiences at trade events worldwide.

Together with its casino currency, the Abbiati stand will also feature its RFID baccarat table. Manufactured in partnership with Walker Digital Table Systems, Abbiati believes the product represents all of the fine craftsmanship synonymous with its Made in Italy brand. “Tables integrated with RFID technology help casino operators reduce labour, eliminate dealer error and player fraud, whilst also increasing game speed and providing valuable business intelligence and operating STAND: 3826

COPAG PLAYING CARDS

Copag shows its hand at G2E Las Vegas

C

opag will once again present its range of cardboard and 100 per cent cards at G2E Las Vegas this year.

The Brazilian company’s playing cards - in coated paper or plastic - are found in casinos on every continent, and in the most prestigious championships in the world.

“With our quality and competitive price, we are always a step ahead,” said the company’s Rafael Lisboa.

In the casino market, Copag is a leader in Latin America, and has a significant market share in Europe and the US. The company uses on the best quality materials and has strict quality control across all production processes.

Copag develops exclusive packages for casinos, including holographic labels and printed sequential numbering to bolster security and facilitate stock control.

“Copag also makes studies on the market to ensure that its products are always updated and innovative and creative in design and in the manufacturing process, through a team of

46 | casinoreview September 2014

A

More than a transaction.

A connection.

The real moment of truth on the gaming floor is when a player gives you the money. Only the money is not being handed out to you. It is handed out to us.

From the moment that currency touches our JCM Global bill validator, we are responsible for providing an effortless, accurate transfer of cash into play. We accept your customer’s wager with reliable grace and efficiency, just the way you would personally. We are your representative on the gaming floor.

This philosophy has earned JCM Global its position as the industry leader for both OEMs and operators, with more bill validators and printers in play than all other brands combined. And now, we are about to reveal how a simple cash-in can lead to a level of player engagement that goes beyond the transaction. We’re going to help you make connections.

www.jcmglobal.com

CR143-p32-48-G2Evegas_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 10:46 Page 11

Preview

EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY / MERKUR GAMING

G2E Las Vegas

G2E Las Vegas 2014

EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY PREMIER SERIES CABINETS, P24/24 UP MERKUR GAMING MERKUR DISPENSER 100 GOLD, OZONE

EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY

The G2E ‘face’ of Euro Games Technology The Premier Series will take centre stage on EGT’s booth at this year’s G2E Las Vegas.

uro Games Technology (EGT) will present high-end technologies, attractive designs and a wide portfolio of products both for land-based and online gambling at G2E Las Vegas 2014.

Casino operators from many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America have already equipped their casino floors with the Premier Series cabinets of EGT and provide constant enjoyment for their players. Yet the recognised cabinet P24/24 Up of the same series will strive to achieve even larger acclaim at the Las Vegas tradeshow.

“The Premier Series is a milestone in our product development and the P-24/24 Up is one of our latest proj-

E

ects on sale from last year,” said EGT sales and marketing director, Stanislav Stanev. “It is among our most successful models and it builds to our image every day, adding value to each gaming floor where it has been installed. Its multimedia topper, high resolution 24-inch widescreen monitors, keyboard with OLED buttons, enhanced stereo sound system, ergonomic details, engaging look and innovative Exciter II platform make it a preferable choice for both casino operators and players.”

On display will also be the fourlevel jackpot systems Diamond Life, for mystery jackpot gambling, and Egypt Quest, a progressive jackpot.

“Both are based on Premier Series

cabinets and inherit all of its merits,” Stanev said. “A preferential feature is also their 55-inch jackpot central monitor and two 32-inch portrait-orientated displays that are easily serviced and could be mounted on the floor or on the wall.

The leading jackpot premiere on the booth of EGT will be the brand new Lady’s Cards jackpot. It is a fourlevel randomly triggered progressive jackpot with completely new theme.

The exciting 3D movies and eyecatching celebration animations are projected on a 42-inch monitor, creating cheerful mood and attracting the players. The bank of gaming machines with Lady’s Cards jackpot is customisable to meet different

players’ requirements.

During G2E 2014, EGT will also highlight a number of multiplayer solutions based on one of the company’s newest achievements: the Stork terminal. Bingo, automated and live roulette solutions together with a jackpot with appealing thematic will be present to show just a few of all possible multiplayer configurations - a flexibility achievable only through the high technological performance of this terminal.

STAND: 4046

MERKUR GAMING

Merkur’s Sun set to shine even brighter in Las Vegas

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he international gaming company of Germany’s Gauselmann Group, Merkur Gaming, is once again set to light up the Global Gaming Expo (G2E).

Las Vegas will be the perfect stage for Merkur to display brand new solutions to the international market, blending into the already strong product range. New cabinets, new games and the new Merkur Dispenser 100 Gold all await visitors to stand 2464; Merkur once again taking up residence in its 600sq.m stand to house all of its solutions.

The Evolution SL and Avantgarde SLT are new cabinets

48 | casinoreview September 2014

with large widescreen monitors that offer HD technology. The set goal for Merkur Gaming as technology leader will be reflected in the new Ozone gaming machine.

With Ozone, the player sits inside a capsule, completely submerges into the gaming entertainment.

The eyes can better focus on the HD gaming screens and the ears will enjoy surround sound of a new dimension thanks to the integrated subwoofer behind the seat. The desire, indeed the thirst to bring new game-changing solutions to the market was demonstrated with the introduction of the Highflyer - a slant top gaming machine where the larger, upper monitor is seemingly floating in the air, giving players the opportunity to relax and enjoy gaming in a

completely different way. All these gaming machines will be joined by the popular cabinets Privilege Plus, Evolution and Vision Plus.

Merkur Gaming can link its machines with its own jackpot system that will be shown at the G2E. Furthermore, Merkur offers the innovative and unique money management systems from the Gauselmann Group - including the Merkur Dispenser 100 Gold - the new standard for banknote recycling that includes the possibility to accept tickets. With three drums to pay back up to 34 of three different denominations, this solution has established itself as the leading bill recycler in the German street market and is a popular choice for change

machines as well.

The Merkur Gaming team will be led by Ralf Markmann, who will be celebrating his first G2E Las Vegas at Merkur Gaming. “The sheer number of innovations of our stand is breathtaking,” he said. “The Ozone - where players will feel the sound and be engulfed in a new gaming experience – is set to take the G2E by storm.

“Naturally we have an extensive range of games with new games to be shown as well. Jackpots systems, casino management systems, money management systems - we have complete solutions - with the hardware all made in Germany.”

BOOTH: 2464

ENTERTAINMENT in perfect quality

We share a common goal – providing players with wonderfully designed gaming machines, packed full with thrilling games.

Visit us at G2E Global Gaming Expo, booth no. 2464

Be MERKURious It‘s more than just a game.

MERKUR GAMING | Borsigstrasse 22 | D-32312 Luebbecke | Phone +49 (0) 5741 273 6930 | www.merkur-gaming.com sales@merkur-gaming.com wwww.merkur-gaming.com ww.merkur-gaming.ccom | ssales@merkur-gaming.com ales@merkur-gaming.ccom

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:43 Page 1

Supplier

News

PARTNERSHIP

COMPANIES UNVEIL ‘TOTAL CASINO SOLUTION’

LT Game and IGT alliance plans to open Macau and North American markets

I

LT Game is making its mark on the international gaming stage, and with some force. The Asian powerhouse has forged a partnership with another heavyweight player, IGT, to drive open the North American and Macau markets in a mutually beneficial partnership. Their mission of a ‘total casino solution’ is taking shape.

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wo of the world’s most innovative gaming service and product suppliers are joining forces to expand distribution in Macau and North America, in a three-year agreement between global casino gaming entertainment leader IGT and Paradise Entertainment subsidiary LT Game.

Under the terms of the agreement, IGT will distribute LT Game’s live and electronic table game systems in the United States and Canada, while LT Game will serve as distributor for IGT’s slot machines in Macau.

As IGT and LT Game each

seek to expand their global market share and product portfolio, this partnership provides the unique opportunity to leverage existing sales, service and compliance infrastructures to drive revenues from incremental product segments.

The terms of the agreement specify that IGT will distribute LT Game products on an exclusive basis across jurisdictions in the US and Canada. IGT is also granted right of first refusal for distribution of LT Games to Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and Central America.

“This alliance is unique

to the gaming industry, combining the storied IGT legacy with the market intuition of LT Game to deliver a broader and more relevant product portfolio to our collective customers in North America and Macau,” said Eric Tom, executive vice president of global sales for IGT. “We will work alongside our partner, LT Game, in both markets to ensure that an exemplary level of customer care is maintained, while we also continue our direct sales and support for systems products in Macau.”

Jay Chun, chairman and

managing director of Paradise Entertainment, added: “The agreement unlocks enormous potential for LT Game in the international market and marks a significant milestone in our history. It signals an important cooperation that will generate synergies for both IGT and LT Game.

“As a market leader in Macau, LT Game is well positioned to assist IGT in their penetration in the domestic Macau market.

Conversely, I believe the collaboration with IGT will enable LT Game to accelerate its expansion of global presence and distribution.”

n the wake of their partnership announcement, the organisers of the forthcoming Macao Gaming Show (MGS) have announced that LT Game and International Game Technology (IGT) have teamed up to jointly exhibit and unveil a brand new ‘Total Casino Solution’ concept to the world’s gaming industry.

“When you come to our gigantic 1,440sq.m booth, you will feel like you have stepped into a fully operational casino, complete with slot machines, live table games, electronic table games, and cash handling and casino management systems,” a joint statement from the companies said. “We are offering casino operators the total casino solution in order to give them a brand new experience and more professional service. This is a ‘must-visit’ stand.”

Ross Zhang, event operation manager of MGS said: “It is without doubt a great honour to have LT Game and IGT join us at the Macao Gaming Show in November. They count as two of the gaming industry s biggest and most influential manufacturers and suppliers, and their combined presence at the show illustrates how important MGS is to the Asian region, and to the international gaming community as a whole.”

EXHIBITION

TCS John Huxley announces Macao Gaming Show return

I

nternational gaming giant TCS John Huxley will be returning to Macau later this year after confirming its attendance at the upcoming Macao Gaming Show.

For the second successive year, the world-

50 | casinoreview September 2014

leading gaming equipment manufacturer and supplier said it will attend the Macau event to showcase its latest innovations and meet Asian and international customers alike to discuss their gaming requirements.

Rebecca Kingswell, managing director in the Asia-Pacific region for the company, said: “TCS John Huxley is pleased to be back at the Macao Gaming show and supporting the local Macau market where TCS John Huxley has had an office

established since 2002.

“The group will be showcasing its Gaming Floor Live product for baccarat, a live data gathering and optimisation tool that provides real-time data to optimise table operations and increase revenue.

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:43 Page 2

GTECH / JCM GLOBAL / IGT / KONAMI GAMING / LT GAME / TCS JOHNYXYXYXY HUXLEY Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

GTECH 3D MACHINES JCM TRANSACTION TECHNOLOGY IGT ALLIANCE KONAMI MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS LT GAME TRADING PARTNERSHIP TCS JOHN HUXLEY MGS ATTENDANCE 3D MACHINES

TRANSACTION

European debut for Sphinx 3D

JCM take iVizion and PayCheck to OIGA

Sphinx 3D is bursting into Europe along every dimension, as a number of casinos across the continent unveil GTech’s innovative new machine.

ransaction technologists JCM Global returned to the 20th Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) in Oklahoma City, showcasing its iVizion validator, and PayCheck 4TM thermal printer.

JCM Global has a longstanding relationship with Native American gambling operators throughout the United States. “We have been very fortunate to work with Native American operators in all areas of the United States, and we have continued to evolve our product line and service offerings, based on their valuable client feedback,” said JCM global vice-president of worldwide sales Mark Henderson, ahead of the event.

IVizion uses the most powerful anti-counterfeiting and anti-stringing technology available, as well as an unsurpassed acceptance rate of over 99 per cent.

Also making an appearance was JCM’s awardwinning PayCheck 4TM thermal printer: the fastest and longest-lasting printer in its class currently on the market. PayCheck 4 prints a complete ticket in just 0.6 seconds, comes with eight mega-byes of standard memory, and has an average life span of 640,000 slot-type tickets - twice the capacity of other printers.

fter making waves in North America with its revolutionary noglasses 3D technology, GTech has announced the launch of Sphinx 3D in European territories. The machines have made their continental debut in Germany, with installations at the nine Spielbanken Bayern properties in Bavaria.

Further installations have taken place across Europe, in countries such as Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia, with more to follow in the near future.

“The preliminary feedback we have received from players at promotional events where Sphinx 3D is live has been extremely positive,” said the company’s international vice president of commercial gaming, Mar-

A

cel Heutmekers. “Players are enjoying the 3D effects, as they enhance the typical gaming experience and add an extra level of excitement. We are looking forward to installing these machines in more casinos around the world in the months to come.”

Sphinx 3D is the first game of its kind to use a glasses-free 3D technology that gives the appearance of depth without the need for cumbersome paraphernalia. GTech’s True 3D machines use autostereoscopic technology along with cameras that track a player’s line of sight to create visuals that seem to leap off the screen. Without wearing special or additional glasses, players can explore the on-screen vistas, change viewing angles without disrupting the 3D

experience, and be amazed by wilds stacked on the zaxis that seem to rotate toward and jump out at them.

A five-reel, 30-line game, Sphinx 3D features an action-packed base game and a total of seven bonuses: two in the base game and five dedicated bonuses that players can select as part of the Sphinx Bonus selection.

The game is contained within the Axxis cabinet, which is designed to create a sense of personal space, maximise player comfort and immerse the player in the game with a state-ofthe-art multimedia chair including rumble, surround-sound and sliding mechanism for easy entry and adjustable player seating position for comfort.

“We’re very pleased

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about the launch of the Sphinx 3D game in each of our nine casinos,” said Staatliche Lotterieverwaltung Bayern vice president Josef Müller.

“The product looks great and customers immediately take to the machine’s unique features and func-

tionality. Players are very impressed when they see the 3D effects for the first time, and their reaction shows that we made the right decision by adding the Sphinx 3D game to our casinos.”

MANAGAMENT SYSTEMS

Canyon Casino implements Synkros

K

onami Gaming’s Synkros casino management system has been selected by Canyon Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado, to replace its existing system. The Synkros installation is Konami’s first in Colorado, a state in which 39 casinos currently operate.

“Canyon Casino is a mid-sized casino with a beautiful downtown location in historic Black Hawk,” said Clark Warren, senior director of systems sales at Konami.

“In addition to slot

accounting and TITO, Synkros will deliver great new marketing capabilities including a robust, multi-tiered loyalty programme and reactive bonusing that occurs on the player’s LCD display and on Konami’s True Time Window at the slot

machine.”

Canyon Casino general manager Brian Cloud added: “We needed a highly reliable system that could help us manage our gaming operations and maintain a competitive edge in the market. The Synkros sys-

tem Konami provides has a stronger set of tools to help us manage all aspects of our business in real time, so we can continue to impress a broad spectrum of customers with unique, positive experiences.”

Canyon Casino has

more than 400 slot machines, 100 of which operate as coin slots for players who enjoy the sound of coins falling into the trays. The casino’s available table games include blackjack, craps, and roulette. The casino also operates a successful membership programme in the multi-tiered Canyon Club, which qualifies them for benefits such as Canyon Grille dining discounts, special offers, exclusive promotions, party events, and same-day cash back.

September 2014 casinoreview

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Supplier

CASINO TECHNOLOGY / GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK / GAMING STANDARDS

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

CASINO TECHNOLOGY GAME DEVELOPMENT GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK SIMULATED GAMING GAMING STANDARDS ONLINE WORKSHOP

SIMULATED GAMING

DEVELOPERS

Multi-state operator selects GameAccount to launch online offering

‘The future belongs to networked solutions’

US casinos are getting ready for D-day - the day when a decision that real money internet gaming can come into play.

Helping preparations for what some observers believe is an almost inevitable progression is GameAccount Network who are catching the attentions of an increasing number of land-based casinos in the States.

G

ameAccount Network, a leading developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B gaming software and online gaming content, has announced a partnership with a multi-state US casino operator to launch a Simulated Gaming online experience for new customers and existing patrons of client’s selected casinos in the US. It is expected that GameAccount Network and the as-yetunnamed operator will launch their first Simulated Gaming website in the last quarter of 2014, subject to suitable regulatory approvals, following which the client’s identity will be publicly disclosed.

Simulated Gaming is the innovative internet gaming service designed by GameAccount Network specifically for land-based US casinos to launch in advance of prospective real-money internet gaming regulation. It offers a gam-

ing-as-entertainment consumer website enabled with unique monetisation features and a compelling portfolio of over 100 casino slot, table and skill-based games including poker, backgammon, gin rummy, poker dice and blackjack tournaments.

Launched in the US by GameAccount Network in January 2014, Simulated Gaming has been proven to monetise Internet traffic to existing websites operated by landbased US casinos with more than 10 per cent of players spending on average three times more than players of social casino applications operated on Facebook.com.

Simulated Gaming enables landbased US casinos to tap into the social casino market worth an estimated $1bn (E770m) per annum in the US in 2013, increases property visitation among existing patrons and drives acquisition of new patrons.

WORKSHOPS

GSA hosts London workshop promoting online crosscommunication

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his month saw the Hilton London Paddington hotel host a swathe of leading professionals, as the Gaming Standards Association’s ‘Building Bridges’ event brought together both industry and policy stakeholders to discuss the future development of Europe’s online gaming sector.

Addresses were

given by senior representatives from the Jersey Gambling Commission, the Remote Gaming Association and the GSA itself.

Open to both GSA members and nonmembers internationally, the gathering saw updates from the trade association’s Online Gaming Committee OGC on its current and upcoming work.

52 | casinoreview September 2014

Speaking ahead of the event, GSA president Peter DeRaedt said: “This workshop is a critically important event, as we’ll be discussing and debating the current situation and the future of iGaming in Europe from a technical standards perspective.” Stressing the geo-political focus of the event, he added: “The European market is the largest for iGaming

worldwide, but its leadership remains uncertain: even discounting the effect of the gradual market opening in the US, the national segmentation of the EU market and multi-layer compliance burdens offer their own unique challenges.”

GSA is due to exhibit at G2E in Las Vegas, as well as at the upcoming Macao Gaming Show.

Recognising and adapting to the growth of the online and remote gaming sectors is the way forward for Casino Technology, according to sales director

Elena Shaterova.

“

The rapid advent of online and mobile technology in gaming poses a serious challenge to land-based operators worldwide, in how to adapt quickly enough to a dynamically changing market.

Working in the gaming industry over the last 10 years, I was able to see for myself the gradual but irreversible merging of traditional and newer forms of gaming, and its impact on the sector in both Europe and United States.

Based on my experience, I truly believe that the future belongs to networked solutions offering a seamless gaming experience by fusing the “bricks and mortar” with the virtual experience.

To answer the demand of seamless gaming technology within the industry, we are going to present at G2E a complete set of systems allowing to bring this concept to life. Combining a casino management system, a money management system, a jackpot system, a remote game server and an online gaming platform, The Big 5 suite provides operators with the highly valuable option to en-gage players both on and off the casino floor. Full synergy of these systems opens the door to a whole new world of exciting opportunities for marketing and monetisation: allowing operators to promote their brands and locations, cross-sell products, attract new generation of players and generate additional revenues.

Elena Shaterova, sales director, Casino Technology

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:53 Page 4

Supplier

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES / GAMING PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL / SCIENTIFIC GAMES

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES MOBILE PLATFORM GAMING PARTNERS CASINO CHIPS SCIENTIFIC GAMES ACQUISITION

MOBILE

ACQUISITION

Scientific Games and Bally announce early termination of HSR waiting period

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Foxwoods selects Bally as mobile provider oxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, US, will utilise the award-winning mobile concierge platform from Bally Technologies, to offer its patrons a feature-rich mobile app.

The agreement is part of a continuing partnership between Bally and Foxwoods. One of the Northeast’s premier gaming and entertainment destinations, Foxwoods, in Mashantucket, features six casinos along with hotels, restaurants, spas, golf, theatres and shopping.

“We are excited to use

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Bally’s mobile platform to offer outstanding new benefits to our customers,” said Brian Charette, Foxwoods’ vice president of information technology. “Bally is a great partner that worked with us to create a custom

app that will enable us to engage and market to our patrons before, during, and after their visit.”

Bally’s cloud-based mobile platform enables casino operators to create and easily update special content and offers, and immediately distribute the information to targeted potential customers. Bally has created more than 150 features for casino operators to incorporate into their apps, allowing them to entertain, educate, interact, market, and learn from their guests and players.

Guests at Foxwoods can

use the cloud-based mobile app to book shows, make restaurant reservations, check player club point balances, view promotions, and much more. The app is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and other devices.

“We are confident that in utilising this app that we created for the property, they will drive additional revenue and deliver an even greater experience to Foxwoods’ guests,” said John Connelly (pictured), Bally Technologies’ senior vice president of business development and interactive.

ugust 20th saw a joint statement from Scientific Games Corporation and Bally Technologies, claiming that notice of an early termination of the requisite HartScott-Rodino Act waiting period had been given in respect to Scientific’s latest acquisition.

The termination of the HSR waiting period satisfies a key condition in the transaction, announced earlier this month, in which Scientific agreed to purchase Bally for the sum of $3.3bn (E2.4bn), acquiring all of its outstanding common stock for $83.30 per common share.

With the deal scheduled for completion by early 2015, this latest venture represents Scientific’s second significant acquisition in less than a year. In October 2013, paperwork was finalised on the firm’s $1.5bn (E1.13bn) purchase

of WMS Industries.

Scientific Games’ established product portfolio includes electronic games and gaming content, lottery and gaming systems, sports betting technology, and draw-based lottery games. More recently, they have entered the social and mobile gaming sector, providing interactive content and services.

Bally Technologies was founded in 1932. In 1936, they began the manufacture of slot-operated pinball machines, making them the oldest slot manufacturer in the world. They continue to provide electronic and table games to the casino industry, as well as gaming systems and iGaming content.

Largely equivalent in terms of annual revenue, both Bally and Scientific combined recorded sales of $3.0bn (E2.26bn) for the year ending March 31st.

CHIPS

V-Series represents next generation of casinos chips t this year’s G2E, Gaming Partners International (GPI) will showcase the depth of its table game product range and will introduce several new products specifically developed to meet the needs of its global customers.

The Las Vegas-based company will also highlight its well-known Gemaco playing cards and layouts as well as our numerous RFID products and solutions.

This year, expanding GPI’s

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54 | casinoreview September 2014

B&G plastic injected chip portfolio is the new V-Series chip range, an extensive selection of standard chip designs that not only offer an unprecedented variety of configurations but also feature a new chip material formula that is stronger and more durable.

In addition, the company has increased the value of this new product by including ChipShield as a standard feature. An anti-microbial substance that helps inhibit the

growth of stain-causing mildew, ChipShield leaves a cleaner, more sanitary chip surface. Best of all, all V-Series four-shot chips come standard with an infrared security feature exclusive to GPI. Adding to the company’s European plaque collection, GPI will introduce two new standard plaque designs including the Dragon’s Eye, a stunning design sure to appeal to the Asian market, and the new Ribbon design, which is available with two

different ribbon pattern widths New to the group’s currency security features portfolio, 3in-1 UV is a security taggant that remains invisible under standard UV wavelengths.

Because it can be added to plastic injection-moulded chip materials, it is easy to validate chips when placed in stacks or racks. It also offers three levels of authentication, including a forensic verification using Scanning Electron Microscopy.

www.egt-bg.com

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Supplier

DALLMEIER / GAUSELMANN GROUP / MSI

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

DALLMEIER SECURITY GAUSELMANN NEW FACILITIES MSI EMBEDDED PLATFORM

PLATFORM

MSI delivers ultra-slim embedded platform

M FACILITIES

Gauselmann completes the biggest building project in its history he biggest building project in the history of the Gauselmann Group - a new logistics centre in Lübbecke, Germany took 15 months and is now finished. The Gauselmann family celebrated the completion of the new logistics centre together with numerous political and business notables on July 15.

“Our development and production location in Lübbecke now features a state-of-the-art logistics centre that didn’t take long to build,” said the German gaming group’s founder and host Paul Gauselmann.

“Mastering this mammoth task in addition to the normal daily workload was a real challenge, only surmountable by a team effort.”

The centre has a usable area of 21,000sq.m, which

T

After 15 months of development, Gauselmann Group has cut the ribbon on a new, state-ofthe-art logistics centre.

will be used for product development, production, service and storage.

Eckhard Witte, mayor of the city of Lübbecke, praised the entrepreneurial family’s loyalty to his city: “As a family-owned company, the Gauselmann Group is not solely concerned with commercial success but also acts with strategic foresight, creates a lot of jobs and training opportunities and involves itself with its home region long term. It is a major prop of this city’s economic strength.”

Espelkamp’s mayor, Heinrich Vieker, added: “The Gauselmann Group ensures quality of life and prosperity in our home town. Building the new logistics centre is hence a trendsetting example for

the entire region.”

Thomas Niehoff, managing director of the Ostwestfalen chamber of commerce in Bielefeld, pointed out the prevailing lack of trained staff in the area in his brief welcoming speech. “We must persuade new trainees and apprentices to come to live in the region and ensure they will want to stay here,” he stated. “The Gauselmann Group sets a good example here by promoting our region’s attractiveness with a variety of training opportunities, entrepreneurial commitment and not least with the investment in this new logistics centre.”

According to the Gauselmann Group, both process optimisation and cost savings must be viewed from a

political standpoint. “The legal situation in Germany is uncertain,” the company said in a statement. “To ensure they are as well prepared as possible, the Gauselmann Group decided to concentrate on rationalisation on their core market in Germany after a phase of growth and expansion on that market.”

Looking ahead, the group intends to increase its overseas business from the current 40 per cent to over 50 per cent. Jürgen Stühmeyer, sales director of the Gauselmann Group, and Hans Martin Grube, managing director of the company’s ADP Gauselmann division, said the expansion of logistics facility is intended primarily to optimise internal and external processes.

SECURITY

Dallmeier presents P-Iris box camera

W

ith the DF4820HD-DN, Dallmeier presents its first box camera with P-Iris lens, which allows zoom, focus and aperture to be conveniently configured and adjusted via a web browser.

The DF4820HD-DN is a three-megapixel HD network camera built into a compact and lightweight

box housing. It provides real-time Full HD video using the H.264 codec and features automatic day/night operation supported by integrated ambient light sensing and a removable IR cut filter.

In addition, the DF4820HD-DN is equipped with a large

56 | casinoreview September 2014

maximum aperture and motor-driven P-Iris megapixel varifocal lens, which allows for the convenient adjust-

ment and configuration of the focal length, focus and iris via the web browser.

The novel P-Iris control technology, designed for a precise and automatic adjustment of the best iris position, thereby realises a significantly improved image quality with excellent contrast,

brilliant clarity and enhanced detail resolution combined with a greater depth of field, compared to conventional DC auto iris lenses.

In conjunction with the Digital Image Shift function, which provides for a subsequent digital fine alignment of the image section, a convenient and straightforward camera installation is guaranteed.

SI has focused efforts on its new embedded platform with hopes high that the impressive product will makes its mark.

The WindBox Series MS9A65 from MSI is an ultraslim, fanless embedded platform that suits a variety of space-critical applications with its thin and compact design.

Powered by the Intel Bay Trail scheme of Celeron low power, the WindBox Series MS-9A65 is one of the thinnest fanless small form factor computers for industrial applications.

Great for Digital Signage, thin client applications, Kiosk, or POS, WindBox Series MS-9A65 can drive

dual independent 1920x1200 resolution high definition displays, thanks to its builtin Intel HD Graphics.

With the rich I/O and storage interfaces that include USB 3.0 ports, Intel Gigabit LAN, SATA, mini-PCIe, and mSATA, the slim system has become a reliable platform for your future-proof investment.

The striking mechanical design makes the WindBox Series MS-9A65 a perfect solution ready for attaching to any display-critical applications, while keeping the system calm and reliable.

A friendly bracket delivered with WindBox Series MS-9A65 allows users to easily install the system to LCD monitors simply with a handy thumbscrew. Moreover, the innovative design of the removable bottom cover and the 3G SIM-card holder onboard for MiniPCIe slot give users a much greater flexibility and convenience for installation and future maintenance.

www.abbiati.com

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:54 Page 6

Supplier

AGI AFRICA / E-GAMING / EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

AGI AFRICA OBITUARY EGAMING VLT EURO GAMES TECHNOLOGY MACHINES SUPPLY

MACHINES SUPPLY

OBITUARY

Unexpected Pasha Group select EGT as main supplier for latest Suriname offering death of AGI Africa MD

his summer has seen the opening of Suriname’s Atlantis Hotel and Casino, the country’s first themed casino venue.

With architecture and decor taking inspiration from the sunken city of legend, the Atlantis represents the sixth and latest venue from Paramaribobased casino developers Pasha Global.

Whilst its thematics might break new ground in the South American state, the Atlantis represents a return to form for Pasha in the selection of its tried and test supplier, Euro Games Technology (EGT).

“We are proud of having been chosen as a main partner of the leading casino operator in Suriname,” said Nadia Popova, director EGT’s Panama division. “We have provided 56 slot machines to the Atlantis casino, including eight jackpot Egypt Quest machines - the first on a Suriname casino floor.”

Egypt Quest is a 4-player progressive jackpot unit, and has

I

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proved so successful in its initial outing at Atlantis that Pasha has decided to install across its other Suriname ventures.“We are confident in Egypt Quest’s success on the local market, as its multigame catalogue includes the most preferred EGT games in

Suriname,” said Popova. “Its jackpot system will continue our trend of constantly rising market share.”

Along with Egypt Quest, Pasha Global has also equipped its casinos with EGT’s Vega Vision upright and slant-top cabi-

nets, as well as the company’s Premiere 24/24 Up machines.

Aside from the Atlantis, Pasha currently operate The Mirage, Savannah, Tropicana, and Magic Island resorts in Paramaribo, it also runs Casino Simba in Kampala, Uganda.

VLT

E-Gaming further expands into Spanish-speaking markets

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ollowing a successful showing earlier this year at ICE, Czech VLT pioneer E-Gaming S.R.O continues its inroads into the Spanish market, with more than 400 machines now installed across the Murcia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha municipalities.

This recent growth comes a year after the company’s joint venture with Spanish firm Covimatic was announced.

The two companies are in the process of securing the necessary permits to install and operate E-Gaming VLTs throughout the rest of the country.

The Prague-based provider are also entering the wider

58 | casinoreview September 2014

Spanish-speaking world, with 200 machines currently under test in an array of leading Mexican casinos and Panamanian casinos, with the company in ongoing negotiation with a number of other South American states.

“The feedback we’re receiving from our South American testing sites is extremely positive,” claimed E-Gaming manager Pavel Michalcio. “The returns we’re seeing are well above average.”

Founded in 2005, E-Gaming specialises in the provision of server-based VLT solutions: allowing players to access online features such as multiplayer functionality and pro-

gressive jackpots, as well as providing real-time access to the company’s extensive online games catalogue. In less than a decade, the company has expanded from its native Czech Republic into neighbouring Slovakia, and is also operational throughout Belgium, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

Looking to the future, Michalcio hints at a significant European release in the weeks to come: “Customers will soon be seeing our new gaming platform offered across several countries, where E-gaming plans to work together with a reliable local partner, as we’ve done so successfully in Spain.”

t is with great sadness and a sense of shock that Novomatic announced the unexpected death of AGI Africa’s managing director, Warren Banks, on September 2.

“Warren Banks, 50, resided in the Johannesburg suburb of North Wold and is survived by his sons Wade and Cavin Banks, to whom we send our deepest condolences,” the company said in a statement.

“Warren Banks was an iconic figure in the African gaming industry. His character is universally described as being a superbly professional gaming industry executive and a man with a warm heart and a huge presence.”

With a long and successful career in the gaming industry already established, Banks joined the Novomatic family in 2000 and was instrumental in setting up, leading and directing the expansion of AGI Africa, the group’s subsidiary of Austrian Gaming Industries.

“In his private life Warren was father to two sons, Wade and Cavin, of whom he was enormously proud, a keen golfer at Ruimsig Country Club, a passionate rugby supporter and a dedicated fitness enthusiast,” Novomatic said. “At the time of his death Warren was planning to run the Comrades Marathon on May 31, 2015, in his beloved South Africa.”

Colleagues at AGI Africa described Warren Banks as a “fantastic leader, a friend to everyone and an inspirational figure who has been taken all too soon”.

Jens Halle, managing director of AGI, said: “We are all in shock at the untimely passing of our friend and colleague Warren. Our sympathies go out to his family, friends and industry colleagues. Warren’s loss is hard to bear but we will strive to bring to reality the business objectives that he was already planning and hope that they will stand as a fitting memorial to a true friend and professional colleague.”

info@e-gaming.cz

www.e-gaming.cz

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 11:07 Page 7

Supplier

AMATIC INDUSTRIES / ARISTOCRAT LEISURE / IGT

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

AMATIC EXHIBITION ARISTOCRAT DISPOSAL IGT INSTALLATION

ROULETTE

INSTALLATION

Amatic reinforce Native American ties

T IGT brings Las Vegasstyle excitement to Costa Rica property lobal gaming entertainment leader IGT is bringing an authentic Las Vegasstyle gaming experience to Costa Rica, following its agreement to provide its games and systems to Croc’s Casino Resort.

Located in the resort city of Jaco, Croc’s Casino is scheduled to open in December 2014 with approximately 50 per cent floor share of IGT slot machines, optimised with a complete, end-toend IGT systems solution that sets new standards for operational efficiencies and player engagement.

In addition to selecting IGT as its primary provider of games on

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the casino floor, Croc’s Casino has chosen the manufacturer’s Casinolink Casino Management Systems suite including accounting, TITO, player tracking, promotions, random riches bonusing and cage and table accounting.

Croc’s Casino Resort will also use IGT’s Universal Game Adaptor devices tied to sbX Media Manager to deliver content and bonusing to the player screen via Service Window.

“Croc’s Casino Resort is all about the ‘wow’ factor, with a design and welcoming environment that makes everyone feel special,” said IGT’s Janine Roth.

“We’re helping to extend that

experience to the casino, connecting a great selection of playerfavourite IGT games to our systems and Service Window technology to enable personalised, engaging player communications.”

Rory Hascall, Croc’s Casino Resort president and COO, added: “Selecting IGT for its Casinolink Casino Management System and its wide range of the latest high-technology slot games was an easy decision to make.

“IGT has proven for many years, through great vision and innovation, why it continues to lead the slot manufacturing industry.”

he 20th annual Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) conference saw Austrian games producer Amatic Industries display its Turbo Card Roulette station to much aplomb.

Developed in conjunction with US partners Innovations in Native American Gaming (INAG), Turbo Card Roulette (TCR) presents a unique cardbased twist on the traditional game,with the dealer turning a card wheel and bets being placed on each player’s selected card. Consequently, TCR is considered a Dealer Assisted Electronic Table Game, and as such, falls under GLI 25. The result is the transformation of a high-management, operationally complex attraction, into a game that requires just 10 minutes of dealer training, with the nullification of risk both from dealer error and casino bleed.

Utilising touchscreen technology, TCR has already

DISPOSAL

Aristocrat offloads its Lotteries unit eptember 2nd saw Aristocrat Leisure Limited announce the sale of its Aristocrat Lotteries business to Playtech Plc, for the sum of $13.8m (E10.5m).

Commenting on the sale, Aristocrat’s CEO and managing director Jamie Odell (pictured) said: “With the recently announced acquisition of Video Gaming Technologies Inc., Aristocrat is

S

sharpening its focus on the business’ strategic strengths. In particular, we will continue to leverage our premium game content across priority, high value segments and markets, including North American gaming operations, digital and core outright sale markets.”

With completion expected towards the end of the current financial year, the sale is set to

60 | casinoreview September 2014

result in a non-cash write off in the region of $42m (E34m) for the Australian firm, primarily relating to the carried value of intangibles and foreign exchange losses recognised in equity, which will be reclassified to the profit and loss upon finalisation.

Formerly ACE Interactive, Aristocrat Lotteries supplies server-based online gaming services

worldwide, employing more than 2,000 people.

Regarding the upcoming change of hands, Odell remarked: “The Company will work with Playtech to ensure there is a smooth transition for employees and customers.”

• Aristocrat launches Jackpot Streak: The latest offering in Aristocrat’s J Series jackpot collection is Jackpot

Streak, and two new titles: Sparkling Royal and Garden of Amazon.

Sparkling Royal and Garden of Amazon are available in the new and advanced Helix cabinet, with each game featuring a three-level progressive jackpot. Jackpot Streak game titles have a flexible 20, 25, 40, 50 or 88 line configuration, and a denomination range from $1 to $10.

become a firm favourite with Native American casino operators, having already been approved for use at a number of Oklahoma venues. The product’s early success may well attributable to its flexibility: its modular system provides for the addition of an unlimited number of terminals, allowing operators to decide on the scale and requisite floorspace of their TCR section.

Amatic’s Albert Sommer, who attended the event in Oklahoma City, reported: “The Turbo Card Roulette has become a star. It is already approved in several US states and we’re expect more approvals to follow soon.”

With TCR set to make another public appearance at G2E, Amatic will also be exhibiting at the Entertainment Arena Expo in Bucharest, Romania this month: displaying both its Performer C22 upright cabinet as well as its unique Performer Grand Arc slant-top unit.

www.patir.de info@patir.de

CR143-p46-60-Supplier_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:57 Page 8

Supplier

CRANE PAYMENT INNOVATIONS / GAMING LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL

News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

CRANE PAYMENT INNOVATIONS DISTRIBUTION DEAL GLI EXHIBITION PREVIEW

DISTRIBUTION

PAYMENT SYSTEMS

CPI expand relationship with Permaquim SA

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Turning Stone goes cash-play with CPI Following a largescale slot floor upgrade, Crane Payment Innovations is helping one New York destination resort to ensure there are no interruptions to its gaming operations.

urning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, has upgraded its entire slot floor of 2,100 games with Crane Payment Innovation’s (CPI) combination of MEI SC Advance note acceptors and Easitrax Soft Count.

The installation was completed earlier this year as part of a $15m (E11.4m) investment by the Oneida Indian Nation to upgrade the casino’s entire operating system and provide new cash-play slot machines. Now guests can enjoy an enticing slice of Vegas right in the heart of Upstate New York.

“Our goal is to provide a world-class leisure experience for our visitors,” said Guy Renzi, vice president of gaming at Turning Stone. “When our guests requested the convenience to play with cash, we turned to the CPI portfolio for a reliable and secure cash han-

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dling solution.”

Turning Stone first opened its slot floor in 1995 with an account-based system that required guests to load money onto cards prior to game play.

“Sometimes they had to wait in line or get up from the machine to reload,” Renzi said. “It was disruptive, whereas now they can just walk in our doors and go straight to the game - and with SC Advance, there really are no more interruptions.”

SC Advance is part of the SC family of note acceptors that has achieved an installed field base of nearly 1m units across the worldwide gaming industry. More than 110,000 of those units are coupled with the Easitrax Soft Count in the US alone.

Easitrax is an integrated hardware and software cash management system that drives operational efficiencies from the slot floor to the back

room. It works by gathering data from multiple SC Advance note acceptors and funnelling that information into a secure remote database that can be accessed to track revenues and analyse slot performance.

“We’re proud to have helped Turning Stone achieve their goal for a Vegas-style cashbased operation,” said Eric Fisher, CPI president of gaming. “Their experience reflects CPI’s focused approach to providing meaningful solutions that enhance the player experience, drive newfound cash management efficiencies and, ultimately, increase operator profitability. We look forward to extending our relationship with Turning Stone and providing more support into the future.”

rane Payment Innovations (CPI) has expanded its distribution agreement with Argentinian firm Permaquim SA aiming to advance its MEI SC Advance and Money Controls Ardac Elite note acceptors across Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The revised agreement allows Permaquim SA to continue distributing and providing service and support for both products.

“Permaquim has an exceptional track record of providing high-quality equipment and technical support in the markets they serve,” said Eric Fisher, president of gaming at CPI. “Our strengthened relationship with Permaquim is a commitment to offer Latin American gaming operators a one-stop shop for industry-leading products and service.”

SC Advance evolved from the the company’s Cashflow SC note acceptor. It features enhanced recognition technology, faster noteto-note speed, improved barcode recognition and increased capacity to accept up to 100 different currencies and denominations.

The Money Controls Ardac Elite is the industry’s first note acceptor with imaging technology utilises multiple wavelengths for full notescanning and colour image capture.

“Our partnership with CPI has given us the experience and expertise to put our company in a position of absolute leadership,” said Paul Roger, general manager at Permaquim. “Now, we can satisfy the needs of gaming operators better than ever before.”

GAMING LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL

GLI takes ‘non-traditional’ approach to G2E 2014 aming Laboratories International (GLI), the worldleading gaming testing laboratory and technical consultancy, will take a non-traditional approach to G2E 2014. Instead of showing products, the company said it will be talking about its unsurpassed testing, certification and consulting services.

GLI is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary and serves more than 455 jurisdictions globally.

The group offers its clients a wide range of services, including lottery testing, gaming device and

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systems testing, The patented online gaming sysGLI Link techtems and security nology allows testing, rule writthe lab to test ing, consultation devices and professional against sysservices. tems from The company any of our also has a range of global locaexclusive tools, one tions. Before of which was created GLI Link, compawith a keen eye on helpnies would have to ing regulators do their job ship devices across the more efficiently and helping sup- ocean for testing, and now, they pliers enter marketplace more simply bring them to their local quickly and cost-effectively.

GLI lab. This saves time, saves

62 | casinoreview September 2014

money and speeds time to market.

Then when testing and certification are complete, suppliers can take advantage of GLI’s exclusive Point.Click.Transfer service, where suppliers can transfer previously certified products into jurisdictions around the world with the click of a mouse.

“Like other industry trade events where GLI exhibits, G2E provides a tremendous opportunity for the company to communicate its message in a face-to-face setting with regulators, suppliers and operators,” the company said.

While GLI will not have products on the floor in the traditional sense, such as slot machines or table games, what one will find on the casino floor are devices and systems that GLI has tested and certified. Only those products that meet the highest testing standards bear the GLI Certified mark, and that gives confidence to regulators that the devices and systems on the floor in their jurisdictions are operating as expected, keeping the game fair for everyone - for players, for operators and for government agencies.

www.advantech-innocore.com

CR143-p64-People_Coinslot NEW 12/09/2014 11:10 Page 1

People

GAMING LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL / KONAMI GAMING / SCIENTIFIC GAMES / WMS GAMING

& Recruitment SUPPLIER NEWS: JW@SJC.CO.UK

WMS GAMING

KONAMI GAMING

WMS announces key appointment ahead of Vegas show

Konami confirms promotion of four senior executives

MS Gaming has appointed industry veteran Deron Hunsberger as senior vice president of sales for North America.

In his new role, Hunsberger will lead sales, participation and leasing, sales support and marketing for WMS throughout the US and Canada.

With more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, he served as senior vice president of sales in the Americas for SHFL Entertainment, now Bally Technologies, from 2011 to July 2014 after joining the company as vice president of sales and marketing for North America in 2010.

Previously, Hunsberger served as senior national manager of gaming operations at Aristocrat Technologies from 2008 to 2010. Before joining Aristocrat, he served as director of North American sales at Konami Gaming.

W

Gavin Isaacs, president and chief executive officer of WMS Gaming’s parent company, Scientific Games, said: “Our goal as a business is to be the partner of choice for all our customers. I know Deron well, and his deep understanding of the gaming industry and his commitment to creating revenue opportunities for customers will bring us closer to that goal.”

Hunsberger said: “WMS Gaming has an impressive product portfolio that consistently generates revenue, and we plan to maximise that value for our customers, players, and the company.

“With a treasury of world-class products across multiple gaming platforms, a commitment to customer service and a clear vision of the future, we stand ready to help our customers keep players in the game. I’m excited to join such a passionate team.”

K

SCIENTIFIC GAMES

GLI

Scientific Games welcome former Bally executive

GLI expand Australasian office aming Laboratories International (GLI) continues to expand its senior Australasian staff, naming marketing expert Tom Chan as business development manager for the firm’s Macau laboratory, GLI Asia.

Both a permanent resident of Macau and Hong Kong, Chan comes to GLI with extensive tech-

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S games provider Scientific Games has confirmed the appointment of Dan Savage (pictured) as Vice President, Corporate Marketing.

Savage comes over from Scientific Games’ acquisition Bally Technologies, where he served in the same capacity.

“Dan is a passionate leader with an eye for detail and an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement,” said Gavin Isaacs, president and CEO of Scientific Games. “His expertise will greatly benefit and speed the transformation of Scientific Games as we begin this exciting new journey as a larger, customer-centric company.”

64 | casinoreview September 2014

nological experience, in both his professional and educational careers. Most recently, serving as product marketing manager for notebook and tablet providers Lenovo, Chan has held senior positions with Infineon Semiconductor, Intel Semiconductor and Motorola.

"We are thrilled to welcome Tom to the GLI team,” said GLI Australia’s COO, Espee de Robillard. “We continue to grow extensively throughout the Australasia region, and as technology continues to advance and become more complex, our staff and our clients will be well served by having a development representative as knowledgeable as Tom on the GLI team.”

onami Gaming has unveiled four key promotions, as the company continues to strengthen and expand its business operations, leadership development and quality service standards.

Recognised for their commitment, performance and tenure, the following Konami team members have advanced to new organisational appointments: Eric Schultz, senior director of game software development; Gary Snobel, senior director of corporate planning and IT administration; Clark Warren, senior director of systems sales; and James Sargeant, senior director of manufacturing.

“As these recent promotions demonstrate, we have made a strategic investment in leadership development over the past few years, with a focus on empowering highly-qualified professionals who are committed and equipped to support the long term success of Konami,” said Steve Sutherland, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Konami.

“We place great value on maintaining a thriving core leadership team that tackles market challenges while working collaboratively across disciplines to deliver innovative products and services that drive our company to the next level.”

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CR143-p66-B2BListings_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:25 Page 1

Listings

ACCREDITATION / EXHIBITIONS / GAMING MACHINES / REWARD PROGRAMMES / SYSTEMS

Business2Business SUPPLIER NEWS: JW@SJC.CO.UK

GAMING MACHINES

GTech strengthens presence in French gaming market

After creating a new subsidiary company in France, GTech now in direct contact with operators in the country.

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Tech is building direct contact and communication with French gaming operators through the creation of its new French subsidiary, GTech France.

Based in Paris and spearheaded by its director Marc Attal, the newco will directly provide sales, service and maintenance of gaming machines for the French gaming market.

The transition from GTech’s former

French partner and distributor, Ludi, to the newly founded operations is in progress, and will be seamless for customers, the company said.

The company will work in partnership with its French customers and will offer them the same high level of services and quality standards that customers around the world have come to expect from GTech.

“GTech’s direct presence in France one of Europe’s biggest gaming markets - will bring even greater benefits to our customers,” Attal said. “Sales manager Didier Tomas and our team look forward to developing these rela-

LISTINGS

REWARD PROGRAMMES

eCOGRA chief executive Andrew Beveridge commented: “We will continue to seek accreditation in important licensing jurisdictions, to ensure that our clients are properly certified.”

Caesars relaunches rewards programme

EXHIBITION

I

n an effort to bring in new customers and encourage player loyalty, Caesars Entertainment has partnered with digital rewards platform Gaming Rewards for its landbased venues in the UK. The deal will see Gaming Rewards offer its rewards catalogue to Caesars’ customers in the UK, as part of the operator’s Player Rewards loyalty programme.

Under the terms of the programme, reward points are earned on slot and electronic games, as well as in bars and restaurants within the casinos.

The initiative will feature a mix of physical and digital rewards, including a wide range of music, film, apps for tablets and smartphones, software and e-books to download, which will appeal to players of all levels.

SYSTEMS Strong demand for DRGT in Africa

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he Wild Coast Winter Games (WCWG) which took place between July 21-24 at the Wild Coast Sun Casino and Resort in Port Edward, South Africa, was an “excel-

66 | casinoreview September 2014

tionships. We are grateful to our previous distributor in the French market, Ludi, for two successful decades of business together, and wish them all the best and great success for the future.”

As of August 2014, GTech has been doing business in France for 20 years, and has a solid understanding of the French market and its specific requirements. French operators will now directly benefit from GTech’s longstanding experience across all gaming segments and channels, including machine gaming, systems, interactive, sports betting, and lotteries.

Interblock back on the block lent opportunity” for DRGT to present its systems innovations to operators in the region.

Exhibiting together with African partner, Simplicit-e Gaming, DRGT showcased its Duma wide-area progressive - a joint development between itself, Sun International, Simplicit, Gold Club.

At WCWG 2014, Sun International announced it will be expanding its widearea progressive from a current 160 slots to in excess of 200.

A

eCOGRA given awarded Croatian accreditation

fter several years of absence, luxury gaming station manufacturer Interblock returned this year to Australia’s largest gaming expo, AGE 2014.

The firm displayed their new range of G5 Diamond and Mini-Star multi-hand blackjack,baccarat, and roulette stations, combined with holographic displays.

Tom O’Brien, CEO of Interblock USA, commented: “Customers were very excited to see us back and they loved the new products we had to offer. We’re very excited for the opportunity to work in Australia again.”

I

Zitro takes Revolution to Las Vegas

ACCREDITATION ndependent remote gambling regulatory adviser eCOGRA has now been accredited by the Republic of Croatia.

The London-based company now holds licence to provide advisory, monitoring audit and testing services in twelve European jurisdictions, including the UK, Gibraltar, Alderney, Spain and Denmark.

Welcoming this latest development,

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itro Games returns to G2E this year with a machine-range focused on the North American market, including its latest unit: Zitro Revolution 2014.

The Luxembourg-based bingo specialists will also be presenting new products destined for the online realm, promoting its World of Bingo brand, which has already seen wide-scale success on social media platforms.

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2%

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Readership breakdown by sector

16,844

B

13.8% Suppliers

A READERSHIP OF INFLUENCERS AND DECISION MAKERS A

C

C-Levels (chairman, president, CEO, partners)

Senior management (Operational managers, sales/ marketing/PR managers…)

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2.9% B

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CR143-p70-74-Business_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:33 Page 1

Business

CAESARS

& City News

W Positive signs for Wynn as Vegas growth outstrips Macau during Q2, although the Asian gaming hub remains an earnings powerhouse.

WYNN RESORTS

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT

Q2 boost for Wynn

Caesar’s losses widen as Atlantic City and regional markets continue to under-perform

ynn Resorts has revealed its second quarter results for 2014, with revenues rising in both Las Vegas and Macau. The company reported that net revenues were up to $1.4bn (E1.06bn) from the $1.3bn (E900m) brought in during Q2 2013, while adjusted property EBIDTA increased by 9.8 percent to $467.4m.

Wynn’s efforts in Las Vegas produced a 12.5 percent revenue increase, compared to a smaller 3.2 percent increase on its Macau interests, however, revenues from the Asian gambling hub still more than doubled the Vegas figures during Q2.

In total, Macau contributed $960.5m to Wynn’s total, with adjusted property EBITDA rising from $290m during the second quarter of 2013 to $307m during the same period in 2014. These increases were driven largely by an increase in profits from mass market table games, which rose 43.3 percent to $311m. Conversely, the VIP sector, which contributes a separate set of table game figures in Macau, saw a

70 | casinoreview September 2014

T drop in turnover of 11.7 percent from $29.9bn to $26.4bn. Win rate for VIP games, however, stayed within the expected boundaries, dropping a mere 0.01 percent to 2.93 percent when compared with the second quarter of 2013.

Slot machine handle rose to $1.5bn during Q2 2014, improving 24.4 percent, while slot win increased 14.1 percent. A reduction in the number of machines also appears not to have affected take from slots, with individual machines earning $1,163 per day compared with $731 per day in Q2 2013.

Macau features heavily in

Wynn’s future, with construction underway at the Wynn Palace, a new Macau development intended to create a 1,700 room resort, complete with performance lake, meeting space, casino, spa and retail offering. With an expected completion date of early 2016, the resort will form yet another attraction on Macau’s booming Cotai strip. The company recently signed a $2.6bn guaranteed maximum price contract for the venue’s construction. This is expected to bring the project’s total costs to around $4.0bn.

Back in the United States, Las Vegas net revenues were $451.4m, which marks a sharp 12.5 percent increase from last year’s $401.4m. Adjusted property EBITDA led the charge with an 18.3 percent increase to $160.4m, which included a 5.9 percent rise in table games win percentage.

Overall, net casino revenues rose $182.5m in the second quarter of 2014, driven by a table games win percentage of 27.4, which came in over 3 percent above the highest expected figures. Room revenues also saw a slight increase, from $101m during Q2 2013 to $108m for the second quarter of 2014.

roubled operator Caesars Entertainment Corp (CEC), the largest casino operator in the United States, has posted its secondquarter financial results for 2014: with losses more than doubling, as higher interest expenses and a flat regional market continue to take their toll.

While total revenue for the quarter rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to $2.19bn (E1.66bn), gaming revenue fell 1.9 per cent to $1.38bn (E1.05bn).

Most significantly, CEC saw its overall losses widen to $466.4m (E353.4m), or $3.24 a share, more than double the loss of $212.2m (E160.8m) sustained over the same period in 2013.

Having failed to post a profit since 2009, Caesar’s has struggled to right itself from the effects of the recent global recession. As of 2014, the company still owed more than $24bn (E18.2bn) in debt, an unprecedented figure within the industry. These latest losses were

attributable to a quarterly increase in incurred interest charges, totalling $113.7m (E86.14m), as well as what was a “difficult operating environment” in Atlantic City and within other regional markets, where total revenue fell by 8.3 per cent.

Growth was recorded in the company’s social and remote gaming ventures, and an increase in baccarat turnover boosted its Las Vegas revenues, but the crippling cost of its debts as well as a continued depression of the Northeast US gambling market, has seen the firm close its Caesar’s Showboat venue in Atlantic City.

The announcement of these latest results saw a further 2.3 per cent drop in Caesar’s share value to $13.35. The year has seen a 37 per cent drop in CEC stock to date.

CR143-p70-74-Business_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 17:05 Page 2

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT / GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK / WYNN RSORTS

SUPPLIER NEWS: JW@SJC.CO.UK

GAMEACCOUNT NETWORK

Robust and content rich that’s the new offering If player data is gaming’s new oil, now’s the time for operators to start drilling for it online, argues GameAccount Network, VP Sales Dana Takrudtong. s all eyes focus on G2E Vegas and the cultural capital of Casino Gaming, Dana Takrudtong, VP Sales The Americas for GameAccount Network, argues passionately why bricks and mortar operators need to begin a seismic shift in how they engage their players online courtesy of a robust, content rich, and meaningfully integrated offering.

A

At EiG 2013, Andreas Weigend, former Chief Scientist at Amazon.com described data as the new oil, do you agree with that perspective?

In gaming, most definitely. There is nothing more important to any casino operator than their player database. The cost of acquisition and retention is staggering; for many large corporate operations marketing budgets reach near the half billion dollar mark annually. Few business channels can have as deeply symbiotic of a relationship to marketing spend and return on investment than the gaming industry.

Have bricks and mortar gaming brands grasped the breadth of opportunities offered by social gaming?

Let’s be clear, with little expectation of additional real money gaming markets launching in 2014, the monetized social category remains the only iGaming option for most operators. However outside the top four players there has been little movement from the operator side to focus their marketing efforts online, yet alone adopt free to play or monetized social style gaming and the question why? begs to be asked. The most powerful brands in the world today exist to engage, and they capitalize on the web as the primary tool in their arsenals to do so. Have you downloaded the Red Bull app? No, you can’t drink it, but you can enter into a universe of music, culture, and of course sport. So if you can do that with a beverage company app, why can’t casino players play casino style games on your website?

Bricks and mortar brands should be online today to serve the purpose not just of informing, but to engage with the thou-

sands of patrons casino operations have spent blood, sweat, and tears acquiring.

How does Simulated Gaming impact the debate?

Simulated Gaming™ is a hybrid between a social casino and a real money gaming casino online. Instead of visiting a website for a singular piece of information, players can go to a customized Simulated Gaming™ website with a bespoke design and play their favourite slot games, roulette, blackjack, and much more. The offering, deeply integrated to the casino management system via GameAccount’s iBridge™ connection, enables those players to purchase game play credits to extend play and access VIP content, selected games and in turn be provided with in-casino loyalty at a point to dollar ratio significantly higher than they would typically receive from in-casino gaming, thereby using the web to drive return trips to the casino operation. Years of R&D investment means that we are able to provide operators with a low startup cost media platform with real time marketing automations. With the continually escalating costs of deploying traditional media in saturated marketing channels, access to a casino focused enterprise iGaming platform operating in a Simulated Gaming™ modality enables operators to communicate the right offers to the right players at the right time.

As we approach arguably the most important casino expo of the year what message would you extend to operators?

Quite simply those casino operators who’ve not already done so need to begin a seismic shift in how they engage their players online and utilize systems which support capturing new player data through the web, marketing online exclusive experiences that reward players for digital engagement. Ultimately the challenge is to create an online brand presence that is as exciting and engaging as their casino floor and naturally we would be delighted to help them achieve this!

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DRGT Europe sales@drgt.net www.drgt.com September 2014 casinoreview

| 71

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Business

JCM GLOBAL / NOVOMATIC / RANK GROUP

& City News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

RANK GROUP

JCM GLOBAL

Rank successfully responds to industry challenges

JCM completes FutureLogic acquisition

Following a challenging first six months of the year, Rank Group achieved a four per cent rise in operating profit in 2014, following the successful execution of sustainable profit improvement actions. ank Group, the Maidenhead-based gambling and leisure group, has grown revenue and operating profit in fiscal 2014, due primarily to the contribution of the 19 casinos acquired from Gala Coral Group last year and the implementation of a new growth strategy in the second half of the year.

The London-listed group - which operates 55 Grosvenor Casinos and 97 Mecca Bingo branded clubs in the UK, along with online gaming and betting interests through its Rank Interactive division - said revenues for the 12 months to June 30 totalled £707.7m, up 13 per cent on the £625m in the previous financial year. Operating profit before exceptional items was up four per cent to

R

£72.4m.

According to Rank, a challenging first half and the highly competitive digital trading environment led to a fall in like-for-like revenues in both its core Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca brands.

“Following the challenging H1, we undertook three actions aimed at delivering an improved H2 performance,” commented chief executive, Henry Birch, who took the helm in May. “These focused on improving the value for money for our customers, tightening our cost controls and operating a more focused capital expenditure programme.

The 21 per cent increase in H2 operating profit versus H1 highlights the success of these actions.”

Revenue from Rank’s Grosvenor Casinos division

increased by 30 per cent to £391.2m, driven by a £107.2m revenue contribution from the acquired casinos. “This year we worked hard to successfully integrate the former Gala casino venues acquired back in May 2013,” Birch stated.

“With £17.8m of capital invested in the year, we have made significant improvements to the estate while also implementing operational improvements. The 19 venues are on track to deliver the anticipated level of returns.”

Revenues in Rank’s Mecca Bingo segment dropped three per cent to £288.2m, due primarily to a decline in visitor numbers.

Discussing the group’s current strategy, Birch said: “Rank’s aim is to be the UK’s leading multi-channel gam-

Rank CEO, Henry Birch

ing operator. In order to achieve this, we are focused on building engaging brands with the ability to deliver them via the channels that customers prefer - whether venues, online or mobile.”

Looking ahead, Birch said Rank would focus in particular on “building

engagement” with customers across multiple channels. In addition to developing its multi-channel offering, the group will also focus on growing its digital capability, investing in its gaming venues across the UK, building its established brands and expanding its marketing efforts.

“In the short term, the introduction of a digital point of consumption tax will impact performance but our strong brands and market leading positions ensure that the Group is well placed and provides long-term opportunities,” Birch said.

NOVOMATIC

Novomatic AG post record turnover urope’s largest gaming conglomerate, Novomatic AG, generated turnover of $1.2bn (E941m) in the first half of 2014, the largest sum in its 34 year history, and a 15 per cent increase year-on-year.

EBIDTA saw a nine per cent increase to $374.5m (E289m), with the EBIT rising 20 per cent to $213.8m (E165m).

This stalwart performance allowed for a new recruitment effort, which saw more than 1,700 new personnel join the company: an 11 per cent increase in headcount overall, with the Novomatic roster now standing at 17,747 staff.

“The first half year results for 2014 demonstrate that our dual business strategy has once again

E Austrian group Novomatic sees a 15 per cent growth in bi-annual revenue to a record high, amid fresh inroads made in South America and the release of its new Remote Play technology.

72 | casinoreview September 2014

proved to be the right way to a successful future,” remarked Novomatic CEO Franz Wohlfahrt. “We achieved a 17 per cent increase in gaming operation revenue and other significant growth across our sales, e-business and betting divisions.”

The results come at a time of continued expansion for the firm, with the launch of a new casino, The Venezia, in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Operated by Crown Gaming Paraguay, one of Novomatic’s ten Latin America subsidiaries, The Venezia opened on March 1st, offering a 600 square-meter gaming floor and 130 individual slot machines including some of Novomatic’s latest units: Dominator, Novostar and

Super-V+ Gaminator III, as wells as multi-game mixes and an eightplayer electronic roulette island.

Located near the ParaguayBrazil border, the Venezia’s catchment area covers several major Brazilian conurbations, including Sao Paolo, all within a day’s travel.

Lacking gambling regulation in their own country, Brazilian nationals are expected to form the backbone of the Venezia’s player demographic.

2014 has also seen the launch of Novomatic’s Remote Play technology, which allows players to enjoy any of the company’s Novoline Line interactive and Novo Unity II machines remotely, via any secure tablet platform.

J

CM Innovation Corporation, a subsidiary of JCM American, doing business as JCM Global, has finalised its acquisition FutureLogic from American Capital.

The deal’s closing further enhances JCM’s competitive position as the leading supplier of peripheral products to the industries it serves around the world, including banking, gaming, kiosk, retail and transportation.

JCM’s exceptional line of peripheral component products now includes bill validators, printers, digital media as well as FutureLogic printers and couponing solutions, such as Ticket2Go, TableXchange and PromoNet systems products.

JCM Global’s vice president of sales, Mark Henderson, said: “This is an exciting day for JCM. With this acquisition finalised, we are able to expand our portfolio to further increase our level of customer service. Now we are better equipped than ever to provide industry-leading solutions to our customers in the diverse industries we serve around the world.”

If you’re searching for the very best journalism, the widest distribution and inventive advertising opportunities, International Casino Review is your partner of choice.

For more information on how we can help you deliver your message to the global casino industry community, simply contact John Sullivan at jsullivan@gbmedia.eu to receive your media pack or call us on +44 (0) 1204 396 397.

icr

CR143-p70-74-Business_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:36 Page 4

Business

AINSWORTH GAME TECHNOLOGY / BALLY TECHNOLOGIES / PAGCOR

& City News

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

PHILIPPINE AMUSEMENT AND GAMING CORP

BALLY TECHNOLOGIES

Pagcor suffers in new tax landscape

Bally reports record FY revenues

With the ramifications of a new 30 percent income tax and resulting licence fee drops hitting home in the Philippines, state casino regulator Pagcor reports stuttering earnings for H1 2014. he Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) has revealed a 5.2 percent drop in revenue during the first half of 2014, as a shakeup of regulations in the country takes its toll on profits. The state-run organisation has pinpointed a decrease in licence fees as the main reason for its decline, levies which it agreed to temporarily lower in response to a reversal of the group’s tax-exempt status.

Recently published financial reports show that the regulator’s total revenues fell from P21.1bn during the first half of 2013 to P20bn during same period this year. Income on licence fees dropped 26 percent from both its casino franchises and privately owned operations.

In May, Pagcor agreed to cut licence fees by 10 percent of gross gaming revenues, to help ease the burden of a 30 percent income tax introduced by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) during 2013. Although Pagcor had previously occupied a list of tax-exempt staterun companies, the BIR ruled that, “Pagcor’s income from its

T

operations and licensing of gambling casinos, gaming clubs and other similar recreation or amusement places, gaming pools, and other related operations are subject to corporate income tax.”

Philippine casinos are currently required to pay just 5 percent licence fees for VIP tables and junket operations, down from the usual 15 percent, while the tithe on non-high roller tables, slot machines and electronic gaming machines dropped from 25 to 15 percent.

Pagcor reported a very slight increase in gambling revenues for the first half of 2014, with figures rising one percent to P14.89bn. Overall its net income for H1 2014 had undergone a drop of 6 percent, to P1.32bn from P1.4bn during the same period in 2013.

The figures come in the wake of serious complaints from individual Philippine operators about the legal status of the tax u-turn. The owner of Solaire Resort and Casino has argued that the introduction of a 30pc

tax violates Pagcor’s mandate and has launched legal action against the BIR in an attempt to have the ruling overturned.

Others have argued that the increased pressure on the Philippine gambling sector will discourage tourism and damage the prospects of future investment. This has not, however, derailed either of the two major construction projects currently underway in the country. In response to the licence fee decrease, chair and president of Hong Kong operator Melco Crown, Clarence Chung said that the company’s City of Dreams Manila was progressing full steam ahead: “The development of City of Dreams Manila is progressing well and we firmly believe our integrated leisure and entertainment destination resort will play a key role in furthering the ambitions of the Philippines.”

Pagcor’s own partially operational Entertainment City project is also expected to be fully completed in the near future, with developers predicting that it will lead to $5bn in investments and the creation of around 80,000 jobs.

B

ally Technologies, the Las Vegasbased gaming products and systems group, achieved record annual revenues in fiscal 2014, as strong demand for the Pro Wave cabinet helped grow domestic new unit sales by 18 per cent.

Revenues for the group in 2014 totalled $1.2bn, up 21.9 per cent on the $997 posted in 2013.

“Fiscal 2014 highlights our commitment to our partners and customers in delivering world-class player experiences through innovative products and services,” said Richard Haddrill, chief executive officer at Bally.

“Strong demand for our newest cabinet, the Pro Wave, helped grow domestic new unit sales by 18 per cent over the previous quarter. With SHFL in the mix, we grew our international new unit sales by 25 per cent further driving our global presence.”

Haddrill added: “We continued to deliver new and exciting titles such as Titanic that drove our wide-area progressive revenue to record levels. Our systems technology continues to present a compelling value proposition to our customers as evidenced by another year of record revenue.

“On the interactive side, we acquired Dragonplay on July 1, 2014, a leading online social casino company, further strengthening our presence in the fast-growing social and mobile gaming platform.”

AINSWORTH GAME TECHNOLOGY

Ainsworth growth comes although slower than predicted

R

ecent financial results from Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT) have revealed continued growth for the Australian firm, but at a slower rate than had been predicted.

The equipment manufacturer revealed an after tax profit of AUD61.6m (E43.7) for the 2014 financial year, which equates to an 18 percent increase on its

2013 total of AUD52.2m (E37.1m).

When compared to the previous period, Ainsworth sales revenues have grown by 23 percent to AUD244.1m (E173.3m) for the year ending June 30, 2014 and EBITDA underwent a 20.7 percent boost up from 2013’s total of AUD89.4m (E63.5m).

Key to these figures was the positive perform-

74 | casinoreview September 2014

ance of overall international sales, which recorded growth of 37 percent year-on-year and drove revenue of AUD100.8m (E71.5m). The Asian region, however, was the most troubling, with figures down 33.2 percent when compared to a year earlier. As a result revenue was down yearon-year to AUD4.2m (E3m) from AUD6.2m (E4.4m).

“The Asian market continues to present challenges following the introduction of new gaming standards, including dual language requirements within Macau, which required additional development of operating base software and related games,” said an Ainsworth statement.

The company also revealed that it is ramping

up investment in online social gaming, following a deal with platform provider Digital 616. “This strategic investment in current social platform technology will provide further opportunities to provide AGT’s recognised brands to a greater number of users through social and mobile channels,” said AGT chief executive, Danny Gladstone.

Executive Chairman, Leonard Ainsworth

ACTION! Discover Clarion Events

Totally Gaming

ExCeL, London

www.icetotallygaming.com icetotallygaming.com

CR143-p76-79-Events_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:09 Page 1

Events

G2E LAS VEGAS

& Diary EVENTS NEWS: JW@SJC.CO.UK

G2E LAS VEGAS 2014

AGA announces G2E networking line-up

W 2014 sees G2E offer its most comprehensive networking calendar to date 76 | casinoreview September 2014

hile G2E represents a pivotal industry event to take in the latest products the industry has to offer, for years the show has offered key opportunities to network.

2014 is set to prove no exception. This year will see a busy calendar of bespoke networking events, catering to individual delegate backgrounds and areas of expertise.

“Our delegates have made it clear that they are looking for G2E to provide venues allowing them to meet with industry colleagues to network and share best practices,” said American Gaming Association (AGA) chief operating officer Ron Rosenbaum. “Our attendees will have no shortage of outstanding opportunities to network.”

On Monday 29 September, the AGA will be hosting its annual celebration of gaming-entertainment leaders. Taking place at the Hyde Bellagio, the Gaming Hall of Fame will also see industry colleagues honour the the posthumous memory of prominent figures lost to the sector in the past year.

The following afternoon sees the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) invite parties working alongside Native American operators to booth 4400, to improve established relationships and forge new partnerships, as well as learn more about NIGA as an organisational body.

Wednesday 1 October offers a multitude of opportunities. Global Gaming Women’s (GGW) annual networking breakfast aims to brings women together from all levels of the industry for an hour of strategic networking. Later that evening,

its Kick Up Your Heels reception at Caesars Palace offers an evening of entertainment and fundraising for it’s GGW education fund, which provides scholarships throughout the year for the continued education of women involved in gaming.

The annual Latin American Gaming (LAG) lounge also takes place the same day. Invested and interested parties are invited along to booth 6540, where executives from across the Latin American gaming industry will be rubbing shoulders.

Wednesday will also feature a series of events new for G2E 2014. G2E Meet-Ups provide for attendees involved or interested in specific industry sub-divisions: with focus on slots, table-gaming, marketing, regulation, online gaming and casino entertainment.

Finally, Wednesday night will have the Lagasse’s Stadium hold G2E’s Emerging Leaders event: where selected casinoentertainment professionals under the age of 40, nominated by their colleagues and peers as upcoming industry front-runners, will be invited to network with one another and engage in a speed-mentoring event with established industry heads.

The event organisers are clearly enthused by the diverse programme on offer: “We have worked hard to create events and atmosphere that will truly allow for the types of introductions, interaction and discussions that will be meaningful for all types of casino executives,” said industry vice president Mike Johnson.”We are excited to bring these unmatched opportunities to network to the industry.”

G2E NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES Monday 29 September: 6:30pm AGA Gaming Hall of Fame, Hyde Bellagio

Tuesday 30 September: 12:45pm NIGA Networking Lounge, Sands Convention Centre, Booth 4400

Wednesday 1 October: 8:00am Global Gaming Women Networking Breakfast, The Venetia, Galileo 101 12:45pm Lating American Gaming Lounge, Sands Convention Centre, Booth 6540 5:30pm Global Gaming Women Kick Up Your Heels Reception, Caesar’s Palace 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: Slot Professionals: V Bar 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: Table Game Professionals: Public House 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: Casino Marketing Professionals: Aquanox 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: Regulatory & Compliance Professionals: AGA Booth #L1 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: iGaming Professionals: DB Brasserie 5:30pm G2E Meet-Ups: Casino Entertainment Professionals: Vinyl, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino 6:00pm G2E Emerging Leaders, Lagasse’s Stadium

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CR143-p76-79-Events_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:16 Page 2

Events

& Diary

Macao Gaming Show, November 18-20

ICE TOTALLY GAMING 2015

BEGE 2014

ICE intent on keeping its branding cool

Euro gaming giants converge on Sofia

Clarion have invested in its brand development programme as the gaming industry’s focus shifts to EiG in Berlin and ICE - London. larion, organisers of leading gaming events including October’s EiG in Berlin and ICE, the world’s largest international gaming exhibition and conference taking place next February in London, has invested in a brand development programme enlisting the services of specialist agency Mimo, whose impressive client list includes the world’s largest media company Comcast NBCUniversal, global entertainment giant Viacom, the UK’s biggest electrical retailer, Currys PCWorld, and the world’s second largest supermarket chain, Tesco.

The programme, which began in April, has been designed to maximise the customer experience and give stakeholders a much clearer understanding of how the Clarion portfolio of gaming events fits into their commercial lives.

Mimo Brands founder Giles Thomas, who has been leading the project explained: “Our brief was to help Clarion to make its brands work harder. We split this challenge into three areas: firstly, we reviewed how we could use the main Clarion brand to better

C

deliver the exciting new business strategy that is currently being rolled out. Then we took this new brand and used it to redefine and upgrade the nature and quality of products and service levels the business offers. This was accompanied by a review of the wide variety of Clarion sub-brands that have emerged over the last few years. We have rationalised them, clarified what they offer and to whom, and reorganised them to work as a simple, strong portfolio. By doing this, communication becomes easier and more effective.”

He added: “I have been impressed by many aspects of Clarion’s gaming business and the team in general. They’ve developed an exciting market-leading business strategy which is being implemented by a group proving to have a great capacity to step out of its comfort zone and not afraid to try new things.”

Kate Chambers, Portfolio Director responsible for launching and organising Clarion’s gaming events commented: “We’ve been very conscious of the impor-

tance of creating and developing brands as opposed to products but with that comes the responsibility to continually invest in the customer experience to ensure that at all times it remains exciting, rele-

vant and dynamic.

“Stakeholders will begin to notice a difference to the experience of engaging with every part of the Clarion gaming portfolio.

This will include clearer and more relevant communication, enhanced levels of customer service, more positive surprises and a more rewarding overall experience. This may not all happen overnight, but I expect stakeholders to be clearer on how our growing portfolio fits into their business, and to look forward to meeting smart people and doing good business by engaging with the Clarion brands. October’s EIG, will be significantly different and improved in many ways, some of which will be due to the journey we’ve been on. The calendar then moves on to ICE in London, where we will consolidate the brand’s status as the world’s favourite gaming exhibition by delivering a consistently positive customer experience for our 500+ exhibitors and our 20,000+ international visitors who in 2014 came to London from over 150 countries.”

London prepares for ICE 2015, as statistics bear out this year’s success way from Vegas, extensive preparations are well underway in London as ICE Totally Gaming gets ready for the most international event in the world between 3-5 February, 2015.

An independent statistical study commissioned by ICE organisors details the success of its most recent iteration: with ICE 2014 drawing over 23,000 attendees from 156 different countries. While a large percentage of show visitors originated from both the UK (44 per cent) and the EU (33 per cent), ICE can support its claim to have drawn a truly global audience: with visitors journeying from Africa (1.5 per cent), Asia (5.1 per cent), the Americas (4.9 per cent), Australasia (0.8 per cent) and the wider European community (5.7 per cent). Crucially, 79 per cent of industry attending the show were classified as ‘key decision makers’.

A

78 | casinoreview September 2014

The three-day show included 515 separate exhibitors, who between them garnered a 90 per cent ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ approval rating amongst polled spectators.

Clarion Events believe these figures speak for themselves: “I think the stats show that ICE

is most definitely the world’s favourite gaming exhibition,” said portfolio director Kate Chambers. “Buoyed by the experience of 2014 the entire ICE team is focused on delivering another successful blockbuster event for all sectors of the international gaming industry.”

S

ofia is set to host a wide array of key players in the gaming and entertainment industry, as organiser enter the final countdown are made for the seventh annual Balkan Entertainment and Gaming Expo (BEGE).

The event represents one of eastern Europe’s premier opportunities for industry networking, as leading suppliers and manufacturers of gaming technologies and management solutions exhibit their latest offerings.

On their home-turf, taking the floor this year are Sofia-based Casino Technology, as well as other major regional stakeholders: Interblock and Alfastreet from Slovenia, and Apex Gaming from the Czech Republic.

From further afield are Italian firms Abbiati and VNE, as well as Canadianbased systems supplier, Spielo International.

This year will see Austrian conglomerate Novomatic AG make its first appearance at the event, where it will be showcasing prominently on a 148 square-meter stand, at the very front of the entrance hall.

BEGE 2014 takes place at the Inter Expo Centre (IEC) in Sofia, Bulgaria, 21-22 October.

CR143-p76-79-Events_Coinslot NEW 11/09/2014 16:16 Page 3

BEGE / EIG / ICE TOTALLY GAMING / MACAO GAMING SHOW / MOBILE AND GAMBLING TABLET SUMMIT USA

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Opinions expressed in this publication should not be regarded as the official view of GB Media Corporation Ltd, except where stated. Views, opinions and recommendations contained in this publication are put forward for consideration only. No action should be taken in reliance upon any such views, opinions or recommendations. Neither GB Media Corporation Ltd nor contributors accept any responsibility for any loss occasioned to any person howsoever caused or arising as a result of or in consequence of action taken or refrained from in realiance on the contents of this publication.

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MACAO GAMING SHOW

Macao Gaming Show hit the road with taxi advertising campaign

| DIARY SEPTEMBER 2014 30-2 G2E 2014 Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Las Vegas, US www.globalgamingexpo.com

OCTOBER 2014

Inventive as it is ambitious, the Macao Gaming Show is driving its message through the streets of the city. It’s latest taxi cab advertising campaign displays a growing confidence for a show that clearly wants to go places.

rganisers of the Macao Gaming Show are taking to the streets of the city to launch their latest advertising campaign for the November (1820) gaming event, quite literally.

From mid August through the end of the show, the Special Administrative Region’s yellow cabs will be prominently displaying the MGS branding, information and message as the Asian event seeks to roll out its vision to the international community.

Peggy Lee, head of sales for Road Media Limited, said: “This is a dynamic advertising state-

O

ment by MGS, who will be delivering their message across Macau, including on the Cotai strip and beyond as part of the taxi’s ongoing journey around

EIG 2014

the region. We are excited to have this opportunity to work with the Macao Gaming Show and look forward to helping them achieve their goal of becoming Asia’s number one gaming event.”

Ross Zhang, event operation manager for MGS, added: “We’ve delivered the ‘By Asia For The World’ message extensively to the gaming community, and now its time to take it to the streets.

This is a great marketing opportunity for us, and we are all genuinely excited to get the message out to the general public in Macao.”

MOBILE & TABLET GAMBLING SUMMIT USA

Addressing the challenges of mobile and tablet gaming

T EiG sees the future

T

hose looking to get a leg up on how the ideas of the future will affect the gaming industry can get a perfect insight at the Excellence in Gaming (EiG) this October. Among the many aspects of this multifaceted event, the Future Scenarios Planning Project will look at ways in which attendees can prepare for the volatile and unpredictable nature of technology.

The sessions will cover a variety of concept, including, but not limited to, disruptive technologies, innovative delivery platforms, social gaming, digital entertainment, player preferences, technology adoption rates, big data, payment mechanisms and the internet of connected things.

“All of these variables will affect the nature and content of gaming in all

parts of the world, which is why ‘The Future Scenarios Planning Project’, launching at EiG 2014 between the Atlantic Lottery Corporation and Clarion Events, is offering a structured thought and planning journey with a step-by-step approach to assessing all the on-going trends and how they will project into the future,” said an organiser’s statement.

To coincide with the start of the project, EiG organisers have released a white paper by Phil Holmes - vice president, transformation at Atlantic Lottery. The document can be accessed at the show’s website, where interested visitors can also register to attend the expo, which takes place in Arena Berlin, Germany on 21-23 October, 2014.

he Mobile and Tablet Gambling Summit USA brings together market-leading US and European mobile gambling operators and land-based casinos, as the industry looks to tackle the critical challenges that are slowing the sector’s rate of growth in the US. Taking place at Bally’s Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 27-28, the summit will feature a number of key speakers, including New Jersey Senator, Raymond Lesniak; Pierre Cadena, vice president of corporate development for Caesars Interactive Entertainment; Christopher Gumiela, executive director of corporate marketing at MGM Resorts International; and Frank Pracukowski, director of administration for Foxwoods Interactive and Foxwoods Development Company.

“Mobile gambling applications in the US are set to play a pivotal role in driving the global market to a staggering $100bn (E77bn) by 2017,” said event organiser Jonny Clegg. “As smartphone penetration hits 75 per cent and the convenience of more immersive mobile play drives adoption, it is estimated that 50 per cent of US operators gaming income will originate from mobile wagering within the next three years. Mobile gambling is the biggest opportunity for operators and casino’s to drive profit in the coming years.”

6-8 BiG Africa Summit The Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, South Africa www.bigafricasummit.com 15-17 Enada Rome Rome Expo Centre, Rome, Italy www.enada.it 20-21 Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS) Inter Expo Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria www.eegamingsummit.com 21-22 Balkan Entertainment & Gaming Expo (BEGE) Inter Expo Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria www.balkangamingexpo.com 27-29 International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) Annual Conference Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia, US www.iagr.org/philadelphia-2014

NOVEMBER 2014 11-13 SAGSE Latin America Costa Salguero Convention Centre, Buenos Aires, Argentina www.monografie.com 17-19 Table Games Conference Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, US www.tablegamesconf.com 18-20 Macao Gaming Show (MGS) Venetian Macao, Macao www.macaogamingshow. com

JANUARY 2015 13-15 EAG International Expo ExCeL London Exhibition Centre, London, UK www.eagexpo.com

FEBRUARY 2015 3-5 ICE Totally Gaming ExCeL London Exhibition Centre, London UK www.icetotallygaming.com

MARCH 2015 18-19 FADJA Peru Atlantic City Convention & Entertainment Centre, Lima, Peru www.fadja.com.pe

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