Reel Excitement

The amazing Everi booth at G2E 2022

Interview with Caitlin Harte, Director of Product Management, Everi by Victor H Royer

asino Life Magazine and Outsource

CDigital Media recently had the opportunity to interview Caitlin Harte, director of product management at Everi. Caitlin joined Everi in January 2022 and brings to her role more than 10 years of extensive product management and marketing experience. In this role Caitlin oversees the organization’s product road map, to ensure it supports the goals and strategy of the business, as well as market and customer needs. Caitlin and her team manage the lifecycle of new products and features from conceptualization to launch, all in coordination with Everi’s gaming studios, hardware, technology, gaming operations, marketing, and sales teams.

Among other responsibilities, she partners with the company’s design studios, from initial game proposal to in-game feature recommendations based on market demands, as well as leading player-testing efforts to ensure games meet customer and player expectations prior to release. Caitlin was part of the 2018 Class of Under 40. “Under 40” represents the best of the next generation of leaders in the casino and gaming industry, and is produced in conjunction with The Innovation Group and Global Gaming Expo’s Emerging Leaders of Gaming program. Caitlin earned a master’s in Business Administration from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Eastern Illinois University.

Caitlin, first I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me. How has the direction and vision statement for Everi changed since G2E 2021? Or has it?

Thank you, Victor – great to be with you. We at Everi are proud of our games and products, and we are happy to share our success and vision with your readers. Our direction and vision statement for the business hasn’t shifted since G2E 2021, as we’re still committed to consistent reinvestment in our productdevelopment efforts. We believe our newest product introductions at G2E 2022 demonstrated the success we’re achieving in this reinvestment effort to deliver highly differentiated gaming experiences that help our

casino partners grow revenue by engaging players at increasingly higher levels. Our focus is aimed at fully supporting our current markets with an everexpanding library of compelling game themes and new cabinets, including the launch of the Dynasty Vue™ cabinet, which customers experienced first hand at G2E 2022.

Which are the video games and related technologies which Everi is presenting, and what is new and innovative about them?

More than 10 new themes were featured on Everi’s Empire Flex™ cabinet at G2E 2022, including the Press Your Luck™ Series and Fu Blossom™ Series, which are both available on Everi’s premium TournEvent® Winners Circle™ bank of cabinets, part of TournEvent Everiway™. These marquee banks feature synchronized content with enhanced sign packages that showcase theme-specific content. The Treasure Gates™ Series, Fortune Teller™ Series, Potion Explosion™ Series, and Banner™ Series, with persistent state features available in Class II and Class III, were also presented on Empire Flex™.

For these video titles, which of them have new, or reimagined cCabinets?

Launching in early 2023, Dynasty Vue™ introduces a new era in Everi’s hardware history and effectively combines the benefits of three distinct cabinet-form factors. Dynasty Vue features a unique custom display that enables Everi’s designers to create game mechanics that players would typically experience on a portrait cabinet, while providing sightlines comparable to a dualscreen cabinet, and the functionality and integrated base of a slant-top cabinet. Dynasty Vue will debut with four launch families, including the Combo Cash Series, Money Slam Series, Wild Wheel Series and the High Rollin’ Gems Series – Everi’s first high-denomination, multi-game product.

Caitlin Harte, Director, Product Management, Everi

cabinets or their hardware components?

Dynasty Vue™ features a custom 36-inch display and an integrated 27-inch top box, with distinctive, dual-banded lighting for maximum attraction value. The edge-lit, digital button deck allows for increased game configurability and player communication, with a dynamic play button and wireless mobile charging capability. The cabinet’s integrated base provides flexibility in banking options with a standard 28-inch footprint and new merchandising opportunities.

Which of these titles are lease, sales or participation?

All of the video titles mentioned above are standard for-sale themes.

What is new and innovative about these Cashless gaming hasn’t had wide acceptance among casino operators

Jeff Hoss, Vice President, Marketing, Loyalty Products, Everi

or casino players. How does Everi consider the future of cashless gaming? Is this something that Everi will continue to pursue as a priority?

To answer this question, Victor, I’d like to introduce Jeff Hoss, vice president of marketing for loyalty products at Everi:

Thank you, Caitlin. While we at Everi don’t believe cash will become obsolete anytime soon, demand from both operators and guests to transform the gaming enterprises into a more digital environment continues to increase. Cashless gaming and our digital CashClub Wallet® technology are key pieces of this transformation, which is being driven by demand for self-service options from patrons. Everi’s CashClub Wallet® is a mobile digital wallet that seamlessly

connects Everi’s portfolio of FinTech products and applications. CashClub Wallet® is the most widely adopted, land-based, digital gaming wallet in the U.S., and is currently deployed on electronic-gaming devices across 38 properties in 14 jurisdictions. This digital-wallet technology extends cashless payments throughout the gaming enterprise using traditional, alternative and mobile technologies. Incorporating more funding sources than ever before, CashClub Wallet® provides more diversity in accessing and distributing funds – via Everi’s Banking as a Service (BaaS) system – than other digital wallets with multiple partners. CashClub Wallet® can also be funded through Apple Pay, PayPal, table and slot winnings (including jackpot payouts), the casino cage, point of sale purchases, and Everi’s proprietary kiosks, in addition to its integration with leading credit/debit card companies, check cashing, and the ability to convert into digital currency.

Which are the stepper (reel) games and related technologies which Everi is presenting, and what is new and innovative about them?

At G2E 2022 Everi introduced more than six new games as the latest addition to its three-reel mechanical portfolio Player Classic Signature™, which has performed well in the field since its first deployment earlier in 2022. The Platinum Signature Series, Crowns Diamond Respin Series, and Pay Upgrade Series, which introduces a persistence feature to the mechanical segment, were also all showcased at G2E 2022. These themes are reflective of Everi’s commitment to innovation in the mechanical space, and highlight the game-entertainment elements that stepper players appreciate – a mathfirst focus, unique play mechanics, and dynamic art and audio.

What is new and innovative about these cabinets,or their hardware components?

Player Classic Signature™ is inspired by the 10-year-old, highly successful Player Classic® cabinet. Maintaining a Everi’s Empire Flex™ cabinet featuring the Press Your Luck™ Series classic look and feel, but

built for the future, the Player Classic Signature™ features a simplified, four-button deck, a clear, digital touch-meter panel for improved player ergonomics, and wider – and more powerful – spinning reels. A new, integrated, 21-inch monitor is positioned above the reels to convey more player messaging, including pay tables that are interactive for additional player appeal, as well as a higher-resolution, and a 28-inch, top-box monitor to improve game marketability.

Which of these titles are lease, sales or participation?

All of the stepper titles mentioned above are standard for sale themes.

In the gaming industry, manufacturers often refer to a segment of their products as “premium.” Which are those that Everi is showcasing?

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends™ game was presented at G2E 2022 on the Skyline Revolve™ three-reel mechanical cabinet, while Everi’s high-performing, banked product Flex Fusion™ showcased several original video titles, including two follow-on games for the high-energy, tornadic-themed Cashnado™ game, Storm Surge™, and Super Nova™. Lift Off™, with Locomotion™ and Starboard™ base themes, also debuted on Flex Fusion™. Everi presented two of its strongest-performing, third-party brands – Little Shop of Horrors™ and Willie Nelson™ – in incredible, 4K display on the Empire DCX™ cabinet, with Little Shop of Horrors Director’s Cut™ and Willie Nelson Live™. And also Super Fiesta!™ with its four, Mexican-style, gambler-centric base themes, and Fruit Ninja Frenzy™ based on the popular, mobile game Fruit Ninja, were all presented on the banked Empire Arena™ product.

Now that pandemic concerns are no longer the main force affecting casinos

Marshall Adair, Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, Digital, Everi

and players, how is Everi positioned to provide game content to casinos?

We believe our sustained investment in an expanding portfolio of playerpopular games and in the development of differentiated cabinets, positions Everi well to provide game content to casinos that continue to raise the bar on player engagement, and entertainment. All of the products we debuted at

G2E 2022 – including the unique Dynasty Vue™ cabinet and the more than 50 new game titles – reflects the successful execution on our multi-year, product-development road map.

Other than the games themselves, what other products and innovations does Everi offer?

Besides our land-based game content and gaming machines, Everi also offers entertaining game content and systems for iGaming operators, as well as financial technology solutions that help casino operators improve their operational efficiencies and fulfill regulatory-compliance requirements. Everi’s financialtechnology solutions include products and services that facilitate convenient, secure, cash and cashless financial transactions, self-service player loyalty tools and applications, and regulatory and intelligence software.

Online casinos continue to gain acceptance and legalization – how is Everi positioned to provide content and technologies to online gaming?

For answers to this question, Victor, I’ll refer you to Marshall Adair, senior vice president and executive producer for digital content:

Thank you, Caitlin, I’ll be glad to elaborate. The expansion of Everi Digital’s distinct, digital-game library—with more progressive titles that are in demand with land-based players—positions the business well to continue to deliver exciting entertainment experiences to the growing community of online players. Since launching our proprietary Spark™ Remote Game Server (RGS) platform, Everi Digital has continued to achieve consistent growth in the iGaming market as a result of its ability to provide world-class gaming entertainment experiences to online players throughout North America. It’s worth

noting that Everi has risen to the number three-ranked omni-channel game supplier in the Eilers & KrejcikFantini Game Performance Report. The Spark RGS houses Everi Digital’s iGaming content and features more than 60 engaging titles, with more on the way. The company’s digital content is featured in more than 70 real-money, online casinos and more than 40 social casinos. In the past four years, Everi Digital has continued to extend the footprint of the Spark RGS to now provide content to iGaming operators in Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia and to the Canadian provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Cashnado Storm Surge™ and Super Nova™ on Flex Fusion™ Manitoba, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.

In general, how would you sum-up the postpandemic future for Everi in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the world?

From a games perspectives, the investments we’ve made to expand our game-development studios and to broaden our hardware offerings continue to drive our sustained growth. Each of our cabinets is supported by a robust pipeline of original content that’s available for both Class II and Class III markets. This expanding content pipeline also supports the growth of our digital gaming business. We believe these investments coupled with our core strengths will continue to support the growth of the business.

On behalf of Casino Life Magazine and Outsource Digital Media, I would like to thank you, Caitlin – and Jeff and Marshall – for your time, and for sharing this with us and The very popular Fruit Ninja Frenzy™ game from Everi our readers worldwide.