Casino life June July 2015 Technology in Casinos by Outsource Digital Media Ltd

June/July 2015

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Guest Editor Comment The end of June marks a major milestone as Aristocrat prepares to install the first of a new generation of dazzling centrepiece games on European casino floors. It’s the culmination of 18-24 months of increased global investment in design and development, with a strong roadmap that will see a succession of follow-up titles and continued innovation in both new hardware and game concepts. The Wonder Wheels™ concept got off to a flying start in North America and we are delighted to now be delivering on strong demand this side of the Atlantic, with the initial launch of Batman™ Classic TV Series Slot Game. Brands such as this really stand out with instant recognition, transcending language and culture and, combined with a good maths package, captivate the player with familiar audio-visual effects that have benefited from millions of dollars of marketing investment by global film, television, music and book publishers. Licences and dedicated hardware finishes of course add a significant overhead to the cost of exciting game concepts. But these installations go beyond the mere measurement of their individual cash drop, they are effectively ready-made marketing vehicles, adding significant levels of style, market and player appeal to any casino, especially those that are constantly looking to improve their offering to customers and attract new players. Understandably, not every venue in the market is capable of sustaining such an investment, but there are always ways to accommodate these big ticket centrepieces successfully, which is why long-term partnerships and a strong game library are key to their overall success. These games all fall under our gaming operations portfolio on a fee-per-day basis, so there’s no big outlay up front. Showing that future support will be continued is critical to these strategic partnerships, which is why we have been open with an extended roadmap of future releases powered by Wonder Wheels™; Batman™ Classic TV Series will be followed closely by Superman™ The Movie and later Big Bang Theory™ and Ted™ amongst others. So operators can be confident that Wonder Wheels™ will benefit from on-going support with top quality themes and player-engaging content. We look forward to working closely with current and new partners to ensure that this new breed of gaming delivers all that it promises to players and operators alike.

James Boje, Managing Director EMEA, Aristocrat Technologies

Gavin Isaacs, President and Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games, Peter White, Publisher of Casino Life, and Ken Jolly, Vice President of Scientific Games Asia

“Now It’s Time To Grow The Organization” Gavin Isaacs, President and Chief Executive Officer at Scientific Games, and Ken Jolly, Vice President of Scientific Games Asia, spoke to Peter White during G2E Asia “Stronger Together” is a slogan that fully encapsulates the amalgamation of what is now Scientific Games. How would you describe the combining of these companies? Isaacs: By bringing together a comprehensive suite of products, systems, and services, Scientific Games is favourably positioned as the partner of choice for our customers and vendors in the Australasian market

and around the world. The integration is progressing well and we’re looking forward to demonstrating our unmatched innovation with products and solutions that help our customers grow their operations. It’s been one year since you took over at Scientific Games. How have you found the responsibility, especially with regards to dealing with Wall Street?

Isaacs: With the acquisition of the three companies – WMS Gaming, Bally Technologies, and SHFL entertainment – we can capitalize on opportunities in many areas because we have the best team in the world. We have an amazingly focused sales team and also have incredible talent in design and development, all of whom have proven track records of creating innovative games and systems. No other supplier can compete or has the same amount of market-leading games. Dealing with Wall Street continues to be an amazing experience. In terms of the debt, the complex effort of negotiating and dealing are in place, and now it’s time to drive the organization forward for further growth and expansion. How are your customers reacting to the many changes over the last year? Jolly: Continuity has been a major goal with our customer base, which is quite massive in its wide range of slots, table products, and systems offerings.

We now must ensure continued customer care, service, and support along with a continued pipeline of new and innovative products. It’s a matter of maintaining our credibility and confidence with our customers so we can deliver on our commitments. Our customers have been very receptive to changes because it means they get more from our products, content, and partnership. Given our recent developments and acquisitions, our customers now have access to a massive end-to-end product portfolio that enables them to maximize their potential on casino floors. As the world’s premier gaming and lottery entertainment and technology company, we can build upon our impressive portfolio by developing cutting-edge content and products to establish our position as the partner of choice for our customers. In regards to that, the Nevada Legislature has passed a bill that allows for skill-based, electronic slot games. What opportunities will

the development of skill-based slots present to Scientific Games? Isaacs: We introduced a Bally Pong-themed slot machine in 2008, but this bill will enable us to develop slot games that offer even broader entertainment appeal. Skill is an important factor for many who enjoy console or PC games. Challenge appeals to many people, as the changes will provide them a greater level of interactivity and sense of control. Nevada Senate Bill 9 provides an opportunity for Scientific Games to create enhanced features that ensure that the entertainment factor is maintained in this competitive marketplace. It’s important that we maintain momentum about the great entertainment experience that all of our current games offer. At the same time, we must be cognizant of new players and what appeals to them. Are new games being developed that will be launched at G2E Las Vegas based on that Nevada legislation? Isaacs: It’s too soon to know. We’re still waiting to see the final details on the regulations. What were the “hot” games at your booth at G2E Asia? Jolly: Our booth had more than 80 innovative products from across the company’s diverse array of top brands and those products represent our rich portfolio of gaming technology solutions designed for the Australasian player. Our Bally-brand games on the Pro Series™ and Equinox™ cabinets will appeal to players in the Asia-Pacific market. Following the success of Duo Fu Duo Cai, we have a new Asian-themed progressive link called Da Fu Da Gui, which means “big riches, big honors.” Da Fu Da Gui was inspired by Duo Fu Duo Cai with the dedicated Asian content and math model. It offers players the anticipation of big wins with its Double Luck Jackpot feature. When players reveal three Double Luck symbols during the jackpot feature, they win the current jackpot amount, plus the start-up amount of the winning jackpot level. The Da Fu

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Da Gui link launches with Rich Traditions™ and Jade Eternity™ on the Bally Pro Wave cabinet. Prominently featured products include several electronic table innovations such as Tablemaster™ Fusion and i-Table Roulette™, which combines the excitement of traditional roulette with all bets and pays made electronically and an unlimited number of remote betting terminals. The Tablemaster Fusion platform transports the fast-paced excitement of live table gaming to a fully electronic platform. The Tablemaster Fusion version we demonstrated at the show features the Chinese version of Ultimate Texas Hold’em℠ with a Mandarin-speaking dealer. We showcased the WMS Life of Luxury Progressive™ multi-game. Bringing back a classic WMS game in multi-game format, Life of

Luxury Progressive features five games that combine classic, current, and new WMS content. One Life of Luxury symbol on the final reel awards the Life of Luxury Bonus. In this bonus, each reel is assigned to a GEM symbol that allows players to pick for a chance at the progressive when the symbol appears on the reels. Additionally each game within the set has its own unique Free Spin Bonus triggered by three or more Bonus symbols. How important is the Asian market to Scientific Games and how was that importance demonstrated at G2E Asia? Jolly: G2E Asia is the region’s premier gaming exhibition. Our commitment to the region and the show was demonstrated by our company having the largest booth and displaying more than 80 innovative products. It has been a busy year to say the least. Any further acquisitions planned for the future? Isaacs: Now that the restructuring is complete and the integration is well underway, our focus and concentration is on executing our plans and growing the business. However, you can never rule out the possibility (albeit slim) of future acquisitions should the ideal opportunity come along.

Experienced

Operators Glyn Thomas catches up with Franรงois Bourlier, Western Europe Sales Director, Win Systems For those of our machines in this readers who may area. At the end of not be familiar with 2014, the company Win Systems, can came to the natural we commence this conclusion it had interview with a to expand: in North brief history of the American markets company? of course, but also in Win Systems has Europe, which hosts its roots in lottery our Headquarters in systems where we Barcelona, as well as originated almost 20 starting to explore years ago. At the end opportunities along of the 2000s, the the dynamic markets Company decided of Asia and Africa. In to move into the order to support this Casino Management expansion, Alexander Systems (CMS) Alemany joined our market using the ranks in 2014 assuming robust infrastructures the challenge of developed in previous growth in the North products. WIGOSโ ข American region, CMS was launched Mariano Sosa is in in 2010 and today charge of the Central Franรงois Bourlier Western Europe Sales Director connects more than and South America 50,000 terminals in region, and I recently 184 casinos worldwide. Those numbers make us the was appointed to handle the European markets. #4 CMS provider worldwide in terms of machines connected. The major slot and games manufacturers all pride themselves on having the best Slot Accounting Recent months have seen a lot of new personnel Systems and Casino Management Systems, and can along with International offices. Is that part of a pack in eye-watering deals. How does Win Systems continued investment and development strategy? compare and how can you compete? And if so, is that set to continue World Wide? We think that developing a CMS is a very specific task We hold a very significant market share in the LATAM requiring skills quite different in comparison with region that gave us the first place in connected developing slot games or their bonuses. Our team

in Barcelona is composed of experienced engineers who understand the needs of the operators, whereas slot and games manufacturers have an in-depth knowledge of players. A CMS is mostly dedicated to the operator, while games are oriented towards endusers. There is consequently a completely different perspective on how our system is conceived and, in consequence, developed. Secondly, we pride ourselves on our independence: we do not operate casinos, we do not manufacture games, we only develop software free of errors to serve our customers best. We learn and implement fresh ideas from customers that helps keep growing and strengthening our product. These new ideas are shared across all of our clients through the installation of new releases of free updates. This creates a circle of collaboration in which everyone is benefiting. We are proud we have an amazing customer support service; our 100% customer retention rate proves it. This enables us to improve our systems solutions thanks to our team of experienced engineers, focusing purely on systems development and its enhancements. In addition, the upgrade process helps the operator to reduce the costs of resource on site. This is particularity true of our WIGOS solution™: all our customers always run the latest version of the software. WIGOS™ is also unique in the way we commercialise the system’s functionalities. We do not offer modules like our competitors, but all our features (Reports and Analysis, CRM, Loyalty programme, Player tracking, Jackpots and Business Intelligence) are included as a solution package. The most important payments environments (TITO, Cashless, MICO) are supported by the system from the beginning. Our 24/7/365 Multilingual Help-desk is always there to help whatever size the customer is and covers all aspects of using WIGOS™ and its infrastructure. Why should a Casino operator change their system to Win Systems? Last year started a massive concentration of the major CMS providers and most operators are unsure whether the support of their current CMS will continue. Some of them will also need costly upgrades due to parts of their systems or the platform used reaching the product end-of-life or, as

part of the mergers, systems solution overlaps in the same Company. There are some other concerns regarding how the previous chosen provider decided to make their solution evolve, making it unstable and unreliable at the end, or simply unfit to the business today. These reasons bring additional risks to the operation and most of the time hidden costs in the process. These are the major reasons why we start discussing the change. So why change to WIGOS™? Well, the main reason is that it works great. It seems to be an understatement for any CMS, but we all know that is not always true. Indeed, because of its background in lottery systems, WIGOS™ foundations are rock solid. If you add the fact that all the features were developed by the same teams on the same platform, you get in the end a strong system very optimised, very reliable, and fully integrated. The second reason is support and flexibility. I know I repeat it but our Help-Desk is available 24/7/365 with very experienced and qualified engineers to help our customers make the most of their CMS. Our customers and us are really partners: we help them grow and improve their revenues, and they help us stay on top of the market with new features they want and we provide. The final reason is of course cost-benefit factor. In the current climate of reduced budgets, it is indeed an important aspect. Not only can WIGOS™ run on average servers but also in most cases, we can use hardware in-situ. This does greatly reduce the migration costs. Our daily fee is also one of the best in the industry in terms of value for money. How was the Slot Summit Bucharest for Win Systems and where next can readers meet you and find out more about the organisation? The Slot Summit Bucharest has been our first experience of sponsoring in Europe. It is the illustration of our will to expand not only in Central Europe but also on the whole extended continent. Our goals at the Summit were to develop current relationships and create new ones. We also wanted attendees and their network to be aware that a main player in the industry is now entering the markets. I have to say this has been above our expectations.

As usual we will be present for sure at G2E Las Vegas 2015 and at ICE London 2016 but we are also considering other additional options to meet our present and future partners. The best way for your readers to know where to meet us is to check on our website www.winsystemsintl.com or by contacting a member of the team directly or thru the social networks. What have been the stand-out installs in your opinion amongst all the installations that Win Systems have had at Casinos over the last year? The key goals in the last 12 months were clearly two. The first one was the install of WIGOS™ in 82 Codere casinos in Mexico where our teams managed to do great work with our partners. This migration was done in 6 months where our competitor set out in a period of 5 years. We completed this major achievement in November 2014. The second one happened in February this year when we replaced a major player’s system in a few days with WIGOS™: it was the Jubilee Casino in Monterrey which operates 1,500 slot machines. We are in the process of spreading our wings to be ready to deal with mainstream competitors, supported by our strong system solution that is broadly proven. How adaptable/versatile is the Win Systems Casino Management System, and can it contribute to lowering bottom line operating costs? We are a dynamic and flat-structured company. Due to this, our decision cycle is very short. As such, we pride ourselves on being very flexible and quick in our actions. From the foundations of WIGOS™ as a product ready for the international market (multilingual, multi-currency, multi-environment) our system is one of the most adaptable and flexible in the industry. We integrated so well in the Mexican market that we became SAT certified, which proves our commitment to our customers’ present and future needs. WIGOS™ will enable the operator to know their players better and offer them a better experience in the property. It will also provide an overview of the casino performance in realtime, hence giving the operator actual facts to make quick decisions like when it’s time to buy new machines or to organise a trial.

We recognise there is no simple recipe for optimising costs. Every operation has its own particularities, but we will always be keen on developing or improving the tools to help the customer on this matter. Is the Casino Management System easy to operate and maintain, or does it require someone trained and proficient in IT to manage? WIGOS™ is a very simple and user-friendly CMS tool. Its multi-lingual interface is clear and easy to understand. Our training program covers all the aspects of our features and because it is not modular, all subjects are easily related for a better understanding. After the initial training is given, using WIGOS™ is not an issue at all. Anyway, if any doubt arises, our Help-Desk is always here to help 24/7/365. Like on all CMS, WIGOS™ requires servers (but in an optimised infrastructure), which of course requires hardware monitoring. But WIGOS™ has its unique feature: should the customer agree, our team will be able to do this for them, remotely. Our team will run routine checks for the database integrity, operating systems, RAM, CPU, transactions, etc. proactively, and will inform the customer if any hardware manipulation is required. This is one of the reasons why WIGOS™ is very popular where IT resources may be limited or not trained on these tasks, or in operations where the available skills are focused on other jobs. The Lottery and Bingo markets are significant, and Win Systems is involved with both. Can you explain to our readers the services the company provides for both Industries? As said before, both are part of the root of our Company and because of this, we consider both as an important area in our business. We can provide several solutions in this sense depending on the regulation requirements and the goals our customers are looking to achieve. We provide solutions from slot routes, through slot halls, to huge operations. Our systems can handle an almost infinite amount of machines connected in different sites, track them, and provide all the aspects required to implement the operation. What is your opinion on the way the number of industry manufacturers is converging: does less

equal more in terms of products, service and support, as opposed to smaller independents? The convergence we can see in the industry has no precedent in its history. Less doesn’t equal more but more can require less: multi-billions corporations buying other giants leads to major strategic choices for the new entities. Their CEOs have, as we all know, the massive tasks to reduce the operating costs with tight deadlines. Consequently, some products/ services will die in their portfolio, shortly. New products will be created as a result of the merger of some others and those will take time to be properly integrated. But what does it mean to the customer at the end of the chain? Will his/her current product be replaced by or end-of-life for the former competitor? During the transition, who will take ownership for the current developments? Will even those continue? Medium size independent companies have a great opportunity to growth because of their higher flexibility, quick decision processes, and lower overhead. They can create real partnerships. Because they are smaller, it can still listen to their customers and have the same faces interacting with them always. Customers are not just treated as numbers

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but as persons who don’t need to provide a customer reference to be supported, or explain several times who they are just to get the provider’s attention they deserve. Most of the huge companies have lost the customer vision by focusing more on the revenue than on the people. In the end, everybody deserves to be supported with the same enthusiasm no matter how big they are. This message is part of our culture. Is there anything else you would like to say? Some say they are the cheapest, the best or the fastest growing, some really are. We are very different from our competitors. If you want to have an open and honest discussion about systems, either CMS or Lottery or VLT, whether you are a buyer or not, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our values are listening, understanding and respecting all points of view, we are nice people and we would like to meet you. And finally, what are the company’s main goals for 2015? We are on a good path to create a durable footprint in the US market and we would like to have the same in Europe this year, while confirming our leadership position in our main LATAM markets.

16/06/2015 10:46:51 AM

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Albert Radman Sales Director at Alfastreet

Alfastreet Gaming: Building On Solid Foundations

Alan Campbell chats to Albert Radman, Sales Director, Alfastreet Gaming

stablished in 1994 as a continuation of a successful family-owned furniture business, Alfastreet Gaming has grown to become a leader in the production of electronic gaming machines and today offers everything from roulette and card games to dice and horseracing titles. Not content to rest on its laurels, 2015 has seen the Slovenian firm enter the world of slots with its Virtual Roulette game, which prompted Alan Campbell to sit down with Albert Radman, a sales director for the Sezanabased company, in order to discuss what the future may hold for one of the gaming industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most promising innovators.

In addition to celebrating your 20th birthday, has the last year contained any other specific milestones or stand-out occurrences? We instituted some major organisational and structural changes in 2014 along with celebrating our 20th birthday while our sales have been on the rise since the launch of new products at the start of this year. What do you believe sets Alfastreet Gaming apart from the competition? It is a combination of factors but basically it comes down to listening to the requests of our clients and the wishes of players while also providing high-quality, reliable and customised equipment at the right price. We are a

respected brand and receive a lot of input from partners that subsequently gets translated into the final layout of our machines while also keeping our user interfaces simple, intuitive and close to the feel of a live game. Does being a Slovenian firm present any specific difficulties when trying to sell into foreign markets? We have always considered the entire world to be our market and have proven over the last 20 years that there are no limitations when you partner an innovative and well made product with the right business strategy. In addition to manufacturing and supplying multiplayer electronic gaming machines, Alfastreet Gaming recently entered the slots sector. Why did you take this decision and how has it been received? It was an idea that had been â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;in the airâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for quite some time but we had to consider all of the implications before jumping in. Our partners had been requesting slot products for quite some time and this was also the case for our new Royal Derby mechanical horseracing machine. The feedback for our new slot products has been good and the prototypes were accepted with

enthusiasm. We are really proud of the distance we have covered in such a relatively short period of time and, while the definitive layout and the selection of games is still to be defined, we have clear ideas about the direction we will be taking. The first finished product is Virtual Roulette, which has been highly requested in all Latin American markets. Speaking about Latin America, is this an area of the world that you have particularly targeted for expansion? We have invested considerable resources into securing a presence in Latin America because it has a thriving gaming market with large numbers of slot and roulette players. The previous five years have seen us strengthen our position in every Latin American market in which we are present thanks to the meticulous adaptation of our software and hardware in addition to the efforts of our sales team and our exhibiting at some of the biggest and most important trade shows. Historically, the Alfastreet Gaming brand has been highly appreciated in Latin America so we are building on solid foundations. We have important installations

planned for the second half of this year and have just successfully exhibited at the SAGSE event in Panama City. We are delighted to see that our partners and operators are getting great results from our equipment, regardless of the location, and you can expect to see our latest products at casinos in Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Surinam, Chile, Peru and many more. Are you looking at the possibilities of expanding into any other new product areas? Currently we are really focusing on our latest big products, Royal Derby and our slots. However, the gaming community expects innovation from us so there’s always something interesting boiling away in our research and development department. We revealed a completely renewed product portfolio for 2015 but are constantly pushing machine capabilities in order to provide players with the most intuitive user interface in order to add more excitement to the reliability and ‘bullet-proof’ qualities of our machines. Our challenge remains the same but the secret is to introduce technical avant-garde features without disrupting the ‘feel’ of a live game. This is a delicate balance and we are currently researching options for further expansion after completing our latest projects. You recently also exhibited at the G2E Asia event in Macau. How were your products received and do you see Asia as an area for future growth? Our presence at G2E Asia continued the very good streak we have been on since the start of the year. Attendance was great while the feedback we received exceeded our expectations. Asia has been an extremely important and successful market for us and this will continue as we consolidate our position as the numberone choice for electronic gaming terminals by regularly outperforming the competition. Needless to say, we count on continuing this trend and, judging by the reactions we received at G2E Asia, feel very confident. We were pleased to see renewed optimism in the region alongside general growth, which reflects on sales. Asia has been and remains among the most important gaming markets in the world and a true test for any equipment producer. The players just love gaming and can appreciate a good machine. The fact that Alfastreet Gaming is regarded as a top brand makes us very proud. Do you believe that the next twelve months will be a period of expansion or consolidation?

Last year saw us lay down solid foundations for the expansion of our product lines and this year we hope to consolidate. Our products have now been completely revamped and we are offering new roulette machines including our flagship eight-seat R8. There are also the four, five and six-seat R4, R5 and R6 models, which feature the same capabilities as the R8 but come in more compact designs to make them ideal for smaller venues and VIP rooms. We are also pleased with the performance of our first Royal Derby machine at the Saint-Vincent Casino and Resort in Italy and it has actually surpassed our predictions. However, the most important thing is to retain our reliability and offer complete support to our clients around the world while at the same time pushing the boundaries in terms of state-of-the-art technology.

Virtual Reality Could be Financial Sanity for Future Casinos

Jeff Lande, Founder of Lucky VR, chats with Damien Connelly

’m in the bonus feature. I need to collect eggs. Dinosaur-sized eggs. It’s even more challenging because I also need to beat a T.rex. I can see it, I can hear it, I can feel it. If my smell sense was triggered right about now, I would also think I could smell it. My brain is telling me the T.rex is real and that it’s right in front of me. My heart has started to beat faster. A Pterodactyl flies overhead, making me duck. “Wow!” I could equally be sitting at a virtual table game, or in a virtual VIP lounge looking out the window at a cityscape designed to look like Singapore, London, the Las Vegas Strip, or anywhere your imagination can take you. I could watch a live sports event being broadcast on the ‘big screen’ in my virtual venue; the Mayweather-

Pacquiao fight would be experienced in a totally immersive manner if I was watching it on a VR headset. I could wager on the sports event if legal in the jurisdiction. You’ve not experienced ‘immersive’ until you’ve tried virtual reality (VR). Watching the recently released Jurassic World even in 3D has nothing on VR. This is one reason Facebook paid $2 billion to acquire Oculus VR. Indeed, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes VR could become our main way to interact with computers; and what’s a slot or ETG if not a computer? Online, social and mobile gambling channels are also computer environments. Major video gaming companies from Sony to Microsoft and Ubisoft are developing products for VR, and tech giants such as Google and Samsung

are joining in with their own VR kit. This all helps explain why one of the video gaming industry’s most influential conferences—E3—opened recently in Los Angeles with VR as it’s hottest and most talked-about technology. I first got involved in VR back in 1993 when our company was one of the first business’ to use workstations from Silicon Graphics as part of our research into the VR market. The workstations— similar in size to today’s desktop computers—were monsters, and produced monsters: those dinosaurs you watched in the original Jurassic Park movie were created on Silicon Graphics machines. The VR opportunity goes beyond video gaming. How we experience entertainment such as television, movies, sports, and music could be transformed by VR. As could gambling. A pioneer of this technology for the gambling industry is Canada-based Lucky VR, founded by Jeff Lande. Jeff and his team at Lucky VR have prototyped slots and table games for the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR headsets. Lucky VR has also prototyped an entire casino environment you can become immersed in while wearing your VR headset. As Marcus Prater of AGEM notes in our article in this issue of Casino Life, when asked what was most wanted but was not yet allowed, AGEM members

overwhelmingly answered: “machines that would enhance the player experience by bringing true skill-based gaming, arcade-game elements, hybrid games and other unique features and technologies to the casino floor for the very first time”. And now, it’s time for Jeff to explain how VR technology could significantly enhance players’ experiences. Why did you decide to develop VR games for casinos? VR is a perfect fit for the casino gaming industry as it’s a new way to make games not only more appealing to a younger generation but also delivers an amazing experience to any player as it engages all their senses and gives them a true feeling of immersion like no other technology can. This will allow players to experience much more meaningful, personal and exciting gameplay keeping them engaged at higher levels for much longer periods of time. Casinos will need to evolve to meet the demand of shifting demographics to a younger generation who want to use new technology and aren’t attracted to a traditional gaming floor with cookie cutter slot

machines. VR gaming on the casino floor or at home can provide that next-gen experience that will appeal to Millennials as the slot machine of the future. VR is experiencing a renaissance of epic proportions with companies like Facebook, Samsung, HTC and Sony all developing consumer VR devices going on sale in less than a year. The last few years have seen extensive hardware and software advancements thanks to the mobile phone industry that have brought together the critical mass of elements necessary to finally deliver amazing VR at a consumer price point. We see this as a massive opportunity to get on the ground floor of this platform shift to VR and create casino experiences designed specifically for this new technology from the ground up. Could you describe your development experience at Lucky VR? Lucky VR is a startup with the team consisting of a mix of video game industry veterans, film/VFX experts and gaming entrepreneurs from the daily fantasy sports space. VR software development is an entirely new field with lots of challenges to overcome and no rulebook yet. With all the new hardware, software and new gameplay input mechanics of VR, a traditional approach of

game design will not work. We’ve combined our talents and have been testing extensively different approaches to VR gaming development over the past year to find what does and doesn’t work best for this new medium. Because the software and games in VR are engaging the players at such a deep visceral level, an experience that is well designed can really have a profound effect on the player— more so than any other medium—and creates an opportunity to leave a lasting positive impression. The reverse is also true, and a poorly designed experience can have disastrous results in VR leaving a player motion sick and being a huge negative for the brand. This is why it’s important to specialize and really make sure you’re developing correctly for VR where the stakes are much higher than mobile/web. What have you seen when people play your slots and casino VR games? We’ve showcased our slots and blackjack VR demos at multiple gaming trade shows over the past year from San Francisco to Berlin and London and received an amazing response and great feedback for our product. From casino operators, both land-based and online, to potential end-users of the product, almost

all of them see some sort of value or use case for the technology. Land-based casinos could use it as an in-venue attraction or to showcase their casino properties and hotel rooms in VR to home users, and have consumers get familiar with their brand and incentivize them to visit. Online operators can have a virtual VR casino built to extend their brand and engage customers in a whole new way. The main takeaway from all the feedback though has been the permanent smile a player has from putting on the headset, trying our games, and having a new immersive experience that blows them away and leaves a lasting impression. A great VR experience when everything is dialled in correctly is just not something easily describable and really has to be experienced to understand it. Can you discuss the slot and casino games you have developed or are developing? Aside from our internal apps and demos, we’ve also been developing VR experiences for established gaming brands that are mostly using VR as a marketing tool to start. As the market grows and consumer adoption increases, you’ll see a shift from the focus of using VR as a marketing gimmick to a revenue generating product. Our first real money implementation to be

released this summer will be for the SlotsMillion.com brand where you’ll be able to play your favourite online slot games in a VR environment for real or play money. It will be like stepping inside their website and getting a real life representation of their online brand. VR is just at the very beginning stages similar to where mobile was seven years ago. As casino slots and games become more gamified—incorporating high fidelity 3D graphics, 360 audio, IP licensing, and gamification techniques—VR is the natural progression for where interactive casino gaming is going and is just a matter of time before it becomes the dominant platform. Lucky VR is excited to be at the forefront of this new industry and to see where it will take us over the next few years. Coming back to my own views – those of Damien Connelly – I fully agree with AGEM’s Marcus Prater when he comments regarding variable payback percentages, “This is beyond transformative”. Lucky VR is looking to offer our industry a solution that could be transformative in its own way across all channels (land-based, online, social, mobile). Time, as always, will tell how our industry will succeed in making this transformation. From my perspective, I hope it includes VR as it really gives you a “Wow!” feeling and puts a smile on your face.

Gaming Products and Diversification Craig Askins, President of Gulf Coast Gaming, talks to Peter White 21

Can you provide a brief history of the organisation for those readers not familiar with Gulf Coast Gaming? I started Gulf Coast Gaming, Inc. (GCG) in 2007 in Rosenberg, Texas. During the initial period of about one year GCG provided Consulting Services to the Gaming Industry. After about a year GCG was put on the shelf while I took a position with a Gaming Cabinet Supplier. Then in 2013 I decided to “re-open” GCG although it is now located in Franklin, Kentucky. What have been amongst the biggest developments at the company since it was founded? The largest development so far would be GCG’s current relationship with Hong Yen Technologies, Inc. (HYT) in China. HYT is a Gaming Hardware Supplier and they have some very well engineered products available at very competitive pricing. How is the Partnership with HYT ? To date the relationship has been excellent. That’s not to say we haven’t had the normal growing pains as we did unfortunately suffer some production delays with a couple of our very first customers when we were just getting started working together. As for why GCG & HYT decided to work together; I have known Jerry Liu, President of HYT for approximately 8 years and always found him to be a man of honour so when Jerry approached me about working together I was very much in favour of this. To date we have worked the G2E LV and ICE Show together. We are presently working together with a number of potential customers; some are small and some are large but all are companies of integrity. Although GCG is technically the exclusive agent/distributor for HYT in North, Central, & South America as well as the Caribbean our relationship has expanded outside those territories. Do you foresee any other similar type of partnerships with overseas suppliers? This is something GCG would be open too. It of course depends on the company and the arrangement. With the right partner working together can be fun, exciting, and profitable. However, just the opposite can occur with the wrong partner.

Could you provide details on some of your recent orders to Casino operators? It is not GCG’s practice to name its customers; instead this is left to the customer’s discretion whether or not they want to publicize where they receive their products from. GCG works hard to assure its customers that it handles their anonymity and designs with the utmost care. Does Gulf Coast Gaming only supply to Casinos in your immediate region or do you cater for Casino operations across the USA? Not only across the USA but internationally as well. GCG prides itself on being an international company. How long have you been in the Casino industry, and what aspects of it do you enjoy most? I have been in the gaming industry since January 1999. It’s a fantastic industry and I’ve been fortunate to work for and together with some excellent people who I have learned many things from. I’ll apologize beforehand for forgetting someone but a short list of these people I would consider as mentors would be Morry Goldstein, Bob Miodunski, Dick Haddrill, Paul Lofgren, Mark Lipparelli, Bob Saxton, Joe Cole, Steve Deschamps, Glenn Wichinsky, & Ramesh Srinivasan. Unfortunately gaming is like any other industry and I’ve also learned how not to do or handle things from some other not so successful people. As for what I enjoy the most it would be the people. However, if forced to decide on a function it would be difficult for me to choose between Operations and Business Development as I enjoy both very much. It is a joy and privilege to manage and mentor employees. I’ve found if you treat everyone like you would like to be treated the vast majority of times you will be successful. It is similar in Business Development. In any contract both sides need to be successful. One sided deals only lead to mistrust later. It is better to be a “partner in success” with someone instead of just a supplier of goods and services. What do you think are amongst what can be often termed as key skills, that have contributed most to the success of your company? Being open, fair, and honest in all dealings. It’s always enjoyable to give someone positive news but it’s also just as important to share negative news expeditiously as this does not ever get

better with age. Besides working together increases the opportunity to correct whatever issue there might be. There has been a lot of consolidation of big manufacturer suppliers over the last 18 month’s. What would you say are amongst the most important factors a Casino should consider when wieghing up a choice of suppliers when there is a massive corporation vs a small to medium size supplier that is often more local to the Casino? Diversity. The consolidations have created some very huge corporations however these consolidations are not complete. It may take another year+ for everything to be fully consolidated. What will come out of this is anyone’s guess right now. My recommendation would be to maintain a relationship with the large companies in the process of consolidation but at the same time set aside some floor space for the smaller companies in the industry. Obviously it’s all going to depend on game performance but if fiscally responsible I would recommend diversification among your suppliers. One thing I do worry about is the loss of personal relationships in the industry. The consolidations as well as the trend to bring in non-gaming people into high level executive positions has made the industry lose some of its charm. There’s no question new blood

in the industry can be a good thing as it brings fresh perspectives and new ideas. However, too much new blood too fast can kill the patient. Experience is also something that seems to be getting overlooked. There are some very talented and experienced people being replaced today by cookie crunchers. There seems to be a strong belief that gaming needs to start catering to a younger crowd, however the fact is that the senior population in this country is expanding and while they want to be entertained they do not want to have to be Mensa Members with the dexterity of a teenager to understand the game they’re trying to play. The bottom line is of course the most important item of any company’s success but I see success being weighed heavily today towards short-term (monthly or quarterly) instead of long-term success. It’s almost as if everyone is looking to be as attractive as possible in the short-term in case someone might be interested in buying them instead of concentrating on the longterm growth and success of the company. Will Gulf Coast Gaming be exhibiting at G2E Las Vegas again this year if so can you provide some details on your booth and what visitors can expect to see? This is something right now we haven’t fully determined. If not exhibiting though we will attend the show.

Alfastreet

SPOTLIGHT

Wonder Wheels™ roll into Europe with the release of Batman™ Classic TV Series Slot Game

SPOTLIGHT

ristocrat Technologies’ hugely popular Wonder Wheels™ concept has been officially released for deployment in Europe with the first title in the series, Batman™ Classic TV Series Slot Game, scheduled to make a Bap! a Pow! and a Zap! on European gaming floors following the first installations across July and August. At almost 3.2m (10’ 6”) high, the game towers above others on the casino floor, whilst the action comes to life in Aristocrat’s Helix™ cabinet, paired with a large portrait-style top-box screen and unique, mechanical triple wheel package for bonuses, all punctuated with Aristocrat’s (optional) sensory-busting surround sound iChair™. Each player gets their own wheel, plus a bonusing wheel for the gamebank, allowing players on the bank to continue uninterrupted when another player hits a trigger and engages wheel-mode. Powered by Wonder Wheels™, Batman™ Classic TV Series Slot Game puts a triple spin on fun on gaming floors, engaging players in all the kitsch, fun and tongue-in-cheek action of the landmark 1960s TV series featuring Adam West, complete with original video clips, sounds and exciting game play featuring Batman and Robin, The Riddler, The Joker and Catwoman. With a static grand jackpot of €10,000 linked across paired pods, game play is enhanced by stacked wilds, six themed bonus features and a highly anticipatory wheel feature trigger. Erik-Jan van den Berg, Aristocrat’s newly appointed Director of Sales for EMEA, commented, “Even before its release, Batman™ Classic TV Series powered by Wonder Wheels™ topped industry surveys, being named among the most anticipated game releases by slot managers. Those expectations have certainly been realised in North and Latin America, where the game has been delivering supreme levels of performance. “We are extremely excited at the prospect of rolling out what will be the first in a long line of nextgeneration gaming operations star performers and the original Batman™ theming is a great way to kick off the campaign!”