Casino life september 2014 high res (2)

September 2014

Century Casinos

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Editorial: Editor in Chief: Glyn Thomas Mob: +380 952 705 596 glyn@ace123.com Associate Editor North America David Mckee dmckee@ace123.com Special Assignment Correspondent: Jack Bulavsky jackbulavsky@yahoo.com N Europe - Damien Connelly dconnelly@ace123.com UK - Alan Campbell alancampbellcasinolife@gmail.com Latin America & Asia Correspondent: Janice Chaka Janice@ace123.com International Casino & Gaming Correspondent: JJ Woods jjsilks@eircom.net Online Gaming Editor: Sam Miranda sam@ace123.com

Production: Designer: Stewart Hyde design@ace123.com www.totaldesignworks.com Subscriptions: Helen Holmes subs@ace123.com Web & IT: Sudip Banjeree sb@ace123.com Journal Manager: Chris Sanson csanson@ace123.com Publisher: Peter White Tel: +44 (0) 1892 740869 Mob: +44 (0) 7973 273714 pwhite@ace123.com

Editor’s page Welcome to Casino Life.

Well? What more could you ask for? I’ve just finished reading through this month’s issue and I can’t think of a base we haven’t covered. We have a number of solid operator interviews, talk to some heavyweight manufacturers, get the lowdown on customer service and even cram in features on Education and Regulation. Throughout all however, those of you with a keen eye will see a constant theme. Whether you are reading about success, diversification or even tales of failure… “Focus” and “Customer” have the highest word count and mean so much to those we have interviewed.

Peter Hoezinger has been a regular interviewee and over the past few years it’s been great to watch the evolution of Century Casinos – to see the group diversify and yet keep a tight focus on customer care.

For Anthony Sanfillippo it’s actually his company’s Mantra. Pinnacle don’t just take up every opportunity that comes their way – they focus and do what its right for the company and its customers long-term.

Get Marco Herrera on the rostrum and you have a rapt and focused audience.

Now teamed up with Jean Venneman, VP of Product Management and Licensing they are together embarked on renewing and building customer relations through innovations such as their “Customer Panel”.

Roger Seshadri has headed up the IT at Melco Crown Entertainment for over seven years and as CIO has a focus on ensuring technology is embedded – integrated fully - within the business, not merely aligned to it. All of it leads to better service – and better customer satisfaction.

Robert Ambrose is a stalwart of Casino Life having contributed features since its debut almost a decade ago. Now, as Instructor of Hospitality & Casino Management at Drexel University, Robert brings together theory and practice; operator, regulator and manufacturer – all for the common focus of ultimate customer service through students who will become the future casino pioneers.

Casino Life is proud to be one of the founding partners of the Drexel University.

Head over to Page 34 and Victor H Royer tells a tale that will make all casino operators cringe – a tale of how they can so easily, so frequently and so irresponsibly let some of their best players down. Feel free to copy it and post it on your information white wall.

Finally, John Flynn, a 28 year veteran of the Nevada Gaming Control Board provides the first of a number of features over a number of issues on the need for a robust regulatory system. Whilst we all want good customer service part of that comes from us also feeling safe – of knowing that not only are we enjoying ourselves, but we are in a place that has checks and balances to ensure we are all playing in a fair gaming environment.

Glyn Thomas

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Contents 3

Experience & Diversity

Glyn Thomas chats to Peter Hoetzinger Co

CEO & President of Century Casinos

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Staying in focus

Casino Life’s David McKee chats with Pinnacle

Entertainment CEO Anthony Sanfilippo

10 “We Listen and Build Trust”

Jack Bulavsky interviews Bally Technologies

Jean Venneman & Marco Herrera

19 Managing Billion Dollar Resort Casinos

Peter White interviews Roger Seshadri Premier

100 Global Business Technology Leader /CIO

25 Partnering in Education

Damien Connelly chats to Robert Ambrose

Instructor of Hospitality & Casino Management

Drexel University

31 How does a camel pass through the eye

of a needle?

Data transmission and data security in the

video network

34 The Trouble in the Casino

By Victor H Royer, President of Gaming

Services & Research

38 Strong Regulation the Foundation for a

Successful Gaming Industry

By John Flynn, a 28-year veteran of the

Nevada Gaming Control Board

42 Spotlight

Chris Sanson provides the 2014 G2e

Show Preview

Editorial Policy: The views and opinions expressed in casino life remain principally the views of contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or publishers.

The publishers wish to avoid inaccuracies and, whilst every precaution has been taken to ensure that information contained in this publication is accurate, no liability is accepted by the editor or publishers for errors or omissions, however caused.

Unless otherwise stated, articles appearing in this publication remain the copyright of the publishers and may not be reproduced in any form without the publisher’s written consent.

Printed in the UK by MPC Ltd.

Experience & Diversity Glyn Thomas chats to Peter Hoetzinger Co CEO & President of Century Casinos

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On 30 September 2014, the Company will delist from the Vienna Stock Exchange, and will be listed only on NASDAQ from then on. Does this signal a shift in focus by the Company towards North American projects?

We look for opportunities in any regulated market world-wide. With our existing portfolio of 30 casino resorts in Europe, Canada, USA, Caribbean and on luxury cruise vessels, we have an international management team in place that is experienced and flexible to undertake projects of various sizes and in full or part ownership capacity as well as under management contracts.

The NASDAQ is the benchmark index for technology

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companies. Does a sole listing on NASDAQ indicate a greater focus by Century Casinos on adding technology solutions to your land-based operations, such as mobile and social casino?

We have been listed on NASDAQ since 1994. Yes, we do use technology solutions to promote our landbased casinos and we offer social gaming on our websites, but our main focus continues to be the development and operation of mid-size casino resorts.

Can you provide details on how 2013 and the first half of this year have been for the corporation financially?

We generated a compound annual growth rate of revenues of 30% over the last 20+ years. During 2013, we made significant progress with the implementation

of our strategy to increase shareholder value and improve our financial flexibility. Revenues increased by 46% year-over-year and Net Profit by 51%! In the first half of 2014, we continued our international growth, increasing revenue by another 31%.

That great operational performance, coupled with our healthy balance sheet, puts us in a great position to continue the pursuit of new development and acquisition opportunities world-wide.

What innovations in Casino operations in recent years have most impressed you and why?

I am most impressed – but not surprised – that despite all the technological innovations, the real differentiating factor continues to be great,

personalized customer service.

Our management style and international diversity help to attract great staff and cooperators; today we employ over 1,600 people from 32 nationalities, 51% female. The experience and diversity of our people enable us to cater specifically to each local and tourist market, giving all our casino resorts that special, local flavor and character.

Our casinos also help stimulate tourism by providing additional entertainment options and by marketing and promoting a specific market or region to our best customers at all our other casinos around the world and on the luxury cruise ships.

Century Casino Central City named for a 3rd

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consecutive year best Casino in Denver. One of the contributing reasons given for the sustained popularity is that it offers 500 of the latest and most popular slot machines. How often do you upgrade your slot machines at Century Casinos and can you provide details, which manufacturers are amongst the top performers?

Two main reasons: we enjoy an outstanding reputation for the quality of hospitality and guest service as well as the convenience of our casino and hotel product, plus we offer 500 of the latest and most popular slot machines. We replace approx. 20% to 25% of the total slots every year; half through participation and half through conversions and new purchases. Currently, Aristocrat and Konami are amongst our top performing machines in Colorado.

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Are there plans for Century Casinos to expand on the Seven Seas?

We currently operate casinos on 16 luxury cruise liners and we will add a couple of ships in early 2015. This is a profitable niche for us that accounts for approximately ten percent of our total business volume.

In Century Casinos’ most recent quarterly results, the strongest performing property was the Century Casino and Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta. Does this strong performance bode well for your Century Downs Racetrack and Casino project in Calgary, which is also in Alberta?

The Canadian province of Alberta provides a fantastic regulatory and economic environment. The job growth, especially in the oil and gas industry, leads to a growing and increasingly wealthy population with

high discretionary income, in fact Alberta’s median income level is 24% above Canada’s national average and Alberta has the fastest population growth rate of any Canadian province. And Albertans have an above average propensity to play casino games relative to the rest of Canada. All this bodes very well for the future of our existing two casino resorts there as well as for our newest project, the $25 million Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary, which is scheduled to open in March 2015.

Century Downs Racetrack and Casino will be just 4.5 miles (7km) from Calgary International Airport. Does the proximity of an international airport indicate Century Downs will target non-local customers and what will make this property special?

In the greater Calgary area, the North and NorthWest areas have no casino conveniently located for them. Century Downs Racetrack and Casino will fill this void with a great location on the Queen Elisabeth highway next to the very successful Cross Iron Mills regional shopping mall and the planned New Horizon Mall, which will mainly focus on Asian customers. The proximity to the airport also provides the opportunity to cater to tourists visiting attractions such as Banff

National Park or ski resorts such as Banff or Lake Louise. Century Downs will be the only horse race track in the greater Calgary area and will offer a racing entertainment center with 550 slot machines, restaurants, bars and entertainment and off-trackbetting lounges.

Looking beyond 2015, what markets and/or projects would Century Casinos like to become involved in?

Today we own/operate 30 casino resorts in Europe, Canada, USA, Caribbean and onboard luxury cruise ships, offering a wide variety of popular gaming tables and machines, hotels, restaurants, bars, show-lounges, sports and concert venues and a comedy club.

Next year we will add the Racetrack and Casino in Calgary. In addition, we see substantial organic growth opportunities at our larger properties in the USA and Canada, as well as in Poland.

Our focus for new projects lies in South America and Asia. Argentina offers great opportunities at reasonable price levels and Japan is a market we are particularly interested in, as our operating model and stimulus for international tourism seems very well suited for that market.

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Staying in focus

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Casino Life’s David McKee chats with Pinnacle Entertainment CEO Anthony Sanfilippo

Focus” is a word you’ll hear often in conversation with Pinnacle Entertainment CEO Anthony Sanfilippo.

It’s his mantra for the company and it’s his operating philosophy.

How many companies of Pinnacle’s stature would simply walk away from the application process for a New York State casino because it disrupted the focus of their assimilation of Ameristar Casinos into Pinnacle? “We knew we would be, as it turned out, one of 22 companies putting in for four licenses,” Sanfilippo says. “We felt the distraction of going after a license was [less] important to focus on than the integration of Ameristar and Pinnacle Entertainment … there was not a better and higher use of our time than to focus on system integration, people integration and really get the value out of two companies of the same size coming together.”

In contrast to other companies that flail at every opportunity that comes down the pike, sometimes nonsensically, Pinnacle has picked its targets carefully. The Ameristar purchase, which just saw its first anniversary, is Sanfilippo’s signature achievement: The acquisition of a steady, solidly performing company – not a glamorous one but one that is not only remunerative but doubles the size of Pinnacle’s roster of properties.

The Pinnacle CEO, who joined the company in March 2010, replacing the mercurial Dan Lee, is

also pragmatic. When the Federal Trade Commission threatened to nix the Ameristar purchase unless Pinnacle sold one property each in St. Louis (where Pinnacle would have owned three) and in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Sanfilippo briefly resisted, then made the deal.

Pinnacle’s most recent achievement has been to crack the Ohio market with its new racino, Belterra Park. It’s been slow out of the gate in its early months but Sanfilippo has a plan (see below) to turn things around.

The décor in Sanfilippo’s office is whimsical, and as low key as its occupant. A Jack Binion bobblehead sits behind his desk.

A fortuneteller booth (refugee from a Pinnacle game arcade) and a life-size pirate figure face each other from opposite sides of the room. And a poster of a blue dog symbolizes the comeback of Louisiana – one of Pinnacle’s prime markets – from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Sitting at a side table, Sanfilippo fixes his penetrating but unthreatening gaze upon you and awaits the first question.

What made Ameristar, of all the companies you could have chosen, such an attractive takeover target?

They have some flagship properties. In the St. Louis area, St. Charles is a beautiful flagship property. In Kansas City it is by far the nicest property and Black Hawk is a terrific resort. In Vicksburg [it’s] by far the nicest property in the Vicksburg area.

Ameristar had a portfolio that was very similar

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to Pinnacle Entertainment’s. By that I mean the quality of the properties that were in the Ameristar portfolio, the markets that those properties were in. So it gave us new markets such as Council Bluffs, Black Hawk, East Chicago, Vicksburg … all of those were brand-new markets to us and Jackpot, Nevada gave us a property in Nevada. There wasn’t another gaming company that we felt was such a good fit.

As we further explored Ameristar and spent time talking with the management, we soon saw that the company values were very similar. So it ended up being a really good cultural fit as well as the ability for us to more than double the size of Pinnacle Entertainment.

Why did you choose to retain the Ameristar brand?

What made it worth keeping?

If you look at the length of time Ameristar had been in the markets they’re in … Vicksburg just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Ameristar in Kansas City and St. Charles have not been there as long but they’ve been there probably 15 years in the Ameristar brand. So there is tremendous equity in the name Ameristar in the markets that they operate. From a Pinnacle standpoint, Pinnacle Entertainment is our corporate name. We don’t have Pinnacle on any given property. We have a variety of brands that include L’Auberge. It includes River City, Belterra, Belterra Park, Boomtown. So there’s no one dominant brand and, in fact, the brands are each a little bit different.

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Our strategy is that we’re going to have one reward program that covers the whole company and we quickly implemented one, My Choice. It came from the Pinnacle program and we took what we thought was best-in-class from Ameristar’s loyalty program and of the Pinnacle legacy program and on April 1 we implemented, company-wide, one loyalty program.

That’s how we tied the properties together.

Our program has five different tiers. The top one is the Owners Club and you’re able to receive a number of different things, starting with 100 shares of Pinnacle Entertainment stock. [We’re the] only company anywhere that I can find that, as part of their loyalty program, will give guests shares of company stock. We had to register those shares with the SEC and go through quite a process to be able to do that. Another feature is we provide you a vehicle – there’s four models you can choose from – from Mercedes Benz and it’s not their entry line. It’s a higher line than that where our guests can get one of four vehicles, which includes a sedan, a convertible or an SUV. All we require you to pay is the insurance.

We’ll lease the vehicle for a year and then you pay your own personal insurance on it. We also have a relationship with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines where we’ll give everyone who’s an Owner’s Club member a seven-day cruise. We also have a relationship with the Atlantis, in the Bahamas. We have a relationship with Tiffany’s. We have a relationship with Apple where we give you Apple products.

When the FTC decreed that two casinos would have to be sold, you were initially resistant but you reversed yourself. What changed your mind?

We were fully engaged with the Federal Trade Commission in trying to prove to them that each of those markets have additional casinos, that it wouldn’t create an unfair advantage. We thought there were other choices, very viable casino options that guests could go to but it was clear they were going to hold that position. We had until September the 20th to close this deal with Ameristar. If we didn’t close, then there would be an $85 million breakup fee that we would be required to pay.

When we made the decision to go ahead and sell those two assets we made it because we had to find buyers; what the FTC required was that we have a buyer. Not that we closed on the deal but that we had a buyer for each property. So it was going to take time to hold discussions and run a process for other companies to buy those assets. Time was not on our side and the FTC was pretty adamant about their position. We made the decision that it was more prudent to tell the FTC that we would dispose of those assets and move on.

Describe the challenges of now having Lumiere Place and the soon-to-be Golden Nugget in Lake Charles as competitors.

Lumiere is a terrific property. It is anchored by a beautiful hotel, the Four Seasons, which we also had to sell. The properties that we have in St. Louis really serve different markets, which was our argument with the FTC. Lumiere serves the market that wants to go downtown, River City really serves more of the south-county market and Ameristar St. Charles serves a market that’s 30 minutes away from River City. It’s a good distance from River City. I still believe today that it’s big enough for those three. There are other [casinos] there and we focus, in both River City and St. Charles, on the population that sits immediately around that property. We continue that and I don’t see that the customer that goes downtown as the same customer that will go to River City or St. Charles.

With the Golden Nugget [in Lake Charles], Tilman Fertitta has done a terrific job with growing Landry’s.

Landry’s is a significant company on its own and has a number of wonderful restaurants. They have over 70 in south Texas. They have great awareness there. We have worked in a competitive but friendly manner with them. We’re going to have a trolley that goes between both properties so we can give our guests the convenience of going between both properties easily. We’re building a boardwalk along the waterfront that will allow guests to walk between both properties. The walk is a fairly short walk. So we are working together. They’re building a golf course. There will be two beautiful golf courses side by side. We know that guests will go between both properties and now they’ll have a greater variety of restaurants to go to. There will be entertainment options at both properties. We have been very much friendly competitors with the Golden Nugget.

I believe that in the case of the Lake Charles property they’re going to have about 720 additional hotel rooms. We have a thousand rooms. We’re frequently sold out on the weekends.

That will create a lot of people staying in a complex that’s connected via trolley, via walkway.

We’ve approached it in that manner with them. I like the fact that they have a great reputation being a restaurant operator. Houston, we believe, is underserved. There’s many people who live in Houston who haven’t been to Lake Charles.

Hopefully recognizing a restaurant brand that is there from the Golden Nugget may incent them to drive over to Lake Charles.

How have been the early results from Belterra Park?

Belterra Park, first and foremost, is a beautiful facility. We completely took the facility down to the ground. We moved slightly over, to give us more room, the dirt track and the turf track, and built an integrated racing and gaming facility. The awareness of Belterra Park is still at a pretty low level, not everybody knows it’s there in the marketplace. So we’re in the process right now of building a guest base that we’ll have over a long period of time. Same dynamic that went on with Baton Rouge, [which] is now going to be open two years on September 1. I felt like it took us between 12 months and 18 months

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to really build a good level of awareness that that property was there.

How do you differentiate the customer bases for Belterra Park and for the original Belterra down the road?

Belterra Resort, which is a full-service resort, 600 guest rooms, a golf course, a spa, is about an hour away. So we really focus on Belterra Park as a day trip. You want to come to Belterra Park for the day, it’s close to where you live. And Belterra Resort is much more focused on a one-to-two-night stay if you want to come to the spa, if you want to play golf.

We’ve upgraded or redone all of our restaurants and we look at Belterra Resort as a destination resort with a casino.

I look at every one of our properties that we have and I don’t just see them as a casino. I see them as a hotel, as restaurants, as destinations that we look to say, ‘How do we maximize the profit potential of each one of our buildings?’ Belterra Resort is a terrific example. It’s a great resort and we run it like a resort. We realize that there is a lot of casino competition in [the] two-state area.

You’ve occasionally come under pressure from institutional investors to convert Pinnacle to a REIT. What are the pros and cons of that?

We probably don’t have enough time to go through the pros and cons of a REIT. We are still evaluating what they may be. Penn National, they converted to a REIT earlier this year, so our industry only has one example of it. From a chief executive officer, from a chief financial officer, it is our responsibility to continue to look at what are the ways that we can continue to create value for our shareholders and what’s the best platform to do that? We continue to look at that. There’s one example of a REIT that’s in our industry and it’s pretty early on: It’s in its first year. We frequently look at, long-term, what’s the best thing to do for Pinnacle Entertainment? To go beyond that as to what it means to be a REIT or not, it’s still very, very early on.

Within a REIT, with the amount of revenue that has to be passed on to the shareholders, would you be

able to maintain the Pinnacle standard of property?

That’s a question that is out there. When you shift the free cash flow to a real-estate company, what impact long-term does it have on the operating company?

Although you’re headquartered in Las Vegas, there’s never been a whisper about Pinnacle acquiring or building in the Las Vegas market. Why not?

We foremost are, we believe, very good stewards of our shareholders’ investment. We are not driven by ego, we’re driven by what makes sense from a shareholder perspective. When you look at Las Vegas over the last five or six years, it’s been a market that has been under a lot of pressure just because of the recession. If we thought there was an opportunity here that would have the right economic value for Pinnacle Entertainment, then we would take a serious look at that.

Also, the location would be important because now we have 16 properties to feed into Las Vegas.

But for that to happen you have to have a property or a product that’s available for the right price. So the reason you haven’t heard anything about us is the situation hasn’t come up that we were interested in enough that we thought would be a good fit for our portfolio.

Now, what we have done is, through our My Choice loyalty program, we have a relationship with MGM. By being a member of our My Choice loyalty program, the top three tier levels have a variety of [MGM] properties that they’re able to stay with here.

So while we don’t have our own bricks and mortar in Las Vegas, we have a relationship with a wonderful, international company that takes great care of our guests when they come here.

In Pinnacle there are three things that we’re focused on. We’re making a decision that is based on what is in the interest of team members, what’s in the best interest of our guests and what’s in the best interest of our shareholders: ‘We think these decisions need to be in the best interests of one of the three or hopefully all three,’ if we’re not making a decision that’s focused on the best interest of one of the three, you’ve got to question why we’re doing it.

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We Listen and Build Trust At Bally Technologies, it’s a Team Effort that Translates into Diverse Product Portfolio

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he Bally Technologies duo of Marco Herrera and Jean Venneman are quite a team. Herrera, Vice President of Europe, Middle East, and North Africa, is versed in the strategy of developing market-specific games. Venneman, Vice President of Product Management and Licensing, is getting ready to showcase those specific games for Europe, Australia and Asia at G2E Herrera is based in Amsterdam and Venneman in Reno, NV. They were together in Las Vegas for a two-day Bally Technologies global sales conference, yet found time to sit with Jack Bulavsky, Special Assignment Correspondent for Casino Life.

What’s going to be your main focus at G2E? Marco: G2E is an overwhelming experience.

Our main focus is, and always has been, our customers. We’re here to reassure them that we’re continuing to innovate and will spend time getting reacquainted with them and sharing the wide breadth of products that we have to benefit their casino floor. Jean started the Bally Technologies European Customer Panel and this enables us to have open conversation about what’s working for them and what isn’t.

Tell me more about Customer Panel International?

Jean: Our first Customer Panel Forum started here and it was quite successful. Then we brought 16 of our valued customers, meaning casino operators, to Amsterdam for two days and had open and honest conversations about how they feel about our products and services. We show them games we’re developing and they advise and give us feedback.

There are more game developers in the room than sales people. This isn’t about doing something now; it’s about the future.

Marco: The forum has had a lasting feedback.

I still hear from these customers regularly. The interaction is so important. It builds trust and shows that we listen and are looking for innovative play mechanics that create excitement along with big win anticipation. The input is passed on to our hardware and industrial engineers to develop a full game experience which extends to cabinets and everything else. The entire process is a team effort.

And what comes from that team effort?

Marco: We’re always looking for a home run. A good game is like making a movie: you can get the best actors and the best script and put millions of dollars behind it, but you never really know if it’s

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going to be hit. So when you do have a hit, you want to take it to the next level and spread it around the globe like we did with 88 Fortunes. For us a good game is subjective: there is the pace of the game, frequency of payout, and how much you win when you do win. It all plays into the total gaming experience. Everyone wants entertainment and they’re getting that with games like 88 Fortunes, but they’re also chasing the big hit.

Jean: The team effort allows us to discover player preferences that vary widely. Product managers are on the floor bringing us information on what is working in specific markets via focus groups or visits to casinos.

It’s a team effort that translates into a diverse and popular portfolio of products.

A global sales conference is a major event for Bally Technologies.

Why? Marco: Bally Technologies is truly a global company and it’s important that we periodically gather our global sales leaders to introduce and discuss new products and train everyone accordingly. We have developed standard practices for staff across the globe and it’s vital they know and understand these practices.

Jean: Our product management people work closely with sales staff in various jurisdictions.

These days however, instead of jurisdictions, we’re using the word regionalization. That means we

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have increased emphasis on looking at individual markets and making sure we’re tailoring those products specifically for those markets. We know it’s not a “one size fits all” type world and we make sure that in Europe, for instance, we don’t give a suite of products to all of Europe. Instead, we have specific games for Latvia or France or Italy. That’s because game popularity varies widely from market to market and player preference is different and gambling styles are different. So we’re developing products that are tailored for that region.

How many regions are there?

Marco: The Europe region alone covers 44 countries and 24 different languages with many micro markets in between.

We have matured in analyzing our data and in understanding each market.

Jean: We’re able to do that because of staff who research and advise us. They are interacting and watching and participating to see what is working and what isn’t in the casinos. It’s difficult for a game developer in Las Vegas to build and create a game that will be popular for a player in Portugal. How is that Portuguese player going to react to that game?

So we have staff who spends a considerable amount of time with operators and players in making sure the configuration on that game is optimized and is tailored for Portugal.

Is there a consensus of any kind on what kinds of

games players in Europe are looking for?

Jean: A massive game is a massive game no matter where it is located. And by massive I mean a game that is played by everyone. One example is 88 Fortunes™ which has transcended all jurisdictions and player styles and has become a global hit. 88 Fortunes™ is the perfect chance for players to test their luck. It features 10 Free Games that can be endlessly re-triggered, the Fu Bat Jackpot Feature with four progressive levels, and lovely authentic Chinese artwork.

It can be found in many casinos on a link called Duo Fu Duo Cai which translates loosely to good fortunes, good treasures. It’s a shining example of a game that has worked incredibly well across all borders.

The game was developed for Asia and tailored to that market and just exploded there. Then it had success in Australia, is gaining traction in the U.S, and we’re just now putting it in Europe where hopefully it will see similar success. So there are a few games that break all barriers. But that’s not the norm. A theme can be global but configuration in one market doesn’t necessarily carry over to another market meaning one market wants to play 10 lines per game but someplace else the preference is 100 lines per game.

Adjustments are made.

Marco: We’ve learned that Europe is a more aggressive gambler-style game market. Since the average size of a European casino is only about 100 machines, it’s important to offer multi-game configuration to give players more options to choose from. We also have learned that markets get created by other markets. Australian-style games have influence in South Africa, Asia and Europe. We notice this, study it, and develop along this line.

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The CIO’s role in managing Global multi-billion dollar integrated casino resorts Peter White interviews Roger Seshadri Premier 100 Global Business Technology Leader /CIO 19

How do you describe the role of CIO in gaming organizations?

The role of CIO is no different from any other Business executive, it is 24 x7, it does not matter where you are physically , whether you are in Vegas, Macau or in Timbuktu ,on the premise or off the premise, the same goals as the CEO , namely driving the top line, improving the bottom line, optimization of slots/tables , managing customer experience, Leveraging the technology in creating business value, ensuring 24 x 7 operations & customer service, and strategic collaboration with all the stakeholders .

This is a leadership role, which is outcome driven based on the metrics I had mentioned. Setting up and running the operations is given, that can be done any trained person by adhering to standards and procedures. I always believe that “Leaders are paid to create the future” , not for running the status quo.

My involvement with Hospitality industry started way back in 1981 during my CPA internship, had the opportunity to visit diverse range of firms in various industrial sectors including Hospitality and Horse racing.

In 1988 , I had the opportunity to teach 4 GL languages for corporations through an educational institution, the same time, I was trained to implement MRP (Manufacturing Resources Planning ) Packages , I have done couple of implementations of a UK based package for multi nationals during that time.

I had the first opportunity to visit ITT Sheraton (resort & casino) as management consultant in the early 90’s , a huge resort & casino in an island in Netherlands Antilles, later joined there as IT manager , not only responsible for IT, had written casino accounting manuals, cage manuals, Table games programming as well as ran the slot department until we hired the slot manager for the casino there. We operated this casino under New Jersey How do you describe gaming regulations , your first 90 days in the that was instrumental in role as CIO? getting the first gaming The first 90 days is license for ITT Sheraton where you understand to open a casino in the the company’s vision mainland United States. , mission and guiding From that point, I principles. meeting with had opened and ran the executive team more than 16 casinos ,understand the business ranging from Land priorities, goals (long based, cruising river Receiving the Enterprise Architecture Award - Sep 2013 @ the Architecture term and immediate boat , cruise liners world, jury headed by Father of Enterprise Architecture - John Zachman goals), we have to act running Bally systems … with a sense of urgency. At the end of 90 days, I typically all the way to opening and running multi billion dollar present the first strategic plan. integrated resorts in Asia.

When I actually took over I found out ,we just had Recently in 2006 had the opportunity to setup 90 days to comply with SOX , this organization had offshore development center in India in multiple 40 different legal entities with multiple intercompany locations for Bally Technology developing electronic transaction and multi-currency operations working in games and casino management systems from scratch silos (independent systems), that is a major challenge as the only domain expert to begin with in that region to integrate them for compliance as well as financial managing 300+ developers to expanding that to reporting (i.e.) closing of books. My first priority was multiple locations with more than 1000+ developers to work with the CFO to get an integrated Financials to , responsible for games & software development, comply with SOX as well as making life easy for closing technical services, L2 & L3technical support , Project books. implementation to technical documentation across the globe. It was totally a new experience , very different You joined the Gaming Industry in the early 90s, prior from running casino operations. to that has been a management consultant, explain your transition to IT and Gaming industry?

Describe your latest assignment working as SVP, CIO

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drAccounting • drTicketing • drCashless • drPlayer Tracking • drBonusing drJackpots • drScreen • drReports

DRGT Europe sales@drgt.net www.drgt.com

for Melco Crown Entertainment for the past 7 years?

It is different based on many aspects, it was a greenfield, run by a young and dynamic leader Lawrence Ho (CEO) , I was reporting to him as a member of executive committee. We had done many wonderful things first time in the gaming industry as well as in the IT world, recognized with 6 international awards from the most reputed organizations.

We had the right formula for success – wonderful IT team with whom I interact very closely, they are dear to my heart, like a family supported by great leadership at the corporate , excellent vendors (e.g.) Cisco, Microsoft, EMC, Infosys, IBM who had the right skillset to make this project a huge success.

I had worked 8 years for ITT Sheraton/Caesars , 5.5 years at Wyndham and almost 7 years here, each one is unique. At ITT, I was a member of the pioneering executive team to get the first gaming license to operate in United States, At Wyndham , we did many things for the first time in the Hospitality industry, Wyndham by Request program was the best CRM custom developed by us, won many awards and later became a Harvard business school case study.

How do you describe your leadership style?

At the high level , it is participative , it is basically empowering your team through delegation (providing

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authority commensurate with responsibility) , I got the highest score in the entire organization on the leadership index at ITT Sheraton/Caesars known as ESE – Employee Satisfaction Index , this is the metric, they rate a leader overall. Also very recently went through a 360 degree leadership evaluation in 2012 by a third party ,won the Premier 100 Global IT leadership award for that.

No CIO can be an expert in all areas of operations and all technology platforms, we should be willing and open for ideas and suggestions from any of our team members especially the so called Gen “Y”s and digital natives.

What would you like to tell the aspiring CIOs? • CIO is a leadership role – “ Leaders are paid to create the future not to run the status quo” As I said earlier, running the operations is given.

• “ Information Technology is an integral part of Business – there is no such thing as IT aligning with business” • Hire people with right attitude , the skills we can always train them, next thing is create a sense of belonging, they will never leave you , this is very important. Be passionate in what you do.

• Next to People , I would rate Process and Data. You need to institutionalize a defined process across the

organization and when it comes to complex Data - transforming both structured and unstructured data more accessible and intelligible is critical to the organization.

the manual slot meter readings way back in 1992.

We have come a long way from stepper machines to electronically simulated reels to now server downloadable games. Hopper to cashless gaming, simple player cards to smart cards(which will almost carry every bit of consumer behavior – gaming and non gaming), Manual tables to LT Games. Facial recognition is another huge breakthrough for us.

In the world of technology , Mobile apps is taking the world by storm. Anything you need, an app is there and many are even free. Deliver an engaging customer experience across tablet & smart phones . .. I was recently the key note speaker at the International Casino Conference (ICC) at London, had the opportunity to discuss mobility with more than 30 leading operators on the current developments in this arena, they discussed the content delivery, social, distribution and payments as well as the challenges on multi platform iOS and HTML5 technology.

Having worked in many locations across the globe starting from Caribbean to recently in Macau, can you list some of the challenges you had faced…

• In Macau, getting the right skillset was tough, so education & training of the team is critical, it is a continuous process • Legacy mindset - “Don’t fix it until it breaks” mindset among the team members, this is a challenge in many organizations. It is not the legacy system alone, it is the legacy mindset which prevents progress.

• Infrastructure – In Indiana when we opened a casino, the pre-opening office was in a small town, we had to build even the public infrastructure like roads, laying fiber optic across the town and gifted that to the city when we left.

• Communications Tell me something you do backbone (Leased lines) : outside of work?

In Macau, there was one I have written and staged service provider , therefore many comedy plays in if this line breaks, there is no Dallas, acted in lead roles option for the business to for a theater group as well run/ no contingency plan.. as directed plays including With the result we cannot many children’s plays.

My Farewell Gift with all the Business Technology Awards won for put any of our stuff in cloud, Melco Crown - on the right side is CEO Mr Lawrence Ho. Recently I have taken that is a huge risk, if the up Ontology & Indian primary service provider fails, there is no fallback. philosophy as my passion and had completed a seven • Shadow IT – Many departments run parallel IT, by day lecture in Dallas in May 2014 and a lecture in directly dealing with vendors, , so long they collaborate London in Feb 2014, I continue to study and improve on and build their systems together in ensuring single my presentations , that is my passion and goal outside version of the truth by integrating that into a holistic of work. architecture, we are good, otherwise it is a disaster.

• Lack of clearly defined requirements & business How do you manage to keep abreast of rapidly process while selecting major systems , huge issue changing technology world? across the globe, choosing a product , because we I have been a member of CIO executive council , which always used this in previous organization or all our was started in 2004 with hundreds of world’s top CIOs, competitors are using it, without proof of concepts. this provides peer to peer exchange of Ideas completely in a non competitive , non threatening environment on What is your view on gaming industry & innovation? various technology as well as I read and contribute to We have made significant progress from where we Gartner Research, very useful.. are when I entered the gaming industry 25 years ago, “I do read Casino Life for upgrading my Gaming I knew of casinos using Lotus spreadsheet to input industry knowledge”

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Visit us at G2E Booth 4230

Partnering in Education Damien Connelly chats to Robert Ambrose Instructor of Hospitality & Casino Management Drexel University 25

How is the first year of the courses proceeding?

We have accomplished a great deal in one year. I consider myself very fortunate to be part of this program at Drexel and working with an outstanding academic team. Being in a position where you can both initiate and facilitate positive educational change is rewarding.

My goal for several years has been to establish myself academically in a university setting such as Drexel and instruct gaming and hospitality.

The Center for Hospitality & Sport Management became a separate school in September 2013. We have been in a transition year. Casino courses have been taught in the past but we are raising the bar; updating

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courses, writing new ones and developing a specialized hotel/casino classroom environment for our students enrolled in the Hospitality/Casino Management Program.

The new casino training lab will officially be dedicated October 6th as the Dennis Gomes Memorial Casino Training Lab. This must be both moving and special.

(Gomes, who died in 2012, was well known in the gaming industry, serving in top executive positions in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. He also was a previous investigator for the Nevada Gaming Commission.)

Yes. It is very special. Dennis Gomes was a very handson executive and spirited gaming industry visionary.

“What is so funny,” I asked?

“I was just reading this article in one of the trade magazines on educating new employees.

I thought it was pretty good,” he said. “I came in to show it to you and realized you wrote it.”

“Well I’m glad you appreciate quality writing!” I responded.

During the time I spent on the road with the Indiana project we spent a lot of time together. You learn a lot about people when you travel with them. Dennis gave me an opportunity to challenge myself and take my career to the next level. I will not forget him for that.

What has the reception been from Casino manufacturers to the establishment of this dedicated Casino Management programme?

Everyone has been very positive. Dennis touched so many people. When I was talking about it to different people at G2E last year; so many people shared a Dennis Gomes story. Dennis was always involved with employees. He did a great deal for people that most will never know. I witnessed some of that giving. And I think that is why the response has been so open from the industry.

There is also a genuine appreciation from industry people toward our efforts to educate the next generation of industry professionals. I am constantly receiving requests from executives to come and visit and speak to our classes.

The donation of Slot machines by Bally Technology was a very generous and welcome contribution to the University and students; one which you all must be delighted to have accepted. What are the main advantages gained by the University & students?

He had a strong commitment to education and was a mentor to many people who are now industry executives. It was a great experience having known him and to have worked for him. Once I received approval from the Gomes family to dedicate the lab in his honour; we haven’t looked back. We have been overwhelmed by the support of the industry that sees Drexel students as both their future customers and workforce.

Having worked with Gomes, have you one particular stand out anecdote you would like to share with readers. I have many but this one comes to mind.

I remember one time he came into my office laughing.

In most university casino class programs the students learn theory, application through text, experience various media documentation about gaming and maybe have an opportunity to visit a casino with the class to observe.

The learning goal of the Dennis Gomes Memorial Casino Resort Classroom model is for students to be engaged in active learning. They will become active participants in the roles of front-line employees, managers and customers within a live casino operation environment. With hands on participation applied to the instruction, the students will become participants in the learning process.

Bally got the ball rolling for us. We are now looking to expand the slot machine inventory from other manufactures. I have also requested permission from the Gaming Board to offer training in Black Jack.

Tropicana, Atlantic City donated 2 tables earlier this year.

What is the history behind the setting up of the

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dedicated Casino Management Training Programme and why Drexel University.

Drexel has offered a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management with a concentration in gaming and casino operations since 2009. Hospitality and Sport Management is a collaborative school founded by my Director Jonathan Deutsch PhD. It is because of his vision and openness along with the Drexel administrative community that have brought us to the point of the Gomes Casino Training Lab. Drexel has always been a university specializing in experiential learning through co-operative education experiences. When our students graduate they have a working resume and on-the-job experience that will place them directly into positions. Many graduate the program with jobs having already entered the working environment through the co-op program.

We develop relationships with industry. As in the case of the casino and hospitality industry we are on the ground networking on behalf of the students. Many members of our instructional staff have industry experience. Whether it’s gaming, hotel ops or culinary, we bring that network to the school in the forms of property visits, guest lectures, job fairs and internships.

As far as the training lab goes it was almost a year to the day from concept to installation of the first slot machines.

The PA Gaming Board has been outstanding this past year in assisting us in the process. I petitioned the state and met before the board last October to respond to the proposal. The machines do not accept currency and are subject to all regulations that apply to casinos, including 24-hour surveillance and are locked down when not in use.

Participation of gaming stakeholders is clearly vital to a training management programme. In recent years several states have opened up casinos. What message would you like to communicate to both the State Governments that regulate casino operations and their stakeholders that operate a casino as to the opportunities gained by partnering with a casino management training programme?

It is a “win” for all parties. It gives the state regulators a chance to directly see and even participate in the educational process. The PA Gaming Boards Director of Communication, Douglas Harbach, has already been

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to campus as part of my Spring Lecture series to discuss Gaming not only in Pennsylvania but on a global scale.

His presentation was recorded and is now also used in in an online graduate course I instruct on Gaming. We have also been invited to bring the classes to the state gaming lab for tours.

These students are the future of gaming. What better way to have them see how serious the business of casino operation is than from those that govern the industry.

What would you say are some of the main benefits that manufacturers and operators gain from partnering with this university program?

Our casino and hospitality partners see that giving goes both ways. Through their donations to the program they receive an on-going relationship with our faculty and students that assist them in many ways with their operation. Everybody wins.

They are leveraging their bets on the future of the industry. The future belongs to the next generation of gaming and hospitality executives that are graduating today. It is good business. Our partners have employed our students for internships and full time jobs after they graduate. It gives the industry participants a chance to not only see our student’s skill sets but also play a role in developing them.

Casino operators such as Borgata and Resorts in Atlantic City, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Delaware and Sugar House in Pennsylvania have been outstanding partners for internships, tours and providing executive guest speakers; just to name a few.

The continued popularity of slot machines and their ever increasing content and functions, is great from a player enjoyment perspective however from a technical support aspect it means training of technicians, is becoming more and more complex.

Is there the possibility of a correspondent version of the course given technology such as skype conferencing can provide & that could involve support from Gaming Operators located many miles away?

Here at Drexel we have an amazing on-line degree program. I have written and instruct both undergrad and graduate programs for it. What better way for industry people to upgrade their education and receive

a Masters in Hospitality with a concentration in Gaming completely on line. http://www.drexel.edu/hsm/ academics/Hospitality-and-Tourism/MS-in-HospitalityManagement/ I have students from all over the globe. Both in and out of the casino industry. And those currently involved in gaming add so much to the class discussion each week. We incorporate a great deal of current events through industry publications such as Casino Life to the weekly educational units. There is access to videos and live events such as our lectures series. A student has access to view the lectures live or at their convenience.

This is a great enhancement to on-going education for industry people that just can’t be in the classroom every week. We also offer hybrid learning which is a mix of both. We can also provide solutions for customized employee educational needs.

Do you see further courses being added catering for Leisure Resort Casino Developments?

We are already there. Gaming and hospitality as you know is a very fluid industry.

The casino environment has radically changed in the past decade and continues to spawn new technologies and reinvented business models. At no other time in gaming’s history has the casino floor faced such a degree of business challenges while undergoing so many operational changes. The aesthetically designed elements, the technology, the products, the competition and partnerships are evolving every day. As the landscape of gaming management continues changing, it is more important than ever to have educated and effective employees. In the same way it is paramount that there are educators that are on their “game,” and can communicate the current messages that the students need to receive.

Educators must be proactive as to where the industry is headed in order to provide the correct educational experience for the student. That means having a group of instructors that are engaged in their industry. With customers it is about the casino experience. With students it is about the educational experience.

With the new term starting shortly for the 2014 2015 year, what have been the highlights for you so far and what excites you most about the year ahead?

Being an academic at this point in my career is the

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most exciting. Being a part of the creation of the Dennis Gomes Memorial Casino Training Lab is top of the list. I have been headed toward an academic role for some time. The casino industry has been good to me.

I learned and contributed in many ways. Educating the future of the industry is a rewarding experience.

In 12 months we built a foundation for a hands on gaming program. Thanks to industry partners like Association of Gaming Manufactures (AGEM) for their scholarship, Bally Technologies for slots and KGM Gaming for signage and the Tropicana. AC, for tables.

This environment will provide students with a working casino area to learn how a casino floor operates for years to come.

There is no down time for me. I teach 12 months, write constantly, consult and look for new ways to improve what I do. I am constantly in the market place seeking support for our students in the form of scholarships, co-ops and internships, jobs, and learning experiences.

In every course I teach I stress to the students the importance of seeing the big picture. Their focus may be on one segment of hospitality like F&B or gaming but from the customer’s perspective it is about the total experience.

So if I am instructing them in casino management, I want them to understand that their casino customer will be dining in their property restaurants, attending shows and events on property and staying at their hotel. They need to understand how each segment of hospitality (and gaming is part of that experience) is connected.

Going forward we are looking to build new partnerships on the casino side and also add the hotel component of a front desk, lobby and property management system. By adding the final piece of an operational front desk with the gaming floor component and the Academic Bistro we will have a central hospitality, hands on experience; creating a live environment for students participating in “real-time” learning. This center already hosts industry speakers and will continue to reflect an enthusiasm for participative learning and best-practice mentoring philosophies.

We are always looking to collaborate with industry members who share an interest in education, mentoring and supporting future leaders in the culinary, hospitality, gaming and sport industries.

A thank you to our current industry partners and to our future partners, welcome.

How does a camel pass through the eye of a needle?

Data transmission and data security in the video network

How do you send large quantities over a narrow transmission path? Or to put it another way: How do you pass a camel through the eye of a needle?

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he relentless drive for better picture quality and the trend toward megapixel and HD cameras have together brought about the enormous growth in the volumes of data generated when surveillance scenarios are recorded – and consequently the expansion of bandwidth needed to transmit the pictures. But how can these enormous data volumes be transmitted? How can the load on the network be reduced while still maintaining the highest level of data security?

Anyone who installs a video surveillance system

nowadays expects not only good picture quality, but also a smooth image sequences with no jerking – ideally not only from the PC but also away from the office, via a laptop, tablet or smartphone. And the calculation is really quite simple: The better the picture quality, the higher the frame rate, the larger the volume of data collected, and the wider the bandwidth required to transmit everything.

Particularly with HD and megapixel cameras, the limits of the possible are soon reached, even in a broadband network.

And another important point must also be

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considered: People often forget that when it comes to transmitting pictures, not only the download but also the upload is crucially important. Even with good DSL connections, the upstream is much slower than the downstream – so bottlenecks are encountered mostly when uploading!

So the question arises: How do you send large volumes of data along a narrow transmission path? In other words: How can you pass a camel through the eye of a needle? If the proverbial camel represents a large picture file, in the case of a video stream it might be more accurate to talk about threading an entire caravan. And as soon as anyone attempts to retrieve the sequences not just from a single camera but from several cameras, in “multiple split” mode, across a low bandwidth link for viewing on a computer screen (the equivalent of several caravans passing through the eye of the needle at the same time), the limits of simple streaming processes are reached very soon.

One possible solution to this problem is the method known as “Dual Streaming”: In Dual Streaming, the encoder generates two streams, one of which is used for recording, and the other for transmitting live images. So the recorder can create a highquality recording using one stream, and at the same time a slightly lower quality stream, which is more economical in terms of bandwidth, can be selected for live picture transmission. But even limits of the capabilities of this method can also be reached very soon. This might happen if a very narrow bandwidth is available, such as when UMTS or edge connections are used, if a multiple split is to be shown, or if both live and recorded image material is to be transmitted at the same time – this last is what happens most often in practice.

The solution can be found in a special transmission process called PRemote-HD, which can even be used to visualise HD and megapixel streams with little available bandwidths. Like Dual

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Streaming, PRemote-HD also uses two streams for recording and transmitting. But with the aid of a special transcoding method PRemote-HD achieves remarkable results even with the narrowest of bandwidths, such as are used for mobile communication devices – so transmitting to a tablet or smartphone now works perfectly.

Furthermore, compared with Dual Streaming, for which only the quality of live images can be modified for transfer, PRemote-HD also allows a bandwidth-friendly transfer of recorded image material. With this technology, live images can be viewed, and the recordings can also be evaluated across great distances with top resolution.

And PRemote-HD can also be used for splitstreaming. This is when a multiple split is transmitted in a single image, so only one stream is needed – and the bandwidth required is also reduced correspondingly.

And PRemote-HD works with all network cameras that are recorded in MJPEG or H.264 format via RTSP processes.

In a casino environment, PRemoteHD might be especially interesting for technicians that If a multiple split is required, this is equivalent to several caravans, are maintaining or all at once. servicing the cameras around large-spread premises, in conjunction with the iPhone App “Dallmeier Mobile Video Center” with which they can access video images anywhere and anytime.

The iPhone App “Dallmeier Mobile Video Center” enables the mobile access to Dallmeier systems (DVR, NVR, server, cameras) with an iPhone. Both live images as well as the corresponding recordings can be accessed conveniently on the go. Special transcoding prepares the images for ideal display on the iPhone and ensures a high frame rate at the same time.

The Dallmeier App has the typical iPhone intuitive operation including multi-touch zoom. Separate settings for 3G and Wifi operation can be made.

The Dallmeier iPhone App “Dallmeier Mobile Video Center“ is available for free in the iTunes App Store.

The Trouble in the Casino

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Why Casino Operators are losing players, and millions in gaming revenue

his is a true story. It is still happening, right now, at a major Las Vegas casino resort. I decided to write about it because what is happening there is symptomatic of the gaming industry as a whole. I’ll explain shortly. But first, here’s the premise for this article, and the reason why it was written: Up until very recently, gaming revenues were falling. Only in the past couple of months have we seen a rise in casino win, on the Las Vegas Strip, and in general. This is a fact, well documented by respected research. This fact has also been reported in gaming industry magazines and publications, and in mainstream press. But the market is still volatile, and has not settled into an observable pattern that can speak of some predictability in revenue maintenance, or reasonably-accurate growth forecasts.

This is particularly so for gaming revenues, which have seen a stark fall relative to past standards. All

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of this still leaves operators scrambling to find out what to do, and analysts scratching their heads.

Is the attrition of gambling revenue because the guests are younger, and no longer interested in traditional casino action? Or traditional slots? Is the mad dash for all things Facebook and Twitter the solution? Actually – No. As far as gaming revenue is concerned, there is a much simpler answer: One – gaming operators are increasingly investing hundreds of millions of development and marketing dollars into building endless expansions of nongaming attractions. This has the effect of siphoning off their casino revenues, because by doing so they are directing their visitors, clients, and patrons away from a hugely profitable area of operations – namely the casino – and instead directing them to a low-profit expanse of costly developments, none of which motivate the customers to go and gamble.

Two – gaming operators have lost the ability to understand, appreciate, cultivate, and reward

their casino players, specifically their mid-level and Premium Players, those who are the backbone of each casino’s operation. These are the customers who drive profitability. They are the ones who feed the slots and table games. By diverting them, and their interests, away from the casino and into the increasingly more sprawling non-gaming attractions, each such casino resort is cannibalizing itself and taking profitable customers away from where they are the most profitable, and instead funneling them to attractions where their per-head profitability is minuscule, to a point of near-absurdity.

A casino player who is worth $300,000 per year to a casino resort operator may not be the biggest of all “whales”, but they are certainly not something worthless. In fact, they are a solid, loyal player, whose action should be respected, appreciated, cultivated, and rewarded. One would think that this is a no-brainer, right? Especially for casino operators, who are supposed to know this, and be smart enough to recognize it, appreciate such patronage and loyalty, cultivate it, and reward it.

You’d think that would be the case, right? Well – you’d be wrong. And that’s where this Casino Resort in Las Vegas comes into this picture. Because what is happening there, right now as you are reading this article, is directly symptomatic of the greater “disease” now infecting casino operations throughout Las Vegas, and elsewhere.

The story I am about to tell you concerns a regular casino player at this casino, who has played there for the past 13 years. Let’s call him Mr. Jones, for the purposes of this article. Mr. Jones plays an average of 4 days per week, about 4 to 8 hours per day. This has been his pattern for all the past 13 years of his loyal patronage to this casino in Las Vegas. His worth to the casino is about $300,000 per year. Over the 13 years, Mr. Jones has accumulated over 17 million Player’s Club points – when he remembers to use his cards – in all of the various forms that such player points have taken over the 13 years that he has played there. His total worth to the casino over these 13 years is well over $10 million in action and profits. But that’s not all.

Mr. Jones has friends, colleagues, and clients, whom he has introduced to this casino over these 13 years, and who have likewise become premium players. Many of them are from outside of Las Vegas, and come 2-3 times per year, but they are all well-off. Some of them are worth $10,000 per visit when they come to play, while a few others are worth well over $100,000 per visit while they play.

In total, Mr. Jones – overall, through his activities – is worth about $8 million per year to this casino in gaming action and profits that directly result from his play, and his influence with other players.

But Mr. Jones did not stop there. He loved this casino so much that he also told everyone he could reach about it, as the “best place to play in Las

Vegas.” He has provided countless millions of dollars of free publicity to this casino, as well as untold millions of value in good will.

So what happened to Mr. Jones? Was he valued, respected, cultivated and rewarded by this casino for his patronage, support, loyalty, and good will?

You would think so, wouldn’t you?

Well, in a word – No. You see, this is what happened to Mr. Jones.

For the past five months, Mr. Jones played almost every day at this casino. During this time he lost over $100,000, and provided this casino with several million dollars worth of action. So did his friends and colleagues and clients during that time-frame. At the beginning of April, this year, Mr. Jones had an idea. He wanted to feature this casino in his Social Media Newsletter, in which he wanted to tell his 300,000 subscribers – all of whom were documented casino enthusiasts – about this casino, and their games, and why he loved it there so much.

He wanted to tell everyone – not just his subscribers – about this casino, their games, facilities, restaurants, and so on, and why he liked it there so much for all these years. Because he also wanted to create a multi-media presentation about his experiences at this casino, Mr. Jones hired a video crew and equipment, and a production facility, and was prepared to make this into a nice promotion.

And all of this for free. No cost to this casino.

But then Mr. Jones spoke to one of this friends, who also played at this casino as a premium player, and whose action was worth a lot more to this casino than Mr. Jones. This friend pointed out that during all of his play at this casino, Mr. Jones had never received any kind of player appreciation gift, or loyalty reward, or a player-retention incentive.

In other casinos, said the friend, they give premium players free rooms, free air fare, free trips, and even give them back a percentage of their losses. Did Mr. Jones ever get anything like this from this casino for his 13 years of loyal play, and his $10 million in casino loss?

So Mr. Jones thought about this, and suddenly realized that no – he did not. Nothing. Not ever.

A few dollars in trinkets, yes. A few dollars on the monthly calendar, yes. But 20% cash back for all his losses? Never. How about 10% of his losses back, as a player-retention incentive? Well, in a word – No. Nothing. Not ever.

So, Mr. Jones decided to ask this casino for a small token of their appreciation, a tiny contribution to the costs of the Newsletter that Mr. Jones put together to promote this casino. Did Mr. Jones ask for 20% of his $10 million in loss over the past 13 years?

No. Did Mr. Jones ask for 10%?

No. Not even that.

So what did Mr. Jones ask for from this casino?

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He asked for a mere $9,500, as a token. A token of appreciation. Something to thank him for his 13 years of loyalty. A tiny fraction of his total worth to this casino. Less than 1% of all his action over the past 13 years. Just himself. Not even counting the action and worth of his friends, colleagues, clients, and the countless others he brought to this casino over the decade.

And what was Mr. Jones going to do with this money?

He was going to spend it to promote this casino in his Newsletter, and in his Blogs and postings, and spread the word and good will about this casino throughout the world. On top of this, he was prepared to invest even more of his own money, in addition to his casino action, just to make that presentation really nice. He loved this casino that much.

And what did this casino do?

Did they thank Mr. Jones? Did they offer him this petty-cash money readily, thankfully, and immediately? Did they value Mr. Jones as a player, a customer, and a loyal patron? Did they value the millions of real dollars that Mr. Jones brought to this casino over the years? Did they value the countless millions of dollars of free publicity and good-will value that Mr. Jones and his Newsletter wanted to bring to this casino? Did they value Mr. Jones’s play and action in their casino? Did they even realize that just over Memorial Day weekend Mr. Jones would lose more in their casino than the entire sum of what he asked for as a gesture of appreciation from this casino for his patronage?

Did this casino understand any of this?

Well, in a word – No. They told Mr. Jones that they won’t give him anything. They put him through a maze of midmanagement presentations to a point of absurdity. They dragged him through a ringer of corporate nonsense to a sickening level. In the end, they told Mr. Jones to go and jump in a lake. Take a hike. We don’t care about you, your money, your loyalty, your action, your good-will, your friends, or anyone. Go away.

So, Mr. Jones left. So did his $300,000 per year in action. So did his friends, and their $8 million per year in action. So did all the good-will, and everything that Mr. Jones wanted to tell the world about how nice and welcoming it was to play in this casino. After 13 years of loyal play, and all that Mr. Jones had done for this casino, and all that he was going to do for this casino with his Newsletter – after all this – Mr. Jones wasn’t even worth $9,500 to them. Not for his loyalty. Not for his patronage.

Not for his efforts to promote this casino. Not for his total worth to the property as a happy guest, player, and ambassador. Nothing. Not even worth that tiny petty-cash token of appreciation.

Meanwhile, this casino’s executives are jetting

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it up all over the country, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in trips that do nothing to help profits, patronage, or the bottom like. Just one trip less, or even just one lunch less on any one of those trips, and Mr. Jones could have had his petty-cash reward, and be happy, stay as a player, and keep on spreading the good word.

And then, as an added insult to Mr. Jones, subsequent to his rude dismissal by that casino, he then found out that this casino allocated millions of promotional and marketing dollars to a New York company, to make TV commercials. And the purpose? To get more “local” Las Vegas players to that casino. Wasn’t this what Mr. Jones was already doing? Wasn’t this what Mr. Jones had proposed as his idea to promote this casino? Did Mr. Jones get any of these millions? No, he did not. How can a New York company know the Las Vegas market? Or anything about driving casino players to this casino?

Mr. Jones was already worth over $10 million to this casino as a player. His friends, and players to whom he recommended this casino, were cumulatively worth $8 million more – each year – to this casino.

In all of this corporate frenzy and scramble to do “something” to boost casino revenues, why did this casino’s executives throw away $18 million in revenue and player action, and replaced it with a cost of several million dollars to an out-of-state company to do the same thing that has been done before, and that has already been proven to not work? Why did this casino ignore Mr. Jones, his Newsletter, his 300,000 casino-player subscribers, his loyalty, his action, his endorsement, his recommendations and his good will? It seems insane. Does it not? So, why are gaming revenues plummeting? That is why.

This example is directly relevant to everything

that is happening in casino resort operations today. No one in positions of authority apparently understands or appreciates these situations, circumstances, and impact, just as here outlined for what happened to Mr. Jones at this casino.

Mr. Jones, by himself, may not be the biggest of all “whales”. But he, and others like him, are the backbone of casino profitability. And, directly so to the entire operational profitability of the casino resort itself, as a whole.

How is your property doing? Are you also throwing away $18 million per year because you can’t give your Mr. Jones are little token of appreciation? How sad it is that our great industry today has become so mired in bookkeeping and endless corporate meetings, that those in charge can no longer see the forest for the trees. I hope that this casino will contact Mr. Jones, and make it right. They should, because what happened to Mr. Jones in this casino is the most short-sighted managerial faux-pas that I have ever witnessed in my 32 years in Las Vegas. Let’s hope that better minds will prevail, and that management of casino operations will stop this attrition before it is too late. Giant errors like this one, with Mr. Jones, are precisely what is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Namely – the profitable casino player.

Victor H Royer is President of Gaming Services & Research. He is a 32 year veteran of Las Vegas gaming, a 25 year consultant to the gaming industry, and author of 40 books on casino games and gaming. In addition he has researched and authored more than 300 industry reports on the subject of player preferences, marketing, player development and customer relations. He can be reached at: DrVHR@aol.com

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Strong Regulation The Foundation For a Successful Gaming Industry

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egalized gaming is rapidly spreading around the world as one of the most successful types of business activity. Many countries are looking for ways to stimulate economic growth and increase tax revenues to fund essential services for their citizens. In a growing number of regions, legalized gaming is viewed as a viable means of accomplishing this goal.

At the same time, International gaming companies are looking for new opportunities to expand business operations and actively encourage efforts toward legalizing gaming activity in these new jurisdictions.

In spite of its popularity, legalized gaming remains controversial in many areas and many concerns are expressed.

People express concern that crime may increase in areas where casino resorts are located.

Government authorities fear an increase various criminal activities, including the influence of organized crime and corrupt business practices, if they open the door to legalized gaming. Others oppose gambling on philosophical or religious grounds. Most jurisdictions are very concerned about the social impact of legalized gaming and the potential impact on their communities from problem gambling.

In the midst of this debate, there is one indisputable fact: Legalized gambling is here, it

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is here to stay, and it is growing rapidly throughout the world.

How then do we approach the legalization of gaming activities to achieve the economic growth we desire yet protect our communities from the possible negative impact of a legalized gaming industry?

I firmly believe that the answer lies in creating strong regulatory systems which effectively govern the conduct of gaming.

Strong regulation helps ensure legalized gaming does not unduly impact the lives of our citizens and that licensed gaming companies are good corporate citizens in our communities.

History provides examples that strong regulation is essential for the successful operation of the gaming industry. The significant cash flows generated by the gaming industry attract both suitable and unsuitable operators. Cash flow coupled with weak regulation creates unacceptable risk of attention from undesirable influences.

In Nevada’s early history, weak regulation allowed organized crime to gain a substantial foothold in the gaming industry. It required significant changes in the regulatory system and years of hard work to root out those influences and prevent further incursion of organized crime into Nevada’s industry.

I encountered this kind of unacceptable risk in a jurisdiction where gaming was not only illegal, it was unconstitutional. However, in spite of that

prohibition, there were approximately 25,000 slot machines operating legally.

This environment was created by a legal loophole.

A slot machine which paid a jackpot directly was both illegal and unconstitutional. However, a slot machine which generated a winning ticket which was paid by a nearby cashier was perfectly legal.

This foolish situation was exacerbated by a lack of regulation governing the issuance of licenses, a lack of authority to enforce the limited regulations in place, and the lack of laws to tax the revenues from these operations. Such weak regulation becomes an “invitation” to unsuitable operators.

By contrast, a strong regulatory system begins with the concept that legalized gaming is important to the economic well-being of our citizens. Further, the industry can be successful only if it maintains the public trust that the gaming activities are conducted honestly, openly, and free from corrupt and criminal influences. This public trust can only be maintained through effective regulation of the gaming industry.

The strong regulatory system is best administered by a government regulatory body, such as a Gaming Commission, which has the legal authority to govern the industry and enforce gaming laws.

Properly governing the industry requires that the Gaming Commission have authority to require each company, each individual, and each location where gaming activities are conducted to be licensed to conduct the proposed activities. The Gaming Commission must then have the legal authority to conduct investigations of applicants to the degree necessary to establish their suitability to receive a license.

A strong regulatory system should be built on the premise that a gaming license is a revocable privilege. This premise places the burden on each applicant to demonstrate that they are suitable to receive the license, and each licensee to demonstrate that their conduct is suitable to retain the license.

After the license is granted, the Gaming Commission must have unrestricted access to the premises where gaming activities are conducted.

The Commission must also have unrestricted authority to investigate all activities of the licensee holders, to audit and inspect all gaming records and gaming devices, and to administer disciplinary procedures when laws and standards are violated.

Many jurisdictions have established Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS) which serve as legal requirements and “best practices” for the conduct of gaming activities. The MICS become

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the foundation for effective regulation of ongoing gaming activities.

Compliance audits and financial audits of each gaming company allow the Commission to ensure compliance with MICS, to verify company ownership, to ensure gaming tables and devices are performing in accordance with established standards, and to verify that revenue is properly reported for tax purposes.

The periodic inspection of gaming devices allows the Commission to verify that only those devices which are laboratory certified and approved by the Commission are operating within the jurisdiction.

The Gaming Commission can then ensure there is a strong law enforcement presence in the industry to investigate criminal activity, to work closely with casino surveillance and security personnel, to investigate gaming employees, and to ensure surveillance equipment and procedures comply with established standards.

This brings us back to our original question: How can we embrace legalized gaming to achieve worthwhile economic goals yet protect our citizens from the possible negative impact of the gaming industry?

Many jurisdictions have answered that question by establishing strong regulatory systems to effectively govern the industry. Properly administered, a strong regulatory system will help ensure suitable operators receive gaming licenses, acceptable business practices prevail in the industry, criminal activity is deterred, problem gambling issues are addressed, and our citizens benefit from an innovative yet responsible legalized gaming environment.

John Flynn is a 28-year veteran of the Nevada Gaming Control Board where he conducted and supervised world-wide financial and background investigations of license applicants. John retired as Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and currently serves as the Program Director for Omni Seminars, LLC, and a Seminar Instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – International Gaming Institute. John teaches gaming regulatory seminars on basic financial concepts, financial and background investigative techniques, and other regulatory issues. John teaches both at UNLV and on-site with various regulatory and law enforcement agencies. With partner Scott Otterstrom, Omni Seminars provides over 50 years of gaming investigative and regulatory experience. John and Scott can be contacted at omni_seminars@yahoo.com.

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SPOTLIGHT – New products

NOVOMATIC Signals its ‘Green Light’for G2E Las Vegas Together with ICE in London, SAGSE in Buenos Aires and G2E Asia in Macau, the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas is one of the gaming world’s great events. Founded in 2001, G2E is now in its 14th consecutive year of success and the show’s 2014 edition has been particularly anticipated by NOVOMATIC, one of the world’s greatest gaming groups, for many months.

In the first full business year since NOVOMATIC announced its imminent arrival on the US scene progress has been steadily made: through the foundation of NOVOMATIC Americas Sales, LLC, the establishment of a headquarters in Deerfield Beach, FL and an additional office and service centre in East Dundee, IL, the bringing together of a team of well seasoned industry professionals headed by CEO Jens Halle and Vice President of Sales Rick Meitzler and the creation and development of a product range plus the necessary licensing and approvals to signal a green light to bring the NOVOMATIC name to market in America.

At G2E, from September 30th to October 2nd in the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, the NOVOMATIC Americas team – that has already participated independently in a number of recent gaming shows such as NIGA, the Canadian Gaming Summit and the Caribbean Gaming Show will proudly take its place on booth 2653 alongside the Austrian Gaming Industries (AGI) presence and the many NOVOMATIC Group companies for which G2E is such a significant event. The Las Vegas show is a ‘must attend’ event for the international gaming community and NOVOMATIC of

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course mirrors that with representatives from subsidiary companies and business partners from Europe, Asia, Africa and – because G2E is a traditional destination for Latin American visitors, no less than 10 NOVOMATIC companies from across the region will be strongly represented. All are looking forward to meeting their customers and business partners in order to demonstrate the latest winning technologies from the NOVOMATIC world of gaming.

All of the visitors to NOVOMATIC’s G2E booth can look forward to a myriad of new gaming attractions: cabinets, games, game-mixes, systems, jackpots.

GAMES & CABINETS The booth will once again boast product highlights for the international gaming markets; among them NOVO LINE™ Interactive games presentations alongside the Coolfire™ II range that will display a huge selection of games, available as single game themes as well as in the ever popular Super-V+ Gaminator® and Premium-V+ Gaminator® and NOVO LINE™ Interactive multigame mixes, respectively – with up to 28 games per mix and introducing a new POS concept of multi-game presentation for international casino floors. The variety is extended even further by the latest mathematical concepts, gripping game play, innovative ways to win and maximum impact sound designs for this latest range of games with from 5 to up to 50 lines.

The games are presented in the Dominator® cabinet, with its revolutionary design exclusively for the NOVO LINE™ platform, as well as in the Super-V+ Gaminator® III and NOVOSTAR® SL cabinets. The NOVOSTAR® V.I.P.

SPOTLIGHT – New products will celebrate its full US premiere, introducing supreme game play in panorama format with its large Crown V.I.P. chair and an extra 46” upper screen positioned at the perfect ergonomic distance for supreme game play in top comfort.

The NOVOMATIC Reel Tournament™ clearly demonstrates its advantages as an exciting marketing tool for all sorts of casino promotion programmes. It brings a special competitive gaming thrill to any slot floor, allowing operators to offer their guests - via the push of a button (and thus with no machine ‘down time’) - live tournaments in real time on an unlimited number of connected Super-V+ Gaminator® machines featuring the Super-V+ Gaminator® multi-game mixes T1 or T2.

Specifically for US markets the NOVOMATIC booth will stage the Action-Gaminator® that offers a sophisticated All-Star mix of internationally proven NOVOMATIC hit games for the Illinois VGT market.

These games are available in a variety of highly attractive upright as well as slant top cabinets ELECTRONIC LIVE GAMES The unique feature of the NOVO LINE Novo Unity™ II system is the flexible interconnection of a great variety of electronic live games and slot games on a virtually unlimited number of individual player stations. This multi-game functionality allows the operator to link any chosen number of terminals to an unlimited number of different games such as Roulette, Baccarat, Poker, Black Jack, Sic Bo and Bingo as well as a great slot games offering all within one installation.

This product versatility is exemplified by a G2E show installation featuring a fully automated NOVO Multi-Roulette™ wheel with a group of NOVOSTAR® SL slant tops, each with the entire Flying (fully animated) multiplayer multi-game selection as well as Novo Multi-Roulette and the latest NOVO LINE Novo Unity™ II video slots multi-game mix.

JACKPOTS

The NOVOMATIC booth will also proudly present various Mystery Progressive Jackpot themes for all platforms; such as the Magic Joker Jackpot™ and the innovative hybrid jackpot JEWELS FACTORY™, a combination of a community and a progressive jackpot.

Apart from jackpots the Octavian team will also be presenting the modular and highly ‘tuneable’ casino management system ACP (Accounting Control Progressives System). The ACP system can be ideally adapted to the requirements of both the operator and pertaining regulations. The system’s ‘add-on’ functions include profit calculation, floor monitor, TITO, Cashless and Player Loyalty as well as many more and has proved an extremely attractive ‘package solution’ for discerning operators.

LOTUS ROULETTE™ AND PANTHER ROULETTE™ The Lotus Roulette™ is a highly attractive automated 6-player island configuration, consisting of individual player stations and one automatic Roulette wheel embedded in a magnificent veneered table. Each of the individual player stations is equipped with a high-resolution touchscreen monitor in 16:10 screen format and with automated cash handling facilities. The Lotus Roulette™ is optionally available with the attentiongrabbing illuminated Light Gate sign arch.

Last, but by no means, least the NOVOMATIC booth in Las Vegas will stage an automated single player Roulette that combines Roulette entertainment with slot gaming in one unique and luxurious machine: This evolution of the original and hugely successful Pinball Roulette™ will be displayed in Las Vegas with

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SPOTLIGHT – New products the Panther Roulette™ and Panther Roulette™ II. The Panther Roulette™ comes with a new start button on the right hand side of the hand rest for increased player comfort. The Panther Roulette™ II additionally features a second 32” full HD screen on top of the machine with FLIPSCREEN® functionality. Both versions are available with a comprehensive multi-game offering of 23 HD video slot games.

ONLINE GAMING: GREENTUBE & IGAMING2GO As the industry leader in providing cutting edge gaming entertainment and gaming solutions, Greentube looks forward to exhibiting and networking at G2E Las Vegas. The NOVOMATIC Group subsidiary will present innovative online and mobile applications and content.

The Greentube subsidiary and game design specialist iGaming2Go will also present their latest games portolio.

Greentube’s game applications will be presented for the online and mobile channels (HTML 5, Android, iOS, Native App, etc.) and is backed up by its extensive and successful games portfolio. These innovations constitute Greentube’s multi-channel strategy, which offers a link between online, mobile and Thin Client terminal solutions.

Jens Halle, Managing Director AGI and CEO NOVOMATIC Americas: “G2E Las Vegas, as the major North American gaming show, is a traditionally important event for the NOVOMATIC Group and it is now of even more of significance for NOVOMATIC Americas as it is the first big show presentation of our growing range of licensed products for the USAmerican markets. We have done our homework, listened closely to our customers’ needs and their guests’ wishes and are now in a ‘green light’ position to present an initial and growing US portfolio that also caters to special market requirements such as the Illinois VGT sector.

On the international sales side we’ve made sure to bring all this year’s novelties and innovations to G2E Las Vegas, knowing that G2E attracts a highly international audience. Our Latin American colleagues will join us, welcoming our customers and partners at the show. We will make sure that all questions are answered, all details explained, all special requirements discussed and that each and every guest receives our full attention and detailed product information.

We have anticipated this 14th edition of G2E for many months now. We are ready and it remains only for me, on behalf of the entire NOVOMATIC Group, to extend a warm welcome to all G2E visitors and trust that they, like ourselves, will enjoy a great gaming experience in Las Vegas.”

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SPOTLIGHT – New products Alfastreet preparing a special 20th anniversary presence for 2014 G2E Las Vegas

W

e are thrilled with anticipation for the upcoming edition of G2E in Las Vegas, undeniably one of the biggest and most important exhibitions in the world in the

city that has become a synonym of gaming from the beginning. In the very special year of our 20th anniversary we’ll be present with a spectacular new booth design which will provide

through our story, which reflects in our most recent production. We are proud of the achievements, that are largely a merit of great interaction with our partners and gaming enthusiasts from all parts of the world. Our team will be at everybody’s full disposal to help with extensive information as well as the proverbial trip down the memory lane.

The projects for the second half of the year 2014 and the upcoming 2015 are extremely interesting and the visitors of the show will

a grand stage for the latest evolution of our product lineup. The acclaimed products, such as the evergreen flagship, the majestic R8 Roulette or the proven SL single terminals will be paired with some exciting new additions to create an unforgettable experience for all our guests at the booth No. 3639.

We are expecting our friends and clients as well as many first time visitors, to join us in a celebratory journey

have the opportunity to experience them first hand.

The work we have done so far has put Alfastreet on top among the producers of electronic table games and we will raise the bar with this year’s edition of G2E. We would like to extend the warmest welcome to everybody from gaming community to visit us at the booth No. 3639 and celebrate with us the first 20 years of success and experience the products that will shape the future of gaming industry.

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SPOTLIGHT – New products

IGT

G2E Preview

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s the gaming world waits in anticipation for the doors to G2E 2014 to open, gaming entertainment leader, IGT is poised to showcase a must-see product portfolio in booth 2139. From core titles with neverbefore-seen play mechanics and Wide Area Progress (WAP) innovations that truly speak to the Company’s pioneering spirit, IGT’s product line up will be second to none. IGT will also spotlight its leadership in sophisticated systems products and the Company’s rich capabilities in cross-platform content creation and deployment.

IGT is ready to heat up the showroom with several new game series including Hot Roulette, Mega Free Games, Dynasty Edition, King Reels and a new addition to IGT’s Video Reel Edge (VRE) family. Hot Roulette puts a new spin on IGT classics as it couples player-favorite themes Wolf Run and Enchanted Unicorn, with bonus content that allow players to engage in a touch-screen 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 relaunched collection of several of the Company’s topperforming titles including Wolf Run, Siberian Storm 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.

G2E attendees with be all revved up when they see Race Ace. Joining IGT’s skilled-based VRE family, Race Ace allows player skill to determine the bonus outcome and reward. Inspired by one of the modern day’s most famous race themes, Race Ace takes players to the track as they dodge obstacles and slam on the gas in an effort to cross the finish line first.

G2E attendees are invited to set sail for the tropics, with IGT’s all-new game, Wheel of Fortune® Jackpot Paradise®. This WAP game from “Out of the Blue,” sweeps players away to a tropical oasis where graphics

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SPOTLIGHT – New products

are pristine and payouts are plentiful. Housed on the dazzling CrystalCore cabinet, Jackpot Paradise features a 42” touch-screen interface and interactive bonus rounds. The five-reel game introduces a playful symbol set including kiwis, coconuts, beaches, bananas and more. Players will take note of increased player communications and the scale-withplay progressives, in addition to the WAP top award. Unique to this game, the top progressive is awarded from one of the games bonuses, the Jackpot Pick Bonus.

Another new addition to IGT’s portfolio is Harley–Davidson Open Road. This full-throttle gaming experience includes the IGT exclusive Enhanced Game Content feature, allowing operators to unlock new content over time – a proposition that is appealing to operators and players alike. IGT will also release sequels to many of the Company’s most beloved game families including James Cameron’s Avatar, Ghostbusters and Family Guy. Show-goers must make time to tour IGT’s recent advancements in systems technology. From player tracking, to floor management and from player engagement to elite bonusing, IGT’s systems portfolio represents a proven, end-to-end solution to effective casino management. IGT has a myriad of systems solutions and applications to maximize efficiencies, optimize ROI, consolidate floor operations and enhance the player

48

experience.

IGT’s innovative Systems have now merged online and onsite player tracking, connecting data from DoubleDown Casino with IGT’s Advantage® System.

Operators can leverage the games their players enjoy in the social casino space to promote on-site visits.

This holistic view of the player is available for operators now. To further assist operators, IGT will debut a suite of mobile apps for the Company’s Advantage® 9.2 casino management system. Mobile Host and Mobile Fills & Jackpots enable casino staff to quickly serve guests directly at the game through the use of a mobile device, increasing efficiency and improving customer service.

IGT will encourage booth guests to queue the line and get comfortable, when the Company brings back the award-winning booth feature that was first introduced last year. The interactive, multi-media experience will explore IGT’s ongoing, everbuilding millionaire-making legacy. The ride will bring to life the importance of the jackpot in the mind of the player and how it can be used as a tool to drive the industry.

No booth tour should be rounded out without a stop in IGT’s Interactive area. All eyes will be on the recent expansion of IGT’s licensing relationship with Sony and the addition of Wheel of Fortune to the Company’s social casino platform, DoubleDown Casino. With approximately 1.7 million people around the world playing every day, DoubleDown Casino offers authentic, Vegas-style entertainment better than anyone in the business. IGT will also spotlight several new titles coming soon to the for-wager online space.

To learn more about IGT and the Company’s G2E product portfolio visit igt.com or join at the conversation via @IGTNews and #igtblue.

ZITRO TAKES REVOLUTION TO LAS VEGAS

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itro is attending its yearly date with Las Vegas and will be present at one of the industry’s most important shows: G2E, which will be held between 30 September and 2 October.

In Vegas, Zitro will have a spectacular booth (no. 3853) for exhibiting its machines and games destined for the North American market as well as presenting Zitro Revolution 2014 with all of its novelties, including community games, more functionalities available for all the games and, of course, new titles.

Thanks to its Interactive Division, Zitro will be presenting new products destined to the online market via www. worldofbingo.com, the no. 1 social video bingo on Facebook.

With all of the above, those attending G2E will have the chance to verify why Zitro has the most entertaining, dynamic, exciting and profitable products, offering players a unique and unforgettable gaming experience.

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arena berlin 21 – 23 / 10 / 2014

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