STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
From a bright future for casinos to a murky future for online gaming, the American Gaming Association offered a detailed look ahead at 2008 and beyond.
American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. briefed the media on the association’s current issues, claiming that the AGA will focus on areas important to U.S. companies in 2008.
Asia is becoming a priority for the AGA because of its G2E Asia trade show. Three areas of focus in the region include responsible gaming, tougher regulation and security, which will be important categories discussed at the upcoming G2E Asia show in Macau next year.
Fahrenkopf reported that to educate themselves on the importance of compliance and methodology, regulators in Macau have met with regulators in Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Mississippi. He stressed that American operators of public companies closely monitor any problems that could affect their licenses here in the United States.
With ownership changing at many companies, Fahrenkopf also discussed the current spurt of private equity acquisitions within the industry. He said: “I am not sure if it is good or bad, but the industry is OK so far. Gaming is usually one of many industries these businesses own, and one employee concern may be job cuts.”
Government relations is a key element of the AGA’s mission. Fahrenkopf lamented the political gridlock in Washington, D.C., but praised the good relationships that the AGA has with Democrats, who currently control Congress by a small majority. Fahrenkopf reported that both Nevada senators — Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) — are on the important Ways and Means Committees, which can ultimately prove positive for gaming.
Employee Satisfaction and Expert Predictions
Fahrenkopf did praise the commercial casino industry for its opportunities and favorable working conditions for the 366,000 employees who earn $13.3 billion at 460 gaming operations in 11 states.
The AGA released the results of its national survey of 501 employees, representing a true cross-section of employee rankings. As part of the AGA’s 10th anniversary white paper series, “A Survey of Attitudes of Casino Industry Employees” was conducted by Peter D. Hart, chair of Peter D. Hart Research Associates. The poll was taken Sept. 4-6, 2007, and has a 4.4 percent +/- margin of error.
The survey determined the following:
• Majorities reported that their benefits
(63 percent), pay (62 percent), and
advance opportunities (57 percent)
were better than in former jobs.
• Almost half plan to remain in the
gaming industry for the next 10 years;
42 percent have already worked in the
industry for 10 years; and 30 percent
have been affiliated with the same
company for 10 years.
• Casino jobs offer a diverse workforce
numerous opportunities, including
those who are not college-educated.
• More than two-thirds claim better access
to healthcare than others in different
industries.
• Employees are proud to be part of the
industry, and 83 percent support the
industry’s efforts to be good corporate
citizens.
All in all, the future looks bright for gaming as it becomes more mainstream and acceptable. It is an industry offering career growth and opportunity that should surely attracts a savvy, intelligent caliber of employee.
The AGA also released its annual G2E Future Watch Series, which highlights and examines the industry’s most significant trends. This year, the “Evolution of Casino Gaming Technology” report looked at new gaming technologies, their role in the pari-mutuel industry, plus merging slot and table technology. The report also delivered a warning of technological “overload.”
The report surveyed 22 gaming executives and analysts who looked at five new technologies. The winners were server-based or downloadable games (95 percent gave it a “very” or “somewhat” bright future) and traditional games offered in an electronic, slot-based format (69 percent believe they have a bright future).
However, mobile and Instant Racing machines, which are electronic pari-mutuel betting machines that permit betting on the outcome of previously run horse races without knowing the specific race, received low marks for potential viability. Less than one-third predict mobile gaming will gain in popularity, and only 14 percent believed the Instant Racing machines will succeed. Electronic Class II is split, with half envisioning a bright future.
While Nevada remains the first venue for testing new games, two-thirds of all respondents estimate regional markets, including riverboats and racinos, will operate downloadable games within three years.
Will technological advances doom reel-type slot machines? Not necessarily, according to half the experts. They believe that reel-type games will always have a place with certain demographics, but 10 percent expect them to disappear. The remaining 40 percent predict they will end up in smaller markets or lower-end gaming halls.
The experts were divided on the future of Instant Racing machines, but everyone agreed that slots and VLTs would be profitable and significantly rejuvenate racetracks. Also, 75 percent voted that electronic table games would give slots-only markets a competitive edge with those jurisdictions that offer a full array of gaming options.
Of course, they qualified their answers as they related to location. The success of electronic games is proportional to the laws of the jurisdiction and what games are permitted. Those prohibiting traditional table games should realize greater financial success than those jurisdictions where all forms of table games are legal.
Game operation is a moot point without regulatory approval. More than half (55 percent) claim regulatory issues will remain the biggest obstacle to the success of electronic games. Another question is how they should be classified for testing. One-third call them slot machines, slightly more categorize them as tables and almost one-third believe the industry should develop a new and separate class altogether.
While technology has its advantages, it can also be overwhelming and counter-productive. Smart operators recognize that their older customers are unaccustomed to, and may not like, the technological revolution occurring on the gaming floors. In addition to difficulty in learning a game’s functions, it may also limit interaction.
Personal service and table camaraderie are hallmarks of successful casinos, and alienating older patrons is an issue under analysis. Almost 75 percent of those asked raise the concern that constant innovation may prove unappealing to older players. They will have to develop a solid balance to create the ideal experience for everyone.
Internet Gambling at a Crossroads
The State of the Industry panel has always been one of G2E’s most popular and well-attended events. Unlike former years, when the discussion focused on more generic gaming topics, this year’s group limited the conversation to Internet gaming in both the United States and overseas.
Moderated by Fahrenkopf, the panelists were MGM Mirage Chair Terry Lanni, former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato and CEO of the Alderney Gaming Control Commission Andre Wilsenach. Harrah’s Entertainment Chair Gary Loveman substituted for Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who was in Washington D.C. for important legislative voting.
Fahrenkopf opened the session with a description of what he called the “three-legged” Internet stool. He began by offering a history of why Internet gaming is prohibited in the United States. It dates back to the 1961 Wire Act, which banned using phone wires for transmission of information on odds and racing.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) personnel in both the Clinton and current Bush administrations believed the Act was broad enough to include Internet gaming. However, it is legal for horseracing wagering.
The second issue involves potential global lawsuits against the United States. Many countries claim that the American policy of allowing Internet betting on horses, but prohibiting online gaming, violates the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) treaty from 1994. The treaty set rules of trade among 123 nations, discouraging discrimination against foreign enterprises and imposing license restrictions.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) filed suits against the United States, with potential fines topping $100 billion. The GATT established the WTO to enforce the rules of trade. It supervises the trade practices of member governments, suggesting solutions to possible restraint of trade.
The third important area to monitor is a group of four proposed federal bills under discussion. First, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) wants to federally tax Internet gambling, and has 40 co-sponsors on the legislation. Following that lead, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) has proposed a tax link mechanism to accompany the Frank bill. The AGA is neutral on the Frank bill because the group advocates state regulation over federal involvement.
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) has proposed legislation claiming the Wire Act does not apply to Poker since it is a game of skill, not chance. Fahrenkopf does not predict much movement on Wexler’s proposal.
The AGA supports the fourth option, a bi-partisan bill from Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Congressman Jon Porter (R-Nev.). They represent different districts in the metropolitan Las Vegas/Henderson area. Their bill has 66 co-sponsors, and would create a one-year study group. Supervised by the National Academy of Sciences, the goal would be to determine if technology exists to block illegal bets from unapproved jurisdictions, minors and the vulnerable.
Online Poker remains a key area of dispute. D’Amato serves as president of the 800,000-member Poker Players’ Alliance (PPA). They are lobbying in every state to allow online Poker.
D’Amato railed against former Senator Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). He accused Frist of pandering to religious conservatives in his failed presidential nomination bid by attaching a bill, which banned online Poker, onto the Port Security Act. The legislation was passed in the middle of the night.
On Nov. 13 the House Judiciary Committee, the key authority over Internet gaming matters, held an Internet gaming hearing. A PPA representative testified, as did experts on international trade and age-verification technology. Representatives from the DOJ and the U.S. Treasury also participated.
One DOJ witness admitted that it is not illegal for individuals to wager on the Internet. This confirmation refutes any criminal liability for Poker players when they place a bet online. She also acknowledged a lack of evidence that Internet gaming sites launder money to finance terrorism.
A leading provider of verification services also described the number of available products — with almost 100 percent reliability — that can keep children from age-restricted websites.
Congressional hearings are one of numerous aspects vital to a positive outcome, and D’Amato believes the Alliance will ultimately triumph. He said: “Congress will wake up because of the WTO lawsuits. They cannot enforce rights of intellectual property with other countries and then limit this. The WTO will be the catalyst.”
Loveman said that Harrah’s World Series of Poker (WSP) dropped slightly after the bill’s passage, but remains one of America’s top 11 sports leagues. He said Harrah’s would only consider expanding into those countries where online Poker was “demonstrably legal.”
Although Harrah’s cannot be the “face of it,” Loveman said the company should insist on legal, responsible online gaming. He acknowledged limited enthusiasm for the progression to the next level for online gaming, and estimated another 10 years before it really takes hold.
D’Amato has stronger ambitions for his association. He said, “I hope to see action in 12 to 18 months. I think Poker will be the first to break the barrier, especially once the sanctions affect the insurance companies and the attorneys.”
Wilsenach claimed the Frist bill had no real effect on Alderney. Regulators want assurances that the United States can be excluded. No longer restricted to offshore jurisdictions, the U.K. now permits regulated online gambling.
British legislation has created a “white list” provision, compelling any U.K. operator to submit his operation for scrutiny and placement on the favorable directory. This has also raised the international regulatory level. Wilsenach said: “Our early focus was to keep crime out and ensure fair games. Our priority has shifted to player protection for the vulnerable and under age.”
He claimed that online gaming has superior restraining tools over land-based casinos. It may curb play via specifying which bank accounts are restricted for problem gamblers. Also, it has a thorough audit trail to settle disputes and monitor spending.
Lanni stressed that player confidence is rooted in brand name integrity. Although MGM Mirage’s Isle of Man endeavor failed, he claimed it proved that the technology exists to determine a player’s identity, age and history of problem gambling.
The Isle of Man lies in the Irish Sea between U.K. and Ireland. Although not part of the U.K., it often assimilates many U.K. laws into its own.
Lanni opposes any federal action, pushing for effective state legislation wherever MGM Mirage operates. He hopes that upon entering office in January 2009, the new American president will have an enlightened view on gaming, regardless of party affiliation. However, he did state, “Unfortunately, my Republican Party thinks everything is a social issue …”
G2E POST-SHOW REVIEW - ASSOCIATIONS
Gaming Standards Association
The Gaming Standards Association’s adoption and implementation of G2S standards was shown at G2E — it showcased multiple servers, multiple systems, back ends and vendors talking to multiple games. The company’s booth was lined with slot machines from practically every manufacturer, all connected together and working to display the beginning of interoperability.
The next step will be to verify implementation by a certification program that will take place at the beginning of next year. Afterward a plug-fest will be held, where various multi-vendor environments will work seamlessly together. Once this is in place, it will drive the business through new applications.
GSA President Peter DeRaedt explained: “As Jay Walker said in his presentation yesterday, it is an analogy to the power plug that was invented in 1900. Nobody knew or anticipated microwaves, dishwashers, laundry machines and toasters being invented. An open standard enabled these inventions. The same analogy applies to the Internet … GSA will do the same thing for the gaming industry.”
The International Masters of Gaming Law
The International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote education, advance gaming law as a profession, and disseminate information and ideas relevant to the issues, practices and development of gaming law.
The group meets twice annually — once in the U.S. and once in an international location — to discuss current legal topics in gaming. The invitation-only membership process defines a level of expertise and integrity for consideration. A minimum of five years experience is required for both regular and associate memberships, which includes regulators, in-house counsel attorneys, gaming educators, consultants and accountants.
Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers
For Jack Bulavsky, the executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, G2E is all about exposure. The organization cosponsors the show and has a small booth, using the show primarily to build awareness of its mission and the benefits membership provides to gaming equipment manufacturers and vendor companies of all sizes.
“Along with seeing people at our booth, I always walk the entire show floor and introduce myself to as many people as possible,” Bulavsky said. “We are always trying to grow our membership and the show affords an ideal time to meet with potential members, learn about their businesses, and find out what benefits they are looking for from our organization.”
Bulavsky said that G2E is also a good time for him to catch up with AGEM members, see the new products, services and technologies they are unveiling, and receive updates on news, activities and trends within their organizations.
G2E POST-SHOW REVIEW SLOT - MANUFACTURERS
IGT GETS IT ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT
IGT showcased all the right games, all the right systems, and all the right solutions to complete the right vision for today’s gaming floor, as well as tomorrow’s, during this year’s G2E. With a product line as diverse as IGT’s, organization played a vital part in effectively showcasing its products. Starting on the north side of booth #915, IGT displayed its slots in all their various forms, then its systems solutions, its table game offerings, its international products, and finally its online division, WagerWorks.
It’s hard to pick and choose favorites at IGT’s booth, but perhaps the most exciting area of IGT’s slot line was in the MegaJackpots® category. Its latest offering, eBay™, drew a huge crowd at the booth with its group-play free-spins bonus, 243 different ways to win, a 25-line multiplier option and 250-credit max bets, not to mention its incredible graphics. IGT also introduced a redesigned version of Wheel of Fortune® Super Spin™ with a smaller footprint, featuring five player stations facing a vertical wheel. One of the stars at the show was definitely the Star Wars™ multi-level progressive. The banked progressive featured a movie-theme showcasing R2-D2 inspired top-boxes. Another exciting product was on the Indiana Jones™ and the Last Crusade™ theme, utilizing the company’s multi-layer display (MLD) technology that produces a 3-D representation of the reels, which transforms into a video LCD display when players trigger the bonus round. “The multi-layer display is really an amazing technology that you have to see to get the full effect,” said Rick Sorensen, public relations manager for IGT.
IGT brought a variety of new games specifically for international markets to the show as well. “We’re showcasing three new multi-level progressive linked products: Money Chimes™, 8 Immortals™, and Virtua Fighter™,” Brenda Boudreaux, VP of product management, said. “All of the progressives offer amazing graphics and exciting bonus rounds to get to the progressive. We’ve also got some great new products out for the Mexican gaming market.”
WagerWorks is the online subsidiary of IGT, offering IGT game titles to the world through its WagerWare® Casino Platform. The platform includes a complete suite of casino games, registration, verification and banking systems, casino management tools and regulatory compliance protocols. Besides highlighting a variety of new titles at G2E, WagerWorks was excited to showcase its recent ability to provide games on other Internet wagering platforms, making its extensive game library available to more players. Paul Mathews, WagerWorks’ president, said, “WagerWorks rgs™ (remote game server) now enables operators to add our game titles to their current iGaming platform without investing in a new casino system. This saves the operators money and gives the players what they want. We’re really excited to offer this new feature.”
ARISTOCRAT STARTS TODAY, WORKS TOMORROW
The Aristocrat booth, as always, was a vibrant gold and blue hub on the G2E gaming floor this year, with a new innovation, game title, platform or cabinet down every aisle. Highlights were the new GEN7™ platform and Viridian™ cabinet … not to mention the Reel Power stepper, the Power Pay ante bet addition, the Player’s World multi-game Hyper-link® jackpot Cash Express™ brand, and The Sopranos™ 3-progressive level slot package.
With a sleek new look and an ability to run emulated Mark VI games, server-supported games, server-based games and its own titles, GEN7 is truly “the platform for the next 10 years,” according to Senior VP of Sales Sean Evans.
Inspired by customers’ apprehensions about server-based gaming and the future of their gaming floors, Aristocrat developed the platform’s interface to allow those customers to update their floors now with adaptable technology that won’t soon be obsolete. “I think we’re definitely the first manufacturer to look to the future and say, ‘Hey, there’s a board you can get today that’s going to be able to drive your server-based gaming solution,” Evans said. “It really takes the uncertainty away from the operators.”
With the internal overhaul came a facelift as well, with the Viridian cabinet. A simplified button panel features just six color-coded buttons, as the line selection and bet multiplier have been moved onscreen to provide for easy transition to downloadable games. Another unique feature is a new dynamic scorecard in the top- box that changes as players adjust their bets. “It really gets across to the players exactly how they’ve won and how much the win was,” Director of Marketing Doug Fallon commented.
Another major bonus: Because the platform can support Mark VI games in emulation with a LCD top-box image, there is already a complete library of titles ready to be played. “Gen 7 games bring an enhanced version of our popular MKVI game brand, incorporating the Easy Play interface, dynamic scorecards, and other refinements to increase the player experience,” Fallon said. “Its graphics capabilities are enhanced as well as its sound, providing our game designers new tools to offer rich game play."
Beyond player appeal and ease of operation, Aristocrat also kept operators and technicians in mind when it designed the new look. Incorporating energy efficiency, flash-drive OS updates, fold-down panels providing access to the cash box right from the belly, and split doors to keep weight off the hinges, Fallon says tech services guys think the redesign is simply “fantastic.”
On the Aristocrat show floor, downloadable and server-based gaming were not just mysterious features of the GEN7s in the future. Rather, attendees were taken on a journey of networked gaming solutions starting with today and working toward tomorrow. Server-supported gaming was demonstrated in the form of a joint venture with Bally Technologies combining the best of Aristocrat’s approved Downloadable Technology with the Gaming Standards Association’s G2S protocol. This product will enable operators to deliver multiple manufacturers’ proprietary game content through a single interface. True Server Based Gaming was showcased through Aristocrat’s ACE Interactive™ system, where game play occurs at the server level. With the intelligence of the system at the server level, we gain an unprecedented amount of operator flexibility, transactional and player information and the ability to ‘link’ players creating new types of game play and interaction,” Fallon said.
Other innovations included Xtra Reel Power™, where the players play reels instead of lines, offering up to 1,024 ways to win; Power Pay™, where an ante bet qualifies the player for extra features in any standard game; Banana King, a new Double Standalone Progressive line of games with six bonus features; and Player’s World, a multi-game package based on Aristocrat’s popular Cash Express Hyperlink products out in the field today. “It really allows players to try out different games and math models on the Aristocrat Cash Express link, and still qualify for these jackpots,” Fallon commented.
Another new Aristocrat product provided one of the most exciting moments of the show, the ribbon cutting ceremony featuring “The Sopranos” actors James Gandolfini and Steve Schirripa. The two stars were promoting the new The Sopranos™ slot title. A 3-level mystery-style linked progressive, the game’s sleek lines complement a scrolling row of LCD screen top-boxes that highlight big jackpot winners and play clips from the show.
As for the inspiration for all these new products, Evans says Aristocrat’s 54 years of gaming experience helps. “A lot of our products are evolutionary products,” he said, “taking two strong performing products … and marrying them together.”
Now we’ll just have to wait and see what year 55 brings …
BALLY CREATES THE FUTURE ... TODAY!
Bally was on fire again this year at G2E with a theme of “The Future … TODAY!” The company showcased more video and mechanical reel products, cabinets, platforms, systems, and game titles than ever before, all with a focus on advanced technology that allows operators a high return on investment almost immediately.
To really create “The Future … TODAY!” Bally started by revamping its Class II offerings. The company displayed its expanded Class II library thanks to the relationships it has with companies like Atronic, Konami, WMS and Aristocrat that make it possible to take some of their best Class III games and roll them out as Class II machines. “Our license sharing relationships with companies like Atronic, Konami, WMS and Aristocrat help to offer Class II customers a wider selection of game content,” Scott Wilson one of Bally’s key Class II product managers said. Now Class II operators can fill out their floors with almost all of the titles they desire.
One of the highlights in Bally’s Class II category was the roll-out of the first ever wide-area progressive. The progressive is based on Bally’s proven Quick Hit™ format. “It’s our biggest launch to date and is the first WAP to be introduced in the Class II market so far, with a top-award of $1 million,” Wilson said. Bally expects to have its new Class II WAP on casino floors by this February. New progressive offerings in the Class III market were also on display. Bally showcased these new 4-reel Hot Shot Frenzy™ progressive titles: Bonus Frenzy™, Triple Bonus Frenzy™, Double Bonus Frenzy™ and Fireball Frenzy™.
Bally is going wide-screen with its new cabinet designs, and highlighted its CineVision™ and CineReels™ cabinets, as well as its new upright models V20, V20/V20 and V32 during the show. “These new video slots use the same 16:9 aspect ratio found in modern high-end LCD and plasma TVs and look amazing on the floor,” Michael Daly, senior product manager for Bally, said. Every game that is offered in Bally’s upright mechanical reel line will be available on the new CineReels platform, which will also offer the industry’s first 7-mechanical reel game. “There are about 40 different titles already available on the CineReels platform,” Daly said. Using the same cinematic experience it created with CineVision and CineReels, Bally also created a new bar-top product that also features a high-definition wide-screen display.
Another exciting product showcased at Bally’s booth was a revamped version of its legendary GameMaker™ platform. The GameMaker® HD™ product is now available in a new high-definition format and features the GameMaker Scheduler. GameMaker Scheduler allows operators to schedule game content and denomination changes right on the machine for different days and at different times of the day. It also allows operators to program real-time tournaments on the machines, which quickly switch into regular play mode as soon as the tournament ends.
Atronic
“Atronic is no longer just a video slot company,” Krista Colonna, Atronic’s senior marketing manager, said during the 2007 Global Gaming Expo. And it was evident after taking a look around “Atronic’s City of Games” booth that the company has much more to offer the gaming industry than your typical video slot.
Featured at the booth was Atronic’s expanded product line, including its new slant-top machines, Passion Slots™ and a new multi-player roulette station. “We are very excited about the exclusive manufacturing and distribution we have in North America for the Alfastreet multi-player roulette station,” Colonna said. “We already have one placed in Minnesota and its doing phenomenally well.”
Atronic is also expanding on its success of the Deal or No Deal™ product, offering new ways to play the popular title: Deal or No Deal the Experience™, which is a two-level progressive; and Deal or No Deal Mega Deal™, which is a rapid-hitting wide-area progressive with a top award starting at $50,000.
Another series of products that attracted a lot of attention at Atronic’s booth was its new Passion Slots™ shown with a bold new design and an interactive top screen that promises to take bonus rounds to a whole new level. The new Passion Slots were shown with a reel slot version of Deal or No Deal™ and The Game of Life™. The company has also expanded its dollar slot line, adding four new titles including the savvy graphics of Sphinx™ and Bengal Tigers™. Its low profile slant-top machines have made it over from the International markets, which is also something very exciting for the company.
But perhaps one of the most exciting things on display at the show for Atronic involved its recent partnership with IGT to develop server-assisted gaming. The new cabinet e-motionSC™ that Atronic has developed for its Server Assisted Gaming - SAG™ solutions builds on its already popular e-motion™ cabinet. It allows for server-assisted gaming powered by AVP, making denomination changes, game title changes, and marketing features easier than ever. “Atronic is very excited about its partnership with IGT. We know that great things will come out of it for operators across the world,” Colonna said.
Aruze
A constant stream of attendees flowed into Aruze’s booth at this year’s show, all checking out the latest the Japanese company has to offer. One of the highlights was the G-ENEX machine. Players are transported into a different world with the cabinet’s amazing visuals and enhanced digital sound, which allows the game to come alive. Another big hit was Roulette King, the world’s first multi-terminal Roulette machine with mystery progressive jackpot. With the “Round & Round Bonus,” players got a rush of excitement as chaser lights raced around the monitors, gradually slowing to reveal a jackpot progressive prize; with the Dealer’s Angels Blackjack, players received the sense of a live table while playing at the fast pace of a machine. The company also focused on RESCUE PAY, a new game insurance system that represents a freely-selectable feature that allows players to recoup a fixed amount of credits lost during the course of play. By all accounts, to those at Aruze, the show was deemed a great success.
Spielo, a GTECH Company
With only four G2Es under its belt, Victor Duarte, GTECH/Spielo’s VP and COO, said it’s been a cumulative effort to get to where it is today. “Each year we’ve worked harder and harder on our efforts, and it’s great to see all those efforts come together at the show,” Duarte said. “This year we’ve definitely stepped it up. In my mind, and the feeling is shared by our team, this is our best show yet.”
One of the reasons the Spielo team was so proud of its showing this year was the quality and breadth of its product library. For the first time, Spielo introduced a progressive product. “[We debuted] our Fortune Frenzy™ multi-tiered random progressive at the show, and we’re really enthusiastic about it,” Duarte said. Among other exciting features, Fortune Frenzy allows players to win even if they don’t have a winning combination, a twist to standard progressive play.
Among the other standouts at Spielo’s booth were dozens of its new video-reel slot titles, including Magic Beans™, Spanish Gold™, King’s Fortune™, Rock N’ Riches™ and Medusa II, Sisters of Stone™. The company also featured the Artlist Collection’s THE DOG™ series of video reel games, including the three titles that are currently available: Paw Print$™, Pick of the Litter™ and Best in Show™.
Of course, Spielo’s booth wouldn’t be complete without the exhibition of its TournaMaster linked slot tournament system. Operators had a chance to see first hand the benefits of Spielo’s tournament solution during a live TournaMaster event held at the booth each day of the show. TournaMaster gives operators the ability to quickly conduct slot tournaments that are controlled from a single, easy-to-use console, which quickly turns back to revenue-generating live game play at the tournament’s conclusion.
Another new system featured at the show was Spielo’s integrated electronic gaming machine application that can be played in either Bingo or video slot mode alone or in both formats at the same time in a split-screen configuration. “We’ve had a lot of interest in this Bingo product and just won a huge order in Manitoba,” Duarte said.
All of these products are available on Spielo’s newest and slimmest gaming cabinet, prodiGi™. The prodiGi cabinet features colorful high-resolution graphics, crisp stereo sound and outstanding player comfort features. The company also brought LCD button panels and widescreen LCD prototypes as options on the cabinet to obtain feedback from customers at the show.
Spielo is very optimistic about where it is headed in the coming years. “In 2008 we will continue to develop innovative products under GTECH’s Gaming Solutions umbrella. We are also very excited about the Atronic acquisition, which will definitely be a huge part of our Gaming Solutions business in the coming years,” Duarte added.
Konami Steps Up
Konami stepped up its game at this year’s G2E, showcasing its enhanced slot platforms, its advanced Konami Casino Management System (KCMS), and its new and exciting progressive products.
One of the company’s biggest show-stoppers was the Advantage 5™ upright platform. The Advantage 5 is the first 5-reel stepper platform, featuring full-size mechanical reels; LED lights behind the reels that display up to 256 colors; a large VFD for displaying game information; a lit, clear belly plex that is illuminated with a rotating color display; forward and reverse spin where a player can stop the reels; a mirrored row of lights in the top-box for dimensional lighting attract features; and a 19” touchscreen LCD top-box.
Another product on display was the Pirate’s Loot™ 4-level linked mystery progressive that the company developed to support both video and stepper platforms. The product features a randomly triggered feature game; the choice of one of the 12 ships to reveal the Goblet, Ring, Jewel or Treasure Chest symbols once the feature game is triggered; and the chance to win when a player hits three of the same symbol from any one progressive level. “One of the best things about our progressive products is that unlike many of our competitors, you can use the product on either video reels or stepper reels platforms,” Leah Steinhart, marketing director, said. “It really helps differentiate us.”
Another key product Konami had on display was its Diamond Point™ 3-level linked mystery progressive. Diamond Point was developed on Konami’s K2V platform, and allows the progressive levels to hit at random; the amount wagered determines how frequently the levels are hit. Diamond Point features a 3-level linked mystery progressive; compatibility with a variety of different products on the same progressive link; and compatibility with all K2V games, ScatteReels games, 27-Ways games and Advantage+ platform.
AC Coin & Slot
“It’s all about the win for AC Coin & Slot at this year’s G2E,” Nat Holt, the company’s director of sales, said. “The win for the player, the win for the property and the win for AC Coin & Slot.”
The company showcased 89 games and 35 new themes under its Mega Bonus Slots™ brand, including hot new community-style games like Super Pirates of Bonus Island™, Mushroom Mojo™, Slotto® Volcano, Super Bankroll Bonus™, Merlin’s Castle and the return of one of its oldest and most popular titles, Empire™, as a four-station community game.
AC Coin & Slot also showcased several new features within its line of incredibly successful upright products — the company expanded the configurations to 20, 25, 30 and 40-payline games with max configurable bets available in more denoms, allowing operators much more versatility in how and where they want their games set-up. Some of the hot new titles for the company’s upright games included: Bankroll Diamond Edition™, Bingo Nights Jumbo Jackpots™, Triple Double Stars ™ and Bewitched™ Spin.
But perhaps the most exciting thing happening at the AC Coin & Slot booth was its recent partnership with Slingo, one of the most successful casual online gaming companies in the world. The AC Coin & Slot/Slingo partnership has resulted in Slingo Bonus Deluxe™, a three-station community-style bonusing game based off of Slingo’s extremely popular online game. The new partnership will also allow AC Coin & Slot to feature some of its hottest slot titles online through www.slingo.com. “This has been a great draw for us,” Holt said. “Players become very engaged by the Slingo bonusing experience and bright LCD slot format. And that’s really what operators want: engaged players.”
Ainsworth
Ainsworth has been busy this past year taking its base Australian games and targeting them for the North American gaming market. All of the 12 base games the company displayed at this year’s G2E are approved by GLI, but with added features for the North American market.
Some of the unique features include one- or two-level stand-alone mystery progressives and a 4-level symbol driven linked progressive system. The company has also taken its patented concept of Hot Reels™, kept the same base games, and added that Hot Reel to some of its North American game offerings. (Hot Reels is an ante-bet game that sky rockets the game’s volatility.) Hot Reels just recently received approval from GLI. “We call it game plus, the choice is yours,” Rick Meitzler, senior VP of Ainsworth’s North American operations, said of the company’s Hot Reels product.
In 2008 Ainsworth is focused on launching into the New Jersey and Pennsylvania marketplace, but the company won’t stop there. Ainsworth has submitted its request for licenses in 16 jurisdictions, and hopes to have approvals in all by the end of next year. “The launch of North America is big for the company,” Meitzler said. “We will offer more titles with combinations of Hot Reels and progressives to come in the next year.”
VGT
“We have been doing a tremendous amount of work on our server-based system over the last year or so,” said Video Game Technologies VP of Engineering John R. Taylor III. “One of the things that we have added into the mix is our mystery jackpots.” Players can earn prizes in one of two ways, by achieving the game ending pattern or any of a number of intermediate jackpot Bingo patterns during the course of the game.
VGT’s Live Call Bingo platform allows players to win a wide range of prizes. VGT has a line of 5-reel mechanical stepper slots that are currently in field trials in Oklahoma. The NIGC was concerned about network interfaces in the casino and VGT machines meeting NIGC MICS requirements with controlled access to cash drop and hard meters. Full network monitoring for all of its clients is now in place. All of the servers that deliver the game content are remotely monitored. In the Class II and Oklahoma Compact environments, VGT has offered a number of games featuring free spins, called Red Screen free spins. The games are heavily peppered with free spins games. The games at G2E featured both SAS and S2S interfaces, all connected to a common casino back-office system. “The Class II Bingo market and the S2S interface are just made for each other,” explained Taylor. “We have been a leader in the S2S interface. I think we had the first S2S casino up and running.”
Rocket Gaming
Robert DelRossi, COO of Rocket Gaming, views his company’s Class II business “almost like a broadcast network. Like NBC or CBS, we produce content the same way they produce content. We’re always on the lookout for the next, great content. We want the next “Survivor.” Rocket’s goal is to continue to grow its network. The company’s licensing of Bally Technologies and Aristocrat’s content is working very well. Rocket’s central determination system includes downloadable games, multi-denominational games, third-party software licensing and the largest wide-area progressive jackpots in the Class II market.
Featured at the show was the introduction of Jackpot Jubilee™, with multiple games inside the brand. Each game is independent but plays toward a bonus round where players collect jewels. Depending upon the number of jewels collected during the bonus round, various prizes are awarded. “Our core model is Indian Country,” DelRossi said. “We are a supporter of U.S. Indian Country. We are not looking to expand all over the world or to have games on the strip. We value our long-term relationships with our customers. We will support them with whatever games they desire, and whatever product and service they need.”
Multimedia Games
Multimedia Games was “Ready to Play” at this year’s show, bringing some 44 new game themes to its booth along with Bonus Revolution™, Sport of Kings™ and Emperor’s Fortunes™, which “officially marked our entry into the Class III standalone gaming and new community bonus concepts,” said Chris Martin, VP of marketing. Bonus Revolution, which is compatible with Multimedia Games’ Class III games lineup, is unique in that it introduces a new unified player bonus innovation to the gaming industry. The Bonus Revolution feature synchronizes the top LCD screens of each linked machine and displays bonus multipliers that move from one machine to the next, accelerating at first, and then decelerating to a stop. The value that appears on the player’s machine at the end of the bonus is the value he wins from 30x to 1000x his bet.
CYBERVIEW SYSTEMS STAY AHEAD
The first to offer approved server-based gaming, Cyberview continues in the systems technology market. All of the games available for a particular machine are stored within the machine itself. As a result, enabling a game is extremely quick and easy. The scheduler has been upgraded and offers more features for the operator, including both visual and textual reports; the software allows the operator to view game performance in order to better analyze what games should be available and at what times. As well as game titles, multimedia content can be sent to the machine. Streaming video and casino property marketing information can be displayed on the top LCD screen, as well as game paytables and pertinent game information.
Cyberview’s Remote Diagnostics Application (RDA) is designed to simplify support for the operation and management of its downloadable games. Connecting from a central back-office location to a game, support engineers can diagnose and repair almost all possible problems with software-related issues. Should the problem not be fixable from a remote location, the diagnostic software provides the appropriate information for the requisite repair. Of particular interest is Cyberview’s Time Gaming. Described as “an alternative to Guaranteed Play™ by Walker Digital, “Cyberview’s system works slightly different. Players purchase a prescribed amount of time on the machine, and the credit meter never swings in a negative direction. It will remain at zero until the player has a win, but never dip below zero. During bonus rounds the clock stops, in order to maximize the players’ performance and enjoyment of the game.
Cyberview is moving toward G2S for networking and will support open networked systems, and players will be able to take full advantage of these features. Highlighted at the show was the first mainstream Xbox 360 game in a gaming machine format. The game was a full 3-D pinball game adapted for time gaming. The introduction of a new type of game will add a great deal of value to the industry. With the pinball games, only two buttons are required for the flippers. Joysticks may soon be added to slot machines, merging the amusement industry with the casino gaming industry.
WMS MAXES ITS EDGE
It was easy to see the edge WMS had over many of the other booths at this year’s G2E — its new “Casino Evolved” concept was at work throughout every inch of its booth. “We brought 82 new products with us to the show, which is basically our entire 2008 product catalog,” Rob Bone, WMS’ VP of marketing, said. “We’ve hit every category, including 3-reel and 5-reel mechanical, video and specialty.”
Those specialty products are what have helped set WMS apart from the rest. “We’ve really become known for our innovations over the past 12 months,” Bone added. Its products developed on the company’s Community Gaming, Sensory Immersion Gaming and Transmissive-Reels Gaming platforms that have given WMS its edge.
This year at G2E the company didn’t just bring new products under those platforms. It upped its game by unveiling even more advanced gaming solutions to its customers. “One of the highlights of the show for us is the debut of our next disruptive technology platform called Adaptive Gaming,” Bone said. “Adaptive Gaming technology delivers the first personalized and episodic player experience on the slot floor.” WMS launched this platform using the Star Trek™ brand, leveraging its wide-area network capabilities and advanced WAGE-NET server-based system. “The Star Trek title is fully immersive and adapts to player preferences and play history to give players the most advanced gaming experience on the floor,” Bone said. Inside the cabinet of Star Trek are three stories that gradually unlock as costumers play and earn “medals” that give them access to higher levels of play. Players can save their progress and pick up from where they left off during their next gaming session.
WMS also showcased seven new games under its three main technology platforms. On the Transmissive Reels platform, WMS launched John Wayne®, Bruce Lee™ and Monopoly™ Jackpot Station™. On the Community Gaming platform, the company introduced Press Your Luck™. WMS also unveiled a new twist on its Community Gaming products with Bigger Bang Piggy Bakin’™, which features the industry’s first competitive communal bonus round. On the Sensory Immersion platform, WMS showcased The Wizard of Oz™ and Dirty Harry®. Both feature engaging interactive bonus rounds and crisp, clear audio clips on the Bose® 3Space™ audio system powered by the CPU-NXT2 platform.
“We’ve completely carpet-bombed our 3- and 5-reel mechanical slot sectors with innovations: We’ve got 3-reel mechanical standards, 3-reel mechanicals with bonus bets, 3-reel mechanicals with mystery progressives and the same offerings in our 5-reel mechanical line,” Bone said. “We’ve really come up with a lot of solutions based on our success in the video reel category.”
In the progressive product category, WMS has some exciting technology up its sleeve. “One of the big things at the show is on our Monopoly line. The latest version is called Up, Up and Away™. It has an artificial intelligence engine and real-time 3-D graphics that never give anyone the same bonus. It’s amazing,” Bone said. The company is also launching Super Jackpot Stampede® and Happy Days™, which offer unique ways to play for the progressive awards.
As far as what the future holds for WMS, the company is not about to wait around for the next big thing. “We’re not waiting for network gaming to unearth all these applications we can take advantage of. We have that and we’re showing that in our vault. We’re bringing the future of the gaming floor today in such a way that when network gaming comes, our products will grow into it. That’s really what we’re excited about,” Bone said.
Cadillac Jack
At this year’s G2E, Cadillac Jack proved itself as an innovative provider of Class II and Class III gaming for both U.S. and international markets.
The company demonstrated a strong product portfolio for the Class III market including their new Wide Area Progressive product, Mega Money Maker™, and new titles with the company’s SpeedPlay™ and PlusPlay™ technology. “We compete in the Class III market and are looking to significantly increase our footprint in the coming months. Our technology is advanced and allows us to compete effectively,” said Mike Macke, chair and CEO of Cadillac Jack. Cadillac Jack’s director of marketing, Gina Lanphear, added that expanding into the Class III market will be a big part of the company’s growth in the coming years.
As a leader in the Class II marketplace, Cadillac Jack offered over 14 new Class II titles at the show and the company’s flagship Wide Area Progressive, Cadillac Cash™. “The amount and quality of products we have on display here clearly defines us as one of the leaders in the Class II marketplace,” Macke said.
Cadillac Jack has also emerged as a leading supplier in the growing Mexican gaming market, currently one of the best markets for Cadillac Jack. “In Mexico, we continue to increase our market share at a rapid rate. The Mexico market is a strong, key market for us,” Macke said.
On the systems side, Cadillac Jack featured an enterprise-level gaming system with a fully-functioning patron management module, as well as accounting and tax modules. The system can also be coupled with mobile POS devices, allowing attendants to recharge cards right at the slot machine. Cadillac Jack’s system is primarily deployed in the Mexico market.
“Some of the advantages of our system are that there is no in-game system hardware to buy and there is no fork-lifting of existing equipment,” Kunal Mishra, VP of product management and marketing, said. “We simply connect to servers, enabling the Cadillac Jack system to transact with not only our machines, but other vendors as well. It is a lower cost of entry for a very powerful solution.”
Cadillac Jack’s accounting software also features fully customizable tax reporting and a comprehensive set of reports that allow the operator to monitor everything from individual game performance to game trend analysis.
G2E POST-SHOW REVIEW - SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY
Agilysys expands to total solution
This year’s Agilysys is not last year’s Agilysys. With the acquisitions of Visual One Systems and InfoGenesis, and an expansive offering of integrated products, Agilysys has broken out of its previous niche in the gaming industry. According to Tina Stehle, senior VP and GM of Agilysys’ hospitality solution division, the company now has a complete product portfolio for the hospitality industry, from the front to the back of the house. This G2E was the first time the companies came together as a single group with all their products.
One of those products, an integration and expansion of an InfoGenesis product, is Analytics™, which allows managers to drill further down into POS data from an intellectual standpoint, ferreting out discrepancies and other areas that demand attention. With fierce competition between properties, Stehle says these functions are a must for a casino to distinguish itself from a profitability standpoint. Agilysys will be using the Analytics model throughout its product line, such as MMS and LMS.
Another product featured at the Agilysys booth was the DataMagine Sign & Secure™, a handheld device that allows pay at the table. The difference is this solution electronically captures all guest transactions, including guest signature, and archives for instant retrieval. This solution will allow properties to avoid the numerous write-offs by guests that they incur today.
The time after a major acquisition — let alone two — is often chaotic for a company, but Agilysys made integration a priority, bringing all its products, employees and customers under one umbrella and ensuring consistency across the board.
“The integration that we have between our products — you can call one company, one hotline for all of our products — I think is a real key strength. We have already integrated all our help desks together, so it’s one 1-800 number to call,” Stehle said. “That’s the key: to be able to have a tighter integration with all these software applications. It’s easier for our customers to manage. All companies make acquisitions, but we’re keeping our company as one and working as a team.”
And that team is always looking for new players. According to Stehle, more growth potential is on the horizon. “We’re still going to grow, both organically and possibly through more acquisitions,” she said. “We’re always reviewing solutions that can help properties to be more profitable and differentiate themselves from their competition.”
As for 2008, Stehle says further improvement is the top priority. “We’ll definitely [be focusing on] new products, including further integration between InfoGenesis, LMS, MMS and the Visual One product line,” she explained.
One new product in 2008 will be the company’s next Property Management System, Guest360. Guest360 is an open database and platform PMS that will capture the features and functionality that properties are requesting for their guest experience in 2010. “We want to be forward-thinking in our next generation PMS and have received input from our customers and industry on our direction,” Stehle said.
Card Scanning Solutions
This year Card Scanning Solutions focused on its Snap Shell device, which is a driver’s license reading technology based on optical character recognition that can recognize and authenticate licenses from all 50 states. According to Sales Engineer Avi Zara, it is also vastly beneficial to player tracking systems. “What we’re doing is capturing an image of the drivers license,” he said, “separating the portrait image and signature image and providing the entire image of the ID in addition to populating [player tracking] data fields — first name, last name, address, etc. … We’re able to increase productivity as far as data entry is concerned and eliminate errors.”
“We’re able to create a paperless environment and a streamlined environment as far as guest relations are concerned,” he added.
Plans for 2008 include the release of a passport-scanning version and the incorporation of smart chip technology.
EC Development
It might be a small company, but members from EC Development came to G2E to show that they could compete with the big guys. Its Tahoe Casino Management System allows a way for management personnel to keep track of their floor all in one system ... even if the floor has a mix of Class II and Class III games. “It is one of, if not the only, system out there that is capable of providing full casino functionality across the floor,” said Gene Estep, CEO of Estep Business Group. “The response has been really positive,” noted John Bunch, executive VP of Estep Business Group, “especially from tribal casinos, who can’t afford our competitors’ packages.”
Iverson Gaming Systems
Iverson Gaming Systems showed its account-based gaming device, which is currently awaiting approval for domestic use by GLI. The device, which is actually a full-fledged computer with all the abilities of a PC, is located within the machine. Using a touchscreen program, the software offers cash back, or allows players to gamble it back into the machine. Players may also maintain their account privacy by using specific prompts on the touchscreen program.
William Ryan Group
The William Ryan Group showcased its real-time slot services inside the Bally Technologies booth at this year’s G2E. “Our products and services provide ways for operators to really maximize time and revenue,” Tom Platt, the William Ryan Group’s gaming segment director, said. “We have a variety of different modules available to help dispatch, optimize and enhance the quality of staff.”
NRT Technologies Corporation
NRT Technologies Corporation’s latest product, QuickJack™ 2, was just launched in Macau, where the machines do not dispense coins — they dispense bills in the value of the player ticket redeemed, then print a ticket for the amount of the coins. The addition of the ticket printer allows for a wide variety of functionality for this machine. With its host of advanced features, this product should perform well on open networks. It includes a range of multimedia applications on a touchscreen and upper LCD panel. Patrons can perform way-finding on their machine, which includes a graphical map of the casino floor. Event printing is also possible. Patrons can select casino events, pay through cash, debit, credit cards or player card redemption, then receive printed tickets. The BackOffice system allows the operators to remotely examine the machines, identifying levels of tickets, paper, coins, bill cassettes, etc. A full set of reporting allows for reconciliation or any other reports required by the operators.
Global Cash Access
Global Cash Access’ (GCA) offerings ran the gamut at G2E this year, with a slew of new products, including new marketing services, TITO integration interfaces, and applications for the Arriva card, and several major partnerships, including one with credit card powerhouse First Data Corporation. According to Executive Vice President Diran Kludijan, GCA now has partnerships with four major TITO manufacturers, making it possible for casino patrons to cash out a ticket, break bills, withdraw cash, or get a credit or debit card advance from a single machine.
Another big TITO initiative is the company’s EDITH product, which can attach to the end of a slot bank and allows a customer to obtain a slot ticket with the swipe of a debit card. “If somebody has a slot ticket, he has to insert that whole ticket into a slot. So [the casino] gets 100 percent drop,” Kludijan said. “That’s a big advantage to the casino. For the patron, it’s very convenient because the Edith devices are right on the slot floor, as opposed to on the peripheral, where ATMs are typically found.”
Services GCA is now able to offer exclusively to casinos through its partnership with First Data include merchant services for credit card processing, gift card programs with multi-purse capability, and Money Network payroll card programs to eliminate the cost and bother associated with paper checks.
IGT STREAMLINES SYSTEM SOLUTIONS
On the systems side for IGT, Javier Saenz, VP of strategy for network systems, explained the importance of preserving the operators’ current investments. “We can’t ask our operators to jump off a cliff and replace every game on the floor to enable server-based technology,” he said. “So we’ve really created solutions that will work with the current technology operators are utilizing.”
One of the must-have system technologies available today is the EZ Pay® ticketing system. Some additions to this streamlined marketing solution allow for actual time specifications, as well as specifications for the device and player to ensure the promotion’s validity. The next evolution to this concept that’s still in development is the EZ Pay SmartCard application, which actually installs software on the card that can securely transfer funds to the game even when the floor network is offline, as well as store patron information.
IGT’s Mariposa Predictive Modeling and Business Intelligence system is another system technology that is currently available and is now a foundation for predictive analytics and data mining. The business intelligence and capabilities allow operators to work with and adjust all of the machines on the floor from a central server.
Another big thing at IGT’s booth was the debut of its sb™ products, which will be available in the near future. The sb Service Window will allow operators to engage and interact with their patrons while they play. Players can view points, comps, offers, branded promotions and services through a touchscreen menu located on the game space. The Service Window will be interoperable with multiple platforms from multiple manufacturers. Its sb Floor Manager application will allow operators to bring content into the building, deploy that content into the games and configure the games dynamically. But with that technology comes the requirement of an open network. In order to demonstrate the interoperability of the solution, IGT, Novomatic, Atronic and WMS machines were connected to the IGT network, illustrating how it will work in an open environment. The Atronic machine featured IGT’s AVP® operating platform, as Atronic will use IGT’s sb technology for future functionality.
But with all these great system solutions, it will take a dedicated team to service them. Saenz stated: “As we bring these products to market, they are only as successful as the people who use them and their ability to leverage the capabilities. We’re investing quite a bit in professional services. Our service team not only has technical consulting experience, but also operational consulting experience to make the most of the systems.”
TabletKiosk
TabletKiosk showed off some of the coolest gadgets at the show this year, including its Ultra-Mobile PC, Tablet PCs and the new 400 Series. The company also displayed its Sahara Slate PC i440D, which is a full computer (minus the keyboard) that weighs just 3-pounds — and a touchscreen keyboard application for it is on the way. “The big difference for us is that we do products that are strictly mobile,” Martin Smekal, president and CEO, said. “What we offer is at-the-table credit card processing, mobile gaming or hotel management … which saves time and makes things a lot cleaner.”
Smekal says 2008 will see the introduction of even more products geared toward the gaming and hospitality market. “We continue to add new gaming partners and new hospitality partners,” he said.
“Partners such as Agilysys are really exciting, because they’re starting to take advantage of the mobility component of [the technology],” he added. “There’s a lot of neat stuff coming out on the software side, and we’re trying to complement it with hardware that lets our customers take full advantage of that software.”
Casino Data Imaging
Casino Data Imaging (CDI) is the largest supplier of data visualization solutions to the gaming industry. Allowing multiple properties to be contained in a single visualization is a strong point of CDI’s solution. The collection of the data warehouse is an important first step. Data is gathered from various systems throughout the enterprise in a central repository for analysis. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this area of the solution is the correlation table. Games, for example, may be indicated using various terms in different systems. Should “VP” and “PK” be used to represent Video Poker, both terms must be included in the analysis or else the results will be incomplete. The correlation table allows numerous terms to be correlated to each other, effectively picking up all matching terms for one value in the query. It doesn’t change the actual terms in the existing systems, so there’s no danger of resetting data or affecting other areas of operation. The latest upgrade gives multi-site operations more horsepower. “A lot of this has been driven by our clients,” states George Levine, executive director of sales and marketing. “We’ve added some very creative, very impressive reports.” The new reports and capabilities allow games, banks, themes, etc. to be analyzed at each location or across the entire enterprise in one all-inclusive analysis.
Infor
According to Sandra Rosseau, Infor’s manager of global HCM product marketing, 93 percent of the casinos on the Las Vegas strip use their software to run their back office. “This makes us a slam-dunk in the gaming industry, and we have a high level of penetration outside of the Las Vegas strip, including Macau and Atlantic City,” she said. Infinium Software was primarily in the financial market. Since it was acquired by Info, it now offers solutions covering a broad spectrum.
Its 10 modules focus on all aspects of a business. From customer resource management and financial management, the products also work with regular business flow, including human capital management and supply chain management. Its supplier relationship management module allows operators to work with their suppliers to interchange data and create a real-time collaborative environment. Of particular interest is the asset management module which promises to help companies “go green” by taking real steps to protect the environment.
Bally Technologies Systems
Bally Technologies showcased a wide array of diverse technologies for the gaming industry. The biggest announcement was its partnership with Compudigm, which will provide data visualization in its Business Intelligence (BI) systems.
The Digital Dashboard, part of the BI offering, provides a visual display of critical information needed by managers to monitor their business and to make strategic and operational decisions. The various dashboards are visual representations and customizable. This is based upon a complete data warehouse from other systems such as the Slot Management System and Casino Management Systems. It also links other systems such as lodging, point-of-sale and other enterprise locations.
The in-game revenue management system allows the minimum wager and denomination based upon intuitive tools and proactive analysis, which also enables the operators to schedule various game themes for different time frames.
Peripheral management allows the operator to monitor vital peripherals such as ticket printers and bill validators, dispatching service technicians to fix the devices and provide service to the players. This results in significantly less downtime and less frustration to patrons.
Power Bonusing includes various suites. An example of some of the features of each suite includes Power Winners™ (random progressive jackpots, for example), power rewards (to offer free play credits, points, comps, etc.), Power Promotions™ (to convert player points to credits, allow cashless credits on the slot machine, conversion of promo dollars to credits), Power Coupon™ (for marketing purposes), Power Bank™ (for two-way cashless credits to the game which are returned into the player’s cash accounts) and Power Sweepstakes™ (for paperless electronic draws).
iView™ allows a variety of interactive features with the player in a small secondary LCD screen. It can include live, streaming video, second chance games independent of the primary slot game, financial transactions, customer services (such as beverage service), bonuses and promotions. The secondary games are part of the Bally Live system and currently include Bingo, Poker and Castle Crasher™. Also available is a new concept in tournaments offered on the iView system. Players can take place in community tournaments on the secondary screen, based upon eligibility.
WALKER DIGITAL GUARANTEES PLAY
Last year at G2E Walker Digital introduced Guaranteed Play™ on Video Poker machines, in partnership with IGT. This year the company demonstrated how Guaranteed Play works on 5-reel video slot machines, as well as on felt-based table games. The concept is easy to understand. Instead of viewing time on device in terms of credits, players put a set amount of money in for a set amount of spins. “It really gives customers more entertainment for their money,” Ken Weil, president and COO of Walker Digital, noted. “And that translates into more profits for the property.” Walker Digital hopes to have the video reel concept out by mid-2008.
“We’re also showing how the concept transfers to felt-based table games,” Weil added. “It’s the same set of rules — it just lets the customer buy his or her game play differently.”
Guaranteed Play Blackjack works by guaranteeing a set amount of hands for a set amount of money. “For example, if you start out by buying a 30-hand package for $20 with a max bet of $5 per hand, you’d get $150 in total action. But the chips you get are non-cashable Table Chips. You use one Play Token for each hand. At the end of the 30 hands, any Table Chips you have in excess of the chips you started with are your winnings,” Weil said. The company hopes to have this concept available in mid-2008 as well.
Walker Digital also demonstrated the concept of promo tickets, play tickets and packages at its booth. “These products allow operators to cross-market their properties to include gaming products but at costs up to 80 percent less than standard free-play giveaways,” Weil said.
Compudigm
Gaming Power 5™, Compudigm’s latest offering, leverages deep experience in the gaming industry to provide gaming metrics, tools, services and technology in order to get quick results. Recently purchased by Bally Technologies, Gaming Power 5 provides an excellent tool for casino operators.
“We’re very good at delivering tools at all levels, and we’re very good at building data visualization,” explains Frank Teklitz, Compudigm’s VP of development. “We’ve learned to be good at applications, but they’re not our core competency.” The alliance with Bally will allow both companies to benefit — expanding the possibilities for Compudigm while providing extra functionality to Bally’s Business Intelligence. Compudigm’s Gaming Power consists of six major modules, namely: Smart User™, Marketing Power™, Casino Power™, Property Power™, Profitability Power™ and Service Power™.
Key to this software is a detailed data warehouse, containing every aspect of a business. Using visual analytical tools, individuals are able to picture their businesses, in any area or configuration they wish. Smart User is the base of the Gaming Power solution, examining slots, tables, customers and basic profitability. The metrics and tools allow business owners to see how the business is performing. Marketing Power leverages these tools and works with Key Performance Indicators to study interrelationships between a business and its customers. Casino Power provides managers the ability to drill-down into various components of games and see what is happening over a specific period of time. It also lets managers see what effect changes to the floor are likely to create. Property Power allows the data to be leveraged from other areas of the enterprise, such as lodging and food & beverage. Profitability Power captures revenue data from anywhere in the organization to understand players, slots and table profitability and Service Power delivers real-time customer information to operations staff using hand-held devices which allows staff to interact knowledgeably with customers, ensuring their experience is maximized.
Gaming Support
Gaming Support’s BaseSys® Gaming Management System, which was highlighted at its booth, offers real-time data for casino floor management. It facilitates customer targeting, management of floor operations, accounting analysis, etc. in less than one minute.
Another exciting product showcased at Gaming Support’s booth was the Bonus Box® prize unit, which easily attaches to slots, and offers additional prizes to players. Following prize retrieval, it locks or sends messages to slot technicians for refills.
SLOT TICKETS TOPS TRENDS
As the leader in TITO paper products, Slot Tickets knows it’s vital to stay on top of trends in the gaming industry. That’s why at this year’s G2E the company proved its commitment to technological advancements by exhibiting its newest TITO product at the show. “We’re working on a product that uses a technology that’s similar to ticketing technology, but it can erase what it writes again and again,” Slot Tickets’ Tom Mitchell said. “We call it rewritable thermal. There is some serious consideration about this product replacing the current paper tickets in the coming years.” Some of the best features of this technology are its green design, its ability to combine payouts and player tracking on one card, and it could also be used for promotional purposes.
In conjunction with IGT, Slot Tickets also showcased its Mass Promo product, which imprints tickets with dollar values that are then sent out to slot customers. “This is new because it’s legal. We couldn’t do this before because regulations did not allow for promotional tickets to be distributed in this manner,” Mitchell said.
For 2008, Slot Tickets will continue to focus on selling its tickets and developing its thermal rewritable slot cards, as well as pushing the newly approved Mass Promo products.
LVGI DEBUTS TWO NEW APPLICATIONS
At G2E this year, LVGI showcased its PlayerVision™ system (it’s the re-branded version of PortalVision™) with the addition of two new applications. The PlayerVision™ system brings server-applications to the gaming floor today, utilizing the existing infrastructure of servers within the casino property and delivering value-added software applications onto the existing video slots residing on the casino floor.
The PlayerVision™ system currently includes a core suite of applications that enable casino, VLT and slot operators to dramatically increase revenues by delivering wagering opportunities, advertising and television to both new and legacy video slot machines from multiple manufacturers. The applications included in the core PlayerVision™ suite are: NumberVision™, AdVision™ and PV-TV™.
With the addition of two new premium applications, WagerVision™ and BonusVision™, operators will have even more opportunities to increase time on device and revenue. “The WagerVision application allows operators to increase incremental sports book revenue by turning video-based slot machines into sports book kiosks,” LVGI’s CEO Jon Berkley said. “The BonusVision™ application is the newest add-on to the PlayerVision™ system and will drive bonusing directly to the player interface on the video slot floor, delivering progressive opportunities and celebrations to the player’s video slot machine screen.”
Also showcased at LVGI’s booth were its Optima™System for the Keno industry and RoutePromo™ which allows route operators a new and exciting way to drive promotions in restricted gaming locations.
“It’s an exciting time for us right now. We’re in execution mode and deploying our products on a daily basis. We’re not talking about delivering server-based applications some time in the near future. We’re offering those applications today,” Berkley said.
Newmarket International Inc.
Responding to the hot topic of integration in its market segment, Newmarket showcased new additions to its Delphi application at G2E this year. The just-launched Power Selling edition of Delphi, the company’s flagship sales and catering application, includes performance dashboards and tools to improve close rates. According to Director of Marketing Traci Gere, this empowers sales teams to become more proactive and effective. “Not only can our applications integrate, but we are putting an emphasis of working with other best-of-breed vendors to give our customers complete, end-to-end solutions,” she said. “We are making it easier for both our customers and other vendors to integrate with Newmarket software, using technology and industry standards.”
Newmarket also launched a new version of Delphi.Net, its online, subscription-based sales and catering system. “Delphi.Net’s low cost, ease of use and robust Banquet Event Order capabilities make it an effective solution for mid-scale properties,” Gere said.
Casino Software Solutions
Denver’s Casino Software Solutions (CSS) specializes in building add-on modules for existing slot management systems. The company has 60 customers running various modules including promotional management, cage automation, pit tracking, cheque tracking, Title 31 monitoring and driver’s license modules. CSS’ systems are designed using Microsoft’s .NET technology meaning they are web deployable. Using the original system’s API (soon to be fully S2S compliant), results are fast with no duplication of data. Building on the company’s add-on functionality, CSS also provides custom design work for specific customer requirements.
Kronos Debuts Enterprise-Class Casino Scheduling
Kronos for Gaming was launched in 2007 and already dozens of casino-hotels are using its Enterprise-class Workforce Management solution. In response to strong customer demand, Kronos unveiled a new, powerful, Enterprise-class Casino Scheduling solution at G2E. It handles the forecasting and scheduling needs in casino/hotel operations, including the gaming floor, housekeeping and the front desk by building accurate forecasts, generating open shifts, filling shifts and maintaining a schedule. In 2008, Kronos will continue to raise awareness around the benefits of Workforce Management in the gaming industry, including its ability to deliver superior customer service, retain employees, and manage both rising labor costs and rapid growth.
Teradata
Teradata is a world leader in enterprise data warehousing and analytical solutions. “We integrate data from all the operational systems within the casino,” says Greg Churak, senior business consultant. “We basically take all of the data from all of the systems and put it into one central repository.” The company has developed specific, logical data modules for each of its industries. This allows the data to be stored once, then accessed numerous times across the enterprise. The first order of business is to build the database. More than just populating it with data, it’s a matter of populating it with accurate, appropriate data. One of the biggest challenges in data collection and analysis is to have clean data. Duplications, omissions and inaccurate data renders analysis results invalid. Teradata works on the data warehouse process first, creating a clean database that can provide accurate results. Once the data warehouse is in place, applications can lay over top of the data. Its solution serves as a central repository for all of the organization’s data from all of its various systems, which provides a single view of the business. This view includes customer relationship management, analytical tools to study gaming revenue optimization, slot floor optimization, operational efficiencies, budgetary expectations and price optimization. Teradata’s own data mining tools allow the user to mine data across the entire enterprise, no matter how large it is. The company also partners with other vendors such as Compudigm, in order to provide a complete range of solutions. The tools and solutions available are keyed towards patrons not only on the casino floor. They allow managers to study patrons throughout the organization from marketing and promotions to restaurant analysis. These solutions are scalable and flexible, offering a single integrated platform. By focusing on data warehousing, Teradata aims to provide a better understanding of data, enabling operators to find the valuable insights it contains.
Oracle
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, it’s no surprise that Oracle is known for innovative solutions. Its solutions provide a 360 degree view of the client. Data is collected from all systems creating a consolidated data warehouse. Secondly, the business intelligence tools are designed to improve customer experience. The company’s solution is an enterprise platform, and not an application. It is completely customizable allowing the user to use what makes him different, creating solutions that suit his operation. Business intelligence coupled with floor optimization sums up Oracle’s offering. Its executive dashboard empowers casino executives with near-real-time visualization of operations, finance, sales, marketing, human resources and security, providing the data required to make informed decisions. The drill-down feature allows managers and employees to identify root causes for issues. Using “Amazon.com”-type services, the system will offer recommendations based upon past performance and activities, allowing the user to create a picture of what players have done and what they have reacted to, creating promotions based upon real-life activities.
MICROS SYSTEMS DELIVERS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS
MICROS’ presence at G2E this year highlighted products from two fronts. First, a new area of focus for its seven-year-old Opera application: business intelligence (BI), which will continue into 2008. “BI is designed for the executive that wants to get an understanding from a high level,” Ed McLaughlin, director of the hotel casino division, said, “[He can] drill into all the tables of Opera and pull out analytics, forecasting, historicals … and get further details and information.”
McLaughlin says the market really drove this development. “A lot of tools out there will hook into the Opera database, or the Oracle database, and pull the information out,” he explained. “Who’s best to give it to [the customer]? We actually own the database, we know all the tables, we know the structure, so it’s easy for us to give something to our customers.”
There are also some new developments for POS, including the Workstation 5 terminal, which features a 15” screen instead of 12” , and breaks new ground in serviceability with completely componentilized parts — if something goes down, the repair is as simple as popping it out and putting a new component in. “It’s really driving up-time, where you’re not crippled because of some kind of hardware failure,” John Seigle Sr., sales manager for casinos, said.
On the software side, MICROS has also introduced Simphoni, which Seigle says is the first true multiple-propery POS system on market. Simphoni pulls IT out of the property level, bringing it back centrally to reduce property level costs. It, too, was developed in response to customer demand. “Our customers were basically saying, ‘Look, we don’t have the budgets and we don’t have the desire to have separate mini datacenters in every casino,’” Seigle said. “They want to pull that back to their central data center where all their geniuses and gurus are, manage it there, and leave as light a footprint on the property level as possible.”
Konami Systems
Leah Steinhardt, Konami’s marketing manager, is quite proud of the Konami Casino Management System. “We have real-time, multi-site, linked capabilities. One of our big competitor advantages is that we do real-time game accounting, down to every game in the box. No one else can do that,” she said.
Lot-A-Bucks™, one of Konami’s latest releases within the KCMS family, was on display, proving that this wide-area promotional progressive and prize game extends beyond traditional casino management system functions, delivering a multimedia-style match game on the player tracking LCD screen.
Konami’s systems hold years of historical data for analysis. Should a connection to a machine break, the Network Access Motherboard (NAMB) in the machine will hold two weeks worth of data. The systems currently operate on TCP/IP, using non-proprietary hardware, and offering many open networks features. Live, streaming video is available and updates to the database, such as player tracking points, are extremely fast.
True-time data is a key point of the Konami systems. The true-time solutions include business intelligence; advanced incentives; patron tracking; monitoring (for surveillance and device monitoring); TITO, slot management; table management; cage, credit and vault and wireless; and using handheld devices to scan slot machine bar codes to obtain slot and patron information.
At the heart of the system is an Oracle database providing scalable enterprise solutions. The JAVA-based front-end allows rapid development and deployment, is platform-independent and provides seamless wireless technology capabilities.
The networking capabilities allow the 3”x5” touchscreen LCD to display text in the language set on the player’s card, provides streaming video, and advertising and promotions such as free play and free cash.
Lodging & Gaming Systems
Lodging & Gaming Systems (LGS), based in Reno, provides casino management software. Although the company does not provide slot floor systems, it expands on existing systems. Its solutions cover player tracking, cage and credit, table games, customer database and Casino Core. Casino Core is the heart of the LGS system and the navigation for all modules. It interfaces to hundreds of applications and provides a seamless and secure interface. It supports multiple properties and the flexibility, according to President Dave McDowell, “features more configuration options than any other system in the industry, drastically reducing (if not eliminating) the need for custom programming.” LGS is currently installed in over 20 properties.
Progressive Gaming International Corporation
At Progressive Gaming International Corporation’s booth this G2E, the company introduced a variety of new products. Casinolink Enterprise Edition 3.0 is the first release of Casinolink Enterprise that incorporates the latest. Net software engineering technologies from Microsoft. As part of the new Casinolink Enterprise 3.0, PGIC unveiled a new “Jackpot-in-a-Box” concept, which includes four exciting mystery themes that operators can choose from to increase action on their existing slot banks quickly and easily.
Another of its highlighted products was Primeline Enterprise Edition 1.0. In addition to its comprehensive suite of traditional race and sports books management capabilities, PrimeLine EE will allow for fully customizable live-action proposition and head-to-head wagering, all of which can occur at the point of sale or through PrimeLine EE’s existing account wagering set up and management capabilities.
The newest version of PGIC’s joint product with Shuffle Master and IGT, Table iD, was also on display at the show, demonstrating 13.56 MHz Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and updated interfaces to allow for seamless integration with more casino management systems.
G2E POST-SHOW - CERTIFICATION
Nick Farley and Associates - Eclipse Compliance Testing
Nick Farley and Associates (NFA) unveiled its new image just in time for G2E. The company, which tests and evaluates gaming devices and systems for compliance in different jurisdictions, is now known as Eclipse Compliance Testing. A division of NFA, the parent company is still the licensing company; Eclipse is its new trade name. “We’ve done a big push to get the name out there,” President Nick Farley said. “It’s a whole new image.”
With its brilliant red and deep black solar eclipse logo, that image is hard to miss. Farley says that so far, it is bringing success. “We’ve been blessed,” he said. “Our company has been growing, we’re increasing staff size, our office space has been increasing, and our presence in the industry has been increasing.”
He credits both new technologies and a large influx of up-and-coming smaller manufacturers for driving that growth, and says even more is on the horizon. “2008 [will bring] more of the same,” he explained. “We’re looking to expand our business, attract more companies and reach out to more jurisdictions.”
G2E POST-SHOW - PERIPHERALS AND ACCESSORIES
FUTURELOGIC UNVEILS PROMONET™
FutureLogic has taken on a new challenge: casino marketing and player promotions. Featured at G2E this year, PromoNet™ is a patent-pending server application that prints a coupon or voucher along with every TITO ticket, providing real-time targeted promotions at the game.
Extremely simple to use, PromoNet allows marketing departments to design colorful, eye-catching coupons and apply triggers to award them, for example, giving a free drink to every 100th person who sits at a machine. Those different promotions are then applied to banks of slots and upload to the promotional server. From there, promotional campaigns are downloaded to specific slot machines that are equipped with GEN2 Universal™ or GEN2 VST Universal™ printers via GSA’s open standards protocols (S2S, G2S and GDS). The printers then produce coupons as commanded by the promotional server. Campaign information can even be downloaded to track, monitor and improve on the effectiveness of specific promotions.
The best part: It’s easy to implement. The PromoNet system uses existing game ports to communicate with the printers and takes full advantage of the existing hardware across the floor — meaning no costly modifications to existing printers or communication protocols.
Gasser Chair Company
At G2E, Gasser Chair displayed two new seats. The Dual Flex Chair for slot machines has a back with an invisible spring built into it for lumbar support. Its stretch capability acts like a recliner. The Keno, Race and Sports Book Chair includes tight cushions and a modular design and construction for easy cushion replacement. It also flexes back for comfort. Gasser Chair’s new prototype, a high-limit stool, has a wood and metal construction. The carpet insert uses swatches of the casino’s carpeting. Its seat slides back and forth, but the memory always defaults to its original position. Production is scheduled for early 2008.
Kortek
Kortek of Korea supports all gaming display requirements through a system that is touch-integrated, built within a PC and server-based controlled. Kortek’s technology leads the industrial display market with Interactive Digital Signage.
With a wide range of sizes, screen solutions include user-friendly tactile button simulations, multi-vision split screens, optical touch capabilities and player tracking displays.
Versatile Card Technology
From casino players’ club cards and access key cards to gift cards, membership and loyalty cards, Versatile Card Technology proved that the company is a one-stop shop for all of its customers’ card needs. Visitors to VCT’s booth seemed to be most impressed by the very unique and perfect-for-holiday-giving photo frame card.
MEI
For a company that has only concentrated on gaming in the last five years, MEI is boasting some impressive numbers: Its growth has been in the double digits over the last three years, and out of all the new casinos that opened in 2007, 81 percent are MEI customers. Eric Fisher, MEI’s new VP of Gaming Americas (and former VP of Sales for Progressive Gaming International), says it’s the company’s quality products that make these numbers possible. “We’re not the cheapest thing out there,” he said. “We don’t expect to be. Quality takes more time to develop. But our customers see the value in it, and we can give them a return on investment. … It’s all about returning investment and giving slot directors the tools to manage their floor.”
And while last year MEI was a total solution for the slot floor, it’s now a total solution for the entire casino. Debuting at G2E were Easitrax®, an RDIF-enabled floor-to-count-room cashbox tracker that is capable of reporting on denominations and play, acceptance rates, and other (customizable) key operating statistics; and Defender®, a bill validator that brings MEI’s high standards of security to the cage.
A technology already proven in the vending and retail sectors, Fisher says Easitrax is already getting positive responses from several large properties, including the Four Winds and Hard Rock Biloxi. “It’s going to give [slot directors] a lot of tools at their finger tips that they didn’t have before — not to mention keeping track of the money, which is the most important thing,” he said. “It is knock-on-wood flawless. We have not had one issue.”
Defender also brings proven technologies — those found in MEI’s Cashflow® series bill validators — to a new area. Fisher says the product was a direct response to an MEI customer drawing attention to the need for more security at its cage. “This casino said, ‘Well, we’re happy with the bill acceptors — we’re not seeing any counterfeits. But we are still seeing them in the cage. What can you do for us?’” Fisher explained.
Three weeks later: Hello, Defender. Still in an early prototype, but extremely functional, phase, the desktop validator lives up to MEI’s high standards of security. “We believe you don’t have to sacrifice security to get a high acceptance rate,” Fisher said. “We’re very proud of the fact that Cashflow has never accepted a counterfeit in the United States.”
Another major focus this year was MEI’s recent acquisition of VTI. The company now offers Vector+ and Matrix validators as low-cost solutions for casinos where price is an issue. “It’s about taking care of the customer and fitting their needs.” Fisher said. “In some cases, cost is more important to them than acceptance rates and security —which are still higher than most industry standards — now on the menu we have porterhouse and filet.”
3M Touch Systems
3M Touch Systems had some great products on display at this year’s show. The Capacitive TouchSense® System added tactile touch to audio and visual cues for interactive slot play. Another product showcased, the ClearTek™ II, featured touchscreen surface finishes that overcome lighting, environmental and glare problems in casino environments. MicroTouch™ Dispersive Signal Technology (DST) Touch Systems, which offers large-format interactive applications, was also on exhibit. The product’s “dynamic touch” ignores static and features multiple user capability.
Astro Systems
Astro Systems featured its new GVA ST1 at G2E this year. Extremely serviceable, the bill acceptor can be stripped down in 30 seconds and put back together again, and be changed from an up-stack to a down-stack configuration. Astro Systems also welcomed Jeff Harms, the new sales manager at its U.S. office, this year. According to Group Marketing Manager Robert Bird, 2008 is looking to be a big year. Along with improvements to existing products, he says the company is looking at new product developments and keeping current with the competition. “You can always sit in your ivory tower and think about what people want, but you need to be here (at G2E) to understand what people want,” he added. “Stay tuned.”
Money Controls
Money Controls brought some great new products to this year’s show, including the Ardac Elite™ bill acceptor that uses optoelectronics to view the actual image of a bill. True images provide more than 200,000 data points, enabling Ardac Elite to identify the latest security features anywhere on a bill. Using industry-standard protocols, Ardac Elite is easily retrofitted into existing machines on the casino floor, or may be integrated into OEM machines.
Certegy Gaming Services
Certegy Gaming Services added a new service to its repertoire this year, electronic check cashing. Available from both a point-of-sale device or an ATM, Marty Williamson, a national sales executive for Certegy, and Mandi Hart, director of cash access and product development for Certegy’s partner Fidelity National Information Services, say the new service is meant to make check cashing easier for casinos and more convenient for its customers. “[Customers], once they’re enrolled, actually don’t have to carry a check around anymore,” Hart said. “It’s a checkless process although it’s coming out of their checking account. It’s convenient for the casino and also a very fast transaction for the casino.”
“The settlement process is very easy for electronic transactions,” she continued. “It’s also an attempt to reduce lines at the cages … [customers] can actually go to an ATM that’s designated for check cashing and get their funds out of the machine, so it’ll help the casino reduce its lines.”
Coin Mechanisms
At this year’s show, Coin Mechanisms introduced two product initiatives. The OLED display technology is the next generation of programmable buttons. Coin Mechanisms is the first to utilize this patented technology, which is rapidly becoming mainstream. It offers an unlimited number of programming options. Also, the new 360-degree viewable, programmable topper sign offers a three-dimensional effect, and presents the same image from all angles. At 10 inches in diameter and eight inches high, the spinning LED is available in multiple colors.
Suzo-Happ Group
In the past three-and-a-half years, Suzo-Happ Group has tripled in size, thanks to nine separate acquisitions. Starting as simply Happ, the company then merged with Suzo, then AESI, continuing to grow as it acquired an amusement business, then a small distributor in Spain. The most recent acquisition, completed just three weeks before G2E, added a manufacturing plant in China to the company’s holdings. Measuring in at 130,000 square feet and more than 200 employees, the plant specializes in injection molding, engineering and assembly work, and gives Suzo-Happ a low-cost avenue for production.
As for products, Suzo-Happ focused on its toppers at the show, displaying several new models. One featured an LCD screen, allowing casinos to advertise buffets, shows or progressive slots, for example, instead of displaying a single static graphic. Another was the brand-new, small-profile Xenon topper, which allows casinos to synchronize the chasing lights on up to eight units.
De La Rue
As the massive CPS whirred and hummed, a stack of bills and TITO tickets flew through an intricate series of sensors and conveyor belts at the De La Rue booth, finally flipping neatly into stacks sorted, faced and banded by denomination and counterfeit concern. At a speed of 2,000 notes per minute, and a security level expected from a company that is also commissioned to print money for governments worldwide, the cash handling technologies De La Rue featured at G2E underscored the need for casinos to function in large part like banks — and not just behind the scenes. The company also highlighted its Enterprise Cash Management system, which allows executives to access cash flow information across one or multiple properties from anywhere in the world —even from a PDA.
Gary Platt Manufacturing
Gary Platt Manufacturing of Reno showed two new casino chairs at this year’s G2E, and attendees were all over them. The new RIVA chair, part of the X-Tended seating line, has the same foams as its core product, but featured a more sophisticated design. Its anodized gold finish simulates antique brass. The RIVA chair was first installed at the Island View casino in Gulfport, Miss. A second chair has a high or low adjustable height and is made of lighter aluminum. The lighter weight allows easier movement for customers and more expediency for cleaning and maintenance crews. The chair is available in multiple colors.
Cummins-Allison Has the Right Angle
For one of the most prolific inventors of coin and currency handling solutions, Cummins-Allison, G2E was a fantastic way to reach its gaming customers and showcase its latest and greatest products.
In order to stay ahead in advanced counterfeit detection and currency fitness-sorting, Cummins-Allison displayed its most advanced counterfeit detection machine, the JetScan™ Two-pocket Currency Scanner with IQ™ Sensing Technology. This product features numerous sensors and when combined with the software, evaluates the authenticity of the bill, catching counterfeits that other systems miss all while still processing at 1,000 notes per minute.
Another product highlighted was the company’s newly designed JetScan™ MPS 4100. The design adds right angles to the traditionally elongated machine, saving space inside count rooms and bringing the work environment closer to the operator, which helps increase productivity. The product can be configured with multiple strapping modules and can take on either an L or U shape.
One of the products Cummins-Allison was most excited to display at the show was the Money Machine self-service coin redemption kiosk. The company offers the most extensive line of self-service kiosks in the industry with a variety of coin collection systems to meet the varying operational needs of casinos. Most importantly, casinos are installing Cummins’ self-service coin redemption kiosks to bring in more patrons, especially local customers, who typically will spend a good portion of the redeemed cash on the gaming floor. In addition, coin redemption service fees bring in additional revenue streams for casinos.
CASHCODE GOES VERTICAL
The big new thing at the CashCode booth this year did not sit on a well-lit pedestal or under a colorful banner. While the company did highlight its wide range of products, from its bill recycler to its stackerless validator, the real star of the show was its recently announced, vertically integrated organization. CashCode is now part of Crane Payment Solutions, which consists of two other payment system businesses, NRI (coin validation) and Telequip (coin dispensers). Sim Bielak, VP of sales and business development for the gaming division, is responsible for all gaming interests for the businesses globally. “Our continued focus is on vertical integration,” he said, “getting closer to the customers, their needs, their requirements, and driving that product development back through our organization.”
Bielak also noted that he believes server-based gaming will be big for the peripheral manufacturer, eliminating the current three-month rollout time for software updates. “We’ll finally be able to take advantage of technology that’s available,” he said, “allowing operators to remotely upgrade their bill validators.”
He says the time and trouble saved by not having to physically go in and reprogram each machine will be a big benefit to operators — and that’s just what CashCode is looking for. The company often holds Voice of the Customer events, making suggested changes and adding resources to better support customer needs in terms of service and support. This focus on the customer is also why CashCode is a constant presence at G2E. “It’s one of the shows that we can exhibit at and really see our end users — ask them how are things going, if there’s anything we can do better,” Bielak said. “For us, the thing that’s really good for us at G2E is it’s a great opportunity to spend time with our customers.”
Wells-Gardner
The Wells-Gardner booth was filled with new LCD options. Two stand outs were picture-in-picture, which is new for the gaming industry; and Flip Video, which inexpensively makes cheaper panels look top-of-the-line, a major relief for operators with tight budgets. “It’s a rather clever technique,” Chair and CEO Tony Spier explained. “Basically, you flip the panel upside-down. The way panels are manufactured, the viewing angle from the bottom is much better — for whatever reason — than the viewing angle at the top.”
Another new addition to the company was a partnership with Tony Tomasello and his company, Par-4 Inc. “We’ve merged our used game businesses, and Tony operates and runs them,” Spier said. “It has proven to be very, very good business for both of us. It has really been the most important new thing that has happened to us in 2007.”
An even bigger development is on the way for next year’s G2E: Wells-Gardner’s patented flexible LCDs, which can be made in drum shapes and promise to revolutionize spinning reel machines.
Western Money Systems
Now the number one supplier in South America, with more overseas expansion in the works, Western Money Systems debuted several new products this year, including the highest-capacity kiosk in the industry, the CXC-HC™. The CXC-HC (casinoXchange™ with High Capacity) is a slot ticket redemption kiosk with upgrade capability for ATM and points-to-cash functionality.
Also debuted was the CX-2™, which has the same high capacity, but also includes two terminals to separate the ATM line from the ticket redemption line. A third side can be added for a player reward interface terminal. Mark Sutherlin, director of Xchange™ product sales, said the CXC-HC will be available before the year’s end, and the CX-2™ is already GLI approved.
JCM GLOBAL RE-BRANDS, INTRODUCES TABLE GAME PRODUCT
JCM’s booth was nearly unrecognizable this year. One of the company’s biggest features at the show was its re-branding, shedding the ubiquitous black and gold of JCM American and introducing the sleek new blue and white logo of JCM Global. “[It] represents an entire new mentality within the company,” Tom Nieman, senior vice president of operations, said.
JCM also introduced a major new product at the show — Trident, which brings the company’s 20 years of bill validation and instant capture experience from the slot floor to the table games pit, validating, stacking and tracking bills right at the table. “Slot operators know exactly how much money is in the machine at any point in time. Table games have never known that,” Nieman said.
Previously, the bill validator at the table was the dealer and the accounting system was a guy in a suit with a pencil and a pad of paper. Now, Nieman said, that responsibility is removed from the dealer and estimating how much cash is in a table is a thing of the past. “That has a huge impact on how you operate your casino,” he said. “The reception from the operators has been just tremendous — they love the concept of it. It makes it easier in the soft count and the tracking process. The whole thing goes better.”
With 53,000 non-Poker tables in the world and that number expected to rise to 60,000 by 2010, Nieman says JCM is ready to take on the new territory of table games. “We’re first in market,” he said. “We’re the brand name that takes care of cash transactions on the slot side, so why wouldn’t we be the ones to take care of it on the table side? We’re already working with all the major back-end systems … so our data works right in. … I think we’re in an ideal position with this product line."
Cole Industries
A warehouse full of obsolete cabinet inventory led to a major breakthrough product from Cole Industries. The company’s G2E focus was Evolver, a slot cabinet designed for server-based downloadable gaming, exceedingly fickle customer tastes and rapidly evolving technologies. A sleek and durable metal cabinet, everything from the game’s motherboard to its LCD screen to its colored plastic accents are easily updated or interchanged. “It’s called the Evolver because it evolves in times,” Joe Cole, CEO and president of Cole Industries, said. “It’s designed for a company to be able to change its look on the gaming floor in eight minutes without using the existing cabinet. Every cabinet can have its own personality, and the gaming company can actually design the ambiance that they want.”
Cole says the Evolver has major potential to increase revenues on the floor. “The theory is that a lot of people who play a game relate the game to the cabinet,” he explained. “Once they have a bad experience, they never go back and play that game again. Now, if revenue starts to drop off … you can change the look of a whole realm of equipment in just a few hours at night.”
Magic Gaming
Although there were no wizards or witches at Magic Gaming’s booth at G2E, there was certainly something very magical about its product offerings.
Magic Gaming is a division of Tournament One that creates 3-D high definition graphics and mini feature films for its own pioneering progressive products. At this year’s G2E the company displayed its neutral, multi-level progressive products that freshen and liven up operator’s current machines by offering a unique feature within the progressive: mini-feature film snippets. The films are wholly produced by Magic Gaming and fit-in with each of its progressive themes. “The great thing about our product is that it can fit reel or video machines from any manufacturer,” Thomas Kidneigh, Magic Gaming’s VP and general manager, said. “It’s truly an agnostic product.”
When a player hits one of the progressive jackpots, a new snippet of the mini-feature film is revealed, making players wholly engaged in the winning experience. Original soundtracks, 3-D graphics and high-definition image quality make Magic Gaming’s products true show stoppers.
TRANSACT CONNECTS PLAYERS TO PROMOTIONS
It’s amazing how much a printer and a server can change the shape of gaming and player promotions. At the forefront of that change is TransAct Technologies Inc., whose main message at G2E this year was connecting players to server-based promotions through its Epic 950™ printer. According to Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing Tracey Chernay, TransAct is driving action and continued play through the printing of coupons, connecting players to something that they actually want. “The printer is really just the method to deliver the message, which is targeted, personal and variable based upon what the player’s preferences are,” Chernay explained.
The key to this innovation is patented server-port technology that allows TransAct’s printers to talk to both the casino’s player-tracking server as well as the game at the same time. “That patented technology really allows the operator to make the most out of the player tracking system while utilizing the couponing system,” Chernay said.
Firmware resident on the printer allows it to negotiate between receiving information from the property’s server or receiving a cashout command from the game, and it is compatible with any system. The Bally Technologies booth, for example, had an Epic 950 on display, printing promotions and Powerball tickets from its iView™ system. “We partner with manufacturers to offer creative solutions,” Chernay said.
TransAct is also using partnerships to expand its global presence. One important alliance is with JCM, which allows TransAct to connect to properties through its network of sales professionals. Other partners in local markets include Eurocoin in Europe and The Bright Group in Australia, which allows TransAct to operate globally. “No matter where you are in the world, Transact has a presence, alone and with our partners to support our efforts,” Chernay said.
ELO TOUCHSYSTEMS DISPLAYS NEW APR PROTOTYPE
Elo TouchSystems proved itself yet again as the global leader in touch solutions at this year’s G2E. Its newest touch technology, Acoustic Pulse Recognition (APR), combines the best of its other touch technologies, featuring the optics and durability of pure glass; the ability to recognize fingers, gloved fingers, pens, and credit cards; water, dust and grease resistance; and palm rejection for signature capture.
The product that received the most buzz at Elo’s booth was a prototype the company put together only weeks before the show. “This product is one sheet of glass that uses our APR technology,” Mark Mendenhall, president of Elo TouchSystems, said. “We can take a multi-player Roulette or Poker game that would normally use multiple monitors with multiple touchscreens and convert that same concept into a smarter way to play by using one piece of glass with APR on it, eliminating the need for separate touchscreens for each player.” It’s the beauty of palm rejection that really makes this possible. Players can shield their hands from other players while continuing to play.
Airistar Technologies
With all the interest in changing smoking regulations, Airistar has found many opportunities to offer solutions for all indoor air quality issues, and this year it created a product to target a specific problem area. The A100GT, which was displayed at G2E, is an air purification unit that attaches to a gaming table and provides a “curtain” of purified air to prevent smoke from table patrons reaching the dealer. The company plans to introduce this new product to the gaming industry throughout the coming year and provide air purification solutions to work areas, both smoking and non-smoking, in the casino environment.
Great American Base Company
Although the casino industry is gearing up for a new generation of gamers, the Baby Boomers it has catered to until now are still alive and playing — and will probably continue to do so for at least another 20 to 30 years, and Great American Base Company wants to keep them comfortable.
National Marketing Director William Knoll says as Boomers’ knees and hips start to go, wheelchairs and scooters will become more common on gaming floors. That’s why Great American has developed a lower, handicap-accessible base, allowing patrons to comfortably reach the buttons.
Inspired by seeing a patron jump from his wheelchair to a slot chair, miss and fall to the floor, Knoll says adding handicap-accessible bases to the floor reaches out to a largely untapped customer base. “We found that people don’t like reaching way out to play because it’s uncomfortable and it hurts their back,” he explained, “so they have tendency to move on. There are a lot of people out there who are handicapped who want to play.”
Great American plans to have its complete patent-pending line available by NIGA’s 2008 Indian Gaming Trade Show and Convention.
G2E POST-SHOW - TABLE GAMES AND GEAR
IGT’s TABLE GAMES OFFERINGS EXPAND
One of IGT’s key strategies for its table game division was ensuring it could bring its table game offerings onto the network. So it created partnerships with DigiDeal, Shuffle Master and PGI. On DigiDeal’s Digital Table System (DTS), players can experience a hosted table game with digital cards, real chips (DTS-C), or virtual chips (DTS-V) depending on the model of DTS used. DigiDeal’s products feature onscreen bank and betting information, player credits and virtual chips available at all times, and real-time game play status and hand outcomes. The current titles DigiDeal has on its platforms are Bonanza Blackjack, Digital 21™, Dragon Bacc™, High-Tie Blackjack®, Taracabb™, World Poker Tour All-In Hold ‘Em™ Poker and Texas Hold ‘Em Bonus® Poker. Coming soon is the DTS-X™ TeXas No-Limit Hold ‘Em.
One of IGT’s other table game product offerings is Table iD™ which, through IGT’s partnership with Shuffle Master and PGI, combines table management software, RFID tracking, promotions and image-based recognition and player analysis to create one comprehensive solution. “Table iD’s latest offering is the ability to develop unique automated table promotions to players,” said Tim Richards, IGT’s director of table games product development. “With Table iD Lucky Seat and Lucky Draw, operators can increase their table games revenue and create more excitement in their pits.”
Another product currently in development for IGT’s table game division is the M-P Series™ of electronic table games. The M-P Series is a multi-player product that offers a community-play gaming experience. Initial games include Roulette Revolution™ and Golden Baccarat™.
Alfastreet
Alfastreet is one of the leading brands in the fairly young multi-player segment of gaming; the company’s showing at G2E proved why its products can be found all across the globe. The presentations of a new R8 roulette multiwheel product and new multi wheel system were both met with a very welcome response. “This show has been a great success,” said Marketing Manager Matjaz Petek. “It’s been busy, but everyone has had such a positive reaction to what we have shown, which is why we come to G2E, to meet with our customers and those in the industry.”
DEQ
G2E wasn’t simply a three-day show for DEQ this year due to the overwhelming interest in the company’s new G3 Blackjack Bonusing Solution. “Put it this way, we set up Saturday and were done Sunday. Sunday we actually had people that were setting up other booths come by for demos. We demoed Sunday and then six hours Monday … everybody figured out that this is the next level of table game bonusing,” noted CEO and President Earle Hall. The system is a positional draw system that is completely automated and gives random generated prizes. Now a player can win just by sitting in the right spot at the right table in the right pit at the right time.
Galaxy Gaming
Adding to its line-up of profitable table games “Lucky Ladies” and “Texas Shootout,” Galaxy Gaming introduced its new “Emperor’s Challenge Pai Gow Poker.” Keeping with traditional Pai Gow Poker features, Emperor’s Challenge has an additional optional wager called Pai Gow insurance. The game offers players more ways to win through three separate bets.
SHUFFLEMASTER: ALWAYS PROGRESSING
“G2E is a great opportunity for us to not only get market feedback on our new products, but to also follow up on our existing products in the marketplace,” Kirsten Clark, Shuffle Master’s vice president of worldwide marketing, said. And by the size of Shuffle Master’s G2E booth, it was evident the company has had a phenomenal year.
This year the company had on display its newest single-deck specialty shuffler, several new table games with side bets options, and several electronic table game platform enhancements.
“The i-Deal™ third generation shuffler will be a big push for us because the technology it uses is light years ahead of prior models,” Clark said. “The i-Deal is the first shuffler to introduce card recognition as a standard feature, which is a great security feature for casinos, and we anticipate the product to be a big hit.” The i-Deal is also the fastest Shuffle Master single-deck shuffler.
Some of the new felt-based table games on display were Three Card Draw Poker™, featuring head-to-head play against the dealer and a bonus bet that pays odds when a player’s final hand contains a flush or better; Five Card Omaha Poker™, featuring a bonus bet that pays when a player’s card contains two pair or better and wins regardless of whether the player folds or loses to the dealer; and Caribbean Stud Bonus™, featuring a progressive jackpot that awards 100 percent of the incrementing jackpot when a player’s final hand is a royal flush.
Also featured at the show was a progressive side-bet option where winnings were based on a player’s hand. “In 2008 for North America we are going to be very aggressively putting out our new progressive products into the marketplace,” Clark added.
“Our e-table products will also continue to be a big push for us in those racino and VLT markets where live felt-based table games aren’t allowed,” Clark said.
Some of the new platform enhancements featured at the show were: on the Vegas Star® platform, Star Craps® and Progressive Jackpot Blackjack™ titles were introduced; on the Table Master™ platform, Four Card Poker® and Bet the Set “21”™ Blackjack were introduced; and on the Rapid Table Games® platform an enhanced game offerings of Rapid Baccarat™ was introduced.
Tech Art
Some of the most fun on the G2E show floor could be found at the Tech Art booth, where Howard Grossman taught attendees how to play Super Fun 21, a popular and “super fun” Blackjack game he invented that allows splitting and doubling down almost anytime, but only pays even money on most Blackjacks. On the other side of the booth, Tech Art Executive Vice President Arthur Miller displayed the Blackjack hole card reader that he invented back in 1989. From a balsawood prototype and initial installation at three Arizona Charlie’s tables, the card readers are now staples on 10,000 Blackjack tables. The initial design, however, hasn’t changed much (although it’s now available in a rainbow of colors) since Miller found one that worked — and stuck with it. “It’s the same,” he said. “We’re very concerned with keeping our customers happy. And we’re always looking for new products.”
TCSJOHNHUXLEY
Among the many new, innovative ideas TCSJOHNHUXLEY debuted at this year’s G2E was TouchTable MultiPLAY Roulette. Appearing for the first time in the United States, this system merges the traditional Roulette table and live croupier with a full-sized electronic multi-player betting surface. It utilizes a 56” Quad HD LCD screen to give a life-like representation of the layout and all chip handling, calculations of winnings and payouts are fully automated, delivering total game security, reducing costs and substantially increasing the number of games played per hour. “It has been a great show for us and the new system has been received very well,” said Marketing Manager Tracy Cohen. The company also introduced three new table games: Blackjack Plus, Step Poker and Lucky Numbers Roulette.
Gaming Partners International
The main emphasis of the world’s leading gaming chips manufacturer at G2E was again clearly on RFID, with live presentations of RFID readers and front end/back end operational applications, featuring a new range of operating software (or CIDs) and new applications such as the RFID Poker Table and the ECS system.
From cashier’s desks to chip banks, table and Blackjack tray readers, a wide range of operating RFID solutions were on display at GPI’s booth, manned by the two sales teams of GPI USA and GPI SAS.
Customers from the United States and abroad showed great interest in the live demonstrations held every hour. “We have had customers telling us that they were extremely impressed by the progress made by our technology over the last 12 months, particularly on the reading speed and the operating software now available” Christophe Leparoux, international sales and marketing manager, declared.
Timpano Gaming
At Timpano Gaming’s booth this year, the economical No Mid-Shoe Card displayed how it protects casinos from card counters. The product was introduced on a regular Blackjack table. This product will give players peace of mind, knowing that no one can join a Blackjack game mid-shoe. It also allows for more hands dealt per shoe, costing pennies per hour while ensuring a secure game against card counters.
G2E POST-SHOW - BINGO PRODUCTS
Video King
Those at Video King came prepared to show their best at this year’s G2E. Among the new products on display was The Champion II™, a two way tablet-based handset that lets players interact by simply touching the visuals on the screen. The Champion II also allows for simultaneous play of both Bingo and a multitude of credit-based games. “We’ve gotten very, very positive comments,” said Ed Dwornicki, director of sales. “People like the graphics, they like the speed and the ease of use of the unit, and with the two way communication, it’s really the new trend in the industry that we support. It’s been very well received.”
G2E POST-SHOW - SECURITY AND SURVEILLANCE
Biometrica
On top of its facial recognition, database and networking anti-cheating technology, Biometrica has integrated an incident reporting system. Now, when an operator finds somebody, or something happens in the casino, the software automatically gathers all the information, catalogues it, references it and sends it out to the people who need it.
Bob Schmitt, president of Biometrica, is also very excited about another new integration, this one with Bally to incorporate facial recognition into slot machines. “The application of this is the addicted gambler,” he explained. “We’ve created the ability to maintain an anonymous database.”
“We’re saying [to the problem gambler], ‘Look, why don’t you come into the casino and we’ll take your picture and put you on a database,’” he continued. “Then if someone sits down at a slot machine … it’ll turn the machine off or send a signal to security.”
The application is scheduled to be prototyped over the next 90 days, and casinos are already lined up for trial. Schmitt says he expects it to be ready for market by mid-2008.
GE Security
At G2E this year, GE Security showed off its VisioWave IVP product line, which is currently for sale and already installed at several properties. VisioWave IVP is a comprehensive network video solution used in applications, including transportation, airports, casino, defense, city surveillance and multi-location organizations. Looking forward to 2008, the company plans to continue building on the success of its new product introductions in 2007, expanding its line of IP products and adding additional software capabilities in its DVR line. “The momentum toward network based products continues to build, however we are still seeing growth in traditional analog camera systems,” Marketing Manager Jonathon Hughes said. “We are continuing to invest in products and technology that will take advantage of both of these trends, such as Hybrid DVRs, more IP cameras and new compression technologies.”
Aventura Systems
“Aventura is a total solution in respect to gaming in either cameras, video, dispersion of any kind of video signal into a DVR or recording medium,” states Adam Colombo, national accounts manager for Aventura System. Aventura utilizes H.264 video compression technology in its casino solutions. MPEG-4 compression, an older method, is a software-based compression. H.264 uses hardware to perform video compression, resulting in less demand on CPUs, less heat, and an overall increase in operational efficiency resulting in a better quality video image. Using a variable bit-rate compression, as opposed to a standard rate, areas of movement receive more concentration, and areas of lower importance receive higher compression. The end results are smaller file sizes and a higher quality video image where it is important.
Honeywell
Walking the G2E floor, it was easy to tell that the hot word in the surveillance industry these days is “digital.” Honeywell’s Enterprise System, being used by the Wynn Las Vegas, provides “two second surveillance.” If an incident needs to be investigated, now surveillance personnel are able to do so quicker than ever before. What might take an analog system minutes or even hours to find can now be done in a fraction of the time, pretty soon making analog a thing of the past. Among the products Honeywell displayed at this year’s show were Intelligent Video and Data Analytics, Integrated Data Management and Point-of-Sale Video Surveillance Systems tied to digital video recorders, Rapid Eye, PTZ and analog cameras, and Digital and network video recorders. “The reaction was very positive, especially with respect to our POS/slot management integration platform — IDM, and our new Active Alert® intelligent video analytics. This new software suite provides exciting technology that seamlessly integrates into our product line,” said Dave Herrington, leader of gaming accounts. “By making it possible to concentrate on meaningful activity, Active Alert improves safety and security as it enables better decision-making and a faster reaction to events.”
Time Access Systems
The touchscreen Keyless Chip Tray Security Management System that Time Access Systems had on display at this year’s G2E, features a Command Center that employs encrypted information to communicate with each chip tray, updating the status of individual gaming tables every 38 milliseconds.
The Key Exit Alert System works both alone and with standard key management systems. It monitors employees, preventing both accidental and intentional key removal from a casino property.
Dallmeier
Booth 5916 was all about high quality. The Dallmeier Digital Matrix, with DIS-2/M modular audio/video recording and transmission system in a 19” rack construction with slide-in units and MPEG-2/4 compression, is the ideal solution for monitoring critical areas where high-quality recording and real-time transmission are required. The modular construction of the system allows hot-plug functionality of the individual channel modules and the redundant power supply units of the rack. With the Dallmeier CasinoCam with Cam_inPIX technology, once a picture is taken, each individual pixel is immediately digitally converted and processed in the most optimal way, meaning that even situations with a great range in contrast can be recorded and documented in a quality previously unseen. Due to the user-friendly menu control of the Dallmeier CasinoCams, they can be installed easily, quickly and cost-effectively in any specific surveillance situation. “All shown products are already on the market and have proven their outstanding functionality in renowned casino applications,” said Dallmeier electronic USA Director of Sales Dr. Ekkehard Kleine. “Surveillance directors as well as systems integrators and consultants who visited us at G2E were impressed with the complete, customized solutions for the casino and gambling markets Dallmeier offers from one source.”
Identica Holdings Corporation
The Identica VP-II Vascular Pattern Scanner boasts a secure internal biometric measure that cannot be copied. Less expensive than an iris scan of the eye, it identifies an individual by scanning a small area on the back of the hand. Additional applications include guaranteeing security in cashrooms and monitoring employee attendance. The proprietary algorithm creates a digital template with encrypted information.
Petards
Petards’ surveillance solutions are being used in novel ways at The 101 Casino in Petaluma, Calif. Cameras are being mounted on cash cage counters and angled upwards so as not to miss face shots when individuals wear hats; networked storage will handle both Petards’ video surveillance images, and Lenel’s access control data in a simple, scalable solution integrated with technology partner Pivot3.
Petards also sells a license plate recognition (LPR) solution designed for the gaming industry. This video surveillance system extension is used in parking lots to read license plates so that casinos can detect high rollers or advantage players as soon as they enter the vicinity. Likewise, casino security can be alerted to the presence of prohibited individuals and intercept them before they reach the front door.
Petards’ intuitive Universal Video Management System (UVMS) was also on display at the show. According to company President Frank Baitman: “UVMS was designed to be incredibly easy-to-use. With hundreds, or even thousands of cameras to manage, gaming surveillance is one of the most challenging environments. Using the familiar ‘drag-and-drop’ interface, cameras can be opened and observed in groups. Most significantly, training on UVMS can be done in under an hour, a feature that comes in handy given the high turnover rate in some surveillance rooms.”
Panasonic Security Systems
Panasonic Security Systems showcased a number of analog products at this year’s show including a new DVR and a range of cameras with the new Super Dynamic III (SDIII) technology that allows for clear, detailed images in both light and dark areas. The company also called attention to auto-tracking, which tracks an individual’s movement within the scene. Keith Kanestrin, marketing manager for Panasonic Security Systems, said that the company really focuses on making all products easy to use, “We try to make our systems very intuitive for operation.” Panasonic also used the G2E platform to announce that it has formed a strategic alliance with North American Video to further increase its presence in the gaming market.
NORTH AMERICAN VIDEO
North American Video (NAV) did not display at G2E this year but sponsored the welcome reception and afterparty. It was an excellent opportunity for NAV’s team to meet and greet a number of high-profile clients in the gaming industry and establish new contacts for future business development.
NAV did note that one major trend in security and surveillance systems is the continued migration towards integration with related systems. For instance, POS data is being combined with video surveillance images to provide a visual record of activity to accompany sales transactions, and visitor management data is being combined with HR databases or linked to federal government databases to help ensure a more comprehensive, secure and smoother visitor login procedure that can be implemented in seconds. These technology improvements and others have resulted in a growing trend of a more active and intelligent surveillance methodology that is affecting the way the concept of security systems design and implementation is approached.
MORSE WATCHMANS
“From Connecticut to California, our products are in casinos across America and around the World,” said Morse Watchmans’ Account Executive George Lawson. And for anyone who stopped by Morse Watchmans’ booth at G2E this year, it was easy to see why. The Keywatcher Key Management System allows casino management personnel to easily control who has keys to what, when — an idea that is very vital in high security areas. The system also relieves the stress of lost or stolen keys. Use isn’t limited to casinos — the Keywatcher can be found in correctional and healthcare facilities, hotels, government agencies, and anywhere else security is essential.
Bosch Security Systems
Strong traffic throughout the Bosch Security Systems booth at this year’s show can be attributed to the many top-notch products the company had to showcase. Bosch’s CCTV product portfolio, including analog and IP cameras — both fixed and pan/tilt/zoom — digital recording solutions, and VIDOS Pro Software Suite were on display. In terms of digital recording, the company showed its ability to combine analog and IP cameras into a single hybrid IP.
The solution uses the casino’s network only for review of video and avoids many traditional network issues. It also prevents loss of video recording due to network downtime — whether for scheduled maintenance or if the network fails. “The response to the Bosch products and solutions showcased was very favorable,” said Robert Drob, VP of eastern region sales. “The Bosch cameras and the unique IP recording solution were very well received by attendees at the show.”
NICE Systems
With over 150 casinos worldwide using its technologies to protect their people, property and profits, its no wonder that NICE Systems’ booth was a hit at G2E. The company’s primary focus at this year’s show was the table game management of Blackjack and Baccarat as a business solution for player development and game protection.
“We provide our products on multiple platforms worldwide. The primary provider of our solution to the gaming industry are system integrators like North American Video, IK Systems, Vision Surveillance, American Video Surveillance, and SportView that install turnkey solutions for CCTV and video management,” said Douglas Florence Sr., CPP., director of its gaming sector. NICE goes above and beyond by training the property’s technical staff that have installed its digital recording system.
iView
iView has a host of solutions, including the iTrak incident report and risk management solutions; iGNet, which allows subscribers to share security and surveillance related information; iGData a platform that creates profiles of industry “desirables and undesirables”; iGWatch, which features biometric facial recognition search; iPass, which provides visitor registration and badging and management; iDispatch, which assigns, initiates, tracks and reports on security personnel; iGap, which monitors and measures approaches to problem gambling; and id Acquire which scans photos and cards such as driver’s licenses. According to Michelle Austin, marketing communications manager, “Incident reporting and risk management are our main systems and from there we have our other modules.” iView, now partnered with Progressive Gaming International, has customers located throughout North America, Europe, Macau, New Zealand and Australia. Besides the obvious security areas, the company is heavily involved in problem gambling solutions that can monitor a patron’s risk level.
Lock America
New security products at Lock America’s booth included a bill validator cover and the T-handle cover for ATM machines. For slot machines, Lock America’s patented steel Millennium slip ring stops thieves from using wrenches to spin the lock and gain access. The company also displayed the high security cam lock and other medium security locks. The thumb turn-locks eliminate the need for keys.
G2E POST-SHOW - FINANCIAL SERVICES
U.S. BANK DELIVERS RELIABLE SYSTEMS
At a show where many companies put product development first and foremost, U.S. Bank took a different approach. “Our main focus is delivering a reliable system,” Paul Nielsen, VP and director of gaming services at U.S. Bank, said. “If we’re investing heavily in reliable systems, then our ATM availability will maybe be a percent higher than somebody else’s. And a percent higher in a year can add up to another $1 million of cash on our customer’s floor.”
Although its number one focus may have been on that quality service and responsiveness, U.S. Bank’s booth wasn’t without new products, as well. Its G&D ticket redemption kiosk has already been released and employed in the field, and a new NRT-made ticket-redemption and bill-breaking unit will follow early next year. U.S. Bank is just now completing the certification for the machine, which will also perform regular ATM transactions, 3-in-1, and electronic check cashing for casinos that want to merge those functions into a single machine. Other new offerings in 2008 will include a ticket-redemption machine in partnership with Western Money Systems, and a new check cashing option with Global Payments Gaming Services.
New Wave Automation
While the IRS seems to just keep making tax codes more complicated, New Wave Automation keeps finding ways to simplify the paperwork — or, rather, create a lack thereof. President Jim Bach says the company is continuing to streamline and improve the process of creating electronic tax forms, including Forms W2G, 1042S and 1099. “Everything is trying to go paperless,” he said, whether through the creation of scanned electronic copies or avoiding printing in the first place, to make access nearly instantaneous. “We live in a world where people want instant information and, at this point in time, that includes the federal government,” he said. “And you better have it.”
The company’s biggest focus for 2008 is to have a more direct interface with other casino systems.
Ewing Cole
Philadelphia-based Ewing Cole has two new casino projects under way and one of those is the Calgary Racing and Gaming complex in Alberta, Canada. The property will feature a five-star hotel, a shopping mall and a 1,000-slot casino.
The other project is the Foxwoods slot parlor and hotel project, which will be located on the Philadelphia waterfront. Pending passage of necessary legislation, Ewing Cole hopes to break ground within a year.
Friedmutter Group
During 2007, the Friedmutter Group kept itself busy with a number of phenomenal projects. The company completed a major expansion at Green Valley Ranch Resort & Hotel in Las Vegas; the Red Rock Lanes, which opened with a 72-lane bowling, ultra-lounge, arcade & retail at Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas; the Pool at Harrah’s Hotel, Atlantic City; and Emeril’s Gulf Coast Fish House, which opened at Island View Casino in Biloxi, Miss., along with a major casino expansion to the property.
And much more lies ahead. “Over the following one to two years, the Friedmutter Group will be responsible for the design, completion and opening of projects in excess of 10 million square feet, representing construction costs of more than $4 billion dollars,” Ellie Hirschfield, VP of business development, said.
JCJ Architecture
JCJ Architecture had a lot to celebrate at this year’s G2E, including the opening of its new Phoenix office and its new managing principal Kristina Robinson. “We’re really excited to have Kristina heading up our new Phoenix office,” Brian Davis, the principal of JCJ’s Hartford office and the hospitality practice director, said. “We’re also extremely proud to have been honored as this year’s recipient of the ‘Best Architectural Design for a Tribal Casino/Resort’ from the G2E Institute and the AGA for our Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.”
It’s been a busy year for JCJ. The company completed the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel in Salamanca, N.Y., and the Kiowa Casino in Devol, Okla., and those are just two among many other projects.
Some of the company’s current and future projects, include: the Wild Horse Pass — New Resort Casino, Hotel, Spa and Retail Center in Chandler, Ariz., St. Regis Mohawk Akwesasne Casino, Hotel and Conference Center in Akwesasne, N.Y., the Hipodromo de las Americas in Mexico City, Mexico and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., just to name a few.
Leo A Daly
LEO A DALY was all about excellence at this year’s G2E. “We’re involved in a lot of projects across the United States right now,” Shannon Fitzgerald of LEO A DALY said. “We just finished a beautiful project up in Petoskey, Michigan, for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, which has been an incredible success for them.”
Some other notable projects for the company in the past year have been: the Pueblo Sandia Casino & Hotel in Albuquerque, N.M., The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., Casino Arizona at Salt River in Scottsdale, Ariz., and many, many others.
One of the company’s current endeavors is project CityCenter in Las Vegas. “We are the architect of record for project CityCenter, which is a great honor for us. It’s such a huge undertaking, and we’re stoked to be a part of it,” Fitzgerald said.
The company is also expanding into retail and has been working with the Boyd group on some unannounced projects in the coming years.
Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects
The sole Native American architectural firm in the United States, Thalden-Boyd-Emery, opened two properties in September 2007. Owned by the Tunica Biloxi tribe, the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, La., is a 300-room hotel with an atrium designed to replicate the bayou. Live alligators were imported and are maintained in the simulated swamp in the lobby area.
One of its other exciting projects is the new Dakota Dunes in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which will offer economic benefits to both the casino and the provincial government.
H.H. Robertson Floor Systems
Every casino needs what’s underneath its floors — that’s what keeps those machines spinning. National Sales Manager Rich Niceforo says H.H. Robertson Floor Systems’ under-floor ductwork is the best deal. “Over the competition, it’s much more economical and it gives you much more capacity to run your wires,” he said.
Coming off a solid year of growth, increasing its sales by 50 percent, the company has improved its Robertson Under-floor Distribution System from last year with, as Niceforo says, “a few different wrinkles.”
“We’ve enhanced the product slightly,” he said, “with some things that we’ve done for our carpeting fittings, which gives it a nicer look aesthetically.”
Ultimately, he says, because a lot of owners are seeing the benefits of the Robertson system and switching from their old traditional systems, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
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