Bally Launches New Interactive Website
Bally Technologies has launched a significantly enhanced and redesigned corporate website, BallyTech.com, to better serve the evolving needs of the global gaming industry. “Customer feedback played a big role in developing our new website,” said Dan Savage, Bally’s vice president of marketing. “It was of paramount importance that we give our customers the online tools they need to make their job easier. That’s why we focused on creating more robust and user-friendly features such as advanced search capabilities for par sheets, SMI numbers, and other key information our customers need to access online. … This new website is just the start of our commitment to provide customers and stakeholders with more robust e-commerce tools; we are currently working on even more powerful enhancements.” In addition to a visually new graphical look and feel, the revamped BallyTech.com website also features enhanced presentation of Bally’s latest stepper and video-slot portfolio, a comprehensive Systems section, a robust new global search engine, an interactive global map of Bally’s worldwide offices, and an expanded career search function and online job application. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
Bally Releases SDS Version 11.0
Bally Technologies has released the new Version 11.0 of its flagship SDS slot management and accounting system that supports the Microsoft Windows software platform, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and an entirely new, streamlined and easy-to-use Windows-based graphical user interface. Built for the global marketplace, the highly configurable Bally Systems SDS Version 11.0 features intuitive user navigation support for multiple currencies and languages. Running on both UNIX® and Windows software platforms, this significantly upgraded, Java-based solution features a single code base that supports multiple hardware platforms and databases, including Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and DB2, making SDS the industry’s first true open system product and allowing casino operators true flexibility and choice. “Our new SDS Version 11.0 provides Bally with a competitive and scalable Microsoft Windows-powered slot management system with a modern scalable architecture to provide a world-class solution for casinos that prefer a Windows-based software platform,” said Tom Doyle, Bally Technologies’ vice president of product management for Bally Systems. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
Spotlight 29 Deploys Bally’s BI
Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, Calif., has implemented Bally’s Business Intelligence Solutions on a Teradata® Database from Teradata Corporation. The Spotlight 29 installation marks Bally’s first deployment with the Teradata Database, which provides the casino with a single database platform to support Business Intelligence Solutions’ powerful visual analysis and profile tools along with numerous other property database applications. Bally’s Business Intelligence Solutions on the Teradata Database connect Spotlight 29’s customer data with individual game data from the casino’s 2,000 slot machines, providing slot and marketing managers with deep insights into how casino patrons interact on the gaming floor. This transforms massive volumes of transaction and customer data into critical, real-time visual insights on gaming-floor performance, player and game interaction, and player behavior, loyalty and value. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
AGEM Adds Six Members, Announces New Officers
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) has approved the membership applications of seven new companies, bringing the trade group’s membership to 68 of the world’s leading gaming suppliers. The new AGEM members are: AP-ID Inc., based in Green Bay, Wis., a leader in identification validation technology for casino resorts; DynaGraphic Printing, based in Reno, Nev., which offers quality conventional printing services enhanced with cross-media capabilities; Incredible Technologies, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., a designer and manufacturer of top-quality Class III gaming machines; Masterpiece Advertising, based in Atlantic City, N.J., a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations agency; Regulatory Management Counselors, based in East Lansing, Mich., a law firm that specializes in assisting gaming suppliers and financial institutions; Strategy9, based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, which provides marketing automation software and direct mail services to the casino industry; and Las Vegas-based Global Gaming Group (G3), a game content designer.
AGEM’s Board of Directors has also approved a new slate of officers, including Thomas A. Jingoli, senior director of compliance and legal administration for Konami Gaming Inc., as the organization’s new president. Jingoli, previously AGEM’s treasurer, will serve a two-year term. One-year terms were also approved for Vice President Orrin Edidin (president, WMS); Treasurer Mark Lerner (senior vice president and general counsel, Bally Technologies); Secretary Seamus McGill (COO, Aristocrat Americas); and General Counsel Neil H. Friedman (associate general counsel, IGT). For more information, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.AGEM.org" www.AGEM.org.
Gary Platt Hires Canadian Sales Manager
Gary Platt Manufacturing has hired Clint Baker as Canadian sales manager for all Canadian provinces. Clint has 10 years of experience in the gaming industry, with nearly five years as a table games dealer. Clint’s educational background is in business and law, and he is a well-trained ergonomics consultant. For more information, visit www.garyplatt.com.
MegaJackpot®’s Payout More than $9.4 Million
Nine casinos awarded an impressive $9.4 million in MegaJackpot prize money over the holiday season. MegaJackpots were awarded in seven states, and 12 out of 13 hits were on a Wheel of Fortune® progressive game. “For years, players have told us how much they love our Wheel of Fortune games. A run of MegaJackpot hits like this is very exciting. It just proves that Wheel of Fortune progressive games are, and will continue to be, some of the most popular on the casino floor,” said Ed Rogich, VP of marketing for IGT (pictured). “We are always updating our games to give the player a fresh and exciting gaming experience, and with new configurations like Wheel of Fortune Super Spin™ Five-Station, which is designed for up to five players, allowing for a community game playing experience, IGT continues to lead the industry with a seamless combination of technology and proven entertainment value.” The largest single payout over the holidays came from a Marilyn Monroe™ one-dollar machine. The $3,887,007 jackpot hit on Jan. 3 at the Black Oak Casino in Tuolumne, Calif. The multimillion dollar prize is the largest to be paid at Black Oak Casino to date. For more information, visit www.IGT.com.
Dickinson Wright Opens Toronto Office
Dickinson Wright PLLC has opened a new Toronto office. The Toronto office will be led by Canadian gaming attorneys Michael D. Lipton Q.C. and Kevin J. Weber, both of whom are preeminent legal advisors in casino and gaming law. Lipton and Weber deal in all matters affecting land-based gaming, online gaming, skill gaming and promotional sweepstakes, and have honed their expertise in all areas of law affecting the gaming industry, including constitutional law, regulatory law, corporate criminal law, First Nations law, commercial litigation and contracts. “This is an exciting development. Michael and Kevin joining our firm enhances what is already a robust international gaming law practice,” said Robert W. Stocker II, chair of the Dickinson Wright gaming practice group and president of the International Masters of Gaming Law. “We now have 30 attorneys in our gaming practice group, three of whom, including Michael, are recognized internationally as leaders in their field.” For more information, visit www.dickinsonwright.com.
AGA Board Elects Matthews as Chairman
At the December annual meeting of the American Gaming Association (AGA) board of directors, the board elected Thomas J. (T.J.) Matthews, chairman and CEO of International Game Technology, to serve as chairman of the AGA. Matthews, who served as vice chairman of the AGA board for the past two years, succeeds Gary Loveman, chairman, CEO and president of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. Matthews commenced his two-year term as of the beginning of the year. Keith Smith, chairman and CEO of Boyd Gaming Corporation, was elected to replace Matthews as vice chairman, and Loveman will remain a member of the AGA board. For more information, visit www.americangaming.org.
GLI Europe Welcomes New Manager
GLI Europe has further expanded its talented staff with the addition of its new business development manager, Gert Telkämper. Telkämper brings an extensive background in the gaming and amusement markets, which is perfect for the client base that GLI Europe serves. Telkämper has been active in the technical, commercial and operational aspects of well-known brands in the European casino industry for the past 12 years. “Gert has a diverse background, experience and knowledge that will be very beneficial to GLI Europe’s clients,” said Phillip Barow, managing director of GLI Europe. “Adding Gert to the mix with Theo Vranken and Martin Britton puts GLI Europe in a very strong position to provide better customer service and insight than ever, and better than any other lab could provide.” Telkämper brings GLI’s worldwide development team to 17. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.
Bally Names New Regional Sales Manager for Eastern Europe
Bally has named Jurate Bitinaite regional sales manager for Eastern Europe. “We are extremely pleased to welcome Jurate to our growing international sales team,” said Marcel Heutmekers, Bally’s director of Europe. “Her background and experience in the Baltic States and Eastern European countries will help us to continue our aggressive expansion into these key gaming markets.” A native of Lithuania, Bitinaite most recently was the corporate marketing executive and a member of the board of directors of Grand Casino World, a major luxury entertainment and gaming complex in Lithuania. During her tenure with Grand Casino World, she was responsible for directing a variety of marketing, customer service, customer-relationship management and sales initiatives, as well as being on the launch team for Lithuania’s largest casino. Prior to working at Grand Casino World, she was the marketing projects coordinator for Cilija, the operator of a chain of 80 restaurants in six countries in Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
Atronic Launches CRYSTAL.NET™
Atronic launched the next generation of online platform and multimedia LCD player tracking at IGE 2009: CRYSTAL.net™. CRYSTAL.net is the foundation for the services and applications you need to maximize your returns. CRYSTAL.net is an all-in-one solution designed to empower your back office while exceeding your players’ high expectations. Built on recognized industry standards with proven hardware, CRYSTAL.net gives your casino floor more efficiency, flexibility, entertainment and power, so you can spend more time on strategic initiatives and less on downtime and operating costs. CRYSTAL.net increases revenues by streamlining casino operations, reducing maintenance downtime and providing maximum ease of use. CRYSTAL.net is the industry’s most robust and powerful platform to date. It features the most efficient processing performance, longest average lifetime and highest interface capacity of any online system in the business. For more information, visit www.atronic.com.
Atronic Austria Certified ISO 9001
Atronic Austria’s operations plant in Gross St. Florian is one of the first organizations in the country to receive ISO 9001:2008 certification. The three-day audit was conducted by two SystemCert auditors on Nov. 5, 18, and 19. Auditors commended the Gross St. Florian team for its quality assurance program and issued a special commendation for the degree at which the entire team, from management to warehouse workers, makes standards a part of its daily routine. “We are extremely proud of this certification and what it says about our commitment to quality in all our product-related processes,” said Gross St. Florian plant manager Herwig Bretterklieber. ISO 9001:2008 is an internationally recognized standard for an organization’s internal Quality Management System (QMS) issued by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The new ISO 9001:2008 standards include a focus on customer satisfaction and process management. For more information, visit www.atronic.com.