Casino Enterprise Management

Aristocrat Signs New Deal with Grand Vision Gaming, Creates nLive™ Virtual Casino Solution
Aristocrat Technologies Inc. and Montana-based video gaming device manufacturer Grand Vision Gaming (GVG) have expanded their winning relationship. Now Aristocrat and GVG have signed a new cross-licensing deal that brings three top player-favorite Aristocrat game themes to GVG cabinets in the South Dakota lottery market. According to Tim Carson, one of GVG’s four partners, GVG’s growing relationship with Aristocrat is proof of a successful collaboration that leverages the individual strengths of both companies. Earlier this year, GVG and Aristocrat partnered to bring Aristocrat titles to Montana. That success is the basis for this new agreement and brings the same extremely popular titles to South Dakota lottery on GVG cabinets, namely Buffalo™, 5 Dragons™ and Miss Kitty™.

Aristocrat will create an nLive™ virtual casino for long-time Oasis 360™ partner Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. To date, Aristocrat has launched more branded free-play sites than any other provider, and Tachi Palace is the first California-based property to contract for an nLive virtual casino. The Tachi Palace nLive free-play virtual casino will be designed to match the individual branding of the land-based casino. nLive is a custom B2B online gaming solution with fun and exciting online wager-ready platform, social gaming and managed services. Aristocrat’s nLive virtual casinos feature a perfect mix of the best slot and table games, including an extensive Aristocrat content library and poker. For more information, visit www.aristocrat-us.com.


Bally Technologies’ Online Games Now Available on Daub Gaming Sites; Bally Installs Systems Solution at Casino Atlantic City Peru
Bally Technologies Inc. announced its online slot games are available for wagering on Daub Alderney Ltd. online gaming sites, including the popular Kitty Bingo and Lucky Pants Bingo. “Bally’s online slot games provide compelling content and plenty of chances to win, which will make them player favorites,” Zak Jacobs from Daub Alderney Ltd. said. Bally Interactive General Manager Michael Probert said: “Daub Alderney Ltd. is a leader in the United Kingdom online gaming market with some fantastic brands, and Bally is excited to begin this partnership. Our proven game content has been extremely successful in land-based casinos worldwide. Now players will have the chance to experience Bally games from anywhere.”

Bally also announced it has installed its iVIEW Display Manager™ (DM) with Elite Bonusing Suite™ (EBS), along with a host of its trailblazing systems solutions, at Casino Atlantic City Peru in Lima. Casino Atlantic City Peru is the first casino in Peru to utilize Bally’s iVIEW DM and EBS on gaming machines across its casino floor, enabling floor-wide player-bonusing events. The property will use EBS to add excitement across its iVIEW network using player-centric, real-time interactive promotions such as Virtual Racing™, U-Spin Bonusing™ and DM Tournaments™. The casino will also utilize Bally’s CoolSign® media-management solution, SDS™ slot-management system and CMP (Casino Market Place) player-tracking system. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.


Scientific Games Completes Acquisition of WMS, Signs Instant Extension with Florida Lottery
Scientific Games announced that it has completed the acquisition of WMS Industries Inc., combining leading businesses offering lottery games, gaming machines and game content, systems, sports betting technology and social, mobile and interactive content and services. WMS was acquired for approximately $1.5 billion. In connection with the merger, Scientific Games entered into a new $2.6 billion credit facility, consisting of a $2.3 billion term loan facility and a $300 million revolving credit facility that was undrawn at closing.

Scientific Games also announced that it has signed a 4-year extension to its contract as the primary supplier of instant games and cooperative services to the Florida Lottery. The extension, which will continue to provide for instant game design, marketing services, warehouse management, inventory control and retail distribution, will begin in October 2014. For more information, visit www.scientificgames.com.



Kai™ Installed in Little River Casino Resort and Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs
Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Mich., recently installed Acres 4.0’s workflow solution Kai™, setting a new bar for casino customer service throughout the state. “It was one of the first new products I brought in when I came to Little River because we needed to gain more of a competitive edge in our crowded marketplace,” said Wendell Long, Little River Casino Resort’s general manager. “Kai does this for us perfectly.”

Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs recently announced its decision to permanently install Acres 4.0’s workflow solution Kai after an extensive field trial proved it to be the best customer service solution available. “Since we began our trial with Kai, we’ve significantly improved customer service and reduced our cost of operations,” said Monty Terhune, Ameristar Council Bluffs’ vice president and general manager. For more information, visit www.acres4.com.


IGT and Scioto Downs Racino Show Ohio the Money with MegaHits™; IGT Adding Monopoly Plus to the Game Content Offerings on DoubleDown Casino
International Game Technology (IGT) announced that it will be offering MegaHits™, a multi-jurisdictional, wide-area progressive (WAP) jackpot in the state of Ohio. MegaHits links jackpots across multiple lottery jurisdictions, beginning at $100,000 and growing to life-changing jackpot potential. Currently live in Delaware, Rhode Island and West Virginia, MegaHits is anticipated to be placed in additional properties throughout Ohio.

IGT is launching MONOPOLY PLUS through a license from Hasbro on the DoubleDown Casino, the world’s largest social casino on Facebook. Players will experience the iconic MONOPOLY game play they know and love when they spin the dice and move around the board, plus see captivating iconic game pieces fill the screen and Mr. Monopoly appear in bonus rounds. The player experience is taken to a whole new level with more chances to win big in exciting bonus rounds such as Mystery Wild Bonus and Board Bonus. MONOPOLY PLUS is the first slot game ever to offer the Level-Up Plus feature in which players can earn rewards, bump up levels, increase virtual payouts and gain extended playtime. For more information, visit www.igt.com.



Konami Gaming, Inc. Selects GameAccount Network as I-Gaming Partner to Bring Content Online
Konami Gaming, Inc. announced that after careful deliberation and a thorough examination of potential business partners, it has selected GameAccount Network (GAN) as a strategic partner to bring Konami’s casino games to the market via GAN’s leading i-gaming platform. “GameAccount Network is a world-class provider of i-gaming solutions. It was critical for us to find a partner who could help us deliver our game content online in a manner designed to help our casino customers grow revenue and expand their businesses.” said Steve Sutherland, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Konami. The initial stage of this partnership will provide Konami content via GAN’s network to a wide range of i-gaming service providers that include legal real money online wagering and simulated gaming sites around the world. Konami and GAN anticipate having the first online titles appear on the GAN network in early 2014. For more information, visit www.konamigaming.com.


GameAccount Network and Global Cash Access Enter Strategic Alliance Agreement
GameAccount Network (GAN) and Global Cash Access (GCA) announced a strategic alliance to integrate GCA’s Everi™ suite of payment products into the GAN GameSTACK™ i-gaming platform to offer gaming operators a secure, interactive platform and payments solution. GAN and GCA are combining their expertise to offer interactive solutions for online gaming and secure payments processing, thereby providing a single point of integration and affording operators the ability to provide i-gaming alternatives to patrons. For more information, visit www.gameaccountnetwork.com.



INTRALOT S.A. Earns GSA Certifications for iGEM Site Controller
Gaming Standards Association (GSA) is pleased to announce that INTRALOT S.A. has earned its first certifications under GSA’s certification program. INTRALOT earned two certifications for its iGEM, Site Controller v15.0.0.9A. The product was tested and certified for interoperability to G2S Message Protocol v1.1 and to GSA Point-to-Point SOAP/HTTPS Transport and Security Specification v1.2. The certifications are finalized and published to the Certified Product Registry on GSA’s website. GSA’s Certification Program promotes interoperability in gaming products that correctly implement GSA standards. Products that are GSA certified have been tested by a qualified test lab and found to meet GSA certification requirements for the implementation of GSA standards. An easy-to-search registry of all GSA-certified products is publicly available on GSA’s website. Certification records listed on the site detail the GSA standard functionality supported by a product. For more information, visit www.gamingstandards.com.

Fantini Research Adds Marketing Coordinator
Dee Wild-Shyver has been appointed marketing coordinator for Fantini Research. Shyver, who has held several key roles at Fantini Research over the past nine years, will help develop and implement marketing programs for Fantini publications, Spectrumetrix-Fantini products and Eilers Research products. She also will be involved in advertising sales, incorporation service development and brand building. “We welcome Dee to this new position as our first-ever marketing coordinator,” Fantini Research CEO Frank Fantini said. “She has been instrumental in our development in many ways over the years and has strong relationships with many of our clients. We look forward to Dee adding her knowledge and enthusiasm to our marketing efforts.” For more information, visit www.fantiniresearch.com.


MGM Resorts Chairman & CEO Named Executive Chairman of Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA)
The Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA) announced that Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International, will join the CROA as the executive chairman of the Board of Trustees. An integral part of the CROA, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the CROA whose primary objective is to promote the practice and profession of corporate responsibility as a driver of business and social value. The Board of Trustees helps set the overall direction of the Advisory Board and the association, ensuring that both act on their mission to provide value to members and society. For more information, visit www.mgmresorts.com.


TransAct Technologies Announces Ohio Appeals Court’s Denial of Request for Preliminary Injunction
TransAct Technologies Inc. announced that the Court of Appeals for the 11th Appellate District in Lake County, Ohio, has affirmed the November 2012 judgment of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas in TransAct’s favor. The earlier Lake County Court of Common Pleas judgment denied Avery Dennison Corp.’s request for a preliminary injunction against TransAct for alleged misappropriation of Avery Dennison trade secrets in connection with the design of the company’s food safety terminals. Bart Shuldman, chairman and chief executive office of TransAct, said, “We remain highly confident in the strengths and value of our intellectual property portfolio, which is the result of the development work of our engineering team and which forms the foundation for our innovative solutions that address specific opportunities across multiple industries.” For more information, visit www.transact-tech.com.