Casino Enterprise Management

ATRONIC Launches Bonusing Solution
ATRONIC’s system division is now offering an unsurpassed portfolio of bonusing features with limitless options tailored to operator needs. With Star|BONUS FEVER, ATRONIC has created a flexible solution that boosts retention rates and profit-per-customer by exciting players with incentives and improved communication. There are no limits to the combinations: time, location and even customer-specific qualification criteria are changeable. In combination with ATRONIC’s brand-new CRYSTAL.net™ online floor network, it becomes even more attractive and interactive.

ATRONIC Accredited as Microsoft Gold Certified Partner
ATRONIC has attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. The ATRONIC Group now has the official confirmation that its products have met the highest Microsoft standards for quality and compatibility. Microsoft Gold Partner status is awarded only to those companies that successfully meet rigorous testing and evaluation criteria, including investment in equipment and expert training, multiple technology specializations, and high levels of customer service and satisfaction. The certification also shows that ATRONIC products have passed independent software tests and are fully compatible with the latest Microsoft technologies, such as .NET. For more information, visit www.atronic.com.

G2E Partners with IAAPA, Canadian Gaming Association
The organizers of the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2009 announced a strategic partnership with the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). G2E tradeshow attendees will enjoy free admission to the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009, which will feature amusement industry products and vendors. Qualified IAAPA Expo attendees will be offered access to the G2E 2009 show floor. The IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 will take place Nov. 16–20 in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Members of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) now can take advantage of special discounts for G2E 2009. The partnership between G2E and the CGA will provide CGA members access to G2E’s offerings at an unbeatable value. CGA, the trade association representing the Canadian gaming industry, will exhibit at G2E 2009. The organizers of G2E also will exhibit at next year’s Canadian Gaming Summit, scheduled for April 26–28, 2010, in Calgary, Alberta. For more information, visit www.globalgamingexpo.com.

Aristocrat Unveils 10 New Games for Europe
Aristocrat Technologies has released details of its Autumn 2009 range, which includes 10 brand-new slot games for the European market. The debut collection, spanning the Multi Line™, 50 Line™, Reel Power™ and Double Standalone Progressive™ genres, features six new Viridian™/Gen 7 titles and a quartet of fresh games for the XCite™/Mk VI platform. Newcomers to the Viridian stable include three Multi Line games, Agent M™, Attack of the Monsters™ and Kick’n Ass™, the 50 Line Harlequin Hearts™, Reel Power Flights of Fancy™ and Spring Festival™, a new base game for the highly colorful Banana King™ DSAP. The new additions bring the total of Viridian games in Aristocrat’s European library to 43. For more information, visit www.aristocrattechnologies.com/ .

G2S Protocol Authorized in New South Wales
Gaming industry protocol standards developed by the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) took another major step forward recently when GSA’s Game to System (G2S) standard was authorized by the New South Wales Casino, Liquor and Gaming Control Authority for use in New South Wales. The decision was made following the successful Gaming Communication Technology Workshop in April in Sydney, Australia. GSA President Peter DeRaedt said: “The recognition of GSA’s work by the Gaming Control Authority in New South Wales, Australia could not have come at a better time. G2S was built by the industry for the industry, and this authorization takes G2S and the incredible possibilities it holds to another important corner of the world.” For more information, visit www.gamingstandards.com.

Empire Resorts Appoints D’Amato as CFO
Empire Resorts Inc. has appointed Joseph A. D’Amato as the company’s chief financial officer, effective immediately. D’Amato’s appointment is the latest in a series of strategic moves by the company to enhance its gaming operations. D’Amato most recently served as CEO of Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pennsylvania and as CFO and COO at Seneca Gaming Corporation in New York. For more information, visit www.empireresorts.com.

GTECH Companies Exhibit as GTECH G2 at EiG
For the first time since lottery industry giant GTECH announced the creation of its new digital gaming division, the four companies acquired to form the group will exhibit under their one new brand name, GTECH G2. Boss Media, Finsoft, St Minver and Dynamite Idea, now backed by the world’s leading supplier to the lottery industry, will showcase their comprehensive, end-to-end solutions for interactive gaming operators at the European iGaming conference (EiG) in Copenhagen. For more information, visit www.gtech.com.

CityCenter to Open in December
In just a couple short months, the world will be introduced to CityCenter. An extraordinary urban resort destination brought to life by eight world-renowned architects, CityCenter will debut a new era of resort experiences with an ambition to refine and redefine Las Vegas. Conceived to bring a true center to the Strip, CityCenter is much more than a collection of resorts and residences; it’s a community. Upon opening, CityCenter will be one of the largest sustainable developments in existence, bringing a new level of environmental consciousness to the world-famous Strip. The U.S. Green Building Council has already awarded Gold LEED® certification to ARIA’s hotel tower, convention center and theater, as well as to the Vdara Hotel. CityCenter’s grand opening schedule is: Vdara Hotel, Dec. 1; Crystals retail and entertainment district, Dec. 3; Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, Dec. 4; ARIA Resort & Casino, Dec. 16; and The Harmon, late 2010. Residential occupancies are slated to begin mid-January 2010. For more information, visit www.citycenter.com.

GLI South America Hosts 2nd Annual Regulators Roundtable
GLI South America hosted dozens of regulators from across Latin America at its 2nd Annual Regulators Roundtable. The roundtable, held Sept. 15 in Buenos Aires, drew lottery, casino and bingo regulators from across the region. Speakers included GLI Senior Director of Jurisdictional Development Bill Treger, Development Manager for GLI Latin America Karen Sierra Hughes, and Director of GLI South America Javier Díaz. Specialists from GLI South America gave a series of presentations on regulatory topics. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.

Elite Introduces AXIS Slot Cabinet Series
Elite Casino Products unveiled the new AXIS Slot Cabinet Series in September, with the official product launch planned for the upcoming Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The Axis Series will include two gaming cabinet styles, a standard 19-inch LCD and a wide aspect ratio 22-inch LCD. The new Axis gaming cabinets are engineered with appealing aesthetics, player comfort and functional serviceability in mind. The Axis Series brings a contemporary style to the slot floor. The 19- and 22-inch slot machine cabinets are efficient and easy to service. The gaming cabinets incorporate ECP’s revolutionary LCD mounting system, which allows the screen to be rotated for diagnostic use while servicing the inside of the game. The AXIS Series slot machine cabinets can be customized or ordered with standard features. For more information, visit www.ecp-usa.com.

Bally Installs at Coushatta, Tropicana, Morongo
Bally Technologies Inc. has a new contract with Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, La., to provide its ACSC™ Version 11 slot monitoring, marketing and accounting solution. The system is scheduled for installation before the end of this calendar year. In addition, Bally will provide Coushatta with more than 2,800 iVIEW™ player interface displays for its gaming machines, Bally’s eTICKET™ cashless solution, and Bally Power Bonusing™ solutions.

Tropicana Las Vegas is investing in Bally’s CMS®/400 player-tracking and marketing system, along with Bally’s latest promotional tools. In addition, Tropicana has purchased Bally’s Business Intelligence Solutions with data analytics, visualization and slot floor mapping.

Bally has also expanded its systems partnership with Morongo Casino Resort Spa to provide Bally Business Intelligence Solutions as well as a number of marketing products, including 2,000 iVIEW player interface displays. The contract comes on the heels of the Southern California casino’s substantial investment in its property with the planned implementation of a Cisco Systems high-speed Ethernet casino floor. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.

Penn National, Cordish Enter into Agreement
Penn Hollywood Kansas Inc., a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming Inc., has entered into an agreement, subject to local and regulatory approvals, with principals of The Cordish Company, the managing member of Kansas Entertainment LLC. Penn National has agreed to acquire Cordish’s 50 percent interest in Kansas Entertainment LLC and its role as managing member. As a result, Penn National will join the Kansas Speedway Development Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Speedway Corporation (which owns the other 50 percent of Kansas Entertainment) in its pending application with the Kansas Lottery Commission to develop and operate a Hollywood-themed entertainment destination facility at the Kansas Speedway in the North East Gaming Zone in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Penn National and the International Speedway Corporation will share equally the cost of developing and constructing the proposed facility and intend to jointly seek third-party financing for the project. For more information, visit www.pngaming.com.

Record Numbers at Aristocrat’s OASIS 360™ Summit
Aristocrat Technologies’ Oasis 360™ system is successfully running the casino floors of 260 casinos in the U.S., and the company welcomed a record number of operators to its annual summit. The summit was in September at the Palms Resort Casino. Aristocrat estimated close to 400 customer representatives from across the country—the most ever to attend the summit. Aristocrat President Nick Khin said: “We are thrilled that so many customers came to the Summit, particularly given the current challenging economic climate. We were very excited about having the opportunity for our customers to get together and to provide them a very personal, hands-on demonstration of the exciting new features in Oasis 360 that will further enhance their casino operations.” For more information, visit www.aristocratgaming.com .

Cannery Casino Resorts Makes Executive Appointments
Cannery Casino Resorts (CCR) has named Tom Lettero president and chief financial officer. Lettero joined Cannery Casino Resorts in 2005 as CFO and was appointed to COO in January 2008. Prior to joining CCR, Lettero worked at Aladdin Gaming, Stratosphere Corporation, Palace Casinos and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. Xavier Walsh has been appointed to chief operating officer. Walsh, in his new capacity as COO, will oversee all four CCR properties, working directly with the general manager at each casino. Walsh previously worked at Tabcorp Holdings Limited and Australian-based entertainment group Crown Limited. CCR also appointed Lonnie Bossi to senior vice president of marketing and casino gaming strategy. Bossi began his gaming career at Crown Casino Limited. For more information, visit www.cannerycasinos.com.

Suzo-Happ Releases 2010 Gaming Catalog
The Suzo-Happ Group has released its North American Gaming Products catalog, which reflects the company’s continued commitment to the gaming industry. The 280-page catalog is packed with a variety of new products along with the widest array of spare parts for gaming machines. The catalog contains many new items and products for the gaming industry. For more information, visit www.suzohapp.com.

Sivalenka Joins The Rainmaker Group
Amruth Sivalenka has joined the The Rainmaker Group as vice president of business consulting. He will ensure Rainmaker’s LRO™ multifamily revenue optimization system continues to deliver top benefits to Rainmaker’s growing customer base. Sivalenka has held key revenue management positions with Disney, Norwegian cruise lines and AIMCO. For more information, visit www.letitrain.com.

Gitchi Gaming Approved in Kansas
Gary Platt Manufacturing, home of X-Tended Play Seating, is proud to announce that its distributor, Gitchi Gaming, is the first casino seating/FF&E vendor to be approved to do business in Kansas and to get a permanent license. For more information, visit www.garyplatt.com.