By Frank Legato   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Most slot manufacturers have reinvented themselves once or twice. For International Game Technology, the company that has led the sector for two decades, reinvention never seemed necessary in the past.

For most of the past 20 years, IGT has maintained a stranglehold on market share by reinventing certain product lines-video slots were reinvented after Aristocrat and Williams entered the market; video poker was reinvented after IGT joined with partner Action Gaming to proliferate multi-hand games.

For more than a decade, each product reinvention had the same end result: IGT commanding 70 percent or more of the worldwide market for slot machines. Five years ago, no one would have thought of IGT doing a corporate reinvention.

But that was five years ago.

Since then, surging competition from WMS, Bally and others has chipped away at IGT's formerly untouchable market share. While the company still sells nearly as many slot machines as all its competitors combined, those competitors have used new technologies and innovation to gain on the slot leader.

This year, that movement could very well start going the other way. Recapturing IGT's former market dominance is the primary goal of Patti Hart, who became the new president and CEO of the slot-maker a year ago.

"Our friends at WMS, Bally, Aristocrat and Novomatic are terrifically talented people, and we can't come to work any day not believing that," Hart says. "However, if I don't have a plan to take market share back, then I shouldn't be running this company. My responsibility is to improve return for my shareholders, which means revenue growth and market share growth."

In this case, market share growth will coincide with what is a new era at IGT-an era that started when Hart took the reins in March 2009, and began a corporate overhaul the likes of which had not been seen in the company's history. Costs were cut, processes and product lines were revamped, and most of all, a new team was built, combining seasoned IGT veterans with special talent from outside the company and, in fact, outside the gaming industry.

"In my mind, you build the best teams when you have a perfect combination of old thinking, and all the history, with new thinking," Hart says. "A number of the new folks who have joined us have brought relevant skills in the areas of sales and marketing, and they are combining that thinking with the kinds of things that have made IGT successful historically. The perspective that has changed is an effort to take the success the company has enjoyed and apply it to new processes."

Universal Skills
The new team at IGT combines the traditional creative and technological slot development teams, reorganized into a game development "studio" setup, with management and marketing teams rooted in outside industries from telecommunications to IT systems  and computer software.

Hart herself has substantial software and telecommunications credentials, having been CEO of Pinnacle Systems and president of Sprint's long-distance divisions. She joined IGT's board in 2006, and served as a director until being named CEO last year. Among those she has brought on during her first year are Eric Tom, a former telecommunications and IT-systems marketing executive who was named IGT's new executive vice president of sales and marketing; Susan Macke, the former VP of global marketing for Hewlett-Packard, brought in earlier this year as chief marketing officer; and Chris Satchell, the former chief technology officer of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment division.

Satchell, who was in charge of platform and game development for Microsoft's Xbox video game systems, is now IGT's chief technology officer, in charge of the new game-development studios (one headed by Joe Kaminkow, another alum of the video-game business) and the rapidly evolving system business, where IGT is spearheading the move toward server-based gaming.

The new team combines the best of IGT's traditional business models with new approaches to problem-solving, game development and game distribution-new models that have easily translated across industry lines to gaming from software, telecommunications and other businesses. Hart says the most important feature of the new IGT is flexibility, allowing the company to adapt to competitive pressures and respond to customer demand.

"We continue to adjust our business model to the strength of our competition," Hart says. "We have earned the hubris for which we've become known in the industry; we've worked very hard to earn that right. But we will continue to adjust, because the strength of our competition will continue to change.

"You have to resist the notion of shoving everything into one business model, because I believe our strength has been managing our route-to-market through various different business models."

Hart says the company's new executives are well-equipped to handle competition. "I don't have experience in any industry that isn't fiercely competitive," Hart says, "so landing at IGT was a great luxury for me, to look and say I don't have to think about 50 competitors every day. I'm used to being in a seriously competitive environment, as Chris Satchell is, as Eric Tom is, and as all the new folks I've added are."

The same is definitely true of IGT's new chairman, Phil Satre. The management additions peaked last fall when Satre, the former CEO and longtime executive of Harrah's Entertainment, was named chairman of the board of directors. "We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Phil's stature chairing our board, and I am so fortunate to have him as my sounding board," Hart says. "He is a very active chairman, the toughest boss I've ever had, a very metric-driven human being, and very willing to lead us. We are very fortunate."

Satre's addition, adding an operator's perspective to top management, capped a year in which investor confidence has rebounded, with some analysts saying IGT's latest earnings projections are actually too conservative. ("Conservatism, in this economy, is the name of the game," says Hart.) That confidence is being boosted even more this year, which for IGT, promises to be a year of huge product launches and pioneering applications for its sbX series of server-based applications.

Marketing Might
The move to server-based applications is just one element that has prompted IGT to rethink the way its products are sold and marketed. According to new marketing chief Tom, the slot sector today is in a state of transition not unlike the changes his former business, IT systems, went through in past decades.

"You saw the IT industry move from very controlled environments to very uncontrolled environments to outsourced environments to distributed processing of software," Tom says. "What Patti described to me with respect to gaming was interesting, because it was the third time I'd seen it. In the other two cases, we were leading but we weren't driving the industry. You were just trailing the marketplace. What's interesting about this business is that the marketplace was somewhat reticent to what was an evolution, and IGT had the opportunity to lead it into what we're all hoping will be the future."

Before the future could be realized, though, Tom would make changes in IGT's sales and marketing structure, all designed to maximize the company's core strengths.

"As a company, we needed to reorient ourselves toward the customer," Tom says. "As opposed to an internal view and a product view, we adopted more of a customer view and a market view."

A key part of this strategy, he says, has been to simplify the customer's interaction with the company, and the customer's access to everything IGT has to offer. "We believe the value we bring to our customers is, in fact, the breadth of the product portfolio-that we can create solutions that together add value to the end customer," Tom says. "In the past, customers did not have a single point of contact on the pre-sale side. Now, every account manager in our organization represents the entire portfolio. That reorganization was easier said than done, since no one individual is capable of understanding the whole portfolio. We needed to create a system of experts who support that salesperson, so the salesperson is confident to move forward."

The company also has worked to maximize attention after the sale, particularly in service support on the system side. "IGT had grown up as a product company, so the idea of system and software service was still very unusual to us," Tom says. "If you have a product orientation, you sell a product, you train the customer on it, and then you leave. If you have a system service organization, your educational process has to be ongoing. So, a big part of the resources we're trying to pull together is about how you maintain the customer relationship and how you continue the educational process.

"Organizing the system service organization was critical. Post-sale, the company is really responsible for the stability of the platform."

The most important corporate task for the sales function? Listening, Tom says. "The salesperson is the customer's conduit to the corporation, so the corporation has to listen to that salesperson," he says. "When you listen to the salesperson, you're listening to the customer. The salesperson, customer and corporation have a common objective-top-line revenue and profitability. It's amazing how evolutionary something that simple really is."

Lately, listening to the customer has meant helping customers cope with the recession. According to Tom, for IGT, that has meant Megabucks. "When people say a turnaround is imminent, a lot of operators want to feel that way-but that doesn't mean the capital budgets are necessarily there," he explains. "We can help the operators now. First, MegaJackpots progressives offer the opportunity to refresh a floor with no cap-ex. In the next six months, we have eight different MegaJackpots launches. Sex and the City was the first one. The Amazing Race followed, and a number of others are coming up.

"We're also putting money behind the actual launches of these games. We want to create enough energy so that when the machine gets there, it creates a refresh of the floor-on our nickel."

Another way IGT has helped customers refresh floors is by helping them invest in the new "DynamiX" platform-this involves games that are operator-configurable to be switched between 3D video slots, reel-spinning genres using the "MLD" (multi-level display) technology, various line configurations and denominations-they are multi-game units, made for the server-based environment to switch between games in an extensive library, but usable as a changeable stand-alone multi-game as well.

Tom says IGT has offered operators a pathway to the new technology that also allows a low-cost refresh of the floor, through a gimmick as old as the sales trade-the "buy one, get one." In this case, it's buy one, get two. "We were finding customers who had a lot of 960 games (the IGT legacy platform) wanted to refresh their floors, but didn't want to spend the money for the 960 games or conversions. We said, if you move forward by buying the next-generation technology, our DynamiX platform, we'll give you two 960 games for free. In a sense, you could actually refresh three games on the floor for the price of one. Some of our biggest customers refreshed 15 percent of their floors with these purchases."

On the marketing side, Tom says IGT has been working on "branding" the company, both through contacts with customers and through the company's website. 

"In the past, because of its market position, IGT allowed the brand to be what it was, without really trying to direct it," explains Tom. "With big developments like TITO we let the products speak for who we were, as opposed to communicating who we really believe we are. So, a branding effort is going on now, to understand who we are, who we want to be, what our direction should be going forward, and how we add value for the customer."

The website will now be the company's face for investors, customers and players. "A subset of that corporate website represents a portal for our customers to get deeper into our games, technologies, etc.," Tom says. "It will contain not only marketing material, but educational material. As the market leader, we should be educating our customers."

Educating and maintaining relationships with players is another marketing goal. In January, Hart brought in Gideon Bierer as the company's executive vice president of new media. Bierer, who was executive VP of digital media at MTV Networks, is heading up an effort to use the internet and social media like Facebook and Twitter to interact with players. "An effort is already under way in which we touch 50 million players through MegaJackpots," Tom says. "How do we engage the player more effectively? Gideon will head up our new media effort to address that."

Tom notes that last fall's Global Gaming Expo gave his team a "hard deadline" to decide how IGT will be presented to the industry, and to players-and a crash course in coordinating marketing and game development into one effort.

"We already had a really good team; they just needed to be unleashed and allowed to be creative," Tom says. "Once we said, 'OK, no more traditional ways of thinking; let's be creative,' even simple discussions like what colors to use in the G2E presentations became, 'I don't care, as long as it's not the same!' We went with lime green and purple, and when you walked into that environment, you knew something was different. It was more of a casino-style environment, which let the 'wow' of our games really shine forth."
    

Studio City
That "wow" has been supplied by game developers still unsurpassed in the industry. Satchell, the new CTO, used his Xbox experience to organize the game development team into separate studios. However, he says just as important to this effort was improvement of the video platforms on which the games are being developed.

"A hard lesson from the video game world is that if you want to give people the best games, you've got to have the best platform," Satchell says. "It's been my preoccupation since arriving: How do we work with our platform teams to really make sure we have the best platform for our studios to use? How do we evolve AVP (Advanced Video Platform) as a platform, and give our developers the best tools to be as productive as possible?"

Satchell says his team is in an ongoing effort to make sure the platform allows the developers the freedom to create. "Creating the studios was the first step; now, we have to optimize the studios, the platforms and the tools," he says. "If I'm an artist and want to make a change, I want to see it instantly. I want to tweak it and see it again. If I want to change my math model, I want to see the payback rate immediately. Having that kind of platform and game development environment lets those studios we've created be as productive as possible."

So far, they've been productive indeed. Some of the hits at G2E were the new, interactive MegaJackpots games like Sex and the City, and several games in the new "Center Stage Series," community-style games featuring one of two giant video displays-the larger a gigantic, 103-inch video monitor flanked by two 40-inch monitors.

"Sex and the City is playing nicely for us in the marketplace," says Hart. "We'd like to take that and multiply it by 10 or 20."

The Center Stage games are the subject of all the big product launches slated for this year. "American Idol" is based on the performance reality show; "Wheel of Fortune Experience" uses the big screen for the famous "hangman" game from the legendary game show; and "The Amazing Race" uses the big display to send players on a competitive race across the world.

On the video poker side, the latest innovation is "Texas Hold'em Heads Up," which employs artificial intelligence to allow the player to actually compete with the computer in a poker game.

All are the products of a shift in game design strategy that  brings back the game styles at which the company has traditionally excelled. When IGT was at its most dominant a decade ago, what was arguably the most important catalyst was a parade of video slots packed with entertaining bonuses and video animation. Within a few years, though, the penny denomination demanded more volatility, which led to a more gambler-centric game style-simple player interfaces, strong program math, free-spin bonus events.

Hart says that move away from entertainment-based games was one of the elements that needed to be corrected. "I think there was a great realization that was one of the reasons we were losing market share," she says.

These days, the entertainment factor is back in IGT games, and better than ever-along with the volatility and strong program math developed over the past decade. Hart says the company now has the perfect mixture of game factors going forward. "It's not one element of the game that appeals broadly to the public," she says, "but it is that magic of bringing together math, art, graphics and entertainment into a single offering that really appeals to the customer."

Satchell adds that the most recent technological advances are broadening the appeal of casino slots, borrowing from the video game world to include features that draw in younger players as well as longtime fans.

"Certainly with AVP and DynamiX taking off, it's a good ramp to some pretty advanced technology," Satchell says. "It will take some upgrading of the floor, certainly some upgrading of our design skills, and upgrading of how we draw in the patrons. We can't increase the complexity of games in a way that leaves patrons confused." He says slot machines should employ the "ultimate 15-second approval process" for players. "If someone sits down and puts a twenty in, they want fun immediately. There's no spending that twenty learning the game."

Actually, IGT is already employing elements in new games that are broadening the audience to include younger players. He says there are three elements that draws young players-competitive play, collaborative play and what Satchell calls the "meta-game."

"From my background at Xbox, I noticed that people really want competitive play, but more importantly, they want to make sure the results of that competitive play get broadcast-they want their friends to know," Satchell says. "But equally important to players is collaborative play. People really enjoy collaborative games in the online world-think about 'World of Warcraft' and 'Blizzard.' There is a lot of collaboration, and what do they do when they get together? They go and attack the big dragon, which is run by the game itself. Think about the casino environment-you can imagine people collaborating together to get the big bonus so they can get a win over the casino. It's a powerful metaphor."

Just beginning is the addition of the "meta-game" concept, which is the idea that players on individual slot machines are taking place in a larger game with specific "achievements." "We've found it is a powerful idea that what you're playing builds up to something you find important," says Satchell. "In Xbox, it's the gamer score. People love it, and they love that friends can see and compare gamer scores. We're not sure yet what the analogue is in the gaming world, but when you put these three elements together, I think it will give you the first glimpse at the future of the slot floor."

Server-Based World
For IGT, all the new technologies leading to the future slot floor lead to an Ethernet-connected, server-based floor-the networked world that is now under a giant test at CityCenter's Aria casino, and on a smaller scale at a growing number of casinos using more limited versions of IGT's server-based system, called "sbX."

In addition to the full-blown Ethernet setup at Aria, IGT has proliferated the server-based concept through "Tier One," a smaller server system that links 40 to 100 games, which allows operators to see what networked floors can do without a complete retrofit.

"Aria shows how effective you can be when you start with an Ethernet floor, but the good news is there are a lot of operators who have been quite visionary," says Satchell. "Even though not running a full server-based initiative yet, they have put the infrastructure in, or they're doing it as they upgrade. So, I think we're moving toward a digital world which I think gives operators a lot more flexibility, and certainly gives us the ability to design more interesting games. Tier One provides a great introduction. You can put these advantages at the bank level, to have multi-game features that will get a greater yield out of the floor."

Hart and Satchell both agree, though, that Aria provides a glimpse at the future of the slot machine-a fully integrated, Ethernet-based floor. Hart says that for now, server-based "is more about the operator than the patron," giving the operator efficiency, the ability to download and reconfigure games, and interact with the player in new ways, through the service window that is part of every slot machine on an sbX system.

"The next phase, which is the application layer, will be more differentiated at the patron level," Hart says.

Those applications are already being created by customers as well as IGT engineers. Tom notes that the open architecture allows operators to customize their slot operations. "We have customers on server-based gaming who are developing applications, and we don't even know what they are-which is great," Tom says. "They own the API (computer-ese for application programming interface). Our customers can guide their application developers better than we can, because it's their business. Certain applications within the next six months you'll see from our customers, you'll say make absolute sense, but they won't be coming from us."

Beyond customized applications, Satchell envisions a fully networked floor in which younger players will be able to compete and interact through social networks through the slot service windows, trading news of scores and achievements over Twitter or Facebook without leaving the slot. "We would certainly want to do connections to social networks," he says. "Younger players love the social connection, to the point they don't like dealing with devices that do not have a social connection. They're always connected to their community. Imagine being able to sit down at an EGM and also be connected to your community. 'I just got a jackpot!' communicated over the service window."

IGT is still opening the door to this new slot world through sbX and its new game offerings, and for Hart, the continuing exploration and adoption of new management approaches is the best way to grab back the kind of market-share dominance the company once enjoyed.

"It certainly is our expectation that the products we're building, and the team we're building, are focused on growth, for our shareholders and for the company," Hart says. "You can grow revenue by relying on expansions and openings, but you'll only grow at the market rate-which does not allow me to have the stock multiples that reflect a growth company. And we need to be a growth company. That means the growth needs to come out of the hides of my competitors.

"So get ready-here we come!"

By Justin Cohen   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

In the first article of this series, published in the October issue of Global Gaming Business, the goal was to begin exploring the world of social media and how it will impact the gaming industry. In this second article, we are focusing on the question that most everyone is asking: "What works?"

The question for businesses today is no longer, "Do I need to have a social media presence?" The questions are now, "What should our social presence look like?" and "What works?" In a recent survey by the Center for Media Research, respondents said they are more likely to engage in social media marketing than direct mail, TV, radio and print.

There aren't any straightforward answers to these questions. Social media marketing, just like most other forms of marketing that preceded it, is not one-size-fits-all. Countless factors should be considered while planning to launch (or re-launch) a social media campaign. Many of these factors are the same ones that marketers have looked at for years: target demographics, geographic location, income, propensity to travel, etc. Just as it has always been, if you don't know who your customers are, it is much more difficult (and expensive) to market to them.

The principal changes social media bring to the table are in the areas of personalization and customization. As online marketers, we caught a glimpse of what was on the horizon a decade ago; online publishers began to offer display (or banner) advertisers the ability to target their audience in ways that had never been seen before offline. From geo-targeting to selecting the time of day that ads appeared, this was the beginning of a whole new world of targeted advertising.

Fast-forward 10 years, and today we have the ability to place ads on Facebook which target people whose hobbies may range from frequenting nightclubs to playing poker to shopping at luxury boutiques-all things that should be of interest to a marketer of a luxury Vegas resort. Note the screenshot above from Facebook Advertising for an ad group targeting males over 21 with relevant interests including poker and nightclubs.

Does your property have an online persona?
People (another name for our potential customers) usually like to interact with people like themselves and/or with people whom they find interesting or funny. A key challenge to social media marketers is to identify which traits would be appealing to the target audience and then create a personality for the property (or casino or resort) centered around those traits.

As marketers, we used to think about what we could put in our magazine and newspaper ads that would appeal to our universe of potential customers. With social media, we need to take numerous steps to create an entire persona to be the face of our business on social websites. People will follow (and hopefully interact with) your property because they enjoy the comments, information, offers, links, content and everything else being put forth by the person managing your social accounts.

Now, you do not need to create some off-the-wall character to be the voice of your property online. However, you do need to be sure that the person managing your social media accounts can interact with followers on their level.

Think of it this way: Those who opt to follow you on Twitter or friend/fan you on Facebook are effectively saying, "I care what you have to say." And we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the actual person whith whom your followers are developing a relationship is the person you have managing these channels.

It requires a balance ofpersonality/marketing points.
People decide to follow a business for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is because you asked them via on-property signage or on your website. Others, perhaps, because a friend or colleague told them about the great offers or entertaining banter that can always be found on your Facebook page. Still others find themselves on your social sites when they are considering a visit. Our challenge as marketers is to make sure we put forth balanced content so all of these different audience members find what they are looking for.

Staying Relevant
There are two pretty straightforward goals of any social campaign: Build a strong audience base and keep that audience base loyal. Countless articles and strategies are out there for building an online following, but not enough marketers are concerning themselves with the strategies needed to retain those followings.

People should find interesting and insightful conversations about your property on your Facebook page. They should be able to get a sense of all the different venues of your property from your YouTube channel. (Yes-you should have a YouTube channel!) The internet allows us to experience things without having to be there, and that fact lends itself incredibly well to our industry.

People want to know what the action is like in your poker room, how hot the pool scene is on an August weekend and what the food is all about at your signature restaurant. Not everyone cares about each of these things, but there are subsets of your current and prospective audience that do care.

Willingness to evolve is critical.
In an online landscape that is evolving faster than most of us can keep up with, it is critical that whoever is managing your social presence stay current with what is happening in the space. From knowledge of the most popular (and current) tools of the trade like TweetDeck and Posterous.com to the many industry insights that can be found daily by reading Mashable, it is the online marketer that focuses on continuing education that will stand out from the noise.

Like anything we do in business, we should have a plan of action before commencing. Social media are no different, and any good campaign will start with a strategic plan and a media calendar. And just like with any other plan and calendar, things will inevitably go off plan when implementation time comes around. Because of the constant change in the social media landscape, the likelihood of going off plan is increased. It is difficult to predict which new social networking site is going to catch on or which new video trend will take off.

A key part of the willingness to evolve lies in the ability to listen to and move with your audience. In this new world where there is two-way communication between marketers and customers, it is critical to listen to, understand and embrace the direction to which your customers want you to move.

Listen to your customers, and engage in two-way communication.
How many times have you been seated at a conference room table, attempting to dream up a prize to make a contest compelling to your current and prospective customers? Or tried to figure out what promotion would generate the highest conversion rate if blasted to your database (or an appropriate subset of said database)?

Instead of postulating as to what will resonate with your target population, why not ask them? Whether you have 100 followers on Twitter or you're the Wynn Las Vegas (follow Wynn at twitter.com/WynnLasvegas) with over 330,000 followers, if you ask them, they will answer. Imagine you are seeking buy-in on a promotion that you came up with by bouncing ideas off of your following. Instead of telling management that you want to do this promotion because you feel it will work, you can say that in discussing various ideas with your followers, there was a clear consensus that the third-night-free promotion would be the most compelling offer to them.

Be aware: There is someone on your property tweeting right now.
Think about this statement for a minute: There is someone on your property tweeting right now.  If your property is a Las Vegas resort with thousands of rooms, a dozen F&B outlets and multiple shows, it would be pretty safe to say that there is someone tweeting about one of those restaurants or one of those shows every day.

Now think about the opportunity that this creates for us as marketers. If the customer's tweet was an endorsement of the show, you should make sure that you respond and thank them for the compliment. Better yet, imagine the compliment was about a specific performer in the show. Reach out to that performer and see if they have a response they would like to tweet back to the customer for the entire world to see.

The simple point to "there is someone tweeting in your property right now" is that the two-way communication path which is enabled by social media provides for countless opportunities to promote positive comments, respond to negative ones (and resolve when possible) and provide real value and recognition to your customers. Remember the old adage-people like to feel like they are being heard!

Paying for Social Media Stars
One new trend we are starting to see emerge on the social media landscape is really just a 21st century version of the good old-fashioned "celebrity" endorsement. The difference today is that instead of utilizing a known celebrity from the worlds or TV, movies or sports, social media marketers are enlisting online celebs (YouTube stars, top bloggers, etc.) to drive their followers to special events or blog about exclusive promotions.

To some social media purists, the concept of paying for coverage might seem to go against what social media is all about. Someone who is a businessman first and internet marketer second will tell you that if something is both ethical and  makes good business sense, then there is usually a reason to do it. Let's suppose you want to have a strong turnout for an opening of a new wine bar at your property. Now suppose there is an online group of wine enthusiasts in your town that is led by a local wine expert. Wouldn't it make sense to compensate that leader to get his group of enthusiasts to turn out for your opening?

The next installment in this social media series will be diving much deeper into the specifics of what has worked and is working for resorts with a specific focus inside the Las Vegas market. From viral video to the most successful online contests, stay tuned for an in-depth analysis of the State of Social Media in Las Vegas.

By Rich Geller   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The 2010 edition of the International Gaming Expo in London was in fact four trade shows-casino, online gaming, sports betting and low-stakes gaming-each displaying the products and developments of its specific industry sector.

But this is 2010. The technology that makes possible all the existing devices and systems, the games and the collection and transmission of information has blurred the lines that used to mark a clear separation between the various gambling products. In that sense, IGE 2010 could be seen as the first comprehensive gaming show of the 21st century.

Julian Graves, managing director of Clarion Gaming, organizer of the January show in London, referred to the broad reach of the show in a statement: "At no other event in the world would you find representatives with such diverse backgrounds and from such a cross-section of countries."

Clarion's initial show summary reported attendance at the casino, online gaming and betting portions of the floor totaled 15,403 people from 120 different countries and sovereign territories. An additional 3,012 people were specifically credited to the low-stakes gaming and amusement sector, bringing total attendance to 18,415.

Said Graves, "The consensus is that 2010 has been a landmark edition in which IGE has matured into the complete gaming and wagering exhibition covering all imaginable forms of delivery in every global jurisdiction."

Slot Machine/Online Terminal/Television
The latest models of casino slot machines making their debut in the ICE section of the show contained features that made them either internet-ready or capable of being easily adapted to the role. Server-based gaming, already being seen in the low-stakes gaming machine market, looked ready to make headway in the casino world.

"The whole casino gaming landscape has dramatically changed since last year," said Marzia Turrini, head of business development at SBG supplier BetStone. "The world is starting to come out of recession and we are seeing a serious uptake of server-based gaming technology as a lean solution that delivers value and return on investment as operators move from survival mode to seeing how they can capitalize on new opportunities."

European gaming machine giant Novomatic again had the largest stand at the show by far. The company's server-based Indigo Novo Unity II platform allows the player to choose from any of the electronic table games connected to the system. This year, Novomatic expanded to share the space with its low-stakes gaming subsidiary, Astra Games. At the annual show-opening Novomatic press conference, the company announced the acquisition of online gaming supplier Greentube by Astra.

Traditional slot supplier WMS displayed its new VLT product specifically designed for the Italian street market. The machines are currently going through the approval process for connectivity to the Italian government's central monitoring system, which is being watched with interest by European finance ministries everywhere.

Casino Technology introduced its new Pro series of slot machines, with form and lighting features reminiscent of juke box design, and with internet capabilities that will allow the player to browse the web, access email, stream video-everything he or she could do from any other computer terminal.

For a lot of these online capabilities, the technology is far ahead of the legislation that will one day permit them. But Europe would not be Europe if there weren't entrepreneurs pushing the legal envelope as well. One such company is Ermesys, based in France. The product is the Net-Shop online terminal, and the world that can be accessed from it. The player amasses points playing games of chance or skill for cash, and these points can be used to reduce the purchase price of products for sale within the system. The terminal accepts cash and loads the purchased credits onto a smart card, eliminating the need for credit card transactions.

The Online Gold Rush
The most consistently busy section of the expo had to be the online gaming booths of ICEi, as the show refers to the sector. Industry veterans like Dragonfish and Playtech were intermingled with relative newcomers to gaming like Slovenia-based Hermes. The Microgaming-sponsored I-Bar was the social center of the online show, and did a brisk business from start to finish.

Seminars and Conferences
For the first time, IGE also featured an expanded series of seminars, lectures, roundtable discussions and product demonstrations, held right on the showroom floor as well as in the facility's dedicated conference center. The Seminar Theatre and the Innovation Showcase, two "open-air" stages equipped with P.A. system, lighting and audience seating, were positioned near the food court area.

The three-day IGE Gaming Leaders Programme speakers included Harrah's Senior Vice President Jan Jones, Storm International President Michael Boettcher, and Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy Executive Director Karen Blumenfeld. Topics ranged from general, present-day and future conditions of various land-based casino jurisdictions to gaming via mobile phones and questions specific to U.K. betting shop operators. In the Earls Court Conference Center, operators and suppliers within the sports betting and horse-racing industry convened for two days of seminars and roundtables primarily specific to the U.K. industry.

The Monday preceding the start of the show, the European Casino Association held its second annual International Casino Conference. The day of presentations and panel discussions drew over 150 participants from all sectors of gaming.

During sessions on E.U. regulations and the future of gaming, panelists expressed sometimes widely divergent opinions on which policies national governments and the E.U. should be putting into place. Architect Paul Steelman delivered a presentation that effectively declared the end of the era of excess with regard to casino resort amenities. Targeted presentations on marketing discussed the potential power and pitfalls of in-house loyalty programs and the use of social media.

ECA Chairman Ron Goudsmit said of the event, "The frank panel sessions were highly productive and prompted lively debate. It even got quite heated at times, which was exactly what we had intended! We want ICC to be a forum for open debate and deliberately included experts from other sectors of the gaming industry to ensure that the different opinions were heard."

By David G. Schwartz   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

If you're reading Global Gaming Business, odds are you're pretty comfortable with the idea of gambling as an acceptable leisure pastime for adults. You're not alone, and you haven't been for a long time: Since the past decade, about one in five Americans has visited a casino at least once a year. With legal casinos breaking out of Nevada in 1978 and spreading steadily across the nation, there has clearly been a tolerance-at first often grudging-for casinos.

Yet the past few months have given the impression that gambling has now reached unprecedented levels of public sanction that goes beyond toleration and reaches toward outright approval, a historic change in attitudes.

Inside the Lines
There are few quarters in which gambling has been as roundly marginalized as professional sports. The antipathy league executives hold for gambling has some historical precedents. Betting on sports has, at times, threatened the integrity of the game, from the 1919 "Black Sox" throwing the World Series to the point-shaving scandals that have dotted college basketball since the 1950s. As a result, the major sports leagues have consistently opposed gambling in most of its guises.

In February 1975, when testifying before the Commission to Review the National Policy on Gambling, both National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozzelle and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn insisted that legal betting on games would be disastrous. Kuhn was particularly adamant, maintaining that baseball had worked for decades to bring "scrupulously honest and wholesome entertainment for American families," and that even the whiff of a connection with gambling would sully the sport. He declared that the league would fight any attempt to expand legal sports betting "with all of the forces at our disposal."

More widespread gambling on games, he feared, would ruin the integrity of the sport by making fans believe that crucial errors were not accidental mishaps, but deliberate attempts by athletes to throw games. "Where there is heavy gambling, the suspicion of dishonesty will inevitably follow."

But it went beyond protecting the game itself. Kuhn elaborated that gambling itself, in any form, was an unnecessary evil. "We feel it is not in the public interest," he expounded, "to exploit the weaknesses and encourage the vices of our citizens to finance our government."

At that same session, National Basketball Association Commissioner Walter Kennedy submitted for the record a written statement that denounced legal gambling in similar terms. A young attorney on his staff was saddled with the task of actually crafting the brief position paper. His name was David Stern, and in 1984 he became NBA commissioner.

In December 2009, Stern spoke with Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen about the state of the league. Two years after the Tim Donaghy scandal-in which one of the league's referees admitted to betting heavily on games and on tipping illegal bookies to inside information that might give them an edge in their own betting-Stern was ready to talk about legal sports betting. Under his watch, his league had held the 2007 All-Star Game in Las Vegas, and he was not opposed to relocating a franchise to the city, should one become available. And his views on gambling had changed considerably.

"Considering the fact that so many state governments-probably between 40 and 50-don't consider it immoral," he said, "I don't think that anyone should. It may be a little immoral, because it really is a tax on the poor, the lotteries. But having said that, it's now a matter of national policy: Gambling is good."

Thirty-five years apparently made quite a difference. Stern allowed that the league had "morphed considerably" in its views, and could now say, "Las Vegas is not evil. Las Vegas is a vacation and destination resort, and they have sports gambling." He was also not opposed to involving the league in legal sports betting, though it was still filled with potential menace.

"Although we understand fully why," he said, "buried within that threat there may be a huge opportunity as well."    

Stern's leaving the door open for the possibility of league cooperation with legal sports betting reflects a major shift in policy. Even if it doesn't lead to an expansion of legal betting within the next few years, it bodes well for the continued public support of gambling that the representative of one of the bastions of anti-gambling sentiment is now willing to talk about gambling as just another potential business opportunity.

Even the National Football League appears to be reaching a rapprochement with legal gambling. For years, the NFL was resolutely opposed to legal betting on games. In the February 1975 commission hearings, then-commissioner Rozelle outdid baseball's Kuhn in his anti-gambling zeal, casting doubt on the premise that large numbers of Americans wanted to bet legally. That a small minority wanted to bet didn't make it right.

"Some people want prostitution, some people want drugs," he argued. "Why don't you legalize prostitution and drugs? Some people may want to bet, but that is no reason to legalize it."

With that attitude, it's no surprise that the league has remained opposed to expanding gambling in any form. Over the past decade, there has been considerable friction between the NFL and Las Vegas casinos, with the league refusing to accept advertising from Las Vegas during the Super Bowl and going so far as to send cease-and-desist letters to casinos that held official Super Bowl viewing parties.

The weakening economy, however, has dulled the NFL's animosity toward gambling, and less than a week after David Stern's frank admission that his league was willing to consider the possibility of embracing legal betting, an NFL spokesman announced a slight, but significant, change in policy: the league would now allow advertisement for tourist destinations that allow gambling for the 2009-10 postseason, after which it would re-evaluate the situation and determine if the liberalized advertising rules will continue.

On the surface, this doesn't look like much. It's only cities that will be allowed to advertise, not individual hotels and resorts. Viewers won't see shots of blackjack tables or slot machines, or even wide shots of the iconic Las Vegas Strip. They won't hear the city's infamous slogan, "What happens here, stays here." But, for the first time, they will see Las Vegas promoted as a destination during the biggest televised sporting event of the year.

This incremental change is, most likely, the result of advertising budgets battered by the recession. It doesn't make good business sense to turn away potential sponsors with willing money in this economic climate. But it also signals the growing acceptance of gambling: while the ads won't mention casinos by name or even implication, it's a safe bet that most of those who come to Las Vegas because of the ads will be staying and playing at the casinos that made the city famous.

Green Casinos
Those casinos are themselves becoming far more significant, both architecturally and in other ways, to the rest of the world.

The opening of the Mirage on November 23, 1989 is widely regarded as a watershed moment in the history of the Las Vegas Strip. Indeed, the casino provided the model for the next 20 years of casino development. But it wasn't viewed as a bellwether for the rest of the country. In fact, new reports of the Mirage's opening pointed out that while Las Vegas was poised for expansion, the rest of the nation was on the brink of a possible recession. Developments in Las Vegas seemed to run counter to those of the rest of nation; the city's casino economy was an aberration.

The opening of CityCenter in December 2009, however, was greeted-for better and worse-as an inextricable part of a larger whole.

When the Mirage opened, the national press treated Las Vegas like a city in a socio-economic bubble, but reporters covering the opening of CityCenter considered the event a reflection of the national economic situation. According to Los Angeles Times blogger Christopher Hawthorne, the new project represented the "final bender for Wall Street's decade of unreason," a monument to "the age of towering debt and easy credit."

The preoccupation with the economy may have overshadowed the project's role in the national "green building" movement. Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, was one of the guests of honor at Aria's opening press conference. As a whole, CityCenter received six Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certifications from the Council, making it one of world's largest sustainable developments.

Fedrizzi hailed the project as a "transforming development" that would become a blueprint for earth-friendly design, urging parents to bring their children inside Aria to see what a building of the future should be. It was a design to inspire not just gamblers, but future architects and civic leaders.

"Aria and CityCenter have made a profound leadership statement about what can happen when we think about the impact of projects of this scale and then act accordingly," Fedrizzi said.

"When we think not just about a building, but about a community, we make decisions that lead to economies of scale that increase efficiency and reduce impacts."

A Las Vegas casino in the vanguard of "the new green economy?" Once, casinos were known for their innovations in neon and, perhaps, shrimp cocktails. There's little doubt that this is a new day.

Politics and Popularity
Politically, there are several signs that casino gambling is now making inroads into areas that were once off-limits. In Ohio, voters in 2009 approved the legalization of casino gambling. In and of itself, this isn't ground-shaking news: there is already legal gaming in most of the states that surround Ohio (Indiana, West Virginia and Pennsylvania), and the industry promises to be relatively small, with only four casinos located throughout the state.

From the financial side, it's a major win for Penn National, which looks to develop two of the casinos, and equipment manufacturers, who will sell several thousand more slot machines when the casinos start to open in 2012. But it's a highly significant bellwether for the national mood on gambling as well. Before voting yes, Ohio rejected casino gambling four times, starting in 1980 and most recently in 2008.

If this electorate, after repeatedly refusing to allow legal casinos, has made its peace with gambling, it's hard to argue that gambling hasn't moved into the mainstream.

This is nowhere clearer than in Ohio's neighbor, Pennsylvania. Having legalized slot machines in 2004, in part to fund property tax relief, in early January the state added table games. Lawmakers considered this a sound business decision that would create jobs, generate revenue for important programs and improve the public confidence in gambling. "Allowing table games is the right thing to do," claimed state Rep. Dante Santoni, "not just for today, but for the future."

That's a far cry from the apologetic tone that earlier legalization proponents took. Usually, they justified legalizing casinos because an area was so far gone they couldn't possibly do more harm than good (Atlantic City, parts of Mississippi) or because legalization could stop other jurisdictions from siphoning money away (Detroit, Illinois and many others).

Since Pennsylvania's legalization of slot machines, there's been a perceptible shift in how Americans view casino gambling. What was once viewed as tolerable is now seen, increasingly, as desirable. This will no doubt create both opportunities and challenges for the gaming industry.

By Caitlin McGarry   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Twenty-first century casinos are comprised of many components: the gaming floor, restaurants, nightclubs, showrooms, convention centers, hotel rooms, spas and pools, to name a few.

Casino operators often find it difficult and time-consuming to manually sift through the millions of pieces of data produced daily by each department within their properties, which is why software developers are creating innovative ways both to manage data more effectively and to use data to boost a casino's profits.

Management information systems like those developed by International Game Technology, Micros Systems and SAS are being implemented at casinos around the world, indicating that as gaming floors become increasingly networked, resort operators are moving to connect all of their properties' elements with the push of a button.

Analyze This
Casinos are constantly churning out data, and operators are turning to management information systems to synthesize, integrate and analyze data to reveal the successes or failures in a property's operations. Javier Saenz, vice president of management and marketing for IGT Network Systems, says the company developed its Mariposa suite of management information products in order to determine what changes need to be made for a casino to maximize its profits.

"We really recognized that casinos have a wealth of data, and we capture a lot of data about customers, about game performance," Saenz says. "The challenge is making sense of that data and doing something valuable with it. So really, these products represent that tool kit for the operator-where they can go in; understand what's working; what's not working so well; what changes should they make; when they make changes. What's the effect? Did it work? Did it make the game perform better, or maybe not so much? And really giving them the insight into the operation they need to make good operational decisions."

As interconnectivity on the casino floor continues to increase with the prevalence of server-based gaming, Saenz says IGT is poised to manage the needs of a casino, not only with the Mariposa line, but also with sbX, a product that enables an operator to manage game content and pricing. The tool allows casino owners to ensure that unsuccessful games can quickly be replaced, and using IGT's data visualization analysis product, that information is easily seen and changed.

Data integration is an important tool to use on a casino's gaming floor, but it is also a necessary function for the rest of a resort. SAS produces a product called DataFlux, which imports information from all of a casino's systems, then cleanses the data to remove superfluous information.

"What happens-and this is a very common problem, especially at casinos-is that there's a hotel system, so there's the central reservation system, then there's the spa system, then there's the player tracking system, and then they may even have a marketing database," says Suzanne Clayton, director of hospitality, gaming and travel solutions for SAS. "None of these systems actually talk to each other, because they're all different software."

Controlling Costs
Data integration and analysis are central to any hospitality management system, but the ability to manage revenue via forecasting and pricing also is also an integral facet of information management. As part of its Opera Enterprise Solution software suite, Micros Systems offers the Opera Revenue Management System, which works in tandem with the Opera Property Management System and Opera Reservation System to collect data and create competitive pricing models based on present and future value.

"In the dynamic and competitive world of hotel reservations marketing, success demands a powerful, agile and comprehensive hotel revenue management system that helps hotel operators sell to the right customer at the right time for the right price, all while adjusting to the hotel's particular business position as well as the dynamic marketplace," says Karen O'Neill, vice president of marketing and of the hotel division for Micros.

The Venetian and Palazzo resorts in Las Vegas have recognized the importance of revenue management, especially with pressure to lower room rates on the Strip to draw value customers to Las Vegas. Rom Hendler, vice president of strategic marketing for the Venetian and Palazzo, says his properties use a revenue management tool provided by SAS subsidiary IDeaS to control room prices.

"The IDeaS system can project what kind of occupancy we are going to have, what is the value of the demand, and then there is some kind of algorithm to determine what is the best price that's going to optimize profitability for the property," Hendler says. "Talking to SAS and to the data warehouse, they can do two things. One is assist in the forecasting. The second thing is assist in the controlling. If we use SAS for the analytics and the classifications of the customers, then when the customer is trying to make a reservation, the revenue management uses controls, controls that are compared to the value that we are predicting for the customer."

The Venetian and Palazzo also use SAS Analytics to market to customers, a tactic that, paired with revenue management, is expected to become a widespread strategy in the hospitality industry.

To Market
Once a casino operator is armed with data from each system within a property, the executive is then able to determine how to best market to the property's patrons. Software developers include such tools in their management information systems to help streamline the marketing process.

Micros' Opera Enterprise Solution includes two such tools: the comp accounting solution and the Opera Customer Information System. The two solutions allow staff to authorize comps and view player tracking information at any property within the company.

SAS offers a patron value optimization solution, which also works with a property's established player tracking system to analyze data and market to customers. The Venetian and Palazzo use SAS in tandem with the revenue management solution from IDeaS to create marketing offers that won't necessarily require the properties to slash room rates.

"We don't want to lower the price below a certain level; that's a decision that we have made as a company," Hendler says. "So we're trying to use our loyalty program that assists us in collecting data on the customer, and using SAS to predict the value of these customers and create packages that we will be able to offer to these customers that are not necessarily discounting."

The patron value optimization solution automatically examines and cleans player tracking information to determine which marketing offers will suit each customer. SAS clients include Foxwoods Resort Casino, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and the upcoming Cosmopolitan resort on the Strip.

"It helps clients manage their customer information, keep their different systems in sync, make sure that you don't have 10 different player cards for one person, but really bringing together the view of the customer, so when they're looking at John Smith, they know that they have all of John Smith's activity, not activity that might be sitting somewhere else in their organization because he was Johnny Smith somewhere else," Clayton says.

"Then there's customer segmentation, predictive modeling, really look at what the customer's doing, look at trends, look for behavioral propensities, and then being able to tailor marketing communications to them. Is the marketing campaign actually effective or not? It's really measuring marketing effectiveness and really having that total view of the customer, so when you do send them marketing communications, that you're putting offers in front of them that they're going to be much more likely to respond to and you're not just inundating them with direct mail pieces that get thrown in the trash."

By Roger Gros   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Even though Entertainment City was conceived and planned long before the two integrated resorts in Singapore, the Manila project is still just a concept when the Singapore developments are opening this year.

Complicating the means of development for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), which is directing the project, has been the worldwide recession and the investment necessary to fulfill the agency's requirements of four resorts with an investment of at least $1 billion each. The players that have already committed have been known for several years: the Japanese games manufacturer Aruze, led by mogul Kazua Okada, a major partner in Wynn Resorts; a coalition led by Malaysia's Genting Berhad, its division Star Cruises and Alliance Global; and local company SM Investments Corp., owner of the nearby Mall of Asia. Others have expressed interest in the fourth site, including Crown Casinos, MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment, but the depressed economy and uncertain future have delayed any final decisions.

Still, PAGCOR is confident the project will be completed, according to Chairman Efraim C. Genuino.

"Our project will rely on the concept of a consortium between international industry players, to come up with premier entertainment that would appeal to everyone," he says. "After all, the world is a global village and the more options for travelers, the better for the competition to improve its standards."

The project is largely designed to increase tourism to the Philippines, says Genuino.

"This will be the country's biggest tourism development project ever, the biggest job-generating project of the government, and the biggest dollar investment of the country," Genuino said. "We are all set to make this dream a reality because we know that the Philippines has so much potential to spring into a world-class destination."

Genting Guidance
Any uncertainty about the metro Manila market seems to have been swept away by the success of Resorts World Manila, a Genting project that opened in the third quarter of 2009 adjacent to Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. It's part of a larger development called Newport City, which includes housing, hotels, entertainment and a casino. The popularity of Resorts World Manila is a testament to the strength of the market and the curiosity about new and modern gaming facilities.

Rafael "Butch" Francisco, PAGCOR's president, says the casino has reached out successfully beyond the locals market as well.

"Resorts World Manila has opened up new local and international markets," says Francisco. "Its January 2010 revenues in tables and slots breached PHP 1 billion (over US$21 million), which is equivalent to combined revenues of two or three PAGCOR casinos in Manila. This only validates the tremendous potential both in the mass-market segment among locals and local VIPs and outside the Philippines. So this is good for future casinos that will open in the Manila Bay area."

With the first phase of Resorts World Manila now operating, Francisco says the second phase is now under construction. 

"Both parties are looking at about 18 to 24 months to complete a partial opening of the second phase after 2010," he says.

Dock of the Bay
Entertainment City is located on 120 hectares of reclaimed land bordering Manila Bay. The project will attract cruise ships in the Pacific waters by including not only gaming, but shopping, theme parks, outdoor activities and other amenities.

According to Francisco, "Preparations are under way for the Manila Bay project's start of road construction in 2011."

Hopes that Entertainment City would make an initial debut in 2010 were dashed by the economy and the weather.

"The global downturn and the destruction caused by two disastrous tropical storms in Manila caused long delays in the land development," said Francisco.

He also erased speculation that this year's presidential election would be trouble for the project.

"In fact, it's had a positive effect as none of the candidates running for president have objected to its development," Francisco said. "In addition, they have supported the franchise renewal of PAGCOR in Congress for another 25 years so that it can proceed with the Entertainment City."

Other businesses have also backed the project. Samie Lim, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it's good for the business sector.

"PAGCOR will be a winner and will make so much from the project; it's good for the country and the economic value that it will bring in," said Lim. "Investing in tourism will have a strong multiplier effect."

And the government remains optimistic about the potential for Entertainment City.

"We have set a target of 5 million tourist arrivals by 2010, and with projects like Entertainment City, this figure should be attainable," said Ace Durano, the Philippines' secretary of tourism.

While some have doubted the regulatory structure in the Philippines, because PAGCOR has both the operating and regulatory agency under its umbrella, Francisco says that concern has eased.

"In 2009, we were able to put to a test PAGCOR's regulatory role," he says. "So far, so good as the opening of the Resorts World casino has been a success from a regulatory aspect, as well."

PAGCOR Progress
Aside from the Entertainment City project, Francisco says PAGCOR continues to make advances in areas that make it easy and secure for the public to enjoy gaming. That includes online gaming, where PAGCOR was one of the innovators.

"PAGCOR introduced online gaming in 1999," he says. "We had Sage Corporation as partner back then. Today, we have Philweb Corporation, as our principal technology enabler. Philweb's hefty rise to become the largest listed Philippine online technology company came mainly due to its success in setting up more than 170 PAGCOR e-Games cafes (PEGS) throughout the country for PAGCOR. A total of 50 were opened in 2009."

While revenue isn't a major factor at this point, Francisco predicts it will increase.

"While income for PAGCOR from internet gambling is still far behind income generated from our land-based casinos, we can expect revenues to increase at an average rate of 30 percent each year for the next three years," he says.

Another area that is rapidly improving, according to Francisco, is the player tracking and players' club area.

"PAGCOR introduced the PAGCOR Privilege Card for players and guests, entitling them exclusive privileges with our partner establishments," he says. "It's a loyalty card for frequent visitors to our casinos. An upgraded edition will be launched by the second half of 2010 with emphasis to extend the enjoyment of the card for tourists or foreign visitors."

So with Entertainment City as well as increased participation from businesses in the gambling sector that partner with PAGCOR, Francisco sees a bright future for the company as well as the Philippines overall.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Phillip Martin, the head of the Choctaw nation who performed what had become known as the "Mississippi Miracle," died last month after suffering a massive stroke. Martin, chief (or miko) of the tribe for 32 years until being unseated in 2007, was a pioneer in economic growth in Indian Country, arranging financing to build manufacturing plants on the tribe's central Mississippi reservation long before gaming became a valued tool.

But when gaming did become available, Martin took full advantage of it. When riverboats were legalized in Mississippi in 1992, Martin immediately built a land-based casino, equal to anything found in Las Vegas. Today, the casinos are a big revenue generator for the tribe.

Martin was eulogized from many quarters.

NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens, Jr. called Martin "one of most important mentors in my life. He was an American legend."

"Chief Martin earned respect for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw as one of our original American democracies and he was a champion of Indian sovereignty," Stevens said. "He always worked to create Indian opportunity and to ensure respect for Indian sovereignty. He improved the lives of Indian people throughout the nation."

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R- Mississippi) also eulogized Martin.

"Chief Martin was a leader who inspired his people and strengthened his community and state," said Wicker. "During his years of public service, he helped bring his community out of poverty and troubled times and created hope and opportunity for Mississippi Choctaws. Chief Martin will be missed by many, but his legacy of self-determination will continue to flourish in future generations of Choctaws."

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) said, "I am saddened by the loss of Phillip Martin, whose service to and leadership of the Choctaw tribe resulted in the accomplishment of many good things. It was my privilege to work with Chief Martin as he brought forth new ideas to improve life for the Choctaw people and to expand their cultural, economic and educational opportunities. In the end, he helped not only the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, but all of Mississippi."

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Finland's casino and slot operator RAY and lottery operator Oy Veikkaus have been given the go-ahead to operate online games directed to the Finnish public.

The two companies hold monopoly licenses to provide gaming in their respective fields.

In a press release announcing the amended license condition, RAY estimated that Finns spend over €100 million with foreign gaming operators active in RAY's business sector. The spend was said to be about equal between online poker and online casino and slot games.

Last June, Janne Perakyla, director of gaming operations at RAY, predicted that an online gaming product operated by the company would be able to win between 25 percent and 50 percent of the market.

The company stated in the press release, "We are now proceeding by linking RAY's strong and traditionally land-based gaming with the new internet gaming into an entity. This way we can offer Finnish consumers a unique casino gaming world, even by international standards."

The product from RAY will be available to the domestic market only. Playing on credit is prohibited, and the Finnish Population Register Center will be used to check the identity of each client. Minimum age to play online is set at 18.

RAY plans to be ready to launch the product in August.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Eurodesign BG, a new gaming technology company based in Bulgaria, has announced that Sesame Casinos, one of its country's largest operators, has tasked the company to supply a next-generation network infrastructure to support its 500 slot machines located across 12 cities. The company will employ its new Gaming and Entertainment Management system to bring all activities from the different regions onto one platform and to provide for slot accounting, player tracking, loyalty program, reporting, database marketing, cashless capabilities and jackpot progressives.

"GEM will be the first system in Bulgaria to track play on multi-games with such a high level of accuracy and detail," noted Daniel Lechev, CEO of Sesame Casino. "It will allow our operations staff to monitor every game and machine at each site within our operation instantly and report on it now."

Eurodesign is coming to the gaming market with a unique background and expertise in the design and installation of hotel entertainment and communications working with top hotel brands including Hilton, Kempinski and Radisson.

Over the years, the company has developed a reputation for state-of-the-art technology and networking, while at the same time bringing its customers a 70 percent decrease in investment for its hotel entertainment and communications network. The new system for gaming operations has been designed to comparable parameters of technology at the most cost-effective basis to both install and operate.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Product: Customizable slot machine tickets
Manufacturer: Slot-Tickets Worldwide

Tennessee-based Slot-Tickets Worldwide produces low-cost, high-quality slot machine tickets designed for all TITO slot machines, and is the original source for OEM-approved tickets.
Slot-Tickets products come with a variety of features, including the use of a four-color process or spot color printing on both the front and back of its tickets. Slot-Tickets provides printing in 10 colors, annual contracts and a JIT delivery system. Custom ink jetting of promotional or security numbering is an additional feature offered.

Slot-Tickets also enables companies interested in printing customized tickets to send in personalized artwork for their tickets, or work with the Slot-Tickets design team to craft unique artwork.

Slot-Tickets offers a variety of commission-approved security devices at low cost. The company's unique "White Phantom" and new "Dual Phase Watermark" security inks are approved by all jurisdictions.

The company is the source of IGT's EZ-Pay slot machine tickets, and its tickets are also approved for use by FutureLogic, TransAct and Nanoptix. Slot-Tickets is also contracted with Eurocoin, which is the exclusive distributor of Slot-Tickets products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Slot-Tickets recently relocated to Tennessee, a move that Susan Mitchell, the company's managing director of worldwide sales operations, says was vital for the company's customers.

"We remain dedicated to providing exceptional service to the growing ticket market within the gaming community," Mitchell says. "Our multiple-plant operations give us uninterruptible production capabilities that our customers across the globe can depend on."

For more information about Slot-Tickets, visit www.slottickets.com.

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Manufacturer: Konami Gaming
Platform: Advantage Revolution
Format: Three-reel, single-line stepper/video hybrid
Denomination: .01
Max Bet: 35, 60, 85, 110, 135, 210, 260
Top Award: Progressive; $700 reset
Hit Frequency: 63.17%
Theoretical Hold: 9.25%

This is one of Konami's first games in the innovative "Advantage Revolution" cabinet, developed by Konami Gaming in conjunction with Konami Digital Entertainment, the slot-maker's home-amusement sister company. The cabinet features a revolving middle section that switches from three mechanical reels to a mechanical wheel to an LCD screen.

The reel box sits on a vertical axis and rotates during the bonus round and in the attract mode. The three different playareas are used to create a variety of bonus game options.

When the LCD screen is in front, for instance, it is synchronized with the LCD in the top box for bonus events.

Heat Engine features six different bonus events. At the end of any primary reel spin, a "Second Chance" event can be triggered randomly. The middle reel re-spins to either a green or red locomotive. The green locomotive awards five credits times the total bet. The green locomotive randomly triggers one of three other bonus events-"Big Money Feature," "Fire Wheel Feature" or "Blazing Reel Feature."

The locomotive symbols can also land during a regular reel spin to trigger one of the bonuses. Big Money Feature displays a wheel of red, blue and green lights, and an arrow spins around the lights and stops on one to award a bonus amount. When it is hit on a Second Chance event, the arrow can also stop on one of four progressive jackpots.

Fire Wheel Feature displays a wheel with either six or 10 segments. The player presses a button to spin the wheel, which either stops on an award position or "Big Money Feature," which triggers the other bonus.

The Blazing Reel Feature displays a set of reels which spin either to a straight credit amount, one of three other bonuses, or a free-spin sequence. During the free-spin sequence, certain reels become wild, and multipliers are awarded.

There is a separate free-spin bonus as well, which awards five free spins with the possibility to re-trigger the event withinthe spins.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The first casino to satisfy Moscow's stringent location requirement has opened in the Azov City gambling zone.

The casino is operated by Royal Time, which is based in Tatarstan. The physical structure, described in an Associated Press article as "a large shed-like building in a snowy field," offers players over 200 slot machines and 10 gaming tables, including a VIP area. A restaurant is also on premises, plus an open bar with snacks and free coffee.

The operator will open a small hotel with 11 rooms by the middle of the year, reports news source RIA Novosti. A larger, four-star hotel with 233 rooms is planned to open in seven years.

Royal Time will begin a free bus service to the casino from the relatively nearby cities of Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, 70 kilometers and 150 kilometers away, respectively.

The distance combined with Russia's currently unsafe road conditions has been a cause for concern. That concern proved justified on opening night, reports the Moscow Times, when the car of senior lawmakers from Krasnodar returning from the casino at 1 a.m. crashed into a car parked on the roadside. One lawmaker and the driver were killed in the accident.

Despite the difficulties of setting up shop in a remote, undeveloped region, a second casino is already set to begin construction in March.

"There's a lot of gambling people here," said Valery Saparin, marketing director for Royal Time. "We hope that a lot of people will be drawn to us in the near future."

Saparin expects the casino to be attracting 500 people a day within four months.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The bill that could finally usher in the establishment of casino resorts on Jamaica was set to go to Parliament for debate in mid-February.

The Jamaica Gleaner reports that the bill will be submitted together with the amended Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission Act.

The Casino Gaming Act calls for the creation of a second gaming commission separate from the existing BGLC. The chairman of the parliamentary committee which oversees the bill, Daryl Vaz, said the new commission did not imply any problems with the BGLC.

"There is no indictment on either the chairman, board of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission, or the management and staff as it relates to their mandate," said Vaz. "We're just making sure, out of an abundance of caution, that we monitor and regulate the introduction of casinos."

One week earlier, the cabinet responded to concerns expressed by opposition member Dr. Wykeham McNeill that there was a need for two government boards to oversee the casino industry. Vaz said the decision to go with a single regulatory board had been taken at a recent meeting.

One element of the new bill sure to cause debate is the matter of exclusivity. The bill calls for only three licenses to be made available- licenses which will come with exclusivity for each of the three zones involved. Both government and opposition committee members expressed concerns over the issue, and the attorney general's office had previously said that existing exclusivity arrangements between the government and developers were not legally binding, given that when they were agreed in 2006, no casino legislation existed within Jamaica.

Included in the potential controversy is the deal with Tavistock Group to develop an oceanfront property at Trelawny.

Opposition member Phillip Paulwell expressed the view that some considered the granting of only three licenses to be against the spirit of competition. He wants the issue to be debated and reconsidered.

When asked if the other two licenses had been promised as well, Vaz said there had been discussions but that nothing had been finalized.

Paulwell is also concerned that the island nation might not have the labor pool needed to staff casinos, reports the Jamaica Observer. The draft regulations require people working in the casino to be licensed if they are in management positions, authorized to make decisions, have responsibility for the movement of chips or exchange of money, or fill any other function at the gaming tables.

Paulwell said it might "perhaps prove difficult for many Jamaicans to meet due diligence requirements" as currently written into the act.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Following the opening of four of its hotels by less than a month, the casino at Genting's Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) opened last month in Singapore-the first casino to debut of the two that were approved more than five years ago. The Singapore Casino Control Authority issued a gaming license to the resort on February 6. The $4.5 billion project will be fueled by casino revenues, but also includes a Universal Theme Park, an oceanarium and other family-friendly attractions. The casino opened in time for Chinese New Year at noon on February 14.

Resorts World Sentosa Chairman Lim Kok Thay said his company was pleased to receive the license.

"We are very happy to have received the casino license," he said, while recognizing the authority for "working tirelessly to set up the regulatory framework within a very aggressive timeline."

The opening of the first casino in Singapore is an important milestone for Genting. While being the first to open boosted the stock price for Genting (which rose 5.4 percent when the license was announced), it also signifies something more important. By getting a several-month jump on rival Marina Bay Sands, owned by Las Vegas Sands, RWS will garner a significant share of the locals market, which will be a key element of success because of the well-off Singaporeans, who represent the highest concentration of millionaires in the world. And because the government has imposed an entry fee of S$100 or S$2,000 annually, an early jump with the locals could be crucial since the fee is applicable to only one casino.

In addition, RWS will have an advantage by working with the government on gaming operations. With a unique regulatory scheme that includes the locals restrictions, Singapore will closely monitor casino operations, especially concerning the VIP market that is so important in Asia. The Singapore regulations regarding that market are much more strict than Macau, and will cause the Singapore casinos to establish new procedures to address the important VIP market. Getting a jump on the competition could mean a long-term lead.

But some believe the junket restrictions will be a major detriment to the growth of gaming revenue in Singapore. The government requires that all junket operators be licensed, which will virtually eliminate the Macau operators. Strict currency reporting rules will also constrict the market.

The role of the VIP operators is being underestimated by Singapore officials, says Ben Lee of IGamix Management and Consulting.

"They not only identify the players, organize their trips and somehow get their money out of the country to the casinos; they are also able to generate far more frequent repeat visits than a casino salesperson can do, through the use of techniques such as peer group pressure, far more liberal credit granting than casino operators and other incentives," Lee said.   

Melvyn Boey, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, says less reliance on the VIP market is healthy.

"In the long term," he says, "it gives the casino more sustained income and less volatility."

While many analysts questioned whether either integrated resort will be able to provide an acceptable return on investment, Aaron Fischer, an analyst at CLSA, believes it will be reasonable.

"The returns on invested capital will be lower in Singapore than in Macau or other markets, because the capital expenditure was very, very high," he said. "Yes, they've spent much more than they planned, but that's not uncommon with these types of projects. But over time, the returns should ramp up significantly, because the additional capital investment required to run the casinos will be fairly low compared with the initial investment." 

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

A state Senate hearing last month sought to bring sanity to the discussions about legalizing internet poker in California. The hearing brought out the pros and the cons, and a divided stance by California gaming tribes was the most interesting moment.

Nine California gaming tribes last month sent a letter to a Senate committee saying they oppose a proposal for intrastate internet poker.

The Senate Governmental Organization Committee has begun hearings on the proposal, which is sponsored by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and some card clubs, including the Lucky Derby and Hollywood Park. So far no bill has actually been filed.

The nine tribes cited possible threats to the tribal state gaming compacts that guarantee the exclusivity of gaming for tribes. Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, one of the nine, commented, "We simply do not agree with the consequences of authorizing intrastate internet poker." He added that his tribe might withhold gaming payments to the state if the proposal becomes law.

Morongo's proposal would allow internet betting on poker through a network that would be operated by the tribes and card clubs. They claim that there are hundreds of millions of dollars changing hands every year from as many as a million Californians.

Robert Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band, told senators, "We feel the games should be controlled by the tribes and the state-and taxed."

Senator Roderick Wright, who chairs the committee, said that internet gaming is a reality. "This train is running and picking up steam," he said, and the state isn't collecting any taxes from it.

He also threw out another metaphor: "At this time of day, I'm going to guess 30,000 to 40,000 people are playing in California," he said. "It's not as though we're sitting here making a decision whether or not people are going to play internet poker. That ship's sailed."

One study estimates that online poker could generate $53.6 million a year in state taxes. However, the same study warns that adopting such a law could also threaten the state's exclusivity agreement with gaming tribes.

Drew Soderborg, fiscal and policy analyst with the Legislative Analyst Office, agrees with that warning. "There could be legal challenges if online poker were approved. If such challenges were upheld, the state could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually," he said.

Morongo attorney George Forman argues that the compacts guarantee exclusivity of "gaming devices," and that laptop computers are not gaming devices. He also contends that because poker players compete against each other, and not against the house, that the game is not subject to this rule. "Tribes have no exclusivity with respect to poker," he said.

Frank Catania, a former director of New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement and one of the foremost authorities in internet gambling, believes California would benefit from the legalization of online poker.

"A well-regulated online gaming industry results in private investment in the technology sector and creates many high-skill, high-paying jobs," he said. "Regulation also generates many potential levels of taxation-business, gaming, payroll, etc.-which can be used to fund social programs, particularly those related to gaming."

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Like most  things connected with the bidding process for the slots license at New York City's Aqueduct Racetrack, the winning bid was surprising and controversial.

Aqueduct Entertainment Group, a consortium of seven companies that includes the Navegante Group of Las Vegas, led by former MGM Grand executive Larry Woolf, was the winner, but only after New York Governor David Paterson raised the stakes once again, boosting the up-front "buy in" for the license from $200 million to $300 million. That demand forced AEG to match the high offer from Penn National Gaming. Other stipulations inserted at the last minute include a vetting and licensing of all partners.

"After an extensive review of the five remaining bids to operate the video lottery terminals at Aqueduct racetrack, I have chosen and the (legislative) leaders have agreed upon the organization that best fulfills our selection criteria," Paterson said in a statement. "AEG has both the financial viability and ability to pay the required up-front licensing fee."

The AEG choice is purportedly the end of a nearly 10-year process that resulted in two different choices and two disappointments. MGM Mirage was originally chosen as the operator in 2001 but backed out after the company saw effective tax rates in New York rise to more than 75 percent. While the tax rate has been somewhat mitigated over the years, it remains one of the highest in the gaming industry. A second choice in 2007 of Delaware North collapsed when the economy slumped and Delaware North was not able to line up financing for the $370 million deal.

The latest round resulted in six bidders, including such gaming powerhouses as MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment, Penn National Gaming and Hard Rock International. Wynn Resorts initially bid but dropped out when the $200 million fee was demanded.

In addition to Navegante, the AEG partners include: GreenStar Services Corporation, a New York-based construction contractor; Turner Construction Company, another New York company founded in 1902; Levine Builders, a Queens-based company that provides general contracting and construction management services; the Darman Group, a minority company from New York City that provides consulting and real estate services led by Queens powerbroker Rev. Floyd H. Flake; Long Island-based Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor, an architectural firm that will design the project; Siemens AG, an international electronics and engineering firm based in New York City; and Clairvest Group Inc., a Canadian-based merchant bank.

But it still may not be over. Penn National Gaming is apparently steamed that its higher guarantee was simply transfered to AEG without allowing Penn the option to take the deal.

"We were extremely shocked and dismayed by the governor's announcement, given we offered over $100 million more to the state than AEG in our bid," Penn National Gaming said in a statement. "In addition, our proposal complies with the conditions outlined by the (Assembly) Speaker for the winning bidder.

"We remain committed to this project, and will await further details about the selection process before commenting further."

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Anette Jauch is returning to the gaming industry as sales and marketing manager of Austria-based Infinity Games.

Jauch has over 20 years experience in the industry, having served in similar functions with IGT Europe, Mikohn and Atronic.

During her year absence, Jauch freelanced as manager of marketing and communications for the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation. Said Jauch of the experience at the time, "I'm like a fish in the water!"

"I'm very pleased with this choice," said Jauch. "After having worked for some leading companies in the gaming industry, I enjoy the challenge to be working for a small yet ambitious manufacturer. I liked the products at first sight and am looking forward to selling them to casinos across Europe and overseas." 

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Slovenian auto-roulette supplier Electroncek d.o.o. has installed a second "Megastar 8" electro- mechanical roulette game at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It is the third Interblock multi-player automated table game offered by the Canadian casino, which offers the eight-player "Dicestar 8" sic-bo game in addition to its other Megastar 8 unit.

Megastar 8 is the most successful of the Interblock auto-roulette games, offering a circular carousel design with player stations surrounding an automated wheel. "Based on the great performance of two Interblock machines, we have decided to install an additional Megastar 8, this time near our high-limit gaming area, offering our high-limit players even more variety and excitement," said Bill French, director of slot operations at Fallsview.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Product: Cash Redemption Terminal
Manufacturer: ecash Technologies

Australia-based cash redemption  and cash dispensing company ecash debuted its new cash redemption terminal, or CRT, at London's International Gaming Expo in January. The new product is currently available in Europe, and the company will soon begin supplying the terminal.

Ecash's new CRT exemplifies the company's commitment to flexibility for its customers. The terminal enables casino patrons to transfer, redeem and manage their money in four ways: from ticket to cash, from cash to cash, from ticket to card and from card to cash. The terminal also enables customers to break their cash into smaller denominations.   

Casino guests can also use their player reward cards to identify themselves on ecash's terminals, thereby enabling ecash to deliver a casino's marketing messages to its patrons. 

The ecash cash redemption terminal contains four separately lockable cash cassettes and four coin hoppers for storage and ease.

Ecash recently partnered with Atronic Systems, the system arm of slot manufacturer Spielo, to distribute cash redemption terminals in the European, Latin American and South African markets. The two companies plan to make ecash's CRT compatible with Atronic's "chip cash" smart-card solution. Ecash's CRT is compatible with Atronic's "qpon cash" electronic fund slot payment systems.

Ecash's cash redemption terminal clients include Macau's Arc de Triumph Casino and Oceanus project, as well as Panama's Royal Casino and Australia's Crown Casino Melbourne and Star City Casino.

For more information about ecash, visit www.ecash.com.au.

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Manufacturer: AC Coin & Slot
Platform: IGT S2000
Format: Five-reel, 25-line stepper slot
Denomination: .01
Max Bet: 125
Top Award: 500,000
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: 8%-10%

AC Coin has had much success with the game "The Munny Returns," so the slot-maker placed a similar pay table and program math into its most popular format, the "Big Roller" series begun by the game Bankroll, to form the new game "The QH"-it stands for "Quick Hit."

The base pay table is from IGT's Double Sizzling 7s, one of that manufacturer's most popular titles, in a fivereel, 25-line penny stepper format. The mechanical topbox bonus features the familiar bonus-game display (similar to former "scrolling" displays, but this one does not scroll), displaying credit amounts and multipliers up to 20X.

As the name implies, the bonus events are remarkably frequent-every seven spins, on average, with maximum bet wagered, the player goes into the Quick Hit Bonus with two "QH" symbols scattered on the middle reels. The top-box bonus amounts remain stationary, and all the amounts light up. They go out one by one, and the last award square illuminated goes to the player. The average bonus on this event is 149 credits.

Every 63 spins on average, a "Double Bonus" event is triggered with three scattered bonus symbols on the middle reels. The bonus display's 16 award values flash as the middle multiplier strip spins. When the strip stops, the award squares randomly go out. The last one to stay lit is the winning amount. Then, the multiplier squares flash until one is lit to combine with the amount for the multiplied bonus. The average bonus in this event is 1,553 credits.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The German subsidiary of European real estate developer Sybil Group is reported to have acquired a casino license for the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The head of Sybil Group, Pinni Sarfati, received the concession in January from Saxony-Anhalt Finance Minister Jens Bullerjahn for a fee of €1million, reports Israeli news source Haaretz.

The development being considered is for a casino-resort complex with four hotels of five-star caliber combining for a total of 1,500 rooms, plus a retail shopping center, restaurants, conference space and a riverside marina. Investment is estimated to be somewhere between €300 million and €500 million.

Sarfati said "people who understand this field in Europe" had been brought into the project, including former Queenco CEO Dror Mizeretz.

Saxony-Anhalt is currently served by three small, state-owned casinos, which have had their share of problems in recent years. In May 2008, the government had to give the casinos €1 million just to stay afloat, and considered selling them.

For Sybil Group, the project would be a departure from its proven success formula. The company generally purchases existing retail sites in Central-Eastern Europe that it has identified as suitable for expansion into commercial hubs, entertainment centers, wholesale centers and retail parks. The company has developed a unique analysis model just for this purpose.

The scale of the project would also be a challenge for the company, which saw its biggest investment to date in the €120 million Maximus International Fashion Wholesale Center in Poland. The center has over 670 tenants in four halls with a total of more than 100,000 square meters, with four additional halls under construction. From its combined activities in Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania, Sybil Group had gross revenues of €620 million in the first nine months of 2009.

When questioned about the financing of the project by Haaretz reporters, Sarfati replied, "All the capital for this project will come from outside. The subsidy we will receive from the German government will be part of our equity, as will funds from partners we will bring in."

But according to Haaretz, Sybil Europe and subsidiary Sybil Germany together owe bondholders NIS 200 million-about €37.2 million-on two bond series currently trading at yields of 30 percent to 40 percent. Adding to the concern about being able to repay investors is the fact that, for the first nine months of 2009, the two Sybils have bank debts totaling NIS 800
million.

Sarfati dismissed the worries, saying, "Sybil has always been able to handle big projects. The American investment bank Miller Buckfire is our financier. The bank's CEO, John Orem, is handling things for us. Orem has arranged billions for Sheldon Adelson. Orem made some inquiries for us, and we have already been contacted by four or five international investors who are interested in our project."

When asked if Sybil Group might wind up being only a minority partner in the project, Sarfati said, "We won't mind having a minority holding in a project worth €2 billion."

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Legislation passed in recent years which formalized the casino and slot machine industries led to Peru collecting over $56 million in taxes from gaming in 2009. From the government's viewpoint, the record amount was a huge win-a far cry from the $687,332 in gaming tax revenue seen just a few years ago.
    This year, Minister of Foreign Commerce and Tourism Martin Perez expects the government will see more than $68.8 million in tax revenue from casinos and slots, report news sources Andina and Yogonet.
    Peru will introduce a central slot accounting system this summer that Perez believes will facilitate a further increase in gaming tax collection, by making it more difficult for operators to dodge the taxman.
    "This online control system will be implemented in July and will permit the tax collection of casinos and slots to increase to $103.2 million in 2011," said Perez.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The inability to play a role in gaming development in Macau has long been a hole in the portfolio of Harrah's Entertainment. And because American competitors like Las Vegas Sands, MGM Mirage and Wynn Resorts have done so well in the Chinese enclave, Harrah's lack of presence in that market has been especially irking for company chairman Gary Loveman.

It appears, however, that a strategy is emerging that will fix that problem. Reports last month out of Macau suggested that Harrah's and Crown Entertainment were in discussions to buy Crown's interest in two casinos in Macau, and the potential for more.

Crown, controlled by Australian gaming magnate James Packer, entered the market via a sub-concession partnership with Lawrence Ho and Melco Entertainment. Ho's role was part of the concession owned by his father, Stanley Ho, the major shareholder in SJM Holdings, who had a monopoly on gaming in Macau until the Chinese government opened up the industry following the handover from Portugal in 1999.

Crown has struggled financially in the past several years, due to messy investments in American gaming companies-particularly Station Casinos, the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, an adjacent property that would have been a Crown casino on the Strip, and even Harrah's Entertainment. The company's interest in Macau has been one bright spot in its financials, with the Altira and City of Dreams performing well.  

David Bain, a analyst with Sterne Agee, reported last week that Harrah's is "acutely interested" in buying Crown's 32 percent stake in Melco Crown Entertainment. Bain reported that attorneys in Macau were exploring the legal landscape that would come with such a transfer of equity, something that has not occurred in Macau since the opening of the gaming industry.

Since the only other option for entry into Macau is an expansion of the concession system-something that former Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho said was off the table for at least 10 years and has not been contracted by the current leader, Fernando Chui-Harrah's has been forced to consider the equity purchase of Crown.

In addition to the $600 million that Crown paid Melco for the sub-concession, the joint venture has invested $3 billion in the City of Dreams casino resort, which targets the mass market, and $1 billion in Altira Macau, a property aimed directly at the city's VIP market.

Harrah's sole role in Macau at this point is ownership of the city's only golf course, which could become a casino site at some point should Harrah's receive a concession.

In a conference call with investors early last week, Ho denied Bains' report.

"From our perspective it's total nonsense," Ho said. "Both James and myself and the management have really come this far, and we see a lot of potential growth, and the business is ramping up very, very nicely. It's really nonsense, all the rumors that we've heard."

Loveman believes that a Caesars Palace brand in Macau could become one of the world's most successful casinos. A Harrah's spokeswoman refused to comment on the report. 

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York has approved a plan to pursue off-reservation
gaming in the Catskills.

In a referendum last month, tribal members voted 538-371 to move ahead with the project, which hinges on a reversal of the so-called Kempthorne decision, a Bush-era ruling that prohibited tribes from building casinos off reservation land. President Barack Obama is said to be considering a change in policy, and New York lawmakers including Governor David Paterson and Senator Charles Schumer are lobbying on behalf of the Indians.

The Mohawks hope to construct a casino on 29 acres next to Monticello Raceway in Sullivan County. They would work in concert with Empire Resorts, which owns Monticello. The land would first have to be taken into federal trust on behalf of the tribe.

The plan was nearly approved in 2008, but former Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne refused to sign off on the land trust, saying the Akwesasne reservation is too far from the proposed casino.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

MGM Mirage is picking up its toys and going home. It was revealed last month that the company is selling its 50 percent interest in the Borgata (with managing partner Boyd Gaming) and relinquishing its license in New Jersey in order to continue to operate in Macau.

Last year, the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, the investigative arm of the New Jersey regulatory scheme, recommended that the Casino Control Commission not approve Pansy Ho as a suitable partner for MGM Mirage. Most states require their licensees to submit for approval any business arrangement agreed to in another jurisdiction to ensure that the integrity of its regulatory process is upheld. Nevada, Mississippi and Illinois had already given their OK.

Pansy Ho is the daughter of Stanley Ho, the former gaming mogul in Macau. When China took over Macau in 1999, the gaming industry was opened up to three concession-holders. Stanley Ho's SJM was awarded one of those concessions, along with Wynn Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment.

The problem comes when you examine the background of Stanley Ho. While he ran the gaming monopoly in Macau, he was allegedly involved with the Chinese Triads, a sophisticated crime organization in Asia. Ho therefore is tainted with that connection and could not be licensed in most major gaming jurisdictions, according to experts.

MGM claims that the decision is simply business-related. Company officials claim that they are not interested in New Jersey if they are forced to give up Macau.

The company is currently in discussions with the DGE about settlement of the DGE complaint and has placed its Borgata interest into trust, pending a sale. 

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

International Game Technology recently announced that former MTV Networks executive Gideon Bierer has been appointed vice president of new media, a new division that will oversee the next generation in networking.

"New media-the internet, mobile, social networking-are changing the way companies do business," says IGT President and CEO Patti Hart. "It is important to stay ahead of market trends and continuously evolve our business so that we can effectively serve our customers. We are focused on developing engaging content for the slot patron of today and tomorrow. Working with our customers to prepare for the next generation of players is paramount to our mutual success. Engaging those players through varied media is critical."

At MTV Networks, Bierer served as executive vice president of international digital media, where he was responsible for all online business.

"We welcome Gideon's experience in delivering content across media," Hart says. "With many international markets embracing new media more quickly than the U.S., Gideon's global experience at MTVN will be an asset for IGT."

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Olympic Entertainment Group has launched its online casino and poker product, Olympic-Online.com.

An anticipated change in Estonian law allowed OEG, a publicly listed company, to plan its entry to the online gaming sector. OEG received the first online gaming license to be granted by Estonia on January 21. 

The product was developed with industry giant Playtech, whose subsidiary Videobet, a producer of server-based gaming devices and systems, is headquartered in Estonia. Playtech's iPoker network is the largest independent poker network in the world, with more than 120 uniquely branded poker rooms hosting over 30,000 players at peak hours of operation.

The casino element of Olympic-Online.com offers players more than 150 different games.

The move follows a difficult year for the multi-national casino operator, which like all other gaming companies was forced to cease operations in Ukraine. In addition, OEG closed another 44 casinos at home and abroad due to changes in market conditions and legislation.

Armin Karu, chairman of the OEG board and founder of the company, said the online casino and poker room will accept players from all over the world. The web page, gaming environment and customer support are available currently in English, Estonian and Russian, and will be offered soon in Finnish and Swedish.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

The Barona Resort & Casino in San Diego, California, has launched new blackjack games featuring "i-Table," the electronic system from supplier Shuffle Master, Inc. that allows for live table games dealt with real cards, but with electronic bets and payouts.

The chip-less i-Table operation is currently being offered on traditional blackjack games at Barona. Players use individual touchscreen monitors to make all wagers and verify all wins. The terminals also allow for high-odds side bets from Shuffle Master, including "Bet the Set 21" and "Royal Match 21." Players have the option to make the side bets after a hand has been dealt.

"We are pleased that Barona has added our i-Table product to its floor," said Shuffle Master CEO Tim Parrott. "Its electronic betting interface gives players access to a wider range of betting opportunities while ensuring speedy and secure game play. In addition, the ability to have live player tracking will allow players to get the recognition they deserve."

Barona had already offered chip-less hands on Rapid Roulette and Rapid Baccarat, games in which stand-alone video play stations are linked to live table games, in addition to 75 traditional table games.

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Manufacturer: Aruze Gaming
Platform: G-enex
Format: Five-reel, 30-line video slot
Denomination: .01
Max Bet: 150, 300, 450, 600
Top Award: Progressive; $10,000 reset
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: 1.96%-9.68%

This is a feature-rich new video slot from Aruze that includes multi-layered bonuses and random events in a low-volatility, 30-line penny program.

The game, in the manufacturer's "G-enex" platform, is available in multiple play configurations, and includes a stand-alone progressive jackpot resetting at $10,000.

Line jackpots in the campy vampire theme center around the vampire's "Beauties," with the four top line jackpots returned for landing five of any of the characters. The top line jackpot is 1,500 credits times the line bet.

There is a random event in the primary game called the "Vampire Magic Feature." When a vampire appears on the main screen, lightning bolts appear and land on various symbols to change them into wild symbols.

There are several second-screen bonus events, all triggered from within a primary feature called "Castle Choice." When bonus symbols appear on the first, third and fifth reels, three castles appear on the screen. The player selects one of the castles to reveal either a credit amount or icons for the two other bonuses, "Wild Cat Bonus" and "Vampire Bonus."

The Wild Cat Bonus, which also can be triggered through a bonus symbol on the third reel, sends "flying bats" out to change symbols into wild symbols. The Vampire Bonus displays a group of coffins on the screen.

The player selects one to reveal a credit amount, a "Beauty" symbol for one of four possible jackpot awards, or a "Challenge for Jackpot" symbol.

Challenge for Jackpot displays a screen of 29 coffins-one hides a Jackpot symbol that triggers the top progressivenprize.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Flughafen Zurich AG, the company that operates Zurich Airport in Switzerland, is looking to create a casino at the airport when the next batch of gaming licenses is awarded.

The company is partnering with Swiss Casinos AG, which already owns outright or holds an overwhelming majority stake in three Swiss casinos, an equal share in a fourth and a minority stake in a fifth property.

The government is expected to decide on the new licenses in the next several weeks. The Zurich canton has no casino to date.

The developers consider the airport to be a good location for a casino. There is ample parking and excellent public transportation, and the airport itself is an international transit point, handling 60,000 passengers a day.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Citing more gaming in all his major feeder markets, George Markantonis, the president and general manager of Kerzner International Bahamas, the operator of the Atlantis, is pleading for help from the government.

"The casino spend per occupied room is about the same as it has always been, so we are not having any big differences there," he told the Nassau Guardian.

But Markantonis cites increasing gaming in states such as Florida, New York and Pennsylvania, all prime markets for the Atlantis. He fears that his property will be impacted as other destination resorts have been.

"The legalization of casinos one by one is going to impact our business," he contends, "because if you just have to drive down the street to go to a casino why would you go all the way to the airport, spend an hour and a half going through security, fly somewhere, go through customs and immigration just to go to a casino? That's going to be a challenge for us."

To help insulate the Atlantis from that challenge, Markantonis wants the government to move quickly to allow permanent residents of the Bahamas to gamble, something they are prohibited from doing today. A government study group has been set up, led by Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, but is far from completing its work. Markantonis called the group's report "critical to the survival of gaming."

"I know it's a complicated issue, it's certainly a much more political and social discussion and Atlantis wouldn't put itself in the middle of trying to force those issues one way or another. That is something the government has to look at every way, but I think it's important," he explained to the Guardian.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

With the unspoken threat of renewed visa restrictions and other controls that would cool the explosive growth of Macau gaming revenues, January's report followed a pattern that was set last summer when revenues reversed their previous declines with dramatic increases.

January revenue hit an all-time high of 13.3 billion patacas ($1.7 billion), topping the October 2009 figure of 12.6 billion patacas ($1.6 billion). The amount was 55 percent higher than that posted in January 2009. Gross revenues for Macau's 33 casinos averaged about 429 million patacas ($53.6 million) a day.

While the report sent share prices for companies with Macau properties soaring (Sands China, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment and Melco Crown rose more than 5 percent each, while the Macau unit of Wynn Resorts was up over 3 percent), fears remained that the Chinese government would put the brakes on by re-imposing visa restrictions that prevented mainland gamblers from visiting Macau more than once every three months.

SJM, controlled by former monopoly holder Stanley Ho, garnered a market share of 30 percent, while Las Vegas Sands captured 22 percent. SJM predicts its percentage could go higher.

"We hope to keep our market position but our new casinos, namely Ponte 16, Oceanus and L'Arc, are performing well and growing," Ambrose So Shu-fai, the company's chief executive officer, told the Lusa news agency. "If they keep performing like that, we may increase some market points over the year."

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel in North Carolina will soon expand to house a poker room, if the state agrees to legalize live card games at the casino.

The casino is planning to complete parts of its $600 million expansion, which will include a new hotel tower and a 3,000-seat event center, by April. The resort will be completed by 2012.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians also plans to expand the casino floor to 150,000 square feet, and expects to establish a new poker room in the larger space.

Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court affirmed a law giving the Cherokees exclusive rights to offer gambling.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals last December struck down challenges to a state law that granted the Cherokee Indians an exclusive right to offer video poker.

A manufacturer of amusement devices, McCraken and Amick Inc., challenged the law.
It claimed that the state cannot create a gaming monopoly.

The appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that the state could create such a monopoly, citing cases such as the Supreme Court ruling in the 1985 case of Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The Hawaiian legislature is considering two bills that would legalize gaming in one of the two final holdouts of states that allow no gaming whatsoever.

House Bill 2759 authorizes the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to allow gaming casinos on Hawaiian Home parcels-the equivalent of Native American reservations. The Judiciary Committee cleared the bill after lengthy testimony last week.

A second measure, House Bill 2251, would create a gaming commission that would issue a single five-year license to a casino operator on Oahu. That bill passed muster for the second of three required votes in the House, although a large number of representatives voted against it.

Democrats in the Hawaii legislature are trying to keep the bills alive as an alternative to raising taxes. House Judiciary Chairman Jon Riki Karamatsu wrote the single-casino measure.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Just days before the recent IGE show in London, slot manufacturer WMS Gaming announced it will start online gaming operations in the U.K. in 2011.

WMS will start in the U.K., a regulated online jurisdiction, and if all goes accordingly, eventually branch out into other regulated markets.

Brian Morgan, the new executive director of online gaming for WMS, said, "We are the leaders in casino innovation and we want to leverage that insight online. We will only trade in markets where e-gaming is expressly legal, but there is plenty on our radar, and we will expand market by market."

"WMS will debut its capabilities and solutions that harness the scale of the internet to pursue online wagering opportunities in the United Kingdom," WMS Chairman and CEO Brian Gamache said in a statement.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Leading slot manufacturer International Game Technology will close its beleaguered pachisuro operations in Japan, according to a filing the company made last month with regulators.

In the filing, the company said the operationswill close "due to ongoing difficult market conditions
and changes in the company's future core business strategy. The closure is part of the company's ongoing focus on operating efficiencies in all areas of its business."

IGT's Japan operation, which involves supplying and servicing pachisuro parlors with IGT gaming machines, recorded a net loss of $21.2 million last year, and a loss of $2.5 million for the first quarter of this year. First-quarter revenue was only $100,000, compared to $5.7 million for the same period last year.

"Total charges related to the closure are still developing and will depend on the culmination of certain asset sales and property lease cancellations," the company said in its filing. "We currently estimate charges, including severance, of up to $20 million in the aggregate will be recorded in the second and third quarters of fiscal 2010."

The filing also noted that new casino openings in Ohio, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Maryland over the next two years will more than make up for money lost in the Japan operations. "Future gaming expansion is also anticipated in international markets, especially Southeast Asia and Italy," the company said. "Although the extent and timing is uncertain, we believe new market opportunities will grow as the economy improves and new jurisdictions consider gaming tax revenues as a means to address budget shortfalls." 

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

The gaming industry in Cambodia has continued its expansion with the opening of the 32nd casino licensed by the federal government. The Top Diamond casino, a 1,600-square-meter facility, debuted last month in the Phnom Den special economic zone (SEZ), located on the border with Vietnam.

The 200-employee casino, built on land leased by Cambodian development company Doung Chhiv, is located on National Road 2.

Managing Director Hout Chanthou expects to draw clientele from Vietnam and businesses located in the SEZ.

"This location has great potential," he told the Phnom Penh Post. "I hope that businessmen will stop by here to gamble."

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Law firm president Tom Foley was recently appointed to the board of directors of Four Corners, Inc. Foley's firm, Foley Law Group PLC, is a Minnesota-based firm specializing in gaming law.

"We are very pleased with Tom's addition to the board," said John Schreiber, the company's president, CEO and chairman of the board. "He brings an impeccable reputation, tremendous knowledge of the gaming and casino markets, and is a well-respected legal adviser. We look forward to his future contributions to the company."

Foley served as commissioner, vice-chairman and acting chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission from 1995 to 1998, and was elected to the International Masters of Gaming Law Association. 

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Loto-Quebec plans to offer Quebec residents online poker and sports betting via an official website that the organization hopes to launch by the end of 2010. The Quebec cabinet has approved the plan, hoping to compete with other internet gambling sites. The plan would create a portal for Loto-Quebec, B.C. Lottery Corp. and Atlantic Lottery Corp.

Creating a portal would generate enough cash from the combined provinces to make online gambling a financially sound decision for the lottery corporations.

"Each jurisdiction protects its fiscality," Loto-Quebec CEO Alain Cousineau told the Montreal Gazette. "The revenue generated by Quebecers will return to Quebec."

The lottery corporations plan to raise their betting limits from $120 to $9,999 to compete with other online gambling organizations.

Some critics question if the new portal will be able to compete with other online gambling sites.

"I question whether there will be sufficient liquidity to make the site popular and therefore profitable," gaming lawyer Michael Lipton told the Gazette. "The operators out there are miles ahead of these new entrants in terms of the number of games they offer and the liquidity. Some sites may have 20 million or 30 million players and poker games going on 24 hours a day."

At a recent press conference in Montreal, Cousineau and Raymond Bachand, the province's finance minister, said the state-sponsored gambling portal would provide legitimacy to the industry and combat illegal internet gambling websites.

"Inasmuch as this is a sector that is developing exponentially in an illegal way, Loto-Quebec is being given the responsibility of working to redirect this to a site that is secure, legal and trustworthy," Bachand said during the press conference. "I believe this to be an efficient way of fighting the underground economy."

Loto-Quebec has not yet selected a software developer for the website.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Gaming Support USA, the Las Vegas-based subsidiary of the Netherlands-based system company, announced that it has been granted certification from Gaming Laboratories International for its BaseSys Navigator jackpot controller. BaseSys Navigator enables banks of slots to offer either mystery jackpots or progressive jackpots.

Widely installed in casinos throughout Europe, Asia and South America, the system enables operators to remotely manage jackpots, update jackpot settings, emphasize jackpot values and trigger special effects, all from a networked PC. It works with slot machines of any manufacturer.

The GLI certification, the product's first for the U.S. market, covers mystery and progressive configurations for the controller in California, Delaware and Rhode Island.

"Gaming Support is proud to have cleared this first, very important hurdle," said Don Baugh, CEO of Gaming Support USA. "For the past several years, the American controller market has been far too restricted, with only one or two vendors supplying product. This absence of competition has been at the direct expense of casino operators, who have been forced to choose from an unacceptably narrow range of offerings. We look forward to providing American operators with a worthy alternative, and are excited by the ongoing proliferation of this new, very exciting technology."

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Manufacturer: International Game Technology
Platform: AVP
Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot
Denomination: All; operatorconfigurable
Max Bet: 300
Top Award: 1,295,00 credits
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: 9.77%-12.72%

This new game in IGT's Multi-Level Progressives category features six
themed progressive levels and two stand-alone progressive jackpots. The game is offered on the G23 wide-screen machine with AVP technology, and sbX connectivity for server-based applications.

There are three base games available with the link-"Coral Riches," "Jungle Magic" and "Wild Savanna." All are in 50-line configurations with a four-by-five player interface.

The progressive rounds are activated by covering the paylines and making a 10-credit "side bet." There is a freespin bonus, awarding 15, 50 or 100 free spins for three, four or five scattered bonus symbols, respectively.

Six of the eight progressive jackpots are awarded through line combinations.The Minor progressive is awarded if all six in-game progressives are collected during free spins. The Major progressive is awarded when five World symbols land on a payline. Free spins can be initiated again during the bonus, and progressive amounts can be won multiple times. The progressive jackpots are multiplied by the line bet.

A "Jackpot Features Off" message notifies players who are not betting the side wager, and a "Jackpot Features On" reminds players they are betting the side wager.

By GGB Staff   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Silver Shores International Resort at Da Nang, Vietnam, was inaugurated by developer Hoang Dat Silver Shores Exceptional International Entertainment Co. with a soft opening in the last week of January.

The five-star resort, which covers 200,000 square meters, includes the 800-square-meter Crowne International Casino, which opened its doors in late December 2009.

At the time of the soft opening, about 100 of the resort's 584 hotel rooms and suites were in service, along with a Western-style restaurant and lobby bar. The resort also features 52 villas overlooking the sea. The grand opening is scheduled for July.

The project has been in the works for several years. In 2004, the developer received conditional government approval that allowed advanced planning to begin, and in February 2007 an agreement was signed with InterContinental Hotels Group to construct the first Crowne Plaza Hotel in Vietnam.

At the time, Jan Smits, COO of InterContinental Hotels Group Southern Asia, said, "We are tapping into the vibrant Vietnamese economy which has distinguished itself as one of the key Southeast Asian economies to watch. Da Nang is a city in which this economic momentum is very much apparent. Its central location, with links to the capital city of Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh in the south, also makes it a strategic address for

The resort is about 15 minutes from Da Nang International Airport and the city center.

The casino has arranged two weekly flights from Guangzhou, China, to bring in players to the casino, according to a December report in the Saigon Times. The report said a second air link from China is being considered.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry EchoHawk recently appointed Paula Hart, a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York, to the position of director of the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Gaming. Hart has served as the office's acting director since May 2008.

"I am pleased that Ms. Hart has accepted this opportunity to continue leading the Office of Indian Gaming," EchoHawk said in a statement. "Her knowledge and experience in the field of tribal gaming make her a strong member of my team."

Hart first joined the Office of Indian Gaming in 1994 as a management analyst. With the office in its infancy, Hart had a hand in developing integral policies that are still in effect today.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

The Gaming Standards Association announced that with the end of 2009, the organization-formed to support open communication among the equipment of various manufacturers-formally ended its support for the former industry-standard SAS communication protocol.

Beginning this year, the organization will focus its resources on helping operators migrate away from SAS toward the G2S, or game-to-system protocol.

"While SAS will continue to be an important protocol for some years yet, GSA has decided to focus on G2S as the sole protocol to be used from the electronic gaming machine to the back-of-house systems," said GSA Technical Director Marc McDermott. "The new features and capabilities available with G2S will provide the building blocks that will move the gaming industry to a new level of technology. As the new technology will definitely have an impact on any gaming operation, we want to help operators prepare for tomorrow with some questions they should be thinking about today. The answers to these key questions provide the first step in moving an operation towards the technology of the future and the pathway to success."

The GSA says it can answer three key questions concerning protocols: where operators can go now that SAS is no longer supported; which suppliers provide non-SAS products; and how to get IT teams up to speed on GSA protocols.

Operators can join the GSA's Operator Advisory Committee to discuss the questions. For a look at brief answers to these questions, visit www.gamingstandards.com.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

George E. Gasser, former CEO and youngest of the three founding brothers of Gasser Chair Company, died last month at age 80 in his home town of Youngstown, Ohio.  

Gasser built the furniture company he founded in the mid-1940s with his two brothers into one of the most successful gaming industry vendors, providing seating to casinos around the world.

The three Gasser brothers (George, Louis and Roger) founded the company in a family-owned horse barn in Youngstown, using their machinist skills to work with what was a relatively new material at the time, aluminum. Early jobs included assembling storm windows and screens, aluminum beer kegs and custom aluminum parts. The company became Gasser Chair in 1946, after it launched a line of aluminum-frame dinette sets, and took off after those products impressed attendees at the 1948 National Restaurant Show.

When casinos began to require slot stools, Gasser Chair became one of only a few vendors
to establish itself as a prime supplier to the new market.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

The Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders announced a restructuring of its competitive Project Grants program, which supports high-quality scientific research on gambling disorders.

The newly restructured program will offer twice as many funding opportunities as in previous years. Approximately $350,000 will be available for the awards. This process began with the release of a funding announcement for new Exploration Grants, which will provide quick access to funding for small-scale research projects for researchers focused on gambling disorders. The institute is an independent program of the National Center for Responsible Gaming.

By offering additional funding opportunities, the restructured Project Grants program will help increase the number of researchers working in the field, encourage new investigators to explore gambling disorders and foster multidisciplinary collaboration. All research proposals submitted to the institute are reviewed by independent peer review panels of distinguished scientists in the field to ensure that only the highest quality research is funded.

To learn more about the restructured Project Grants program, upcoming grant opportunities and research supported by the NCRG and the institute, visit www.gamblingdisorders.org.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Seneca Gaming Corporation announced that Jim Wise has joined the company as senior vice president of marketing.

A 20-year casino industry veteran, Wise has held senior marketing and public relations positions at several casinos, including the Sands Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, Argosy Gaming and Hollywood Casino Corporation. Most recently, he was vice president of marketing for Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Pennsylvania.

Wise will lead the overall marketing strategy and initiatives, including marketing, advertising, promotion and player development, for each of Seneca Gaming Corporation's three western New York casino properties-Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel and Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Octavian Global Technologies announced that it has signed a 10-year contract with BetPlus, the largest gaming concessionaire in Italy's amusement-with-prizes machine market, for the deployment of the Octavian Symphony VE system to manage its AWP gaming operations across Italy.

Italy's AWP market is strictly controlled by the Italian government's AAMS (Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies) and its "Comma6" regulations. BetPlus will deploy the centralized Octavian Symphony VE video-lottery system to link gaming machines at multiple AWP venues across Italy and meet the latest Comma6B requirements. Initially, around 12,000 machines will be connected, but the highly scalable system offers virtually limitless scope to connect further sites and machines.

The Symphony VE system is the latest development of Octavian's Symphony system, which is designed to enable rapid rollout and high-reliability management of wide-area gaming networks comprising tens of thousands of electronic gaming machines. In addition to monitoring, accounting and reporting functions to control gaming machine operations, the Symphony VE system offers significant scope for business development through player tracking and wide-area multiple progressive jackpots.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Hard Rock International recently selected Michael Shindler to be the company's executive vice president of hotels and casinos. Shindler has a wealth of hospitality experience, having served as chairman of the board of directors of Hyatt Gaming Management; vice president of development and asset management for Las Vegas Sands; vice president of development in the Americas for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group; and president and CEO of Four Corners Advisors, Inc.

"We look forward to drawing on Michael's extensive network and experience in the hotel and gaming industry to promote continued growth of our brand," said Hard Rock International President and CEO Hamish Dodds.

In his new position, Shindler will oversee the global development of hotels and casinos for the company, as well as daily management of the brand's existing assets.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

TransAct Technologies recently promoted Andrew Hanley to the position of vice president of international sales. The promotion took effect immediately.

"There's never been a better time to be at TransAct," Hanley says. "The broad range of
products and growing international markets are an opportunity for us to increase our presence and grow our share around the world. I am excited and optimistic about our prospects in my expanded role."

As vice president, Hanley will oversee sales of the company's casino and gaming products and services within the Asia Pacific market, which includes Macau, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines. He will also oversee the company's South American sales.

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Richard J. Schilling Jr., known as "the father of Mississippi gaming," died January 27. He was 62.

Schilling started in the restaurant business as a dishwasher at age 13. He went on to own some of the most successful entertainment venues in the country, including the legendary Beverly Hills Supper Club near Cincinnati, and Splash, the first casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

The Beverly Hills Supper Club was one of the first Midwestern clubs to host stars like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. It opened in 1971 and was recognized for years as the "Showplace of the Nation," with a nightclub that seated 5,500 patrons.

Schilling also opened the first riverboat restaurant, the Islands, in Newport, Kentucky, which became the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States. 

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Shuffle Master, Inc. has appointed Daniel Wade to the company's board of directors, effective February 5. Wade is a gaming industry veteran, having worked for various gaming companies for the past 37 years. He was most recently vice chairman of the board of directors for MGM Mirage, a position he held from 2003 to 2006.

"He is well-known throughout the community and his considerable knowledge of gaming operations complements the strengths of our existing board members," said Phillip Peckman, Shuffle Master's chairman of the board of directors. "I am confident that his proven leadership and insight will help guide Shuffle Master's growth as the industry begins to recover from an unprecedented economic environment."

Wade said he is excited to take on the new position.

"In my former roles as a senior executive in the gaming world, I have watched Shuffle Master build a proven track record of success by providing casinos with a multitude of solutions to enhance their floor profitability," Wade said. "I look forward to working with fellow board members and management, and I am excited to participate in the company's continued growth."

By GGB Staff   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Isle of Capri Casinos recently announced that it has expanded its board of directors and selected Gregory Kozicz for the new slot on the board. "I am pleased to welcome Greg to the board of directors," says Chairman and CEO James Perry.

"Greg is committed to enhancing shareholder value and brings high professional and personal ethics consistent with the longstanding values of the company. We believe that his background and experiences will increase the overall effectiveness of the board of directors."

Kozicz is president and CEO of St. Louis-based Alberici Corporation. His election to the Isle of Capri board must be approved by gaming regulators before being finalized.

By Rich Geller   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Since his debut as a dealer for Holland
Casino 33 years ago, Ron Goudsmit has seen it all in the European casino industry. His experience on the operational, legal and developmental sides of the industry has prepared him well for one of the most important roles of his career, chairman of the European Casino Association. The transition from oversight by national governments to the European Union has been difficult and bumpy. The ECA was born in 2005 to represent the industry during these trying times, making the regulations and operations work for its members. Goudsmit spoke with Global Gaming Business European Editor Rich Geller at the International Gaming Exposition in London in January. To hear a podcast of this interview, go to www.ggbmagazine.com and click on the GGB Podcast button.

GGB:What is the European Casino Association?

Goudsmit: Basically, it's a trade association, and our main focus is on the lobby to Brussels. In Europe, the E.U., a lot of rules and regulations and new legislation come out of Brussels, and it's very important to inform the commission about the work of our industry, to have one voice represent the casino industry in Brussels. That's a very important part. The other part is also bringing the different member countries-there are 23-to learn from each other, exchange information, because we do an enormous amount of exchange of information on our internal website, just the member website. We organize events.

How do you deal with the more than 1,000 individual casinos you represent?

What we try and do is we have different member countries, and usually here there's a casino association in a country. So the different casino operators are already members of each country association. The association is the member of the ECA. We usually communicate through the national associations of the countries.

Do you also have members that are outside the E.U.?

Yes, we have Switzerland, for instance. We have Serbia. We do have outside countries, but most of them are E.U. It's not fixed to E.U.; it's Europe.

With the wide variety of legislations and regulations for casinos, how do you find common ground, common issues?

We do. Sometimes that's not easy, but I think at the end of the day, the bottom line is the same for
everybody. Although you have different legislations maybe, where you want to get is the same thing. The approach might be a little different in different countries, but what you're trying to say is the same message.

What are the main issues that you're working on these days to lobby?

Obviously, online has gotten huge attention. I'm sure you're aware of the different court cases before the European Court of Justice. We just had the the big Santa Casa case in Portugal. Online has gotten a lot of interest for two reasons. First of all, because of our members, but also everybody else, looking for clarity on where we're going, and that's not just Europe, that's worldwide. We're focused on the E.U.. The other thing is that our members, which are land-based operators, more and more, step by step, are getting involved in the online business.

At the International Casino Conference, it seemed like the same old animosities were still there, expressed by some of the online operators and some of the government representatives.

I wouldn't call it animosity. As I explained at the show, there's absolutely no animosity. I think it's only fair-we as land-based operators have our licenses, we're heavily taxed with regulations and everything, so what we're looking for is a more level playing field, that's all. We don't mind competition at all, but there's got to be a more level playing field. That's not animosity, that's just getting things right, making sure we get the proper regulation into place, then we're very willing to compete with all of them once there's a more level playing field.

Do you think that governments in general are a little bit behind the curve, are a little too slow in reacting to the changing situation?

Yes, it's taken a long time. Everybody would like to see a little more speed there, because online is developing rapidly. We're sort of lagging behind, and that means once you do come online, you have a disadvantage. On the other hand, as I said before, it is a very difficult issue. Since countries are responsible for their own gaming regulations and legislation, it's a difficult issue. So yes, we would like to see a higher speed, but politics is always difficult and slow.

There have been several mega-projects announced in Europe, and they seem to all have large names attached to them as well. Are we going to actually see any of these develop?

Well, two things there. First of all, at the moment, economic times don't really call for such huge investments. It would be very hard to find the money. Also, as (architect) Paul Steelman said at the conference, the "time of the casino barns," as he called it, is over. Especially in Europe, with the huge mega-resorts, it would be a question if there is a market for that. But there is a market for bigger projects. I'm sure once the economy improves, we'll see some bigger projects, but not of the size that they had initially anticipated. That's why a lot of these deals break off, because the investors, usually big American companies, don't get the tax level that they have in the U.S., for instance, or in Macau. The reason why they can survive there is because the personnel cost is so low. The personnel cost in Europe is pretty high. That makes it very, very difficult to get these sorts of projects off the ground.

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 02, 2010

Hey, boys and girls, it's time for the casino news, brought to you by Global Gaming Business, where our motto is, "All the News That's Fit For A Press Conference Where Lunch Is Provided."

Here's a big bit of news: Hawaii, one of the only two states in the nation where there is no legal gambling (you guessed it-the other's Utah), may join our little 48-state gambling fraternity. It seems they're budget-strapped out there, because tourism's down, and the economy's down, and the down-and-out are forced to sit on beaches sipping exotic cocktails.

There are two proposals for casinos in Hawaii, one for commercial casinos and another for a tribal casino.

I don't care which one they pick. It is vital that Global Gaming Business have a presence in this new gaming market, and I'm going to start working right now on establishing our Honolulu office. I'll have to spend at least a month out there scouting for locations.

Yeah, I know. Back to the reality of the snow banks here in sunny Atlantic City.

Speaking of Atlantic City, there's a big battle sizing up back here, over who's going to buy the three properties bearing the name "Trump," which are under bankruptcy protection for the six-hundred-and-twenty-third time. (OK, it's the third time.) Carl Icahn, on yet another bargain hunt, wants to snatch up the Trump properties. (I think he's offering about a hundred bucks each.) Yet, another guy is keen on buying them. His name is... Donald Trump.

Trump, who is allied with the property's bondholders and the Trump Entertainment organization in his bid, is still a big shareholder in the casinos, so the judge said he gets a vote in whose reorganization plan is adopted. Do you think he'll vote for Carl?

Anyway, I'm recommending that the bankruptcy auction be held at the Etess Arena in Trump Taj Mahal: "The WWE Aging Billionaire Celebrity Smackdown! This time... it's personal!" Maybe they can do a cage match between Donald and Carl. Hey, that could raise enough money to pay off the company's debt. It doesn't have to be to the death. Just until someone's hair gets mussed up.

Our next item comes from the news division of television station WBOY in Clarksburg, West Virginia. While the story was broadcast in West Virginia and placed on the station's website, it actually involved a casino in nearby Western Pennsylvania, the Meadows Racetrack and Casino south of Pittsburgh, which was the victim of a $400,000 high-tech slot scam and was slapped with a $48,900 fine for not realizing it quickly enough for the regulators.

To offer an analogy, that's like getting fined for letting someone steal your wallet. But that's not the entertaining part of the story. The last line of the report on the station's website reads the following with respect to the perpetrators of the theft:

"Last month, the gaming board placed all three people on its casino execution list, banning them from entering the Meadows or any other licensed casino in the state of Pennsylvania."

Geez. They are tough in Pennsylvania if they have an "execution list" for undesirables in the casinos. Most jurisdictions have "exclusion lists." Actually, back in the old days, I think the wise-guys who ran the Vegas casinos may have made up execution lists now and then. But there usually was only one guy on the list. And being banned from the casino was pretty much the least of that guy's worries.

Finally, we go to that popular feature of our wisecracking news called "The Stupid Corner." This month's item involves another story from Pennsylvania, this one from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. It seems a guy dropped his bag of crack cocaine in the casino. (Don't you hate when that happens?) The man, a resident of Mountaintop, Pennsylvania, realized his gaffe later-you know, when he went to get his crack pipe and snuggle up by the fire at his Mountaintop home.

I'm kidding. He actually realized his crack was missing when he got to his car. He went back into the casino to get it, and got pinched. How do I know this? Because it was all on video. Security cameras caught him reaching into his pocket for money at a slot, a bag with a "white substance" falling to the floor, and him going out to his car and then coming back in.

I'm trying to figure out which is most stupid: him smoking crack in the first place, him bringing it to a casino with heavy surveillance, or him going back in to look for the bag. We'll let our readers decide. Just text S-T-U-P-I-D to record your vote.

And while you're at it, vote on the Trump auction: Donald or Carl? I'm thinking Donald. His name's already on the buildings.

And I think he can take Carl in a cage match.

By Roger Gros   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

It wasn't that many years ago that I was adamantly opposed to legalizing online gaming. After all, the very concept of gambling from your home or mobile device was antithetic to the desire of the land-based casinos to bring customers to their properties to enjoy the "full experience" of a gaming resort. While there certainly was a place for online marketing, the actual gambling must take place in the casino so gamblers can be in the atmosphere to relax and enjoy everything the property has to offer.

That was, of course, before the economic meltdown that has blasted the gaming industry far and wide. Revenue is down; players are more cautious with their gambling budgets, if they even show up at all. Competition is located within every state, country and province. So casinos need to think outside the box.

And at the same time, the world has changed. Remember when a fax machine was a thing of wonder? No longer. Mobile phones are simply handheld devices used for communicating, sharing photos and videos, listening to music and movies, and, yes, even betting.

So any gaming company that wants to survive and thrive will be smart to examine the current state of online gaming. Yes, it's still illegal in the United States and some other countries, particularly in Asia, but the tide is turning, and even the most clueless casino executive can feel it.

You see the kids on the street texting their friends. Your co-workers check their emails on their Blackberries while waiting for the meeting to start. Your own iPhone surfs the web as quickly as any computer.

No, online gaming is coming because it is part of the technology revolution. There is nothing any government can do to stop the activity because it is just an extension of everything else you can do on your mobile device. Young people know that better than us old fogies, and they're ready to move us out of the way.

So you get prepared. There might be some resistance at first. There will still be some legislators who think the devil is behind gambling online. But they will soon go speechless when they see the tax revenue it creates-especially during this time of declining tax revenues. It will probably be poker and other skill games that get the first nod, followed soon thereafter by other casino games like blackjack and slots. And finally, the "third rail" of internet gaming-at least in the United States-will fall: sports betting.

So what can you do to be prepared for this coming revolution, and what will it mean to your casino and your company? That's a difficult question to answer in one column like this.

But here at Global Gaming Business, we can begin to answer it in a new section we're debuting this month called iGames. This section is devoted to informing our land-based friends on what is happening in this rapidly developing area of the gaming industry. Whether it's the state of legislation to legalize online gaming, some legal wrangling concerning the scope of the activity; the nuts and bolts of setting up an online casino; incorporating your online presence with your land-based brand; or the nuances of affiliate programs and how to use your online casino to drive new customers to your land-based facility, iGames will be your resource that bridges the land-based world to the online universe.

And better yet, iGames will be just an extension of a comprehensive, bi-weekly online newsletter that will enable Global Gaming Business to present breaking news and comprehensive, detailed discussions about online gaming that just couldn't fit inside these pages. The iGames newsletter will call upon the experts to present their viewpoints and provide you with clear, reasonable solutions to your online gaming questions.

This is just part of the Global Gaming Business commitment to providing our readers and advertisers with the information that you need to prepare for the technology revolution and create a new revenue stream that can also be used to market your land-based facilities to a larger and more affluent market.

So enjoy our new section this month and look for an announcement within the next two months in these pages and on our website so you can sign up for a free three-month subscription to the new iGames newsletter.

By Frank Fahrenkopf   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Despite widespread discord throughout Washington, political players and spectators from both sides of the aisle can agree on at least one fact: The game is changing.

The recent election of Republican Scott Brown to the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts has upended the congressional balance of power, dismantling the Democratic supermajority. It has established an atmosphere of uncertainty on Capitol Hill, threatening to create an impassable legislative logjam. The national policy agenda-once firmly established-is now virtually unknown.

The upcoming midterm elections in November already promised to interrupt negotiations in Washington this year, as many lawmakers planned to return home to rally their constituents. However, those eager to exploit-or suppress-the opportunity presented by Senator Brown's election are now likely to campaign with even greater fervor-and frequency.

It is difficult to predict how this change will impact the commercial casino industry. We expect the newly shifted playing field to affect almost every policy initiative with significant implications for gaming.

To that end, our industry continues to monitor health care negotiations, which were disrupted-though not entirely abandoned-in the wake of Senator Brown's election. Likewise, we are following efforts to create a bipartisan jobs bill, which is likely to include tax credits and extenders that will affect businesses of all stripes.

Alarmingly, the jobs bill also might create an opening for card-check legislation, which has experienced very little movement to date. We plan to keep close watch for any attempts by union advocates to fold the legislation into the larger bill.

Also, our industry recently redoubled its efforts to advance the Travel Promotion Act, which would spur domestic and international tourism and bring millions of new visitors to casinos.

In addition, we are monitoring the renewed efforts of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and other lawmakers to legalize internet gambling this year, as well as tribal gaming leaders' activities to persuade the administration to overturn a ban on off-reservation gaming.

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC represents yet another Washington game-changer. Effectively undoing campaign finance reform, the landmark decision lifts several previously imposed limits on campaign spending by corporations, unions and organizations.

Citizens United v. FEC significantly expands the type of political advocacy in which our industry can engage. Going forward, the American Gaming Association and its members can indirectly support political candidates without regard to contribution limits imposed upon the AGA political action committee. In addition, the AGA can participate in or support coalitions that sponsor independent political advertisements.

Still, not everything has changed; federal, state and local laws restricting or prohibiting corporate contributions directly to political candidates and parties remain intact.

But perhaps nothing will alter the political playing field more than the mid-term elections. Policy-makers frequently refer to a persistent "trust deficit" throughout the country; that is, the electorate is becoming increasingly skeptical of the motives and abilities of incumbent legislators. It seems very likely that the outcome of this year's elections will further change the game in Washington.

Many elections in gaming states and communities will be extremely hard-fought. Arguably, longtime Senator Harry Reid's (D-Nevada) bid for re-election will be among the most challenging. Recent poll results indicate that he would face a tough battle against a variety of possible Republican contenders in November.

It would be difficult to overstate the meaning of Senator Reid's tenure to our industry. As the majority leader of the Senate, his influence is nearly unparalleled, which is a benefit to the industry. In fact, Reid and every member of the congressional gaming caucus are to be commended for their vigilant efforts to safeguard our businesses. They understand, far better than most, that casinos are engines of economic vitality, bringing innumerable benefits to communities across the country.

To be certain, gaming has not been immune to legislative exceptions in recent years; the massive economic stimulus package that passed last year famously included a carve-out for casinos. Still, members of the gaming caucus have protected our industry's interests whenever possible.

In this challenging election season, it's important to support those who support our industry. Particularly at a time when lawmakers are hungrily searching for additional sources of revenue, having those in positions of influence who understand our contributions and will fight for our issues is paramount.

Ultimately, however, congressional tenures are not lifetime appointments. Legislators come and go; the political pendulum swings from right to left, then back again. In order to achieve continued success in Washington, our industry must build a broad coalition of support. Diverse and bipartisan, it must include up-and-coming leaders, as well as reputable lawmakers in positions of power, who share Senator Reid's deep understanding of gaming's tremendous impact nationwide.

Enhancing the commercial casino industry's network of support on Capitol Hill is among the AGA's top priorities in 2010. Therefore, throughout the year, the AGA will arrange for gaming leaders to meet with non-traditional political allies, in an effort to familiarize them with our industry and how it contributes to the economic well-being of hundreds of communities.

In addition, in September, the AGA will host its second annual fly-in event, convening industry leaders on Capitol Hill to meet with a wide range of Washington influencers. Also, the AGA will further expand its bipartisan PAC, which will keep our industry well protected no matter how significantly the political playing field shifts.

Without question, these are interesting times in Washington; day to day, the game continues to change. It is impossible to predict what 2010 has in store for the commercial casino industry-or for the country. However, industry employees across the country-from Atlantic City to Altoona, Iowa-can rest assured that we are doing all we can to ensure that our nation's leaders hear their voices.

By Frank Fantini   Mon, Mar 01, 2010

Never look behind you; somebody may be gaining.
-Satchel Paige, Hall of Fame baseball pitcher


A few months ago, Bally CEO Dick Haddrill described a perfect storm of good news for gaming suppliers-states and countries legalizing slot machines, the long-awaited revival of the North American replacement cycle about to kick in, technology driving casinos to order new games to stay competitive.

From all indications, Haddrill appears to have been right, though that darn replacement cycle still remains on the horizon.

Certainly, investors and sell-side analysts believe him. They've made suppliers the most popular segment of the gaming industry.

In fact, the stocks have become so hot, and expectations so high, that Bally, WMS and IGT sold off after announcing their earnings.

And we've helped by repeating the manta of gaming expansion-Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland and maybe giant opportunities like Massachusetts and commercial Florida casinos to come.

And then there are the burgeoning international markets: Mexico coming out of nowhere to be a Class III giant; Brazil maybe a 100,000-machine market; Italy, 57,000 VLTs; etc.

But before we get too giddy over the prospects of the Big Three plus Aristocrat, it may be wise to remember an axiom of capitalism-success attracts competition.

And that is already happening. Consider:

• Konami Gaming, the subsidiary of the huge consumer products company, is making steady progress and has become a major North American player.

• Ainsworth, headed by Aristocrat founder Leonard Ainsworth, is expanding in the U.S., most recently being licensed in Nevada.

• Multimedia Games is moving rapidly into Class III slots and getting licensed in new jurisdictions.

• Aruze, a tiny presence today, has the resources of its Japanese parent company and driving CEO Kazuo Okada behind it. And the likeable Kent Young, its North American chief, is getting an audience from casino operators.

• Lottomatica is putting its considerable resources into slot machines combining its Spielo and Atronic operations in the U.S.

• Shuffle Master, which re-entered the slot business in Australasia several years ago, is now looking at Mexico, and may make cautious steps back into the U.S.

And then there are a passel of small companies like GameTech and private ones from VLC to Cadillac Jack trying to expand beyond their Class II niches into Class III.

And the current oligarchy is not guaranteed to maintain its status quo.

Look at these anticipated March quarter ship-share calculations by Todd Eilers of Roth Capital:
    

IGT             44 percent
WMS           21
Bally           18
Konami       7
Aristocrat   7

Already, Konami has broken into the oligarchy. And IGT is no longer an automatic 60 percent-plus.

Indeed, change has been the history of the slot machine business. Bally once all but owned it. Then Universal took the title. Then it was IGT's turn.

This doesn't mean that IGT, WMS and Bally won't stay on top, or that they won't be highly profitable and good investments.

But an investor in any industry would be wise to heed the words of Satchel Paige.

Meanwhile, regional casino stocks have been beaten down again.

The reasons for investor dismay are the lousy business fundamentals that keep deteriorating.

On his company's fourth-quarter conference call, Penn National Gaming CEO Peter Carlino put it bluntly.

"You can take the view the deterioration is slowing, but we really don't have a clue where this year is going to go. Having been chastened in 2009, we don't have a lot of enthusiasm for 2010," he said. "I'm just trying to be realistic."

Those comments came following new company guidance that financial performance this year would fall below last year's disappointment, though Carlino also was quick to point to the great number of growth projects that should lift Penn National after the recession.

The picture for regional casino operators is always clearer than for any other segment of the gaming industry. That clarity comes from monthly revenue reports published by gaming states throughout the country.

Except for Nevada, Mississippi and Colorado, they provide a casino-by-casino listing, in some cases breaking revenue down to individual types of table games and each denomination of slot machines.

Regional operators are easier to track than Las Vegas operators or suppliers, where investors have to sift through bewildering methods to count slot machines to infer market share and revenue trends.

And in recent months, revenues have been dismal. Add to that the continuing drag of unemployment, the statistical downs that come with the ups early in an economic recovery, and the fears that we are on the cusp of that double-dip back into recession and that investors will lose hope for consumer-dependent stocks.

Regional casino operators have another albatross-proliferation of gaming that today more often brings cannibalization than a growing of the pie.

But before we throw in the towel, let's consider a few points:

• Regional casino operators have dramatically cut costs, putting them in position to bring considerable new revenue to the bottom line. And recessions do end, as appears to be happening now.

• Improved balance sheets and operations can begin generating increasing free cash flow, as construction projects are behind. That is especially true of Ameristar and Isle of Capri. And Penn National, as everyone knows, has cash to invest.

• Low valuations. Stock prices have returned to reasonable multiples of cash flow, making them buyable again, especially in anticipation of better times.

• Despairing investor sentiment. We aren't quite at the blood-in-the-streets panic of last March, but investors and analysts are almost universal in their pessimism for the business fundamentals of regional casinos.

If there's a time to be a contrarian, this could be it.

Frank Fantini is the editor and publisher of Fantini's Gaming Report. A free 30-day trial subscription  is available by calling toll free: 1-866-683-4357 or online at www.gaminginvestments.com.