People,
THE VISIONARIES 6th Annual 25 People To Watch
Each year since our inception more than six years ago, Global Gaming Business has focused on some of the most dynamic people in the gaming industry each January in our annual “25 People to Watch” feature. Our criteria are simple: that person will make an impact upon their industry, casino, organization or group in the next 12 months and beyond. The final choices are made by a coalition of our editorial advisory board and our editors. And while the process is less than scientific, it has
produced some remarkable candidates who have more than fulfilled our predictions. Some have changed the very core of how the industry operates and opened up business opportunities for all of us.
This year, we believe that our choices will once again be vindicated, and sooner, rather than later. While the subject of our cover story, Kazuo Okada, the chairman of Aruze Corp. and vice chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd., is well-known to folks who follow the industry, we believe his company will play a huge role in the development of gaming in Asia. Some of our other choices are also well-known, but are now on the button to bring some exciting news to the gaming industry within the next year.
If you have someone you want to nominate for 2009’s People to Watch section, please email me at rgros@ggbmagazine.com and we’ll put that person on our nominations list to be considered for inclusion in next January’s magazine. But for 2008, you’ve got your assignments. Watch what happens!
—Roger Gros
Living His Dream
Kazuo Okada
Chairman, Aruze Corp., and Vice Chairman, Wynn Resorts Ltd.
It’s not often that one man can play important roles in the gaming industry on the operators’ side and on the vendors’ side at the same time, but if Kazuo Okada can fulfill his dream to become one of the largest and most successful slot operators in the United States in the next few years, he will set that standard.
As the vice chairman of Wynn Resorts, Okada is already an important player as an operator. Okada owns at least as many shares of one of gaming’s most valuable companies as does its chairman, Steve Wynn. While he disclaims any role in developing and operating the company’s resorts, his role is clearly crucial to Steve Wynn.
But it’s his role as chairman of Japan-based Aruze Gaming that could define his rising reputation in the gaming industry. Aruze, which actually owns the stake in Wynn Resorts, is the leader in the pachinko-pachislot industry in Japan. An incredibly popular pastime in his homeland, Okada has been pushing for regulations that make the machines more exciting, with more of a gambling element.
“Regulatory changes make a big difference in the pachinko and pachislot market,” he says.
“Sometimes the changes will make the gambling element stronger. And sometimes it’s less. The more of a gamble it is, the more stimulating it is for the player.”
While Aruze is trying to vault to the top of the slot market, there aren’t many parallels on the technology side of the pachinko/pachislot machines and slots. But when it comes to producing the best machine, it turns out the two markets are similar.
In order for our games to be accepted by the players,” he says, “we have to give them what they want. Sometimes the ideas will be different and the final shape and theme may be different, but in the end, they’re all good products. That’s a similarity you find in all amusement machines that are accepted by the players.”
Technology has been an Aruze hallmark. But it doesn’t stand alone, says Okada.
“It’s not just technology; it’s a combination of technologies and ideas,” he says. “Ideas are just one component of a successful machine. You also have to design the mathematics to make the event something interesting and rewarding for the player.”
Like Wynn, Okada conducts his business in a state of perpetual motion, giving his full attention to even the smallest detail. In Wynn, he has found a soul mate.
“I immediately felt a kinship with Mr. Wynn,” he says. “He uses the same approach to business that I do. When he told me about his proposal for his company, I was impressed with him because he was putting everything he had into his company—his hard work, his experience, his money, his ideas; everything he has. Those are the things I bring to my work, so it was immediately apparent we’d make good partners. That’s why I believe in him.”
While the success of Wynn Macau is increasing, Okada believes the city is in the right place at the right time.
“So much is possible,” he says. “The population of mainland China is huge. The people are getting richer and richer. I believe the center of the world is focused on Asia now. It makes Macau very important in the gaming industry, and there’s so much that can be accomplished.”
Also in the middle of that growth is Japan. As a major player in Japanese gambling, Okada expects to be able to influence the debate in his home country.
“There is a tendency of the Japanese government to think inwardly rather than outwardly,” he explains. “Certainly, there has been some discussion about the legalization of gambling and casinos. We believe it is important to establish entertainment centers for our people. Sometimes the government only focuses on the dark side of gambling, but there isn’t very much opposition, so there is no doubt that it will some day be approved.
“The important thing now is to get someone who will lead the effort. If we get such a leader, it will move forward faster. There are so many Asian countries now getting into the gaming industry, it won’t be long until the Japanese government becomes obliged to offer casino gaming. We think it will take a three- to five-year term to be realized.”
While gambling is certainly a part of the casino resorts that Okada would like to see established in Japan, he thinks the concept goes much farther, and may require a cultural change for the Japanese workers and executives who are so focused on their careers.
“The most important thing is to have a space where people can enjoy their dream,” he says. “For example, when people go to a casino, they should have 24 hours to enjoy their dream: eat the best food, enjoy the best entertainment, and do things they can’t do anywhere else. That’s the dream space that every casino should include.”
As an operator, Okada will work with Wynn Resorts in most cases. But often, he will be approached about other opportunities. On the rumor that he was recently invited to a bid to develop a casino resort in Manila, he said, “There are many opportunities in Asian countries, and if there is an opportunity in a specific Asian country, certainly we have an interest.”
And if Wynn Resorts isn’t interested in a particular opportunity?
“It depends on the cases,” he says. “If something comes to us, we will take it to Wynn Resorts. If we meet together on the ideas, then we will do it with them. If not, we can discuss how we might move forward on it alone.”
Whether it’s as a partner with Wynn Resorts or alone as chairman of Aruze, Okada fully expects that both companies will be seen as trailblazers in Asia, and around the world.
“Asia will continue to grow quickly because there are many countries that have yet to enter the gaming industry,” he says. “In such a growth market, I expect Aruze to be a leader.”
The Boyd Boom
Keith Smith
President and CEO, Boyd Gaming
When Keith Smith was promoted to CEO of Boyd Gaming in 2007, it demonstrated a confidence that company chairman Bill Boyd has in him. After all, Smith has been a key part of some tremendous growth for the company, beginning with the opening of the Borgata in 2003, followed by the acquisition of Coast Casinos in 2004 and culminating with the construction of Echelon Place, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2010.
But that’s not to ignore 2008, which will be a “transformative” year, according to Smith.
“This year,” he says, “we’ll open the Water Club, an 800-room all-suite boutique hotel adjacent to the Borgata, the first boutique hotel that will open in Atlantic City. The Borgata has been the market leader since we opened and the The Water Club will raise the bar that much higher.”
With Harrah’s adding a massive new tower, Trump Taj Mahal building more rooms and other casinos in Atlantic City also making improvements, the Water Club will add another level of luxury to the already-impressive offerings at the Borgata and is expected to open before the busy summer season in Atlantic City.
In Indiana, Smith is awaiting the debut later in the year of a new hotel adjacent to the company’s Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. The property has been challenged recently by the opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, a property owned by the Pokagon Tribe in Buffalo Creek, Michigan.
“The new hotel is going to be a more upscale product than you currently see in that market,” says Smith. “It’s going to allow us to compete with the new casino more effectively, and attract customers from more affluent regions farther away from Blue Chip.”
In Las Vegas, construction is well under way on Echelon Place, and Smith expects the foundation to be laid this year.
“We’re very excited about the possibilities that Echelon brings to our company,” he says. “It is clearly going to be one of the most dynamic projects in Las Vegas history.”
For investors, Smith is encouraging.
“We run our company for the long term,” he says. “We run a profitable business and we don’t grow just for the sake of growing. Our track record, with Coast, Borgata and Echelon, should demonstrate that we are very careful when we consider new business for the company and that we succeed as a result of that careful consideration.”
—Roger Gros
Perptual motion
Don H. Barden
Manager, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Majestic Star, LLC
It always is interesting to hear the story of a casino CEO who started in an entry-level position and worked his way up through the years and ranks to become the top kick.
It’s also interesting to hear about one achieving great success in other industries before turning sights on gaming, like Don Barden. He has run television and radio stations, developed real estate, and owned (in full or part) a record store, newspaper, software company and automotive plant in Africa.
And now, “my work is 99 percent focused on the expansion of our company in various gaming markets and with existing properties,” he says.
Such properties include Gary, Indiana and the Majestic Star casinos, what was a single riverboat casino he opened in 1996, later replacing with a larger vessel and acquiring the Trump Casino next door, together re-christened the Majestic Star II, and where he is currently mulling over “a new single-level vessel… a hotel, some new restaurants and those sorts of things.” His company also owns three Fitzgeralds Casinos acquired in 2001 in Tunica, Mississippi, Las Vegas, and Black Hawk, Colorado, where expansion is under way that will increase that facility’s size by 40 percent. And, most recently and prominently, Barden is making Pennsylvania history with a $450 million, 400,000-square-foot facility set to open around June 2009 on the North Shore riverfront in Pittsburgh. Lots going on, much more on the horizon, and nothing out of the ordinary for someone who always seems to ask, “What’s next?”
From day (or job) one, Barden was driven by an “entrepreneurial spirit,” always striving for something bigger. He is quick to cite those who helped him reach his goals, starting with his parents, who “taught me integrity.”
When he needed capital for an early cable venture after investing all his own money and coming up $300,000 short, he turned to business friends who guaranteed a loan in exchange for stock. And he cites those who were “inspirational from a distance,” including Motown founder Berry Gordy and businessmen A.G. Gaston and Carl Adams.
“Just knowing they existed and were successful motivated me and demonstrated that I, too, could be successful,” he says.
So with all of these projects percolating, is Don Barden still saying, “What’s next?” You bet.
“My goal is to continue to grow and improve my operations,” he says. “But at the same time keeping my eye open for new ones.”
— Jamie K. Mulholland
Networking Bally
Bruce Rowe
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Bally Technologies
When slot-maker Bally Technologies released its versatile “Alpha” video platform, the company also began preparing its customers, and the playing public, for the coming of networked, server-based slot floors.
Instead of focusing solely on the operator benefits of server-based gaming, Bally has zeroed in on the player with its “iVIEW” product, a small screen now mounted on thousands of slots across the industry through which value-added games and direct communication are filtered from casinos directly to their players.
Along with the technological advances have come the addition of many new faces at Bally—perhaps the most familiar being that of slot veteran Bruce Rowe.
Rowe, who joined Bally as senior vice president of strategy and business development, brought experience to the company that will prove invaluable in the coming year. As the longtime corporate vice president of slot operations for Harrah’s Entertainment, he was in the business of knowing what worked and what did not work for the world’s largest gaming operator.
Now, he will apply that experience to the often-vexing question of how server-based—he prefers the term “networked”—gaming can best earn money for his primary customers, the casinos.
“Many things being talked about as futuristic can be done today,” Rowe says, “and in a way that can adapt and prove its value.”
For casinos, Bally offers a peek at what Rowe calls the “dynamic revenue management” possible with networked systems. For example, games in a server-supported machine can be altered remotely today, using existing technology. “We’ve developed a game that has an imbedded scheduler,” he says. “You don’t have to have any system; just configure the changes at the game. If you want it to change to a different game on New Year’s Eve, you set it at the machine.”
For the player, aside from “System Games”—bonus games earned through player’s club points—Bally is dabbling with new ways to reward loyalty. For instance, new facial recognition software will enable the casino to actually recognize a loyal player when he sits down at a machine. “Proximity” software will be able to sense the location of employees when they are needed—servers to give a high-roller his cocktail, EMS-trained people to save a player’s life who has had a heart attack.
In the coming year, Rowe will be at the forefront of showing players and slot managers alike the benefits they will enjoy from the future makeup of the slot floor.
— Frank Legato
Lady of the Isle
Virginia McDowell
President and COO, Isle of Capri Casinos
If there’s a glass ceiling in the gaming industry, Virginia McDowell has broken through it several times. With nearly 30 years’ experience in the gaming industry, McDowell has labored in many disciplines of the industry. After spending 16 years in Atlantic City primarily at the Tropicana, where she served in marketing and operations capacities, she joined former Trop President Jim Perry at Argosy Gaming Company, where she began as a marketing officer, and ultimately served as SVP of operations. She left when the company they built was sold to Penn National Gaming in 2005.
When Perry was appointed CEO of the newly reorganized Trump Entertainment Resorts, McDowell joined him as senior VP and chief information officer, charged with building a technology platform to support future growth. Perry resigned in 2007, and McDowell and other senior staffers Perry brought on board were fired soon after. She surfaced only weeks later as the only woman president of a major U.S. gaming company—Isle of Capri.
Someone who clearly responds to a challenge, McDowell must get her arms around a company whose identity has been uncertain for quite some time.
“We’re in the process of completing a strategic review of our brands, existing operations and growth opportunities,” she says, “and are currently in the process of developing master plans in order to leverage the valuable land we own or control in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Pompano, Florida.”
The St. Louis-based Isle has varying operating profiles in several markets. Its flagship property in Biloxi was one of the first casinos to open after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, but a washed-out bridge made access difficult, to say the least. In Kansas City, another bridge closing and competition from planned Kansas casinos create uncertainty. Four Iowa casinos are holding their own; and the company is in the process of acquiring a minority interest that will give them control of the largest gaming operation in Colorado. McDowell plans to upgrade some of these facilities to compete with rivals.
“Most of our domestic operations have shown continuing margin improvement as we focus on cost-containment, and reallocating our marketing spend to attract and reward more profitable customers. As we develop our new brand portfolio, we will look to reposition legacy properties in some of our markets.”
One of the most challenging operations is a recently opened casino in the United Kingdom. “The Isle casino at Coventry” features 20 slots, 50 touchbet positions, and over 40 table games, including poker.
“We’re not introducing a new casino operation in the United Kingdom, we’re essentially introducing U.S.-style casino gaming,” she says. “Ninety-five percent of the population has never set foot in a casino, so we’re taking advantage of recent legislative changes which will enable us to market the facility in order to create awareness and drive trial.”
Few realize that Isle opened three new casinos in 2007, and for 2008, the goal is not only to rebuild the brand portfolio, but to also find the “sweet spot” in the gaming operations.
“Our focus is on increasing shareholder value by introducing a disciplined approach to spending,” McDowell explains, “on capital expenditures, operating expenses, customer acquisition and retention, and strategic development opportunities. We are a company in transition, but the changes we are making will provide the platform for future growth.”
—Roger Gros
The Public Trust
Kelly McDougald
Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
One of the most extensive state-controlled gaming industries in the world is in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a crown corporation owned by the province, has developed a wide network of lottery retailers, charity casinos, First Nation (Indian) casinos, racinos, slot parlors and commercial casino resorts. The OLGC touches nearly everyone’s lives in the province and provides billions of dollars in revenue for the treasury.
After a six-month executive search, the agency named Kelly McDougald as CEO in October. She was tasked with restoring the integrity of the agency following a scandal uncovered in March that revealed lottery retailers and “insiders” had won a disproportionate number of jackpots.
McDougald, whose background includes senior management positions with Bell Canada and Novatel, says her job was made easier by a four-point mission statement left by her predecessors.
“If I follow this roadmap,” she says, “we’ll be able to make this work.
“First, return dividends. That’s the main thing, everyone needs to make money.
“Second, create and maintain world-class gaming experiences, and I think we have done that.
“Third, be a great partner. We operate in many diverse communities and are truly integral parts of those communities.
“And fourth, be the guardian of the public trust. This includes things like the integrity of the games, the care and attention given to the problem gambling issue. We have to be totally transparent.”
While McDougald is concerned about a lack of growth in the casinos along the U.S. border, she says gaming is healthy and growing in most other parts of the province. She says the agency is looking for regions where it can encourage incremental growth of the businesses.
“We’re looking at all regions of the province to see where we can grow our products without impacting any other market,” she says.
McDougald is most excited about the transition from Casino Windsor to Caesars Windsor, scheduled for early 2008.
“This is the most exciting gaming event in the province since the opening of Niagara Fallsview several years ago,” she says. “We’re adding a spectacular convention center, a 5,000-seat entertainment complex, a hotel tower and other things that will truly make the experience at Windsor a special one.”
And she’s always keeping an eye on the problem gambling area, which is important to her.
“We’re developing some exciting programs that will use biometric data to identify people who have self-excluded so we can prevent any more damage,” she said. “Casinos are a fun and stimulating form of entertainment but we don’t want people harmed because of it.”
—Roger Gros
Hitting the Jackpot
Marlin Torguson
President, Torguson Gaming Group
When Marlin Torguson formed a group in 1983 to fund, build and manage Jackpot Junction Casino, owned by the Lower Sioux tribe in Morton, Minnesota, he thought he knew everything about gaming. After all, the hunger for gaming was great and all that was required was to build the facility and open the doors. He later opened Goldiggers Hotel and Casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. But it wasn’t until he became a pioneer in riverboat gaming with Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi Gulf Coast did he really hit his stride. The brand became a mainstay in Mississippi and Louisiana, garnering huge profits wherever it opened.
But if you listen to him today, he didn’t know anything until he sold his Casino Magic company to Pinnacle Entertainment in 1997.
“I didn’t really understand the importance of the non-gaming side of things until I sold Casino Magic and joined the board of Pinnacle,” he said. “I learned so much from (Pinnacle Entertainment Chairman) Dan Lee. I thought he was way overspending when he built L’Auberge in Las Charles, Louisiana. Of course, it quickly became the market leader and now I understand why the things outside the casino are so important.”
Torguson is putting his newfound knowledge to the test in Biloxi as he prepares for the groundbreaking of Bacaran Bay, a multi-use development that includes a 67,000-square-foot casino, an all-suite hotel, condos, retail, eight restaurants, bowling, an entertainment complex and almost 75,000 square feet of meeting space.
“I expect that many of the casinos in Biloxi will mirror the Las Vegas model, where more than 50 percent of revenues come from non-gaming sources,” says Torguson.
The long road to the groundbreaking began before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Torguson had designed the casino first to be floating like the Beau Rivage casino barge; later to be built on pilings, when that option was approved; and finally as a land-based casino after the regulatory changes were implemented following the storm.
Since Katrina completely reshaped the gaming industry on the Coast, Torguson’s property has become that much more attractive. Located on the road that runs between the Beau Rivage and the Imperial Palace, the two market leaders today, Bacaran Bay also controls much of the land in that corridor where at least two more casinos would be located.
“We’re in a good position when Biloxi really starts booming,” he says.
—Roger Gros
GlobalSlots
Kathleen McLaughlin-Harris
Managing Director, Global Slot Marketing and Operations, Las Vegas Sands Corporation
Kathleen McLaughlin-Harris is of a rare breed in the slot industry—an executive with extensive experience on both the supplier and operational sides of the business.
The fact she is married to a slot pioneer—Gary Harris is credited with perfecting the virtual-reel stepper slot—is a perfect fit with her entire career. After several years as a marketing executive at WMS Gaming, Harris joined Harrah’s Entertainment as corporate director of slot operations, working with Bruce Rowe.
In what would become a career trend for Harris, the operator created a new position to fit her particular skill set—she was made corporate vide president of slot research and development, a position in which she worked with slot manufacturers to develop new games that would be launched at Harrah’s properties on an exclusive basis.
She eventually was made corporate vice president of strategic sourcing at Harrah’s, a position she held until last April, when Las Vegas Sands Executive VP Brad Stone and Senior VP Kevin Kelley decided to take a new look at the slot strategy of their rapidly growing company.
Repeating history, Harris took on a position designed specifically for her—managing director of global slot marketing and operations for Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
In the next few years, Harris will determine how to best maximize profits on the slot floor in markets as divergent as Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and Macau, in new and existing properties.
In Las Vegas, the Palazzo’s grand opening this month will add thousands of games for the operator’s Las Vegas Strip customers already accustomed to continuing expansions at the Venetian. In Pennsylvania, a variety of slots will serve a new market with a completely new style of property, as the company transforms a shuttered steel mill in Bethlehem into Sands BethWorks, a combination resort casino and industrial museum.
The biggest challenge, though, may lie in the company’s two Macau properties, Sands Macao and the new Venetian Macao, as well as several other Asia properties opening there and in Singapore. In Southeast Asia, the challenge is to create successful slot floors in a traditional table-game market.
In all, it’s a challenge Harris relishes.
“If you love gaming and love everything about slots, Macau is where everything is happening,” she says. “Mr. (Sheldon) Adelson put a vision out there, and Brad Stone is phenomenal at making it happen. There is some serious talent in this company, and I have the pleasure of working with all of these talented folks.”
Harris, in fact, deflects praise to the people at Las Vegas Sands Corporation at every turn. As far as slots for the corporation in the foreseeable future, though, the challenge will belong to Harris. It should be a fun ride.
— Frank Legato
Wearing Different Hats
Justin Quis Quis
Chairman, San Pasqual Gaming Commission
Justin Quis Quis offers a diverse and complete gaming package. As an auditor, financial advisor, negotiator, commissioner and tribal member, this regulator affects the industry from several sides.
The San Diego, California, native heads the
San Pascual Gaming Commission. It regulates interests for the San Pascual Band of Mission Indians, who operate a casino outside of San Diego. Quis Quis also serves the collective interest of all California tribes. He helps lead the task force enabling them to negotiate their future with the state government.
This is the most crucial period in the history
of California tribal gaming. Whopping revenues make Indian gaming—like all gaming—a target for cash-starved state governments. Indian gaming
revenues in California are expected to exceed $9 billion over the next two decades, prompting fierce turf battles.
Tribal outfits—citing the Colorado Indian River Tribe’s court victory over the NIGC—believe they should police themselves. All California tribal gaming facilities, for example, have their own commission.
The states, who now view profits larger than envisioned during the original compacts, want more influence and revenue.
It may be easiest for the state and tribal nations to hammer out a deal, or amend their compacts, rather than fight. Before that happens, however, all interested parties must survive a February referendum seeking to invalidate an agreement between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and four Southern California tribes.
“Gaming is a hot topic here right now,” Quis Quis says. “A lot of people say we feel bad for the Indians, but maybe they are getting too greedy. Others say “forget about that, let them go for it.’
“We’re negotiating in good faith. We have for years abided by and exceeded minimal internal
control standards. We don’t need anybody to do that for us. There has never been a casino shut down for lack of ethics. As tribal members, we regulate for a reason. It’s for our families. We have one hell of a vested interest in running this properly.”
Quis Quis says the San Pascual tribe has been a good community neighbor. It has contributed several million dollars to improve the roads and donated to numerous charities. Within a 10-mile radius, tribal gaming has employed about 7,000 tax-paying employees.
Quis Quis also brings a national perspective into his efforts. His “real” job involves auditing for a company that serves several tribes in the Midwest.
—Dave Bontempo
Latin Power Trio
Pablo Zuppi, Diego Fiz and Sergio Maglio
Owners and Directors, Yogonet.com
More than five years ago, three young Argentines realized that there was not much information available about the gaming industry in Latin America on a daily basis. Thus formed the basis for Yogonet.com. Diego Fiz, Sergio Maglio and Pablo Zuppi have tapped the mother lode of the online media, providing information on gaming in both English and Spanish, in areas far beyond Latin America.
Maglio says success came at first because the site was unique.
“In Latin America there was no other site like Yogonet when we began with the project,” he says.
But like most journalism, knowledge won out.
“We always try to work closely with our sources in order to have the best possible information online,” he says. “The internet gives us the opportunity to reach a wide range of readers in almost real time and helped us to develop a solid base of readers who found good and updated information, free of charge, about different topics of the gaming industry.”
The group travels together or individually to almost every major trade show or conference, giving them access to many media sources. But still, despite their international coverage, readers look to them for accurate information on the burgeoning Latin American market.
“It seems that it will keep on growing,” says Maglio about the region. “During the last few years, several countries decided to give the gaming industry more space in terms of new casino
openings, tender process and regulatory reform. Argentina, Chile and Colombia have solid markets with a good technological base and a professional way of doing business. We still have to see what will happen with Brazil, a huge market that, sometime in the future, will have a legal framework that will generate one of the most important gaming markets not only in South America, but worldwide. Mexico is also an important potential market that has been growing during the last few years.”
For Yogonet, Maglio says development of off-line products will help fuel the growth.
“We always work to improve our website and the other company’s developments like ey! Encuentro Yogonet (an international conference organized with SAGSE exhibition in Buenos Aires) and Directorio Yogonet (the “yellow pages” of the Latin American gaming industry).
“We have the same goal we had when we began five years ago: become the online information source of the gaming industry worldwide. And we still work to achieve it.”
—Roger Gros
Money Man
Dan D’Arrigo
Executive Vice President & CFO, MGM Mirage
For Dan D’Arrigo, the timing couldn’t be better to step into the shoes of MGM Mirage President Jim Murren. As CFO, Murren gained the confidence of Wall Street over the years and sold the company as a pure gaming play. D’Arrigo now has the responsibility to sell the diversified revenue streams that will begin flowing now that MGM Mirage has partnered with several non-gaming entities, including Dubai World and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Each of these joint ventures will include non-gaming resorts and hotels, with one getting under way soon in Dubai, Abu Dhabi.
“This development will be very similar to any mixed-use project we’d do in any other market, minus the gaming,” he says. “There’s a thirst for entertainment in these regions, and we’ll provide it.”
D’Arrigo’s challenge will be to convince Wall Street that MGM Mirage will become a diverse player in the entertainment industry, not just gaming.
“We’ve taken great care to understand how you can communicate to Wall Street,” he says. “It’s changed on both sides, so we follow the rules very closely. Disclosure needs to be widespread publicly, and I feel I have a pretty good relationship with the folks on Wall Street.”
Partnerships are a big part of the MGM Mirage business model. From New York-New York and the Borgata, to CityCenter and the new Kerzner development on the north Las Vegas Strip, D’Arrigo compares them to marriages.
“There’s a little big of give and take on both sides,” he says. “We have several reasons for entering into partnerships. Quite frankly, we don’t know it all, so we rely on our partners to bring in some expertise—or even the time—that we may not have. In the Kerzner partnership (with Dubai World), we had that land and probably wouldn’t get to it on our own for five to seven years. By creating this partnership, we can be part of a very exciting development that will open within that time frame. So it works for all the partners involved.”
One partnership bore fruit in December when MGM Mirage Macau opened, in partnership with Pansy Ho, daughter of Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho. D’Ariggo says Pansy brought a lot to the table.
“It’s been a while since we were back on the international front,” he says. “It’s an exciting project and the market is very dynamic. We’ll be able to showcase our management talent, our brands and most of all our service standards.
“Pansy Ho has been helping us get to know the cultural aspects, and that’s been a great asset to have in that marketplace.”
In Nevada, MGM Mirage’s home turf, D’Ariggo warns that current moves to increase the gaming tax could have serious consequences.
“Investors looking to come into Nevada will have a different view of the state, which has always been favorable,” he says. “Companies that operate here will be revisiting how they re-invest their capital. Liquidity in terms of investing in these projects will change, and none of those things are good for this industry or this state.”
—Roger Gros
Poker Queen Maker
Lisa Tenner
President, Tenner & Associates
Lisa Tenner has launched what is at least her third career. Early success as a ballerina gave way to even more successful stints in the entertainment and food-and-beverage industries.
Now, Tenner has made her mark as a poker impresario for women players. Tenner has organized the “Queen of Hearts” poker tournament, held in conjunction with the World Series of Poker.
Two years ago, she spearheaded a charitable effort that created the Queen of Hearts poker team led by actress and professional poker player Jennifer Tilly. Joined by 21 other pro players (six of whom hold WSOP championship bracelets), Tenner raised thousands of dollars for the American Heart Association and the Nevada Cancer Institute. Last year, actress Mimi Rogers joined the team, and for 2008 Tenner will soon announce another high-profile celebrity “captain.”
“There is a great demand to be a part of this team,” she says. “I get calls every day from women professionals who want to participate.”
It’s a rapidly growing area of the poker market, as well.
“While almost every event at the 2007 WSOP had flat or slightly declining numbers, the Queen of Hearts event grew by 20 percent.”
For the first time, Tenner is asking the pros to donate at least $5,000 to these charities, as well as designate a percentage of any winnings to the worthy causes.
“They are all very committed to giving back the community,” Tenner says, “and they enthusiastically support this effort.”
Tenner believes it’s only a matter of time before the WSOP sees a woman champion at the main event, the $10,000 no-limit Texas hold ‘em game.
“The Queen of Hearts event has made people realize that women possess the same qualities in everyday life that make great male poker champions,” she says. “We have the intelligence, the instincts and the skill, all of which we put to work in our lives, our relationships and in the raising of our children.”
Tenner also runs her own company, the Las Vegas-based Tenner & Associates, which specializes in the power of branding and taking advantage of special events. Her clients have included the Hard Rock Hotel, the World Poker Conference, Playboy’s Women of Poker, the Cosmopolitan Casino Resort and many others.
“I’ve done special events my entire life,” she says. “You can have hundreds or thousands of people at any event and still not take full advantage of them. We can show you how the event can resonate with your team and your customers.”
—Roger Gros
Junket King
Lam Yin Lok
Chairman, Jimei Group
Although most of the world’s major gaming companies are active in Macau, they sometimes take a back seat to the city’s junket reps who are responsible for bringing in the big players. But even in this field, there are a few who stand out from the competition.
Lam Yin Lok, also known as “Jack,” heads up the Jimei Group, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate which has various tourism and gaming businesses in Asia. It operates casinos, resort estates, hotels, spas, clubs, restaurants and a cruise ship throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Lam is a native of Guangdong, China, born to a farming family in Mao Ming. Because of his poor and destitute upbringing, Lam decided to go to Hong Kong at the age of 18 in 1979. He was working in his uncle’s factory as bookkeeper and earned only a thousand Hong Kong dollars a month, sending most of his salary back home to help his family.
Lam’s uncle was a regular player in Macau, and the young man usually accompanied him there, subsequently building up social connections of his own. Lam learned the mysterious mechanism of “dead chip rolling” for players in the casinos, and decided to work in a casino in Macau as a “tab-ma-chai” (sub-agent). It was a low position that enabled him to learn customer service techniques.
He began as a small junket representative in Macau in 1981. Because of Lam’s diligence and good sense of marketing, he developed an extensive client base over the years and built a reputation as a leader in the junket gaming industry.
Today, Lam operates not only in SJM’s Lisboa Macau, but also in Wynn Macau, Sands Macao, Venetian Macao and Grand Lisboa with a combined 64 gaming tables. He is by far the largest junket operator for Las Vegas Sands casinos and Wynn Macau. Although it can’t be quantified, Lam is probably the largest junket operator in Macau and even in Asia today.
The Jimei Group also operates a tourism ship, the M.V. Jimei, with 300 cabins and 20 gaming tables. The company also has interests in several Philippine casinos and operates junkets in South Korea as well.
Due to Lam’s diverse business achievements and the many philanthropic activities he has undertaken in China, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, he was awarded the “2007 World Outstanding Chinese Award” in Hong Kong recently. Additionally, he was a recipient of Distinguished University Medal of Honor in Philippines and was officially adopted as “Son of Laoag City” in 2003.
In recognition to Lam’s tourism contributions, the Tourism & Cultural Affairs Office of Clark, Philippines awarded him the Certificate of Recognition; and the Department of Tourism Ilocos Region awarded him the Plaque of Appreciation for his contribution of promoting Philippines tourism.
—Patrick Roberts
Home Again
Rosalind Krause
General Manager, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort
For Rosalind Krause, 2008 will be a landmark year in more ways than one.
Personally, Krause will celebrate 30 years in the casino industry. Professionally, the general manager of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City will see the opening and completion of the casino’s new 800-room tower.
Krause, known for her amiable personality as much as her great business sense, started as a cocktail server at Resorts in Atlantic City, working while putting herself through school, eventually moving through the ranks at different casinos and later moving to Las Vegas to serve as a senior vice president of casino services for Caesars Palace and assistant general manager for Paris.
But she couldn’t resist returning to Atlantic City, which she did in 2005.
“It’s such a dynamic industry,” said the 47-year-old Krause, who was born and raised in Atlantic City. “My roots are here, and I love Atlantic City. It’s very rewarding to be able to run a property that is full of very qualified people in an organization with such an abundance of talent.”
As big as 2008 will be, 2007 was anything but shabby. The casino opened Spice Road, a promenade that features new restaurants and retail outlets, and debuted renovated penthouse suites that rank among the best in the city.
In December, the Taj also opened its new $5 million baccarat and high-end gaming pit. Sixty percent of the casino floor was renovated—the other 40 will be completed in 2008—and $11 million has been invested in new slots over the last two years.
In addition to the new $255 million tower, which is expected to open 380 rooms late summer with more following monthly, plus more casino floor renovations, the Taj will also announce a branded restaurant that will open in the former Bombay Café location in 2008.
“2008 should be an amazing year for us,” Krause said. “The new rooms will help increase our convention business while accommodating a segment of the casino market that we haven’t been able to with just 1,250 rooms. There are so many customers who want to stay here, but couldn’t. Now they can. We also believe that our loyalty program with the Trump One Card will really pay off in 2008. Our cross-property play has doubled, and we’re excited about where that will take us.”
—Joseph Harrison
The Machine as Art
Milo Borissov
President and CEO, Casino Technology
Milo Borissov has always been interested in mathematics and the technical sciences, so it is no surprise to find he has a master’s degree in engineering. But Casino Technology is a company that designs and creates games and the machines they run on, and to be as successful as they have been in this field requires something more than a scientific mind. Borissov’s lifelong love of music—he is a talented jazz pianist—helps give him an artistic edge.
“My interest in gaming was provoked by the exciting synergy of math, technology and engineering innovations with various forms of the art,” says Borissov. “When I first got involved with video games, about 20 years ago, I immediately felt challenged to explore what makes a product that incorporates a mix of all those elements successful, and at the same time is able to entertain and bring the players back again.”
The company Borissov founded in 1999 reflects his dualistic approach to game creation. The graphic design team consists of eight groups of talented artists. The R&D team benefits from the 30 percent of annual income the company pours back into research and development. The product development team relies heavily on the psychological profile and tastes of the target audience. And the teams charged with quality assurance, quality control and compliance give their full attention to all the necessary details.
Casino Technology employs over 1,500 people across its group of companies. The head office in Sofia, Bulgaria coordinates international activities through a network of more than 18 offices worldwide. Over 20 different languages are spoken by staff. Through sales channels situated all over the world, the company’s products are available and operating in more than 50 countries, and over 50,000 units have been installed in multiple international casino operations.
Borissov has been presented multiple awards for his contributions to development of the gaming industry and holds many patents for his inventions. He is a charter member the Bulgarian Trade Association of Manufacturers and Organizers in the Gaming Industry.
“Pioneering the creation of some of the most advanced gaming concepts and products, Casino Technology as a company has always been an originator of many initiatives related to development of the gaming sector in our region,” says Borissov. “We, as a member of BTAMOGI, have been constantly working in respect of assisting the regulators in the industry, promoting worldwide quality standards, and introducing the advantages of responsible gaming.”
– Rich Geller
Supply Side in Asia
Steven Lim
Sales & Marketing Director, RGB
Getting the goods to market has been a main staple of business since time immemorial. In the gaming industry, manufacturers often use distributors to get that task accomplished.
In Asia, the one distributor that has demonstrated an ability to provide gaming goods in a timely and efficient manner has been RGB.
Steven Lim is one of the founders of RGB’s parent company, Dreamgate Corporation Berhad. Since its listing on the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 2003, DCB has experienced tremendous growth, recording a turnover of Ringgit Malaysia (RM)81 million in 2003, and 266 percent in 2006 to RM215 million.
“As an Asian company,” says Lim, “RGB understands the Asian market and cultures and is able to leverage on this expertise to spearhead its growth.
“RGB is also actively involved in the supply of gaming equipment to various gaming establishments under concession in various countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines and has seen its business growing from strength to strength.”
Lim is deeply involved in gaming in the region, and is a member of the planning committee of PAGCOR, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation incorporated to regulate amusement and gaming activities in the Philippines.
A graduate of Brock University, Canada, Lim has more than 20 years of experience in the gaming and amusement machine industry. He also is an ardent footballer and sits on the management committees of a number of social and membership clubs in Malaysia.
With such rapid growth, Lim believes his company is poised to become one of the major movers of gaming in Asia.
“RGB’s growth will be further spurred with the implementation of its plan to become a leading integrated gaming solutions specialist with the establishment of integrated service units combining sales, technical services, spare parts and warehousing facilities within major locations in Asia,” he says. “These integrated facilities are an affirmation of RGB’s commitment to providing the Asian gaming industry with the best available after sales and technical services.”
—Roger Gros
Class Act
Kunal Mishra
Vice President, Product Management and Marketing,
Cadillac Jack
Georgia-based Cadillac Jack has long been one of the leading suppliers of electronic bingo slot machines and systems for the Class II Indian gaming market.
During the past few years, though, CEO Mike Macke, who formed Cadillac Jack in 1995, began to move his company toward traditional Class III markets, beginning with a successful entry into the Oklahoma market.
Macke has since further prepared Cadillac Jack for Class III by building up his executive staff with seasoned veterans of Class III slot suppliers. Several members of the executive staff now in place are veterans of the Class III market, and the company is now marketing its products beyond Oklahoma to many of the compacted jurisdictions, while building its Class III product base.
Right in the middle of this push into Class III is Kunal Mishra, who joined the company in 2006 as vice president of product management and marketing. Mishra was with Bally Technologies for several years, and subsequently with Shuffle Master during the years it produced Class III slots before returning to Bally in 2006.
Mishra’s Class III experience covers both product development and marketing, which makes him an ideal executive to help lead Cadillac Jack to success in new markets.
“We are now getting our licenses in all the Class III jurisdictions and penetrating these markets with niche products,” Mishra says. “Our core strengths are in video slot product and our wide-area progressive product.”
That wide-area progressive, called Cadillac Cash, has led Cadillac Jack’s success in Oklahoma and other Class III markets. Meanwhile, Mishra has been in the thick of the effort to merge the company’s game content into applications for both Class II and Class III. “Class II technology was in many ways ahead of Class III technology,” he says. “The challenge I had in retooling the product line was to bring the Class III playability features into Class II. When these two technologies met, we immediately saw the reaction of the customers to be positive, in that they were seeing an advanced technological system combined with the playability features formerly reserved for the four or five big Class III manufacturers.”
Mishra says Cadillac Jack’s success has been in merging the best of the two classes, particularly in its successful Class II wide-area progressive system. “That Class II wide-area space was under-served, so we have seen a tremendous amount of success in both markets,” Mishra says.
Going forward, he says the company will continue to play on its strongest points—one of which is an uncanny ability to tailor new games to specific markets and locations.
“We’re never done expanding,” Mishra says. “We’re in constant growth mode, and right now we feel we have the ideal blend of Class II technology experiences and Class III playability to offer products for all of our customers to increase the profitability of their organizations.”
—Frank Legato
That’s the Ticket
Eric Meyerhofer
CEO, FutureLogic
It took a while for the ticket-in/ ticket-out systems to gain acceptance with slot players, but once it did, the TITO peripherals became items very much in demand. One company that hit the jackpot was FutureLogic, which gained the business of the largest slot company, IGT. With such a large client, however, FutureLogic was on the spot to produce a reliable printer with features that make it almost seamless to the operator.
Eric Meyerhofer, the CEO of FutureLogic, explains how that challenge was met.
“Our company was founded in 1983 specializing in thermal printer solutions,” Meyerhofer says.
“When we were awarded the IGT contract after the RFP in 1999, it was very exciting and a high point for our company.”
Acceptance of the tickets wasn’t immediate. In fact, it took several years before customers got comfortable with them. Even Meyerhofer wasn’t sure of where it was going.
“We had to scratch our heads and wonder how the customers were going to accept the absence of the coin drop,” he says.
Nowadays, TITO is the main system in most slot departments. While there is some progress being made in “smart card” technology, where all the information is stored on a credit-card sized card, it’s not likely slot customers would accept another change quite so soon.
“These things have been around for years,” says Meyerhofer. “The French and South African markets have used them for quite some time. And quite frankly, some of these operators are investigating tickets now. When the results are stored on a card, it’s still in the virtual world. When you get a ticket, it’s like having cash in hand.”
Tickets also avoid any questions of how much the player thinks he’s won.
“We tend to be forgetful and sometimes don’t remember how much we’ve won,” he says. “With tickets, all that confusion is cleared up.”
Another advantage of a printed ticket is the ability to do couponing on the tickets. Catalina Marketing, the experts in behavioral marketing in retail operations, launched a program that offered coupons on cards and in printed form, with better results for the print version.
“While you can do couponing on smart cards,” says Meyerhofer, “people still prefer the paper coupons, far and away. That’s why I think in gaming, the printed ticket will be around for years.”
FutureLogic is now focusing on the international expansion of the gaming industry, recently setting up an office in Macau. It’s another effort to increase visibility in the industry.
“We have offices in London and South Africa, as well,” says Meyerhofer. “We will follow the trends to make sure we’re in every market to serve our loyal customers.”
—Roger Gros
Server-Based Trailblazer
Dario Zutel
Chairman and CEO, Win Systems International
The gaming industry’s coming move into server-based, networked gaming systems will be marked by the efforts of many well-known slot manufacturers, to be sure. However, the technology will be driven by pioneers who have already worked out many of the problems.
Dario Zutel is one such pioneer. Along with Ines Kreplak, Zutel founded New York-based Win Systems International in 1996 to apply technology from a wide-area network he had helped create for a horse-race wagering system in Spain to new markets in the lottery and casino business.
In the ensuing years, Win introduced its lottery system in Spain, and enhanced it with projects in Latin America.
“The company made excellent decisions regarding the architecture of the system,” Zutel says. “It was an early innovator of the VLT market, recognizing the fundamental similarities in PC-based gaming machines, multi-player prizes and the benefits of central game downloading and distribution.
“The founders understood early on that the gaming market would similarly evolve to understand the benefits of the wide-area network concept, and implement the benefits of server-based systems.”
Win has transplanted its lottery technology to the server-based gaming platform it offers today—“a logical extension of more than a decade of ongoing development in the lottery market,” he says.
Win Systems already is deploying its first server-based gaming systems. Over the next few years, Zutel sees partnerships with U.S. suppliers as a definite possibility.
“We are under few illusions that we will, by ourselves, be able to significantly influence the U.S. gaming industry’s move toward server-based systems,” Zutel says. “We expect this migration to occur slowly and deliberately. The evolution to server-based gaming will be driven by forward-thinking casino operators and machine manufacturers.
“We believe foreign and emerging market operators will be the earlier adopters of server-based gaming systems. In fact, we are currently deploying our first two server-based gaming systems, one in Eastern Europe and one in Latin America. We believe the success of these systems and the endorsement of the operators will provide momentum to the move toward server-based gaming in the U.S.”
He says a key ability of server-based systems is the potential for improved results with fewer physical machines.
“Therefore, not everyone in the market is pushing for the adoption of this technology,” he says. “Having said that, we strongly believe that the benefits of the enhanced player experience that this technology provides, along with the myriad of savings to the operators, will eventually be demanded by operators and players alike.”
—Frank Legato
Back to Basics
Jennifer Standing Bear
Marketing Director, Million Dollar Elm Casino, Oklahoma
As a public relations expert working in the Embassy of the Chickasaw Nation in Washington, D.C., Jennifer Standing Bear got to witness a complex global economy, of which her Native American h
produced some remarkable candidates who have more than fulfilled our predictions. Some have changed the very core of how the industry operates and opened up business opportunities for all of us.
This year, we believe that our choices will once again be vindicated, and sooner, rather than later. While the subject of our cover story, Kazuo Okada, the chairman of Aruze Corp. and vice chairman of Wynn Resorts Ltd., is well-known to folks who follow the industry, we believe his company will play a huge role in the development of gaming in Asia. Some of our other choices are also well-known, but are now on the button to bring some exciting news to the gaming industry within the next year.
If you have someone you want to nominate for 2009’s People to Watch section, please email me at rgros@ggbmagazine.com and we’ll put that person on our nominations list to be considered for inclusion in next January’s magazine. But for 2008, you’ve got your assignments. Watch what happens!
—Roger Gros
Living His Dream
Kazuo Okada
Chairman, Aruze Corp., and Vice Chairman, Wynn Resorts Ltd.
It’s not often that one man can play important roles in the gaming industry on the operators’ side and on the vendors’ side at the same time, but if Kazuo Okada can fulfill his dream to become one of the largest and most successful slot operators in the United States in the next few years, he will set that standard.
As the vice chairman of Wynn Resorts, Okada is already an important player as an operator. Okada owns at least as many shares of one of gaming’s most valuable companies as does its chairman, Steve Wynn. While he disclaims any role in developing and operating the company’s resorts, his role is clearly crucial to Steve Wynn.
But it’s his role as chairman of Japan-based Aruze Gaming that could define his rising reputation in the gaming industry. Aruze, which actually owns the stake in Wynn Resorts, is the leader in the pachinko-pachislot industry in Japan. An incredibly popular pastime in his homeland, Okada has been pushing for regulations that make the machines more exciting, with more of a gambling element.
“Regulatory changes make a big difference in the pachinko and pachislot market,” he says.
“Sometimes the changes will make the gambling element stronger. And sometimes it’s less. The more of a gamble it is, the more stimulating it is for the player.”
While Aruze is trying to vault to the top of the slot market, there aren’t many parallels on the technology side of the pachinko/pachislot machines and slots. But when it comes to producing the best machine, it turns out the two markets are similar.
In order for our games to be accepted by the players,” he says, “we have to give them what they want. Sometimes the ideas will be different and the final shape and theme may be different, but in the end, they’re all good products. That’s a similarity you find in all amusement machines that are accepted by the players.”
Technology has been an Aruze hallmark. But it doesn’t stand alone, says Okada.
“It’s not just technology; it’s a combination of technologies and ideas,” he says. “Ideas are just one component of a successful machine. You also have to design the mathematics to make the event something interesting and rewarding for the player.”
Like Wynn, Okada conducts his business in a state of perpetual motion, giving his full attention to even the smallest detail. In Wynn, he has found a soul mate.
“I immediately felt a kinship with Mr. Wynn,” he says. “He uses the same approach to business that I do. When he told me about his proposal for his company, I was impressed with him because he was putting everything he had into his company—his hard work, his experience, his money, his ideas; everything he has. Those are the things I bring to my work, so it was immediately apparent we’d make good partners. That’s why I believe in him.”
While the success of Wynn Macau is increasing, Okada believes the city is in the right place at the right time.
“So much is possible,” he says. “The population of mainland China is huge. The people are getting richer and richer. I believe the center of the world is focused on Asia now. It makes Macau very important in the gaming industry, and there’s so much that can be accomplished.”
Also in the middle of that growth is Japan. As a major player in Japanese gambling, Okada expects to be able to influence the debate in his home country.
“There is a tendency of the Japanese government to think inwardly rather than outwardly,” he explains. “Certainly, there has been some discussion about the legalization of gambling and casinos. We believe it is important to establish entertainment centers for our people. Sometimes the government only focuses on the dark side of gambling, but there isn’t very much opposition, so there is no doubt that it will some day be approved.
“The important thing now is to get someone who will lead the effort. If we get such a leader, it will move forward faster. There are so many Asian countries now getting into the gaming industry, it won’t be long until the Japanese government becomes obliged to offer casino gaming. We think it will take a three- to five-year term to be realized.”
While gambling is certainly a part of the casino resorts that Okada would like to see established in Japan, he thinks the concept goes much farther, and may require a cultural change for the Japanese workers and executives who are so focused on their careers.
“The most important thing is to have a space where people can enjoy their dream,” he says. “For example, when people go to a casino, they should have 24 hours to enjoy their dream: eat the best food, enjoy the best entertainment, and do things they can’t do anywhere else. That’s the dream space that every casino should include.”
As an operator, Okada will work with Wynn Resorts in most cases. But often, he will be approached about other opportunities. On the rumor that he was recently invited to a bid to develop a casino resort in Manila, he said, “There are many opportunities in Asian countries, and if there is an opportunity in a specific Asian country, certainly we have an interest.”
And if Wynn Resorts isn’t interested in a particular opportunity?
“It depends on the cases,” he says. “If something comes to us, we will take it to Wynn Resorts. If we meet together on the ideas, then we will do it with them. If not, we can discuss how we might move forward on it alone.”
Whether it’s as a partner with Wynn Resorts or alone as chairman of Aruze, Okada fully expects that both companies will be seen as trailblazers in Asia, and around the world.
“Asia will continue to grow quickly because there are many countries that have yet to enter the gaming industry,” he says. “In such a growth market, I expect Aruze to be a leader.”
The Boyd Boom
Keith Smith
President and CEO, Boyd Gaming
When Keith Smith was promoted to CEO of Boyd Gaming in 2007, it demonstrated a confidence that company chairman Bill Boyd has in him. After all, Smith has been a key part of some tremendous growth for the company, beginning with the opening of the Borgata in 2003, followed by the acquisition of Coast Casinos in 2004 and culminating with the construction of Echelon Place, scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2010.
But that’s not to ignore 2008, which will be a “transformative” year, according to Smith.
“This year,” he says, “we’ll open the Water Club, an 800-room all-suite boutique hotel adjacent to the Borgata, the first boutique hotel that will open in Atlantic City. The Borgata has been the market leader since we opened and the The Water Club will raise the bar that much higher.”
With Harrah’s adding a massive new tower, Trump Taj Mahal building more rooms and other casinos in Atlantic City also making improvements, the Water Club will add another level of luxury to the already-impressive offerings at the Borgata and is expected to open before the busy summer season in Atlantic City.
In Indiana, Smith is awaiting the debut later in the year of a new hotel adjacent to the company’s Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. The property has been challenged recently by the opening of the Four Winds Casino Resort, a property owned by the Pokagon Tribe in Buffalo Creek, Michigan.
“The new hotel is going to be a more upscale product than you currently see in that market,” says Smith. “It’s going to allow us to compete with the new casino more effectively, and attract customers from more affluent regions farther away from Blue Chip.”
In Las Vegas, construction is well under way on Echelon Place, and Smith expects the foundation to be laid this year.
“We’re very excited about the possibilities that Echelon brings to our company,” he says. “It is clearly going to be one of the most dynamic projects in Las Vegas history.”
For investors, Smith is encouraging.
“We run our company for the long term,” he says. “We run a profitable business and we don’t grow just for the sake of growing. Our track record, with Coast, Borgata and Echelon, should demonstrate that we are very careful when we consider new business for the company and that we succeed as a result of that careful consideration.”
—Roger Gros
Perptual motion
Don H. Barden
Manager, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Majestic Star, LLC
It always is interesting to hear the story of a casino CEO who started in an entry-level position and worked his way up through the years and ranks to become the top kick.
It’s also interesting to hear about one achieving great success in other industries before turning sights on gaming, like Don Barden. He has run television and radio stations, developed real estate, and owned (in full or part) a record store, newspaper, software company and automotive plant in Africa.
And now, “my work is 99 percent focused on the expansion of our company in various gaming markets and with existing properties,” he says.
Such properties include Gary, Indiana and the Majestic Star casinos, what was a single riverboat casino he opened in 1996, later replacing with a larger vessel and acquiring the Trump Casino next door, together re-christened the Majestic Star II, and where he is currently mulling over “a new single-level vessel… a hotel, some new restaurants and those sorts of things.” His company also owns three Fitzgeralds Casinos acquired in 2001 in Tunica, Mississippi, Las Vegas, and Black Hawk, Colorado, where expansion is under way that will increase that facility’s size by 40 percent. And, most recently and prominently, Barden is making Pennsylvania history with a $450 million, 400,000-square-foot facility set to open around June 2009 on the North Shore riverfront in Pittsburgh. Lots going on, much more on the horizon, and nothing out of the ordinary for someone who always seems to ask, “What’s next?”
From day (or job) one, Barden was driven by an “entrepreneurial spirit,” always striving for something bigger. He is quick to cite those who helped him reach his goals, starting with his parents, who “taught me integrity.”
When he needed capital for an early cable venture after investing all his own money and coming up $300,000 short, he turned to business friends who guaranteed a loan in exchange for stock. And he cites those who were “inspirational from a distance,” including Motown founder Berry Gordy and businessmen A.G. Gaston and Carl Adams.
“Just knowing they existed and were successful motivated me and demonstrated that I, too, could be successful,” he says.
So with all of these projects percolating, is Don Barden still saying, “What’s next?” You bet.
“My goal is to continue to grow and improve my operations,” he says. “But at the same time keeping my eye open for new ones.”
— Jamie K. Mulholland
Networking Bally
Bruce Rowe
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development
Bally Technologies
When slot-maker Bally Technologies released its versatile “Alpha” video platform, the company also began preparing its customers, and the playing public, for the coming of networked, server-based slot floors.
Instead of focusing solely on the operator benefits of server-based gaming, Bally has zeroed in on the player with its “iVIEW” product, a small screen now mounted on thousands of slots across the industry through which value-added games and direct communication are filtered from casinos directly to their players.
Along with the technological advances have come the addition of many new faces at Bally—perhaps the most familiar being that of slot veteran Bruce Rowe.
Rowe, who joined Bally as senior vice president of strategy and business development, brought experience to the company that will prove invaluable in the coming year. As the longtime corporate vice president of slot operations for Harrah’s Entertainment, he was in the business of knowing what worked and what did not work for the world’s largest gaming operator.
Now, he will apply that experience to the often-vexing question of how server-based—he prefers the term “networked”—gaming can best earn money for his primary customers, the casinos.
“Many things being talked about as futuristic can be done today,” Rowe says, “and in a way that can adapt and prove its value.”
For casinos, Bally offers a peek at what Rowe calls the “dynamic revenue management” possible with networked systems. For example, games in a server-supported machine can be altered remotely today, using existing technology. “We’ve developed a game that has an imbedded scheduler,” he says. “You don’t have to have any system; just configure the changes at the game. If you want it to change to a different game on New Year’s Eve, you set it at the machine.”
For the player, aside from “System Games”—bonus games earned through player’s club points—Bally is dabbling with new ways to reward loyalty. For instance, new facial recognition software will enable the casino to actually recognize a loyal player when he sits down at a machine. “Proximity” software will be able to sense the location of employees when they are needed—servers to give a high-roller his cocktail, EMS-trained people to save a player’s life who has had a heart attack.
In the coming year, Rowe will be at the forefront of showing players and slot managers alike the benefits they will enjoy from the future makeup of the slot floor.
— Frank Legato
Lady of the Isle
Virginia McDowell
President and COO, Isle of Capri Casinos
If there’s a glass ceiling in the gaming industry, Virginia McDowell has broken through it several times. With nearly 30 years’ experience in the gaming industry, McDowell has labored in many disciplines of the industry. After spending 16 years in Atlantic City primarily at the Tropicana, where she served in marketing and operations capacities, she joined former Trop President Jim Perry at Argosy Gaming Company, where she began as a marketing officer, and ultimately served as SVP of operations. She left when the company they built was sold to Penn National Gaming in 2005.
When Perry was appointed CEO of the newly reorganized Trump Entertainment Resorts, McDowell joined him as senior VP and chief information officer, charged with building a technology platform to support future growth. Perry resigned in 2007, and McDowell and other senior staffers Perry brought on board were fired soon after. She surfaced only weeks later as the only woman president of a major U.S. gaming company—Isle of Capri.
Someone who clearly responds to a challenge, McDowell must get her arms around a company whose identity has been uncertain for quite some time.
“We’re in the process of completing a strategic review of our brands, existing operations and growth opportunities,” she says, “and are currently in the process of developing master plans in order to leverage the valuable land we own or control in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Pompano, Florida.”
The St. Louis-based Isle has varying operating profiles in several markets. Its flagship property in Biloxi was one of the first casinos to open after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, but a washed-out bridge made access difficult, to say the least. In Kansas City, another bridge closing and competition from planned Kansas casinos create uncertainty. Four Iowa casinos are holding their own; and the company is in the process of acquiring a minority interest that will give them control of the largest gaming operation in Colorado. McDowell plans to upgrade some of these facilities to compete with rivals.
“Most of our domestic operations have shown continuing margin improvement as we focus on cost-containment, and reallocating our marketing spend to attract and reward more profitable customers. As we develop our new brand portfolio, we will look to reposition legacy properties in some of our markets.”
One of the most challenging operations is a recently opened casino in the United Kingdom. “The Isle casino at Coventry” features 20 slots, 50 touchbet positions, and over 40 table games, including poker.
“We’re not introducing a new casino operation in the United Kingdom, we’re essentially introducing U.S.-style casino gaming,” she says. “Ninety-five percent of the population has never set foot in a casino, so we’re taking advantage of recent legislative changes which will enable us to market the facility in order to create awareness and drive trial.”
Few realize that Isle opened three new casinos in 2007, and for 2008, the goal is not only to rebuild the brand portfolio, but to also find the “sweet spot” in the gaming operations.
“Our focus is on increasing shareholder value by introducing a disciplined approach to spending,” McDowell explains, “on capital expenditures, operating expenses, customer acquisition and retention, and strategic development opportunities. We are a company in transition, but the changes we are making will provide the platform for future growth.”
—Roger Gros
The Public Trust
Kelly McDougald
Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
One of the most extensive state-controlled gaming industries in the world is in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a crown corporation owned by the province, has developed a wide network of lottery retailers, charity casinos, First Nation (Indian) casinos, racinos, slot parlors and commercial casino resorts. The OLGC touches nearly everyone’s lives in the province and provides billions of dollars in revenue for the treasury.
After a six-month executive search, the agency named Kelly McDougald as CEO in October. She was tasked with restoring the integrity of the agency following a scandal uncovered in March that revealed lottery retailers and “insiders” had won a disproportionate number of jackpots.
McDougald, whose background includes senior management positions with Bell Canada and Novatel, says her job was made easier by a four-point mission statement left by her predecessors.
“If I follow this roadmap,” she says, “we’ll be able to make this work.
“First, return dividends. That’s the main thing, everyone needs to make money.
“Second, create and maintain world-class gaming experiences, and I think we have done that.
“Third, be a great partner. We operate in many diverse communities and are truly integral parts of those communities.
“And fourth, be the guardian of the public trust. This includes things like the integrity of the games, the care and attention given to the problem gambling issue. We have to be totally transparent.”
While McDougald is concerned about a lack of growth in the casinos along the U.S. border, she says gaming is healthy and growing in most other parts of the province. She says the agency is looking for regions where it can encourage incremental growth of the businesses.
“We’re looking at all regions of the province to see where we can grow our products without impacting any other market,” she says.
McDougald is most excited about the transition from Casino Windsor to Caesars Windsor, scheduled for early 2008.
“This is the most exciting gaming event in the province since the opening of Niagara Fallsview several years ago,” she says. “We’re adding a spectacular convention center, a 5,000-seat entertainment complex, a hotel tower and other things that will truly make the experience at Windsor a special one.”
And she’s always keeping an eye on the problem gambling area, which is important to her.
“We’re developing some exciting programs that will use biometric data to identify people who have self-excluded so we can prevent any more damage,” she said. “Casinos are a fun and stimulating form of entertainment but we don’t want people harmed because of it.”
—Roger Gros
Hitting the Jackpot
Marlin Torguson
President, Torguson Gaming Group
When Marlin Torguson formed a group in 1983 to fund, build and manage Jackpot Junction Casino, owned by the Lower Sioux tribe in Morton, Minnesota, he thought he knew everything about gaming. After all, the hunger for gaming was great and all that was required was to build the facility and open the doors. He later opened Goldiggers Hotel and Casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. But it wasn’t until he became a pioneer in riverboat gaming with Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis on the Mississippi Gulf Coast did he really hit his stride. The brand became a mainstay in Mississippi and Louisiana, garnering huge profits wherever it opened.
But if you listen to him today, he didn’t know anything until he sold his Casino Magic company to Pinnacle Entertainment in 1997.
“I didn’t really understand the importance of the non-gaming side of things until I sold Casino Magic and joined the board of Pinnacle,” he said. “I learned so much from (Pinnacle Entertainment Chairman) Dan Lee. I thought he was way overspending when he built L’Auberge in Las Charles, Louisiana. Of course, it quickly became the market leader and now I understand why the things outside the casino are so important.”
Torguson is putting his newfound knowledge to the test in Biloxi as he prepares for the groundbreaking of Bacaran Bay, a multi-use development that includes a 67,000-square-foot casino, an all-suite hotel, condos, retail, eight restaurants, bowling, an entertainment complex and almost 75,000 square feet of meeting space.
“I expect that many of the casinos in Biloxi will mirror the Las Vegas model, where more than 50 percent of revenues come from non-gaming sources,” says Torguson.
The long road to the groundbreaking began before Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Torguson had designed the casino first to be floating like the Beau Rivage casino barge; later to be built on pilings, when that option was approved; and finally as a land-based casino after the regulatory changes were implemented following the storm.
Since Katrina completely reshaped the gaming industry on the Coast, Torguson’s property has become that much more attractive. Located on the road that runs between the Beau Rivage and the Imperial Palace, the two market leaders today, Bacaran Bay also controls much of the land in that corridor where at least two more casinos would be located.
“We’re in a good position when Biloxi really starts booming,” he says.
—Roger Gros
GlobalSlots
Kathleen McLaughlin-Harris
Managing Director, Global Slot Marketing and Operations, Las Vegas Sands Corporation
Kathleen McLaughlin-Harris is of a rare breed in the slot industry—an executive with extensive experience on both the supplier and operational sides of the business.
The fact she is married to a slot pioneer—Gary Harris is credited with perfecting the virtual-reel stepper slot—is a perfect fit with her entire career. After several years as a marketing executive at WMS Gaming, Harris joined Harrah’s Entertainment as corporate director of slot operations, working with Bruce Rowe.
In what would become a career trend for Harris, the operator created a new position to fit her particular skill set—she was made corporate vide president of slot research and development, a position in which she worked with slot manufacturers to develop new games that would be launched at Harrah’s properties on an exclusive basis.
She eventually was made corporate vice president of strategic sourcing at Harrah’s, a position she held until last April, when Las Vegas Sands Executive VP Brad Stone and Senior VP Kevin Kelley decided to take a new look at the slot strategy of their rapidly growing company.
Repeating history, Harris took on a position designed specifically for her—managing director of global slot marketing and operations for Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
In the next few years, Harris will determine how to best maximize profits on the slot floor in markets as divergent as Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and Macau, in new and existing properties.
In Las Vegas, the Palazzo’s grand opening this month will add thousands of games for the operator’s Las Vegas Strip customers already accustomed to continuing expansions at the Venetian. In Pennsylvania, a variety of slots will serve a new market with a completely new style of property, as the company transforms a shuttered steel mill in Bethlehem into Sands BethWorks, a combination resort casino and industrial museum.
The biggest challenge, though, may lie in the company’s two Macau properties, Sands Macao and the new Venetian Macao, as well as several other Asia properties opening there and in Singapore. In Southeast Asia, the challenge is to create successful slot floors in a traditional table-game market.
In all, it’s a challenge Harris relishes.
“If you love gaming and love everything about slots, Macau is where everything is happening,” she says. “Mr. (Sheldon) Adelson put a vision out there, and Brad Stone is phenomenal at making it happen. There is some serious talent in this company, and I have the pleasure of working with all of these talented folks.”
Harris, in fact, deflects praise to the people at Las Vegas Sands Corporation at every turn. As far as slots for the corporation in the foreseeable future, though, the challenge will belong to Harris. It should be a fun ride.
— Frank Legato
Wearing Different Hats
Justin Quis Quis
Chairman, San Pasqual Gaming Commission
Justin Quis Quis offers a diverse and complete gaming package. As an auditor, financial advisor, negotiator, commissioner and tribal member, this regulator affects the industry from several sides.
The San Diego, California, native heads the
San Pascual Gaming Commission. It regulates interests for the San Pascual Band of Mission Indians, who operate a casino outside of San Diego. Quis Quis also serves the collective interest of all California tribes. He helps lead the task force enabling them to negotiate their future with the state government.
This is the most crucial period in the history
of California tribal gaming. Whopping revenues make Indian gaming—like all gaming—a target for cash-starved state governments. Indian gaming
revenues in California are expected to exceed $9 billion over the next two decades, prompting fierce turf battles.
Tribal outfits—citing the Colorado Indian River Tribe’s court victory over the NIGC—believe they should police themselves. All California tribal gaming facilities, for example, have their own commission.
The states, who now view profits larger than envisioned during the original compacts, want more influence and revenue.
It may be easiest for the state and tribal nations to hammer out a deal, or amend their compacts, rather than fight. Before that happens, however, all interested parties must survive a February referendum seeking to invalidate an agreement between Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and four Southern California tribes.
“Gaming is a hot topic here right now,” Quis Quis says. “A lot of people say we feel bad for the Indians, but maybe they are getting too greedy. Others say “forget about that, let them go for it.’
“We’re negotiating in good faith. We have for years abided by and exceeded minimal internal
control standards. We don’t need anybody to do that for us. There has never been a casino shut down for lack of ethics. As tribal members, we regulate for a reason. It’s for our families. We have one hell of a vested interest in running this properly.”
Quis Quis says the San Pascual tribe has been a good community neighbor. It has contributed several million dollars to improve the roads and donated to numerous charities. Within a 10-mile radius, tribal gaming has employed about 7,000 tax-paying employees.
Quis Quis also brings a national perspective into his efforts. His “real” job involves auditing for a company that serves several tribes in the Midwest.
—Dave Bontempo
Latin Power Trio
Pablo Zuppi, Diego Fiz and Sergio Maglio
Owners and Directors, Yogonet.com
More than five years ago, three young Argentines realized that there was not much information available about the gaming industry in Latin America on a daily basis. Thus formed the basis for Yogonet.com. Diego Fiz, Sergio Maglio and Pablo Zuppi have tapped the mother lode of the online media, providing information on gaming in both English and Spanish, in areas far beyond Latin America.
Maglio says success came at first because the site was unique.
“In Latin America there was no other site like Yogonet when we began with the project,” he says.
But like most journalism, knowledge won out.
“We always try to work closely with our sources in order to have the best possible information online,” he says. “The internet gives us the opportunity to reach a wide range of readers in almost real time and helped us to develop a solid base of readers who found good and updated information, free of charge, about different topics of the gaming industry.”
The group travels together or individually to almost every major trade show or conference, giving them access to many media sources. But still, despite their international coverage, readers look to them for accurate information on the burgeoning Latin American market.
“It seems that it will keep on growing,” says Maglio about the region. “During the last few years, several countries decided to give the gaming industry more space in terms of new casino
openings, tender process and regulatory reform. Argentina, Chile and Colombia have solid markets with a good technological base and a professional way of doing business. We still have to see what will happen with Brazil, a huge market that, sometime in the future, will have a legal framework that will generate one of the most important gaming markets not only in South America, but worldwide. Mexico is also an important potential market that has been growing during the last few years.”
For Yogonet, Maglio says development of off-line products will help fuel the growth.
“We always work to improve our website and the other company’s developments like ey! Encuentro Yogonet (an international conference organized with SAGSE exhibition in Buenos Aires) and Directorio Yogonet (the “yellow pages” of the Latin American gaming industry).
“We have the same goal we had when we began five years ago: become the online information source of the gaming industry worldwide. And we still work to achieve it.”
—Roger Gros
Money Man
Dan D’Arrigo
Executive Vice President & CFO, MGM Mirage
For Dan D’Arrigo, the timing couldn’t be better to step into the shoes of MGM Mirage President Jim Murren. As CFO, Murren gained the confidence of Wall Street over the years and sold the company as a pure gaming play. D’Arrigo now has the responsibility to sell the diversified revenue streams that will begin flowing now that MGM Mirage has partnered with several non-gaming entities, including Dubai World and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Each of these joint ventures will include non-gaming resorts and hotels, with one getting under way soon in Dubai, Abu Dhabi.
“This development will be very similar to any mixed-use project we’d do in any other market, minus the gaming,” he says. “There’s a thirst for entertainment in these regions, and we’ll provide it.”
D’Arrigo’s challenge will be to convince Wall Street that MGM Mirage will become a diverse player in the entertainment industry, not just gaming.
“We’ve taken great care to understand how you can communicate to Wall Street,” he says. “It’s changed on both sides, so we follow the rules very closely. Disclosure needs to be widespread publicly, and I feel I have a pretty good relationship with the folks on Wall Street.”
Partnerships are a big part of the MGM Mirage business model. From New York-New York and the Borgata, to CityCenter and the new Kerzner development on the north Las Vegas Strip, D’Arrigo compares them to marriages.
“There’s a little big of give and take on both sides,” he says. “We have several reasons for entering into partnerships. Quite frankly, we don’t know it all, so we rely on our partners to bring in some expertise—or even the time—that we may not have. In the Kerzner partnership (with Dubai World), we had that land and probably wouldn’t get to it on our own for five to seven years. By creating this partnership, we can be part of a very exciting development that will open within that time frame. So it works for all the partners involved.”
One partnership bore fruit in December when MGM Mirage Macau opened, in partnership with Pansy Ho, daughter of Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho. D’Ariggo says Pansy brought a lot to the table.
“It’s been a while since we were back on the international front,” he says. “It’s an exciting project and the market is very dynamic. We’ll be able to showcase our management talent, our brands and most of all our service standards.
“Pansy Ho has been helping us get to know the cultural aspects, and that’s been a great asset to have in that marketplace.”
In Nevada, MGM Mirage’s home turf, D’Ariggo warns that current moves to increase the gaming tax could have serious consequences.
“Investors looking to come into Nevada will have a different view of the state, which has always been favorable,” he says. “Companies that operate here will be revisiting how they re-invest their capital. Liquidity in terms of investing in these projects will change, and none of those things are good for this industry or this state.”
—Roger Gros
Poker Queen Maker
Lisa Tenner
President, Tenner & Associates
Lisa Tenner has launched what is at least her third career. Early success as a ballerina gave way to even more successful stints in the entertainment and food-and-beverage industries.
Now, Tenner has made her mark as a poker impresario for women players. Tenner has organized the “Queen of Hearts” poker tournament, held in conjunction with the World Series of Poker.
Two years ago, she spearheaded a charitable effort that created the Queen of Hearts poker team led by actress and professional poker player Jennifer Tilly. Joined by 21 other pro players (six of whom hold WSOP championship bracelets), Tenner raised thousands of dollars for the American Heart Association and the Nevada Cancer Institute. Last year, actress Mimi Rogers joined the team, and for 2008 Tenner will soon announce another high-profile celebrity “captain.”
“There is a great demand to be a part of this team,” she says. “I get calls every day from women professionals who want to participate.”
It’s a rapidly growing area of the poker market, as well.
“While almost every event at the 2007 WSOP had flat or slightly declining numbers, the Queen of Hearts event grew by 20 percent.”
For the first time, Tenner is asking the pros to donate at least $5,000 to these charities, as well as designate a percentage of any winnings to the worthy causes.
“They are all very committed to giving back the community,” Tenner says, “and they enthusiastically support this effort.”
Tenner believes it’s only a matter of time before the WSOP sees a woman champion at the main event, the $10,000 no-limit Texas hold ‘em game.
“The Queen of Hearts event has made people realize that women possess the same qualities in everyday life that make great male poker champions,” she says. “We have the intelligence, the instincts and the skill, all of which we put to work in our lives, our relationships and in the raising of our children.”
Tenner also runs her own company, the Las Vegas-based Tenner & Associates, which specializes in the power of branding and taking advantage of special events. Her clients have included the Hard Rock Hotel, the World Poker Conference, Playboy’s Women of Poker, the Cosmopolitan Casino Resort and many others.
“I’ve done special events my entire life,” she says. “You can have hundreds or thousands of people at any event and still not take full advantage of them. We can show you how the event can resonate with your team and your customers.”
—Roger Gros
Junket King
Lam Yin Lok
Chairman, Jimei Group
Although most of the world’s major gaming companies are active in Macau, they sometimes take a back seat to the city’s junket reps who are responsible for bringing in the big players. But even in this field, there are a few who stand out from the competition.
Lam Yin Lok, also known as “Jack,” heads up the Jimei Group, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate which has various tourism and gaming businesses in Asia. It operates casinos, resort estates, hotels, spas, clubs, restaurants and a cruise ship throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Lam is a native of Guangdong, China, born to a farming family in Mao Ming. Because of his poor and destitute upbringing, Lam decided to go to Hong Kong at the age of 18 in 1979. He was working in his uncle’s factory as bookkeeper and earned only a thousand Hong Kong dollars a month, sending most of his salary back home to help his family.
Lam’s uncle was a regular player in Macau, and the young man usually accompanied him there, subsequently building up social connections of his own. Lam learned the mysterious mechanism of “dead chip rolling” for players in the casinos, and decided to work in a casino in Macau as a “tab-ma-chai” (sub-agent). It was a low position that enabled him to learn customer service techniques.
He began as a small junket representative in Macau in 1981. Because of Lam’s diligence and good sense of marketing, he developed an extensive client base over the years and built a reputation as a leader in the junket gaming industry.
Today, Lam operates not only in SJM’s Lisboa Macau, but also in Wynn Macau, Sands Macao, Venetian Macao and Grand Lisboa with a combined 64 gaming tables. He is by far the largest junket operator for Las Vegas Sands casinos and Wynn Macau. Although it can’t be quantified, Lam is probably the largest junket operator in Macau and even in Asia today.
The Jimei Group also operates a tourism ship, the M.V. Jimei, with 300 cabins and 20 gaming tables. The company also has interests in several Philippine casinos and operates junkets in South Korea as well.
Due to Lam’s diverse business achievements and the many philanthropic activities he has undertaken in China, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, he was awarded the “2007 World Outstanding Chinese Award” in Hong Kong recently. Additionally, he was a recipient of Distinguished University Medal of Honor in Philippines and was officially adopted as “Son of Laoag City” in 2003.
In recognition to Lam’s tourism contributions, the Tourism & Cultural Affairs Office of Clark, Philippines awarded him the Certificate of Recognition; and the Department of Tourism Ilocos Region awarded him the Plaque of Appreciation for his contribution of promoting Philippines tourism.
—Patrick Roberts
Home Again
Rosalind Krause
General Manager, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort
For Rosalind Krause, 2008 will be a landmark year in more ways than one.
Personally, Krause will celebrate 30 years in the casino industry. Professionally, the general manager of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City will see the opening and completion of the casino’s new 800-room tower.
Krause, known for her amiable personality as much as her great business sense, started as a cocktail server at Resorts in Atlantic City, working while putting herself through school, eventually moving through the ranks at different casinos and later moving to Las Vegas to serve as a senior vice president of casino services for Caesars Palace and assistant general manager for Paris.
But she couldn’t resist returning to Atlantic City, which she did in 2005.
“It’s such a dynamic industry,” said the 47-year-old Krause, who was born and raised in Atlantic City. “My roots are here, and I love Atlantic City. It’s very rewarding to be able to run a property that is full of very qualified people in an organization with such an abundance of talent.”
As big as 2008 will be, 2007 was anything but shabby. The casino opened Spice Road, a promenade that features new restaurants and retail outlets, and debuted renovated penthouse suites that rank among the best in the city.
In December, the Taj also opened its new $5 million baccarat and high-end gaming pit. Sixty percent of the casino floor was renovated—the other 40 will be completed in 2008—and $11 million has been invested in new slots over the last two years.
In addition to the new $255 million tower, which is expected to open 380 rooms late summer with more following monthly, plus more casino floor renovations, the Taj will also announce a branded restaurant that will open in the former Bombay Café location in 2008.
“2008 should be an amazing year for us,” Krause said. “The new rooms will help increase our convention business while accommodating a segment of the casino market that we haven’t been able to with just 1,250 rooms. There are so many customers who want to stay here, but couldn’t. Now they can. We also believe that our loyalty program with the Trump One Card will really pay off in 2008. Our cross-property play has doubled, and we’re excited about where that will take us.”
—Joseph Harrison
The Machine as Art
Milo Borissov
President and CEO, Casino Technology
Milo Borissov has always been interested in mathematics and the technical sciences, so it is no surprise to find he has a master’s degree in engineering. But Casino Technology is a company that designs and creates games and the machines they run on, and to be as successful as they have been in this field requires something more than a scientific mind. Borissov’s lifelong love of music—he is a talented jazz pianist—helps give him an artistic edge.
“My interest in gaming was provoked by the exciting synergy of math, technology and engineering innovations with various forms of the art,” says Borissov. “When I first got involved with video games, about 20 years ago, I immediately felt challenged to explore what makes a product that incorporates a mix of all those elements successful, and at the same time is able to entertain and bring the players back again.”
The company Borissov founded in 1999 reflects his dualistic approach to game creation. The graphic design team consists of eight groups of talented artists. The R&D team benefits from the 30 percent of annual income the company pours back into research and development. The product development team relies heavily on the psychological profile and tastes of the target audience. And the teams charged with quality assurance, quality control and compliance give their full attention to all the necessary details.
Casino Technology employs over 1,500 people across its group of companies. The head office in Sofia, Bulgaria coordinates international activities through a network of more than 18 offices worldwide. Over 20 different languages are spoken by staff. Through sales channels situated all over the world, the company’s products are available and operating in more than 50 countries, and over 50,000 units have been installed in multiple international casino operations.
Borissov has been presented multiple awards for his contributions to development of the gaming industry and holds many patents for his inventions. He is a charter member the Bulgarian Trade Association of Manufacturers and Organizers in the Gaming Industry.
“Pioneering the creation of some of the most advanced gaming concepts and products, Casino Technology as a company has always been an originator of many initiatives related to development of the gaming sector in our region,” says Borissov. “We, as a member of BTAMOGI, have been constantly working in respect of assisting the regulators in the industry, promoting worldwide quality standards, and introducing the advantages of responsible gaming.”
– Rich Geller
Supply Side in Asia
Steven Lim
Sales & Marketing Director, RGB
Getting the goods to market has been a main staple of business since time immemorial. In the gaming industry, manufacturers often use distributors to get that task accomplished.
In Asia, the one distributor that has demonstrated an ability to provide gaming goods in a timely and efficient manner has been RGB.
Steven Lim is one of the founders of RGB’s parent company, Dreamgate Corporation Berhad. Since its listing on the Malaysian Stock Exchange in 2003, DCB has experienced tremendous growth, recording a turnover of Ringgit Malaysia (RM)81 million in 2003, and 266 percent in 2006 to RM215 million.
“As an Asian company,” says Lim, “RGB understands the Asian market and cultures and is able to leverage on this expertise to spearhead its growth.
“RGB is also actively involved in the supply of gaming equipment to various gaming establishments under concession in various countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines and has seen its business growing from strength to strength.”
Lim is deeply involved in gaming in the region, and is a member of the planning committee of PAGCOR, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation incorporated to regulate amusement and gaming activities in the Philippines.
A graduate of Brock University, Canada, Lim has more than 20 years of experience in the gaming and amusement machine industry. He also is an ardent footballer and sits on the management committees of a number of social and membership clubs in Malaysia.
With such rapid growth, Lim believes his company is poised to become one of the major movers of gaming in Asia.
“RGB’s growth will be further spurred with the implementation of its plan to become a leading integrated gaming solutions specialist with the establishment of integrated service units combining sales, technical services, spare parts and warehousing facilities within major locations in Asia,” he says. “These integrated facilities are an affirmation of RGB’s commitment to providing the Asian gaming industry with the best available after sales and technical services.”
—Roger Gros
Class Act
Kunal Mishra
Vice President, Product Management and Marketing,
Cadillac Jack
Georgia-based Cadillac Jack has long been one of the leading suppliers of electronic bingo slot machines and systems for the Class II Indian gaming market.
During the past few years, though, CEO Mike Macke, who formed Cadillac Jack in 1995, began to move his company toward traditional Class III markets, beginning with a successful entry into the Oklahoma market.
Macke has since further prepared Cadillac Jack for Class III by building up his executive staff with seasoned veterans of Class III slot suppliers. Several members of the executive staff now in place are veterans of the Class III market, and the company is now marketing its products beyond Oklahoma to many of the compacted jurisdictions, while building its Class III product base.
Right in the middle of this push into Class III is Kunal Mishra, who joined the company in 2006 as vice president of product management and marketing. Mishra was with Bally Technologies for several years, and subsequently with Shuffle Master during the years it produced Class III slots before returning to Bally in 2006.
Mishra’s Class III experience covers both product development and marketing, which makes him an ideal executive to help lead Cadillac Jack to success in new markets.
“We are now getting our licenses in all the Class III jurisdictions and penetrating these markets with niche products,” Mishra says. “Our core strengths are in video slot product and our wide-area progressive product.”
That wide-area progressive, called Cadillac Cash, has led Cadillac Jack’s success in Oklahoma and other Class III markets. Meanwhile, Mishra has been in the thick of the effort to merge the company’s game content into applications for both Class II and Class III. “Class II technology was in many ways ahead of Class III technology,” he says. “The challenge I had in retooling the product line was to bring the Class III playability features into Class II. When these two technologies met, we immediately saw the reaction of the customers to be positive, in that they were seeing an advanced technological system combined with the playability features formerly reserved for the four or five big Class III manufacturers.”
Mishra says Cadillac Jack’s success has been in merging the best of the two classes, particularly in its successful Class II wide-area progressive system. “That Class II wide-area space was under-served, so we have seen a tremendous amount of success in both markets,” Mishra says.
Going forward, he says the company will continue to play on its strongest points—one of which is an uncanny ability to tailor new games to specific markets and locations.
“We’re never done expanding,” Mishra says. “We’re in constant growth mode, and right now we feel we have the ideal blend of Class II technology experiences and Class III playability to offer products for all of our customers to increase the profitability of their organizations.”
—Frank Legato
That’s the Ticket
Eric Meyerhofer
CEO, FutureLogic
It took a while for the ticket-in/ ticket-out systems to gain acceptance with slot players, but once it did, the TITO peripherals became items very much in demand. One company that hit the jackpot was FutureLogic, which gained the business of the largest slot company, IGT. With such a large client, however, FutureLogic was on the spot to produce a reliable printer with features that make it almost seamless to the operator.
Eric Meyerhofer, the CEO of FutureLogic, explains how that challenge was met.
“Our company was founded in 1983 specializing in thermal printer solutions,” Meyerhofer says.
“When we were awarded the IGT contract after the RFP in 1999, it was very exciting and a high point for our company.”
Acceptance of the tickets wasn’t immediate. In fact, it took several years before customers got comfortable with them. Even Meyerhofer wasn’t sure of where it was going.
“We had to scratch our heads and wonder how the customers were going to accept the absence of the coin drop,” he says.
Nowadays, TITO is the main system in most slot departments. While there is some progress being made in “smart card” technology, where all the information is stored on a credit-card sized card, it’s not likely slot customers would accept another change quite so soon.
“These things have been around for years,” says Meyerhofer. “The French and South African markets have used them for quite some time. And quite frankly, some of these operators are investigating tickets now. When the results are stored on a card, it’s still in the virtual world. When you get a ticket, it’s like having cash in hand.”
Tickets also avoid any questions of how much the player thinks he’s won.
“We tend to be forgetful and sometimes don’t remember how much we’ve won,” he says. “With tickets, all that confusion is cleared up.”
Another advantage of a printed ticket is the ability to do couponing on the tickets. Catalina Marketing, the experts in behavioral marketing in retail operations, launched a program that offered coupons on cards and in printed form, with better results for the print version.
“While you can do couponing on smart cards,” says Meyerhofer, “people still prefer the paper coupons, far and away. That’s why I think in gaming, the printed ticket will be around for years.”
FutureLogic is now focusing on the international expansion of the gaming industry, recently setting up an office in Macau. It’s another effort to increase visibility in the industry.
“We have offices in London and South Africa, as well,” says Meyerhofer. “We will follow the trends to make sure we’re in every market to serve our loyal customers.”
—Roger Gros
Server-Based Trailblazer
Dario Zutel
Chairman and CEO, Win Systems International
The gaming industry’s coming move into server-based, networked gaming systems will be marked by the efforts of many well-known slot manufacturers, to be sure. However, the technology will be driven by pioneers who have already worked out many of the problems.
Dario Zutel is one such pioneer. Along with Ines Kreplak, Zutel founded New York-based Win Systems International in 1996 to apply technology from a wide-area network he had helped create for a horse-race wagering system in Spain to new markets in the lottery and casino business.
In the ensuing years, Win introduced its lottery system in Spain, and enhanced it with projects in Latin America.
“The company made excellent decisions regarding the architecture of the system,” Zutel says. “It was an early innovator of the VLT market, recognizing the fundamental similarities in PC-based gaming machines, multi-player prizes and the benefits of central game downloading and distribution.
“The founders understood early on that the gaming market would similarly evolve to understand the benefits of the wide-area network concept, and implement the benefits of server-based systems.”
Win has transplanted its lottery technology to the server-based gaming platform it offers today—“a logical extension of more than a decade of ongoing development in the lottery market,” he says.
Win Systems already is deploying its first server-based gaming systems. Over the next few years, Zutel sees partnerships with U.S. suppliers as a definite possibility.
“We are under few illusions that we will, by ourselves, be able to significantly influence the U.S. gaming industry’s move toward server-based systems,” Zutel says. “We expect this migration to occur slowly and deliberately. The evolution to server-based gaming will be driven by forward-thinking casino operators and machine manufacturers.
“We believe foreign and emerging market operators will be the earlier adopters of server-based gaming systems. In fact, we are currently deploying our first two server-based gaming systems, one in Eastern Europe and one in Latin America. We believe the success of these systems and the endorsement of the operators will provide momentum to the move toward server-based gaming in the U.S.”
He says a key ability of server-based systems is the potential for improved results with fewer physical machines.
“Therefore, not everyone in the market is pushing for the adoption of this technology,” he says. “Having said that, we strongly believe that the benefits of the enhanced player experience that this technology provides, along with the myriad of savings to the operators, will eventually be demanded by operators and players alike.”
—Frank Legato
Back to Basics
Jennifer Standing Bear
Marketing Director, Million Dollar Elm Casino, Oklahoma
As a public relations expert working in the Embassy of the Chickasaw Nation in Washington, D.C., Jennifer Standing Bear got to witness a complex global economy, of which her Native American h
New World Slot Management
Technology is creating a brave new world on the slot floor, and it’s all coming through the online slot management system.
Slot management systems do things they’ve never done before. They can take drink orders. They make restaurant reservations. They are changing the way wagers are made, moving casinos toward a completely cashless environment.
Management systems give floor managers tools to identify the highest-paying machines and locations, to mine data about customers and develop targeted reward programs.
We talked to several manufacturers of such systems, many of which introduced their newest innovations at the recent Global Gaming Expo. There is no shortage of innovation coming down the road. Here are some examples:
International Game Technology
The big news at the leading slot manufacturer’s IGT Systems division is the acquisition of Mariposa Technologies, producer of the top customer relationship management tool in the business. The acquisition allowed IGT to add data warehousing and reporting and analytical tools to its Advantage slot accounting and player tracking system.
According to Steve Miller, product line director of network systems, for two years IGT has been rewriting its Advantage system. “Version 8.0 is the biggest and most robust of our software so far,” he says.
Advantage provides real-time player data and slot analytics combined with Mariposa. “Data warehousing is inherent in this system, as are multiple forms of reporting,” says Miller.
Data can be imported into an Excel spreadsheet or a report-writing package.
Mariposa collects data from the entire enterprise, identifying the player who may not spend much in the casino but might be worth more in the hotel or steakhouse. It also provides in-depth predictive modeling, addressing players who walk in off the street and have no history with the casino. In Las Vegas, 30 percent-40 percent of players don’t have loyalty cards. They can’t be tracked. Through predictive modeling, the Advantage system provides calculations to let the casino do that.
Predictive modeling has applications for floor changes. The manager can analyze games in their current format, make changes on the computer and predict the win based on those changes.
AT G2E, IGT also introduced the “EZ Pay Smart Card,” a player’s club-style card with an embedded smart chip that takes cashless gaming to a new level. It migrates from machine to machine, downloads credits and transfers them.
It can serve as a loyalty card, and may someday become a total property card, used to pay for meals and shows, and even as a room key.
Casino Data Imaging
Casino Data Imaging provides add-ons so slots managers can see a detailed floor map and get reports on nearly any aspect of the games, in its “CasinoCAD” system.
“We don’t care what the system is,” says CDI spokesman George Levine. “You can have data coming from Rocket Gaming or Cadillac Jack. They provide the hardware and software. We make the after-sales program that connects to their data source.”
It shows game floors by cabinet, denomination and all financial data associated with that distribution on one screen.
A query editor can find any particular game or group of games on the floor and create a statement—e.g., games that earn less or more than X, with a certain attribute, or 25-cent games by a particular manufacturer. It shows where they are on the floor, with details based on attributes the manager chose.
CasinoCAD’s performance indexing can compare all 5-cent machines, or all 25-cent machines of a manufacturer in a particular quadrant. It can determine if a machine has reached saturation, or is performing at expectation.
Paltronics Inc.
Paltronics’ “Random Rewards” bonusing solution for casino revenue and player retention is the newest component of the company’s “One Link” slot management system.
According to Terri Cooper, Paltronics COO and CFO, with Random Rewards the casino can set tight configurations of local- and wide-area prizes combining play-funded pools and promotional dollars. Operators can reward prizes to carded or uncarded players and higher rewards according to levels of club membership.
The system can be stand-alone, on several banks or can link games in the entire casino.
AVL, another component of One Link, is a player’s personal service and entertainment window that provides bonusing games; streaming media and live broadcast content; access to loyalty programs, amenities and property information; and marketing messages.
It is retrofitted on existing hardware to create the “Player Station.”
This links players to loyalty programs on slot machines and table games. Bonus games and programs follow them to table and pit areas, restaurants and fitness rooms.
AVL allows messaging across many platforms.
Paltronics’ One Link slot system with AVL can “tailor marketing programs, bonusing systems, customized promos and even direct marketing messaging down to the individual patron,” says Cooper.
Konami Gaming
The Konami Casino Management System, or KCMS, utilizes Fortune 100 company architecture on a TCP/IP network from slot machines to KCMS Oracle database. This gives real-time access to patron tracking information, including detailed reports of each game in multi-game or multi-denominational machines. It performs theoretical tracking by game and patron, even for multiple properties.
“We are the only system that can stream live video directly to the slot machine via our True-Time Entertainment LCD panel,” says Marketing Manager Leah Steinhardt.
The True-Time Player Interface displays cross-marketing messages on restaurants and events, broadcasting video and alerting patrons to promotions. The True-Time Employee Interface helps floor personnel maintain slot machine operations,
including acknowledging jackpots and fills, monitoring soft meters, and providing system-monitoring.
Player tracking cards let operators determine player behavior: time spent on specific games, what they buy, and preferences.
Iverson Gaming Systems
“As times change, technology changes,” observes Iverson Gaming Systems Vice President of New Product Development Millard Reeves. “Now, the biggest thing changing is the players. Fifteen years ago, it was hard to get a player to use a keyboard, but now, everyone has PCs. Because of that, we can do more, and be more interactive.”
On Iverson’s SLOTmaster system, “Players can be offered items on a menu, shown pictures with lists of beers and wines and mixed drinks to select from,” says Reeves.
Interactive screens invite players to other venues, such as a restaurant, golf course or spa. They can make reservations and join blackjack or slot tournaments.
IGS will introduce a new product next year—so new that it doesn’t yet have a name. “It” will introduce new sounds to the casino floor. “We have to be cognizant of not raising the overall sound level, and there is an annoyance factor. You don’t want slots making too many noises,” says Reeves.
Bally Technologies
At G2E, Bally Technologies showed what it called the “Networked Floor of the Future.” “The theme,” says Tom Doyle, vice president of product management—systems, “is that there are a lot of things you would like to see that are available today.”
Bally’s iVIEW displays provide customer communication, enable bonusing games in Bally’s “Live Rewards” program, and stream video and movies. You can order cocktails, key in valet parking and do other customer service requests.
“Using high-speed internet to the floor allows us to play a game within a game on the iVIEW,” says Doyle. “So there might be a Live Rewards tournament, and while playing a regular game you earn points toward a tournament.”
Atronic Systems
Atronic Systems’ GALAXIS player tracking and slot accounting system has eight modules, and acts as a host system to the “Crystal Web” floor network. It performs accounting, reporting, player marketing, bonus schemes and cashless gaming.
The Crystal Web Floor Network and GALAXIS manage slot machines, tables, reception and cage. Modules give in-depth reporting for single or multi-site operations.
StarSLOTS provides slot accounting and slot floor maintenance, accounting of progressive jackpots and Atronic Systems’ Floor Messenger. StarVISION provides real-time monitoring and game floor
visualization. StarJACKPOTS manages various jackpot types. StarCASHLESS supports Atronic Systems’ “CHIP CASH” smart card solution. StarCAGE supports internal casino transactions, such as revenue reconciliation with slot machines and tables, and client transactions. StarMARKETING keeps historical records of player transactions, bonus points and registration information.
With the Crystal Web Floor Messenger with Ethernet, players can order drinks and call attendants. CHIP CASH lets them redeem loyalty points for drinks, meals, gift shop purchases and rooms.
The StarMARKETING player database stores personal information, historical data of transactions, comps and accumulated bonus points, and displays theoretical win-loss and casino potential earnings.
Cadillac Jack
Cadillac Jack Inc. operates an enterprise-level gaming system with a patron management module, accounting and tax modules.
The Cadillac Jack system interfaces with many third-party systems. Its Data Warehouse employs analytical tools for customer profiling, data mining and predictive modeling.
According to David Harris, senior director of systems and game platforms, “Our slot management system also provides accounting, player tracking, ticketing and card-based wagering.”
Operators can monitor everything from individual game performance to game trend analysis. Software is loaded onto the server, and in minutes, all games update.
It tracks and stores a history of customers’ preferences including how much they wager, when they visit the casino, favorite games and denominations.
“We simply connect to servers, enabling our system to transact with not only our machines, but other vendors’ machines and systems as well,” says Harris.
Gaming Support
Gaming Support’s casino management system is called “BaseSys.” BaseSys Interface Boards provide machine-level data collection, BaseSys Player Transaction Modules provides machine-level patron interface, BaseSys Jackpot Controllers handle jackpot integration and BaseSys GMS is a software layer covering slot accounting, player tracking, cage and vault, soft and hard coin, coinless wagering and tables. It manages loyalty programs, coinless wagering, jackpots and bonusing.
According to Nick Hogan, vice president of sales and business development for Gaming Support, players can execute service requests via a machine-level Player Transaction Module, linked to a workstation-based application called BaseSys FloorView and a messaging dispatcher, which sends requests using PDAs.
FloorView gives a bird’s-eye view of all activity. “You know who’s playing, what they’re doing and what they want. We monitor the patron’s every move,” says Hogan.
Another advantage, says Hogan, is that “application options are fundamentally limitless. When we first introduced BaseSys, we marketed nothing other than the hardware layer, publishing open-standard application programming interfaces and software development kits. Operators and manufacturers could transact with the data collection layer freely and customize. Using this model, we placed many thousands of interface boards without authoring a single line of back-office application source code.”
Slot management systems are moving toward a new world without cash, with greater custom-tailored service. In this competitive environment, it’s a train that few casinos can afford to miss.
Slot management systems do things they’ve never done before. They can take drink orders. They make restaurant reservations. They are changing the way wagers are made, moving casinos toward a completely cashless environment.
Management systems give floor managers tools to identify the highest-paying machines and locations, to mine data about customers and develop targeted reward programs.
We talked to several manufacturers of such systems, many of which introduced their newest innovations at the recent Global Gaming Expo. There is no shortage of innovation coming down the road. Here are some examples:
International Game Technology
The big news at the leading slot manufacturer’s IGT Systems division is the acquisition of Mariposa Technologies, producer of the top customer relationship management tool in the business. The acquisition allowed IGT to add data warehousing and reporting and analytical tools to its Advantage slot accounting and player tracking system.
According to Steve Miller, product line director of network systems, for two years IGT has been rewriting its Advantage system. “Version 8.0 is the biggest and most robust of our software so far,” he says.
Advantage provides real-time player data and slot analytics combined with Mariposa. “Data warehousing is inherent in this system, as are multiple forms of reporting,” says Miller.
Data can be imported into an Excel spreadsheet or a report-writing package.
Mariposa collects data from the entire enterprise, identifying the player who may not spend much in the casino but might be worth more in the hotel or steakhouse. It also provides in-depth predictive modeling, addressing players who walk in off the street and have no history with the casino. In Las Vegas, 30 percent-40 percent of players don’t have loyalty cards. They can’t be tracked. Through predictive modeling, the Advantage system provides calculations to let the casino do that.
Predictive modeling has applications for floor changes. The manager can analyze games in their current format, make changes on the computer and predict the win based on those changes.
AT G2E, IGT also introduced the “EZ Pay Smart Card,” a player’s club-style card with an embedded smart chip that takes cashless gaming to a new level. It migrates from machine to machine, downloads credits and transfers them.
It can serve as a loyalty card, and may someday become a total property card, used to pay for meals and shows, and even as a room key.
Casino Data Imaging
Casino Data Imaging provides add-ons so slots managers can see a detailed floor map and get reports on nearly any aspect of the games, in its “CasinoCAD” system.
“We don’t care what the system is,” says CDI spokesman George Levine. “You can have data coming from Rocket Gaming or Cadillac Jack. They provide the hardware and software. We make the after-sales program that connects to their data source.”
It shows game floors by cabinet, denomination and all financial data associated with that distribution on one screen.
A query editor can find any particular game or group of games on the floor and create a statement—e.g., games that earn less or more than X, with a certain attribute, or 25-cent games by a particular manufacturer. It shows where they are on the floor, with details based on attributes the manager chose.
CasinoCAD’s performance indexing can compare all 5-cent machines, or all 25-cent machines of a manufacturer in a particular quadrant. It can determine if a machine has reached saturation, or is performing at expectation.
Paltronics Inc.
Paltronics’ “Random Rewards” bonusing solution for casino revenue and player retention is the newest component of the company’s “One Link” slot management system.
According to Terri Cooper, Paltronics COO and CFO, with Random Rewards the casino can set tight configurations of local- and wide-area prizes combining play-funded pools and promotional dollars. Operators can reward prizes to carded or uncarded players and higher rewards according to levels of club membership.
The system can be stand-alone, on several banks or can link games in the entire casino.
AVL, another component of One Link, is a player’s personal service and entertainment window that provides bonusing games; streaming media and live broadcast content; access to loyalty programs, amenities and property information; and marketing messages.
It is retrofitted on existing hardware to create the “Player Station.”
This links players to loyalty programs on slot machines and table games. Bonus games and programs follow them to table and pit areas, restaurants and fitness rooms.
AVL allows messaging across many platforms.
Paltronics’ One Link slot system with AVL can “tailor marketing programs, bonusing systems, customized promos and even direct marketing messaging down to the individual patron,” says Cooper.
Konami Gaming
The Konami Casino Management System, or KCMS, utilizes Fortune 100 company architecture on a TCP/IP network from slot machines to KCMS Oracle database. This gives real-time access to patron tracking information, including detailed reports of each game in multi-game or multi-denominational machines. It performs theoretical tracking by game and patron, even for multiple properties.
“We are the only system that can stream live video directly to the slot machine via our True-Time Entertainment LCD panel,” says Marketing Manager Leah Steinhardt.
The True-Time Player Interface displays cross-marketing messages on restaurants and events, broadcasting video and alerting patrons to promotions. The True-Time Employee Interface helps floor personnel maintain slot machine operations,
including acknowledging jackpots and fills, monitoring soft meters, and providing system-monitoring.
Player tracking cards let operators determine player behavior: time spent on specific games, what they buy, and preferences.
Iverson Gaming Systems
“As times change, technology changes,” observes Iverson Gaming Systems Vice President of New Product Development Millard Reeves. “Now, the biggest thing changing is the players. Fifteen years ago, it was hard to get a player to use a keyboard, but now, everyone has PCs. Because of that, we can do more, and be more interactive.”
On Iverson’s SLOTmaster system, “Players can be offered items on a menu, shown pictures with lists of beers and wines and mixed drinks to select from,” says Reeves.
Interactive screens invite players to other venues, such as a restaurant, golf course or spa. They can make reservations and join blackjack or slot tournaments.
IGS will introduce a new product next year—so new that it doesn’t yet have a name. “It” will introduce new sounds to the casino floor. “We have to be cognizant of not raising the overall sound level, and there is an annoyance factor. You don’t want slots making too many noises,” says Reeves.
Bally Technologies
At G2E, Bally Technologies showed what it called the “Networked Floor of the Future.” “The theme,” says Tom Doyle, vice president of product management—systems, “is that there are a lot of things you would like to see that are available today.”
Bally’s iVIEW displays provide customer communication, enable bonusing games in Bally’s “Live Rewards” program, and stream video and movies. You can order cocktails, key in valet parking and do other customer service requests.
“Using high-speed internet to the floor allows us to play a game within a game on the iVIEW,” says Doyle. “So there might be a Live Rewards tournament, and while playing a regular game you earn points toward a tournament.”
Atronic Systems
Atronic Systems’ GALAXIS player tracking and slot accounting system has eight modules, and acts as a host system to the “Crystal Web” floor network. It performs accounting, reporting, player marketing, bonus schemes and cashless gaming.
The Crystal Web Floor Network and GALAXIS manage slot machines, tables, reception and cage. Modules give in-depth reporting for single or multi-site operations.
StarSLOTS provides slot accounting and slot floor maintenance, accounting of progressive jackpots and Atronic Systems’ Floor Messenger. StarVISION provides real-time monitoring and game floor
visualization. StarJACKPOTS manages various jackpot types. StarCASHLESS supports Atronic Systems’ “CHIP CASH” smart card solution. StarCAGE supports internal casino transactions, such as revenue reconciliation with slot machines and tables, and client transactions. StarMARKETING keeps historical records of player transactions, bonus points and registration information.
With the Crystal Web Floor Messenger with Ethernet, players can order drinks and call attendants. CHIP CASH lets them redeem loyalty points for drinks, meals, gift shop purchases and rooms.
The StarMARKETING player database stores personal information, historical data of transactions, comps and accumulated bonus points, and displays theoretical win-loss and casino potential earnings.
Cadillac Jack
Cadillac Jack Inc. operates an enterprise-level gaming system with a patron management module, accounting and tax modules.
The Cadillac Jack system interfaces with many third-party systems. Its Data Warehouse employs analytical tools for customer profiling, data mining and predictive modeling.
According to David Harris, senior director of systems and game platforms, “Our slot management system also provides accounting, player tracking, ticketing and card-based wagering.”
Operators can monitor everything from individual game performance to game trend analysis. Software is loaded onto the server, and in minutes, all games update.
It tracks and stores a history of customers’ preferences including how much they wager, when they visit the casino, favorite games and denominations.
“We simply connect to servers, enabling our system to transact with not only our machines, but other vendors’ machines and systems as well,” says Harris.
Gaming Support
Gaming Support’s casino management system is called “BaseSys.” BaseSys Interface Boards provide machine-level data collection, BaseSys Player Transaction Modules provides machine-level patron interface, BaseSys Jackpot Controllers handle jackpot integration and BaseSys GMS is a software layer covering slot accounting, player tracking, cage and vault, soft and hard coin, coinless wagering and tables. It manages loyalty programs, coinless wagering, jackpots and bonusing.
According to Nick Hogan, vice president of sales and business development for Gaming Support, players can execute service requests via a machine-level Player Transaction Module, linked to a workstation-based application called BaseSys FloorView and a messaging dispatcher, which sends requests using PDAs.
FloorView gives a bird’s-eye view of all activity. “You know who’s playing, what they’re doing and what they want. We monitor the patron’s every move,” says Hogan.
Another advantage, says Hogan, is that “application options are fundamentally limitless. When we first introduced BaseSys, we marketed nothing other than the hardware layer, publishing open-standard application programming interfaces and software development kits. Operators and manufacturers could transact with the data collection layer freely and customize. Using this model, we placed many thousands of interface boards without authoring a single line of back-office application source code.”
Slot management systems are moving toward a new world without cash, with greater custom-tailored service. In this competitive environment, it’s a train that few casinos can afford to miss.
Interview with TJ Matthews, Chairman & CEO, IGT
inte
Interview with Tracey Chernay, Transact Corp.
Interview With Matt Muta, Managing Director, Microsoft
Casino Communications,
Q & A - Adam Rosenberg
Adam Rosenberg is a managing director and co-head of gaming investment banking at Goldman Sachs. With 10 years of experience at Goldman Sachs, Rosenberg helps direct a gaming practice that focuses on casino operators, gaming technology companies and gaming equipment manufacturers. His group has been involved in advising Texas Pacific Group in its acquisition of Harrah’s Entertainment with Apollo, financing the Elad Group and IDB in their acquisition of the New Frontier site, advising the Ethos consortium in its acquisition of South Africa’s Gold Reef Resorts, financing Las Vegas Sands in connection with all of its projects in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore as well as running the Las Vegas Sands IPO and in many other industry transactions. Rosenberg spoke with Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in Las Vegas last November.
GGB: How is the trend toward private equity investments impacting the gaming business?
Rosenberg: The rise in interest from private equity has largely matched the positive change in the social attitude toward gaming, and the broader realization that these are legitimate businesses with very attractive operations. Dramatic growth in the private equity capital base has forced these funds to expand their investment universe as they have gradually become more comfortable with the gaming regulatory and licensing processes. At the same time, they have come to appreciate how resilient the gaming industry has been through economic cycles, how leverageable the assets that underlie these businesses can be, and how attractive gaming company valuations are relative to other asset classes.
We also had a very robust debt capital markets environment for a relatively long time period. All of those things converged to create a lot of interest in the gaming industry among the private equity community. Recent volatility in the debt capital markets poses a question mark for financing strategies in the short term, but there remains a great deal of interest over the longer term for all of the fundamental reasons just discussed.
Some of the larger public and private gaming companies—and even some smaller ones—seem to be diversifying their revenue streams away from gaming. Do you think that’s a good move?
It’s not only a good move, but a necessary one. The desire for casino companies to redefine themselves as resort companies that offer gaming as one category of their offerings, but also offer a whole host of other non-gaming amenities, is part of a broad redefinition that we see going on in the gaming sector.
On the Las Vegas Strip, for example, casino resorts generate more revenue from non-gaming sources than they do from the casinos. This has coincided with the ability to attract a broader customer base—who wants to attend conventions, dine, shop and be entertained, in addition to playing in the casinos—and an increase in the average length of stay. All of which is good for business.
The Asian market, particularly in Macau, is exploding. Is it being over-hyped now, when it comes to the valuation of the companies that are participating there?
Gaming assets tend to be valued based on multiples of cash flow. I believe that best-in-class assets in the fastest-growing markets deserve premium multiples. Some companies—like Las Vegas Sands—have large amounts of their cash flow coming from Macau, which is a very attractive, very high-growth market. Moreover, much of that cash flow is not yet in place. So, if you were to focus just on in-place cash flow, and compare that to the value of the company, the multiple might appear high relative to some other companies.
But that doesn’t mean that the valuation is too high, or inappropriate in any way. You have to recognize the fact that much of Las Vegas Sands’ cash flow is coming in the future, and that cash flow is growing very rapidly. When you adjust the valuation to account for the coming cash flow growth, then the multiples don’t look so out of line. It’s a natural consequence of the strength of the business model: Extraordinary growth deserves premium valuation.
Big changes are taking place in Atlantic City. What’s your view of this market?
To remain relevant, Atlantic City has to develop the kinds of resort, spa, shopping, dining, entertainment, meeting and convention amenities that have made Las Vegas such a powerful market. Some properties in Atlantic City have deferred investing in this redefinition process for too long. Atlantic City clearly needs more hotel rooms: More hotel rooms will support more meetings and conventions, which will encourage more air lift and infrastructure investment, which will in turn lead to more multi-day stays and utilization of all of the above—it is a virtuous circle.
And the beauty of the virtuous circle is that it increases not just gaming spend but also non-gaming spend. The new projects that are being built will move Atlantic City in that direction, making this market a healthy and profitable place to invest capital. And we are putting our money where our mouth is: Whitehall Funds, the real estate principalling arm of Goldman Sachs, has invested capital in developing a casino-resort site on the south end of the Boardwalk.
Let’s talk about the manufacturing sector. It’s been flat for the past couple of years. Will server-based gaming revive those companies?
People mean many different things when they refer to “server-based gaming,” but one thing is clear: There’s a great deal of excitement around all kinds of technology that will enhance the experience for gaming customers in the coming years and create additional revenue streams for the gaming technology companies and equipment manufacturers.
Much of this is already happening: Electronic table games, the convergence of slots with lotteries, mobile device-based gaming, server-based gaming, exciting immersive experiences—the technology side of the business is continuously improving, and the creativity and innovation that this industry has shown has never been more exciting than it is right now.
GGB: How is the trend toward private equity investments impacting the gaming business?
Rosenberg: The rise in interest from private equity has largely matched the positive change in the social attitude toward gaming, and the broader realization that these are legitimate businesses with very attractive operations. Dramatic growth in the private equity capital base has forced these funds to expand their investment universe as they have gradually become more comfortable with the gaming regulatory and licensing processes. At the same time, they have come to appreciate how resilient the gaming industry has been through economic cycles, how leverageable the assets that underlie these businesses can be, and how attractive gaming company valuations are relative to other asset classes.
We also had a very robust debt capital markets environment for a relatively long time period. All of those things converged to create a lot of interest in the gaming industry among the private equity community. Recent volatility in the debt capital markets poses a question mark for financing strategies in the short term, but there remains a great deal of interest over the longer term for all of the fundamental reasons just discussed.
Some of the larger public and private gaming companies—and even some smaller ones—seem to be diversifying their revenue streams away from gaming. Do you think that’s a good move?
It’s not only a good move, but a necessary one. The desire for casino companies to redefine themselves as resort companies that offer gaming as one category of their offerings, but also offer a whole host of other non-gaming amenities, is part of a broad redefinition that we see going on in the gaming sector.
On the Las Vegas Strip, for example, casino resorts generate more revenue from non-gaming sources than they do from the casinos. This has coincided with the ability to attract a broader customer base—who wants to attend conventions, dine, shop and be entertained, in addition to playing in the casinos—and an increase in the average length of stay. All of which is good for business.
The Asian market, particularly in Macau, is exploding. Is it being over-hyped now, when it comes to the valuation of the companies that are participating there?
Gaming assets tend to be valued based on multiples of cash flow. I believe that best-in-class assets in the fastest-growing markets deserve premium multiples. Some companies—like Las Vegas Sands—have large amounts of their cash flow coming from Macau, which is a very attractive, very high-growth market. Moreover, much of that cash flow is not yet in place. So, if you were to focus just on in-place cash flow, and compare that to the value of the company, the multiple might appear high relative to some other companies.
But that doesn’t mean that the valuation is too high, or inappropriate in any way. You have to recognize the fact that much of Las Vegas Sands’ cash flow is coming in the future, and that cash flow is growing very rapidly. When you adjust the valuation to account for the coming cash flow growth, then the multiples don’t look so out of line. It’s a natural consequence of the strength of the business model: Extraordinary growth deserves premium valuation.
Big changes are taking place in Atlantic City. What’s your view of this market?
To remain relevant, Atlantic City has to develop the kinds of resort, spa, shopping, dining, entertainment, meeting and convention amenities that have made Las Vegas such a powerful market. Some properties in Atlantic City have deferred investing in this redefinition process for too long. Atlantic City clearly needs more hotel rooms: More hotel rooms will support more meetings and conventions, which will encourage more air lift and infrastructure investment, which will in turn lead to more multi-day stays and utilization of all of the above—it is a virtuous circle.
And the beauty of the virtuous circle is that it increases not just gaming spend but also non-gaming spend. The new projects that are being built will move Atlantic City in that direction, making this market a healthy and profitable place to invest capital. And we are putting our money where our mouth is: Whitehall Funds, the real estate principalling arm of Goldman Sachs, has invested capital in developing a casino-resort site on the south end of the Boardwalk.
Let’s talk about the manufacturing sector. It’s been flat for the past couple of years. Will server-based gaming revive those companies?
People mean many different things when they refer to “server-based gaming,” but one thing is clear: There’s a great deal of excitement around all kinds of technology that will enhance the experience for gaming customers in the coming years and create additional revenue streams for the gaming technology companies and equipment manufacturers.
Much of this is already happening: Electronic table games, the convergence of slots with lotteries, mobile device-based gaming, server-based gaming, exciting immersive experiences—the technology side of the business is continuously improving, and the creativity and innovation that this industry has shown has never been more exciting than it is right now.
People,
People
Prater leaving Bally; Olson-Reyes joins
Marcus Prater, senior vice president of marketing for slot manufacturer Bally Technologies, left the company last month after a nine-year run in the marketing department.
Prater, who joined Bally after heading up marketing for several years at Sigma Gaming, orchestrated the marketing efforts related to Bally’s resurgence of success over the past few years. He is moving back to his home state of Idaho to address family issues. At press time, Bally had begun a search for his successor.
Meanwhile, Bally hired marketing and PR veteran Laura Olson-Reyes as director of corporate communications, in charge of overseeing all of the manufacturer’s media relations and its communications strategy.
Olson-Reyes has held casino industry positions for 15 years, most notably as senior manager of communications at Aristocrat Technologies. She also held marketing positions at Harrah’s Entertainment and Stratosphere Las Vegas. Most recently, she was director of marketing communications for SellingSource, a marketing and technology provider to online lenders.
Prairie Island names casino GM
The Prairie Island Indian Community has named Allan Kronberg the new general manager of its Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota.
Kronberg was formerly the property’s hospitality director. Prior to that, he was assistant general manager of Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Canada, and chief operating officer of two other hotel properties.
Kronberg will oversee an expansion of Treasure Island that will see the addition of 230 hotel rooms, a 30,000-square-foot event and convention center, and a family fun center. The expansion will take place beginning next summer.
Hard Rock Hollywood names marketing VP
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, has named Joel Rovics vice president of marketing. Rovics will be responsible for strategic planning, research, direct mail and database marketing, as well as analysis, budgeting and entertainment.
Rovics was previously vice president of marketing for Silverton Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and before that, served as director of marketing for Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, run by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. From 2004 to 2006, he was the executive director of marketing at Fantasy Springs Casino run by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, where he coordinated the grand opening festivities for the $175 million expansion. Prior to that he was executive director for the Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana and director of marketing for Harrah’s St. Louis.
Boyd names CFO, promotes Santoro
Boyd Gaming Corporation announced that Josh Hirsberg, a 17-year veteran of the gaming industry, will join the company as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Hirsberg will succeed Paul Chakmak, who was names senior VP and chief operating officer.
Hirsberg was most recently the chief financial officer of EdgeStar Partners, a Las Vegas-based resort development concern. He previously held several senior-level finance positions in the gaming industry, including vice president and treasurer for Caesars Entertainment and vice president of strategic planning and investor relations for Harrah’s Entertainment.
Separately, Boyd Gaming announced the promotion of Jeff Santoro to senior vice president and treasurer, reporting to Hirsberg. Santoro formerly was the company’s vice president and controller.
Santoro joined Boyd in 1997 as director of financial reporting, and was named VP and controller in 2001. He spent 10 years with Deloitte and Touche before joining Boyd Gaming.
Hirsberg and Santoro assume their new positions on January 1.
Grand Hinckley names VPs
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe named new marketing vice presidents for its Grand Casino Hinckley and Grand Casino Mille Lacs properties in Minnesota.
Kevin McNair has been named corporate vice president of marketing for both Grand properties, and Becky Buster has been named vice president of marketing for Grand Casino Hinckley.
McNair was most recently senior director of marketing for Pinnacle Entertainment’s Boomtown Hotel and Casino in Reno. Buster was director of sales and marketing at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming in Florida.
Aristocrat Europe names marketing manager
Aristocrat Technologies Europe named Olga Pleguezuelos as its new marketing and
communications manager. She is a veteran marketing executive with experience at Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola and several other blue-chip companies.
Marcus Prater, senior vice president of marketing for slot manufacturer Bally Technologies, left the company last month after a nine-year run in the marketing department.
Prater, who joined Bally after heading up marketing for several years at Sigma Gaming, orchestrated the marketing efforts related to Bally’s resurgence of success over the past few years. He is moving back to his home state of Idaho to address family issues. At press time, Bally had begun a search for his successor.
Meanwhile, Bally hired marketing and PR veteran Laura Olson-Reyes as director of corporate communications, in charge of overseeing all of the manufacturer’s media relations and its communications strategy.
Olson-Reyes has held casino industry positions for 15 years, most notably as senior manager of communications at Aristocrat Technologies. She also held marketing positions at Harrah’s Entertainment and Stratosphere Las Vegas. Most recently, she was director of marketing communications for SellingSource, a marketing and technology provider to online lenders.
Prairie Island names casino GM
The Prairie Island Indian Community has named Allan Kronberg the new general manager of its Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota.
Kronberg was formerly the property’s hospitality director. Prior to that, he was assistant general manager of Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Canada, and chief operating officer of two other hotel properties.
Kronberg will oversee an expansion of Treasure Island that will see the addition of 230 hotel rooms, a 30,000-square-foot event and convention center, and a family fun center. The expansion will take place beginning next summer.
Hard Rock Hollywood names marketing VP
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, has named Joel Rovics vice president of marketing. Rovics will be responsible for strategic planning, research, direct mail and database marketing, as well as analysis, budgeting and entertainment.
Rovics was previously vice president of marketing for Silverton Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and before that, served as director of marketing for Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, run by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. From 2004 to 2006, he was the executive director of marketing at Fantasy Springs Casino run by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, where he coordinated the grand opening festivities for the $175 million expansion. Prior to that he was executive director for the Casino Aztar in Evansville, Indiana and director of marketing for Harrah’s St. Louis.
Boyd names CFO, promotes Santoro
Boyd Gaming Corporation announced that Josh Hirsberg, a 17-year veteran of the gaming industry, will join the company as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Hirsberg will succeed Paul Chakmak, who was names senior VP and chief operating officer.
Hirsberg was most recently the chief financial officer of EdgeStar Partners, a Las Vegas-based resort development concern. He previously held several senior-level finance positions in the gaming industry, including vice president and treasurer for Caesars Entertainment and vice president of strategic planning and investor relations for Harrah’s Entertainment.
Separately, Boyd Gaming announced the promotion of Jeff Santoro to senior vice president and treasurer, reporting to Hirsberg. Santoro formerly was the company’s vice president and controller.
Santoro joined Boyd in 1997 as director of financial reporting, and was named VP and controller in 2001. He spent 10 years with Deloitte and Touche before joining Boyd Gaming.
Hirsberg and Santoro assume their new positions on January 1.
Grand Hinckley names VPs
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe named new marketing vice presidents for its Grand Casino Hinckley and Grand Casino Mille Lacs properties in Minnesota.
Kevin McNair has been named corporate vice president of marketing for both Grand properties, and Becky Buster has been named vice president of marketing for Grand Casino Hinckley.
McNair was most recently senior director of marketing for Pinnacle Entertainment’s Boomtown Hotel and Casino in Reno. Buster was director of sales and marketing at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming in Florida.
Aristocrat Europe names marketing manager
Aristocrat Technologies Europe named Olga Pleguezuelos as its new marketing and
communications manager. She is a veteran marketing executive with experience at Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola and several other blue-chip companies.
Goods & Services,
Goods & Services
PacificNet to acquire
Octavian International
China-based PacificNet, Inc. has signed an agreement to take 100 percent ownership of Octavian International Limited. The move accelerates PacificNet’s increasingly successful venture into gaming, which includes the recent receipt of a license to operate a China Welfare Lottery products concession.
The deal is contingent on the usual conditions, including the completion of due diligence on Octavian. If satisfied, the NASDAQ-listed PacificNet (PACT) will issue restricted shares of PACT approximating 19.5 percent of PacificNet’s outstanding shares. A cash performance bonus is also part of the arrangement.
Tony Tong, CEO of PacificNet, said: “We are very excited at the prospect of adding Octavian’s global gaming brand name and distribution channels to PacificNet’s gaming strategy.”
“We are very excited about working with Octavian,” said Victor Tong, president of PacificNet.
“Octavian’s experienced creative development teams are able to create proven games that are tailored to individual jurisdictions and are highly cost-effective.”
Harmen Brenninkmeijer, CEO of Octavian, will become an executive director of PacificNet and a member of the board of directors, and continue to serve as CEO of the Octavian subsidiary. Upon completion of the earn-out provisions and profit targets in the acquisition agreement, Brenninkmeijer will become president of PacificNet’s Global Gaming Division.
Said Brenninkmeijer, “Being part of a company with the market presence and profile of PacificNet would significantly enhance Octavian’s global growth potential.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
AC Coin & Slot conducts Caribbean roundtable
The “Caribbean Roundtable,” an intimate conference presented for its customers in the region, was held in December by AC Coin & Slot at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Resort in Florida. The two-day event brought together slot executives from Caribbean casinos and cruise lines to hear some of the most cutting-edge information available in the industry today.
Some of the speakers at the roundtable included Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International; James Maida, president of Gaming Laboratories International; Rodney Dofort, vice president of casino operations for Carnival Cruise Lines; Frank Neborsky, vice president of slot operations for the Mohegan Sun; Paul Tjoumakaris, senior VP of slot operations at Seminole Hard Rock; Fred Gushin, managing director, Spectrum Gaming Group; Roger Gros, publisher, Global Gaming Business magazine; Tom Sykes, principal of SOSH Architects; David Wolfe, principal, Bridger Capital and many more.
“There’s always so much going on at the big trade shows and conferences that we believed our Caribbean customers could benefit from a smaller setting and an ability to engage in an interactive exchange that is truly beneficial to their jobs,” said Mac Seelig, president of AC Coin & Slot.
Innocore signs distribution deals
Innocore Gaming Ltd. (formerly Densitron), a leading supplier of imbedded circuit boards for gaming applications, has signed two new exclusive representation and distribution agreements for Spain and Latin America.
The first agreement extends the company’s collaboration with distributor Money Controls to the fast-growing gaming markets in the countries of Central and South America. Under the deal, Money Controls will distribute Innocore products throughout the Latin American region.
For the Spanish and Portuguese regions, Innocore has tapped Barcelona-based Tovico as its distributor. Tovico is headed by Antonio Tombas. Formerly with 3M Touch Systems, Tombas is a gaming industry veteran who promises to increase Innocore’s presence in the region.
“I am delighted to represent a brand that has gained so much respect and attention over the last few years,” said Tombas. “I am confident many of the opportunities in this region will find a perfect and reliable solution in the products that Innocore offers.”
Buyout rumors surround
Shuffle Master
Shares of table game supplier Shuffle Master rose last month amid rumors that CEO Mark Yoseloff is likely to step down as chairman and chief executive officer and that the company may be an acquisition target as a result.
Bill Lerner, an analyst for Deutsche Bank North America, reported that Shuffle Master has hired a search firm to find a replacement for Yoseloff. Coupled with CFO Richard Baldwin’s recent resignation, Lerner speculated that the moves will spark takeover interest in the company. He noted Shuffle Master’s strong cash flow and surging revenue as evidence the company is a prime candidate for acquisition.
Videobet’s Midas touch
Server-supported gaming supplier Videobet is launching its new terminal, named Midas.
The slim, dual-screen cabinet is designed for a wide range of gaming operations. Ergonomic design features and dual screens allow play while standing or sitting. The Midas supports cash-in/cash-out or TITO payments. The top screen is linked to Videobet’s Promo-Top system, which allows for display of various promotions directly to the player.
The Midas can operate in stand-alone and server-supported configurations, allowing automatic download of new games, centralized reporting and machine settings, and connection to online progressive jackpots. A cross-platform network feature allows continuous play via mobile phone or online, with just one account.
Shmuel Weiss, CEO of Videobet, said, “We are extremely excited with Videobet’s latest product, which offers operators the advantage of configuring our cutting-edge software on the latest and most attractive gaming cabinets being produced in the industry today.”
GPI defends makeup of chips
Gaming Partners International, the world’s largest manufacturer of gaming chips, says the lead content in its products is minimal, and no cause for concern. Government analysts agreed, saying it’s unlikely that someone could be hurt by handling chips that contain lead.
But health officials in Arizona, where the story broke, issued a public health alert, and the president of a Washington-based public safety group has demanded an immediate recall of the chips.
The Las Vegas Sun reported that Joan Claybrook, of U.S. Public Interest Research Group, was “shocked” by the high lead content—up to 45 percent—in some of the chips tested. Gaming Partners countered that those chips may have been manufactured years ago, when oversight was much less strict. Meantime, dealers are getting nervous.
“I was outraged about our exposure to the lead in one of the major tools of our trade,” one wrote on www.caesarspalacedealers.com.
Another asked, “Why should we constantly be subjected to toxic poisons and have no say?”
The alarm was first sounded by a Phoenix TV news show, which reported that particles of lead-based paint flew off the chips when they were dropped, posing a hazard for casino employees, patrons—even kids. Lead poisoning can cause anemia, infertility, miscarriages and learning disabilities. Concerns about lead in toys has led to recent sweeping recalls.
Lead content in gaming chips was phased out in the 1990s. Chips made today by Gaming Partners contain an average lead content of .003 percent, according to Gaming Partners’ CEO Gerard Charlier. Though casinos typically replace old chips every few years, some are still around and are even considered collectible.
Chipco International President John Kendall says his chip manufacturing company has not used lead for more than a decade.
“We recognized at that time there could be a problem,” said Kendall. “I’m surprised they are still using any lead at all.”
In December, GPI reported it had commissioned a scientific study conducted by Exponent, Inc., a multidisciplinary scientific and engineering consulting firm that performs in-depth scientific research and analysis throughout the world. Exponent concluded that, under the scenarios evaluated, it is unlikely that the handling of Paulson gaming chips would produce any significant health risk to the players or dealers.
“Exponent recreated a gaming environment complete with blackjack tables, players and
dealer and monitored the routine handling of the Paulson chips by the players and dealer as well as sampled the air around the gaming table,” said Charlier. “We are very pleased with the test results which are consistent with our position that when used as intended there is no unacceptable risk to either casino employees or playing public pertaining to the amount of lead in Paulson chips.”
Winter ’08 Gaming Directory on sale now
The Winter 2008 Gaming Business Directory is now available from Casino City Press.
With 800 pages of up-to-the-minute information, the directory covers more than 4,750 global gaming properties and 650 corporate and Native American property owners, and includes contact info for 28,000 casino and gaming
executives.
Also included is a cross-referenced list of planned properties, Class II and Class III tribal gaming facilities, riverboat casinos, casino cruises, cruise ships, card rooms, racinos, and horse and dog tracks, along with top casinos ranked by number of gaming positions, slots, table games, and hotel rooms.
The Gaming Business Directory is available in print, on CD, and online at www.GamingDirectory.com. For more information, visit www.CasinoCityPress.com or call 1-800-490-1715 ext 610.
Foxwoods to use PGIC table management
System supplier Progressive Gaming International Corporation announced that Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world’s largest gaming operation, has signed a deal to install the Table iD table-game management system, a joint-venture system produced by Progressive in partnership with International Game Technology and chip supplier Gaming Partners International.
The Table iD system uses radio-frequency identification technology imbedded in gaming chips to track every transaction in a table game operation, for accounting, player tracking and security purposes. Foxwoods will install the system on 250 table games.
As part of the contract, Foxwoods will purchase 1 million gaming chips imbedded with 13.56 MHz RFID microchips from Gaming Partners International. Foxwoods selected the high-frequency RFID gaming chips bearing the Paulson brand, along with GPI’s Chip Inventory System to manage the float for the majority of its table game operation.
The RFID technology is licensed by Progressive Gaming through its strategic partnership with Magellan Technology, the providers of the RFID products, and the PJM protocol used for item level identification systems that provide reliable high-speed processing of items including stacked gaming chips.
Foxwoods is planning to go live with the RFID chips implemented with Table iD and CIS at the anticipated May 2008 opening of MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
Bally/Pechanga deal sealed
Bally Technologies, Inc. held a signing ceremony during the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas to commemorate its contract with the Pechanga Resort & Casino, located in Temecula, California. The agreement provides a complete slot accounting and casino management system solution, advanced bonusing technology and more than 3,600 iVIEW interactive player-communication displays for all of Pechanga’s gaming machines. The contract is Bally Technologies’ most comprehensive systems agreement ever.
On hand for the commemorative signing at G2E were (from left): Ramesh Srinivasan,
executive vice president, Bally Systems Division; Buddy Frank, Pechanga Casino
vice president of slot operations; Jim Munoa,
second vice president, Pechanga Development Corporation; John Palinkas, first vice president, Pechanga Development Corporation; Lorraine Cebollero, Pechanga vice president of marketing; Bally CEO Richard Haddrill; and Gavin Issacs, Bally executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Octavian International
China-based PacificNet, Inc. has signed an agreement to take 100 percent ownership of Octavian International Limited. The move accelerates PacificNet’s increasingly successful venture into gaming, which includes the recent receipt of a license to operate a China Welfare Lottery products concession.
The deal is contingent on the usual conditions, including the completion of due diligence on Octavian. If satisfied, the NASDAQ-listed PacificNet (PACT) will issue restricted shares of PACT approximating 19.5 percent of PacificNet’s outstanding shares. A cash performance bonus is also part of the arrangement.
Tony Tong, CEO of PacificNet, said: “We are very excited at the prospect of adding Octavian’s global gaming brand name and distribution channels to PacificNet’s gaming strategy.”
“We are very excited about working with Octavian,” said Victor Tong, president of PacificNet.
“Octavian’s experienced creative development teams are able to create proven games that are tailored to individual jurisdictions and are highly cost-effective.”
Harmen Brenninkmeijer, CEO of Octavian, will become an executive director of PacificNet and a member of the board of directors, and continue to serve as CEO of the Octavian subsidiary. Upon completion of the earn-out provisions and profit targets in the acquisition agreement, Brenninkmeijer will become president of PacificNet’s Global Gaming Division.
Said Brenninkmeijer, “Being part of a company with the market presence and profile of PacificNet would significantly enhance Octavian’s global growth potential.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
AC Coin & Slot conducts Caribbean roundtable
The “Caribbean Roundtable,” an intimate conference presented for its customers in the region, was held in December by AC Coin & Slot at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino Resort in Florida. The two-day event brought together slot executives from Caribbean casinos and cruise lines to hear some of the most cutting-edge information available in the industry today.
Some of the speakers at the roundtable included Jim Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International; James Maida, president of Gaming Laboratories International; Rodney Dofort, vice president of casino operations for Carnival Cruise Lines; Frank Neborsky, vice president of slot operations for the Mohegan Sun; Paul Tjoumakaris, senior VP of slot operations at Seminole Hard Rock; Fred Gushin, managing director, Spectrum Gaming Group; Roger Gros, publisher, Global Gaming Business magazine; Tom Sykes, principal of SOSH Architects; David Wolfe, principal, Bridger Capital and many more.
“There’s always so much going on at the big trade shows and conferences that we believed our Caribbean customers could benefit from a smaller setting and an ability to engage in an interactive exchange that is truly beneficial to their jobs,” said Mac Seelig, president of AC Coin & Slot.
Innocore signs distribution deals
Innocore Gaming Ltd. (formerly Densitron), a leading supplier of imbedded circuit boards for gaming applications, has signed two new exclusive representation and distribution agreements for Spain and Latin America.
The first agreement extends the company’s collaboration with distributor Money Controls to the fast-growing gaming markets in the countries of Central and South America. Under the deal, Money Controls will distribute Innocore products throughout the Latin American region.
For the Spanish and Portuguese regions, Innocore has tapped Barcelona-based Tovico as its distributor. Tovico is headed by Antonio Tombas. Formerly with 3M Touch Systems, Tombas is a gaming industry veteran who promises to increase Innocore’s presence in the region.
“I am delighted to represent a brand that has gained so much respect and attention over the last few years,” said Tombas. “I am confident many of the opportunities in this region will find a perfect and reliable solution in the products that Innocore offers.”
Buyout rumors surround
Shuffle Master
Shares of table game supplier Shuffle Master rose last month amid rumors that CEO Mark Yoseloff is likely to step down as chairman and chief executive officer and that the company may be an acquisition target as a result.
Bill Lerner, an analyst for Deutsche Bank North America, reported that Shuffle Master has hired a search firm to find a replacement for Yoseloff. Coupled with CFO Richard Baldwin’s recent resignation, Lerner speculated that the moves will spark takeover interest in the company. He noted Shuffle Master’s strong cash flow and surging revenue as evidence the company is a prime candidate for acquisition.
Videobet’s Midas touch
Server-supported gaming supplier Videobet is launching its new terminal, named Midas.
The slim, dual-screen cabinet is designed for a wide range of gaming operations. Ergonomic design features and dual screens allow play while standing or sitting. The Midas supports cash-in/cash-out or TITO payments. The top screen is linked to Videobet’s Promo-Top system, which allows for display of various promotions directly to the player.
The Midas can operate in stand-alone and server-supported configurations, allowing automatic download of new games, centralized reporting and machine settings, and connection to online progressive jackpots. A cross-platform network feature allows continuous play via mobile phone or online, with just one account.
Shmuel Weiss, CEO of Videobet, said, “We are extremely excited with Videobet’s latest product, which offers operators the advantage of configuring our cutting-edge software on the latest and most attractive gaming cabinets being produced in the industry today.”
GPI defends makeup of chips
Gaming Partners International, the world’s largest manufacturer of gaming chips, says the lead content in its products is minimal, and no cause for concern. Government analysts agreed, saying it’s unlikely that someone could be hurt by handling chips that contain lead.
But health officials in Arizona, where the story broke, issued a public health alert, and the president of a Washington-based public safety group has demanded an immediate recall of the chips.
The Las Vegas Sun reported that Joan Claybrook, of U.S. Public Interest Research Group, was “shocked” by the high lead content—up to 45 percent—in some of the chips tested. Gaming Partners countered that those chips may have been manufactured years ago, when oversight was much less strict. Meantime, dealers are getting nervous.
“I was outraged about our exposure to the lead in one of the major tools of our trade,” one wrote on www.caesarspalacedealers.com.
Another asked, “Why should we constantly be subjected to toxic poisons and have no say?”
The alarm was first sounded by a Phoenix TV news show, which reported that particles of lead-based paint flew off the chips when they were dropped, posing a hazard for casino employees, patrons—even kids. Lead poisoning can cause anemia, infertility, miscarriages and learning disabilities. Concerns about lead in toys has led to recent sweeping recalls.
Lead content in gaming chips was phased out in the 1990s. Chips made today by Gaming Partners contain an average lead content of .003 percent, according to Gaming Partners’ CEO Gerard Charlier. Though casinos typically replace old chips every few years, some are still around and are even considered collectible.
Chipco International President John Kendall says his chip manufacturing company has not used lead for more than a decade.
“We recognized at that time there could be a problem,” said Kendall. “I’m surprised they are still using any lead at all.”
In December, GPI reported it had commissioned a scientific study conducted by Exponent, Inc., a multidisciplinary scientific and engineering consulting firm that performs in-depth scientific research and analysis throughout the world. Exponent concluded that, under the scenarios evaluated, it is unlikely that the handling of Paulson gaming chips would produce any significant health risk to the players or dealers.
“Exponent recreated a gaming environment complete with blackjack tables, players and
dealer and monitored the routine handling of the Paulson chips by the players and dealer as well as sampled the air around the gaming table,” said Charlier. “We are very pleased with the test results which are consistent with our position that when used as intended there is no unacceptable risk to either casino employees or playing public pertaining to the amount of lead in Paulson chips.”
Winter ’08 Gaming Directory on sale now
The Winter 2008 Gaming Business Directory is now available from Casino City Press.
With 800 pages of up-to-the-minute information, the directory covers more than 4,750 global gaming properties and 650 corporate and Native American property owners, and includes contact info for 28,000 casino and gaming
executives.
Also included is a cross-referenced list of planned properties, Class II and Class III tribal gaming facilities, riverboat casinos, casino cruises, cruise ships, card rooms, racinos, and horse and dog tracks, along with top casinos ranked by number of gaming positions, slots, table games, and hotel rooms.
The Gaming Business Directory is available in print, on CD, and online at www.GamingDirectory.com. For more information, visit www.CasinoCityPress.com or call 1-800-490-1715 ext 610.
Foxwoods to use PGIC table management
System supplier Progressive Gaming International Corporation announced that Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world’s largest gaming operation, has signed a deal to install the Table iD table-game management system, a joint-venture system produced by Progressive in partnership with International Game Technology and chip supplier Gaming Partners International.
The Table iD system uses radio-frequency identification technology imbedded in gaming chips to track every transaction in a table game operation, for accounting, player tracking and security purposes. Foxwoods will install the system on 250 table games.
As part of the contract, Foxwoods will purchase 1 million gaming chips imbedded with 13.56 MHz RFID microchips from Gaming Partners International. Foxwoods selected the high-frequency RFID gaming chips bearing the Paulson brand, along with GPI’s Chip Inventory System to manage the float for the majority of its table game operation.
The RFID technology is licensed by Progressive Gaming through its strategic partnership with Magellan Technology, the providers of the RFID products, and the PJM protocol used for item level identification systems that provide reliable high-speed processing of items including stacked gaming chips.
Foxwoods is planning to go live with the RFID chips implemented with Table iD and CIS at the anticipated May 2008 opening of MGM Grand at Foxwoods.
Bally/Pechanga deal sealed
Bally Technologies, Inc. held a signing ceremony during the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas to commemorate its contract with the Pechanga Resort & Casino, located in Temecula, California. The agreement provides a complete slot accounting and casino management system solution, advanced bonusing technology and more than 3,600 iVIEW interactive player-communication displays for all of Pechanga’s gaming machines. The contract is Bally Technologies’ most comprehensive systems agreement ever.
On hand for the commemorative signing at G2E were (from left): Ramesh Srinivasan,
executive vice president, Bally Systems Division; Buddy Frank, Pechanga Casino
vice president of slot operations; Jim Munoa,
second vice president, Pechanga Development Corporation; John Palinkas, first vice president, Pechanga Development Corporation; Lorraine Cebollero, Pechanga vice president of marketing; Bally CEO Richard Haddrill; and Gavin Issacs, Bally executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Cutting Edge,
Cutting Edge
Green Gaming
PRODUCT: EGM Green
MANUFACTURER: Executive Gaming Monthly
Table game supplier Executive Gaming Monthly has introduced a line of environmentally friendly casino gaming furniture, luxury lounge furniture and consulting services under the name EGM Green.
The products include poker tables, blackjack tables, roulette tables, baccarat, seating products and luxury lounge furniture, all manufactured out of eco-friendly material.
The “green” casino equipment is designed to help decrease the use of natural resources and to reduce waste. All materials used are FSC-certified, recycled or reclaimed.
The casino chairs feature an ergonomic design that allows for comfort for long playing sessions, while being sturdy enough to withstand the casino environment.
EGM Green can be used to customize a casino, hotel, spa or other resort area with environmentally friendly furniture. The furniture can be designed and manufactured according to a property’s specifications. EGM can also assist in developing an individual plan for each environment, detailing a custom plan and providing a budget for the customer’s needs. EGM Green works with Josh Dorfman (Sirius Radio’s “Lazy Environmentalist”) to help casinos live up to their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
EGM Green furniture can be purchased on the company’s website, www.egmgreen.com, or for more information call Eric Hansel, EGM president, at 201-927-3526.
Move and Play
PRODUCT: Cross-Platform Gaming
MANUFACTURER: Videobet
Server-based gaming supplier Videobet has introduced a new system that allows customers to play games continuously on traditional terminals, mobile devices and personal computers.
Called “Cross-Platform Gaming,” the system allows casino customers to establish one account balance for play on all modes of terminal, even at home in jurisdictions where it is legal. For casinos, it maximizes the revenue potential of each player and guarantees multiple revenue streams, even after patrons leave the casino room.
Players using this system would visit a traditional casino equipped with server-based, networked games, and establish an account with a bank of credits for play on the casino’s gaming terminals. He would then cash out the remaining balance, and receive the money in the form of a voucher or credits on a magnetic card.
That ticket or card can be redeemed at the cage for cash, or alternatively, the casino can create an online account for the player. That online credit can then be used to play online with third-party internet casinos, or directly on a PC on which gaming software has been installed by using a password.
The player also can download the gaming software to a mobile device—a cell phone, a PDA or another type of hand-held terminal. The player can log onto the gaming provider’s service to transfer the credits earned at the traditional casino’s server to the hand-held device.
For more information, contact Videobet at +972 3 6112433, or visit the company’s website at www.videobet.com.
PRODUCT: EGM Green
MANUFACTURER: Executive Gaming Monthly
Table game supplier Executive Gaming Monthly has introduced a line of environmentally friendly casino gaming furniture, luxury lounge furniture and consulting services under the name EGM Green.
The products include poker tables, blackjack tables, roulette tables, baccarat, seating products and luxury lounge furniture, all manufactured out of eco-friendly material.
The “green” casino equipment is designed to help decrease the use of natural resources and to reduce waste. All materials used are FSC-certified, recycled or reclaimed.
The casino chairs feature an ergonomic design that allows for comfort for long playing sessions, while being sturdy enough to withstand the casino environment.
EGM Green can be used to customize a casino, hotel, spa or other resort area with environmentally friendly furniture. The furniture can be designed and manufactured according to a property’s specifications. EGM can also assist in developing an individual plan for each environment, detailing a custom plan and providing a budget for the customer’s needs. EGM Green works with Josh Dorfman (Sirius Radio’s “Lazy Environmentalist”) to help casinos live up to their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
EGM Green furniture can be purchased on the company’s website, www.egmgreen.com, or for more information call Eric Hansel, EGM president, at 201-927-3526.
Move and Play
PRODUCT: Cross-Platform Gaming
MANUFACTURER: Videobet
Server-based gaming supplier Videobet has introduced a new system that allows customers to play games continuously on traditional terminals, mobile devices and personal computers.
Called “Cross-Platform Gaming,” the system allows casino customers to establish one account balance for play on all modes of terminal, even at home in jurisdictions where it is legal. For casinos, it maximizes the revenue potential of each player and guarantees multiple revenue streams, even after patrons leave the casino room.
Players using this system would visit a traditional casino equipped with server-based, networked games, and establish an account with a bank of credits for play on the casino’s gaming terminals. He would then cash out the remaining balance, and receive the money in the form of a voucher or credits on a magnetic card.
That ticket or card can be redeemed at the cage for cash, or alternatively, the casino can create an online account for the player. That online credit can then be used to play online with third-party internet casinos, or directly on a PC on which gaming software has been installed by using a password.
The player also can download the gaming software to a mobile device—a cell phone, a PDA or another type of hand-held terminal. The player can log onto the gaming provider’s service to transfer the credits earned at the traditional casino’s server to the hand-held device.
For more information, contact Videobet at +972 3 6112433, or visit the company’s website at www.videobet.com.
Frankly Speaking,
Howdy, Pardner
If you are a frequent reader of this column (I know I am), you know that I’ve often said how I love going to Las Vegas, particularly during winter months when I can leave my normal Nor’easter-slopped shoreline in Atlantic City and go to where it’s sunny and dry.
That’s why I went out of my way this year to make sure to book my usual December trip West, to work for a week in our Las Vegas office. I had my pilot fire up the old Global Gaming Business corporate jet, had my valet pack my finest duds, and hopped in my limo for the drive to the airport.
OK, so I threw some clothes in a suitcase and drove to the airport in a ’94 Ford so I could fly coach on US Airways (motto: “Sit Back And Let Us Torture You.”). But anyway, I got to Las Vegas after a nice, quiet flight to find…
Cowboys. Thousands of cowboys. Cowboys everywhere, a-hootin’ and a-hollerin’ and a-havin’ just-a-pinch-between-yer-cheek-and-gums fun. To my horror, it was the week of the big National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas “N” Mack Center.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against cowboys, really. I mean, I’m sure we need a certain number of these “boys who deal with cows,” just so the cows get dealt with. I’ve got no problem with the Western mystique, either. Heck, I saw 3:10 to Yuma twice.
And, if you’ve ever been to a rodeo, it is obvious that some truly amazing skills are involved in what these cowboys do. You could offer me a trillion dollars in cash, but I still could never toss a rope around the back feet of a running animal while riding on the back of another running animal—or, for that matter, stay perched atop a very large, humpy, horned critter while said critter is completely freaking out, in a frenzied attempt to cause me to fall off his back and break my neck.
I respect what those cowboys in the ring of the National Finals Rodeo do. (By the way, shouldn’t it be “National Rodeo Finals?” Was the event created by a dyslexic person?) However, I went to Las Vegas to work, and of course, to play video poker. As I normally do, I stayed at the Silverton, because it’s about seven minutes from our Las Vegas office.
As I soon found out, though, the Silverton also is apparently the epicenter of activity for fans of the National Finals Rodeo. The hotel (pronounced, for that particular week in December, “HO-tel”) was packed with more cowboys than Dodge City at the end of a cattle drive.
These weren’t the same cowboys who can throw a lasso around a steer’s feet, either. These were largely modern business types who like to put on a gazillion-gallon Stetson, jeans (“DUNG-arees”) and very uncomfortable-looking cowboy boots, and strut around line-dancing, pretending they’re in Texas.
Even that didn’t bother me, though. Everyone in a cowboy hat I encountered was friendly, and quite willing to slap me on the back and say “Howdy.”
It was the music.
I’m a blues guy and a jazz guy, mainly, with a dose of ancient rock and roll thrown in for good measure. However, while I played video poker all week in my most-frequently visited casino, I was subjected to a constant barrage of cowboy music. I love bluegrass, but that’s the “Country” side of Country & Western. This was just the “Western” side, with twangy voices singing about a-sittin’ in their pickup trucks, a-cryin’ ‘cause their darlin’ done left. It all sounds like the same voice, too. I think they share one singer, and just switch off the lyrics about a-heartache and a-sufferin.’
Night after night I played video poker, and night after night I heard what sounded like the same five songs. One singer was sittin’ on the hood of his truck a-watchin’ the airplanes go by. (That cowpoke needs to get a life.) Another singer kept telling me, every night, that he had been “married 10 years to the farmer’s daughter.” (I wish she’d leave him already. At least he’d have to write a new song.) After about the fourth night of this, I was ready to take a six-shooter and put a bullet in my own head.
That wasn’t the worst of it, though. Three in the morning one night, I was awakened by a much more basic call of the cowboy, outside my hotel room window: “YEEEEE-hah!” I did not sleep the rest of that night, but not because of that. It’s because I’m married 10 years to the farmer’s daughter, and my darlin’ done left. AAAGH!
Anyway, I just wanted you to know I got through everything fine, in case you were worried—and that, next year for my annual December Vegas trip, I’m staying at the Hard Rock.
Happy New Year, and for all of us at GGB:
YEEE-hah!
That’s why I went out of my way this year to make sure to book my usual December trip West, to work for a week in our Las Vegas office. I had my pilot fire up the old Global Gaming Business corporate jet, had my valet pack my finest duds, and hopped in my limo for the drive to the airport.
OK, so I threw some clothes in a suitcase and drove to the airport in a ’94 Ford so I could fly coach on US Airways (motto: “Sit Back And Let Us Torture You.”). But anyway, I got to Las Vegas after a nice, quiet flight to find…
Cowboys. Thousands of cowboys. Cowboys everywhere, a-hootin’ and a-hollerin’ and a-havin’ just-a-pinch-between-yer-cheek-and-gums fun. To my horror, it was the week of the big National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas “N” Mack Center.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve got nothing against cowboys, really. I mean, I’m sure we need a certain number of these “boys who deal with cows,” just so the cows get dealt with. I’ve got no problem with the Western mystique, either. Heck, I saw 3:10 to Yuma twice.
And, if you’ve ever been to a rodeo, it is obvious that some truly amazing skills are involved in what these cowboys do. You could offer me a trillion dollars in cash, but I still could never toss a rope around the back feet of a running animal while riding on the back of another running animal—or, for that matter, stay perched atop a very large, humpy, horned critter while said critter is completely freaking out, in a frenzied attempt to cause me to fall off his back and break my neck.
I respect what those cowboys in the ring of the National Finals Rodeo do. (By the way, shouldn’t it be “National Rodeo Finals?” Was the event created by a dyslexic person?) However, I went to Las Vegas to work, and of course, to play video poker. As I normally do, I stayed at the Silverton, because it’s about seven minutes from our Las Vegas office.
As I soon found out, though, the Silverton also is apparently the epicenter of activity for fans of the National Finals Rodeo. The hotel (pronounced, for that particular week in December, “HO-tel”) was packed with more cowboys than Dodge City at the end of a cattle drive.
These weren’t the same cowboys who can throw a lasso around a steer’s feet, either. These were largely modern business types who like to put on a gazillion-gallon Stetson, jeans (“DUNG-arees”) and very uncomfortable-looking cowboy boots, and strut around line-dancing, pretending they’re in Texas.
Even that didn’t bother me, though. Everyone in a cowboy hat I encountered was friendly, and quite willing to slap me on the back and say “Howdy.”
It was the music.
I’m a blues guy and a jazz guy, mainly, with a dose of ancient rock and roll thrown in for good measure. However, while I played video poker all week in my most-frequently visited casino, I was subjected to a constant barrage of cowboy music. I love bluegrass, but that’s the “Country” side of Country & Western. This was just the “Western” side, with twangy voices singing about a-sittin’ in their pickup trucks, a-cryin’ ‘cause their darlin’ done left. It all sounds like the same voice, too. I think they share one singer, and just switch off the lyrics about a-heartache and a-sufferin.’
Night after night I played video poker, and night after night I heard what sounded like the same five songs. One singer was sittin’ on the hood of his truck a-watchin’ the airplanes go by. (That cowpoke needs to get a life.) Another singer kept telling me, every night, that he had been “married 10 years to the farmer’s daughter.” (I wish she’d leave him already. At least he’d have to write a new song.) After about the fourth night of this, I was ready to take a six-shooter and put a bullet in my own head.
That wasn’t the worst of it, though. Three in the morning one night, I was awakened by a much more basic call of the cowboy, outside my hotel room window: “YEEEEE-hah!” I did not sleep the rest of that night, but not because of that. It’s because I’m married 10 years to the farmer’s daughter, and my darlin’ done left. AAAGH!
Anyway, I just wanted you to know I got through everything fine, in case you were worried—and that, next year for my annual December Vegas trip, I’m staying at the Hard Rock.
Happy New Year, and for all of us at GGB:
YEEE-hah!
New Game Review,
NEW GAME REVIEW
Dean Martin’s Wild Party
WMS Gaming
This is one of two games WMS has released in a new series called “Money Burst.” The payline configuration in this series is unique, in that there are 60 paylines, but only two symbols on each of the first two reels. All wins are funneled through those two reels. There are four symbols on each of the three remaining reels. All paylines begin with the same two symbols on those first two reels.
The symbols on the first two reels turn into wild symbols for the free-spin bonus rounds, resulting in multiple winning combinations—and a huge hit frequency, without giving up an excessive amount of the hold. Since all 60 paylines share two of the four symbols on the first two reels, any matches on those two reels are multiplied.
The player activates two lines per credit—30 credits activate all lines.
There are three different ways to trigger a free-spin round. If the four symbols on the first two reels match, those symbols freeze in place, and five free spins are awarded. That means only one more of that symbol on any reel is a win, and usually, the combinations apply on both of those reels.
If three scattered bonus symbols appear on the third, fourth and fifth reels, five free spins are awarded. The player is prompted to choose a microphone or a jewel box symbol, which replaces all four symbols on the first two reels. Those symbols are then held for the free spins.
If you get both combinations—matching symbols on the first two reels and scattered bonus symbols on the other three—you pick the microphone or jewel box symbol for 20 free spins.
While the free spins are playing out, the kitschy little Dean Martin image—a cutout of Dean’s head on a cartoon body—sings “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head,” while another group of cartoon female dancers sings backup. It is a hilarious sequence that’s bound to appeal to a broad range of players.
The other Money Burst game being released by WMS is called “Glitz,” and it features the same game play in a theme centered around fine jewels.
Manufacturer: WMS Gaming
Platform: CPU-NXT2
Format: Five-reel, 60-line video slot; “Money Burst” reel setup
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .10, .20, .25, .50, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100
Max Bet: 300
Top Award: 20,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 83.27%
Theoretical Hold: 4%—14%
Wild Wolf
International Game Technology
This game is a modified version of IGT’s popular “Wolf Run” video slot. It is a 50-line penny game with maximum bets of 1,000 credits and medium volatility in the game program.
As with Wolf Run, the main features of Wild Wolf are the wild symbols—huge credit wins are available from what IGT calls “stacked wild symbols.” Multiple wild symbols typically land in a cluster in the pay window, resulting in multiple wins on different paylines. Wild symbols will often dominate the screen in this setup—covering two or more complete rows of symbols—which results in one or two winning payline symbols creating dozens of paying combinations.
Along with the heavy emphasis on wild symbols is a free-spin bonus round, to take advantage of the clustered wild symbols with big bonus payoffs. Three scattered bonus symbols on the primary reels trigger five free spins. The bonus symbols typically will appear repeatedly during the free spins, each time triggering an additional five free games.
This can continue up to a maximum of 255 free spins.
There is a wide range of theoretical hold configurations available on this game—it can be offered with holds as low as 2 percent or as high as 14 percent. This gives the operator lots of flexibility in offering a game that uses a math formula and wild-symbol setup that have already proven to be very popular with players.
Manufacturer: International Game Technology
Platform: Game King AVP
Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot
Denominations: .01
Max Bet: 500
Top Award: 10,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 35%
Theoretical Hold: 2%—14.4%
Heart of Vegas
Aristocrat Technologies
This is one of the newest games in Aristocrat’s MKVI 100-line series. The theme is the glitz of Las Vegas, but with soft artwork—the reels are framed by the feathers of a showgirl’s costume, and the symbols depict elegant jewelry and the trappings of wealth, with only a few Vegas icons in the mix.
The 100-line game has two betting configurations from which operators can select. One is a more traditional setup in which one credit activates a single payline, with a top award of 1,000 times the per-line wager. A second configuration allows the player to activate two paylines with every credit wagered, with a top line jackpot of 500 credits times the bet.
The first option results in more volatility in the program; the second results in average volatility, according to the manufacturer. The heart symbol is wild.
There is a free-spin bonus that will have a lot of appeal to players. The “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign is a scatter symbol. Three of them trigger 10 free spins. With each free spin, a wild heart symbol is added to an adjacent reel. They remain for all subsequent spins once added. In other words, after five free spins, there is a wild symbol on each of the second, third, fourth and fifth reels, which remain for the subsequent five spins.
If the scatter symbols land again during a free spin, another five free spins is awarded at the end. These are the only extra free spins, and the wild symbols are added again as they were on the first five free games.
The game is being made available to operators in denominations ranging from pennies through dollars, although it is recommended for low denominations.
Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies
Platform: MKVI
Format: Five-reel, 100-line video slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .10, .25, .50, $1
Max Bet: 1,000
Top Award: 100,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 33%
Theoretical Hold: 5.13%—12.13%
X-Win
Casino Technology
This new video slot from Bulgaria’s Casino Technology offers a novel multi-game concept within a single screen.
The main screen on the game is divided into five “mini-slots,” each one featuring three reels and five paylines. The player spins reels on all five games simultaneously, collecting the accumulated jackpots on all five games.
The setup makes for an extremely volatile game program. When the player wagers the maximum number of lines—one wager activates the lines on each of the mini-slots—it also activates two “cross-bonus diagonals.” These are essentially extra paylines, formed by the diagonal paylines on three mini-slot screens in each direction. If nine identical symbols appear on one of the bonus diagonals, the player wins 50,000 credits times the line bet. If there are identical symbols appearing on both diagonals—forming an “X” across the screens of all the mini-slots—it lands the top jackpot of 100,000 credits times the line bet.
Casino Technology is offering the game with progressive jackpots set up on each of the mini-screens, although only one progressive can be paid per spin.
There also is a free-spin bonus event, activated by five scatter-pay symbols spread across the five mini-slot screens. This triggers 12 free spins initially, with all wins multiplied by three—that includes diagonal bonus wins. If five scatters appear during the free games, an additional 12 free spins are triggered.
In all, it is a unique screen setup and what should be a compelling game for players.
Manufacturer: Casino Technology
Platform: Atlas
Format: Multi-screen video slot; five three-reel, five-line games
Denominations: All denominations available
Max Bet: 125
Top Award: 100,000 credits times line bet
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: 5.1%—12.2%
WMS Gaming
This is one of two games WMS has released in a new series called “Money Burst.” The payline configuration in this series is unique, in that there are 60 paylines, but only two symbols on each of the first two reels. All wins are funneled through those two reels. There are four symbols on each of the three remaining reels. All paylines begin with the same two symbols on those first two reels.
The symbols on the first two reels turn into wild symbols for the free-spin bonus rounds, resulting in multiple winning combinations—and a huge hit frequency, without giving up an excessive amount of the hold. Since all 60 paylines share two of the four symbols on the first two reels, any matches on those two reels are multiplied.
The player activates two lines per credit—30 credits activate all lines.
There are three different ways to trigger a free-spin round. If the four symbols on the first two reels match, those symbols freeze in place, and five free spins are awarded. That means only one more of that symbol on any reel is a win, and usually, the combinations apply on both of those reels.
If three scattered bonus symbols appear on the third, fourth and fifth reels, five free spins are awarded. The player is prompted to choose a microphone or a jewel box symbol, which replaces all four symbols on the first two reels. Those symbols are then held for the free spins.
If you get both combinations—matching symbols on the first two reels and scattered bonus symbols on the other three—you pick the microphone or jewel box symbol for 20 free spins.
While the free spins are playing out, the kitschy little Dean Martin image—a cutout of Dean’s head on a cartoon body—sings “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head,” while another group of cartoon female dancers sings backup. It is a hilarious sequence that’s bound to appeal to a broad range of players.
The other Money Burst game being released by WMS is called “Glitz,” and it features the same game play in a theme centered around fine jewels.
Manufacturer: WMS Gaming
Platform: CPU-NXT2
Format: Five-reel, 60-line video slot; “Money Burst” reel setup
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .10, .20, .25, .50, 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100
Max Bet: 300
Top Award: 20,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 83.27%
Theoretical Hold: 4%—14%
Wild Wolf
International Game Technology
This game is a modified version of IGT’s popular “Wolf Run” video slot. It is a 50-line penny game with maximum bets of 1,000 credits and medium volatility in the game program.
As with Wolf Run, the main features of Wild Wolf are the wild symbols—huge credit wins are available from what IGT calls “stacked wild symbols.” Multiple wild symbols typically land in a cluster in the pay window, resulting in multiple wins on different paylines. Wild symbols will often dominate the screen in this setup—covering two or more complete rows of symbols—which results in one or two winning payline symbols creating dozens of paying combinations.
Along with the heavy emphasis on wild symbols is a free-spin bonus round, to take advantage of the clustered wild symbols with big bonus payoffs. Three scattered bonus symbols on the primary reels trigger five free spins. The bonus symbols typically will appear repeatedly during the free spins, each time triggering an additional five free games.
This can continue up to a maximum of 255 free spins.
There is a wide range of theoretical hold configurations available on this game—it can be offered with holds as low as 2 percent or as high as 14 percent. This gives the operator lots of flexibility in offering a game that uses a math formula and wild-symbol setup that have already proven to be very popular with players.
Manufacturer: International Game Technology
Platform: Game King AVP
Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot
Denominations: .01
Max Bet: 500
Top Award: 10,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 35%
Theoretical Hold: 2%—14.4%
Heart of Vegas
Aristocrat Technologies
This is one of the newest games in Aristocrat’s MKVI 100-line series. The theme is the glitz of Las Vegas, but with soft artwork—the reels are framed by the feathers of a showgirl’s costume, and the symbols depict elegant jewelry and the trappings of wealth, with only a few Vegas icons in the mix.
The 100-line game has two betting configurations from which operators can select. One is a more traditional setup in which one credit activates a single payline, with a top award of 1,000 times the per-line wager. A second configuration allows the player to activate two paylines with every credit wagered, with a top line jackpot of 500 credits times the bet.
The first option results in more volatility in the program; the second results in average volatility, according to the manufacturer. The heart symbol is wild.
There is a free-spin bonus that will have a lot of appeal to players. The “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign is a scatter symbol. Three of them trigger 10 free spins. With each free spin, a wild heart symbol is added to an adjacent reel. They remain for all subsequent spins once added. In other words, after five free spins, there is a wild symbol on each of the second, third, fourth and fifth reels, which remain for the subsequent five spins.
If the scatter symbols land again during a free spin, another five free spins is awarded at the end. These are the only extra free spins, and the wild symbols are added again as they were on the first five free games.
The game is being made available to operators in denominations ranging from pennies through dollars, although it is recommended for low denominations.
Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies
Platform: MKVI
Format: Five-reel, 100-line video slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .10, .25, .50, $1
Max Bet: 1,000
Top Award: 100,000 credits
Hit Frequency: 33%
Theoretical Hold: 5.13%—12.13%
X-Win
Casino Technology
This new video slot from Bulgaria’s Casino Technology offers a novel multi-game concept within a single screen.
The main screen on the game is divided into five “mini-slots,” each one featuring three reels and five paylines. The player spins reels on all five games simultaneously, collecting the accumulated jackpots on all five games.
The setup makes for an extremely volatile game program. When the player wagers the maximum number of lines—one wager activates the lines on each of the mini-slots—it also activates two “cross-bonus diagonals.” These are essentially extra paylines, formed by the diagonal paylines on three mini-slot screens in each direction. If nine identical symbols appear on one of the bonus diagonals, the player wins 50,000 credits times the line bet. If there are identical symbols appearing on both diagonals—forming an “X” across the screens of all the mini-slots—it lands the top jackpot of 100,000 credits times the line bet.
Casino Technology is offering the game with progressive jackpots set up on each of the mini-screens, although only one progressive can be paid per spin.
There also is a free-spin bonus event, activated by five scatter-pay symbols spread across the five mini-slot screens. This triggers 12 free spins initially, with all wins multiplied by three—that includes diagonal bonus wins. If five scatters appear during the free games, an additional 12 free spins are triggered.
In all, it is a unique screen setup and what should be a compelling game for players.
Manufacturer: Casino Technology
Platform: Atlas
Format: Multi-screen video slot; five three-reel, five-line games
Denominations: All denominations available
Max Bet: 125
Top Award: 100,000 credits times line bet
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: 5.1%—12.2%
Columns,
Advanced Management
It may be argued that the goal of learning is either to improve oneself for reasons of personal satisfaction, or to sharpen one’s abilities to perform at specific tasks.
For the latter, much learning is undertaken to be able to do a better job, to nurture career advancement or to justify higher levels of compensation. However, in the modern business environment, there is always tension surrounding taking “time off” to learn, versus applying that time to your job.
An important option on the “time off” side of this debate is the University of Nevada Reno’s Executive Development Program, which since 1991 has been offered by the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at UNR, founded by Professor Bill Eadington. One only has to spend a short amount of time in and around the EDP to realize that it is Eadington’s commitment and passion for learning that acts as the catalyst for the program.
This is what makes the EDP so powerful and valuable as a learning experience. It is infectious. It breeds individual and collective commitment to be and to do the best. As one participant recently quipped, “Granted, I came expecting to attend seminars and to learn, but by the second day I was caught up in the enthusiasm of the both the faculty and the delegates alike.”
Inaugurated in 1991, the ongoing objective of the Executive Development Program has been to create an opportunity where senior gaming managers and executives from around the world can gather and be exposed to the most advanced and sophisticated management strategies in a time- and cost-effective manner. Attendance is typically capped at 64 participants, who are accepted on a qualifications basis.
The delegates who participate in this program contribute much to the flavor and value of the program. Typically, they are about 25 percent Americans, 25 percent Canadians, and 50 percent from Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Africa. This permits substantial cross-pollination of expertise, experience and sharing of ideas. The much vaunted “glass ceiling” for women in the gaming industry was broken some time ago at EDP. In 2007, 30 percent of the delegates were women.
A number of companies and organizations have sent their key executives to the program over the years. EDP alumni include senior executives from Harrah’s, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Hyatt, SIGA, Barona, Tabcorp, Isle of Capri, Holland Casinos, Genting, Las Vegas Sands, Olympic Gaming, Gateway, HIT, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, MGM Mirage, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, and many other gaming companies, government entities and tribal organizations.
The Executive Development Program takes place in the serene and beautiful mountain setting of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a venue with four important casino resorts. But delegates should not go to the EDP thinking this will be a vacation in the guise of learning. The program delivers a full agenda of seminars, study sessions and interaction.
The program is structured around about 25 sessions that cover a broad range of executive-level subjects. These topics address issues such as global trends in gaming industries, new technologies, casino marketing, strategic management, leadership, casino math, crisis management, casino architecture and design, responsible gambling, casino security and regulatory challenges. The seminars are highly interactive with many insights generated during the discussions that interlace the prepared lectures.
Professor Eadington is the conductor of the EDP, but he has always shared that role with an industry insider serving as co-moderator of the program, to strike a balance between the theory and practice of gaming management.
In the first decade of the EDP, this role was filled by the late Nigel Kent-Lemon, a London-based consultant who had extensive global gaming corporate experience. For the last decade, Andrew MacDonald—a senior gaming executive whose résumé includes stints with Adelaide, Jupiter’s, Sky City, PBL, and currently Genting—has served as co-moderator.
The EDP faculty have been among the most knowledgeable in the world in their own areas, and have included Gary Loveman, Phil Satre, Glenn Schaefer, Chuck Atwood, Peter Bernhard, Jan Jones, Jerry May, Larry Barton, Glenn Christenson, Paul Steelman, Bill Friedman, Larry Lewin, Bill Galston, Bruce Rowe, Richard Schuetz, Sean Monaghan and Harry Curtis.
The program has as a critical component: an intense and competitive case study which focuses on a topical issue that poses a variety of management challenges. Each delegate is assigned to a team, and team members work together throughout the entire 10-day program. Each team represents a gaming company, and each company is faced with a challenge structured to parallel the reality they are likely to encounter in their day jobs.
The program is always scheduled in the fall in the week that precedes G2E. This allows international delegates to attend both EDP and G2E with only one air fare. Applicants should hold a relatively senior position in their organization, and English language skills, both written and oral, are important in order to gain the most value from the program. Prospective delegates should also be computer-literate at the level expected of a senior manager/executive.
Additional information about the course is available at www.unr.edu/gaming, or by calling Judy Cornelius at 775-784-1442.
Dean M. Macomber, president of Macomber International, Inc., has 35 years of diversified experience in the gaming industry, ranging from dealer to president, development to operations. He may be reached at macomberinc@aol.com and 702-456-6006.
For the latter, much learning is undertaken to be able to do a better job, to nurture career advancement or to justify higher levels of compensation. However, in the modern business environment, there is always tension surrounding taking “time off” to learn, versus applying that time to your job.
An important option on the “time off” side of this debate is the University of Nevada Reno’s Executive Development Program, which since 1991 has been offered by the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at UNR, founded by Professor Bill Eadington. One only has to spend a short amount of time in and around the EDP to realize that it is Eadington’s commitment and passion for learning that acts as the catalyst for the program.
This is what makes the EDP so powerful and valuable as a learning experience. It is infectious. It breeds individual and collective commitment to be and to do the best. As one participant recently quipped, “Granted, I came expecting to attend seminars and to learn, but by the second day I was caught up in the enthusiasm of the both the faculty and the delegates alike.”
Inaugurated in 1991, the ongoing objective of the Executive Development Program has been to create an opportunity where senior gaming managers and executives from around the world can gather and be exposed to the most advanced and sophisticated management strategies in a time- and cost-effective manner. Attendance is typically capped at 64 participants, who are accepted on a qualifications basis.
The delegates who participate in this program contribute much to the flavor and value of the program. Typically, they are about 25 percent Americans, 25 percent Canadians, and 50 percent from Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia and Africa. This permits substantial cross-pollination of expertise, experience and sharing of ideas. The much vaunted “glass ceiling” for women in the gaming industry was broken some time ago at EDP. In 2007, 30 percent of the delegates were women.
A number of companies and organizations have sent their key executives to the program over the years. EDP alumni include senior executives from Harrah’s, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Hyatt, SIGA, Barona, Tabcorp, Isle of Capri, Holland Casinos, Genting, Las Vegas Sands, Olympic Gaming, Gateway, HIT, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, MGM Mirage, Ontario Lottery and Gaming, and many other gaming companies, government entities and tribal organizations.
The Executive Development Program takes place in the serene and beautiful mountain setting of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a venue with four important casino resorts. But delegates should not go to the EDP thinking this will be a vacation in the guise of learning. The program delivers a full agenda of seminars, study sessions and interaction.
The program is structured around about 25 sessions that cover a broad range of executive-level subjects. These topics address issues such as global trends in gaming industries, new technologies, casino marketing, strategic management, leadership, casino math, crisis management, casino architecture and design, responsible gambling, casino security and regulatory challenges. The seminars are highly interactive with many insights generated during the discussions that interlace the prepared lectures.
Professor Eadington is the conductor of the EDP, but he has always shared that role with an industry insider serving as co-moderator of the program, to strike a balance between the theory and practice of gaming management.
In the first decade of the EDP, this role was filled by the late Nigel Kent-Lemon, a London-based consultant who had extensive global gaming corporate experience. For the last decade, Andrew MacDonald—a senior gaming executive whose résumé includes stints with Adelaide, Jupiter’s, Sky City, PBL, and currently Genting—has served as co-moderator.
The EDP faculty have been among the most knowledgeable in the world in their own areas, and have included Gary Loveman, Phil Satre, Glenn Schaefer, Chuck Atwood, Peter Bernhard, Jan Jones, Jerry May, Larry Barton, Glenn Christenson, Paul Steelman, Bill Friedman, Larry Lewin, Bill Galston, Bruce Rowe, Richard Schuetz, Sean Monaghan and Harry Curtis.
The program has as a critical component: an intense and competitive case study which focuses on a topical issue that poses a variety of management challenges. Each delegate is assigned to a team, and team members work together throughout the entire 10-day program. Each team represents a gaming company, and each company is faced with a challenge structured to parallel the reality they are likely to encounter in their day jobs.
The program is always scheduled in the fall in the week that precedes G2E. This allows international delegates to attend both EDP and G2E with only one air fare. Applicants should hold a relatively senior position in their organization, and English language skills, both written and oral, are important in order to gain the most value from the program. Prospective delegates should also be computer-literate at the level expected of a senior manager/executive.
Additional information about the course is available at www.unr.edu/gaming, or by calling Judy Cornelius at 775-784-1442.
Dean M. Macomber, president of Macomber International, Inc., has 35 years of diversified experience in the gaming industry, ranging from dealer to president, development to operations. He may be reached at macomberinc@aol.com and 702-456-6006.
French Twist
France is one of the oldest and largest casino markets in the world, with over 190 casinos generating $3.95 billion last year in aggregate turnover by entertaining millions of visitors. However, all is not well, as a continuing economic slowdown has combined with political uncertainty, sluggish regulations and the feared effects of a new smoking ban to see many Gallic operators fearing for their futures.
Many forms of gambling have their origins in France, including the games of faro and blackjack along with the suit system for playing cards that is still used around the world today. Roulette, French for “small wheel,” is another example. It was invented by mathematician Blaise Pascal in the 17th century as he attempted to unlock the secrets of perpetual motion.
But it was not until 1907 that casinos were permitted in France, after Parliament passed an exemption to the existing law. Before that, gambling had been illegal. However, following considerable lobbying from the nation’s resort areas, casinos offering only certain table games such as baccarat and chemin de fer were allowed in spa towns, seaside resorts and mountain retreats to increase the number of winter visitors.
This move worked. Tourism increased, and consequently, France would lead the world in the casino sector for many years. The market eventually grew to include over 150 casinos before, beginning in the 1960s, saddled with some of the highest taxes in Europe and a shrinking market of players, it began to sink into what appeared to be terminal decline.
This period also saw the rise of state-run forms of gambling in France such as the lottery and horse racing, along with new trends in public demand as players searched for simpler forms of gambling where large prizes could be won off small stakes. The configuration of French casinos at the time no longer met this demand and, as a result, the number of casinos had shrunk by 1985 to 135.
After this decline, optimism returned to the French casino industry when slot machines were made legal in 1987 following years of lobbying by casino operators. Casinos became profitable again as the gross proceeds generated by slot machines continued to grow.
“Without slot machines there would be no casinos in France,” says David Marshall, the former head of international development at Groupe Lucien Barriere.
“The French casino industry was on its last legs and very moribund up until 1987 when the French government, at the pleading of the casino operators, introduced slot machines. There were only table games in casinos before this, and the casinos were going quite steadily down the drain. They introduced slot machines, and it has been a success story ever since.
“Slot machines are today the most important thing in a French casino. Ninety-three percent of gaming revenues in French casinos come directly from slot machines, with only about 7 percent coming from table games. This is quite different from a British casino, where there may only be 20 slot machines in an entire property.”
French law only permits this form of amusement in casinos, and there are currently over 21,400 slot machines in the nation, ranging from 50 in the smallest casino to 400 in the largest.
“If you want to play a slot machine in France, the only place that you can do that legally is in a casino,” says Marshall. “There are no slot machines in bars, cafés, pubs or other such areas like there may be in other nations. Of course, the owners of bars, cafés and pubs have been lobbying to have the law changed for many years, with casino operators lobbying equally hard the other way to keep the law where it is.”
Another reason for the popularity of slots is the retained memory of how casinos operated regarding table games.
“The French fondness for slot machines may have something to do with the fact that, up until very recently, to go into a table gaming area of a casino players had to fill in an identity card and pay a tax before they could even enter,” says Marshall.
“There were no slots mixed in with the table games; they were quite separate areas and were treated as such.”
The sector was given another boost only a year later when, following the efforts of the mayor of Bordeaux, Jacques Chaban-Delmas, the law was again changed to permit cities with over 500,000 inhabitants to have casinos as long as they met certain cultural demands.
This opened the door for casinos in larger areas such as Dijon, Lille, Toulouse and Marseille, although the latter is still without a casino due to the objections of Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin. There are now 103 locations in France which, should they decide, could have a casino.
In addition, the largest city in France, Paris, is also without a casino, as its sheer size makes the strict demands almost impossible to meet. A holdover from the 1907 legislation also makes it illegal to open a casino within 100 kilometres of the city, with one exemption—the resort town of D’Enghien Les Bains 14 kilometres to the north, where a venue is operated by Groupe Lucien Barriere.
These two moves invigorated the industry and saw it grow even larger than it had been in the 1960s, with 160 casinos by 1999 and 170 sites by 2001 pulling in $3.33 billion in turnover.
This prosperity did not go unnoticed, and middle-sized towns and cities began lobbying the French government for permission to have casinos of their own. Lens in the north of the country is just one example, and officials there want the law changed again so they can open a casino in conjunction with a new soccer stadium. Other examples include the towns of Narbonne, Carcassonne and Perigueux, but the process could take many years, if ever, to come to fruition, even though President Nicolas Sarkozy is thought to be sympathetic to the idea.
“This process may take some considerable time and all depends on who is in power,” Marshall says. “At the moment, the president and the government are fairly pro-casino and pro-gambling. However, the French Socialist Party and others on the left are certainly more anti-casino and anti-gambling.”
Casinos are considered a public service in France and, as such, are controlled by the Ministry of the Interior under the stewardship of current Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, with enforcement duties falling to the Gaming Police.
“There isn’t a ‘gaming board’ as such in France; there is the Gaming Police,” says Marshall. “Things here are very strictly controlled, and they can shut your casino down literally overnight if they don’t like the way you are operating or feel that you are violating the terms of your license.”
The Gaming Police also are in charge of deciding which new technologies and games can be played, as there is no independent testing laboratory such as America’s Gaming Laboratories International entrusted with this responsibility.
“Every type of change in France takes a lot of time, including many years of negotiations between the operators’ union and the Ministry of the Interior,” says Sylvie Leroy, editor of the French-language gaming publication Journal Des Casinos.
This process quite often takes years, much to the frustration of French operators who often see foreign competitors utilizing new developments almost as soon as they are released.
One such example is ticket-in ticket-out printers, which are still undergoing testing, although the Gaming Police recently approved bill acceptors for use in French casinos after extensive examinations.
“One game or one technology, such as TITO that is allowed in the United States, could take many years before it is legal in France,” says Leroy. “This is very frustrating for operators, as they can go to shows such as the International Casino Exhibition in London every year and see new technologies they would like to use but can’t, because it would take two, three, four, five and maybe even more years before that technology is passed as legal in France.”
Once all of the tests are carried out and passed through the numerous government departments, the technology is quite often obsolete. But, this does not seem to affect either the speed or efficiency of the Gaming Police.
“They tend to check very carefully and take a long time doing it because they do not want to make any mistakes,” Marshall says. “They make sure that everything is squeaky-clean, as they do not want to take any chances. If it takes seven years to get poker approved, then it’s going to take seven years. That’s just the way things are here.”
Early last year, Texas hold ‘em poker became the latest game to be approved by the Ministry of the Interior. However, despite its popularity around the world, it has a lot of ground to make up if it wants to catch up with the two most popular table games in France.
“Roulette is by far the most popular table game in casinos in France,” says Marshall. “They call it ‘American roulette,’ but it is the same game as is played in England—a French wheel and a single zero and a single-zero layout, whereas the roulette played in America has two zeros.
“Blackjack is the second-most popular table game, with the rest fairly far behind.”
Today, there are 195 casinos in France, including seven in its overseas territories—“Territoires D’Outre Mer” such as New Caledonia and Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean—and overseas departments—“Departements D’Outre Mer” such as the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion. Some operators run only single sites, but over 100 casinos belong to groups of varying sizes, usually from two to eight locations. There are also the “big four”—Partouche Casinos & Divertissements with 47 sites; Groupe Lucien Barriere with 33; Casinos Moliflor Loisirs with 20; and Tranchant with 18.
“The French casino market is going through the same process now as the British market—namely, consolidation,” says Marshall. “In Britain, there are major companies that run most of the casinos, and it is the same in France.”
Most of these companies are French-owned and financed, although a few have received investment from non-French backers in the past.
“There is nothing to stop a non-French company from coming in and buying an operator, except that the government does tend to make it a little bit difficult,” Marshall says. “It is not encouraged, but there is nothing to stop it, and a few of the companies do have some foreign money behind them.”
Partouche is by far the largest operator in France with almost 50 percent of the market and, like other operators, offers a wide range of leisure activities in addition to gambling, including restaurants, discos, shows and, quite often, hotels.
Casinos in France offer a wide range of entertainment facilities to make themselves as attractive as possible to the local population. This is done not only because casinos want locals as customers, but also because it is the local administration that chooses who is to operate the casino.
“In France, it is the town that decides if it wants a casino or not,” says Marshall. “It is not the operator that decides. An operator cannot just go to a town that doesn’t have a casino and ask them to grant a license to site a casino. A town first decides that it wants a casino and then requests proposals from operators and chooses from the proposals. They actually choose the operator.”
After the initial upsurge that followed the changes in legislation that saw casinos posting average annual growth figures consistently over 10 percent, the market has begun to level off with most operators now happy if they break even at the end of the year.
“The growth has ‘platformed,’ with most casino groups today lucky if they grow by the rate of inflation plus 1 percent,” says Marshall. “There are now a lot of casinos in France, with most major areas in the country covered by a casino.”
Certainly, saturation is a factor for the reduced growth, but there are also other reasons, including the lingering economic effects of France’s transition to the European common currency, the euro, and the stagnation of the overall economy. There also is a ban on smoking in all public places due for the New Year that has many operators hurrying to find a solution.
However, the largest factor to blame, many say, for the slowdown in the French casino industry is the high rate of tax that must be paid to the government, including a 12 percent tax on any win over $2,194.
“Operators do not like the taxes as they feel that there are too many of them,” says Leroy. “They also feel that, every time the government needs money, they go to the casinos to raise it. This is one of the reasons that not a lot of foreign investors are involved in the French casino market.
“It is very hard to drive the company when there is not a clear road in front of you.”
AGA,
A Gentleman and a Pioneer
In a departure from my usual commentary for this column, I am turning a spotlight on Bill Boyd, executive chairman of the Boyd Gaming Corporation, and a member of the American Gaming Association board of directors, from which he retired at the end of last year.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that Bill is a friend; he has been a confidant; and I, like many in our industry, admire him for his good business sense and his steadfast integrity and class. Bill has been a member of the board since the AGA was founded and was, in fact, one of the movers behind the birth of the association. He has been instrumental in the growth of the casino gaming industry and of the AGA, and is an innovator who has helped make the gaming world what it is today.
For Bill, the gaming industry always has been a family affair. In 1973, Bill left the practice of law after 15 years to join his father in the casino resort business. Together they purchased the Eldorado Club, and the Boyds soon owned a string of successful hotels and casinos that helped make Las Vegas one of the most glamorous cities in the world.
Along the way, the Boyds set precedents and standards that helped shape the emerging modern-day casino gaming entertainment business. They stamped the industry with distinctive strategies, such as venturing away from the Las Vegas Strip and constructing a casino geared to the local market. This was a first, and it paid off.
Gary Loveman, chairman, president and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., and chairman of the AGA board of directors remarked that, “Over the years, Bill has shown tremendous vision as a leader in our business. He has repeatedly proven himself to be one of the most forward-thinking minds in gaming and entertainment, as evidenced by his willingness to invest in the redevelopment of Fremont Street and his decision to cater to locals long before others realized it could be such a lucrative market.”
I think it’s safe to say that, whenever there has been a new trend in our industry, Bill and Boyd Gaming have been at the forefront.
Bill was among the first to recognize the possibilities in Native American gaming, and in 1994, built and opened the Silver Star in Mississippi, which Boyd Gaming operated for the Choctaw Indians. He also saw the market possibilities in the riverboat casino industry and was an early participant there. He involved Boyd Gaming in the revolutionary concept of “racinos” and the company now has a total of six very successful riverboat and racino operations in its stable.
Perhaps the most visible and impactful trend-setting move by Boyd was the construction in 2003 of the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, a joint venture with MGM Mirage that forever shifted the paradigm in Atlantic City. At the time, this 2,000-room, 11-restaurant complex, including a massive retail operation and conference center, was the first Las Vegas-style property in Atlantic City. In truth, the development of the Borgata changed the face of the typical New Jersey customer forever.
The Borgata set a new standard for Atlantic City hotels and was on the leading edge of a now $10 billion-strong capital investment surge in Atlantic City that is enhancing the city’s appeal as a national resort destination.
The Borgata experience was a harbinger of things to come. This summer Boyd Gaming broke ground on the site of the former Stardust Hotel and Casino for the $4.8 billion Echelon project that, along with several other major projects, will help reshape the Las Vegas Strip.
With all of this to underline his success, Bill has said repeatedly that it is the family atmosphere at Boyd Gaming that makes him most proud, which is not a small feat when you have 18,000 employees. It is this “family feeling” that has been mined to maintain a company focused
on gracious hospitality and superior customer service.
Indeed, Bill’s leadership has brought his organization great success, but his contributions to the development of the entire industry through the AGA have been just as significant.
Not many people may be aware of this, but Bill has been a true pioneer in the responsible gaming movement. His dedication to this cause was demonstrated when he helped create and served as the first chairman of the National Center for Responsible Gaming, which now, more than a decade later, continues groundbreaking research on pathological and youth gambling. He also was a leading proponent of the AGA Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming that now governs all the activities of AGA member companies. In fact, Bill has been a reasoned voice and steady hand that has helped guide the AGA in countless activities as it has broadened its scope, growing right along with the industry.
Bill stepped down as CEO of Boyd Gaming last summer, a choice that has allowed him to “go back to his roots,” as he says, focusing on how to continually improve customer service and employee relations at the company. There is no doubt in my mind that this commitment will be Bill’s lasting legacy whenever he does decide to retire from the industry.
I think Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, speaks for all of us when he says that, “Bill has always placed shareholder value and the values of the community at the forefront of his company. His quiet dignity and unfailing integrity serve as a role model for everyone in this industry.”
So on behalf of the entire AGA family, I extend a deeply felt gratitude to Bill Boyd for his steadfast commitment to the industry and to the values that make today’s gaming entertainment industry America’s success story. We know you’re not done yet, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that Bill is a friend; he has been a confidant; and I, like many in our industry, admire him for his good business sense and his steadfast integrity and class. Bill has been a member of the board since the AGA was founded and was, in fact, one of the movers behind the birth of the association. He has been instrumental in the growth of the casino gaming industry and of the AGA, and is an innovator who has helped make the gaming world what it is today.
For Bill, the gaming industry always has been a family affair. In 1973, Bill left the practice of law after 15 years to join his father in the casino resort business. Together they purchased the Eldorado Club, and the Boyds soon owned a string of successful hotels and casinos that helped make Las Vegas one of the most glamorous cities in the world.
Along the way, the Boyds set precedents and standards that helped shape the emerging modern-day casino gaming entertainment business. They stamped the industry with distinctive strategies, such as venturing away from the Las Vegas Strip and constructing a casino geared to the local market. This was a first, and it paid off.
Gary Loveman, chairman, president and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., and chairman of the AGA board of directors remarked that, “Over the years, Bill has shown tremendous vision as a leader in our business. He has repeatedly proven himself to be one of the most forward-thinking minds in gaming and entertainment, as evidenced by his willingness to invest in the redevelopment of Fremont Street and his decision to cater to locals long before others realized it could be such a lucrative market.”
I think it’s safe to say that, whenever there has been a new trend in our industry, Bill and Boyd Gaming have been at the forefront.
Bill was among the first to recognize the possibilities in Native American gaming, and in 1994, built and opened the Silver Star in Mississippi, which Boyd Gaming operated for the Choctaw Indians. He also saw the market possibilities in the riverboat casino industry and was an early participant there. He involved Boyd Gaming in the revolutionary concept of “racinos” and the company now has a total of six very successful riverboat and racino operations in its stable.
Perhaps the most visible and impactful trend-setting move by Boyd was the construction in 2003 of the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, a joint venture with MGM Mirage that forever shifted the paradigm in Atlantic City. At the time, this 2,000-room, 11-restaurant complex, including a massive retail operation and conference center, was the first Las Vegas-style property in Atlantic City. In truth, the development of the Borgata changed the face of the typical New Jersey customer forever.
The Borgata set a new standard for Atlantic City hotels and was on the leading edge of a now $10 billion-strong capital investment surge in Atlantic City that is enhancing the city’s appeal as a national resort destination.
The Borgata experience was a harbinger of things to come. This summer Boyd Gaming broke ground on the site of the former Stardust Hotel and Casino for the $4.8 billion Echelon project that, along with several other major projects, will help reshape the Las Vegas Strip.
With all of this to underline his success, Bill has said repeatedly that it is the family atmosphere at Boyd Gaming that makes him most proud, which is not a small feat when you have 18,000 employees. It is this “family feeling” that has been mined to maintain a company focused
on gracious hospitality and superior customer service.
Indeed, Bill’s leadership has brought his organization great success, but his contributions to the development of the entire industry through the AGA have been just as significant.
Not many people may be aware of this, but Bill has been a true pioneer in the responsible gaming movement. His dedication to this cause was demonstrated when he helped create and served as the first chairman of the National Center for Responsible Gaming, which now, more than a decade later, continues groundbreaking research on pathological and youth gambling. He also was a leading proponent of the AGA Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming that now governs all the activities of AGA member companies. In fact, Bill has been a reasoned voice and steady hand that has helped guide the AGA in countless activities as it has broadened its scope, growing right along with the industry.
Bill stepped down as CEO of Boyd Gaming last summer, a choice that has allowed him to “go back to his roots,” as he says, focusing on how to continually improve customer service and employee relations at the company. There is no doubt in my mind that this commitment will be Bill’s lasting legacy whenever he does decide to retire from the industry.
I think Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, speaks for all of us when he says that, “Bill has always placed shareholder value and the values of the community at the forefront of his company. His quiet dignity and unfailing integrity serve as a role model for everyone in this industry.”
So on behalf of the entire AGA family, I extend a deeply felt gratitude to Bill Boyd for his steadfast commitment to the industry and to the values that make today’s gaming entertainment industry America’s success story. We know you’re not done yet, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
The Agenda,
From the Top Down
It’s always a red flag when senior executives seem to live in fear of their bosses. That’s the way it was with Columbia Sussex, the soon-to-be-former owners of the Tropicana in Atlantic City. I attended a few functions during which the top guy, Bill Yung, was present and everyone was walking on eggshells. And since we’re always interested at
Global Gaming Business in welcoming new companies and executives to the industry, my first efforts to interview the boss were, well, less than well-received. The red flags were flying.
And when Columbia Sussex took over the properties formerly owned by Aztar last January, the first thing they did was fire hundreds of people at all properties. Everyone I knew thought it was excessive, but I was ready to give Yung the benefit of the doubt. He claimed to have a new business model that had never been used in the gaming industry before, and I was hopeful that maybe it
would work.
But alas, it proved to be a phantom. The antics of Columbia Sussex were a source of much derision in the gaming industry. Dan Lee, the chairman of Pinnacle Entertainment, at a conference in New Orleans last April said “the business model of Columbia Sussex appears to be letting their joints get dirty.” Harsh, maybe, but not too much off the mark.
You see, when you buy a casino, you not only buy a business, you buy part of a community. And I understand that sometimes you have to lay off employees. That’s part of business. But when you set an arbitrary number and force your department heads to meet that number, no matter how deeply the cuts go or how much it affects the integrity of the business, then you have a problem.
When you run a casino, you’re involved in hundreds if not thousands of lives. Layoffs are a part of any business, certainly. But wholesale slashing, just for the sake of reaching a number that your investors or shareholders are comfortable with, is irresponsible. And firing people with no logical explanation is reprehensible.
But the strangest part for me is that it didn’t make business sense. Yes, you’re trying to reduce costs, but to instill a fear in your organization so it permeates down from the property GMs to the maids cleaning the rooms just doesn’t compute. You’re a new owner of a property. You bought it because it was throwing off some good revenue. While you always need to tweak operations, why would you make such far-reaching changes that it impacts your entire company?
Columbia Sussex is going to have to struggle to simply survive now. It is going to have to change its business plan to adapt to the jurisdictions in which it operates. Will the Nevada Gaming Control Board notice that some of the pledges Columbia Sussex made about the Las Vegas Tropicana have not been met? You can be sure the Culinary Local 226 of UNITE HERE will use some of the same tactics used by Atlantic City’s Local 54 when opposing relicensure for the only Strip property that hasn’t signed a new contract with Culinary.
And a tip of the hat to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. It took great courage to come to this decision. After all, the Tropicana is one of the largest properties in Atlantic City, still, even after the layoffs, employing thousands of people. The swift decision and even quicker regulatory moves to ensure the property remains open were nothing short of stunning.
Chairwoman Linda Kassekert demonstrated that the Casino Control Act means something. Since a slap on the wrist would have encouraged other companies like Columbia Sussex to try to manipulate the system, the CCC upheld the letter of the law in New Jersey, and they were there to defend the state against piranha that only want to come pick the carcass of a casino in that jurisdiction.
So let this be a lesson to any company that wants to join the gaming industry. We’re a proud and responsible community of companies. Expect to be welcomed if you want to respect the principles and expect to be exorcised if you run a business the way Columbia Sussex has.
And when Columbia Sussex took over the properties formerly owned by Aztar last January, the first thing they did was fire hundreds of people at all properties. Everyone I knew thought it was excessive, but I was ready to give Yung the benefit of the doubt. He claimed to have a new business model that had never been used in the gaming industry before, and I was hopeful that maybe it
would work.
But alas, it proved to be a phantom. The antics of Columbia Sussex were a source of much derision in the gaming industry. Dan Lee, the chairman of Pinnacle Entertainment, at a conference in New Orleans last April said “the business model of Columbia Sussex appears to be letting their joints get dirty.” Harsh, maybe, but not too much off the mark.
You see, when you buy a casino, you not only buy a business, you buy part of a community. And I understand that sometimes you have to lay off employees. That’s part of business. But when you set an arbitrary number and force your department heads to meet that number, no matter how deeply the cuts go or how much it affects the integrity of the business, then you have a problem.
When you run a casino, you’re involved in hundreds if not thousands of lives. Layoffs are a part of any business, certainly. But wholesale slashing, just for the sake of reaching a number that your investors or shareholders are comfortable with, is irresponsible. And firing people with no logical explanation is reprehensible.
But the strangest part for me is that it didn’t make business sense. Yes, you’re trying to reduce costs, but to instill a fear in your organization so it permeates down from the property GMs to the maids cleaning the rooms just doesn’t compute. You’re a new owner of a property. You bought it because it was throwing off some good revenue. While you always need to tweak operations, why would you make such far-reaching changes that it impacts your entire company?
Columbia Sussex is going to have to struggle to simply survive now. It is going to have to change its business plan to adapt to the jurisdictions in which it operates. Will the Nevada Gaming Control Board notice that some of the pledges Columbia Sussex made about the Las Vegas Tropicana have not been met? You can be sure the Culinary Local 226 of UNITE HERE will use some of the same tactics used by Atlantic City’s Local 54 when opposing relicensure for the only Strip property that hasn’t signed a new contract with Culinary.
And a tip of the hat to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. It took great courage to come to this decision. After all, the Tropicana is one of the largest properties in Atlantic City, still, even after the layoffs, employing thousands of people. The swift decision and even quicker regulatory moves to ensure the property remains open were nothing short of stunning.
Chairwoman Linda Kassekert demonstrated that the Casino Control Act means something. Since a slap on the wrist would have encouraged other companies like Columbia Sussex to try to manipulate the system, the CCC upheld the letter of the law in New Jersey, and they were there to defend the state against piranha that only want to come pick the carcass of a casino in that jurisdiction.
So let this be a lesson to any company that wants to join the gaming industry. We’re a proud and responsible community of companies. Expect to be welcomed if you want to respect the principles and expect to be exorcised if you run a business the way Columbia Sussex has.
Interview with Dan D'Ariggo, Sr. VP & CFO, MGM Mirage
