What's Up Downtown
When the Downtown Las Vegas casinos were the only game in town, they battled with each other for the right to separate the tourists from their cash. As time passed and developers looked to the dusty stretch of desert highway that once marked the outskirts of town, the Downtown area found itself in a new competition with the strip of sprawling resorts along Las Vegas Boulevard.Thomas Hull’s prescient idea to open the El Rancho on Las Vegas Boulevard in 1941 marked the beginning of the bad times for the Fremont Street operators, though this really wouldn’t be noticed for at least 30 years, as casinos continued to open on both Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.
Since 1975, when both the Gold Spike and California casinos opened Downtown, the Strip has undergone several reincarnations. New properties have come and gone; the Strip has reinvented itself three different times. Yet, only one new casino, Main Street Station in 1987, was added to the Downtown inventory.
The Gambling Joints
For more than a decade, things Downtown seemed to stagnate. The area fell into disrepute and certainly didn’t compare favorably to the Strip, with its luxurious resorts that became home to the stars. When you wanted some serious gaming action, you might head Downtown—perhaps to take advantage of Benny Binion’s practice of accepting wagers of any size at the Horseshoe—but when you wanted to see and be seen, to enjoy the opulence on which the desert oasis had staked its reputation, you went to the Strip resorts.
In reality, things really haven’t changed much, even today. Rarely, if ever, do the city’s public relations firms release photographs of celebrities partying at the Union, Mermaids or the Golden Nugget, and athletes aren’t spotted bellied up to the craps table at Fitzgeralds at 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
Instead, the people spotted drinking and throwing the dice day or night at the casinos on Fremont Street tend to come from places like Iowa, Tennessee and Minnesota. They are the middle-market crowd who see no reason to pay $59 for a steak when for $9.99 they can gorge themselves on prime rib; they do not plan to spend much time in their hotel rooms, so $200 or more seems wasteful. They consider such spendthrift ways obscene.
This is not something that has gone unnoticed by the owners and marketing executives. Since the early 1990s, the casinos have embraced the middle market, tapping into Benny Binion’s philosophy of offering good whiskey, good food and a good gamble. It wasn’t an immediate success, and everyone involved agrees there is still a lot of work to be done, but the indications are that Fremont Street is heading in the right direction.
The first step came in the early 1990s when the operators banded together to form the Fremont Street Experience, a cooperative organization that markets the area as a whole. The organization created and maintains the pedestrian mall along Fremont Street, and handles the entertainment both on the street level and overhead, with the VivaVision canopy, which features a light and sound show at night.
The recent figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show an interesting trend starting in the fourth quarter of 2007: the Downtown casinos were generally posting better numbers than were the casinos on the Strip. The growth is modest, with March 2008 seeing gaming win increase from $55.3 million to $56.7 million, but it is positive.
This 2.47 percent increase compares favorably to the 4.82 percent drop in gaming win the casinos on the Strip experienced. Overall revenue for the fiscal year 2007 is also on pace to improve, or at least hold steady compared to 2006. The increase was about 1.6 percent through March, but a rough April all but wiped out that progress. And all this is happening without one of the larger casinos in the area, the Lady Luck, which has been shuttered since early 2006.
Part of the reason for the recent success is that operators are buying into the philosophy of working together to market their product, and they’re also believing that investing in their properties will pay off in the long run.
Boyd Gaming spent more than $10 million to remodel rooms at its three area properties, California, Fremont and Main Street Station, and the casinos received a makeover at the same time. Terry Caudill put $20 million into revitalizing the Four Queens, which is now a strong performer on Fremont Street. He has plans to do the same thing with Binion’s, which he recently acquired from MTR Gaming. Tilman Fertitta and Landry’s put more than $100 million into an expansion and renovation project at the Golden Nugget to add a nightclub, new pool area and new restaurants. The company has plans to invest $150 million to build a fourth hotel tower. CIM Group plans a $100 million project to redevelop the Lady Luck.
“Downtown Las Vegas is moving in the right direction,” says Rob Stillwell, vice president of corporate communications for Boyd Gaming. “We’re seeing our neighbors investing aggressively in their properties, giving new visitors new reasons to leave the Strip and come to Downtown Las Vegas.”
One Foot in the Past
Rotarians and city boosters are quick to point out the rich history of Fremont Street, although it can be a difficult sell in a city where new automatically means good, and big automatically means better. In an era of billion-dollar metaresorts, a $100 million expansion project like the one slated for the Lady Luck doesn’t attract as much attention, either from the media or the general public.
In a city where legendary casinos like the Sands, Desert Inn, New Frontier and Stardust are razed with small fireworks displays and a few kind words from casino owners, workers and longtime guests, they are erased from the collective public consciousness as quickly as their replacement rises from the rubble.
Fremont Street is the most historically significant gaming area in Las Vegas—it actually is the only gaming area in Las Vegas, with the Strip, Boulder Highway and North Las Vegas actually being outside of city limits and under the jurisdiction of Clark County. It lays claim to a number of notable firsts—beyond starting the obsession with neon that has become the city’s contribution to the architecture industry—including:
• First hotel in Las Vegas in 1906 (the Hotel Nevada, now the Golden Gate)
• First Nevada gaming license issued to the Northern Club in 1931
• First elevator at the Apache Hotel in 1932
• First high-rise tower at the Fremont Hotel in 1956
• First casino to install carpeting at the Horseshoe
These are all things that the owners and operators Downtown feel add to the character of the area. Mark Brandenburg, who took full ownership of the Golden Gate in 1991, says the sense of history, and the willingness to embrace and build on it, helps the casinos on Fremont Street stand out.
“An aspect largely overlooked in this era of the multibillion-dollar megaresort is authenticity,” he says. “This is the place where Las Vegas started, and people can get a sense of what it might have been like back then. They enjoy that authenticity. It’s a Vegas authenticity with neon signs and girls in feathers and dice rolling down a table, but it’s a different environment from what you see on the Strip.
“People enjoy the authenticity and they enjoy that juxtaposition of having one foot in the past and one foot in the future.”
The idea that the Fremont Street area is the real Las Vegas is something that is not lost on those marketing the area. Jeff Victor, president of the Fremont Street Experience since 1996, says it’s something that has been incorporated into attempts to promote the area, and something that attracts a lot of visitors.
“As a local to Las Vegas, I am aware that those who live in the valley see Downtown in perhaps a less favorable light than the Strip because it’s not new,” Victor says. “The visitors who come here don’t have that preconceived notion.
“In Las Vegas we tend to celebrate the new more than the old, where a lot of cities celebrate the old as well as the new. As visitors come from outside the area, they’re happy to see the original Las Vegas as well as the new Vegas.”
Figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show that roughly half of all visitors to Las Vegas make a trip Downtown—something like 18 million people a year. It’s an impressive figure given that the area accounts for only about 5 percent of the total room inventory in the metropolitan area.
“I think there is a misconception that Downtown needs to apologize for not being the Strip,” says Victor. “Downtown is not the Strip; Downtown is Downtown. It is a flavor of Las Vegas that an enormous amount of people who visit the area want to include as part of their visit.”
Our Own Volcano
The Fremont Street Experience could very well be the single most important development in Downtown Las Vegas since that first gaming license was issued in 1931. There isn’t a single operator in the area who doesn’t benefit from what the FSE offers, be it the overhead entertainment, the clean and safe street scene and entertainment or the simple marketing economy of scale it produces.
“There was an advantage to having size,” says Brandenburg, one of the original members when the FSE was formed in the early 1990s. Brandenburg sat alongside legendary operators including Bill Boyd, Steve Wynn, Jackie Gaughan and Jack Binion as they discussed a way to fend off the continued encroachment of the Strip casinos on their revenues. “At Golden Gate, with 106 rooms, I’m not going to go to the Los Angeles Times and pay $5,000 for a small ad to run one time where I won’t even make back my money. But as a group, if we worked together and marketed together, we could get the word out and bring people to Fremont Street.”
Marketing the constituent casinos as a single unit rather than a collection of disparate interests was, and continues to be a major component to the success of the Downtown market. In addition to the benefits mentioned by Brandenburg, Terry Caudill feels it helps the area hold its own against the Strip properties in terms of what it offers.
“Marketing Downtown as a whole helps because individually we don’t have the same amenities as a Strip property,” he says. “Collectively, we do. Anything you can find on the Strip you can find Downtown, and the Fremont Street Experience helps pull that all together.”
Brandenburg recalled the initial meetings with the other owners and some of the ideas originally thrown around as a way to attract people to the area. Those ideas included a Starship Enterprise attraction from Star Trek—which eventually ended up at the Las Vegas Hilton—and a remake of the canals of Venice, Italy, running throughout the area. They eventually decided to incorporate the Jon Jerde-designed canopy-covered pedestrian mall idea that is in place today.
“Downtown had been struggling with the growth of the megaresorts on the Strip, the neighborhood casinos and Indian gaming in California,” Brandenburg says. “What brought everyone together was the recognition of what was happening on the Strip and what Steve Wynn was doing with the Mirage, a high-end resort with a volcano of all things as a hook.
“We decided that we needed our own volcano, and that volcano ultimately was the Fremont Street Experience.”
After working with the city and then-mayor Jan Jones, the organization won permission in 1994 to move forward with plans that started by decommissioning Fremont Street as a vehicular thoroughfare between Main Street and Las Vegas Boulevard. The pedestrian mall was covered with an LED display canopy that stands 90 feet tall and stretches for about four city blocks. Originally built with 2.1 million LEDs, a $17 million upgrade would increase that number to 12 million. A sound system with 220 speakers capable of cranking out 550,000 watts of sound was incorporated to accompany the light show.
The nightly light shows—running every hour between sundown and midnight—were a draw from the beginning, but the FSE executives were somewhat limited in the kinds of programs they were able to produce. There weren’t many people with experience in putting together a program that would run across such a large screen, and while impressive, the initial shows seemed like a slightly more advanced production of the popular flying toasters screen saver from the same time. The show has evolved considerably since its early days, and in the past two years, under the guidance of Victor, Brandenburg says it has made major progress in terms of the entertainment it offers.
“The Fremont Street Experience is all about the street scene, and our major hook is this one-of-a-kind show,” Brandenburg says. “Victor has taken some major steps and instituted some major changes and zeroed in on doing the exciting things we need with this show.”
The change Brandenburg is talking about is the creation of the “We Will Rock You” tribute to the band Queen. The show is set to the music of the venerable rock group, and features rare video footage of the band performing as well as album art and still photographs of the various band members.
“The Queen show has a buzz about it that none of the other films that I’ve been a part of have had,” Victor says. “We have the sense that there are people coming down here specifically to see the movie, and that’s something that hasn’t happened in a while.”
Simple Economics?
The favorable numbers posted by the Downtown operators seem to coincide with the economic turmoil in the U.S. Between a significant credit crunch, rising unemployment rates and skyrocketing fuel prices affecting both the drive-in and fly-in visitors, it isn’t hard to figure out that more people are going to have less money to spend. And it is something that some have speculated is making the value-oriented properties along Fremont Street more attractive.
Victor does not buy that, however. He points out that progress along Fremont Street predates the current economic situation.
“I understand how that assumption gets made, but I don’t think the economy has changed the equation down here,” he says. “I simply believe we’re doing a better job of what we had been doing. Downtown is seeing more life, and we’ve changed up the entertainment message and I think all of that is responsible for our success. This is happening regardless of the economy. We started seeing changes in gaming revenue early last summer when we started instituting these changes.”
Boyd Gaming’s Stillwell expresses a slightly different view, acknowledging that the economy might be driving some people Downtown, but concluding that ultimately more is happening than just people having less money to spend. Stillwell notes that the Strip focus on luxury travelers—marked by the closing of properties such as the New Frontier and Boyd’s Stardust and the opening of Palazzo, and the coming metaresorts like Encore, Boyd’s Echelon, CityCenter and Fontainebleau—means that “budget-conscious visitors represent a growing opportunity for Downtown operators.”
Caudill, too, sees the economy as only a small part of the equation. While some guests might choose the better values available Downtown over the opulence of the Strip, others are being priced out of the Vegas experience entirely. Ultimately, it becomes a matter of avoiding hasty reactions based on short-term economic fluctuations.
“For people looking to come to Las Vegas but who don’t want to pay the price to stay on the Strip, Downtown becomes a good-looking value,” he explains. “We benefit from that standpoint, but at the same time, a certain segment of our customers are hurt by the current situation. The cost of gasoline and jet fuel does not benefit us.
“We don’t suffer as badly as other venues might because we don’t have the same kind of overhead. We’ve always targeted toward the value-oriented, sustainable mid-market type customer, so our philosophy doesn’t have to change when things tighten up.
“We have a long-range plan and avoid short-term, knee-jerk reactions. We have a product that is fundamentally good and the long-term outlook is good.”
Building It Up
The problem that faces the Downtown operators is a matter of getting the word out about what is there.
“There is still a lot of work to do because there are a lot of people who don’t know we’re here,” Brandenburg says.
The attention given to the Strip makes it the predominant image that pops into most heads when Las Vegas is mentioned. People know the major attractions like the canals at the Venetian, the volcano at the Mirage or the fountains at the Bellagio; Vegas Vic, the VivaVision canopy and even Binion’s, the place that made poker famous, are only afterthoughts. If successful in changing that, good things will come.
“Downtown Las Vegas is quickly becoming an exciting and unique entertainment destination in its own right,” says Stillwell. “Our most important task is getting the word out to Las Vegas visitors. As word of mouth about Downtown spreads, we think business and traffic levels will continue to rise.”
Anticipating similar growth, Caudill thinks the long-term challenge facing operators is a lack of rooms.
“I think the Downtown experience will catch on and people will come down here looking for it,” he says. “We will need more rooms to accommodate more people. We already fill up on the weekends.”
Caudill has identified places for room expansion projects at both the Four Queens and Binion’s, and expects those projects to begin sooner rather than later.
“It’s always a little harder when you look at our room rate versus the Strip, but the rates will justify new rooms in the next two to three years, and it takes that long to build them,” he says.
There are a number of projects that will attract additional attention to the Downtown area. The city of Las Vegas will discuss in July plans by CIM Group for a renovation and expansion of the Lady Luck casino. Not only will the existing buildings be touched up, but the project will extend across Stewart Street and partially encompass the old Post Office, which the city is converting into a museum celebrating the old mob days.
If the city approves the project, CIM Group can work to finalize designs and move toward starting construction in 2009 or 2010, according to Scott Adams, director of business development for the city of Las Vegas.
“They’ve committed to investing $100 million for the renovation on top of the $100 million investment they made to acquire the property, so it’s pretty exciting,” Adams says.
The city is also working on its own project, having finally figured out what to do with the 61 acres of land it owns west of Fremont Street. The project is called Union Park, and will be a mixed-use development featuring five distinct districts: the civic district with a performing arts center; a residential district with high-rise, town homes and condominiums; a retail district and a medical district. The fifth district will contain a gaming property in excess of 900,000 square feet and featuring a hotel with 1,000 to 1,500 rooms. The estimated cost of the project is $6 billion.
The city has also worked to attract more people to the area known as Fremont Street East. The area is east of Las Vegas Boulevard, and runs to El Cortez. It features a number of bars and nightclubs that are attracting locals to the area in numbers that haven’t been seen in recent years. At the same time, events like First Friday, a cultural celebration held each month throughout the Arts District south of the Downtown gaming corridor, and the construction of residential condominium projects are paying off for the Fremont Street casinos.
“I think you’re starting to feel a bit more of an urban vibe down here,” says Victor. “I hear people talking about walking from their home to different places, and that the area is becoming part of an urban core. There are small businesses opening up and we’re starting to see some real organic growth happening Downtown, and that is really refreshing.”
Playing Together
One of the characteristics of slot machine play has always been a man-against-machine air of solitude. But that reality may be changing.One of the side benefits of the upcoming move toward networked, server-based slot floors is that the Ethernet-equipped, digital slot floors will enable all sorts of competitive play. On a fully networked floor, players will be able to enter ongoing tournaments any time. There will be areas where twenty-somethings can get together and play Xbox or PlayStation-style games against each other for money.
What is now known as online poker may even make its way to the slot floor in peer-vs.-peer contests, either in special areas or in floor-wide, on-demand play.
These server-based applications all are being developed based on the understanding that many slot players these days prefer human interaction to the old man-against-machine routine. It’s not an assumption. Several slot manufacturers have already tested the waters of what is called “community” or “communal” slot play, and have thrown substantial R&D dollars behind the creation of multi-player experiences on the formerly solitary slot floor.
The manufacturers breaking the most ground in the community-play area with slot machines are WMS Gaming, International Game Technology and AC Coin & Slot.
Big Events
WMS Gaming introduced its community-play genre with the “Big Event” series, consisting of Monopoly Big Event, Press Your Luck Big Event and, most recently, Bigger Bang Big Event, a version of the classic “Piggy Bankin’” game.
The Big Event games are microcosms of a networked floor—a single bank of slots connected to a dedicated server, with several players participating in a common bonus event. “They are unique in that they combine powerful social brands with a communal bonus round from which all eligible players benefit, as opposed to a communal event that only has meaning for one player,” says Rob Bone, vice president of marketing for WMS Gaming.
During primary game play, coin-in causes a multiplier number to increment on each individual screen. When the server chooses a time to go into the random bonus round, all players on the bank go to the bonus—each with bonus jackpots multiplied at the level achieved during primary game play.
Each of the “Big Event” games has multiple bonus events tailored to the theme—the Monopoly board game, the Press Your Luck TV game show, and the cartoon pig character made famous by Piggy Bankin’. They vary between free spins and second-screen events, all played out on a giant screen above the bank.
The second two Big Event installments each choose from five different bonus games when the server picks the time. The Bigger Bang game is the most outwardly competitive of the bunch, with a comical “pig race” as one of the events and an even more comical “Pig-A-Pult” Olympic-style event as another.
Bone says the ability to earn multipliers in the primary game gives the player an individual experience within the community event. He says the slot-maker will soon expand its Community Play series with other Big Event games, including a poker game and a mechanical reel-spinner. “If you can take the focus off just winning money and focus it more on enjoying the gaming experience, you have many more ways of pleasing the customer,” he says.
“When a gaming experience transcends the extrinsic benefits of just winning money and capitalizes on more intrinsic attributes like camaraderie, social interaction and community play, players tend to develop an affinity and loyalty to that product. We believe we have done this with our first Community Gaming executions, and we think this will bode well for our upcoming debuts in this category.”
Super Spin to eBay
Slot market leader IGT has built one initial game into an entire series of “MP” or multi-player games, including both traditional video slots and electronic versions of table games.
For IGT, it started with the “Super Spin” version of Wheel Of Fortune, a circular bank of nine individual Wheel of Fortune video slots surrounding a giant, horizontal version of the fortune-wheel replica used for the stand-alone version of the game. The wheel on this game looked a lot like the wheel on the actual TV game show Wheel Of Fortune, which made it that much more popular with players.
Last year, IGT released smaller, five-player “Mini Spin” versions of the unit, with banks of five individual slots up against a vertical wheel that disappeared behind the bank. In both cases, players’ individual results are independent of the results on other games in the bank, but the bonus rounds are timed so several players are entering the bonus at any given time. Indicators in front of each machine show each player the bonus amount, based on where the big wheel lands.
Though each player got an individual result, the game still created an air of camaraderie, says Tom O’Brien, IGT’s director of MegaJackpots products. “It created the player interaction we had hoped,” he says, “when everyone saw what everyone else was getting on their spins.”
IGT would soon produce other community play-style games, with more common experiences in the bonus round. “Star Wars,” “Ancient Chinese Secret” and “Imperial Dragon” are each microcosms of server-based gaming, in which several games are linked to a dedicated server.
The “Star Wars” game features a common bonus round in which players on the bank engage in a race. Players make a side bet in the primary game that lets them accumulate points with certain symbols, and then everyone goes into the progressive bonus game at once—it happens every 10 minutes. Eligible players are each assigned a “speeder bike” similar to the one in the Star Wars films, and they race on the overhead screen (and on each individual video screen) for one of the various jackpot levels.
Ancient Chinese Secret and Imperial Dragon both have common bonus rounds in which a main player triggers the bonus and secondary players enter later.
The most spectacular of IGT’s community-play games, though, is surely the latest, “eBay.” The game, based on the famous auction website, features five machines linked to a giant bonus round that plays a free-spin round on five 40-inch video monitors, each representing a reel. Players earn multipliers during primary game play, and everyone enters the bonus at once.
“With everyone sitting close together, there is a lot of interaction,” says O’Brien. “They’re going to see the person next to them is going into the free-spin bonus at a higher multiplier (which will encourage higher coin-in). If the bank is full, every six to eight minutes, you’re going to see a free spin bonus.”
O’Brien says IGT is expanding some of its community-play games this year to add consolation prizes to the mix. “For example, in Indiana Jones, when one person wins one of the progressives in the mystery free spin, everyone would get a consolation prize,” he says.
Common Play, Private Prize
IGT’s Eastern distributor and frequent development partner, New Jersey-based AC Coin & Slot, has been getting into multi-player, community-style slots in a big way of late. The company recently released the multi-player version of its “Bankroll” game, called “Super Bankroll Bonus.”
Super Bankroll Bonus is a follow-up to last year’s “Super Slotto,” a giant, multi-player version of the lottery-style game the company popularized. At last year’s Global Gaming Expo, the company introduced a new multi-player version of “Empire,” the game that simulates King Kong climbing up the Empire State Building toward a bonus zone. This version features a mock building with an individual slot on each side.
According to Jerry Seelig, AC Coin’s executive vice president and general manager, the company takes a different approach to community play than some other slot-makers, emphasizing that prizes are not shared among players. “One of my beliefs in designing video games is that I don’t like to have to share one person’s win with everybody else,” he says. “I believe that if you win, you’re the winner. If people win with you, they’re winners also, but to share a win with somebody who didn’t win isn’t something I like to incorporate in games.”
That doesn’t detract from the shared experience of the bonus round, he adds. “The multi-player format is comfortable, and people get to see you win,” Seelig says. “It plays a lot to the psyche of the gambler. As players get to play these games, they realize how much fun they are.”
The Table Community
The original manifestation of communal play in a casino, of course, was the table game. Casinos these days are devoting an increasing amount of floor space to electronic versions of table games—giving players the interaction and common experiences they seek without the increased labor cost to the operator or the intimidation factor for new players.
One of the most successful manufacturers in this area has been Shuffle
Master, which has placed its “Table Master” electronic table games at
racinos in Delaware, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and is still expanding the
market for those products.
Even today’s slot manufacturers devote a lot of R&D resources to recreating traditional table games. IGT, for instance, has developed a complete line of automated roulette, baccarat and other games using technology purchased from the Austrian Gaming Industries subsidiary of Novomatic Industries, one of the giants of the European gaming industry.
According to Tim Richards, director of table game marketing for IGT, the manufacturer has combined the Novomatic platform and intellectual property with IGT’s platform to create a new automated roulette product using the Game King hybrid slant-top cabinet. Both automated roulette wheels and live roulette games are beamed to the Game King terminals, at which players can wager just as if at a live table.
IGT also is releasing multi-player games using the technology of a company it recently acquired, Digideal. Blackjack, Texas Hold’em, baccarat, pai gow and other table games are offered in a completely automated format. According to Richards, IGT has garnered interest not only from racinos and other obvious markets that do not allow live table games, but from traditional casinos as an alternative to offer lower limits and more liberal rules to some players. “Casinos can use these to offer better games because there is no overhead,” Richards says. “For example, there are a lot of 6/5 blackjack games on the Strip now. With the automated setup, you can go back to 3/2 blackjack.”
The automated table game market is well-established in Europe, where AGI/Novomatic offers a complete range of multi-player games such as Novo Multi-Roulette—eight player stations linked to a fully automated roulette wheel—Novo Multi-Keno and a complete line of Novo Touchbet Live products.
Novomatic’s automated table games compete with a group of well-established Slovenian producers of multi-player, automated roulette products. Elektroncek’s Interblock division was the first Slovenian supplier of multi-player roulette games, with its MegaStar, Supernova and Queen brands firmly entrenched at the high end of the market.
Among Interblock’s hottest new products is “G4 Organic Blackjack,” an innovative electro-mechanical blackjack product that shuffles and deals real cards from eight physical decks in a completely automated operation.
Because all cards are bar-coded, all information from the game can be recorded through player tracking and accounting systems. According to Elektroncek CEO Thomas Zvipelj, the game is capable of delivering 30 percent more hands per hour than live blackjack. He says the company plans to use the product as a basis for expanding its market presence into North America. “Elektroncek’s Blackjack takes casinos to a new level,” he says, “toward implementing a whole range of traditional games on an electro-mechanical platform.”
Slovenia also is home to two of the world’s leading suppliers of automated roulette and other table games, Alfastreet Gaming Instruments and Gold Club d.o.o.
Alfastreet offers top-of-the-line automated roulette, in addition to some of the industry’s most innovative individual terminals, including its “Table Top” line, electronic touch-screen units that resemble laptop computers, that can be placed in any configuration in modular setups to fit the space requirements of any operator.
The company’s newest product is an automated craps game that Marketing and Sales Manager Matjaz Petek calls “the new generation of multi-player dice machines.” The game employs a new platform that Petek says will form the basis of multi-player units of other games, including roulette and baccarat.
Gold Club also offers an enviable auto-roulette line, including models that can accommodate five, six, eight or 10 players, and a single-player roulette terminal that can be linked in any configuration up to a total of 128 playing stations.
Gold Club this year launched a new 10-player, touch-screen roulette game called “Vega,” and new multi-player table games in its “Omega” line that use larger 19-inch touch-screen monitors. It also is expanding the market for its “Neon” satellite roulette system, which can link individual player monitors to both electronic and live roulette wheels at the same time.
Whether dealing with automated table games or the newer multi-player slot configurations, community play is definitely on the rise in casinos around the world.
“A lot of companies are coming out with this community style of game,” says IGT’s O’Brien. “It’s already gone beyond being a novelty or niche product. I think you’re always going to see this kind of game out there. And, with player tracking and server-based gaming coming, that’s not going to change. It will become typical to see six or eight players at a time enjoying each other’s company.”
“We see our community gaming product line as having a full continuum of design opportunities,” adds Bone at WMS. “We also see great opportunities for collaborative and competitive community gaming products that will further push the boundaries of how players can interact and engage with each other on the casino floor.”
Casinos in Spain: Anticipation or Acceptance?
It has been two and a half years since the announcement that Harrah’s would build a Caesars resort casino as part of a major leisure development south of Madrid, in Spain. Since then, little news has been forthcoming.
Six months ago the mega-project Gran Scala was introduced and hailed as “Las Vegas comes to the Spanish desert.” After that, hard news about the project was hard to come by.
In these days of tight credit and volatile oil prices, it would be easy to assume that both Gran Scala and Caesars Ciudad Real had been consigned to the industry’s current cancelled-or-indefinitely-delayed pile. But Spain is no stranger to the long-term project. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882 and is not expected to be completed before 2026. And it took the developer five years to find and buy the land, for the equivalent of just over a thousand euro.
As Gaudi is reported to have said, when asked about the long construction timetable for the church, “My Client is not in a hurry.”
Luckily for Spain’s mortal residents and tourists, they can pass the time in existing casinos while waiting for the future to arrive.
That wasn’t always the case. Under the leadership of General Franco, who served as head of state for almost 40 years, all forms of gambling in Spain were outlawed. But after Franco’s death in 1975, the current casino era began with new legislation in 1978. Mimicking the model that was popular in many Western European countries, the first 18 casino licenses were given to operations located in resort areas and on the outskirts of cities and towns. The rationale was to help promote tourism. National regulations at first governed casinos in the country’s 17 autonomous regions and two autonomous cities, but over time each region has adapted those regulations to fit individual needs.
Modern Europe has been good to Spain. Since joining the European Union in 1986—when that steadily growing body was still small enough to be called the European Community—Spain has seen its per-capita GDP grow from 72 percent of the E.U. average to 98.5 percent. The accompanying rise in personal discretionary spending has helped the Spanish casino industry grow to some 40 properties.
The casino business makes up a small portion of Spain’s gaming industry. Casinos are privately owned and operated, and account for only about 8.5 percent of all money given to games of chance. The public spends 60 percent of its wagering euro in the private sector, comprised of casinos, bingo parlors and those ubiquitous low-stake, low-payout slot machines, designated “B” machines under Spanish law. The other 40 percent is spent on various public-sector lotteries and sports betting organizations.
The Spanish Ministry of the Interior estimates that total wagers for all gaming sectors reached just under €28.9 billion in 2006—about $36.1 billion given the average exchange rate of 1.25 dollars to the euro that year. Casino gambling accounted for less than €2.5 billion of that. Playing the “B” machines was the most popular activity, accounting for €11 billion. Bingo drew €3.7 billion.
Not surprisingly, the busiest casinos are the primary casinos for Barcelona and Madrid. The two metro regions have 12 percent and 14 percent of Spain’s population, respectively. In 2007, Casino Madrid and Casino Barcelona together accounted for 40 percent of the combined gross gaming revenue of the 32 casinos that belong to the Spanish Casino Association. Madrid had the higher table game action, winning €58 million—about $79.5 million. Barcelona’s tables brought in €52.8 million, but Barcelona’s slots—designated “C” machines—took in almost double those of Madrid, €26.6 million to €13.6 million.
The two next highest grossing casinos also draw their guests from the greater Barcelona and Madrid markets. Casino Peralada, which belongs to the same group as Barcelona and serves the region 145 kilometers to the north of the city, took in €6.5 million at the tables and €17.2 million from slots. Casino Aranjuez, located about 50 kilometers to the south of Madrid, won €20.1 million at its tables and another €3 million from slots.
The four properties taken together accounted for 53 percent of all casino gaming revenue.
In 2008, the tourist hotspot of the Canary Islands had the most casinos with seven. Located in the Atlantic Ocean 67 miles off the southern coast of Morocco, this archipelago of seven main islands sees around 10 million tourists from mainly northern European countries spending about €12.3 billion a year.
Another favorite with holiday-makers, Andalucia, in the south of Spain, has the second-highest number of casinos with five, followed by the Mediterranean’s Balearic Islands with three. The mainland regions of Catalonia and Castilla Y Leon each also have three casinos, followed by two each for Aragon, Galicia, Madrid, Valencia, Murcia and the Basque Country. The autonomous areas of Asturias, Cantabria, Extremadura, La Rioja, Ceuta and Melilla each have a sole casino in operation.
According to figures released by industry organization Asociacion Espanola De Casinos De Juego, Spanish casinos saw just over 3.6 million visitors in 2006, a 4.3 percent rise on 2005’s numbers.
In terms of number of properties, Grupo Comar is the largest operator in Spain, with nine sites spread all over the country, plus casinos in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, the Czech Republic and some cruise ships. The second-largest operator in Spain is Cirsa, with four properties spread over Asturias, Andalucia, Valencia and Galicia. A major player on the world stage, Barcelona-based Cirsa also operates 11 venues outside of its native land, mainly in South America.
Grupo Orenes, an operator linked with Madrid-based machine manufacturer and developer Recreativos Franco, runs one casino each in Murcia, Extremadura and La Rioja, with a fourth due to open later this year in Valencia. There is also Casinos Nervion, with four sites spread over the Basque Country, the Balearic Island of Mallorca and, most recently, in Ceuta.
Also of major importance is Casinos De Catalunya, which runs the Castillo De Peralada, Gran Casino De Barcelona and Casino Tarragona venues in Catalonia, plus two casinos in Argentina. Grupo Gran Madrid operates casinos in Torrelodones, Benalmadena and Murcia under its Casino Madrid brand. Grupo Orenes, Casinos De Catalunya, Grupo Gran Madrid and Casinos Nervion were also founding members of the Asociacion Espanola De Casinos De Juego, which represents the interests of about 70 percent of the market.
Like many industrialized nations, Spain has introduced a smoking ban in public places, including casinos. However, casinos are allowed to have certain zones for smokers on condition that they install costly smoke processing systems. Although the ban has affected results somewhat, Casino Barcelona, which has installed the systems, reports that they have not been too badly hurt. What they have noticed is that their designated smoking zones are showing higher levels of play than the non-smoking areas. Whether the ban will prove to be a significant hindrance to the industry in the long term remains to be seen.
The table game mix inside the casinos is a standard European assortment consisting primarily of French and American roulette, blackjack, punto banco and a variety of games that all come under the heading “poker,” which includes everything from casino stud played against the house to Texas hold’em and Omaha to a local version called poker sintetico.
A few casinos offer more exotic games. Casino Madrid has chemin de fer. Casinos Peralada and Barcelona, being relatively near the French border, offer boule, which is popular with the neighbors. Casino Extremadura has a Portuguese dice game, again because it is on the border with Portugal. Casino Majorca and since recently Barcelona have American craps.
In 2007 about 37 percent of GGR from the 32 Spanish Association casinos came from roulette, which is still the big game in Europe. Blackjack accounted for 15 percent and punto banco 3 percent. The combined poker offering brought in 11 percent of the total revenue.
Slot machines are present in casinos but not in what you would call huge numbers. The largest casinos have only a few hundred machines, and in all of Spain there are only about 2,500 slots in casinos. That is mainly due to the fact the slot market in Spain is primarily a street machine market, and there are about 250,000 of these that pay out small cash prizes. However, casino slots did account for 33 percent of total GGR generated by the associated casinos.
Poker, meaning the game where players compete against each other and the house provides a dealer and rakes the pot, has continued to grow in popularity. In 2006 the Spanish Poker Championship circuit was planned and developed by Casinos de Catalunya together with four other casinos and the Spanish Casino Association.
In 2007 the second annual SPC was played in stages at 11 different casinos throughout the year, with the final held at Casino Mallorca in December. Around 1,300 players created a prize pool of €651,000—not exactly WSOP numbers, but not bad for a game that was relatively unknown in the country six years ago. The event is taking place again this year and more entries are expected.
Casino Barcelona has been one of the biggest supporters of poker. The casino was the first to host international, televised championship events, starting with the World Headsup Poker Championship in 2004, then the European Poker Tour in 2005 and ultimately the World Poker Tour in 2007. All three organizations continue to stage their events at Barcelona.
Last year, regional governments were given permission to license land-based sports betting services. Previously, Spanish punters wanting to have a flutter on a horse race or a soccer match needed to do so online at a foreign site, but following a deal between Britain’s William Hill and Madrid’s Codere, bettors can walk into a bookie and wager in person.
The first Victoria betting shop, as the joint brand is known, opened in April and there are plans to establish 70 such venues across the Madrid region, the first of the regions to grant licenses. Madrid has also granted licenses to the partnership between the U.K.’s Ladbrokes and Cirsa along with Greece’s Intralot. In addition, Austrian firms Bwin and Betbull have announced plans to launch a joint franchise while Britain’s Gala Coral has been in talks with potential Spanish partners for months.
Online gaming sites are still in legal limbo, as is the case with many European Union countries. Poker is popular and growing daily, with the boom expected in 2008-09. But the biggest push in advertising has come from online sports betting sites. Last year saw €60 million in advertising from sports betting websites, representing 90 percent of the online gaming spend, according to industry insiders. Not bad considering such advertising is technically illegal.
Luckily, the national government is more interested in developing sensible legislation for the industry than in tracking down the evil-doers. A solution is expected within the next two years that will involve licensing of operators and some taxation, though at lower rates than the U.K.’s current 15 percent.
Meanwhile, the two biggest projects on paper remain Caesars Ciudad Real and Gran Scala.
Local developer El Reino De Don Quijote De La Mancha, S.A. and Forest City Enterprises Inc. are developing the Caesars complex, which besides the casino resort will have five hotels, three golf courses and 9,000 apartments, and will cover 1,250 hectares in Ciudad Real.
Regional government permission to proceed was given in February, and depending on the economy and management decisions, it is expected that the complex will be inaugurated in late 2010 or early 2011, and will require investment of €6.5 billion over the next eight years.
For Gran Scala, perhaps the most ambitious casino and entertainment project ever, news came in June that project developer International Leisure Development had increased capitalization to €40 million, was close to agreeing on a location with the Aragon regional government and that all the land for the project—a parcel of 20.25 square kilometers—was expected to be acquired by the end of the summer.
Work on the massive infrastructure needed could begin early in 2009. Unofficially, a person close to the project says the company has enough potential partners to take on all 32 separate casino-hotel packages. However, there has been opposition locally from those concerned about environmental effects.
The gaming industry in Spain appears to have at least an attentive partner in government. Things may not move at lightning speed, but at least they appear to have a direction—in contrast to some European markets.
In any case, Gaudi's Sagrada Familia is still pulling 2 million visitors a year.
Cool Water
Boutique hotel” is a term that’s been tossed around a lot lately. Technically, it refers to a small, luxury hotel featuring customized amenities and premium services.
The term has been used frequently to describe the Water Club, the new signature hotel created by Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. While there’s nothing small about the Water Club—officially unveiled the last week of June—the 800-room, upscale non-casino hotel, connected to Borgata by a retail bridge, certainly meets all the other definitions of a boutique property. Customers have been amazed to find exquisite details like special woods, marble and stone flown in from around the world, custom-designed linens, and one-of-a-kind features throughout the property.
The Water Club is a stand-alone luxury hotel designed as a “step up” from anything in the market. The Water Club name comes from the fact there are five swimming pools and the unique “Immersion,” a two-story, 36,000-square-foot “spa in the sky” that begins on the hotel’s 32nd floor.
All that water, though, is just the beginning. The Water Club is “an exclusive extension of the sophisticated, international style that already defines Borgata,” says Drew Schlesinger, the new hotel’s vice president and general manager. “This is not a hotel for gamers, but for people who want a great weekend or a great night at a resort.”
“This is not a tower,” adds Michael Facenda, the Borgata’s director of marketing services. “It is the second hotel at Borgata. If the Borgata was not here, this could operate as a stand-alone hotel; it is not in this immediate market today.”
“What we ended up doing,” says Schlesinger, “was to position the Water Club as a signature hotel by Borgata. This is Borgata’s sibling, in a way, with a take-me-higher proposition.”
According to Larry Mullin, the Borgata’s president and chief operating officer, the property’s $600 million master expansion plan—which this $400 million hotel completes—included the provision for an upscale luxury destination resort from the start. The plan for the Water Club, he says, was crafted by a team led by Bob Boughner, CEO of Borgata at its opening.
Mullin, who also was on that team from the start, says the wisdom of the plan is becoming more clear as Atlantic City stings from competition posed by slot casinos in Pennsylvania. “With competition for specifically gambling, and more specifically, slot machines, what’s becoming clear is that it excites people to come to a true resort destination like this,” Mullin says.
The hotel certainly is different than anything else in Atlantic City, from the detail employed in creating it to the attentive service of the employees, for which Mullin credits Schlesinger, a longtime hotelier who is credited with opening luxury hotels from New York to San Francisco.
Among Schlesinger’s credits are the Paramount and 70 Park Avenue hotels in New York and the famous Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood. He was with Kimpton Hotels, the boutique hotel specialist, when Boughner tried to recruit him to open the Borgata five years ago. He turned that offer down, but when Mullin contacted him to head the Water Club opening, he says he couldn’t resist. “Larry called me, and I got so jazzed when I saw the plans for this, I said, ‘I’m in,’” he says. “Even though I’d said I’d never open another hotel, I couldn’t pass it up. This is my sixth hotel, and there’s just absolutely nothing like this. This is the pinnacle.”
Custom Experiences
What Schlesinger is describing is the remarkable attention to detail evident in every inch of the Water Club. Forty different types of stone and 60 different types of wood were used throughout the property.
Each floor has a character of its own, with often-exotic woods, stone and other materials reflecting each, from imported Italian Noachian wood in the business meeting rooms (“insanely expensive,” says Schlesinger) to a front desk made of petrified wood; from Brazilian marble in one of the bars to stone work with actual embedded fossils in the spa’s treatment rooms. The custom work even extends to the underground valet operation, where you’ll drive in and out of the resort on imported cobblestone.
“No one is expecting what we’re offering,” says Schlesinger. “You just can’t imagine the finishes they’ve used here, or the special design.”
The Water Club includes 800 premium rooms and suites, five pools in unique environments, three residences inspired by chic city lofts, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, six new high-end retail shops, and of course, the unique spa.
Just off the lobby is the “Sun Room,” a sun-washed espresso bar in the morning that transforms into a hot nightspot in the evenings. Providing the bar menu is the Water Club’s resident celebrity chef, Geoffrey Zakarian of Manhattan’s Town and Country restaurants and Bravo TV’s Top Chef show. Zakarian has created all the outdoor pool menus, indoor bar menus, the spa menu, and even in-room dining menus.
Also adjacent to the lobby are two indoor swimming pools, complete with marble bars under 50-foot ceilings. Over one of the pools is a dark wood trellis containing a device that simulates a misty rain. Outside are two separate heated pools, complete with private cabanas.
One of the outdoor pools features jets that actually make it a huge Jacuzzi. “At night, lights glow from it, and this turns into a huge night spot, like a South Beach kind of scene,” Schlesinger says. “All of it features club service. You’re not getting your towel; everything is served to you. Someone brings you your food or beverage.”
But the pièce de résistance of the Water Club, says Schlesinger, is the remarkable Immersion spa spanning two upper-level stories of the hotel. There is almost a hushed reverence evident when you leave the elevators and walk among the individual treatment rooms. The private treatment rooms feature tables designed specifically for each treatment on the spa menu, with heating elements built into jade and marble tables. The rooms overlook the ocean or bay with panoramic views.
The 16 treatment rooms—“Experience Rooms,” officially—surround a common area with an Olympic-sized lap pool, also overlooking the ocean and bay and accented by teakwood tables and another lounge. The spa menu itself includes a whole range of mud treatments, exfoliation, and special pampering processes like the “oxygen infusion machine,” which pushes oxygen into the skin for a Botox-like effect.
“This is a five-diamond spa; we’re looking to get the real spa aficionados,” says Schlesinger. “All of our treatments are based on that. We don’t have a treatment that lasts less than 80 minutes.”
And the idea to put all this on the 32nd floor? “I have to give credit for this whole place to Bob Boughner,” says Mullin. “It was Bob’s vision, and his design with (principal interior designer) Larry Lea, to take that upper-floor real estate and accommodate it for the spa. The reason for that was that this (hotel) was not about just putting bodies in the building; it’s all about the quality of the product. At $400 million, we probably could have created a lot more hotel rooms. But when you look at the finishes we used and when you look a the types of amenities this place offers, it is clear we were going after quality, not quantity.”
The Boutique Experience
As far as the hotel itself, the Water Club is devoted to recreating the boutique experience within a large hotel, notes Mullin.
“We already had a great reputation for our casino,” he says. “We didn’t need to go out and get Drew, or Geoffrey Zakarian, had we wanted to create another casino hotel. Having someone like Drew, who has run some of the most successful boutique hotels in the country, and having someone like Geoffrey, are the things we believe distinguish this from a casino hotel.
“This will define itself as a category.”
The hotel includes 750 standard rooms, all featuring ocean or bay views and state-of-the-art amenities including 40-inch flat-screen high-definition TVs, aromatherapy bath amenities, and special touches like an electronic “do-not-disturb” mode that you can set with a button from your bed.
There also is a whole range of luxury suites, including 20 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units. Four corner suites are each equipped with a media-rich mini-theater. The largest are the “Residence Suites”—each around 5,000 square feet in two stories, with 22-foot ceilings in the living room and dining room, a fireplace, a butler pantry, and a bathroom as large as the bedrooms in the standard rooms. One of them has a pool table, another a grand piano.
“Yes, there are 800 rooms, but once you’re in your room, you will get that sense of a boutique-style hotel,” says Schlesinger, “because of the choices we made.” He notes that top management painstakingly chose every detail, from linens to mattresses, even to the hangers in the closet.
“We looked at 12 or 13 different hangers!” he says. “Bob Boughner slept on 30 different mattresses, until they made the right one, to his specifications. You can’t go to the store and buy one of these. Thirty or 40 pillows were slept on—by Larry, by me—to the point where we hand-picked even the type of feather. Instead of a plain goose feather, you go with a white goose down, because it has a softer feel and doesn’t have an odor when it gets wet.
“There is a whole myriad of things that separate us. It’s hard to call this boutique, but once they’re in that room, the level and individuality of the service will knock people out.”
Mullin says the Water Club will accommodate both current Borgata customers and people who are “Atlantic City rejecters”—new customers who never have considered the city as a vacation option in the past.
“For our (current) customers—and we have the highest level of play in town—we need to constantly be offering a choice, and more importantly, a product we think represents what they found Borgata to be a home for in the first place,” Mullin says. “When they originally came to Borgata, they were looking for that fresh, fun, focused experience, and we think the Water Club does that again.
“For the ‘rejecters’ who have yet to make Borgata their home, in the past, there just wasn’t enough of a compelling reason to come. We believe this finally solidifies that on a mark to the most discretionary customer.”
Personal Service
But what really will set the Water Club apart, says Schlesinger, is the service. “We hired 800 employees for 800 keys, so you basically have a one-to-one ratio,” he says. “Outside of Asia or the Middle East, you rarely see that level of staff-to-guest ratio.”
He says the Water Club has even created new types of jobs to fill the gaps that might exist between service providers. For instance, there are “lobby ambassadors” who have the job of attending to guests when they are between the valet area and the front desk.
“These men and women will greet you as you’re coming up the escalator,” Schlesinger says.
“They’ll sit you on a bench and bring you some wine. Hopefully, a lot of people won’t even have to stand at the guest registration, but in any event, everyone’s escorted everywhere. It’s not a ‘point-and-show’ kind of hotel. It’s true luxe.”
Asked whether enough people are going to be able to afford “luxe” in these tough economic times, Mullin says he is not worried. “The economy has always gone up and down,” he says, “and we didn’t build this for the short term. The return we will get in the coming weeks or months is not the issue; the issue is really where we go for the next few years. We believe we will be the mark for the future, because it’s going to be very hard to replicate anything like this in its entirety.”
For the record, the Water Club had 7,000 corporate rooms booked with 5,000 pending and 2,200 transient guest reservations booked—before the doors were even opened.
“The market will still be defined by Borgata, and by the Water Club,” Mullin says. “We are the benchmark.”
Summer Highs
The Water Club is only one of several new offerings in Atlantic City this summer.
The new hotel joins expansions and renovations at existing hotels and new non-casino attractions in a lineup of new offerings in the seaside resort. Here’s a sample:
Harrah’s Waterfront Tower
The 960-room Waterfront Tower at Harrah’s Atlantic City, which opened in March, capped off the casino’s $550 million expansion, which began a year earlier with the opening of the new Waterfront Buffet and the massive Pool at Harrah’s.
The guest rooms have been opening in phases since March. They include state-of-the-art standard rooms and suites that include “bachelor and bachelorette party suites” with bars and home movie systems; 1,600-square-foot end suites (three times the size of a normal room); and two Elizabeth Arden-themed penthouse suites with built-in massage rooms, steam rooms and showers—those ones are 2,600 square feet apiece.
The 525-foot tower is part of a new complex at Harrah’s that includes a retail promenade leading to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa and the indoor pool, which sits under a 90-foot dome and is opened as a nightclub in the evening. It also includes cabanas for relaxing, or for private parties.
Chairman’s Tower at Taj
By the end of the summer, the transformation of Trump Taj Mahal into the modern era will be complete with the opening of the 900-room Chairman’s Tower, the first room addition to be completed since the property opened in 1990.
The new tower features 782 guest rooms, including 74 suites (four of them luxury suites long the lines of the existing Penthouse Suites at the Taj).
The rooms are designed with both business and leisure travelers in mind—they are larger than original Taj rooms, with higher ceilings and modern bathrooms including double sinks recessed into Brazilian granite countertops. Eight luxury suites top the tower, including two super-suites measuring 2,100 square feet apiece.
The tower caps off a complete renovation of the Taj, which has included a makeover of all public spaces and existing guest rooms, as well as the addition of the “Spice Road”
retail promenade and the Il Mulino New York restaurant.
“The strongest feature of the new tower will be the rooms themselves,” says Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts. “They’re very spacious, they have fabulous views, great, new modern bathrooms, and all-new technology, like high-speed internet access, flat-screen TVs and iPod docks.”
The Chelsea
At press time, a July opening was predicted for the other boutique hotel offering coming to town this summer, the Chelsea Hotel.
A creation of Curtis Bashaw, former executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Chelsea is being created from the two buildings that formerly housed the Holiday Inn and Teplitsky’s, a kosher hotel that eventually was transformed into a Howard Johnson’s.
The Chelsea’s design is a retro-chic 1950s look, with terrazzo floors and stainless steel ceilings. “It’s a classic, timeless feel I’m sure is reminiscent of Hollywood’s glamour period,” says Bashaw. “It’s something Atlantic City has not seen before—or at least not for a long time.” The 331 rooms will be divided into two classes, “Chelsea Luxe” and “Chelsea Lite.” All include flat-screen LCD TVs and other modern amenities.
Celebrity chef Stephen Starr created the property’s two restaurants, Chelsea Prime for steaks and Teplitsky’s, a 24-hour diner giving a nod to the original occupant of the building. Starr also has developed all in-room dining menus.
The new hotel will be capped by a rooftop pool with an outdoor bar and hip nightspot called the “Fifth Floor.”
The term has been used frequently to describe the Water Club, the new signature hotel created by Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. While there’s nothing small about the Water Club—officially unveiled the last week of June—the 800-room, upscale non-casino hotel, connected to Borgata by a retail bridge, certainly meets all the other definitions of a boutique property. Customers have been amazed to find exquisite details like special woods, marble and stone flown in from around the world, custom-designed linens, and one-of-a-kind features throughout the property.
The Water Club is a stand-alone luxury hotel designed as a “step up” from anything in the market. The Water Club name comes from the fact there are five swimming pools and the unique “Immersion,” a two-story, 36,000-square-foot “spa in the sky” that begins on the hotel’s 32nd floor.
All that water, though, is just the beginning. The Water Club is “an exclusive extension of the sophisticated, international style that already defines Borgata,” says Drew Schlesinger, the new hotel’s vice president and general manager. “This is not a hotel for gamers, but for people who want a great weekend or a great night at a resort.”
“This is not a tower,” adds Michael Facenda, the Borgata’s director of marketing services. “It is the second hotel at Borgata. If the Borgata was not here, this could operate as a stand-alone hotel; it is not in this immediate market today.”
“What we ended up doing,” says Schlesinger, “was to position the Water Club as a signature hotel by Borgata. This is Borgata’s sibling, in a way, with a take-me-higher proposition.”
According to Larry Mullin, the Borgata’s president and chief operating officer, the property’s $600 million master expansion plan—which this $400 million hotel completes—included the provision for an upscale luxury destination resort from the start. The plan for the Water Club, he says, was crafted by a team led by Bob Boughner, CEO of Borgata at its opening.
Mullin, who also was on that team from the start, says the wisdom of the plan is becoming more clear as Atlantic City stings from competition posed by slot casinos in Pennsylvania. “With competition for specifically gambling, and more specifically, slot machines, what’s becoming clear is that it excites people to come to a true resort destination like this,” Mullin says.
The hotel certainly is different than anything else in Atlantic City, from the detail employed in creating it to the attentive service of the employees, for which Mullin credits Schlesinger, a longtime hotelier who is credited with opening luxury hotels from New York to San Francisco.
Among Schlesinger’s credits are the Paramount and 70 Park Avenue hotels in New York and the famous Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood. He was with Kimpton Hotels, the boutique hotel specialist, when Boughner tried to recruit him to open the Borgata five years ago. He turned that offer down, but when Mullin contacted him to head the Water Club opening, he says he couldn’t resist. “Larry called me, and I got so jazzed when I saw the plans for this, I said, ‘I’m in,’” he says. “Even though I’d said I’d never open another hotel, I couldn’t pass it up. This is my sixth hotel, and there’s just absolutely nothing like this. This is the pinnacle.”
Custom Experiences
What Schlesinger is describing is the remarkable attention to detail evident in every inch of the Water Club. Forty different types of stone and 60 different types of wood were used throughout the property.
Each floor has a character of its own, with often-exotic woods, stone and other materials reflecting each, from imported Italian Noachian wood in the business meeting rooms (“insanely expensive,” says Schlesinger) to a front desk made of petrified wood; from Brazilian marble in one of the bars to stone work with actual embedded fossils in the spa’s treatment rooms. The custom work even extends to the underground valet operation, where you’ll drive in and out of the resort on imported cobblestone.
“No one is expecting what we’re offering,” says Schlesinger. “You just can’t imagine the finishes they’ve used here, or the special design.”
The Water Club includes 800 premium rooms and suites, five pools in unique environments, three residences inspired by chic city lofts, 18,000 square feet of meeting space, six new high-end retail shops, and of course, the unique spa.
Just off the lobby is the “Sun Room,” a sun-washed espresso bar in the morning that transforms into a hot nightspot in the evenings. Providing the bar menu is the Water Club’s resident celebrity chef, Geoffrey Zakarian of Manhattan’s Town and Country restaurants and Bravo TV’s Top Chef show. Zakarian has created all the outdoor pool menus, indoor bar menus, the spa menu, and even in-room dining menus.
Also adjacent to the lobby are two indoor swimming pools, complete with marble bars under 50-foot ceilings. Over one of the pools is a dark wood trellis containing a device that simulates a misty rain. Outside are two separate heated pools, complete with private cabanas.
One of the outdoor pools features jets that actually make it a huge Jacuzzi. “At night, lights glow from it, and this turns into a huge night spot, like a South Beach kind of scene,” Schlesinger says. “All of it features club service. You’re not getting your towel; everything is served to you. Someone brings you your food or beverage.”
But the pièce de résistance of the Water Club, says Schlesinger, is the remarkable Immersion spa spanning two upper-level stories of the hotel. There is almost a hushed reverence evident when you leave the elevators and walk among the individual treatment rooms. The private treatment rooms feature tables designed specifically for each treatment on the spa menu, with heating elements built into jade and marble tables. The rooms overlook the ocean or bay with panoramic views.
The 16 treatment rooms—“Experience Rooms,” officially—surround a common area with an Olympic-sized lap pool, also overlooking the ocean and bay and accented by teakwood tables and another lounge. The spa menu itself includes a whole range of mud treatments, exfoliation, and special pampering processes like the “oxygen infusion machine,” which pushes oxygen into the skin for a Botox-like effect.
“This is a five-diamond spa; we’re looking to get the real spa aficionados,” says Schlesinger. “All of our treatments are based on that. We don’t have a treatment that lasts less than 80 minutes.”
And the idea to put all this on the 32nd floor? “I have to give credit for this whole place to Bob Boughner,” says Mullin. “It was Bob’s vision, and his design with (principal interior designer) Larry Lea, to take that upper-floor real estate and accommodate it for the spa. The reason for that was that this (hotel) was not about just putting bodies in the building; it’s all about the quality of the product. At $400 million, we probably could have created a lot more hotel rooms. But when you look at the finishes we used and when you look a the types of amenities this place offers, it is clear we were going after quality, not quantity.”
The Boutique Experience
As far as the hotel itself, the Water Club is devoted to recreating the boutique experience within a large hotel, notes Mullin.
“We already had a great reputation for our casino,” he says. “We didn’t need to go out and get Drew, or Geoffrey Zakarian, had we wanted to create another casino hotel. Having someone like Drew, who has run some of the most successful boutique hotels in the country, and having someone like Geoffrey, are the things we believe distinguish this from a casino hotel.
“This will define itself as a category.”
The hotel includes 750 standard rooms, all featuring ocean or bay views and state-of-the-art amenities including 40-inch flat-screen high-definition TVs, aromatherapy bath amenities, and special touches like an electronic “do-not-disturb” mode that you can set with a button from your bed.
There also is a whole range of luxury suites, including 20 one-bedroom units and 15 two-bedroom units. Four corner suites are each equipped with a media-rich mini-theater. The largest are the “Residence Suites”—each around 5,000 square feet in two stories, with 22-foot ceilings in the living room and dining room, a fireplace, a butler pantry, and a bathroom as large as the bedrooms in the standard rooms. One of them has a pool table, another a grand piano.
“Yes, there are 800 rooms, but once you’re in your room, you will get that sense of a boutique-style hotel,” says Schlesinger, “because of the choices we made.” He notes that top management painstakingly chose every detail, from linens to mattresses, even to the hangers in the closet.
“We looked at 12 or 13 different hangers!” he says. “Bob Boughner slept on 30 different mattresses, until they made the right one, to his specifications. You can’t go to the store and buy one of these. Thirty or 40 pillows were slept on—by Larry, by me—to the point where we hand-picked even the type of feather. Instead of a plain goose feather, you go with a white goose down, because it has a softer feel and doesn’t have an odor when it gets wet.
“There is a whole myriad of things that separate us. It’s hard to call this boutique, but once they’re in that room, the level and individuality of the service will knock people out.”
Mullin says the Water Club will accommodate both current Borgata customers and people who are “Atlantic City rejecters”—new customers who never have considered the city as a vacation option in the past.
“For our (current) customers—and we have the highest level of play in town—we need to constantly be offering a choice, and more importantly, a product we think represents what they found Borgata to be a home for in the first place,” Mullin says. “When they originally came to Borgata, they were looking for that fresh, fun, focused experience, and we think the Water Club does that again.
“For the ‘rejecters’ who have yet to make Borgata their home, in the past, there just wasn’t enough of a compelling reason to come. We believe this finally solidifies that on a mark to the most discretionary customer.”
Personal Service
But what really will set the Water Club apart, says Schlesinger, is the service. “We hired 800 employees for 800 keys, so you basically have a one-to-one ratio,” he says. “Outside of Asia or the Middle East, you rarely see that level of staff-to-guest ratio.”
He says the Water Club has even created new types of jobs to fill the gaps that might exist between service providers. For instance, there are “lobby ambassadors” who have the job of attending to guests when they are between the valet area and the front desk.
“These men and women will greet you as you’re coming up the escalator,” Schlesinger says.
“They’ll sit you on a bench and bring you some wine. Hopefully, a lot of people won’t even have to stand at the guest registration, but in any event, everyone’s escorted everywhere. It’s not a ‘point-and-show’ kind of hotel. It’s true luxe.”
Asked whether enough people are going to be able to afford “luxe” in these tough economic times, Mullin says he is not worried. “The economy has always gone up and down,” he says, “and we didn’t build this for the short term. The return we will get in the coming weeks or months is not the issue; the issue is really where we go for the next few years. We believe we will be the mark for the future, because it’s going to be very hard to replicate anything like this in its entirety.”
For the record, the Water Club had 7,000 corporate rooms booked with 5,000 pending and 2,200 transient guest reservations booked—before the doors were even opened.
“The market will still be defined by Borgata, and by the Water Club,” Mullin says. “We are the benchmark.”
Summer Highs
The Water Club is only one of several new offerings in Atlantic City this summer.
The new hotel joins expansions and renovations at existing hotels and new non-casino attractions in a lineup of new offerings in the seaside resort. Here’s a sample:
Harrah’s Waterfront Tower
The 960-room Waterfront Tower at Harrah’s Atlantic City, which opened in March, capped off the casino’s $550 million expansion, which began a year earlier with the opening of the new Waterfront Buffet and the massive Pool at Harrah’s.
The guest rooms have been opening in phases since March. They include state-of-the-art standard rooms and suites that include “bachelor and bachelorette party suites” with bars and home movie systems; 1,600-square-foot end suites (three times the size of a normal room); and two Elizabeth Arden-themed penthouse suites with built-in massage rooms, steam rooms and showers—those ones are 2,600 square feet apiece.
The 525-foot tower is part of a new complex at Harrah’s that includes a retail promenade leading to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa and the indoor pool, which sits under a 90-foot dome and is opened as a nightclub in the evening. It also includes cabanas for relaxing, or for private parties.
Chairman’s Tower at Taj
By the end of the summer, the transformation of Trump Taj Mahal into the modern era will be complete with the opening of the 900-room Chairman’s Tower, the first room addition to be completed since the property opened in 1990.
The new tower features 782 guest rooms, including 74 suites (four of them luxury suites long the lines of the existing Penthouse Suites at the Taj).
The rooms are designed with both business and leisure travelers in mind—they are larger than original Taj rooms, with higher ceilings and modern bathrooms including double sinks recessed into Brazilian granite countertops. Eight luxury suites top the tower, including two super-suites measuring 2,100 square feet apiece.
The tower caps off a complete renovation of the Taj, which has included a makeover of all public spaces and existing guest rooms, as well as the addition of the “Spice Road”
retail promenade and the Il Mulino New York restaurant.
“The strongest feature of the new tower will be the rooms themselves,” says Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts. “They’re very spacious, they have fabulous views, great, new modern bathrooms, and all-new technology, like high-speed internet access, flat-screen TVs and iPod docks.”
The Chelsea
At press time, a July opening was predicted for the other boutique hotel offering coming to town this summer, the Chelsea Hotel.
A creation of Curtis Bashaw, former executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the Chelsea is being created from the two buildings that formerly housed the Holiday Inn and Teplitsky’s, a kosher hotel that eventually was transformed into a Howard Johnson’s.
The Chelsea’s design is a retro-chic 1950s look, with terrazzo floors and stainless steel ceilings. “It’s a classic, timeless feel I’m sure is reminiscent of Hollywood’s glamour period,” says Bashaw. “It’s something Atlantic City has not seen before—or at least not for a long time.” The 331 rooms will be divided into two classes, “Chelsea Luxe” and “Chelsea Lite.” All include flat-screen LCD TVs and other modern amenities.
Celebrity chef Stephen Starr created the property’s two restaurants, Chelsea Prime for steaks and Teplitsky’s, a 24-hour diner giving a nod to the original occupant of the building. Starr also has developed all in-room dining menus.
The new hotel will be capped by a rooftop pool with an outdoor bar and hip nightspot called the “Fifth Floor.”
Why Doesn’t Every Casino Have a Sports Book?
On February 3, 2008, the New York Giants and the New England Patriots met in Glendale, Arizona to play Super Bowl XLII.
In what was the most-watched Super Bowl ever, with Nielsen Media Research reporting that 97.5 million viewers tuned in to the game, the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14. Meanwhile, the sports books of Nevada casinos took $92.06 million in wagers on Super Bowl XLII, according to the 2008 State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment, an annual report issued by the American Gaming Association.
The amount legally wagered pales in comparison to the total amount bet on
the Super Bowl. This year, USA Today estimated this figure to be approximately $8 billion.
Suffice it to say, Americans love the Super Bowl, and Americans love wagering on the Super Bowl. Yet this country’s obsession with sports wagering goes beyond betting on just football. According to the AGA’s State of the States report, $2.596 billion was wagered on sporting events in Nevada casinos in 2007, with football wagering accounting for $1.176 billion (45 percent) of the gross wagers, bets on basketball totaling $687.19 million (26 percent), baseball wagers totaling $529.25 million (20 percent) and $202.91 million (8 percent) wagered on “other” sporting events.
The figures reported above are solely limited to those wagers placed in Nevada casinos, as Nevada is the only commercial casino jurisdiction that operates sports books which are legal, regulated, policed and taxed. Furthermore, Nevada sports book wagers account for the vast majority of legal sports wagers placed in the U.S.
As will be further discussed below, limited forms of sports wagering are legal in a small handful of other states, but these limited forms of sports wagering pale in comparison to wagers placed in Nevada sports books. This begs the questions as to why sports wagering is limited to only a few states in the country, and also why Nevada is the only commercial casino jurisdiction to operate legal sports books.
This article will provide an historical overview of land-based sports wagering in the United States, identify the current attempts by other states to expand sports wagering into their jurisdictions, and review the likely challenges that such expansion attempts will face.
In drafting this article, the authors acknowledge that sports wagering in the United States includes other activities such as online wagering and wagers placed through bookies, and that such wagers probably comprise the majority of the bets actually placed on sporting events in the U.S.
The National Gambling Impact Study Commission estimated that illegal wagers total over $380 billion annually. A full discussion of these complicated topics is well beyond the scope of this article. This article will focus solely on land-based, legalized sports wagering in the United States.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
In October 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (28 U.S.C. §3702), which set forth the general prohibition on sports wagering in the U.S. The law provides that “it shall be unlawful for a government entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license or authorize by law or compact, or a person to sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote… a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly… on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate, or are intended to participate, or on one or more performances of such athletes in such games.”
From a tribal gaming perspective, it is important to note that Section 3701 of PASPA defines the term “government entity” to include “an entity or organization described in section 4(5) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(5)), that has governmental authority within the territorial boundaries of the United States, including on lands described in section 4(4) of such Act.” Thus, PASPA’s prohibitions extend to Indian Country as well.
Though PASPA set forth a general prohibition on sports wagering, it also carved out a number of exceptions for certain state-run lotteries, certain casino sports books then in operation, parimutuel animal racing, and jai-alai.
These statutory exceptions effectively served as a grandfather clause for the licensed sports books in Nevada, the sports lottery being conducted in Oregon, a sports lottery authorized under Delaware law, and certain sports pool betting previously authorized under Montana law.
Importantly, Section 3704 of PASPA also provided a one-year window of opportunity for states that operated casino gaming for the previous 10-year period to pass a law allowing sports wagering within that state. Though this provision of PASPA was clearly designed with the Atlantic City, New Jersey casinos in mind, the New Jersey Legislature failed to statutorily authorize sports wagering
The PASPA exceptions can best be explained by a Senate report to the proposed legislation, which stated that Congress had no “desire to threaten the economy of Nevada, which over many decades has come to depend on legalized private gambling, including sports gambling, as an essential industry, or to prohibit lawful sports gambling schemes in other states that were in operation when the legislation was introduced. Therefore, it provides an exemption for those sports gambling operations which already are permitted under state law.”
Sports Wagering in Exempted States
Nevada
The clearest and most well-recognized exemption to PASPA’s prohibition is that of Nevada, which allows sports wagering in licensed sports books pursuant to the oversight and regulation of the Nevada Gaming Commission and the state Gaming Control Board. Sports wagering has been legal in Nevada since 1949, and PASPA did nothing to disturb this industry segment, which, according to the AGA, handled nearly $2.6 billion worth of bets in 2007, resulting in gross revenues of $168.4 million to Nevada sports books.
Oregon
In 1989, the Oregon Lottery introduced a sports lottery game called “Sports Action,” which involved the player trying to beat the point spreads of professional football games. Operating under a “grandfather” exemption from PASPA, Sports Action, and a later sports lottery game called “Monday Night Scorecard,” operated through the end of the 2006-2007 football season. On July 1, 2007, House Bill 3466 repealed ORS §461.213, the state law that had allowed for the Oregon sports lottery games to be offered. Accordingly, as of July 1, 2007, sports lottery wagering is no longer authorized in Oregon. The repeal of Oregon’s sports lottery games was done in an effort to attract the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to the state. According to the Oregon Lottery, the NCAA had taken the position that it would not hold basketball tournament games in Oregon so long as sports wagering was offered in the state. After the repeal of ORS §461.213, the NCAA announced that first- and second-round games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will be held in Portland, Oregon in March, 2009.
Delaware
The Delaware Lottery introduced its football lottery “Scoreboard” games in September 1976. These games involved picking the winners of selected National Football League games, and picking against the point spreads of selected NFL games. However, the NFL immediately filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against the governor and the Delaware Lottery, arguing that the NFL’s “forced association with gambling” constituted an unlawful interference with the NFL’s property rights. Despite the fact that the court eventually ruled that certain aspects of the Delaware sports lottery were permissible so long as it was made clear that its games were in no way affiliated with the NFL, Delaware’s football lottery was discontinued after just one year of operation. Accordingly, Delaware does not currently offer a sports lottery, though there is momentum to once again raise the issue, as more fully detailed below.
Montana
Montana allows for certain non-banking sports pools, sports tab games, fantasy sports leagues and Calcutta pools to be operated under the oversight of the Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Control Division.
Current Attempts to Renew and/or Expand Sports Wagering in the U.S.
Delaware House Bill 190
On May 15, the Delaware House of Representatives passed House Bill 190, which would direct the state lottery director to reestablish a sports lottery and, according to the House synopsis of the bill, allow the state to “take advantage of an exemption granted to the state of Delaware under federal law, namely PASPA, which allows the states of Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana to engage in sports betting. The bill expands the offerings of the Delaware Lottery and is intended to provide a significant additional source of revenue to the state.”
HB 190 has moved on to the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. Notably, the bill would prohibit wagering on collegiate sporting events that involve a Delaware college or university.
On January 10, a sports betting report issued to Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner by the controller general, the Department of Finance and the Office of Management and Budget estimated that the implementation of a sports lottery limited to the state’s three racinos would generate “a first full year (Fiscal Year 2010) General Fund return of between $22.5 million and $30.6 million.”
Though it has been reported that Minner has said she would veto any sports wagering bill, the legislation’s supporters have inserted a provision into the bill which provides that it will not be enacted until February 1, 2009, after Minner leaves office. Though it remains to be seen if the current bill will pass the Senate, or if Minner will ultimately veto the measure (even with its delayed enactment provision), the NCAA and the NFL have already begun voicing their opposition to this proposed sports wagering expansion.
Such opposition from the professional sports leagues was successful in 2002, when the Delaware General Assembly created a committee to consider the renewal of a sports lottery. In reviewing the issue, the committee took testimony and legal briefs from a number of interested parties, including a number of NFL representatives opposing the sports lottery; and a prepared statement opposing sports wagering in Delaware signed by Major league Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the NFL and the National Hockey League.
In the end, this opposition proved to be too much, as this 2002 effort to renew a sports lottery in Delaware never really got off the ground. It remains to be seen whether the result will be the same in 2008.
New Jersey Sports Wagering Expansion Efforts
As mentioned above, Congress provided New Jersey a one-year window of opportunity to pass a law which would allow for sports wagering in accordance with PASPA. The New Jersey Legislature did not act in time, and New Jersey’s opportunity to obtain an exemption from the prohibitions of PASPA closed on January 1, 1994. Nonetheless, there is currently momentum in the New Jersey Legislature to permit professional sports wagering at the state’s licensed casinos, subject to voter approval.
On February 7, the New Jersey General Assembly passed A1909, a bill that would allow for in-person wagering at casinos on the results of professional sporting events, subject to voter approval in the next general election. This bill has been sent to the state Senate, where it has been referred to the Senate Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.
Though there has been no additional action on A1909, there have been four additional bills introduced in the General Assembly and Senate during the 2008-2009 session seeking to permit sports wagering within the state, though none of these other measures has yet been put to a vote. Both houses of the New Jersey Legislature have also introduced resolutions calling on the U.S. Congress to lift the federal ban on sports wagering, though neither of these measures has progressed past the introduction stage.
If the New Jersey Legislature is indeed able to pass a law allowing for the introduction of professional sports wagering, and New Jersey voters approve such a proposal, the measure would still likely face federal pre-emption issues due to the prohibitions of PASPA.
In recognizing this likely problem, state Senator Raymond Lesniak is already calling on New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine to file a federal lawsuit challenging PASPA’s prohibitions on the constitutional grounds that the law’s provisions unfairly favor some states at the expense of others. A spokesman for the governor has said that it is premature to consider a federal lawsuit at this time.
In addition to the federal law issues cited above, New Jersey can also expect stiff opposition from the professional sports leagues and the NCAA. Spokesmen for the NFL have already weighed in on the issue in New Jersey, making clear their opposition to any expansion in sports wagering. It is likely that the other sports leagues will follow suit, just as they did in 1993 in their effort to block prior legislative attempts to expand sports wagering into New Jersey.
Betting Options
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is the seminal piece of federal legislation that has all but stopped the expansion of legal, land-based sports wagering in the United States. As state governments continue to feel the pinch of a slowing economy and continue to look toward gaming as a means of increased tax revenue, numerous other state legislatures will be watching to see the results that Delaware and New Jersey are able to obtain from their current, albeit different, paths toward sports wagering expansion.
No matter the legislative or political compromises reached with regard to sports wagering expansion, at the state and/or federal level, Delaware, New Jersey, or any other state that seeks to expand sports wagering into its jurisdiction should expect a well-funded and determined battle from the NCAA and the professional sports leagues, which are vehemently opposed to expansion.
David Waddell is an attorney and president of Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. His areas of practice include gaming law, business, tax and municipal law. In addition, Waddell is on the editorial board for the Gaming Law Review and writes a regular gaming business column for The Detroit News. He can be reached at 517-507-3859, waddell@rmclegal.com , or online at www.rmclegal.com .
Douglas Minke is an attorney with Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. His areas of practice include general business law, gaming supplier licensing, commercial litigation and creditor’s rights. He can be reached at 313-221-9380, minke@rmclegal.com , or online at www.rmclegal.com .
In what was the most-watched Super Bowl ever, with Nielsen Media Research reporting that 97.5 million viewers tuned in to the game, the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14. Meanwhile, the sports books of Nevada casinos took $92.06 million in wagers on Super Bowl XLII, according to the 2008 State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment, an annual report issued by the American Gaming Association.
The amount legally wagered pales in comparison to the total amount bet on
the Super Bowl. This year, USA Today estimated this figure to be approximately $8 billion.
Suffice it to say, Americans love the Super Bowl, and Americans love wagering on the Super Bowl. Yet this country’s obsession with sports wagering goes beyond betting on just football. According to the AGA’s State of the States report, $2.596 billion was wagered on sporting events in Nevada casinos in 2007, with football wagering accounting for $1.176 billion (45 percent) of the gross wagers, bets on basketball totaling $687.19 million (26 percent), baseball wagers totaling $529.25 million (20 percent) and $202.91 million (8 percent) wagered on “other” sporting events.
The figures reported above are solely limited to those wagers placed in Nevada casinos, as Nevada is the only commercial casino jurisdiction that operates sports books which are legal, regulated, policed and taxed. Furthermore, Nevada sports book wagers account for the vast majority of legal sports wagers placed in the U.S.
As will be further discussed below, limited forms of sports wagering are legal in a small handful of other states, but these limited forms of sports wagering pale in comparison to wagers placed in Nevada sports books. This begs the questions as to why sports wagering is limited to only a few states in the country, and also why Nevada is the only commercial casino jurisdiction to operate legal sports books.
This article will provide an historical overview of land-based sports wagering in the United States, identify the current attempts by other states to expand sports wagering into their jurisdictions, and review the likely challenges that such expansion attempts will face.
In drafting this article, the authors acknowledge that sports wagering in the United States includes other activities such as online wagering and wagers placed through bookies, and that such wagers probably comprise the majority of the bets actually placed on sporting events in the U.S.
The National Gambling Impact Study Commission estimated that illegal wagers total over $380 billion annually. A full discussion of these complicated topics is well beyond the scope of this article. This article will focus solely on land-based, legalized sports wagering in the United States.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
In October 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (28 U.S.C. §3702), which set forth the general prohibition on sports wagering in the U.S. The law provides that “it shall be unlawful for a government entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license or authorize by law or compact, or a person to sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote… a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly… on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate, or are intended to participate, or on one or more performances of such athletes in such games.”
From a tribal gaming perspective, it is important to note that Section 3701 of PASPA defines the term “government entity” to include “an entity or organization described in section 4(5) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703(5)), that has governmental authority within the territorial boundaries of the United States, including on lands described in section 4(4) of such Act.” Thus, PASPA’s prohibitions extend to Indian Country as well.
Though PASPA set forth a general prohibition on sports wagering, it also carved out a number of exceptions for certain state-run lotteries, certain casino sports books then in operation, parimutuel animal racing, and jai-alai.
These statutory exceptions effectively served as a grandfather clause for the licensed sports books in Nevada, the sports lottery being conducted in Oregon, a sports lottery authorized under Delaware law, and certain sports pool betting previously authorized under Montana law.
Importantly, Section 3704 of PASPA also provided a one-year window of opportunity for states that operated casino gaming for the previous 10-year period to pass a law allowing sports wagering within that state. Though this provision of PASPA was clearly designed with the Atlantic City, New Jersey casinos in mind, the New Jersey Legislature failed to statutorily authorize sports wagering
The PASPA exceptions can best be explained by a Senate report to the proposed legislation, which stated that Congress had no “desire to threaten the economy of Nevada, which over many decades has come to depend on legalized private gambling, including sports gambling, as an essential industry, or to prohibit lawful sports gambling schemes in other states that were in operation when the legislation was introduced. Therefore, it provides an exemption for those sports gambling operations which already are permitted under state law.”
Sports Wagering in Exempted States
Nevada
The clearest and most well-recognized exemption to PASPA’s prohibition is that of Nevada, which allows sports wagering in licensed sports books pursuant to the oversight and regulation of the Nevada Gaming Commission and the state Gaming Control Board. Sports wagering has been legal in Nevada since 1949, and PASPA did nothing to disturb this industry segment, which, according to the AGA, handled nearly $2.6 billion worth of bets in 2007, resulting in gross revenues of $168.4 million to Nevada sports books.
Oregon
In 1989, the Oregon Lottery introduced a sports lottery game called “Sports Action,” which involved the player trying to beat the point spreads of professional football games. Operating under a “grandfather” exemption from PASPA, Sports Action, and a later sports lottery game called “Monday Night Scorecard,” operated through the end of the 2006-2007 football season. On July 1, 2007, House Bill 3466 repealed ORS §461.213, the state law that had allowed for the Oregon sports lottery games to be offered. Accordingly, as of July 1, 2007, sports lottery wagering is no longer authorized in Oregon. The repeal of Oregon’s sports lottery games was done in an effort to attract the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to the state. According to the Oregon Lottery, the NCAA had taken the position that it would not hold basketball tournament games in Oregon so long as sports wagering was offered in the state. After the repeal of ORS §461.213, the NCAA announced that first- and second-round games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will be held in Portland, Oregon in March, 2009.
Delaware
The Delaware Lottery introduced its football lottery “Scoreboard” games in September 1976. These games involved picking the winners of selected National Football League games, and picking against the point spreads of selected NFL games. However, the NFL immediately filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against the governor and the Delaware Lottery, arguing that the NFL’s “forced association with gambling” constituted an unlawful interference with the NFL’s property rights. Despite the fact that the court eventually ruled that certain aspects of the Delaware sports lottery were permissible so long as it was made clear that its games were in no way affiliated with the NFL, Delaware’s football lottery was discontinued after just one year of operation. Accordingly, Delaware does not currently offer a sports lottery, though there is momentum to once again raise the issue, as more fully detailed below.
Montana
Montana allows for certain non-banking sports pools, sports tab games, fantasy sports leagues and Calcutta pools to be operated under the oversight of the Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Control Division.
Current Attempts to Renew and/or Expand Sports Wagering in the U.S.
Delaware House Bill 190
On May 15, the Delaware House of Representatives passed House Bill 190, which would direct the state lottery director to reestablish a sports lottery and, according to the House synopsis of the bill, allow the state to “take advantage of an exemption granted to the state of Delaware under federal law, namely PASPA, which allows the states of Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana to engage in sports betting. The bill expands the offerings of the Delaware Lottery and is intended to provide a significant additional source of revenue to the state.”
HB 190 has moved on to the Senate, where it has been assigned to the Senate Finance Committee. Notably, the bill would prohibit wagering on collegiate sporting events that involve a Delaware college or university.
On January 10, a sports betting report issued to Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner by the controller general, the Department of Finance and the Office of Management and Budget estimated that the implementation of a sports lottery limited to the state’s three racinos would generate “a first full year (Fiscal Year 2010) General Fund return of between $22.5 million and $30.6 million.”
Though it has been reported that Minner has said she would veto any sports wagering bill, the legislation’s supporters have inserted a provision into the bill which provides that it will not be enacted until February 1, 2009, after Minner leaves office. Though it remains to be seen if the current bill will pass the Senate, or if Minner will ultimately veto the measure (even with its delayed enactment provision), the NCAA and the NFL have already begun voicing their opposition to this proposed sports wagering expansion.
Such opposition from the professional sports leagues was successful in 2002, when the Delaware General Assembly created a committee to consider the renewal of a sports lottery. In reviewing the issue, the committee took testimony and legal briefs from a number of interested parties, including a number of NFL representatives opposing the sports lottery; and a prepared statement opposing sports wagering in Delaware signed by Major league Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the NFL and the National Hockey League.
In the end, this opposition proved to be too much, as this 2002 effort to renew a sports lottery in Delaware never really got off the ground. It remains to be seen whether the result will be the same in 2008.
New Jersey Sports Wagering Expansion Efforts
As mentioned above, Congress provided New Jersey a one-year window of opportunity to pass a law which would allow for sports wagering in accordance with PASPA. The New Jersey Legislature did not act in time, and New Jersey’s opportunity to obtain an exemption from the prohibitions of PASPA closed on January 1, 1994. Nonetheless, there is currently momentum in the New Jersey Legislature to permit professional sports wagering at the state’s licensed casinos, subject to voter approval.
On February 7, the New Jersey General Assembly passed A1909, a bill that would allow for in-person wagering at casinos on the results of professional sporting events, subject to voter approval in the next general election. This bill has been sent to the state Senate, where it has been referred to the Senate Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.
Though there has been no additional action on A1909, there have been four additional bills introduced in the General Assembly and Senate during the 2008-2009 session seeking to permit sports wagering within the state, though none of these other measures has yet been put to a vote. Both houses of the New Jersey Legislature have also introduced resolutions calling on the U.S. Congress to lift the federal ban on sports wagering, though neither of these measures has progressed past the introduction stage.
If the New Jersey Legislature is indeed able to pass a law allowing for the introduction of professional sports wagering, and New Jersey voters approve such a proposal, the measure would still likely face federal pre-emption issues due to the prohibitions of PASPA.
In recognizing this likely problem, state Senator Raymond Lesniak is already calling on New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine to file a federal lawsuit challenging PASPA’s prohibitions on the constitutional grounds that the law’s provisions unfairly favor some states at the expense of others. A spokesman for the governor has said that it is premature to consider a federal lawsuit at this time.
In addition to the federal law issues cited above, New Jersey can also expect stiff opposition from the professional sports leagues and the NCAA. Spokesmen for the NFL have already weighed in on the issue in New Jersey, making clear their opposition to any expansion in sports wagering. It is likely that the other sports leagues will follow suit, just as they did in 1993 in their effort to block prior legislative attempts to expand sports wagering into New Jersey.
Betting Options
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is the seminal piece of federal legislation that has all but stopped the expansion of legal, land-based sports wagering in the United States. As state governments continue to feel the pinch of a slowing economy and continue to look toward gaming as a means of increased tax revenue, numerous other state legislatures will be watching to see the results that Delaware and New Jersey are able to obtain from their current, albeit different, paths toward sports wagering expansion.
No matter the legislative or political compromises reached with regard to sports wagering expansion, at the state and/or federal level, Delaware, New Jersey, or any other state that seeks to expand sports wagering into its jurisdiction should expect a well-funded and determined battle from the NCAA and the professional sports leagues, which are vehemently opposed to expansion.
David Waddell is an attorney and president of Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. His areas of practice include gaming law, business, tax and municipal law. In addition, Waddell is on the editorial board for the Gaming Law Review and writes a regular gaming business column for The Detroit News. He can be reached at 517-507-3859, waddell@rmclegal.com , or online at www.rmclegal.com .
Douglas Minke is an attorney with Regulatory Management Counselors, P.C. His areas of practice include general business law, gaming supplier licensing, commercial litigation and creditor’s rights. He can be reached at 313-221-9380, minke@rmclegal.com , or online at www.rmclegal.com .
Looser equals more hold?
I write for the player press far more than I write for managers. Recently, I’ve been studying two new games from Action Gaming—specifically, “Wheel Poker” and “Quick Quads.” While working out “how to play these games intelligently,” about which I’ll write for the players, two things struck me that will make the games attractive to casino managers.
First, it appears the games will be popular. This is always a guess, and my crystal ball hasn’t always revealed things flawlessly in the past, but these games have features that should make them irresistible to the players.
Second, the correct strategy on both of these games is deceptive, so the games will hold more than “regular” games. The usual reasons for games holding more than usual are imperfect strategy and less-than-max-coin play. But these games have more reasons that contribute to this overholding. We’ll get to that.
Wheel Poker
Wheel Poker is a game found in Triple Play and Five Play versions which costs six coins per line to play. It comes in all the usual game types and pay schedules. The “gimmick” for this game is that whenever the player connects on a four-of-a-kind (called a “quad”), the player collects the usual payout, plus as a bonus, he gets to spin the wheel.
This wheel looks very much like one for “Wheel of Fortune” or other slot machines, except that the minimum bonus is 100 coins and the maximum is 2,000 coins. The mean (average) number this lands on is between 428 and 429. If players play less than six coins per line, the wheel never moves because there is no bonus round.
The average frequency for quads in Bonus Poker, for example, is 423 hands. This makes it appear like the bonus wheel is slightly positive, but basically neutral. After all, if you pay an average of 423 extra coins to earn something that is worth 428 on average, clearly the player is slightly ahead on the deal. It seems like he’s just buying some excitement by paying extra to get a bigger payout when he hits a quad.
Players who think like that are missing the boat. Bonus Poker hits quads every 423 hands if you play regular strategy, based on payouts of 125, 200 and 400. But players who add 428 to each of these figures and come out with 553, 628, and 828, and who work out a new strategy, find that now quads come around every 414 hands. This may not sound like a big change, but it is. Players who “wing” the strategy will find themselves overcompensating for the wheel as frequently as they undercompensate. Both are expensive habits.
Enough managers are also video poker players so that a few examples of how correct strategy will change is appropriate. Even if you aren’t enough of a player to know correct strategy for this game, you’ll be able to see how a higher return for the quad will change things.
Example 1: 2Hearts 2Clubs 6Clubs JClubs KClubs and 5Hearts 5Clubs 6Clubs JClubs KClubs — In regular Bonus Poker, smart players hold the clubs in both hands. But now, we hold the deuces in the first hand and the clubs in the second. (The reason for the difference in strategy is that four fives pays less than four deuces.) But even with the fives, if the four-card flush only contained one high card (such as 5Hearts 5Clubs 6Clubs JClubs 3Clubs), the fives would be the choice in Wheel Poker but the clubs would be the choice in Bonus Poker.
Example 2: AHearts KClubs QDiamonds 8Hearts 6Clubs — I’d bet a bunch that most players would choose to hold the ace by itself here because of the bonus. But they’d be wrong. Holding KQ is the better play in both regular Bonus Poker and the Wheel Poker version of the same game.
Example 3: AHearts AClubs ADiamonds 5Hearts 5Spades versus 3? 3Clubs 3? 5? 5Spades versus 7Hearts 7Clubs 7Diamonds 5Hearts 5Spades — With normal pay schedules in Bonus Poker, you always keep the full house. In games like Double Bonus, however, you keep trip aces instead of the full house—but otherwise hold the full house. In Bonus Poker Wheel Poker, you break the first two full houses to hold the trips, but not the third.
These strategy adjustments are not difficult for your better players to figure out—once they know the wheel adds 428 coins on average. This number will become fairly well known among your best players (IGT and Action Gaming aren’t keeping it a secret), but players need to “keep up” in order to know this. And not all players spend the time and energy to keep up.
Plus, every pay schedule on your Wheel Poker game requires a new strategy. You should consider sending a taxi to bring in those players who will switch from game to game on this machine, using more-or-less the same strategy with each game. These players are gold mines for the casino. They should be treasured.
The spinning wheel, with sound effects, is noticeable over quite a distance, especially if your slot director places low-profile machines in front of these games. Slot machine players frequently have a positive, Pavlovian reflex toward spinning wheels. Since spinning wheels are virtually always attached to no-brainer slot machines, many of these players will not realize that this particular wheel is attached to a game of skill. This will increase the number of players who are willing to try this game.
The fact that the wheel always returns an average of 428 has an unusual consequence that will help casinos. Wild card games have a quad frequency much higher than 428, so players will do considerably better by playing five coins per line on wild card games than six coins per line. (It would be a rare player who played the Wheel Poker game consistently at five coins per line.) Players who are used to recognizing good Deuces Wild pay schedules will frequently assume that playing such a pay schedule on this machine is a good idea. They will be wrong.
Adding to the player problems on playing this game with wild cards is that there is no currently available player software that is directly useful in figuring out this strategy. While good players can use existing tools to “cut and paste” together a strategy, most simply won’t because the return on the game is better if they just play it straight. There may well be special strategy considerations for the 16-10-4-4-3 Deuces Wild variation of Wheel Poker. I’ll never know for sure because I have no incentive to study it.
The net effect of this is that casinos can afford to be looser than usual on these machines because they will overhold. How loose your games are varies tremendously by casino, but let’s say for example that your loosest “regular” game is 8/5 Bonus Poker—which returns 99.17 percent when played well. This game on Wheel Poker returns 99.59 percent, which would appear to be higher than your “standards.”
You should make an exception. You will make more money on the 8/5 Bonus Wheel Poker game than you do on regular 8/5 Bonus. Your standard shouldn’t be how much the perfect player can make, but rather how much the machine adds to your bottom line.
And it is perfectly reasonable to have the Deuces Wild pay schedules one or two notches looser on this game. The actual return will be less, even though the pay schedule appears to be looser.
Remember, at least some of your players are motivated by looser pay schedules, so the looser you make them, the more play you will get. Making the pay schedules too loose can be costly, of course, but on this particular game, making them a little looser than you otherwise would is a smart idea.
Quick Quads
Quick Quads is another six-coin machine that appears in Triple Play and Five Play versions. It also comes in a variety of games and pay schedules, although none for wild card games. The “gimmick” on this game is that if you have a three-of-a-kind (also called a “trip”), if the ranks of the fourth and fifth cards add up to the rank of the trip, you get paid for a quad. That is, 88853 and 88844 get paid just as much as 8888K.
Quads are a very exciting part of the game, and when they come around a lot more frequently than usual, this makes for an exciting, popular game. To be sure, the designers of the game have taken this frequency into account as they designed the payouts for the game, but the perception is that you’re getting a much-better-than-average deal. As you know, perception is important when players decide what game to play.
In regular video poker, trip tens (TTT) are equally valuable to trip fives (555). Not in this game. Trip tens may be turned into quads by 9A, 82, 73, 64 and 55 while trip fives may only be enhanced by 4A and 32. Not surprisingly, in this game the ranking is TTT > 999 > 888 > 777 > 666 > 555.
In many games, quad 2s-4s are worth more than quad 5s-Ks. In this game, 444 > 333 > 222. Whether 444 is more or less valuable than 555 depends on the exact pay schedule.
This is another game where current player software fails to give a good strategy, so it takes a very committed player to create one.
There is a unique feature to Quick Quads that isn’t found in any other game that I know of—so players aren’t used to looking for it. I call it “Redundant Full Houses.”
On the hands TTT55, 88844, 66633, 44422 and 222AA, players get paid for quads in this game. It will be easy for them to overestimate how much this is worth, because they have to give up a full house in order to get the quad. Let’s say trips are worth 15 coins, full houses 40, and quads 250. With 88853 the player is netting an extra 235 coins (250 – 15 = 235) because the hand would normally only be paid as a three-of-a-kind. With 88844 the player is netting “only” an extra 210 coins (250 – 40 = 210) because the hand is usually paid as a full house.
I know of no other game without wild cards where the same hand can be paid as a full house or a quad. Since players aren’t used to looking for this, many will ignore it in their calculations.
Because of the difficulty of obtaining a good strategy and new features not seen before, this game will also overhold. This means that the casino can afford to be somewhat looser in terms of theoretical return than normally is true.
First, it appears the games will be popular. This is always a guess, and my crystal ball hasn’t always revealed things flawlessly in the past, but these games have features that should make them irresistible to the players.
Second, the correct strategy on both of these games is deceptive, so the games will hold more than “regular” games. The usual reasons for games holding more than usual are imperfect strategy and less-than-max-coin play. But these games have more reasons that contribute to this overholding. We’ll get to that.
Wheel Poker
Wheel Poker is a game found in Triple Play and Five Play versions which costs six coins per line to play. It comes in all the usual game types and pay schedules. The “gimmick” for this game is that whenever the player connects on a four-of-a-kind (called a “quad”), the player collects the usual payout, plus as a bonus, he gets to spin the wheel.
This wheel looks very much like one for “Wheel of Fortune” or other slot machines, except that the minimum bonus is 100 coins and the maximum is 2,000 coins. The mean (average) number this lands on is between 428 and 429. If players play less than six coins per line, the wheel never moves because there is no bonus round.
The average frequency for quads in Bonus Poker, for example, is 423 hands. This makes it appear like the bonus wheel is slightly positive, but basically neutral. After all, if you pay an average of 423 extra coins to earn something that is worth 428 on average, clearly the player is slightly ahead on the deal. It seems like he’s just buying some excitement by paying extra to get a bigger payout when he hits a quad.
Players who think like that are missing the boat. Bonus Poker hits quads every 423 hands if you play regular strategy, based on payouts of 125, 200 and 400. But players who add 428 to each of these figures and come out with 553, 628, and 828, and who work out a new strategy, find that now quads come around every 414 hands. This may not sound like a big change, but it is. Players who “wing” the strategy will find themselves overcompensating for the wheel as frequently as they undercompensate. Both are expensive habits.
Enough managers are also video poker players so that a few examples of how correct strategy will change is appropriate. Even if you aren’t enough of a player to know correct strategy for this game, you’ll be able to see how a higher return for the quad will change things.
Example 1: 2Hearts 2Clubs 6Clubs JClubs KClubs and 5Hearts 5Clubs 6Clubs JClubs KClubs — In regular Bonus Poker, smart players hold the clubs in both hands. But now, we hold the deuces in the first hand and the clubs in the second. (The reason for the difference in strategy is that four fives pays less than four deuces.) But even with the fives, if the four-card flush only contained one high card (such as 5Hearts 5Clubs 6Clubs JClubs 3Clubs), the fives would be the choice in Wheel Poker but the clubs would be the choice in Bonus Poker.
Example 2: AHearts KClubs QDiamonds 8Hearts 6Clubs — I’d bet a bunch that most players would choose to hold the ace by itself here because of the bonus. But they’d be wrong. Holding KQ is the better play in both regular Bonus Poker and the Wheel Poker version of the same game.
Example 3: AHearts AClubs ADiamonds 5Hearts 5Spades versus 3? 3Clubs 3? 5? 5Spades versus 7Hearts 7Clubs 7Diamonds 5Hearts 5Spades — With normal pay schedules in Bonus Poker, you always keep the full house. In games like Double Bonus, however, you keep trip aces instead of the full house—but otherwise hold the full house. In Bonus Poker Wheel Poker, you break the first two full houses to hold the trips, but not the third.
These strategy adjustments are not difficult for your better players to figure out—once they know the wheel adds 428 coins on average. This number will become fairly well known among your best players (IGT and Action Gaming aren’t keeping it a secret), but players need to “keep up” in order to know this. And not all players spend the time and energy to keep up.
Plus, every pay schedule on your Wheel Poker game requires a new strategy. You should consider sending a taxi to bring in those players who will switch from game to game on this machine, using more-or-less the same strategy with each game. These players are gold mines for the casino. They should be treasured.
The spinning wheel, with sound effects, is noticeable over quite a distance, especially if your slot director places low-profile machines in front of these games. Slot machine players frequently have a positive, Pavlovian reflex toward spinning wheels. Since spinning wheels are virtually always attached to no-brainer slot machines, many of these players will not realize that this particular wheel is attached to a game of skill. This will increase the number of players who are willing to try this game.
The fact that the wheel always returns an average of 428 has an unusual consequence that will help casinos. Wild card games have a quad frequency much higher than 428, so players will do considerably better by playing five coins per line on wild card games than six coins per line. (It would be a rare player who played the Wheel Poker game consistently at five coins per line.) Players who are used to recognizing good Deuces Wild pay schedules will frequently assume that playing such a pay schedule on this machine is a good idea. They will be wrong.
Adding to the player problems on playing this game with wild cards is that there is no currently available player software that is directly useful in figuring out this strategy. While good players can use existing tools to “cut and paste” together a strategy, most simply won’t because the return on the game is better if they just play it straight. There may well be special strategy considerations for the 16-10-4-4-3 Deuces Wild variation of Wheel Poker. I’ll never know for sure because I have no incentive to study it.
The net effect of this is that casinos can afford to be looser than usual on these machines because they will overhold. How loose your games are varies tremendously by casino, but let’s say for example that your loosest “regular” game is 8/5 Bonus Poker—which returns 99.17 percent when played well. This game on Wheel Poker returns 99.59 percent, which would appear to be higher than your “standards.”
You should make an exception. You will make more money on the 8/5 Bonus Wheel Poker game than you do on regular 8/5 Bonus. Your standard shouldn’t be how much the perfect player can make, but rather how much the machine adds to your bottom line.
And it is perfectly reasonable to have the Deuces Wild pay schedules one or two notches looser on this game. The actual return will be less, even though the pay schedule appears to be looser.
Remember, at least some of your players are motivated by looser pay schedules, so the looser you make them, the more play you will get. Making the pay schedules too loose can be costly, of course, but on this particular game, making them a little looser than you otherwise would is a smart idea.
Quick Quads
Quick Quads is another six-coin machine that appears in Triple Play and Five Play versions. It also comes in a variety of games and pay schedules, although none for wild card games. The “gimmick” on this game is that if you have a three-of-a-kind (also called a “trip”), if the ranks of the fourth and fifth cards add up to the rank of the trip, you get paid for a quad. That is, 88853 and 88844 get paid just as much as 8888K.
Quads are a very exciting part of the game, and when they come around a lot more frequently than usual, this makes for an exciting, popular game. To be sure, the designers of the game have taken this frequency into account as they designed the payouts for the game, but the perception is that you’re getting a much-better-than-average deal. As you know, perception is important when players decide what game to play.
In regular video poker, trip tens (TTT) are equally valuable to trip fives (555). Not in this game. Trip tens may be turned into quads by 9A, 82, 73, 64 and 55 while trip fives may only be enhanced by 4A and 32. Not surprisingly, in this game the ranking is TTT > 999 > 888 > 777 > 666 > 555.
In many games, quad 2s-4s are worth more than quad 5s-Ks. In this game, 444 > 333 > 222. Whether 444 is more or less valuable than 555 depends on the exact pay schedule.
This is another game where current player software fails to give a good strategy, so it takes a very committed player to create one.
There is a unique feature to Quick Quads that isn’t found in any other game that I know of—so players aren’t used to looking for it. I call it “Redundant Full Houses.”
On the hands TTT55, 88844, 66633, 44422 and 222AA, players get paid for quads in this game. It will be easy for them to overestimate how much this is worth, because they have to give up a full house in order to get the quad. Let’s say trips are worth 15 coins, full houses 40, and quads 250. With 88853 the player is netting an extra 235 coins (250 – 15 = 235) because the hand would normally only be paid as a three-of-a-kind. With 88844 the player is netting “only” an extra 210 coins (250 – 40 = 210) because the hand is usually paid as a full house.
I know of no other game without wild cards where the same hand can be paid as a full house or a quad. Since players aren’t used to looking for this, many will ignore it in their calculations.
Because of the difficulty of obtaining a good strategy and new features not seen before, this game will also overhold. This means that the casino can afford to be somewhat looser in terms of theoretical return than normally is true.
Lucky in Laughlin
Located on the banks of the shimmering Colorado River, the city of Laughlin is a leisure-seeker’s paradise. The weather is warm, the water is nice and the casinos offer Vegas-style play at lower prices.Named after Minnesota entrepreneur and Riverside Resort owner Don Laughlin, Laughlin is home to nine casinos and 9,000 residents, and draws more than 3 million visitors per year.
The town appeals to tourists within the six-hour drive range—mostly because Laughlin has no airport to speak of. With gas prices climbing (and no end in sight), Laughlin has seen a decline in visitation. And, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Laughlin’s overall gaming win dropped 2 percent last fiscal year.
Lisa McCabe, vice president of marketing at the Aquarius Casino and Resort in Laughlin, says the recent decline is largely due to the national economic slowdown, but could also be a result of a Laughlin standstill.
“One of the key problems was that there was nothing new in Laughlin,” McCabe says. “Las Vegas is constantly reinventing itself. There’s usually a new property opening sometime. There hasn’t been any expansion or properties (in Laughlin) opening in a decade.”
The Aquarius itself, owned by American Casino & Entertainment Properties, recently poured $46 million into upgrading both the casino floor and the hotel’s rooms. McCabe said the expansive refurbishment is intended to draw more visitors to the property.
Sean Hammond, vice president of player development at the Aquarius and also president of the Laughlin Tourism Committee, says the city is planning to counteract the decline in visitation and revenue with more marketing.
“We’re hoping to re-brand the destination and not only go after new customers to the market, but also reintroduce lapsed customers,” Hammond says. “We want to show them and remind them of how nice Laughlin is.”
There are also several projects in the works to attract visitors to Laughlin. The city recently submitted a proposal to obtain a grant that would help to build and subsidize a local air carrier. Laughlin also is working on drafting birding grants to develop the eco-tourism already prevalent due to the popularity of the Colorado River.
Laughlin maintains a partnership with its neighbor across the river, Bullhead City, Arizona. Though the two are separated by a body of water that acts as the Nevada/Arizona border, the cities work together to bring tourism to the area. Fund-raising for the airport project was one example of a close working relationship between the towns, as is the fact that a majority of Laughlin’s casino employees are Bullhead City residents.
Though there may not be any rivalry with its neighbor, Laughlin faces stiff competition from other Nevada gaming markets.
“Laughlin competes with any destination,” Hammond says. “We’re a getaway destination. Las Vegas is the Mecca of all Meccas, but there are the visitors who don’t like Vegas and prefer this type of destination.”
Las Vegas remains a breed apart, though a troubled economy has led to a tourism downturn across the board, hitting Las Vegas as hard as anywhere else. McCabe says Vegas resorts are now attempting to market to the same players who would normally head to a smaller destination like Laughlin. However, there is still a clear difference between the larger Vegas market and the smaller Laughlin one.
“The people who go to Vegas because they like Vegas have no interest in going to Laughlin,” McCabe sats. “A true gamer, someone who enjoys the game of chance, will enjoy both. Laughlin offers the same opportunities as the megaresorts in Vegas as far as gaming product. We have the mega-jackpots; we have it all, just like Las Vegas does. We just don’t have the nightclubs or Paris Hilton coming out.”
Joe Magliarditi, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Colorado Belle and Edgewater casinos in Laughlin, says the smaller town offers a more relaxing vacation for those who find the Las Vegas Strip too overwhelming.
“It’s a less stressful experience in Laughlin,” Magliarditi says. “In the 10 or so properties in Laughlin, it’s relatively easy to pull up to the casino, go through the check-in process, get a reservation at a restaurant. I think we take that for granted until we pull up to a Strip casino on a Saturday and you can’t park, you can’t check in and you can’t get a reservation.”
The town is using its reputation as an alternative to the big city to its advantage; the latest marketing campaign tells visitors, “It’s like you own the place.” McCabe says this slogan is significant because it reminds customers that they won’t be lost in the crowd in Laughlin.
Magliarditi says Laughlin has to “reinvent itself” and provide people with more reasons to visit.
“The LTC has to create more repeatable events to give people reasons to go to Laughlin,” Magliarditi says. “It’s one thing to market the fact that it’s a cheaper alternative and a quaint alternative. We get the bull-riders down in Laughlin—those types of repeatable events are very good for the city. Everyone in the city does well because of that.”
Many casino executives are crafting individual strategies to beat the economic blues. Magliarditi says his properties are offering gas cards to slot and table game customers, as well as running a twice-weekly charter air service from Riverside to Bullhead City. The service offers three round-trip flights every Thursday and Saturday to deliver visitors to the area.
“I think the Laughlin market had a slight decline, but we’ve made some significant capital improvements,” Magliarditi says. “It’s become an option to someone who now can’t afford Vegas. Laughlin is a good option because there is a lower cost to do essentially the same things you can do in Vegas.”
Asia’s Showcase
An estimated 6,000 gaming professionals from around the world converged last month on the Venetian Macao resort in China’s Macau Special Administrative Region for the second edition of Global Gaming Expo Asia.
G2E Asia tripled in size over last year’s inaugural event, featuring 175 exhibits in the new Venetian’s massive exhibit center. A three-day conference accompanying the exhibits focused on challenges and opportunities for casinos in Macau and the surrounding Asia-Pacific market.
Many of the issues addressed in seminars and workshops over the three days of the conference were summarized on the event’s first day, when Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, presented results of the first survey in the “G2E Asia Future Watch Series.”
This is the G2E Asia version of a survey that has been conducted by G2E for five years. Basically, it involves a research team from AGA and G2E polling executives from Asian casinos and companies that do business in Asia on a number of topics. For each topic, respondents are asked to evaluate the industry’s future, looking five to 10 years down the road.
Among the results highlighted by Fahrenkopf:
• Asia will soon surpass the U.S. in gaming revenue, and Macau will be the leader.
• Diversification in the form of non-gaming amenities will be critical in Macau, just as it has been in the U.S., where gaming revenues have gone from 70 percent of overall income to just 40 percent over the past decade.
• Among the challenges to Macau’s growth brought out in the survey were infrastructure improvements, a shortage of labor, and the finite space available on the island. Fahrenkopf also noted the expansion of gaming to new jurisdictions in Asia as a potential challenge, but said the survey respondents feel, as he does, that the Las Vegas model is instructive here. Las Vegas survived new competition first from Atlantic City, then from California Indian casinos, Mississippi riverboats and elsewhere, by redefining itself as a new center of dining, entertainment, shopping and other resort amenities. Fahrenkopf predicted the same will be true of Macau, and that just as in the case of Las Vegas (and now, Atlantic City, as Pennsylvania casinos take hold), the existence of new gaming jurisdictions will actually help Macau by creating new customers who will want to see the Cotai Strip after it is built out.
• Slot machines, which currently account for only 5 percent of gaming revenues in Asia (compared with 65-75 percent in the U.S.), will gradually gain more prominence as new technology takes hold that makes games more interesting.
The slot issue also was addressed at a press briefing by Marcus Prater, executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, or AGEM.
Prater acknowledged that growing the slot market in Macau is going to be a long process. While survey respondents said it would take at the very least seven years for slots to even approach table games in popularity in Macau, Prater predicted it could take much longer.
Slot operations officials voiced similar opinions at a panel discussion on the subject. Most of the casino floors are covered with baccarat tables, which is “part of the Chinese culture,” said Matthew Ballesty, general manager of casino planning and development for Crown Casino Macau.
Lindsay Stewart, vice president of electronic gaming for Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, added that the Chinese love of baccarat and other tables means floor space is a barrier to the addition of slots. “Every floor only has a certain amount of premium space,” Stewart said. “It is difficult to get the space you need for slots. Your game selection has to be all the sharper.”
The panel had advice for the slot manufacturers on that game selection: it must be customized for the local market. “Listen to operators,” said Peter Johns, director of slot operations for MGM Grand Macau. “Don’t try to dictate what will work. What works in other jurisdictions may not work here.”
Stewart added that most of the slot manufacturers understand this, and have adapted many more of their new games to the Asian market. “A lot of people tried to sell me a lot of junk five years ago,” he said. “There was a time when we couldn’t even get a game translated into Chinese. However, now, there is a lot better mutual understanding; the manufacturers are pretty much on board, and it is a lot easier than it was.”
During a panel on Asian casino design, experts stressed that while they consider concepts such as feng shui, the traditional Chinese ideas on building layouts and design, when you get right down to it, an Asian casino is more likely to resemble one in Las Vegas than anything else.
“You don’t see any difference in design in Asia for things like post offices, restaurants or hospitals, so why should a casino be any different?” asked Joseph Goodwin, project manager for the Venetian Macao.
Philip Payne, an associate with the CSI Group, and someone with vast experience in Macau design, said every project is different because they often try to appeal to different markets.
“At one casino, we simply built a shell for the casinos because they wanted to allow the VIP operators to design their private gambling rooms.”
Brad Friedmutter, CEO of the Friedmutter Group, said he tries to design to the desires of the casino owners.
“We may have our ideas about how a project should look,” he says, “but if the client is very insistent, we’ll go with what he wants.”
Floss Barber, CDO of Floss Barber Inc., said the concept of feng shui is very important when considering how to lay out the gaming area.
“It’s very important not to interrupt the energy of the place,” she says. “Asian gamblers are very superstitious so you have to know all the cultural nuances before you begin to design.”
One controversial topic covered at G2E Asia was VIP operations, which dominates the Macau gaming market, producing around 70 percent of the revenue. Some questioned whether that was healthy in such an important market.
“The owners of the Venetian would never have spent $1.8 billion if they had known the VIP market would not change,” said one Macau executive. “They would have spent $300 million on a very nice casino, like Crown Macau, and spent the rest on acquiring the best junket reps that money could buy.”
But most agreed with more “mass-market” casinos like the Venetian slated to open in the next two years, the VIP market is destined to shrink a little, but that the VIP segment would always remain important.
G2E Asia will be held again at the Venetian Macao in 2009 on June 2-4.
Interview with Paul Oneile, CEO & MD, Aristocrat Technologies
Interview with Bruce Boszum, Chairman, Mohegan Tribe
Interview with Joe Domenico, Sr. VP/GM, Bally's Atlantic City
GGB Q & A,
Gary Loveman
Gary Loveman’s role with the new Caesars Entertainment, formerly
Harrah’s Entertainment, has changed. He still holds the same titles but
his attention is turned toward different things. Caesars has just
recently been taken private by two private equity companies, Apollo
Management and Texas Pacific Group. Loveman talks about the differences
between operating as a public and a private company and explains how
the company’s previously announced expansion plans stand now, given the
new owners and the economic situation. He spoke with Casino Connection
Publisher Roger Gros at the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City
in May. To hear a podcast of the full interview, visit the Global
Gaming Business website, www.ggbmagazine.com, and click on the GGB
Podcast button. Casino Connection: Now that you’re a private company, how does it change the way you approach your job?
Loveman: It’s changed my job a fair bit. I spent a lot of time engaged with public company constituents of one sort or another whether it’s the independent directors or equity investors, stock market analysts—there’s a whole process to managing communication in a public company environment that is not particularly valuable but is an obligation, and an important one. I no longer have to be attentive to that, so I have much more time to devote to the other things that I should be working on in the company, the folks that I work with, customers and businesses we’re looking after. I have an extremely capable, very enterprising group of partners in my two private equity friends that are really quite helpful to us.
Is there a cap on capital reinvestment in any Harrah’s properties? We understand that you’ve scaled back on some of the expansion plans and things of that nature.
We don’t put a cap on it, but we put a higher rate of expected return. When we were a public company and we were borrowing at 6 percent or 7 percent, if you were an operator at one of our facilities and you had a project that had a 9 percent or 10 percent expected return, that was in the shareholders’ interest to pursue, and we would.
Today, in a much tighter market with private owners that are expecting much higher rates of return, a 9 percent return on a buffet remodel or some such thing is just not going to be feasible. So it pushes us to be more innovative and smarter in how we use it. But any deserving project can get funded, it’s just a matter that “deserving” is a higher bar than it used to be.
Tell us about the big center Strip project with all that Harrah’s owns in Las Vegas. Is that on hold right now?
No, we’re actively proceeding, but people have to recognize that it’s a much more complicated undertaking. We’re trying to architect a plan amidst a bunch of businesses that operate and are very successful. That’s a very different thing than tearing everything down and building something afresh. We have a $1.2 billion Caesars Palace expansion that’s well underway, almost halfway along. We have an arena that will begin construction later this year. We have a variety of other projects that we’ve made some noise about publicly here and there that are centered around building out this plan, and you’ll hear more about this over time. The last thing we want to do is take seven businesses that are very successful and turn them into one big construction zone and discourage anyone from wanting to be around Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard. So we’ll do this sequentially, but we’re very much underway.
You’ve talked also about non-gaming amenities and the return on investment in those amenities. Is this something that you look at very closely before you commit to anything other than gaming?
It all has to do with how these economics work. You see the non-gaming amenities arrive in jurisdictions where the gaming tax rates are reasonable. Since you can help monetize the costs of these big developments in the casino at a reasonable rate of tax. But you could never build a beautiful amenity in Illinois, where the gaming tax rate takes all the benefit. These things are very much coupled. I think the challenge everybody has to be aware of is that the revenues and the margins associated with the non-gaming amenity itself tend to be anywhere from zero to a very small number and can’t support enormous investments unless they’re monetized in the casino or in some other innovative way. That’s the challenge.
Gaming has had a difficult run in some of the states where it’s been proposed—Massachusetts, Maryland and Kentucky, in particular—in the last year. Do you think this is just that cycle we always go through?
I think it’s something deeper than that. Since 1992, we’ve had three states make it into gaming. That’s an extraordinary result when you think about what we’re talking about here. You need a perfect alignment of legislative leadership, gubernatorial leadership and probably business leadership, local business leadership, to make this work. Those things are very tough to find. The progress has been very modest, even in a state like mine, Massachusetts, where everybody acknowledges, without debate, that nearly $1 billion of Massachusetts revenue goes to Connecticut Native American facilities. There isn’t any debate about whether the residents ought to gamble, that issue’s long gone, it’s just a policy-making issue and still in Massachusetts this issue has been active for as long as I can remember. We went down to pretty spectacular defeat this year. I’m not encouraged. I think the industry needs, and we individually, have to do a much better job of communicating the merits of what it is we’re proposing.
Where do you think Harrah’s is going to be in five years? Is this going to be a typical public equity buy where they hold it for five or six years and then spin it back public?
I suspect an exit through a public market offering is the most likely result. How many years it’s going to be is hard to tell. It has to do with that markets and equity markets and how well we perform and so on. I think that either there would have to be some large strategic investor—given the size of the company, it would have to be a very large investor, a sovereign country’s investment entity or something like that.
People,
Eastside Cannery appoints slot director
Cannery Casino Resorts has named James Mahnesmith as director of slot operations for Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel in Las Vegas.
Mahnesmith joined Cannery Casino Resorts in 1999 as gaming floor manager for Rampart Casino, and was promoted to slot operations manager for Nevada Place, now Eastside Cannery Casino & Hotel, in November 2006. Prior to joining Cannery Casino Resorts, Mahnesmith served as food and beverage manager for the Fitz Casino and Hotel.
Mahnesmith joined Cannery Casino Resorts in 1999 as gaming floor manager for Rampart Casino, and was promoted to slot operations manager for Nevada Place, now Eastside Cannery Casino & Hotel, in November 2006. Prior to joining Cannery Casino Resorts, Mahnesmith served as food and beverage manager for the Fitz Casino and Hotel.
People,
Mirage appoints race and sports book director
MGM Mirage named Jay Rood its new race and sports book director. Rood will oversee daily operations of all 12 of the operator’s race and sports books, including 10 in Las Vegas and two in Reno.
Rood has worked as the director of the race and sports book at Mandalay Bay since 2005, and was manager of the book at the Mirage for three years prior to that.
Rood has worked as the director of the race and sports book at Mandalay Bay since 2005, and was manager of the book at the Mirage for three years prior to that.
People,
New Jersey regulator to retire
Ralph Frulio, 62, of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, will retire in July after 30 years in the casino business. Frulio began as a gaming inspector in 1978, when Resorts International opened the first casino in Atlantic City.
People,
Spa Resort appoints GM
Jeffrey Peppel was appointed general manager of the Spa Resort Casino in Palms Springs, California. Peppel has more than 25 years of industry experience working for companies including Harrah’s Entertainment and Pinnacle Entertainment. Since 1999, he has worked for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians at the Spa Resort Casino, where he started as director of finance. He has also worked as assistant general manager and interim general manager at the property.
People,
Wynn appoints outside director
Wynn Resorts Limited appointed Russell Goldsmith as a member of the company’s board of directors. Goldsmith, the seventh independent member of the board, is chairman and CEO of City National Bank and serves as president and chief executive officer of its New York Stock Exchange parent, City National Corporation. In addition, he is a director of both the bank and its parent company.
People,
Two marketing execs named at Mohegan
The Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut beefed up its international marketing staff recently with two appointments.
Ernie Wu has been named vice president of international marketing. Wu has extensive experience in casino marketing and as well as gaming operations. He has worked all over the East Coast, including Atlantic City and Connecticut, and including some of the Wynn and Trump properties for last three decades.
Kelly Leung has been named vice president of Asian marketing. He served as executive director for Far East marketing in Paris and Bally’s Las Vegas and later worked with Asian marketing for the Harrah’s group in Las Vegas. He worked for Foxwoods Resort Casino prior his move west.
Ernie Wu has been named vice president of international marketing. Wu has extensive experience in casino marketing and as well as gaming operations. He has worked all over the East Coast, including Atlantic City and Connecticut, and including some of the Wynn and Trump properties for last three decades.
Kelly Leung has been named vice president of Asian marketing. He served as executive director for Far East marketing in Paris and Bally’s Las Vegas and later worked with Asian marketing for the Harrah’s group in Las Vegas. He worked for Foxwoods Resort Casino prior his move west.
People,
DEQ names new chairman
Gaming system supplier DEQ Systems Corp. announced the appointment of Mike Telesmanic as its new chairman of the board.
Telesmanic, a 30-year gaming veteran, is currently principal director of the National Gaming Development Group, which develops casino projects around the world. Previously, he was vice president of table games at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, CEO of Genting Casino Strategy Firm, and CEO of Adelaide Casino in South Australia.
In addition to Telesmanic, DEQ announced the appointment of two other new board members
—Hervé Eschasseriau, a prominent corporate attorney from France; and Alexandre Lattes, who is CEO of Cogeval, a private investment firm.
Telesmanic, a 30-year gaming veteran, is currently principal director of the National Gaming Development Group, which develops casino projects around the world. Previously, he was vice president of table games at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, CEO of Genting Casino Strategy Firm, and CEO of Adelaide Casino in South Australia.
In addition to Telesmanic, DEQ announced the appointment of two other new board members
—Hervé Eschasseriau, a prominent corporate attorney from France; and Alexandre Lattes, who is CEO of Cogeval, a private investment firm.
People,
GLI announces new directors
Gaming Laboratories International announced that several of its managers in its world headquarters have been promoted to director. Diana Bowers has been promoted to director of quality assurance; Janusz Boskowicz to information technology director; Patrick Moore to director, technical compliance; and Joseph Shipman to director of mathematics.
GLI, the world’s largest gaming equipment testing organization, employs more than 400 people in its labs around the world, and is currently hiring qualified testing engineers.
GLI, the world’s largest gaming equipment testing organization, employs more than 400 people in its labs around the world, and is currently hiring qualified testing engineers.
People,
Ameristar CEO Boushy resigns
Ameristar Casinos CEO and President John Boushy has resigned both his executive position and his seat on the board of directors.
Boushy, formerly a 27-year executive with Harrah’s Entertainment, took on added responsibilities with Ameristar following the death of its founder, Craig Neilsen, in late 2006.
During his tenure, the company engaged in expansion opportunities, spending $675 million to buy the Resorts East Chicago riverboat casino in Indiana. The company also undertook expansion programs at its casinos near Denver, St. Charles, Missouri, and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Gordon Kanofsky, who has been an executive with the company since 1999, replaced Boushy as CEO. Larry Hodges, a member of Ameristar’s board of directors since 1994, was named president and COO.
Boushy, formerly a 27-year executive with Harrah’s Entertainment, took on added responsibilities with Ameristar following the death of its founder, Craig Neilsen, in late 2006.
During his tenure, the company engaged in expansion opportunities, spending $675 million to buy the Resorts East Chicago riverboat casino in Indiana. The company also undertook expansion programs at its casinos near Denver, St. Charles, Missouri, and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Gordon Kanofsky, who has been an executive with the company since 1999, replaced Boushy as CEO. Larry Hodges, a member of Ameristar’s board of directors since 1994, was named president and COO.
People,
Fertitta resigns at Station
Station Casinos announced that Lorenzo Fertitta will step down as president of the company to assume the role of chairman and CEO of Zuffa, LLC, the company that owns and operates the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Fertitta will oversee all operations of the UFC and head up further international expansion. Frank Fertitta III will assume the role of the president of Station Casinos in addition to serving as CEO and chairman of the board.
Lorenzo Fertitta will remain as vice chairman and one of five members of Station’s board of directors, and a significant shareholder of the company. The operator said he will continue his active involvement in the strategic direction of Station Casinos.
Although both brothers worked for Station Casinos’ predecessor since their early teens, Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta have jointly run the company since 2000, when Lorenzo joined full-time. Prior to that, Frank Fertitta III, son of founder Frank Fertitta Jr., led the company through significant growth, taking it public in 1993 and serving as CEO and chairman since that time. In 2001, the brothers purchased the UFC and, with Dana White serving as president, have grown it into one of the most successful sports franchises in the country.
Fertitta will oversee all operations of the UFC and head up further international expansion. Frank Fertitta III will assume the role of the president of Station Casinos in addition to serving as CEO and chairman of the board.
Lorenzo Fertitta will remain as vice chairman and one of five members of Station’s board of directors, and a significant shareholder of the company. The operator said he will continue his active involvement in the strategic direction of Station Casinos.
Although both brothers worked for Station Casinos’ predecessor since their early teens, Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta have jointly run the company since 2000, when Lorenzo joined full-time. Prior to that, Frank Fertitta III, son of founder Frank Fertitta Jr., led the company through significant growth, taking it public in 1993 and serving as CEO and chairman since that time. In 2001, the brothers purchased the UFC and, with Dana White serving as president, have grown it into one of the most successful sports franchises in the country.
Cutting Edge,
Present the Message
Bally’s new iVIEW Display Manager gives casino managers new ways to provide visual content to guests. It is a specialized information router that lets you present messages on the main game screen, the top display, even the overhead display with picture-in-picture capability. Nearby guests can see the messages, broadening the exposure to other players besides the one at the device. The iVIEW DM acts as an intelligent controller that determines what display is being used, controlling any monitor associated with the gaming device. It is offered as part of Bally’s “Networked Floor of the Future” package, which allows casino managers to configure games and move content or data to or from any digital gaming device.
The product can help move casinos toward the ultimate goal of the multi-media network. It can drive marketing or other messages and provide players with a variety of compelling interactivity.
New features are now able to drive the second screen on a gaming machine. This allows the casino to replace machines on a normal replacement cycle, and yet offer players the marketing and bonusing benefits of the smaller iVIEW display.
This gives operators the ability to support second-screen monitor cabinets and high-earning reel-spinning products without a second screen. This interactive technology enables players to choose where they want to see their player content without interrupting their base game.
Up until now, system-based content has been confined to either a two-line display or the 6-inch-by-2-inch player display. In conjunction with technologies enabled through Bally’s Download Configuration Manager, operators can choose where on the game to display things like player name, session points, jackpots, promotional credits, casino and hotel specials and promotions, and any other content.
The new system content display options can include the traditional iVIEW display, the main game display, the second game display, or any game display associated with the device.
Bally’s new iVIEW DM technology allows gaming operators to present systems content on the displays of all manufacturers’ gaming machines through the iVIEW Processor, rather than the game processor, which would require separate regulatory approvals and complex development and integration efforts.
For more information, call Bally Technologies at 702-584-7700 or visit the company’s website at www.ballytech.com.
Cutting Edge,
Predicting Player Worth
Server-based gaming that delivers on the Holy Grail of targeted and better player experiences is closer to realization with the new predictive analytics (a.k.a. data mining) from Mariposa, a division of International Game Technology. The product line will use Apollo Data Technologies’ Predictive Modeling Platform.This provides what has been, up until now, a missing piece of the puzzle: how to take player data and crunch it fast enough to predict “player worth,” and whether that player worth will increase or decrease over time; then to use that data to create better and more targeted offers—for example, how to offer players in real time the right game, combined with special offers matched to their preferences across different properties.
Predictive analytics systems will not only automate many of the time-consuming jobs associated with delivering complex predictive models, including data preparation and evaluation of hundreds or thousands of model configurations, but will do it faster than existing statistical software packages.
Predictive Analytics provides casino operators with a more automated and accurate way of understanding the player and setting floor mix. The predictive technology will allow an operator to provide real-time game recommendations, denominations and offers to each player.
Additionally, the technology helps the operator provide the proper mix of games that appeal to the clientele. Current practice is to look at one metric and change a game based on a limited set of data. Using predictive analytics, operators can change out games before they reach the end of their life cycle—resulting in a better mix of games that are proven to be customer preferences, thus maximizing profits.
“Using Apollo’s Predictive Modeling platform, we’d be able to have the ability to quickly evaluate hundreds of models to identify the best-performing predictive model to provide our customers,” says Javier Saenz, vice president of strategy for IGT. “For our clients, it would mean highly actionable customer intelligence—for example more relevant and focused targeted communications and promotions, based on extracting customer behavior from the predictive models that previously were difficult to automate. This would be a huge ROI advantage for our clients.”
According to Saenz, IGT is planning to use the Apollo Predictive Modeling platform to create a predictive “layer” previously unavailable to gaming marketers.
By tailoring customer experiences through predictive analytics, operators can differentiate their properties and amenities through offers targeted directly to their players. But in addition, the technology helps the operator provide the proper mix of games that appeal to the clientele.
For more information, contact IGT at 702-669-7777 or visit www.IGT.com/NetworkSystems.
New Game Review,
Tropical Paradise
This latest game in Atronic’s “e-motion” series of dual-screen video slots combines an expanding wild symbol feature with a generous and frequent free-spin bonus.
The base game is available in either nine-line or 20-line versions, in several wagering configurations. The theme is just what the name indicates—a tropical paradise, with all the appropriate visual icons combined with classic poker symbols on the reels.
There is a diamond symbol on the reels that serves as an expanding wild symbol. When it lands on an active payline, it transforms the entire reel into wild symbols, substituting for all symbols except the palm tree (which triggers the bonus round).
When three or more palm tree symbols appear scattered on the reels, it triggers a free-spin bonus round. Three, four or five of the symbols trigger 10, 20 or 30 free spins, respectively. When the spins are triggered, a random multiplier number appears on the screen, which can multiply all free-game jackpots by up to five.
If the palm trees land again during a free spin, the free games are re-triggered with an extra 10, 20 or 30 spins tacked on to the end, at the multiplier granted for the first free spins. This can go on until the player has received a maximum of 500 free games.
Finally, this game is one of the slots identified by Atronic as a potential “Hot Link” game. This means that a rapid-hit pay schedule can be substituted for the standard pay table, jacking up the hit frequency and pay levels; and a progressive jackpot can be added linking a bank of games together to a big prize, won by lining up five top jackpot symbols on an active payline at max coin.
Manufacturer: Atronic Americas
Platform: e-motion
Format: Five-reel, multi-line video slot
Denominations: All denominations available
Max Bet: 27, 90, 200
Top Award: 6,000, 15,000, 20,000, 50,000
Hit Frequency: 29.6%—35.3%
Theoretical Hold: 4%—14%
The base game is available in either nine-line or 20-line versions, in several wagering configurations. The theme is just what the name indicates—a tropical paradise, with all the appropriate visual icons combined with classic poker symbols on the reels.
There is a diamond symbol on the reels that serves as an expanding wild symbol. When it lands on an active payline, it transforms the entire reel into wild symbols, substituting for all symbols except the palm tree (which triggers the bonus round).
When three or more palm tree symbols appear scattered on the reels, it triggers a free-spin bonus round. Three, four or five of the symbols trigger 10, 20 or 30 free spins, respectively. When the spins are triggered, a random multiplier number appears on the screen, which can multiply all free-game jackpots by up to five.
If the palm trees land again during a free spin, the free games are re-triggered with an extra 10, 20 or 30 spins tacked on to the end, at the multiplier granted for the first free spins. This can go on until the player has received a maximum of 500 free games.
Finally, this game is one of the slots identified by Atronic as a potential “Hot Link” game. This means that a rapid-hit pay schedule can be substituted for the standard pay table, jacking up the hit frequency and pay levels; and a progressive jackpot can be added linking a bank of games together to a big prize, won by lining up five top jackpot symbols on an active payline at max coin.
Manufacturer: Atronic Americas
Platform: e-motion
Format: Five-reel, multi-line video slot
Denominations: All denominations available
Max Bet: 27, 90, 200
Top Award: 6,000, 15,000, 20,000, 50,000
Hit Frequency: 29.6%—35.3%
Theoretical Hold: 4%—14%
New Game Review,
Super Triple Play Poker
This is one of IGT’s new video poker games offering bonus payments when the player wagers a sixth coin per hand. (See page 26.)
This is a “Super” version of multi-hand versions of games in seven different video poker genres—including Jacks or Better and six different “Bonus Poker” genres. The player can select Triple Play, Five Play or Ten Play mode for Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, Bonus Poker Deluxe, Super Double Double Bonus, or Super Aces Bonus Poker.
The big difference between this and IGT’s other six-coin bonus video poker games—aside from the fact it includes straight Jacks or Better—is that the sixth coin activates a bonus pay table that includes extra awards for the straight flush as well as four-of-a-kind hands.
The bonus pay schedules vary according to the games chosen,
but as an example, on 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker, the sixth coin doubles all payouts for four of a kind—four 5s-Ks pay 500 credits; four 2s, 3s or 4s, 800; four aces or four 2s, 3s or 4s with a kicker pay 1,600; and aces with the kicker go to 4,000, the same as a royal flush. The straight flush goes from 250 credits to 700 credits with the extra wager.
Bonus pays are funded by the extra credits that are wagered, so nothing is taken away from the 27 base paytable variations. In other words, the operator loses nothing, and
actually will likely draw more play, by
providing loose paytables with this video poker variation.
Manufacturer: International Game Technology/Action Gaming
Platform: Game King
Format: Multi-hand video poker
Denominations: .25, .50, 1.00
Max Bet: 18, 30, 60
Top Award: 12,000, 20,000, 40,000
Hit Frequency: 45%
Theoretical Hold: Various
This is a “Super” version of multi-hand versions of games in seven different video poker genres—including Jacks or Better and six different “Bonus Poker” genres. The player can select Triple Play, Five Play or Ten Play mode for Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Double Double Bonus, Bonus Poker Deluxe, Super Double Double Bonus, or Super Aces Bonus Poker.
The big difference between this and IGT’s other six-coin bonus video poker games—aside from the fact it includes straight Jacks or Better—is that the sixth coin activates a bonus pay table that includes extra awards for the straight flush as well as four-of-a-kind hands.
The bonus pay schedules vary according to the games chosen,
but as an example, on 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker, the sixth coin doubles all payouts for four of a kind—four 5s-Ks pay 500 credits; four 2s, 3s or 4s, 800; four aces or four 2s, 3s or 4s with a kicker pay 1,600; and aces with the kicker go to 4,000, the same as a royal flush. The straight flush goes from 250 credits to 700 credits with the extra wager.
Bonus pays are funded by the extra credits that are wagered, so nothing is taken away from the 27 base paytable variations. In other words, the operator loses nothing, and
actually will likely draw more play, by
providing loose paytables with this video poker variation.
Manufacturer: International Game Technology/Action Gaming
Platform: Game King
Format: Multi-hand video poker
Denominations: .25, .50, 1.00
Max Bet: 18, 30, 60
Top Award: 12,000, 20,000, 40,000
Hit Frequency: 45%
Theoretical Hold: Various
New Game Review,
Reel Money
This is a new five-level progressive slot, available in two reel-spinning versions, that Bally designed along the lines of the hit game “Hot Shots.” It is available in Bally’s Alpha Elite upright or wide-format “CineReels” cabinet.
The base game is a traditional five-reel game with bars, “7” symbols and various reel symbol icons depicting wealth, in a 30-payline configuration. The progressive bonus round is played out on a large LCD monitor positioned over the reels. On one side of the screen are the five incrementing jackpots, with a precious gemstone corresponding to each jackpot level. On the other side of the screen is a virtual bonus wheel.
The Emerald jackpot resets at $10; Sapphire, $50; Ruby, $100; Topaz, $1,000; and the top Pearl jackpot, $25,000.
The jackpots are won through a video bonus event played out on the big screen. When three or more Reel Money symbols appear scattered on the reels, it triggers the bonus event. The player gets three, four or five spins of an arrow around the virtual wheel, according to the number of symbols that triggered the bonus event.
There are 10 spots on the wheel, depicting nine bonus amounts ranging from 60 credits to 600 credits, and one precious stone, representing the progressive. Each spin yields either an accumulating bonus amount or the progressive that corresponds to the gemstone displayed. As with Hot Shots before it, it is possible for the player to win anywhere from one to all five of the progressives in one bonus round.
As with Hot Shots, the game math is built around this bonus event—it occurs with about twice the frequency as the bonus round on a typical multi-line slot machine. The progressive round occurs every 32 spins on average, with an average bonus of 1,672 credits. The player is guaranteed a bonus award for each wheel spin. A maximum wager is required to qualify for the progressives, so the operator can expect this game to drive high coin-in levels.
Manufacturer: Bally Technologies
Platform: Alpha Elite
Format: Five-reel, 30-line mechanical slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05
Max Bet: 60, 150
Top Award: Progressive; $25,000 reset
Hit Frequency: 44.69% (36.4% in CineReels version)
Theoretical Hold: 13%—14.25%
The base game is a traditional five-reel game with bars, “7” symbols and various reel symbol icons depicting wealth, in a 30-payline configuration. The progressive bonus round is played out on a large LCD monitor positioned over the reels. On one side of the screen are the five incrementing jackpots, with a precious gemstone corresponding to each jackpot level. On the other side of the screen is a virtual bonus wheel.
The Emerald jackpot resets at $10; Sapphire, $50; Ruby, $100; Topaz, $1,000; and the top Pearl jackpot, $25,000.
The jackpots are won through a video bonus event played out on the big screen. When three or more Reel Money symbols appear scattered on the reels, it triggers the bonus event. The player gets three, four or five spins of an arrow around the virtual wheel, according to the number of symbols that triggered the bonus event.
There are 10 spots on the wheel, depicting nine bonus amounts ranging from 60 credits to 600 credits, and one precious stone, representing the progressive. Each spin yields either an accumulating bonus amount or the progressive that corresponds to the gemstone displayed. As with Hot Shots before it, it is possible for the player to win anywhere from one to all five of the progressives in one bonus round.
As with Hot Shots, the game math is built around this bonus event—it occurs with about twice the frequency as the bonus round on a typical multi-line slot machine. The progressive round occurs every 32 spins on average, with an average bonus of 1,672 credits. The player is guaranteed a bonus award for each wheel spin. A maximum wager is required to qualify for the progressives, so the operator can expect this game to drive high coin-in levels.
Manufacturer: Bally Technologies
Platform: Alpha Elite
Format: Five-reel, 30-line mechanical slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05
Max Bet: 60, 150
Top Award: Progressive; $25,000 reset
Hit Frequency: 44.69% (36.4% in CineReels version)
Theoretical Hold: 13%—14.25%
New Game Review,
Players World Super
With this game package, Aristocrat applies a new concept to its popular “Hyperlink” four-level progressive system.
The common Hyperlink bonus round is the original version of “Cash Express.” Machines are linked to a jackpot controller, which randomly triggers a second-screen bonus event on one of the machines in the bank, featuring animation of a train, which leads to one of four progressive jackpots—ranging from a “Mini” jackpot resetting at $5 to a “Grand” jackpot that can be configured by the casino to reset at anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000.
What is different about this version of Hyperlink is that it features player-selectable base games.
The game uses a dual-screen cabinet, with the top LCD monitor containing all pay schedules and other game information. Using a feature called the “Easy Play” interface, players can select from a menu of four games on the screen, and can change games whenever they wish.
The four games being released with the initial version are the nine-line “Turtle Treasure,” the 20-line “Tiki Torch,” the 15-line or 25-line “Where’s the Gold” and “5 Dragons,” which is a game in the “Reel Power” series—in this series, the players purchase reels instead of paylines and all wins are paid as scatters, for a total of 243 possible winning combinations on each spin.
Because of the dual-screen setup, the complete game transforms at the touch of the button on the menu. Each game has its own game-specific free-spin bonus event, in addition to the random four-level Hyperlink bonus round.
Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies
Platform: MKVI; Gen7
Format: Five-reel; multi-line video slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .25
Max Bet: Various
Top Award: Progressive; resets configurable from $1,000 to $30,000
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: Various
The common Hyperlink bonus round is the original version of “Cash Express.” Machines are linked to a jackpot controller, which randomly triggers a second-screen bonus event on one of the machines in the bank, featuring animation of a train, which leads to one of four progressive jackpots—ranging from a “Mini” jackpot resetting at $5 to a “Grand” jackpot that can be configured by the casino to reset at anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000.
What is different about this version of Hyperlink is that it features player-selectable base games.
The game uses a dual-screen cabinet, with the top LCD monitor containing all pay schedules and other game information. Using a feature called the “Easy Play” interface, players can select from a menu of four games on the screen, and can change games whenever they wish.
The four games being released with the initial version are the nine-line “Turtle Treasure,” the 20-line “Tiki Torch,” the 15-line or 25-line “Where’s the Gold” and “5 Dragons,” which is a game in the “Reel Power” series—in this series, the players purchase reels instead of paylines and all wins are paid as scatters, for a total of 243 possible winning combinations on each spin.
Because of the dual-screen setup, the complete game transforms at the touch of the button on the menu. Each game has its own game-specific free-spin bonus event, in addition to the random four-level Hyperlink bonus round.
Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies
Platform: MKVI; Gen7
Format: Five-reel; multi-line video slot
Denominations: .01, .02, .05, .25
Max Bet: Various
Top Award: Progressive; resets configurable from $1,000 to $30,000
Hit Frequency: Approximately 50%
Theoretical Hold: Various
Frankly Speaking,
Ancient Chinese Secrets
You know, working for a big-time global publication like this one, you can’t help but encounter exotic cultures as you seek out new life and new civilization, and boldly go where no man has gone before.No, wait. That’s Captain Kirk’s line from Star Trek. I actually just traveled where many, many men and women have gone before, China—more specifically, the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, and even more specifically, Venetian Macao (motto: “We Put The ‘O’ In Macao!”), for the G2E Asia show.
Parts of my journey over there were a bit rough, to be sure. Most of my travels over the years have involved flights that lasted maybe eight hours, tops. Had I embarked from my home base in the East, this one would have been two flights with more than 30 hours total travel time. Since I generally want to gouge out my own eyeballs after seven or eight hours of travel time, I decided to split the trip up, going to Las Vegas for a few days first and then heading out from the West Coast.
My flight to Vegas should have been an indicator of what was to come. The lady at the counter offered to put me closer to the front of the plane in a nice window seat, and I accepted. Everything was fine until this family of very, very large people surrounded me. OK, I’m not exactly tiny, but these folks each had their own ZIP code. I ended up smushed against the window, my face resembling Munch’s famous painting The Scream as the husband of the woman beside me made this repulsive clucking sound with his tongue, just to playfully annoy his wife, for five hours.
The horror.
The flight a few days later from Los Angeles to Taipei, en route to Macau, was yet another adventure. Coach was so much less expensive, and I figured, how bad can it be? Turns out it’s fine if you’re in one of the outer rows of the 747. But never, never go to the middle row of six or seven seats. At least on Malaysian Airways, these seats apparently are designed for very tiny people. Placing my rather large American butt in one of these seats was like placing a size-12 foot into a size-7 shoe. And leaving it there. For 12 hours.
Suffice it to say I had a very comical walk by the time I got off the plane in Taiwan.
Once in Macau, though, I was fascinated by the cultural differences from the U.S. and European casino markets to which I am accustomed. For instance, Bally’s “Blazing 7s” is “Blazing 8s” there, because 8 is the lucky number for Chinese gamblers. (It represents prosperity.) It’s just one of many gambling superstitions that are evident as you walk through an Asian casino.
The gambling website 777.com lists some common Chinese gambling superstitions:
• “Don’t count money during a gambling session.” Yeah, Kenny Rogers already told us.
• “Men: Stay away from sex and females.” What if I stay away from one and not the other? Will that work?
• “Avoid seeing monks or nuns before going to a casino.” Damn. All my gambling buddies are monks and nuns.
• “Wear red underwear when gambling.” Insert your own joke here. I’ll only get in trouble if I do.
• “Switch on all the lights at home before going out to gamble.” Then, you can use your winnings to pay the electric bill. It’s a push.
• “Don’t enter casinos through their main entrance, for it is cursed.” I tested this one when I got back to Vegas. It turns out that for me, every entrance is cursed.
Beyond the differences in gambling culture, I tackled a couple of general cultural differences while in Macau. For instance, there is a business card etiquette. You must hand someone your business card carefully and slowly, using both hands. When you receive someone else’s card, you look at it for a few seconds before putting it away.
The American custom—flipping your card at someone’s head with one hand while drinking a beer with the other—apparently is considered indelicate. Hey, live and learn.
Finally, I made an attempt to eat with chopsticks while in China. After several fumbling attempts to actually get a piece of food in between those things, all the while resembling an ape trying to manipulate knitting needles, I finally gave up. (Luckily, they do keep forks there for us Ugly Americans.)
I’m sure my next trip will be just as exciting as my Macau journey. I’m heading up to North Jersey.
The horror.
PokerBIZ,
Shuffled Up and Dealt
The biggest poker tournament of the year got under way in May at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and already the event is setting records.
Any lingering thoughts that the current online gaming restrictions in the U.S. would have a negative impact on the World Series of Poker were certainly done away with early on in the 39th incarnation of the event.
It took just a few days for records to fall, with the second event, the $1,500 buy-in, no-limit hold ‘em tournament attracting 3,929 entrants. The number shattered the previous high attendance mark for a non-Main Event tournament of 3,151 set last year at the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold ’em event held during the final week of the 2007 WSOP. With nearly 4,000 players, the second event is the fourth-largest poker tournament of all-time.
“This is a great start,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “The sound of chips chirping throughout the Rio is a welcome return for all of us who love poker.”
Through the middle of June, the 2008 WSOP had attracted 24,642 players, with an average of 821 per event. A total of $59,117,189 in prize money has been paid out, with nearly $2 million being awarded in each event.
But the biggest news coming out of this year’s event is a major change to the structure for the final table of the Main Event.
Unlike years past where the Main Event winner was determined in consecutive days in July, this year a winner won’t be determined until November. The Main Event will start on July 3 and continue until there are nine players left on July 14. At that time, the players will get 117 days off until final table play resumes November 9.
Tournament officials say the delay gives them time to adequately market and promote the television coverage of the final table. The final table coverage on ESPN will begin November 10.
“In the past, we had one day to learn who these nine individuals were, what was special about them, and then be able to communicate that to create a connection with the general public,” said Ty Stewart, director of marketing and licensing for the WSOP. “Now, through other mediums beyond television, we can tell the great stories of these individuals, why people should care about them, and have months to use our machines and ESPN’s machine to get these players publicized in all kinds of media.”
Such a significant change hasn’t gone unnoticed by the poker world. Some have complained that the delay changes the essential nature of the Main Event, which is as much about endurance as it is survival. Others say the nearly four-month break increases the possibility of collusion, or that players will cut deals before final table play even begins.
Stewart doesn’t agree. He says it should lead to better play, because the November Nine will have time to scout their opponents and hone their skills. The players will also benefit because they will have time to land sponsorship deals in advance of their prime-time television appearance.
“I understand that we are changing the game,” Stewart said. “I would argue that we’re changing the game for the better.
“Yes, you can scout players like you’ve never been able to and that levels the playing field. I understand that people will have the opportunity to be coached. I understand the whole thing about running well will be changed.
“The ultimate end result is that there’s more of an emphasis on skill. Increasing the skill involved in the $10,000 Main Event can only be a good thing.”
Any lingering thoughts that the current online gaming restrictions in the U.S. would have a negative impact on the World Series of Poker were certainly done away with early on in the 39th incarnation of the event.
It took just a few days for records to fall, with the second event, the $1,500 buy-in, no-limit hold ‘em tournament attracting 3,929 entrants. The number shattered the previous high attendance mark for a non-Main Event tournament of 3,151 set last year at the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold ’em event held during the final week of the 2007 WSOP. With nearly 4,000 players, the second event is the fourth-largest poker tournament of all-time.
“This is a great start,” said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP. “The sound of chips chirping throughout the Rio is a welcome return for all of us who love poker.”
Through the middle of June, the 2008 WSOP had attracted 24,642 players, with an average of 821 per event. A total of $59,117,189 in prize money has been paid out, with nearly $2 million being awarded in each event.
But the biggest news coming out of this year’s event is a major change to the structure for the final table of the Main Event.
Unlike years past where the Main Event winner was determined in consecutive days in July, this year a winner won’t be determined until November. The Main Event will start on July 3 and continue until there are nine players left on July 14. At that time, the players will get 117 days off until final table play resumes November 9.
Tournament officials say the delay gives them time to adequately market and promote the television coverage of the final table. The final table coverage on ESPN will begin November 10.
“In the past, we had one day to learn who these nine individuals were, what was special about them, and then be able to communicate that to create a connection with the general public,” said Ty Stewart, director of marketing and licensing for the WSOP. “Now, through other mediums beyond television, we can tell the great stories of these individuals, why people should care about them, and have months to use our machines and ESPN’s machine to get these players publicized in all kinds of media.”
Such a significant change hasn’t gone unnoticed by the poker world. Some have complained that the delay changes the essential nature of the Main Event, which is as much about endurance as it is survival. Others say the nearly four-month break increases the possibility of collusion, or that players will cut deals before final table play even begins.
Stewart doesn’t agree. He says it should lead to better play, because the November Nine will have time to scout their opponents and hone their skills. The players will also benefit because they will have time to land sponsorship deals in advance of their prime-time television appearance.
“I understand that we are changing the game,” Stewart said. “I would argue that we’re changing the game for the better.
“Yes, you can scout players like you’ve never been able to and that levels the playing field. I understand that people will have the opportunity to be coached. I understand the whole thing about running well will be changed.
“The ultimate end result is that there’s more of an emphasis on skill. Increasing the skill involved in the $10,000 Main Event can only be a good thing.”
AGA,
A Responsible Approach
The casino gaming industry goes to great lengths to provide a superior entertainment product to people who can enjoy that product responsibly. The American Gaming Association supplements these efforts by building on the hard work of individual companies to develop broad, industry-wide responsible gaming programs and by educating the public about responsible gaming. I have covered this subject in this space before, but given its importance to our industry, and the broad attention it receives, a periodic return makes sense. That is especially true when I can confirm that our efforts to promote responsible gaming are helping the cause.
As reported in the most recent edition of AGA’s State of the States, approximately a quarter of the U.S. adult population visits a casino annually. A catalogue of scientific studies has firmly established that 99 percent of those who choose to gamble, do so responsibly.
All that said, the industry has always held itself to the highest standard: “One problem gambler is one too many.”
It is in striving to meet this standard that the casino gaming industry has, in concert with the AGA, long implemented employee and public education programs to increase awareness of problem gambling, and to aggressively promote responsible gaming practices. And—as many of you know—the desire to find out what makes some people unable to gamble responsibly led AGA and the industry to found the National Center for Responsible Gaming. It is the only national organization exclusively dedicated to funding peer-reviewed research on disordered gambling, and to promoting public education about responsible gaming.
In addition to its continued support of groundbreaking independent research into gambling disorders, the NCRG continues to develop new vehicles for turning solid scientific research into practical applications for casino employees, patrons and the public. This summer, the NCRG will be “on the road” talking about its work with the media, opinion leaders and community officials during a tour of various cities—the second such national tour sponsored by the center.
Among the subjects that will be discussed are two national initiatives designed to raise awareness about gambling among college students and young people. These NCRG outreach activities have been developed through the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, a program of the Division on Addictions at the Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
The first of these initiatives is designed to raise awareness about college gambling. The NCRG is supporting the creation of a national task force comprised of representatives from 11 colleges and universities to develop science-based campus gambling policies. Task force members come from geographically diverse institutions—among them Harvard, Villanova, Lehigh, Mississippi State, University of Alabama—and reflect a cross section of disciplines. This initiative addresses the findings of an NCRG-funded study of gambling and alcohol policies at U.S. colleges and universities showing that 42 percent of the students surveyed reported gambling during the past year. Yet, while all schools had a student alcohol policy, only about 22 percent had a gambling policy. The authors concluded that the schools might be missing an opportunity to inform students about the risks of excessive gambling. The NCRG task force will consider guidelines for various policies such as those that regulate student activities, athletics and health services, and how these policies are communicated to parents and students. Final recommendations will be announced in 2009.
The second initiative focuses on youth gambling and provides guidance via a brochure on how to discuss gambling with young people. The critical need for this resource was made readily apparent when recent research revealed that 68 percent of those 14 to 21 years old participated in some form of gambling during the past year. Geared to parents, teachers and others involved with this age group, the brochure will include information about the games young people play and the prevalence of gambling-related problems experienced by this age group, and will guide parents and educators to other resources.
And that brings me to Responsible Gaming Education Week, which will take place August 4-8 this year. Since its inception, RGEW has helped focus attention on this issue through company- and industry-wide activities, seminars, live satellite broadcasts and webcasts.
It also is a time when casino gaming employees will participate in various education programs and seminars. Because so many employees interact directly with customers, they need “refresher” courses to keep them up to speed on the issue, and new employees must learn about this issue and understand the importance of promoting responsible gaming practices.
This year-long procession of events, activities and products focusing on responsible gaming comes to a climax with the National Center for Responsible Gaming’s 9th Annual Conference on Gambling and Addiction, a must-attend event for industry professionals, researchers, health care providers, regulators and public officials. The conference will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and Las Vegas Convention Center, November 16-18. Sessions on the final day of the conference will take place at the convention center as part of G2E’s corporate social responsibility conference track.
This year’s theme, “The Changing Landscape of Treatment, Responsible Gaming and Public Policy,” reflects the current societal and scientific trends that are having an impact on gambling research and responsible gaming initiatives. The conference program will cover a number of evolving research areas and explore a broad mix of topics on everything from using the internet to promote responsible gaming to how human resources and employee assistance programs can address problem gambling in the workplace.
The bottom line is that the people in our industry want to make certain that all our patrons enjoy an entertaining, enjoyable experience, a mantra that bears repeating time and time again. Indeed, we at the AGA, along with our industry partners, will continue working hard to make certain this happens, and we will remain dedicated to educating the public on how to gamble responsibly.
Fantini's Finance,
Center of Power
For a very long time, investors focused on New York as the center of the stock-investing world in the gaming industry.More recently, London has gained prominence thanks to the rise of internet gaming companies and the London Stock Exchange’s version of Nasdaq, the Alternative Investment Market, or AIM.
But investors in North America could get along quite well not worrying about the rest of the world, knowing that there were few opportunities in the likes of an Aristocrat in Australia or Aruze in Tokyo.
That insularity is dissipating rapidly because of two factors:
1. Homegrown European and Asian companies have become serious international competitors, including in North America.
2. Many international companies see little advantage in having to endure the hassles of listing in the United States when they can fulfill their financial needs listing at home.
In other words, investors everywhere are going to have to start trading outside New York and London if they want to take full advantage of opportunities.
Here are a few examples:
• Lottomatica is the Italian lottery company that bought GTECH. It has adopted a diversification strategy that also makes it a slot machine company and an internet software provider. In addition, it is entering the embryonic sports betting industry in Italy.For that growth and diversity, an investor has to buy the stock on the Milan exchange in Italy. LTO does have an American pink sheet symbol: LTTOY.
• Intralot is the second-largest lottery company in the world, with global growth ambitions. It is making something of a splash in the United States, having captured the lottery contracts in five relatively small states and now, its biggest yet, Ohio. So, there is a choice beyond Lottomatica and Scientific Games for investors wanting to play international lottery growth. But to do so with this Greek company, you’ll have to go to the Athens stock exchange.
• Crown Ltd. is more than an Australian casino operator and partner in Macau’s Melco PBL.It also is becoming a North American casino company with purchase of Gateway casinos in Canada, Meadows racino in Pennsylvania, the Cannery casinos in the Las Vegas locals market and a significant stake in Fontainebleau rising on the Las Vegas Strip. Crown, naturally, lists on the Australian stock exchange, but it has a pink sheet symbol: CWLDF.
• Genting International was a small part of the big Genting Group not long ago. The gaming arm of that big group did not even own Genting Highlands, the giant Malaysian casino. But Genting International is a growth vehicle now. It has acquired Stanley Leisure, the largest United Kingdom casino operator (which has properties in Europe as well). And the Sentosa Island mega-resort rising in Singapore will be one of the world’s great casino resorts. In a good political move, Genting International moved to the Singapore stock exchange a few years ago. It has a pink sheet symbol: GIGNF.
• Genting Group. Other publicly traded Genting companies are involved in gaming. Resorts World operates Genting Highlands in Malaysia, the region’s biggest resort. And Star Cruises is a cruise liner with casinos aboard, but its potentially big project is a mega-resort proposed for Manila Bay in the Philippines.
• Elixir Game Technologies lists on both the American Stock Exchange and in Hong Kong. As is common in Asia, EGT is aligned with other public companies, such as its ultimate parent, Melco International. EGT is the one company mentioned here that is not a casino operator. It supplies slot machines to Asian slot parlors in turn-key operations.
• Hong Kong Stock Exchange has emerged as the place to buy Asian gaming stocks. In addition to Melco Crown trading there, so does Melco International, the parent of the Melco half of Melco Crown. Also trading is Galaxy Entertainment, AMAX, NagaCorp, Shun Tak, and a host of other companies and, in the not-so-distant future, the granddaddy of all Asian casino operators, Stanley Ho’s SJM.
• Aruze trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Historically a gaming machine supplier, Aruze owns of chunk of Wynn Resorts, and soon will become a casino operator if its proposed Pagcor City mega-resorts in the Philippines come into being. These are just a few examples of the growing globalization of an industry that not many years ago had only a handful of publicly traded companies based mostly in Nevada.
Frank Fantini is the editor and publisher of Fantini’s Gaming Report. A free 30-day trial subscription is available by calling toll free at 1-866-683-4357 or online at www.gaminginvestments.com.
Nutshell,
Wind River Casino
The Wind River Casino in Riverton, Wyoming, last month held the grand opening for a new, larger casino (45,000 square feet) that capped 20 years of expansion of a facility that started with a bingo hall. The 8,000-member Northern Arapaho Tribe owns and operates the casino, which is seen as not only an economic boon to the tribe, but also a source of job training for members who will be perceived as more employable for having worked there. It is the tribe’s effort to compete in Wyoming’s tourist trade. The casino has 750 slot machines and eight gaming tables, meeting space, several restaurants and retail shops. One of the restaurants serves prime beef raised on a ranch owned by the tribe.
Nutshell,
WagerWorks/IGT
WagerWorks/IGT has introduced a new slot game, “Vegas, Baby!” The 20-line, 100-credit game carries a Strip theme and a top jackpot of 50,000 credits.
Nutshell,
MGM Mirage Hospitality
MGM Mirage Hospitality and Diaoyutai State Guesthouse have announced that they will develop and manage a major project in Tianjin, China. Sinosteel International Plaza will consist of two towers, a luxury hotel and residential, along with conference and office components. Groundbreaking is expected this month.
Nutshell,
Landry’s Restaurants
Tilman Fertitta, founder and CEO of Landry’s Restaurants, has arranged financing to take the Houston-based restaurant, hospitality and casino operator private. Jefferies & Co. and Wells Fargo Foothill are backing his $1.3 billion offer, which includes assuming debt of $885 million. It amounts to $21 for each of Landry’s shares, 39 percent of which Fertitta owns. A “go-shop” clause in the financing agreement allows Landry’s to seek other acquisition offers for 45 days.
Nutshell,
Colorado
Three casinos in Colorado are claiming that the state’s smoking ban does not apply to them because they are “cigar-tobacco bars,” which are exceptions to the law, which went into effect at the start of the year. The city of Cripple Creek, where the three casinos are located, claims that the law is written so ambiguously that it doesn’t feel comfortable enforcing the ban against the casinos, which claim that it doesn’t apply to them. The city has a total of 14 casinos. The casinos making the claim say that they sell enough tobacco—5 percent of total sales—to qualify for the exemption. A casino in Black Hawk also is making the claim.
Nutshell,
Lady Luck Caruthersville
The Missouri casino formerly known as the Casino Aztar is now the Lady Luck Caruthersville. It is owned by Isle of Capri Casinos, which acquired it a year ago. It is changing the names of all of its casinos to either Lady Luck or Isle of Capri to increase branding identification.
Nutshell,
Condado Plaza
The Puerto Rican Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino is undergoing a multimillion-dollar redesign that includes all 570 rooms plus meeting and public spaces. Leo A. Daly reinterpreted the guest rooms and meeting space including the 8,090-square-foot Royal Ballroom. David Rockwell designed the glamorous new lobby and outpost of the renowned restaurant Strip House, which opened in December. The hotel’s sleek new design includes the largest guest suites in Puerto Rico plus state-of-the-art technology.
Nutshell,
Sun International
The $200 million Monticello Grand Casino and Entertainment World near Santiago, Chile, is on schedule for a soft opening in early October. The Sun International project will have 80 tables, 1,500 slots, 300 bingo positions, 155 hotel rooms, a retail mall and Chile’s largest conference facility
Nutshell,
Gran Scala
International Leisure Development has increased the capital for its Gran Scala project in Spain with an additional €40 million. Land acquisition for the mega development is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, with construction of infrastructure starting in early 2009.
Nutshell,
Ritzio Entertainment Group
The ever-expanding Ritzio Entertainment Group has announced a partnership between its Ritzio International subsidiary and Italian gaming machine manufacturer Nazionale Elettronica. The Russia-based company currently operates six slot properties in central Italy and will open five more soon in Bologna and Toscana.
Nutshell,
Amax Entertainment Holdings Limited
A-Max Holdings Limited last week announced it had renamed itself Amax Entertainment Holdings Limited, to more clearly identify the company as operating in the gaming intermediary business and additional opportunities related to the gaming and/or entertainment sectors. A-Max provides junket services to Macau casinos, principally Crown Macau.
Nutshell,
Stoney Nakoda First Nation
The Stoney Nakoda First Nation in Alberta, Canada, last week cut the ribbon on its new casino, which will have an official grand opening June 20. The $65 million casino will help provide self-reliance to the 4,000-member Stoney Nakoda nation as well as the Wesley First Nation. The casino is located at the intersection of two highways, the Trans-Canada and Highway 40.The second phase of the development will include a 111-room hotel, an RV campground and an outlet mall
Nutshell,
SJM Holdings
SJM Holdings, the Macau casino operator which is controlled by tycoon Stanley Ho, is expected to renew its efforts to issue an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange, hoping to raise as much as US$600 million to fund expansion programs.
Nutshell,
International Olympic Committee
Major betting companies will do their part for the upcoming summer Olympic games in China by notifying the International Olympic Committee of any suspicious betting patterns on events. It is the first time such an arrangement has been officially agreed to by the athletic organizer. A series of betting and fixing scandals in soccer, cricket and tennis precipitated the move. Meanwhile, the committee has, for the first time, issued a blanket warning to athletes that gambling of any form will not be tolerated in Beijing.
Dateline,
France to open online market
A bill that would open certain areas of the French online gaming market to competition from private operators is set to be presented to French lawmakers in the autumn.
The decision is the result of a recent meeting between E.U. Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy and France Budget Minister Eric Woerth.
A regulatory authority will be established in the first half of 2009 to award licenses, which will be valid for five years. The first licenses could be granted as early as the second half of 2009. Operators licensed in other European states will still have to apply for a French license.
In a related matter, the French government will sell its stake in the French national lottery and sports betting monopoly, Francaise des Jeux. The operator has annual sales of €9.5 billion.
The decision is the result of a recent meeting between E.U. Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy and France Budget Minister Eric Woerth.
A regulatory authority will be established in the first half of 2009 to award licenses, which will be valid for five years. The first licenses could be granted as early as the second half of 2009. Operators licensed in other European states will still have to apply for a French license.
In a related matter, the French government will sell its stake in the French national lottery and sports betting monopoly, Francaise des Jeux. The operator has annual sales of €9.5 billion.
Dateline,
Washington judge affirms online ban
A Superior Court judge in Washington upheld a state law that makes online gambling a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Poker players itching to play online protested the ruling outside the courthouse following the decision last month.
“We’re good people,” said Andy Weber. “We’re trying to have some fun, engage in a game of skill.”
Judge Mary Roberts upheld the 2006 law, dismissing the argument that it is unconstitutional.
The state gambling commission supports the law and says it is designed to stiffen penalties against online operators. They add that nobody is planning any raids on homes of online gamblers. They really want to reaffirm that placing bets through unregulated offshore casinos is risky.
“You don’t know who’s behind that screen,” said Susan Arland of the Washington State Gambling Commission. “You don’t know if the games are unfair or honest. You don’t know if you will get paid your winnings.
“Also, by disclosing information that should be secure, you could be the victim of identity theft or credit card fraud.”
Opponents plan to appeal the ruling.
Poker players itching to play online protested the ruling outside the courthouse following the decision last month.
“We’re good people,” said Andy Weber. “We’re trying to have some fun, engage in a game of skill.”
Judge Mary Roberts upheld the 2006 law, dismissing the argument that it is unconstitutional.
The state gambling commission supports the law and says it is designed to stiffen penalties against online operators. They add that nobody is planning any raids on homes of online gamblers. They really want to reaffirm that placing bets through unregulated offshore casinos is risky.
“You don’t know who’s behind that screen,” said Susan Arland of the Washington State Gambling Commission. “You don’t know if the games are unfair or honest. You don’t know if you will get paid your winnings.
“Also, by disclosing information that should be secure, you could be the victim of identity theft or credit card fraud.”
Opponents plan to appeal the ruling.
Dateline,
UIGEA under fire
Two more lawmakers put their support behind U.S. legislation seeking to void the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Steven Rothman of New Jersey added their names to the list of co-sponsors for Barney Frank’s Bill 5767, introduced last month.
The bill would block implementation of laws prohibiting U.S. banks from processing transactions between U.S. citizens and online gaming sites.
The total number of co-sponsors on the legislation is now 19.
A number of the co-sponsors have also signed on to support Frank’s other legislation, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, which seeks to regulate online gaming in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice named Nicholas John Bagley its new attorney for its defense of UIGEA in a lawsuit brought by Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association.
The non-profit iMEGA is challenging the unpopular law in the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals after a district court judge in New Jersey failed to issue a ruling in March.
Bagley is currently listed as counsel for the government in around 14 other cases appearing before federal appellate courts across the country.
Dateline,
PartyGaming expecting settlement
PartyGaming announced it is expecting to reach a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid criminal charges.
“These discussions are progressing constructively and I remain confident that we will reach a resolution in 2008,” said Mitch Garber, soon-to-be-former CEO for PartyGaming. “We're in the midst of a process and our attorneys tell us it is moving in the right direction and at the right speed.”
Last month, the company also announced a new CEO, Jim Ryan, who will replace Garber at the end of July.
“These discussions are progressing constructively and I remain confident that we will reach a resolution in 2008,” said Mitch Garber, soon-to-be-former CEO for PartyGaming. “We're in the midst of a process and our attorneys tell us it is moving in the right direction and at the right speed.”
Last month, the company also announced a new CEO, Jim Ryan, who will replace Garber at the end of July.
Dateline,
U.S. won’t disclose WTO information
The United States reached an online gambling deal with the European Union allowing it to skirt its World Trade Organization obligations, but the country will not release any details of the agreement.
Freelance journalist Ed Brayton requested the full text of the settlement from the United States trade representative under the Freedom of Information Act. His request was denied because the agreement is classified as “foreign government information,” and the information was withheld in the interest of national security.
Brayton is asking a court to review the decision and make public the documents related to the agreement.
“Americans have a right to know what kinds of trade concessions the U.S. government is granting other countries, especially when those deals have a significant impact on domestic policy and may be worth billion of dollars,” said Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer, Brayton’s attorney.
U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio is also asking that the documents be made public.
“There is a concern that the USTR may have been ambitious in its use of a ‘national security’ classification to avoid any publicity of which new business sectors are to be subject to the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) treaty,” said DeFazio in his letter.
The U.S. decision to block the access of online gaming operators to its citizens is a violation of its commitments under the WTO GATS. While the country has said it never intended online gambling to be part of the agreement, it must still make concessions to countries affected by its refusal to abide by its GATS commitments.
Freelance journalist Ed Brayton requested the full text of the settlement from the United States trade representative under the Freedom of Information Act. His request was denied because the agreement is classified as “foreign government information,” and the information was withheld in the interest of national security.
Brayton is asking a court to review the decision and make public the documents related to the agreement.
“Americans have a right to know what kinds of trade concessions the U.S. government is granting other countries, especially when those deals have a significant impact on domestic policy and may be worth billion of dollars,” said Bonnie I. Robin-Vergeer, Brayton’s attorney.
U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio is also asking that the documents be made public.
“There is a concern that the USTR may have been ambitious in its use of a ‘national security’ classification to avoid any publicity of which new business sectors are to be subject to the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) treaty,” said DeFazio in his letter.
The U.S. decision to block the access of online gaming operators to its citizens is a violation of its commitments under the WTO GATS. While the country has said it never intended online gambling to be part of the agreement, it must still make concessions to countries affected by its refusal to abide by its GATS commitments.
Dateline,
Ontario tribes work to keep casino open
Fears that Casino Rama could close when its current operating agreement expires in 2011 have been allayed by comments from the new executive director of Ontario Lottery and Gaming.
At a gathering last month hosted by Mnjikaning First Nation, Kelly McDougald, OLG CEO, said the province and aboriginals will “forge a new relationship ensuring that Casino Rama will continue to be a success.”
Since it opened in 1996, Ontario’s only First Nations casino, located on the reserve lands of the Chippewa Mnjikaning, has been the subject of conflict. When the project was announced, the provincial government said it would not seek a 20 percent win tax of gross revenues at Casino Rama so more money could go to help the First Nations. But the Conservative government of Tory Mike Harris reneged on that pledge; since 1996, Ontario has collected about $1 billion from Casino Rama.
It was tribal infighting, however, that
reportedly jeopardized the operating agreement. Since 2001, the First Nations bands have been quarreling over the split of net revenues from the casino. As the host band, Mnjikaning receives 35 percent, while the remaining 134 bands split 65 percent. In the past seven years, Mnjikaning’s disputed share has been placed in escrow pending a resolution.
Rumors circulated that the province might not renew Rama’s operating agreement if Mnjikaning and the other First Nations failed to come to an agreement.
Those rumors were later denied by Ontario Lottery and Gaming, but the province then announced that it had struck a deal with all First Nations except Mnjikaning. The Chiefs of Ontario agreed to a lump-sum payment of $201 million and nearly 2 percent of all provincial gaming revenues—not just from Casino Rama—starting in 2011. In return, they gave up all claims to future win tax revenues.
Despite lingering concerns about the future of Casino Rama, Mnjikaning Rama Chief Sharon Stinson Henry expressed confidence that the band and the province will reach an accord.
“I know we can work together to forge a new deal,” said Stinson Henry. “I don’t foresee any obstacles.”
At a gathering last month hosted by Mnjikaning First Nation, Kelly McDougald, OLG CEO, said the province and aboriginals will “forge a new relationship ensuring that Casino Rama will continue to be a success.”
Since it opened in 1996, Ontario’s only First Nations casino, located on the reserve lands of the Chippewa Mnjikaning, has been the subject of conflict. When the project was announced, the provincial government said it would not seek a 20 percent win tax of gross revenues at Casino Rama so more money could go to help the First Nations. But the Conservative government of Tory Mike Harris reneged on that pledge; since 1996, Ontario has collected about $1 billion from Casino Rama.
It was tribal infighting, however, that
reportedly jeopardized the operating agreement. Since 2001, the First Nations bands have been quarreling over the split of net revenues from the casino. As the host band, Mnjikaning receives 35 percent, while the remaining 134 bands split 65 percent. In the past seven years, Mnjikaning’s disputed share has been placed in escrow pending a resolution.
Rumors circulated that the province might not renew Rama’s operating agreement if Mnjikaning and the other First Nations failed to come to an agreement.
Those rumors were later denied by Ontario Lottery and Gaming, but the province then announced that it had struck a deal with all First Nations except Mnjikaning. The Chiefs of Ontario agreed to a lump-sum payment of $201 million and nearly 2 percent of all provincial gaming revenues—not just from Casino Rama—starting in 2011. In return, they gave up all claims to future win tax revenues.
Despite lingering concerns about the future of Casino Rama, Mnjikaning Rama Chief Sharon Stinson Henry expressed confidence that the band and the province will reach an accord.
“I know we can work together to forge a new deal,” said Stinson Henry. “I don’t foresee any obstacles.”
Dateline,
Darwin’s darling
Casino and entertainment company SkyCity has announced the completion of arrangements with Australia’s Northern Territory government to acquire a 5,400-square-meter property known as the “Little Mindil.” The undeveloped parcel, which is next to the existing SkyCity Darwin Casino, will be the site of a world-class beachfront resort.
The acquisition and development of the Little Mindil site and the Gala Lawn area will cost over A$50 million, about US$47.3 million. The project is expected to take about three years to complete.
The Darwin casino will complete its own A$30 million renovation later this year. The renovation was begun after SkyCity received an extension of its exclusive Darwin operating license to 2026.
SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison said, “The Northern Territory has a growing national and international reputation as an outstanding tourist destination, and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the Australasian region. SkyCity is committed to playing an integral role in the territory’s future success through the continued development of our casino, resort and entertainment facilities in Darwin.”
The acquisition and development of the Little Mindil site and the Gala Lawn area will cost over A$50 million, about US$47.3 million. The project is expected to take about three years to complete.
The Darwin casino will complete its own A$30 million renovation later this year. The renovation was begun after SkyCity received an extension of its exclusive Darwin operating license to 2026.
SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison said, “The Northern Territory has a growing national and international reputation as an outstanding tourist destination, and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the Australasian region. SkyCity is committed to playing an integral role in the territory’s future success through the continued development of our casino, resort and entertainment facilities in Darwin.”
Dateline,
Call for creativity in Oz
The tourism minister of Queensland, Australia, is looking for ideas to inject new life into the Gold Coast tourist region. Including casino development.Speaking at the national Tourism Futures conference last month, Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes bucked the current trend of bemoaning the poor economy and declared it time for creative thinking and big dreams, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin. The solutions to problems such as funding, said Hayes, would come later.
“Allow us to dream a few dreams and come up with stuff we need,” said Hayes. “Come up with the good ideas first and then come up with how to do it later.”
Queensland is in the beginning stages of a 10-year project to improve its overall tourism product. The government has allocated A$48 million to the Queensland Tourism Strategy plan, which seeks an integrated approach involving government and private industry.
Among the ideas highlighted by Hayes was an increase in the Gold Coast’s casino offering.
“I’ve never understood why the Gold Coast does not have three or four casinos,” said Hayes. “It’s more than just gambling, it’s about entertainment and restaurants. Just look at Las Vegas and what the Crown Casino has done to Melbourne.”
The only casino now in operation on the Gold Coast is Conrad Jupiters, with 60 tables, 1,300 slots and a 600-room hotel.
The Bulletin reported Hayes as saying it was time to bring back the “fun” to tourism after years of putting up with the “men in drab suits,” who he said were obsessed with marketing and analysis when instead they should be looking at “building stuff.”
Dateline,
Tight competitive quarters for Oklahoma casino
The tribal casino that has formidable Penn National Gaming nervous about funding a proposed commercial casino in Cherokee County, Kansas, is on schedule to open July 5. Cherokee County officials who have sued to block the $300 million casino-hotel were impressed with it when the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma took them on a tour last month.
Quapaw’s Downstream Casino Resort complex stands literally on a state border, with the casino and 12-story hotel in Oklahoma and the parking lot in Kansas. Five small tribal casinos are in the area, several miles from Joplin just over the Missouri state line, with Interstate 44 as the main highway. Penn National’s proposed site for a state-owned casino is just across I-44.
Downstream is built beside two 18-hole golf courses. Some of 226 hotel rooms overlook them, as does the VIP club atop the tower. Amenities include four restaurants, a spa and an outdoor pool. A circular bar is centered on the casino floor, where 2,000 slot machines will be controlled by $8 million worth of servers.
Cherokee County commissioners on the tour saw the first slots being installed. Federal regulators overseeing the process kept press photographers away, however.
Quapaw’s Downstream Casino Resort complex stands literally on a state border, with the casino and 12-story hotel in Oklahoma and the parking lot in Kansas. Five small tribal casinos are in the area, several miles from Joplin just over the Missouri state line, with Interstate 44 as the main highway. Penn National’s proposed site for a state-owned casino is just across I-44.
Downstream is built beside two 18-hole golf courses. Some of 226 hotel rooms overlook them, as does the VIP club atop the tower. Amenities include four restaurants, a spa and an outdoor pool. A circular bar is centered on the casino floor, where 2,000 slot machines will be controlled by $8 million worth of servers.
Cherokee County commissioners on the tour saw the first slots being installed. Federal regulators overseeing the process kept press photographers away, however.
Dateline,
New Michigan casino transforms tourist trade
The recently opened Four Winds Casino Resort in Michigan’s southwest corner appears to have sparked something of a tourism renaissance in the New Buffalo area.The area has long done a low-key tourist trade, but the opening of the casino resort last summer has given the region a shot of adrenaline and generated more business not just in gaming, but for the region’s beaches, bed-and-breakfast inns, wineries, art galleries and restaurants. It has led to new businesses opening and established businesses, such as hotels, filling their rooms.
“Our lodging properties have been benefiting because the casino is very short of rooms,” observed one innkeeper.
Business has been so good at the Four Winds itself that the tribe which owns it, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, is already talking about an expansion.
Dateline,
NIGC halts some Class II regs
One of the most divisive issues ever handled by the National Indian Gaming Commission was resolved when the agency decided to put aside some of the regulations it had formulated to define exactly what can be called Class II gaming machines.
In the past 10 years, the line had blurred between what is a Class II versus a Class III slot machine. NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen has, for his entire seven years in office, expressed a desire to draw a “bright line” between the two by establishing clear standards and definitions. He has now abandoned that effort.
After the initial results of an economic impact study conducted by the NIGC, Hogen says the proposed regulations are considered “major rules” and therefore require an in-depth cost-benefit analysis. Addressing the Oklahoma Sovereignty Symposium held last month in Oklahoma City, Hogen said the NIGC would “put aside” the onerous regulations on classification standards and definitions and only concentrate on technical standards and minimum internal control guidelines for Class II machines.
According to the National Indian Gaming Association, which applauded Hogen’s decision, the economic impact of the proposed regulations would have been dire. The study reported that tribes would stand to lose up to $1.2 billion if the rules were implemented, and compliance costs would have increased by almost $350 million.
In addition, says NIGA, the regulations would have impacted smaller tribes most heavily in states such as Montana, Alabama, and North and South Dakota.
The NIGC consulted tribes during the early part of the process, but many tribal officials and game manufacturers complained that the final version of the regulations did not consider their concerns.
“Our thanks goes out to tribal government leaders and tribal gaming commissioners,” said NIGA Chairman Ernest Stevens, “for their hard work in staying active and engaged with the NIGC and requesting consultation with tribes prior to the development of such sweeping regulations.”
Stevens says his members anticipate working with the NIGC to complete the remaining items on the Class II agenda.
“Working together with Indian Country, there is an opportunity to develop acceptable Class II MICS and classification standards that the tribes and industry can implement without severe economic hardship,” he said.
Hogen said he hoped that the commission’s decision to concentrate on the technical and MICS standards “would help achieve the long-sought clarity, sooner rather than later.”
In the past 10 years, the line had blurred between what is a Class II versus a Class III slot machine. NIGC Chairman Phil Hogen has, for his entire seven years in office, expressed a desire to draw a “bright line” between the two by establishing clear standards and definitions. He has now abandoned that effort.
After the initial results of an economic impact study conducted by the NIGC, Hogen says the proposed regulations are considered “major rules” and therefore require an in-depth cost-benefit analysis. Addressing the Oklahoma Sovereignty Symposium held last month in Oklahoma City, Hogen said the NIGC would “put aside” the onerous regulations on classification standards and definitions and only concentrate on technical standards and minimum internal control guidelines for Class II machines.
According to the National Indian Gaming Association, which applauded Hogen’s decision, the economic impact of the proposed regulations would have been dire. The study reported that tribes would stand to lose up to $1.2 billion if the rules were implemented, and compliance costs would have increased by almost $350 million.
In addition, says NIGA, the regulations would have impacted smaller tribes most heavily in states such as Montana, Alabama, and North and South Dakota.
The NIGC consulted tribes during the early part of the process, but many tribal officials and game manufacturers complained that the final version of the regulations did not consider their concerns.
“Our thanks goes out to tribal government leaders and tribal gaming commissioners,” said NIGA Chairman Ernest Stevens, “for their hard work in staying active and engaged with the NIGC and requesting consultation with tribes prior to the development of such sweeping regulations.”
Stevens says his members anticipate working with the NIGC to complete the remaining items on the Class II agenda.
“Working together with Indian Country, there is an opportunity to develop acceptable Class II MICS and classification standards that the tribes and industry can implement without severe economic hardship,” he said.
Hogen said he hoped that the commission’s decision to concentrate on the technical and MICS standards “would help achieve the long-sought clarity, sooner rather than later.”
Dateline,
Ritzio in Balkan expansion
Ritzio International has acquired another 16 slot casinos in Croatia. This brings to 31 the number of clubs that the Russian-based giant has in operation in the Croatian capital Zagreb and nine other cities around the country. The clubs contain a total of 1,200 slots.
All properties will soon be merged into a single brand, which will be a Croatian-language version of Ritzio's “Volcano” brand. In western Europe, Volcano clubs appeared first in Germany and Italy in 2007, when Ritzio opened the Vulkan Stern and Vulcano della Fortuna chains.
Ritzio also has opened its first property in neighboring Serbia. The slot casino in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, has 51 machines inside a 330-square-meter space. The company will open two more clubs in Belgrade before the end of June and plans further development of the network.
Ritzio International operates over 570 establishments in 15 countries in Europe, the CIS and Latin America.
All properties will soon be merged into a single brand, which will be a Croatian-language version of Ritzio's “Volcano” brand. In western Europe, Volcano clubs appeared first in Germany and Italy in 2007, when Ritzio opened the Vulkan Stern and Vulcano della Fortuna chains.
Ritzio also has opened its first property in neighboring Serbia. The slot casino in Belgrade, the Serbian capital, has 51 machines inside a 330-square-meter space. The company will open two more clubs in Belgrade before the end of June and plans further development of the network.
Ritzio International operates over 570 establishments in 15 countries in Europe, the CIS and Latin America.
Dateline,
Genting wins U.K. bid
Genting Stanley (Solihull) Limited, a new, wholly owned U.K. subsidiary of Genting International, has been chosen as a partner by the NEC Group for a proposed £90 million leisure and entertainment complex to be located at the National Exhibition Centre—the NEC—in Birmingham.
The NEC, the U.K.’s most successful exhibition venue, attracts in excess of 3 million visitors per year.
Details are yet to be developed, but the new center will include a large casino as described under the 2005 Gambling Act, a hotel, a spa, high-quality bars and restaurants and other attractions.
Genting International’s Stanley Casinos will be the operator of the property.
The development awaits granting of a gaming license by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
The NEC, the U.K.’s most successful exhibition venue, attracts in excess of 3 million visitors per year.
Details are yet to be developed, but the new center will include a large casino as described under the 2005 Gambling Act, a hotel, a spa, high-quality bars and restaurants and other attractions.
Genting International’s Stanley Casinos will be the operator of the property.
The development awaits granting of a gaming license by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
Dateline,
German casinos smoke-free and hurting
Casinos in Germany have always faced difficult times, thanks to punishing tax rates that can reach 92 percent of gross gaming revenue. Now, thanks to a smoking ban that has been gradually introduced state by state since January, revenues are down sharply and jobs are under threat.
The biggest problem for casinos is with their slot players, who have a ready alternative in Germany’s huge slot arcade industry. There are around 200,000 machines operating in arcades, where smoking is still allowed. These machines, which mimic regular casino slots in almost every way, are limited by law to payouts averaging no more than €500 per hour. In 2006 they grossed €2.75 billion, compared to about €930 million for casinos.
Another advantage for the arcades is that they require no identification check, whereas casinos—and since January, even the separate slot rooms attached to casinos, where entry used to be unchecked—mandate the presentation of ID and a small entrance fee.
Matthias Hein, a spokesman for the German Casino Federation, DeSIA, believes that up to five casinos might have to shut their doors in the next few years.
“Four of five casino customers smoke,” said Hein in an article in the German magazine Focus.
“Smoking and gambling are inseparable.”
In the first quarter of 2008 there was a 17.7 percent drop in the number of casino visits nationwide.
The decline in visits is hitting casinos in the state of Lower Saxony particularly hard. According to reports, the 10 casino operations belonging to the Spielbanken Niedersachsen group there are experiencing a decline in revenues averaging between 25 percent and 30 percent since January.
The biggest problem for casinos is with their slot players, who have a ready alternative in Germany’s huge slot arcade industry. There are around 200,000 machines operating in arcades, where smoking is still allowed. These machines, which mimic regular casino slots in almost every way, are limited by law to payouts averaging no more than €500 per hour. In 2006 they grossed €2.75 billion, compared to about €930 million for casinos.
Another advantage for the arcades is that they require no identification check, whereas casinos—and since January, even the separate slot rooms attached to casinos, where entry used to be unchecked—mandate the presentation of ID and a small entrance fee.
Matthias Hein, a spokesman for the German Casino Federation, DeSIA, believes that up to five casinos might have to shut their doors in the next few years.
“Four of five casino customers smoke,” said Hein in an article in the German magazine Focus.
“Smoking and gambling are inseparable.”
In the first quarter of 2008 there was a 17.7 percent drop in the number of casino visits nationwide.
The decline in visits is hitting casinos in the state of Lower Saxony particularly hard. According to reports, the 10 casino operations belonging to the Spielbanken Niedersachsen group there are experiencing a decline in revenues averaging between 25 percent and 30 percent since January.
Dateline,
Hungarian casino dream
The Dream Island project, which envisions a €1.5 billion mixed-use leisure and residential complex on a Danube River island in the middle of Budapest, has won the license to build a massive casino that is crucial to the development.The 40,000-square-meter casino will have over 200 gaming tables and 4,000 slots. The license gives the developers exclusivity in the Budapest area for 20 years from the date of opening, with an option to extend the license for an additional 10 years.
Now that this license has been obtained, construction can begin on the more than 350,000-square-meter project. Besides the massive casino, included are approximately 3,000 hotel rooms in several hotels of different categories, 1,000 leisure-use apartments, a convention center for up to 3,500 delegates, a 1,500-seat opera house, a 3,500-seat multi-purpose theater, a marina with an anchorage for 300 vessels, a shopping and entertainment center that will include a high-end “Designer Avenue,” a Roman culture museum, and parking facilities for approximately 5,500 vehicles. The site of the project is the southern end of Obuda Island.
The announcement came from Plaza Centers N.V., which holds a 30 percent stake in Dream Island. The other consortium members are CP Holdings Ltd., a member of the group of companies controlled by Sir Bernard Schrier and the owner of the Danubius group of hotels (30 percent direct interest); MKB Bank, a leading Hungarian commercial bank which is a subsidiary of the German Bayerische Landesbank (30 percent indirect interest); and a company controlled by the managing director of the consortium (10 percent direct interest).
Ran Shtarkman, president and CEO of Plaza Centers, said in a statement, “Europe, unlike the rest of the world, has never had access to substantial gambling-led destinations such as Las Vegas and Macau. On completion, Dream Island will fill this gap for the 350 million people who live within two hours flying time of Budapest, sparing them from long continental flight times and enabling them to enjoy, relax, gamble and entertain themselves in a megaresort of the biggest magnitude in Europe.”
Dateline,
Tropicana’s Yung out; board restructured
William Yung, the controversial president of Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex Corporation, resigned his post as CEO of subsidiary Tropicana Entertainment LLC, after the casino operation subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.Tropicana Entertainment, owner of the Tropicana in Las Vegas, lost its license to operate its flagship Tropicana Atlantic City property late last year. That property is under the management of a state-appointed trustee who is directing its sale. The denial of licensure stemmed from Yung’s policy of slashing costs through massive layoffs, which in the case of the Tropicana led to declining service and complaints of a dirty, neglected property.
Last month, Tropicana announced that Yung has stepped down as head of the Tropicana subsidiary, although he will remain as president of Columbia Sussex (which owns several other casino properties besides Tropicana), and will remain on the board of Tropicana Entertainment.
Yung will be replaced as CEO of Tropicana Entertainment by Scott Butera, the current president of the subsidiary who was a longtime executive in the Trump casino organization. (Butera was executive vice president of the former Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts when that company went through bankruptcy court three years ago, emerging as the newly formed Trump Entertainment.)
In addition to replacing Yung, the Tropicana subsidiary formed a new five-member board with a majority of outside directors. The new board includes former New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman Bradford Smith, merchant banker Thomas M. Benninger and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer CFO Michael Corrigan, in addition to Yung and Butera.
Dateline,
Hoosier Hopes
Indiana Downs LLC opened Phase 1 of its Indiana Live Casino at the Indiana Downs horse track in Shelbyville last month. The temporary, 70,000-square-foot racino—said to be the world’s largest “sprung” structure—is some 25 miles southeast of Indianapolis on Interstate 74, a prime link to Cincinnati, Ohio.Built and managed by the Cordish Company, a Baltimore-based developer, Indiana Live is the second of two racinos allowed by Indiana law. The other, Hoosier Park Racing & Casino, opened June 2 in Anderson, about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
The initial Indiana Downs operation includes a Café Live by Wolfgang Puck, also located for now near the track’s backstretch. Construction continues on 233,000 square feet of permanent facilities connected to the grandstand that are due to open in January with 570 workers. They include three restaurants, two bars, live entertainment areas and a 5,000-seat outdoor concert space.
Unveiled at a VIP reception with Indiana Gaming Commission agents scrutinizing all operations before issuing formal authorization to open, Indiana Live drew three basic reactions, says General Manager Mark Hemmerle: “‘Wow,’ ‘You truly brought a little Vegas to Indiana,’ or ‘We are definitely coming back to this place.’”
Some seven months’ operation of the temporary slots and five more with the permanent operation will bring the Indiana government $112 million in gaming taxes, Cordish gaming operations officials estimate. Almost $70 million goes to the state Property Tax Reduction Trust Fund, $6.7 million to Shelby County and other local governments, $2 million to a state problem-gambling fund, and $33 million to state horsemen and racing purses.
Indiana Downs will have the full legal complement of 2,000 slots in the permanent Indiana Live casino. Hoosier Park’s casino opened with nearly all 2,000 machines running in the fully completed 92,000 square feet. Initial state licenses for the slots cost each operator $250 million.
Dateline,
Showdown Averted; Another Set Up
The Nevada State Education Association last month agreed to drop its petition initiative to increase casino taxes in exchange for support from some casino operators on a plan to increase the taxes on hotel rooms.
The union had been furiously collecting signatures to put the issue before voters in 2008 and again in 2010, but following discussions with Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Station Casinos, it decided not to file the signatures.
What makes the move strange from both parties is that it seems somewhat premature. The union, if it had the requisite number of signatures, could pull the initiative at a later date if it was so inclined. And the casino industry could have easily waited to see if the union did, in fact, have the number of signatures necessary to move the initiative forward, and could have waited for a July ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court on the union’s proposal before dealing.
As it stands, the NSEA now has three major casino operators supporting plans to raise the hotel room tax rate by 3 percentage points to a maximum of 13 percent. The tax raise would appear on the ballot as an advisory question before seeking legislative approval in 2009.
By keeping the NSEA from filing the signatures, the gaming industry certainly recorded an initial win, but it is difficult to see exactly where this will lead.
But the three major companies were opposed by two others, MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, who are asking the Clark County Commission to keep the measure off the ballot. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman called the entire process “flawed” and urged a more broad-based solution to the financial crisis.
MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni suggested a modest increase in the payroll tax would accomplish the same goals and spread the responsibility across a larger constituency.
The union had been furiously collecting signatures to put the issue before voters in 2008 and again in 2010, but following discussions with Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Station Casinos, it decided not to file the signatures.
What makes the move strange from both parties is that it seems somewhat premature. The union, if it had the requisite number of signatures, could pull the initiative at a later date if it was so inclined. And the casino industry could have easily waited to see if the union did, in fact, have the number of signatures necessary to move the initiative forward, and could have waited for a July ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court on the union’s proposal before dealing.
As it stands, the NSEA now has three major casino operators supporting plans to raise the hotel room tax rate by 3 percentage points to a maximum of 13 percent. The tax raise would appear on the ballot as an advisory question before seeking legislative approval in 2009.
By keeping the NSEA from filing the signatures, the gaming industry certainly recorded an initial win, but it is difficult to see exactly where this will lead.
But the three major companies were opposed by two others, MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, who are asking the Clark County Commission to keep the measure off the ballot. MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman called the entire process “flawed” and urged a more broad-based solution to the financial crisis.
MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni suggested a modest increase in the payroll tax would accomplish the same goals and spread the responsibility across a larger constituency.
The Agenda,
Asian Excitement
There is a palpable electricity to the opening of gaming in a new jurisdiction. I know because I’ve seen it happen in almost every instance. It started in Atlantic City, where I experienced the most pure form of gaming expansion a non-gaming person can. At that time, there was no gaming outside of Nevada, so there was no track record and very little information about what gaming in the U.S. brings to a community. So the results of this new gaming “experiment” were largely unknown, making that “new jurisdiction excitement” that much more intense.
Today, we all know about gaming in a new jurisdiction creating jobs, opportunities, taxes and infrastructure, but who could have guessed that every jurisdiction creates a different creativity that is specific to that region?
There is no doubt this is true in Asia.
After spending nearly two weeks in Asia last month for G2E Asia and other travels, I was struck how this creativity is manifesting itself in this strange (at least to me) jurisdiction.
First of all, while I had been in Macau before, I continue to be amazed by the proliferation of tables. As a former dealer, it warms my heart to see so many table-game players enjoying (and I do mean enjoying) a great game. And as a former baccarat dealer, I can attest that the Asian gambler understands the game, its ebbs and flows, and the psychology of gambling better than most other players around the world. You always hear that gambling is a part of the Asian culture, which is the reason for such passion and understanding on the casino floors of Macau.
Also interesting is the role of the slot machines. Not since the 1970s have I seen the machines relegated to such a secondary status. But I also saw the same passion on the machines that I saw on the tables. Talk about “community” gaming! Frequently, I saw families or groups of friends gathered around a bank of slot machines. Several were actually playing the machines, while the others were rooting them on. As much as I appreciate the table-game players, I can assure you that there will be an explosive growth of gaming machines in a few short years.
Another aspect of the Asian casinos that mystifies me is the VIP market. Now I know what junkets are. We had plenty of them when I worked for Caesars and the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. But those junkets bear little resemblance to the junkets in Macau.
The VIP operators are essentially a partner with the casinos of Asia. Unfortunately, they are partners who take little risk. By claiming a commission on the money gambled by their clients, the VIP operators remove themselves from the built-in volatility of baccarat. They are guaranteed a profit while the casinos take all the risk.
The stranglehold the VIP operators have on Macau and other Asian casino jurisdictions is something that will have to change. They need to be licensed, their operations need transparency, and the scales need to be balanced.
While the Macau operators have all agreed to a 1.25 percent ceiling on the commission payments, everyone knows there are ways around that. Whether it’s payments after the fact, travel “vouchers” or “gifts” offered to the more important VIP operators, there is little faith throughout Macau that much will change.
When Las Vegas Sands committed to spending almost $2 billion on the Venetian, it was with a tacit understanding that the VIP business would be brought under control by Macau regulators. As one LVS executive told me: “If we had known nothing would change, we would have built another Sands (for about $300 million) and dedicated it to the VIPs.”
I’m willing to write this all off to growing pains. After all, it’s only been a few years since Macau opened its market to international development and there will be adjustments as we go along. In fact, the first “adjustment” came under orders from Beijing to reign in the uncontrolled development by cutting off all new licensing for the time being.
Check out our blog at blog.casinoconnection.com to get even more of our musings about Asia and all other gaming jurisdictions.
Yes, Asia is the bright light in gaming’s future. It’s clearly the most exciting gaming region in the world. Each subsequent Asian jurisdiction that opens up will bring its own innovations and creativity. And you can be sure that Global Gaming Business will be there to report and to comment on every and all of these developments.