All Roads Lead to Vegas
Every October, gaming industry professionals from around the world come to Las Vegas for the Gobal Gaming Expo. The trade show floor is wall to wall with exhibitors and attendees from the four corners: Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, as well as the Americas.
And in many cases, what comes to Vegas, stays in Vegas.
In recent years, major firms from outside the U.S. have established satellite offices, manufacturing facilities and even corporate headquarters in the casino capital of the world. Here’s why that makes sense.
Still No. 1
By one big measure—gross gaming revenue—Vegas hasn’t been No. 1 for almost two decades.
It was 2006 when Macau first seized the top spot, reaping $7 billion in GGR over the Strip’s $6.69 billion. Since then, the gap has only widened (not counting the multi-year Covid shutdown). Last year, the Chinese gambling hub hauled in $22.8 billion, more than double the $9.1 billion collected in Las Vegas.
It doesn’t matter. For vibe, reputation and a whole raft of practical reasons, Vegas is still the center of the gaming universe, and a smart place for businesses to hang their hats. More and more, global companies have acknowledged these truths by relocating here.
Konami Gaming was among the pioneers. In 1997, the Japanese game-maker opened a small Las Vegas branch, then grew its presence along with its share of the North American market.
In 2013, when it doubled its footprint here, analysts said it threw down a gauntlet to its competitors in the slot game. Today, from a 360,000-square-foot base of operations in Las Vegas, Konami serves clients in North America, Europe and Latin America. Last year, it posted an almost 70 percent increase in profits and $360.3 billion in overall revenue, up 14.6 percent.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited pioneered the Australian-style multi-line slot in Atlantic City in the mid 1990s, and spread its footprint with groundbreaking game groups in the early 2000s after establishing its Nevada license. In 2018, Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker established a $45 million campus in Summerlin. Four years later, the gaming supplier added a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Henderson. Both reflect Aristocrat’s emergence as the top-ranked slot supplier in the business.
Last year, slot-maker Zitro, with roots in Barcelona, joined the crowd. CEO Derik Mooberry attributed the strategy to increasing “interest and demand for our product offering.”
Canadian native Bluberi also made the move, heading south of the border from Drummondville, Quebec to Las Vegas, as part of its transition from Class II supplier to Class III contender. In May, CEO Andrew Burke cut the ribbon on a new 80,000-square-foot Las Vegas hub. He called it “a major milestone for us” and “a key component to the business’ aggressive growth strategy.”
And the list goes on.
‘Exceptional Business Climate’
U.S.-based companies that originated outside Nevada also appreciate the value of a desert outpost. In 2019, after acquiring two slot companies, lottery giant Scientific Games moved its corporate HQ from New York to Las Vegas.
At the time, CEO Gavin Isaacs said relocating would “allow us to stay closely connected to our worldwide base of gaming, lottery and interactive customers.” He cited the advantages to be found in Las Vegas, “a diverse, cosmopolitan city in business-friendly Nevada.”
The Silver State ranks seventh in the U.S. for its “exceptional business climate,” agrees the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Nevada has no corporate or personal income taxes, boasts lower startup, regulatory and licensing fees, and enjoys a “central, geostrategic location on the West Coast, near national and international ports.”
According to a 2023 Business Facilities report, you can add in a strong workforce and competitive utility rates, plus world-class higher education institutions and steady population growth. Together, they make for “an environment where businesses across varied industries have the opportunity to thrive.”
A homegrown Nevada company, IGT, returned full-time to Las Vegas nine years after its merger with GTECH. In the interim, it had retained a sales and marketing office in Vegas and a manufacturing complex in Reno. In July, it was announced that after a pending dual acquisition of IGT and competitor Everi by funds of equity firm Apollo Global Management, the corporate mothership will remain in Las Vegas. Its growing digital gaming arm will also be located here.
Close to the Action
BMM Testlabs is the longest-established independent gaming test laboratory in the world. Founded more than four decades ago in Melbourne, Australia, BMM moved to Las Vegas in 2002. It had two goals: to build a stronger U.S. foundation, and use that foundation as a global springboard.
In the ensuing decade, BMM experienced a rapid-fire expansion once described as “sprinting across the top of a picket fence.” Now known as BMM Innovation Group (BIG), the company has 16 locations in 14 countries on six continents, including three locations in Australia.
But it calls Las Vegas home.
The reasons are simple, says President and CEO Martin Storm, and they start with proximity. “Most of our largest gaming supplier customers call Las Vegas their global home base. So being here allows us to be near the heartbeat of many gaming suppliers.”
Las Vegas has “cost-of-operations advantages,” he adds. “Nevada is a pro-business state, and the labor force allows us to attract experienced executives and tech employees.”
In the past dozen years, BMM has more than doubled its footprint in Las Vegas, from 22,000 to 50,000 square feet. A suite has been added for two emerging verticals: the cybersecurity unit, BIG Cyber, and RG24seven Virtual Training, which offers accessible, affordable responsible-gaming training.
Las Vegas also hosts the largest of BMM’s global test labs, says Storm. “It continues to grow as we serve our U.S. land-based and digital clients from this location, which also is home to some of our most experienced mathematicians, test engineers and project service delivery teams.”
And who wouldn’t welcome a reason to visit Las Vegas? With key leadership based here, BMM often hosts quarterly board meetings in the city. “And once or twice a year, our global executive team meets here for leadership, business development and operations meetings.”
At the Crossroads
It’s hard to miss Ainsworth Game Technology’s facility on the Las Vegas Beltway. The $40 million, 291,000-square-foot business center, which opened in 2016, sports a big red “A” on its roof, visible to all air travelers flying from east to west. Last year, almost 58 million people passed through Harry Reid International Airport, so that’s good advertising.
The company, founded in Sydney, has now consolidated all global manufacturing in Las Vegas, including for games headed outside the U.S.
“Our global headquarters is technically Sydney,” points out Sean Evans, vice president of marketing and product strategy, “and we’re listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. But we’re doing more and more from this facility, which is second to none, state of the art.”
The Vegas hub is bustling with 300-some employees in manufacturing, tech services, game development and engineering. “All our tech compliance globally runs through this office as well,” says Evans. “Licensing, finance, sales and marketing are domiciled here. Our CEO Harald Neumann is based here too.”
The board of directors remains in Australia, and monthly board meetings occur there. “So while some things are being consolidated on a global basis, each of the regions runs pretty autonomously.”
A Las Vegas base enables Ainsworth to be more responsive to its customers, reduces the supply chain and creates other efficiencies.
“For one thing, it’s easier to bring a lot of the parts we use to one spot, rather than ship them to multiple locations to finish manufacturing,” notes Evans.
And these days, a Vegas address is pretty much expected.
“You’ve got to be in Sydney or Las Vegas, which are really the two gaming hubs for the world,” says Evans. The company’s Las Vegas location “helps streamline the process for our North American customers—not just Southern Nevada, but America. We do a lot of business with tribal gaming entities, as well as all the commercials. We also service Canada and Latin America out of here.
“So yes, it’s really helped with the exponential growth of Ainsworth in the North American marketplace as we head into our 30th anniversary year.”
Fabulous Las Vegas
As New York, London and Singapore are to the financial industries, as Silicon Valley, Atlanta and Austin are to tech, Las Vegas is to gaming. With a dense cluster of gaming and gaming-related businesses, a critical mass of talent and know-how, competition that leads to innovation, and plenty of after-hours fun, Las Vegas is still the place to be. Welcome.
