AGEM Announces Four New Members
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) announced that its board of directors has approved the membership applications of four new companies, bringing the trade group comprised of the world’s leading gaming suppliers to a total of 90 members. The new AGEM members are: Diamond Casino Products, based in Sammamish, Wash., specializing in patented cleaning machines and solutions for plastic cards and all types of casino chips; Gaming Capital Group, based in Oklahoma with offices in Chicago and Reno, offering financing solutions for casino and hotel expansions and gaming equipment purchases; Lucky Line Ltd., based in Novi Sad, Serbia, manufacturing electronic roulette machines and electronic Texas hold’em poker tables; and Quixant Ltd., based in Biggin Hill, Kent, U.K., designing and manufacturing a wide variety of advanced computer solutions for the gaming and slot machine industries. For more information, visit www.agem.org.
IGT Installs at Resorts World Sentosa, Casino di Venezia
Singapore’s first public casino, Genting’s Resorts World Sentosa, opened its doors Feb. 14 with a number of IGT’s premier video slot themes and network systems products. This 15,000-square-meter casino installed the IGT Advantage® system, including two new delivery games, EZ Pay® and RFID Chip Inventory System (CIS). “IGT Asia is proud to have added more successful games, IGT Advantage®, EZ Pay®, Advantage Bonusing® system and RFID CIS installation to our portfolio,” said John Gomes, managing director of IGT Asia.
IGT announced Italy’s Casino di Venezia as the latest European casino to install its sbX™ Experience Management system. Casino di Venezia will implement the sbX Floor Manager, sbX Analytics and sbX Media Manager modules of the industry’s leading server-based gaming solution, along with 100 new AVP® slot machines and IGT Casinolink® Bonusing functionality. Casino di Venezia operates two casinos in the famous Italian canal city, one of which is located on Venice’s Grand Canal and is among the oldest in the world with origins dating back to circa 1638. IGT’s successful premium products make up 20 percent of the floor at both Casino di Venezia locations, which also have approximately 60 percent IGT machines in total. For more information, visit www.igt.com.
Aristocrat’s Oasis 360™ System Embraced by Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Nick Khin
Oasis 360™ now monitors more than 9,300 devices in Choctaw casinos throughout Oklahoma, including all devices at the stunning Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, which recently celebrated its grand opening. The response at the property has been overwhelmingly positive, both from management and from customers. Aristocrat President Nick Khin said: “We are honored with the trust the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has placed in us, and we are thrilled with the response from each of their properties. They tell us that employees and customers alike are very pleased with the Oasis system, and are we are grateful to our systems team for their incredible hard work and dedication to the Choctaw Nation.” For more information, visit www.aristocrat.com.au.
oneCheck™ Solution Presented at NIGA
Once again, Crane Payment Solutions and Nanoptix Inc. will be exhibiting together at the NIGA trade show in San Diego, April 8 and 9. Together they will be displaying the oneCheck™ solution. This revolutionary solution is the industry’s first easy-to-use transaction tracking and dispute resolution system that can effortlessly be integrated onto any casino floor. Developed with operators in mind, the oneCheck™ solution is part of the standard offerings when you purchase the CashCode one™ bill validator and PayCheck™4 ticket printer which translates to an outstanding value. “Since its debut at Global Gaming last year, we have had nothing but positive feedback on our solution” commented Sim Bielak, VP sales & business development – gaming. “Operators and OEM’s alike believe the technology is invaluable.” For more information, visit www.cashcode.com.
GTECH Promotes Whalen to Sr. VP of Global Technology Solutions
Matthew Whalen
Lottomatica Group S.p.A. subsidiary, GTECH Corp., has promoted Matthew Whalen to senior vice president of global technology solutions. In his new position, Whalen is responsible for all aspects of the software development life cycle, including requirements gathering, software development, implementations, customer acceptance and ongoing software services for GTECH’s global customer base. Whalen and his team are also charged with delivering innovative, competitively-priced products and solutions that place the customer first. Whalen joined GTECH in 1994 as a software engineer and most recently served as vice president of global technology solutions. For more information, visit www.gtech.com.
Ochoa Joins Ainsworth’s Service Management Team
Rich Ochoa
Rich Ochoa joins Ainsworth as the field service manager for North America. Ochoa has more than 27 years of gaming experience, with 21 years specializing in service management. He has extensive experience with slot machines, player tracking systems and indoor casino signs, working with the industry big names all along the way. Rick Meitzler states: “Rich comes with a great service history and will complement our strong belief in having the best customer service in the industry. With Ainsworth obtaining the Nevada license, Rich is our first hire in Nevada with more to come.” For more information, visit www.ainsworth.com.au.
GCA Renews Contract with Wynn Las Vegas
Global Cash Access Holdings announced that it has signed a five-year renewal contract with Wynn Las Vegas, which includes both the Wynn and Encore resort casinos in Las Vegas. GCA’s renewal with Wynn Las Vegas includes GCA’s full suite of cash access services, including ATM, credit card cash advance and point-of-sale debit transactions, GCA’s back-of-house QuikCash Plus (QCP) system, and the services of Central Credit, the leading gaming patron credit bureau. GCA’s cash access transactions will continue to be enabled through ticket-redemption kiosks. Wynn Las Vegas will also continue to use GCA’s QuikMarketing service, which provides casino managers with simple, cost-effective and highly-targeted marketing materials and mailing lists from GCA’s database of more than 14 million multi-casino gaming patrons. For more information, visit www.globalcashaccess.com.
Multimedia Games Announces Ramsey, Greathouse Appointments
Multimedia Games announced that Patrick Ramsey, who has served as chief operating officer since September 2008, has been appointed to the additional role of interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. As CEO, Ramsey oversaw all aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations including working closely with customers to maximize profitability from Multimedia Games’ revenue-sharing agreements including approximately 16,000 gaming units in operation domestically and internationally.
It was also announced that Stephen Greathouse, a director since April 2009, has been named vice chairman of the board of directors and chairman of a special committee that will explore strategic alternatives. Greathouse is a veteran gaming industry executive who has been involved in the Las Vegas hotel and gaming industry for more than 30 years, most recently as senior vice president of operations for the Mandalay Resort Group. For more information, visit www.multimediagames.com.
Gary Platt Marks First IGE Attendance
Gary Platt Manufacturing, manufacturer of casino seating, attended the IGE (International Gaming Expo) at Earls Court in London for the first time under the direction of Intergames D.O.O., their Eastern Europe distributor, with Bernard Mozina, general manager. The company was pleased with the attendance and the interest that Gary Platt generated at its show debut. For more information, visit www.garyplatt.com.
BetStone Announces New Headquarters
BetStone recently moved their Ireland-based international headquarters to new premises on Dublin’s South City. The offices are now located at The Oval, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin. This move will enable BetStone to more effectively centralize global operations and streamline support for its customers. “These new premises are another major milestone for us,” said Avron Goss, director, BetStone. “Now that we are seeing the start of a recovery in the casino gaming and operator market, the move to expand and centralise our operations will enable us to better serve our customers globally.” For more information, visit www.betstone.com.
Konami Announces Launch of Advantage Revolution™
Konami Gaming Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of the Advantage Revolution™ at Sycuan Casino in El Cajon, Calif. Advantage Revolution is a unique slot cabinet which features two high-definition video screens combined with traditional mechanical reels that rotate back and forth to keep players engaged and entertained. Advantage Revolution incorporates the successful Advantage 5™ attract-mode lighting system with multiple game screens to enable exciting bonus events. John Dinius, director of slot operations at Sycuan Casino, says: “The response to Advantage Revolution has been overwhelming positive. On the day of the launch, customers were standing in line to play the games.” For more information, visit www.konamigaming.com.
Ken Golda Joins Gaming Informatics
Gaming Informatics has announced that Ken Golda joined the company as vice president of business development. Prior to joining Gaming Informatics, Golda was involved in all aspects of gaming testing for more than 10 years. He worked as director of technical compliance for BMM Compliance and served as a senior systems engineer for Gaming Laboratories International (GLI). Golda’s vast experience in gaming systems, protocols, jurisdictional regulations, casino operations and regulatory training are perfectly matched for his role with Gaming Informatics. For more information, www.gaminginformatics.com.
Penn National Gaming to Acquire Beulah Park in Ohio
Penn National Gaming announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Beulah Park in Grove City, Ohio, located approximately seven miles south of Columbus, Ohio, from Heartland Jockey Club Ltd. The purchase of Beulah Park is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010 and is subject to a 45-day due diligence period and the approval of the Ohio State Racing Commission. Beulah Park, opened in 1923 as Ohio’s first thoroughbred racing facility, includes approximately 210 acres just outside Columbus’ I-270 Beltway and features live thoroughbred racing from October to May, as well as simulcast wagering from a number of nationwide tracks. For more information, visit www.pngaming.com.
Cantor Gaming Signs Mobile Gaming Deal with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Cantor Gaming and the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel & Casino announced that Cantor Gaming will be providing mobile gaming throughout designated gaming areas of the Hard Rock resort, including Rehab and the Hard Rock Beach Club Pool. Cantor Gaming has also developed proprietary games for eDeck including XtraOdds Blackjack and XtraOdds Baccarat, with extra propositional bets that dynamically calculate odds based on the cards dealt, giving players an extra opportunity to press or hedge their bets. Lee Amaitis, president and CEO of Cantor Gaming, said: “We’ve had an extremely positive response to eDeck since it was first launched last March at the M Resort. The ability to play casino games away from the casino floor adds a whole new dimension to the Vegas experience, and the flexibility of mobile gaming appeals to customers who are already used to the freedom of using mobile devices in many other aspects of their lives.” For more information, visit www.cantorgaming.com.
Pinnacle Names Sanfilippo President, CEO; Goeglein Appointed Chairman
Pinnacle Entertainment announced that Anthony M. Sanfilippo, has been named president and chief executive officer, effective immediately subject to regulatory approval. He succeeds John V. Giovenco, who has served as Pinnacle’s interim chief executive officer since November 2009 and will continue to serve on Pinnacle’s board. Richard J. Goeglein, who was named Pinnacle’s interim non-executive chairman in November 2009, has been appointed to the position of non-executive chairman. Sanfilippo, who has also been appointed to Pinnacle’s board of directors, brings more than 25 years of industry experience, including managing and developing gaming operations in diverse jurisdictions including Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana and Nevada. Goeglein joined Pinnacle’s board in 2003 and previously served as a director from 1997 to 1998. For more information, visit www.pnkinc.com.