Bally Introduces Washington State-Exclusive Cabinets, Debuts Video Technology
Bally Technologies reinforced its longtime commitment to customers in Washington state by announcing that it is expanding its game cabinet product offering for that market to include the cutting-edge new Pro Series™ cabinets, as well as the ALPHA Elite® V32, Digital Tower Series and Reel Image™, the industry’s only video cabinet that plays just like a spinning-reel game. Designed exclusively for the Washington market, Reel Image features breakthrough innovation by incorporating powerful imaging technology that makes a video slot look and perform just like a spinning-reel game. “We were the first gaming manufacturer to provide product to Washington 11 years ago, and this market is very important to Bally from both a business as well as relationship perspective,” said Gavin Isaacs, Bally’s chief operating officer. “That’s why we are bringing our newest game platforms to our Washington customers, often before we take them anywhere else, and working with Washington casino operators to help them upgrade their floors with these cutting-edge cabinet designs.”
Also, Bally has gone live with the first installation of its new Bally TV™ in-room television service at the Miccosukee Resort & Gaming in suburban Miami. From the comfort of each resort guest’s hotel room via the in-room TV, Bally TV enables casinos to deliver customized marketing messages, cross-promote casino and resort amenities and events, and provide access and interface to player’s club account information and features. The innovation also enables operators to offer guests a number of customer-service options not currently available on in-room TV programming. Bally TV is a collaborative innovation from Bally Technologies and InfoValue®, a company regarded as a pioneer and expert in IPTV. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
IGT Announces Senior Leadership Changes, International Product Installations
International Game Technology announced that Rich Schneider, senior vice president of network systems, has left to seek an opportunity outside the company. A search for his replacement is underway. “Rich has accomplished a great deal over the past seven years since joining IGT,” said Eric Tom, IGT’s chief operating officer. “We thank Rich for his many contributions to the company and to our customers.” Schneider joined IGT in 2003 when the company acquired Acres Gaming Inc., where he served as president and chief operating officer and other management positions from 1997 to 2003. IGT also announced today that Chris Satchell, CTO, has expanded his responsibilities to include the leadership of research and development.
Vincent L. Sadusky
IGT also announced that its board of directors elected Vincent L. Sadusky to serve as a director for the company effective immediately. Sadusky is president and chief executive officer of LIN TV Corp., a local multimedia company headquartered in Providence, R.I. “We are pleased to have Vince join our board and look forward to his contributions,” said Patti Hart, IGT’s president and CEO. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the media industry and adds a new and important dimension to our board.
IGT’s sbX™ Casino Management System has been installed at Grand Casino Helsinki in Finland and Casino di Venezia in Italy. With its 13th installation worldwide, sbX continues to gain momentum. “sbX provides operators with a library of games of more than 100 international game releases and includes multi-denomination and multi-percentage capabilities,” said Ali Civile, sales director for IGT Europe. “Because new game releases are continuously sent to the customer and several games can be downloaded simultaneously into one cabinet, operators can keep their floor fresh at all times.”
Also, IGT has installed its M-P Series® game Roulette Evolution® at Grand Casino Basel in Switzerland. The installation includes 28 player stations connected to an automated roulette wheel. The striking M-P Series Roulette Evolution set-up includes slant top multi-player units, automated roulette wheel, 53-inch, high definition central display, and digital cameras. For more information, visit www.igt.com.
AGEM Renews Title Sponsorship of Annual Golf Classic
The recently completed 12th annual AGEM/AGA Golf Classic presented by JCM Global raised $100,000 to benefit the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). Now, the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) has renewed its title sponsorship of the event. AGEM will donate $50,000 each year for the next two years. To date, the event has raised nearly $850,000 for the NCRG in its 12-year history. Organizers soon will launch a new “Drive for $1 Million” campaign with the goal of bringing the overall fundraising total for the tournament to $1 million. The NCRG is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to funding research on gambling disorders and increasing awareness about responsible gaming. For more information, visit www.agem.org.
JCM Global’s iVISION™ Enters Puerto Rico
JCM Global’s award-winning iVIZION™ is coming to the Caribbean with its first placements in Puerto Rico. iVIZION will soon be installed at three Hilton Corp. properties: the El San Juan Hotel & Casino in Carolina, the El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa in Fajardo and The Conrad Condado Plaza Hotel & Casino in San Juan. iVIZION will be installed on each 365 slots at the El San Juan, 197 at the El Conquistador and more than 400 at the Conrad Condado. For more information, visit www.jcmglobal.com.
TCSJOHNHUXLEY Chosen to Supply Delaware Park
TCSJOHNHUXLEY is delighted to announce that they have been chosen to supply all the gaming tables at the newly approved Delaware Park, as well as Chipper Champ 2 chip sorting machines, Saturn Roulette wheels and the latest e-FX 29” Insignia number displays. The finished look is slick and contemporary as well as highly functional as all tables feature TCSJOHNHUXLEY’s integrated electrics, which allow table electronics to be hidden discretely away with minimum cabling. Director of Table Games Susan Ciboldi stated: “We are excited to be working with the TCSJOHNHUXLEY team on our rollout of table game products for our customers into the Delaware market. We have chosen TCSJOHNHUXLEY based on their product quality and history.” For more information, visit www.tcsjohnhuxley.com.
GSA Welcomes European Casino Association as Affiliate Member
GSA is proud to announce that the European Casino Association (ECA) has joined GSA as an affiliate member. The non-profit ECA represents the interests of more than 1,000 casinos and 83,000 employees in 23 countries across Europe with the main objective of addressing and promoting casino-related issues to European operators and EU and national policy makers and stakeholders. “Because the ECA represents more than 1,000 casino operations, their input will be very valuable in shaping the future of the gaming industry,” said GSA President Peter DeRaedt. “This industry affiliation will create value, facilitate innovation and efficiencies for the gaming industry.” For more information, visit www.gamingstandards.com.
Shuffle Master Promotes Lopez to COO
Shuffle Master has announced the appointment of David Lopez to the role of chief operating officer and corporate officer. Lopez will be responsible for operational leadership, with Shuffle Master’s various foreign subsidiaries reporting directly to him along with executives responsible for sales, marketing, R&D and operations. He most recently served as executive vice president of Shuffle Master. “When you look at the impressive lineup of innovative products and services that Shuffle Master is poised to deliver over the next several years, it makes for a very promising future,” Lopez said. For more information, visit www.shufflemaster.com.
EASITRAX Soft Count Installed at Fire Rock Navajo Casino
Fire Rock Navajo Casino is operating with MEI CASHFLOW SC bill validators, which are equipped with EASITRAX Soft Count across its entire slot floor. “We have been able to drop our whole floor in less than five hours instead of the multiple drops it took before we fully implemented the system, freeing up the majority of our drop team members and technicians time,” said Paul Hamm, slot manager. “MEI is committed to creating products that provide value to the operators” said Eric Fisher, MEI vice president, Americas. “This was demonstrated through the development of EASITRAX Soft Count and will continue with future product enhancements,” For more information, visit www.meigroup.com.
GLI Expands Development Team
Gaming Laboratories International is expanding its Supplier Development Team, increasing its focus on suppliers in the Eastern United States in the process. Leading the effort is David Elmore, GLI’s newest supplier development representative. Elmore will be based in the company’s headquarters in Lakewood, N.J., and will service clients up and down the eastern seaboard. While new to the development team, Elmore has been with GLI since 2007 as a technical compliance engineer, where he worked extensively with Atlantic Lottery Corp., Loto-Quebec and New Brunswick Gaming in VLT/ testing and verification. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.
AGS Appoints Miodunski, Launches New Website
American Gaming Systems (AGS) announced it has appointed gaming industry veteran Robert L. Miodunski as its chairman, interim president and chief executive officer. Miodunski, who guided one of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds in the gaming industry as CEO of Alliance Gaming Corp., was lured out of retirement by San Francisco-based Alpine Investors, which has stated its intent to make AGS a more influential player in the gaming equipment market. Miodunski retired as CEO of Alliance Gaming in September 2004.
Also, AGS has launched a new version of its website that includes new useful tools. Clients can sign up as a member, giving them access to product information. The problem reporting and password recovery tools have been made live, and a dynamic news and a careers section has been added. For more information, visit www.ags-llc.com.
SPIELO Signs Agreement to Distribute VGTs in Illinois
SPIELO Manufacturing ULC has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with American Gaming & Electronics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells-Gardner Electronics Corp., to distribute SPIELO’s prodiGi Vu™ Video Gaming Terminal (VGT) and game content to licensed operators in the new Illinois VGT market. This distribution agreement replaces the nonbinding letter of intent announced in November 2009. For more information, visit www.spielo.com.
FutureLogic Expands Support Across Asia-Pacific Region
FutureLogic announced today that it has expanded its customer service and technical support team across the Asia-Pacific region with the appointment of Technical Sales Manager Barry Cook and Office Administrator Candy Tong. A gaming industry veteran for over 30 years, Cook will provide technical sales support and expertise on behalf of FutureLogic to OEMs and casinos across the Asia-Pacific region. Tong, a Macau citizen, will head sales operations and logistics activities for FutureLogic Asia, headquartered in Macau. For more information, visit www.futurelogic-inc.com.
Incredible Technologies Adds Nicastro to Casino Game Sales Force
John Nicastro II
Incredible Technologies (IT) announced that John Nicastro II has been named regional sales manager for the company’s casino gaming division. Nicastro brings 15 years of sales and product development experience to IT, specializing in market analysis and product rollout strategies on the manufacturer, supplier and developer sides of the industry. Nicastro will serve as the sales lead for the company’s Magic Touch® collection in the Midwest, as well as various offshore and Caribbean market opportunities. For more information, visit www.itcasinogames.com.
Gary Platt Ships to North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania
Gary Platt Manufacturing shipped 1227 Gazelle style seats to Harrah’s Cherokee West Casino in Cherokee, N.C. The new seating features Cashmere ebony upholstery on the seats and custom Designtex Prism Brass fabric on the outside backs. Gary Platt Manufacturing also shipped 400 Sierra Style chairs to Rincon Casino in Valley Center, Calif. The chairs are upholstered in Saucy Anise and have a custom gold vein understructure. Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa., received 415 of Gary Platt’s new designer chairs through their distributor GPI. The Truckee style chair was designed especially for Parx Casino. For more information, visit www.garyplatt.com.
AGI Argentina Expands Sales and Service Support into Uruguay
AGI Argentina S.A., the wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH, has further expanded its local team in order to provide excellent service and support offerings for customers in both Argentina and Uruguay. Newly appointed Technical Manager Javier Battistin will, together with sales manager Laureano Bonorino, be a top qualified contact for AGI’s regional customers and partners. Battistin has been working as a technician in the gaming industry for eight years, with his last position being as a technical manager at Bingo Adrogue. He now brings his vast experience and skills into the rapidly expanding AGI Argentina. For more information, visit www.austrian-gaming.com.