Wednesday, October 17, 2012

news.casinolife

news.casinolife

PAF SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH THE MICROGAMING POKER NETWORK

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:27 AM PDT

ISLE OF MAN – Å land-based operator Paf are the latest to sign a deal with Microgaming, the world's largest provider of online gaming software (www.microgaming.co.uk), which will see them join the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) in the near future.

Founded in 1966, Paf is a unique gaming operator in that it was set up by a group of charitable organisations and donates all of its profit to good causes on the Åland Islands. The jurisdiction's branches of Save the Children and Red Cross are beneficiaries, along with numerous other local causes.

Paf poker players can look forward to joining a network with a healthy ecology thanks to Microgaming's special True Value allocation method and a development focus that is friendly to recreational players.

Anders Wiklund, Director of Paf.com, comments: "We're thrilled to have signed an agreement with such a well-established poker network. The long-term vision and security of a network is of the utmost importance to our players, and we are sure that the Microgaming Poker Network will deliver on this front. Their product combined with a strong support for our strategy execution made our choice very easy. We look forward to working with them into the future."

Lydia Melton, Head of Network Games at Microgaming, adds: "It's great news that Paf has chosen to join the Microgaming Poker Network. The technological and managerial advances we have made with the MPN over the last year make it the natural choice for operators, and we are confident that the MPN will meet all of Paf's requirements. We're delighted to have such a unique operator on board, and very much look forward to working with them."

The MPN is in advanced discussions with a number of other major operators looking to join the Microgaming Poker Network. This follows on from news that BetVictor has recently gone live with the MPN and iGame Malta is to follow in the coming weeks.

 

G2E 2012 A MAJOR SUCCESS FOR NOVOMATIC

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 08:06 AM PDT

After G2E's largely seamless transitional year in 2011 the Las Vegas show demonstrated this year that the move to its new home in the Sands Expo Center can be judged as successful.

For Novomatic also G2E 2012 proved to be a major success, with an upswing in visitors and tangible business from across all the Americas: the Latin American continent and also the gaming States of the United States of America itself.The 2012 edition of G2E was marked by a 'down to business' attitude that was a reflection of a sense of familiarity to what in 2011 were rather strange surroundings.

The show's move last year to the Sands Expo Center was now forgotten and exhibitors moved to take advantage of the upswing in business confidence that has been evident in many international gaming markets, across South America and the United States itself. Novomatic were strongly represented on booth 2654, with the AGI team joined by their counterparts from across the Latin American continent (with representatives from AGI Argentina, AGI Gaming Colombia, Crown Gaming Mexico, Crown Gaming Paraguay, Crown Gaming Peru, Novo Gaming Chile and Octavian de Argentina) and from Reel Games Inc. of Florida who have taken on the responsibility of introducing the Novomatic brand across the continental US.

The Novomatic booth was packed full of innovations with the majority of games being shown in the two most popular Novomatic cabinets: the grand casino slant top NOVOSTAR® SL and the very latest upright attraction Super-V+ Gaminator® III. Extra wide screens for an in-depth gaming experience, elegant style and top quality design make these cabinets attractive highlights on every casino floor and provide the perfect housing for an ultimately thrilling game library.

The games themselves provided many attractions for G2E's visitors. The Premium-V+ Gaminator® multi-game mix encompassed a total of 41 Coolfire™ II games that were presented in five colour-coded logical categories for best game recognition and guest orientation: Classic Lines, Multi-Lines, Power Lines, Fruits and Specials.

The show machines were also connected to a Rise of the Dragon™ mystery jackpot for extra jackpot thrills. The latest Super-V+ Gaminator® multi-game mixes (numbers 61, 62, 63, 64, 66 and 67) highlighted a multitude of different game themes and concepts to appeal to the widest range of player preferences.The incomparable 'Marilyn' gave her own prominent show performance in Las Vegas, with a selection of Marilyn-themed Coolfire™ II single games: Hollywood Stars™, Marilyn Blue Star™, Marilyn Red Carpet™, Marilyn's Diamonds™ and the Poker highlight Marilyn's Poker Gold™ all featured strongly in combination with the Marilyn™ Community Jackpot.A bank of the hugely successful NOVOSTAR® SL2 slant tops was used to present a selection of the latest Coolfire™ II single games: Bee Wild™, Costa del Cash™, Northern Light™, African Simba™, Treasure Gate™ and Happy Serengeti™.The Novomatic Reel Tournament™ was presented with the Super-V+ Gaminator® Multi-Game-Mix T1. As an exciting marketing tool for all sorts of casino promotion programmes it allows operators to offer their guests – via just the push of a button – live tournaments in real time on an unlimited number of connected machines and brings a special competitive gaming Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI)/G2E 2012 Review .thrill to any slot floor.

The system's tournament controller makes it possible for the operator to choose from a variety of games and to offer different win modes, tournament settings and valuable promotional extras; and, most significantly, all without any software changes or game down time.

One of the highlights of the Las Vegas show was a spectacular range of NOVOLINE™ games and systems that created a real stir: Single games, multi-games and multiplayers. The NOVO LINE™ INTERACTIVE games cover a great variety of thrilling themes, with 5-50 lines and innovative mathematical concepts for gaming fun, gaming thrills and gaming excitement on every floor. The system is server-based ready and 'future proof', providing an ideal basis for a later connection to a server based gaming environment.

The 17 NOVO LINE™ INTERACTIVE single games presented at the show in Las Vegas were presented in the NOVOSTAR® SL2, Novo Super-Vision™ and the Super-V+ Gaminator® III cabinets. Among them came a bank of machines linked to the brand new Magic Joker Jackpot™ – a thrilling card-animated multi-level progressive mystery jackpot novelty – and a completely new game with an innovative skill feature that celebrated its world premiere at the Las Vegas show.

The NOVO LINE Novo Unity™ II multiplayer installation was positioned around one fully automated Novo Multi-Roulette™ wheel and demonstrated to visitors the entire range of Flying (fully animated) electronic multiplayer game versions as well as a slot mix.

All games were available on each of the connected terminals (NOVOSTAR® SL1 and Novo-Bar™).A particular attraction in Las Vegas was the selection of Ultimate™ 10 multi-game mixes that combine the technological benefits of Coolfire™ II with the hugely cost effective price structure of the former Coolfire™ I platform: offering new technology within an extremely attractive cost structure for ultimate customer value.Octavian had on display a range of 12 thrilling single games with exciting names such as Triple Force™, Smart Robots™, Bug's Buck$™ and Sea Hunters™, plus a variety of innovative game concepts and rewarding bonus features.

Octavian also successfully demonstrated the casino management system ACP (Accounting Control Progressives System) live at the show. The ACP system is modular and thus highly 'tuneable' to the requirements of operators and the pertaining regulations in various jurisdictions and has already proved highly popular, particularly in South-America and now with its first Asian installation in the Philippines.

Jens Halle, Managing Director AGI, who has recently undergone a strategic re-location to Fort Lauderdale in Florida was very satisfied with this year's G2E show: "The Las Vegas show is traditionally one of the most important events of the annual show calendar and particularly now with this earlier and generally more convenient October date we expected to see a great number of business partners, customers and also new contacts in Las Vegas. I have to say that we were not disappointed! As we move ahead in intensifying our commitment to the US and Latin American regions, I am extremely encouraged by the customer response that we saw in Las Vegas. All of our team as well as our Latin American subsidiary representatives, our colleagues from Octavian and our US partner Reel Games reported many new contacts and business possibilities. Our task now is to follow up and ensure that these possibilities become realities and so strongly enhance Novomatic's position across a wide range of markets."

Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI) a 100-percent subsidiary of NOVOMATIC AG (www.novomatic.com) is an integrated global gaming company specializing in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and sales of electronic gaming machines and advanced technology products. As Europe’s leading manufacturer AGI delivers one of the broadest product ranges in the industry.

Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH .The NOVOMATIC Group is one of the biggest producers and operators of gaming technologies and one of the largest integrated gaming companies in the world. The group employs more than 19.000 staff worldwide (2,850 in Austria). Founded by entrepreneur Prof. Johann F. Graf, the group has locations in 32 countries and exports high-tech electronic gaming equipment to more than 70 countries. The group operates more than 200,000 gaming machines in its about 1,200 plus traditional and electronic casinos as well as via rental concepts. Part of the group is also Admiral Sportwetten GmbH, Austria’s leading sports betting operator with more than 200 outlets as well as the Vienna based online gaming specialist Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions GmbH.

MICROGAMING ANNOUNCES LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH NBCUNIVERSAL FOR BATTLESTAR GALACTICA™

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:23 AM PDT

 

ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming, the world's largest provider of online gaming software, has announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products to create video slot games based on the hit Syfy series, Battlestar Galactica™.

One of television's most critically acclaimed programmes, Battlestar Galactica, reached over 14 million viewers, worldwide, during its final season.  The story of the last remnants of humanity, struggling to find a new home while fleeing from their deadly Cylon enemies, has captured the imagination of millions around the world.  Not only did the television series lead to a new generation of fans, it also resulted in three prestigious Emmy awards.

Battlestar Galactica, which is produced by Universal Cable Productions and ran for four seasons on Syfy between 2004 and 2009, evolved into a captivating tale of humanity under siege.  The programme has strong international appeal based on its gritty realism, intense storytelling as well as an outstanding cast of actors.  Combine these ingredients with the experience and professionalism of Microgaming and the result can only lead to the creation of a hugely successful gaming product.

Roger Raatgever, CEO of Microgaming, says: “We are thrilled to be creating video slots which are light years ahead of the rest, based on one of the best television programmes of our time. We know we will do the Battlestar Galactica brand justice and that we will not only please our own base of players but exceed the expectations of the show's fans.  We plan to use our market leading software and years of expertise in the gaming industry to ensure that our video game slot will match the success of the show."

"We are very happy to partner with Microgaming on the Battlestar Galactica online video slots," says Christopher Lucero, Director of Global Consumer Products for NBCUniversal Television. "We're confident that Microgaming can capture all of the action of BSG with the real-life exhilaration of online gaming; creating an exciting brand extension for Battlestar fans and gamers around the world."

The hotly anticipated game is due out later this year.

www.microgaming.co.uk