Saturday, January 12, 2013

news.casinolife

news.casinolife

Hard Rock International Submits Application to Develop HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO NEW ENGLAND At Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 03:38 PM PST

 

Orlando, Fla. Jan. 11, 2013– Hard Rock International – owner of one of the world's most recognized, iconic brands – announced today their submittal of an application

Jim Allen Chairman of Hard Rock International

and a $400,000 non-refundable application fee to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for the development of HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO NEW ENGLAND to be located in West Springfield, Mass., on the campus of Eastern States Exposition (ESE).  The single-phased resort property would be created on a dedicated 38-acre area of the ESE's eastern parcel, as a keystone enhancement to the largest, most popular visitor destination in the region.

"We're thrilled to be working with ESE, who brings years of experience in the entertainment business and the most desired location to our company and brand. With 38 acres to develop, the project allows us to build today and grow tomorrow," said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International. "We're proud to announce this project and concurrently submit our application. We are confident that together, with ESE, the Town of West Springfield and neighboring Western Massachusetts communities, the new resort will positively impact the State's economy and redefine the entertainment experience in Massachusetts."


The HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO NEW ENGLAND will be designed to create a destination resort casino property unique to the region with a focus on providing a world-class entertainment experience to its guests.  The proposed project is planned to utilize a mix of non-gaming and gaming amenities, to include a first-class hotel of 400-500 rooms, featuring a Rock Spa and tropical, indoor pool deck; an approximately 200,000-square foot state-of-the-art casino with 100-125 table games and 2,500-3,000 slot machines; and a world-famous Hard Rock Cafe, where its iconic memorabilia, food and live music would be a bedrock in Western Massachusetts, as it is in Cafes from London to Los Angeles and Buenos Aires to Barcelona.  The resort also is anticipated to incorporate a live music venue, a permanent music memorabilia exhibition, a facility with meeting space and a destination retail/dining galleria of approximately 150,000 square feet.

"Eastern States Exposition is proud to welcome Hard Rock as a neighbor and partner to the Western Massachusetts community and we're confident the brand will complement our core values, offering exceptional entertainment and a commitment to philanthropic efforts," related Eugene Cassidy, ESE's chief executive officer.  "For nearly 100 years, our special property along Memorial Avenue has offered entertainment to millions, business and employment opportunities to thousands and a wonderful experience for all of New England.  This new evolution of entertainment with Hard Rock will help drive new energy and multiply the economic impact of our organization on our regional community for the next generation and beyond."  Cassidy added that the arrangement with Hard Rock has been fully completed and that the Board of Directors of Eastern States Exposition, representing all six New England states, unanimously approved the development.

Eastern States Exposition Alliance Hard Rock and ESE share a common vision of philanthropy in the community, while creating compelling entertainment for locals and visitors alike.  The Hard Rock will enter into a ground lease with ESE and make capital improvements to the ESE campus, ensuring that the facility can enhance its business operations and its economic impact on the region.  ESE, a non-profit organization that has contributed millions of dollars to local New England organizations, will be able to expand its mission.  Additionally, the 17-day Big E Fair will continue in its current form each September, with Hard Rock providing support and assistance with live events and marketing. Discussions have initiated between the development team and the Town of West Springfield on a number of key elements, including economic development, traffic and parking. All parties are committed to improved traffic access and ample, accessible parking for visitors to the Big E Fair each fall, as well as other events and the casino operation itself. To assist in these efforts, Hard Rock has partnered with best-in-class local Massachusetts engineering consultants Tighe & Bond. Additional economic programs — centered on job training, urban renewal and tourism, in particular — are planned with communities in the Western Massachusetts region.

Major Economic Impact
The HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO NEW ENGLAND, truly a regional plan, will be designed to draw visitors from well beyond Massachusetts providing a major boost to West Springfield, the state and New England. The project will bring increased direct, indirect and induced economic benefits through the creation of thousands of new construction and permanent jobs; ongoing economic activity generated by project operations; visitor spending outside the project at area businesses in the local community; and hundreds of millions of dollars in new state tax revenue, local property tax (converting a tax-exempt parcel into what will likely be the largest commercial asset in West Springfield), sales revenue, hotel tax, and more. Together with ESE, the complex would be among the most significant visitor-based economic engines in all of the Northeastern U.S.

Financial and Operational Strength of Hard Rock
Hard Rock International (HRI) is actively involved with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino properties across the globe, demonstrating the company's skills, experience and success in delivering results on a domestic and international scale.  HRI currently acts in a variety of capacities across the portfolio of casino properties with roles including property management, joint venture partner, licensor and franchise partner. The newest addition to the portfolio, to be a Hard Rock branded and managed property, is Hard Rock Northfield Park, which recently broke ground in Northfield, Ohio.

About Hard Rock International With a total of 177 venues in 58 countries, including 141 cafes, 18 hotels and 8 casinos, Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. HRI owns the global trademark for all Hard Rock brands.  The company owns, operates and franchises Cafes in iconic cities including London, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Dubai.  HRI also owns, licenses and/or manages hotel/casino properties worldwide. Destinations include the companies' two most successful Hotel and Casino properties in Tampa and Hollywood, Fl., both owned and operated by HRI parent company The Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as other exciting locations including Bali, Biloxi, Chicago, Cancun, Las Vegas, San Diego and Singapore. Upcoming new Hard Rock Cafe locations include Melaka and San Jose.  New Hard Rock Hotel projects include Aruba, Riviera Maya, Abu Dhabi and Shenzhen and Haikou in China. New Hard Rock Casino projects in development include Hungary and Northfield, OH.  For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com. For more information on Hard Rock Hotel and Casino New England visit http://www.hardrockhotels.com/new-england.

About Eastern States Exposition Eastern States Exposition is the home of The Big E, the 8th largest fair in North America, 120 consumer and trade shows, Storrowton Village Museum, an authentic reconstructed 19th century township, and Storrowton Tavern, a landmark restaurant. The 175-acre Exposition is located at the crossroads of New England in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The Big E takes place for 17 days each September, with 1.3 million visitors. It features top-name entertainment, unique fair foods, Big E Cream Puffs, a circus, the Avenue of States, Early American re-enactors in Storrowton Village, a Mardi Gras Parade, animals, rides and shopping during the region's most colorful season. The annual Big E, the only fair to represent more than one state, promotes the agriculture and culture of New England and has an economic impact of $225 million on Hampden County. Eastern States Exposition is a not-for-profit corporation committed to excellence in providing year-round opportunities for the development and promotion of agriculture, education, industry and family entertainment while preserving our New England heritage.

 

 

GLI South America Signs Agreement With El Instituto De Asistencia Social Formoseño

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 02:41 PM PST

 

 

LA PLATA, Argentina (January 10, 2013) – GLI South America, a division of Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), has entered into an agreement with El Instituto de Asistencia Social Formoseño. As part of the agreement, GLI South America will perform numerous tasks to improve various gaming regulatory activities.

Karen Sierra-Hughes GLI Director of Latin American and Caribbean Development

The commitment to work together was signed in mid-December by GLI South America and the Social Welfare Institute (IAS) from Formosa Province.

Both sides will begin working in a first stage that covers the survey of number of machines, the online control system, the infrastructure, regulations, procedures, certifications and training.

GLI South America has the right combination of experience in working with cutting-edge technology from GLI and the integrity and prestige of the La Plata National University (UNLP), a fact that allows GLI to provide excellent advice. This contributes to the game device manufacturers compliance with a certain number of rules to ensure, among other things, that the applied software does not contains defects, traps or vulnerabilities, thus avoiding damage to the players, the owners of the game rooms, the official agencies or to the game manufacturers.

GLI Director of Latin American and Caribbean Development Karen Sierra-Hughes said, "The confidence placed by the IAS Formoseño in our laboratory joins the other important Regulators such as the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos in the Province of Buenos Aires, the Institute of Financial Assistance to the Social Action of Entre Ríos, the Lottery of the Province of Cordoba Society of the State and the Lottery for Works of Social Action from Río Negro Province, the Games of Chance Regulatory Entity of the province of Salta as well as major manufacturers that certify their products with GLI South America."

GLI has been at the forefront of gaming regulation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for more than 14 years.

For nearly 25 years, Gaming Laboratories International, LLC has been the world leader in providing independent testing, inspection and certification services to the gaming, wagering and lottery industry. GLI also offers independent network and information security assessments to its regulatory, lottery and supplier clients. With 20 laboratory locations located across Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, North America and South America, GLI is the only global organization of its kind to hold U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020 and guide 65 standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com.

 

SPIELO INTERNATIONAL™ PRESENTS NEW GALAXIS™ ANALYTICS MANAGEMENT MODULE AT ICE 2013

Posted: 11 Jan 2013 07:43 AM PST

 

London UK  GALAXIS™ ANALYTICS, the newest addition to the range of GALAXIS casino systems management modules, will be presented at Stand S7-150 at the ICE Totally Gaming 2013 trade show at ExCeL, London, from 5 to 7 February, 2013. SPIELO International will showcase the entire diverse GALAXIS portfolio of casino systems solutions and innovative applications that are available for each of the different domains of the casino to create a distinct competitive advantage for operators. Additionally, SPIELO International's Casino Systems division will demonstrate the SYSTEM2go™ packaged, multi-site system for any type of landbased gaming venue.

For the first time at ICE, SPIELO International will be demonstrating GALAXIS ANALYTICS, a new module for advanced gaming analytics. It includes gameViz, a powerful, easy-to-use, analytics visualisation tool that allows casino operators to directly query the rich data held in the GALAXIS datastore. It allows operators to visualise floor gaming activity, enabling them to identify practical ways to improve business profitability. gameViz has recently been integrated into the GALAXIS systems portfolio in partnership with BIS2™, world experts in computer generated analytics visualisation known as 'Super Graphics.'

With the addition of GALAXIS ANALYTICS, GALAXIS now has seven modules with solutions and applications that manage operations across every area of the casino. The GALAXIS portfolio streamlines operations, and helps increase gaming revenues by analysing gaming activity and performance, attracting players, and awarding them with marketing promotions and services.

For example, GALAXIS MARKETING is a sophisticated marketing module that optimises every interaction with your players, helping casinos to attract, bonus, and reward players. It collects rich player data from slots and table games, as well as throughout the casino in restaurants, bars, and shops; enables casinos to launch customer loyalty and reward programs; and facilitates targeted marketing campaigns.

SYSTEM2go will also be demonstrated at ICE. Developed for gaming venues of all types, SYSTEM2go is a complete, multi-site gaming system with fully automated accounting and reporting from any remote location with internet access. It includes a jackpots system, as well as optional ticket-in/ticket out (TITO), card cashless payment, and player tracking and point redemption. SYSTEM2go can also be managed through cloud computing as a turn-key solution. Sold as a package, it is quick to install and simple to use, and it is ideally suited to multi-site gaming operations.

But that's only the beginning of SPIELO International's wide range of gaming system solutions. Visit Stand S7-150 at ICE for a product demonstration, and to find out how SPIELO International speaks gaming.