Thursday, March 21, 2013

news.casinolife

news.casinolife

Casino Enterprise Management Magazine Names Marian Green Managing Editor

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 02:18 PM PDT

FARGO, N.D. (March 20, 2013)—Casino Enterprise Management magazine, trade publication and the "Official Publication" of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), has named Marian Green as its new managing editor.

Green is widely considered one of the gaming industry's leading and most knowledgeable editorial voices. Green has been at the helm of some of the industry's top publications and has guided editorial coverage of the global gaming industry through some of its most exciting and dramatic periods of expansion and development.

Green has dedicated much of her professional career to covering the gaming industry, beginning during her tenure as a staff writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and expanding when she moved to the trade publication side of the industry, helping lead  editorial teams at IGWB, Casino Journal and Slot Manager magazines and most recently with Casino Life magazine where you will see her interviews published in the shortly to be published April edition. Green is globally known and respected for her curious nature, fair coverage and ability to spot trends.

"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Marian Green to the Casino Enterprise Management editorial team. I have known Marian for more than a decade and have incredible personal and professional respect for her. She is a true visionary and has spent the better part of the last two decades devoted to the gaming industry. Combining Casino Enterprise Management's wealth of print and digital tools with Marian's incredible editorial vision positions the magazine to further solidify its place as the top voice in industry coverage," said Peter Mead, publisher of Casino Enterprise Management magazine.

"This is a new and exciting time for the gaming industry, and that is mirrored by a new and exciting time for Casino Enterprise Management magazine. The magazine has long attracted top voices from across the industry as recurring columnists, and it is my pleasure to work with them and guide the conversation that will help move the industry forward," Green said.

Green will appear with the Casino Enterprise Management staff at the upcoming NIGA Indian Gaming trade show, and her tenure will officially begin with the May 2013 issue of Casino Enterprise Management. She will be based in Las Vegas.

 

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SUZO-HAPP WITH A WORLD OF SOLUTIONS AT ENADA RIMINI

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 01:20 PM PDT

 

Suzo-Happ was again demonstrated its commitment to local gaming markets by exhibiting at the ENADA Rimini in Italy that took place between 12th and 15th March. Suzo-Happ has a strong presence in Italy thanks to the long-established partnership with Comestero.

Marcel Oelen and Harald Wagemaker of Suzo-Happ at the ENADA Rimini

Being the global gaming's largest component and spare parts supplier, operators are discovering more and more the solutions they can incorporate in their gaming machines from Suzo-Happ. These include speakers, coin-entry bezels, side lighting and push buttons. Naturally Suzo-Happ has the right solutions in the coin payout market as specialists for coin hoppers. The Flow Hopper is the perfect response to coin pay-out management. The new red coloured bowl symbolises the new AES protocol and is aligned to the Comestero AES coin-handling range. The Flow Hopper is available is a wide range of bowl sizes.

The range of toppers from Suzo-Happ provides the ideal top lighting for both AWPs in the Comma 6a market and VLTs in the Comma 6b market. Such toppers include the Celebration Topper, the Ellipse Topper and the Xenon LED Topper.

Mr. Harald Wagemaker, Sales Director of Suzo-Happ EMEA, sums up the Rimini show, stating, "We are well known for our hoppers and toppers in Italy. Today more and more operators are seeking our advice and support for their smaller component needs within their gaming machines. We are ideally placed with our Italian distributor Comestero to provide this support. We were here in force here in Italy – including our Managing Director Marcel Oelen – to underline how key the Italian market is for Suzo-Happ. Naturally the new AES FLOW Hopper is the ideal coin payout solution that is aligned to the new security requirements for components in Comma 6a machines".

 

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NASCAR® VIDEO SLOTS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT NIGA’S INDIAN GAMING 2013 AS AMERICA’S MOST POPULAR SPECTATOR SPORT GETS READY TO ROAR ONTO CASINO FLOORS

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 08:51 AM PDT

 

LAS VEGAS, March 20, 2013  Bally Technologies' (NYSE: BYI) new NASCAR video slots and Virtual Racing NASCAR application are taking center stage at the NIGA Indian Gaming 2013 Tradeshow & Convention in Phoenix, Ariz. March 24-27, getting ready to bring the horsepower of America's most popular spectator sport to casino floors everywhere.

"We always look forward to NIGA and showcasing our newest games, systems, and interactive technology to our important partners in tribal gaming," said Ramesh Srinivasan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bally Technologies. "NIGA is the perfect stage to highlight the power of brands like NASCAR and Pawn Stars when combined with Bally's sleek slot cabinets, high-performing math, and engaging play mechanics."

Ramesh Srinivasan President and CEO Bally Technologies

Srinivasan added that this year, Bally is bringing tribal operators the power of the NASCAR brand across both games and systems through the NASCAR Video Slots and Virtual Racing NASCAR, a floor-wide bonusing application that enables casinos to run a virtual race on nearly every game device – without interrupting gameplay.

Bally's NASCAR innovations, along with nearly 60 unique game titles and a host of award-winning systems and interactive products, will be spotlighted in booth no. 412 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Bally's product suite is designed to optimize performance for operators and deliver unparalleled player excitement.

NASCAR Video Slots Deliver Heart-Racing Progressive Excitement Bally's NASCAR® video slots bring the thrill of racing to any casino floor and feature a lineup of who's who in racing royalty – Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson. NASCAR is delivered on Bally's ALPHA 2™ Pro Series™ V22/32 cabinet with a wide-area and near-area progressive jackpot award. Players select their favorite driver and the game screens change to reflect that driver's team colors and branding. This high-octane experience features three bonuses: The Pit Stop Bonus, Burnout Free Games, and the U-Race™ Bonus.

Bally will also show the HISTORY® Pawn Stars™ slot machine featuring Rick, grandfather Richard (Old Man), grandson Corey, and Corey's loveable sidekick Chumlee, based on the smash hit television series. Rounding out the top game offerings will be the superb follow-up to the popular Cash Wizard™, Tiki Magic™, The Beach Boys™ as well as Bally's towering new dual-wheel version of Hot Shot Progressive® and a variety of other premium and core titles.

Systems Delivering ROI and Unique Player Experiences Bally's extensive systems and server-based solutions showcase will feature the Company's industry-leading suite of casino and slot-management systems for every size of casino.

Visitors to Bally's booth will be able to see live demonstrations of iVIEW DM™, the award-winning picture-in-picture-style player-user-interface that enables gaming operators to choose where on the game they want to display player information and bonusing promotions.

Bally's Elite Bonusing Suite™ (EBS), when combined with iVIEW DM, adds dramatic new levels of excitement and anticipation to the player's experience. The EBS applications deliver floor-wide, personalized promotions, second-chance-to-win events, and the ability for players to earn valuable rewards. Featured EBS solutions that will be on display at NIGA include Virtual Racing NASCAR, Virtual Racing horse race, and the DM Tournaments™ floor-wide solution for slot tournaments with no device downtime or lost revenue.

Multiple Bally systems customers have implemented the EBS applications with the iVIEW and iVIEW DM player-user-interfaces and are experiencing measurable return-on-investment.

Award-Winning Interactive Solutions for Every Need Whether it is a complete iGaming solution, a mobile concierge app, top content, or anything in between, Bally Interactive will showcase solutions to meet the needs of any casino operator in the space. The open architecture of Bally's award-winning iGaming platform enables casinos to deliver play-for-free and wager-based poker, table games, video slots, bingo, and sports betting and other best-of-breed content.

Bally integrates traditional casino systems with online, mobile, and social better than anyone else. As a result, operators can conduct marketing, bonusing, data tracking, and collection seamlessly, enabling them to understand and market to their players in ways never before possible. Players can play the same games, receive the same bonuses, and earn the same points on the casino floor, at home, or on the move.

About Bally Technologies, Inc. With a history dating back to 1932, Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies designs, manufactures, operates, and distributes advanced gaming devices, systems and technology solutions worldwide. Bally's product line includes reel-spinning slot machines, video slots, wide-area progressives, interactive and mobile applications, and Class II, lottery, and central-determination games and platforms. Bally also offers an array of casino management, slot accounting, bonusing, cashless and table management solutions. For more information, please contact Laura Olson-Reyes, Senior Director, Marketing & Corporate Communications, at 702-584-7742, or visit http://www.ballytech.com. Connect with Bally on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

 

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GiGse and ScS have gone truly ‘social’ with a co-buying initiative

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 05:48 AM PDT

You can now save up to $200 on your ticket to GiGse and the Social Casino Summit – participate in our Co-buying scheme, live for a very limited period of time, by signing up here.

Super Early Bird rate expired over a month ago and the final Early Birds discount ended just last week, but you now have the opportunity to get back those missed discounts and secure your place at GiGse and the Social Casino Summit for a reduced rate.

How co-buying works

All you need to do is sign-up for the GiGse or ScS co-buy now and invite as many of your relevant friends and colleagues to do so as well – the bigger the pot, the higher the discount deal will be.

So don't delay – sign up now and promote to your colleagues, business friends and industry contacts via email, on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or on your blogs.

The Co-buy goes live next week, so you have just a few days left to let your network know. It will be running for a very short time, so the more people that sign up now, the better and higher the discount will be. http://www.buyapowa.com/gamingevents

Not just Super Early Bird price, but free pass available

As an extra bonus, since our community really understands gaming, it only seems right to introduce a little element of competition. So one person who takes part in the Co-buy will be getting their pass – or even the cash equivalent – entirely for free. But you’ve got to be in it to win it, so don’t forget to sign up for your alert now.

GiGse and Social Casino Summit go truly ‘social’ with Co-buying

After consumer brands such as Pepsi or Sony have used co-buying in the consumer context to drive engagement, this is the first time that this initiative will be used in the B2B context – we're excited to be pushing the boundaries.

P.S. With 'social' taking centre stage at the co-located GiGse and Social Casino Summit, what better way than co-buying to demonstrate it! Join now to participate. http://www.buyapowa.com/gamingevents

 

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WMS Schedules Special Stockholder Meeting for May 10, 2013 to Vote on Adoption of the Merger Agreement with Scientific Games

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 05:11 AM PDT

WAUKEGAN, Ill (BUSINESS WIRE) Mar. 18, 2013 WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE:WMS) today announced that a special meeting of its stockholders has been scheduled to, among other things, consider and vote on the proposal to adopt the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS), a Delaware corporation ("Scientific Games"), SG California Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games ("Merger Sub") and Scientific Games International, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games, providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into WMS, with WMS surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. The special meeting will be held on May 10, 2013 at 9:00 am CDT at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, 11 E. Walton, Chicago, Illinois.

WMS stockholders as of the close of business on Monday, April 8, 2013, the record date for the special meeting, will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the special meeting.

The merger, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2013, is subject to the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of WMS' common stock and the receipt of required gaming approvals, in addition to other customary closing conditions.

About WMS WMS serves the gaming industry worldwide by designing, manufacturing and marketing games, video and mechanical reel-spinning gaming machines, video lottery terminals and in gaming operations, which consists of the placement of leased participation gaming machines in legal gaming venues. The Company also develops and markets digital gaming content, products, services and end-to-end solutions that address global online wagering and play-for-fun social, casual and mobile gaming opportunities. WMS is proactively addressing casino gaming floor evolution with its WAGE-NET® networked gaming solution, a suite of systems technologies and applications designed to increase customers' revenue generating capabilities and operational efficiency. More information on WMS can be found at www.wms.com or visit the Company on Facebook®, Twitter® or YouTube®.

 

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Novomatic gains success in Spain

Posted: 20 Mar 2013 05:07 AM PDT

 

With a bigger booth and in a more prominent position than in previous years Novomatic's participation at the Fer Interazar 2013 gaming show set the stage for a superb dedicated product display for the Spanish regions – a presence that mirrored the group's growing market share in this discerning and sophisticated sector.More than 1,000 NOVO LINE™ Salon machines have been installed, with many of the country's major operators, in gaming arcades over the course of the past 12 months.

The success of these products clearly demonstrates their growing popularity and strong performance in operation. With its latest innovative product launches Novomatic Gaming Spain clearly has its finger on the pulse of what the Spanish market needs … and wants.At Fer Interazar's booth number C12 Spanish operators had the opportunity to try, test and evaluate the latest additions to this varied choice of highly market specific products for the diverse regional segments and their particular requirements.

Their collective comment was: Maravilloso.Category B ProductsThe product presentation comprised an extended product range for the Spanish B-market (arcades, Bingo operations and bars) as well as for the casino segment. Already well-established in the category-B segment is the NOVO LINE™ Salón II that now offers a total of three multi-game mix versions with 9 games each. They are available in the NOVO LINE™ Salón upright and in the NOVO LINE™ Club slant top cabinet as well as in the NOVO LINE™ II Salón MP multiplayer set-up (from 2 to 8 positions depending on the region), allowing for significant tax advantages for the operator.

The category-B machine NOVO STAR™ employs the internationally best-selling Gaminator® cabinet and includes five games. This special arcade machine was designed for those autonomous regions in Spain where this type of machine is allowed: the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. Columbus™, Fruits & Royals™, Just Jewels™, Lord of the Ocean™ and Secrets of Egypt™ amount to a well-balanced mix of themes for thrilling gaming entertainment.The NOVO LINE™ II Bar multi-game offering provides an ideal package for smaller sized bar operations, comprising a perfect blend of Novomatic all-star games: American Poker II, Book of Ra™, Lucky Lady's Charm™, Mega Joker™, Sizzling Hot™, Supra Hot™ and Ultra Hot™.A completely new product celebrated its world premiere at the show in Madrid: Camping Cash™. Its innovative gaming concept combines a base game on physical reels with various bonus features and side-kicks with and without video reels on the top screen. Camping Cash™ is a guaranteed entertainment treat for every bar and is aimed to be available in all of Spain's autonomous regions during 2013.Also presented for the Spanish category-B markets was Novomatic's UK subsidiary Astra Games' highly popular Bingo King™ that already has a solid fan base in British and Spanish arcades.

Category C Products Novomatic Gaming Spain has also established an excellent reputation as a top quality supplier of type-C equipment to all Spanish casino operators. Two products celebrated their Spanish premiere at this year's Fer Interazar: the Pinball Roulette™ which uniquely combines the attraction of the traditional roulette with the amusement factor of a pinball launching mechanism, and – surely a major highlight of the show – the new cabinet Dominator®.

After making its world debut, two months earlier, at ICE, the Dominator® was a major attraction in Spain. This is a truly ground breaking gaming machine that will be the undisputed leader on any gaming floor. The Dominator®'s stirring game-synchronized LED-effects plus three 24" TFT screens for gripping graphics display as well as top sound combine to create an unforgettable in-depth gaming experience for the guest. This machine also features an optional independent 18.5" multi-purpose TFT topper for all sorts of casino information or game specific displays.

Further new features are the innovative touch panel player interface and a facilitation for casino staff: the Dominator®'s main door opens upwards on gas springs, providing safe and easy access for maintenance work plus optimum space between machines in a bank. And the international casino hit machine Super-V+ Gaminator® was also displayed at the show in Madrid. The multi-game mix number 55 is already licensed in various autonomous regions in Spain and provides a comprehensive gaming choice for the operators: 14 games featuring a great diversity of game concepts and themes with up to 40 lines as well as Bingo and Roulette style games.

In addition Novomatic showed for the first time casino games of the recently acquired Unidesa casino division integrated in a Novomatic cabinet made in Austria.Bernhard Teuchmann, Managing Director Novomatic Gaming Spain, is highly satisfied with the show results: "Fer Interazar is traditionally the most important event of the year for all companies that either sell or buy in the Spanish gaming industry and therefore our participation at this event is mandatory.

This year's show proved once more that it provides the ideal setting to display our market-specific products for the various autonomous regions to an audience of gaming experts and decision-makers. And our new products fully hit the target! We received fantastic feedback from our customers and the months to come will certainly prove that these innovations are the right products at the right time for the Spanish market."Novomatic Gaming Spain S.A is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Novomatic Group company Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI) and is responsible for the distribution, technical support and after sales service of Novomatic products in the Spanish market.

The company also operates four arcades (salones de juego) via subsidiaries in Madrid and Andalusia. With product homologations for various machines in the majority of the autonomous regions and a growing number of satisfied customers Novomatic products constantly improve their reputation and market share in the Spanish market.

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.

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 22.000 staff worldwide (4,000 in Austria). Founded by entrepreneur Prof. Johann F. Graf, the group has locations in 43 countries and exports high-tech electronic gaming equipment to more than 80 countries. The group operates more than 215,000 gaming machines in its about 1,400 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.

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