DIGIDEAL
the early days, we were forced to go to places where electronics or multi-electronic gaming devices are acceptable because they are not allowed to use paper cards. That’s what proved to operators that people will play; operators have always known that whatever they offer on the floor, with the proper promotion will most likely get played. Players are not unsophisticated, they want more, and our games offer
a variety of things; you can do multiple side bets
that you can’t do with felt, you can measure the player’s performance without the guesswork or sophisticated tracking equipment… You can see the industry is kind of following our path now. The players like the technology, and it’s obvious with internet gaming, iPads, laptops and PDAs that it’s not about the technology, it’s about the operator accepting and taking advantage of the technology.
CI: After you were acquired by IGT a few years
ago, you seemed to disappear – what happened? MK: We were pretty much off the radar for just over
three years. The relationship changed after TJ Matthews was no longer CEO and President of IGT; his vision was that IGT could provide an entire casino floor to a customer, including electronic table games and multiplayer experiences. It didn’t come to fruition because the difference between selling slots against actually selling to the pit, is huge. A slot is relatively simple to sell, but with a table game you may have a Pai Gow versus a Blackjack, a three-card poker… staff have to be trained to work with that as they do with any other pit game. That training process never made it into the sales force, and it was easier ultimately to just not sell it. We’ve proven that, because since our breakup we
have placed over 100 units and have a backlog of 150 units just since September. Our numbers are phenomenal in just a few months.
CI: But in that time, other companies have moved into the space haven’t they?
MK: That’s what happens. We stood on the sidelines watching it take place and were very frustrated through it all. We thought it would help us with regulatory issues, licensing, worldwide distribution, so we could get out ahead of the rest of the market and create an unbreakable stronghold – and the opposite actually happened. We’re excited by our opportunities now though, and those recent sales show we’re back, and moving forward.
CI: Did the struggle to fit into set boxes in
regulatory terms help create the flexibility that you’re now well known for, in product terms?
MK: It definitely helped us establish strong
intellectual properties. It caused us to take a broader look at what we were doing; we wanted to be a table game, associated equipment. We had no intention of being a multi-player slot device, in certain territories. We looked at the licensing issues, being a table game versus being a slot device, and that led us to our relationship with IGT – we thought the two could piggyback each other but it didn’t work out. The technology is quite different now though,
touchscreen technology has really moved on and what we’re capable of now with our products is quite different in terms of functionality. So technology took us down another path and opened up those doors. Even when we were out of the limelight, we continually developed and worked on our products and properties, and we’re hoping to show some of that product at G2E Asia – if not there, at G2E in Vegas this year. We’re working on some really interesting multi-game products which have a different twist to what’s out there right now. We’re exploring the server-based arena, and broadened our base; we’ve built the foundation in our platform to take on much of what the technology allows and that the industry is going to be looking at going forward – and that’s as well as what we’re doing with more traditional table games.
CI: Is Asia a strong market for you – or will it become one?
MK: Asia will be a nice market for us. We’re getting our ducks in a row over there, our allegiances in place, and our first installation is forthcoming. Vietnam is a strong market for us, we have a lot of product moving in there; we’re excited about a lot of markets in the region.
www.digideal.com
APRIL 2011 37
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