NEWS
Radical idea #1: let players select math
You want it, you got it, say game makers
Instead of trying to guess what casino customers want from gaming machines, why not create games that individual consumers can fine- tune to their own tastes? That’s an approach being taken by firms such as the US manufacturers Bally Technologies and Incredible Technologies. Bally, for example, has recently installed four units of its new Hot
Spin product at Harrah’s in Atlantic City. The follow-up to Cash Spin, with a virtual bonus wheel on a touchscreen, Hot Spin is a three-reel, 27-line game in Bally’s Alpha Elite V32 cabinet.
But what makes it unusual is that the player can choose how often the get the Hot Spin wheel feature, and how much they’ll be able to win when they make the maximum bet.
“Hot Spin takes the player experience to an entirely new level of personalisation and interactivity, and delivers a player-selectable gaming experience not found in other games,” said Jay Snowden, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City. A similar approach is taken by Incredible Technologies in its games that allow players to select their preferred volatility level. And Incredible has just signed a deal with the Macau-based equipment distributor Asia Pioneer Entertainment to market its slot, Poker and Keno games in the Asian gambling hub – proving that while gaming styles may differ on opposite sides of the Pacific, putting the player in control is a popular feature everywhere.
Radical idea #2: speed up approval
Bally’s Hot Spin has another distinctive feature that won’t be so obvious to the customer: it was approved in a record 14 days by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, under new provisions in the so-called New Jersey First law that are aimed at revitalising the state’s gaming sector. “We are excited to debut Hot Spin at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, not only because the casino is located in a market that is so important to us, but also because of the rewarding teamwork that made the launch happen,” said Gavin Isaacs, Chief Operating Officer of Bally Technologies.
Radical idea #3: partner with competing operators
Problem: Pinnacle Entertainment doesn't have a Las Vegas casino, but its high rollers still go there, so the operator is losing out on a chance to cultivate its relationship with them while they're in the Nevada gaming mecca. Problem: Wynn Resorts, like all operators in Vegas, faces fierce competition for the best customers. Solution: give Pinnacle's 20,000 high rollers privileges at the Wynn
Las Vegas and Encore Resort, as part of the relaunch this month of Pinnacle's Mychoice loyalty programme “This relationship will be beneficial to us because Pinnacle will send their very best customers for multi-day stays exclusively at Wynn properties,” Michael Weaver, Wynn Resorts’ Senior Vice-President of Marketing Strategy, was quoted as saying.
4 APRIL 2011 INBRIEF
NOT SO INFALLIBLE David Pope is Marketing Director of 192business, not of
192.com as we erroneously stated last issue. Our apologies.
SILVER LINER Silversea Cruises’ Silver Cloud vessel has become the cruise operator’s fifth ship to open a Casinos Austria Maritime venue onboard, making Casinos Austria International the sole provider for the line. The casino will offer three American Roulette and Blackjack tables as well as 15 slot and video Poker machines.
GOA WAY The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa is putting forward a bill to ban locals from admission to the Indian state’s casinos, as well as prohibit advertisements for gambling. Goa currently has 12 land-based casinos as well as seven on ships, which the party says are not tightly enough controlled and should not operate near urban areas.
ENADA NUMBERS Attendance at March’s Enada trade fair in Rimini was down slightly on 2010, to 28,455. The figure for the spring event in the Italian seaside resort, which is followed by an autumn expo in Rome, was 1.4 percent less than last year. Of those who attended, about 12 percent – or 3520 people – were from outside Italy. Roughly 400 companies exhibited or were represented on stands. The Rome event will be held on 12-14 October.
BUT IS IT GAMING? Classic slot machines from Bally Wulff have formed the basis of a new work by Berlin artist Christian Graupner. He used them to create an interactive video installation, described as “a modified one-armed bandit, a viewer- driven dance, video and music triptych”.
END OF AN ERA The Sahara casino in Las Vegas is to close on 16 May. Owner SBE Entertainment said the venue, nearly 60 years old, was no longer economically viable, and it is considering other uses for the site. Navegante Group has managed the 85,000-square-foot casino element of the complex for SBE, which is not licensed as a gaming operator.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54