NEWS
Yelling all the way to the bank
Do licensed themes attract players to the slots that sport them? Judging by new Tarzan and Betty Boop games, the answer’s yes
He’s a loincloth-clad noble savage, she’s a sexed-up cartoon flapper, and together they’re confirming the customer-pulling power of slots based on branded characters.
Both Aristocrat Technologies, with Tarzan Lord of the Jungle, and Bally Technologies with Betty Boop’s LoveMeter are reporting enthusiastic response to early installations of the two games. “Players across the US absolutely love Tarzan Lord of the Jungle,” said Dallas Orchard, Aristocrat’s VP of Gaming Operations. “Casinos across the country who have Tarzan are reporting record response to the game, and tell us repeatedly it has become an instant player favourite.” Fans include a South Dakota man who scooped just under $280,000 after betting roughly $80 at the Royal River Casino & Hotel in Flandreau, but the game with its 31.5-inch VerveHD screen is also starting to swing through Las Vegas, where it recently premiered at Wynn and is also available in ten Station Casinos properties. Bally Technologies, meanwhile, is giving Betty Boop a
further outing in casinos, after introducing the character a dozen years ago at Harrah’s Las Vegas with Betty Boop’s Big Hit. “We are very excited to bring Betty Boop back on our new Alpha 2 platform,” said Dan Savage, the firm’s VP of Marketing. “What makes this Betty Boop even sexier than her predecessor is features like the How Hot Are You? bonus event. When players hit this ladder-style progressive feature, they get to put their hands on the iDeck touchscreen video button deck to get their ‘love temperature’ taken for the chance to win the top $1m award, two lower-level jackpots, or free-game events.” In the first week of a pre-launch installation at a Las
Vegas Strip venue, the new Betty Boop game outperformed all Bally’s other wide-area progressive products, according to Savage. “This is very exciting, and we hope indicative to how the game will perform nationwide.”
Housed in a Pro Series V22/22 upright cabinet with a top box nearly eight feet tall, it’s rolling out now.
Fans of Aristocrat’s Tarzan game include a South Dakota man who won $280,000 on $80 of play
8 JULY 2011
Straight talk on the gay market
LGBT visitors used to spend big in New Jersey, and one casino wants them back. Another challenge for marketers: selling Nevada
In a world with ever more diversions to lure the consumer, marketing casinos is a non-stop effort to keep ahead. And both operators and the localities where they do business are developing creative new ways to grab their share of the consumer’s consciousness and wallet. In Atlantic City, for example, the Resorts Casino Hotel has taken a highly unusual step for a casino: appointing Joel Ballesteros as Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Marketing. While the travel and tourism industry as a whole has
long recognised the value of the pink dollar, casinos have been slow to formally target this market, according to Ballesteros.
“When I moved here I learned the history of Atlantic City going back had a huge gay market,” he said in an interview with local media. “It was extremely gay-friendly. That all
A new brand identity for Nevada needs to somehow encompass gaming glitz and natural splendour
went away, for whatever reason I’m not sure. So, why the fear when it already was a gay-friendly destination at one point?”
But Ballesteros isn’t concerned that more conservative gamers will be deterred from the casino by LGBT-friendly gestures such as the launch of Prohibition, a gay nightclub at the venue. “It’s been discussed, it’s been thought about, but I really don’t have those concerns. The articles have come out about the club and there’s really not a lot of negative that has come out of it,” he said. On the other side of the US, a different challenge faces Nevada’s Commission on Tourism: coming up with a new brand identity for the whole state that somehow encompasses both gaming glamour and natural splendour. “This is a true marketing milestone for the commission,” said Interim Director Larry Friedman. “In the past, we’ve never done brand research. We’ve never developed a brand.” The body has hired GreenRubino, an agency that has done similar work in Washington state marrying urban and rural into a cohesive single identity, to help sell Nevada’s two faces to visitors.
COMPANIES
SPIRIT GAMING Frank Ziegler, formerly Sales and Marketing Director at Merkur Gaming, has left the company to set up a new venture. Spirit Gaming, which he owns and heads as Managing Director, will focus on distributing gaming machines and has signed Merkur as its first client. The company says it is also expecting to represent other manufacturers, including suppliers of Bingo and electronic Roulette equipment. Before working at Merkur, Ziegler was with WestSpiel, Germany’s largest casino group.
MELCO CROWN Melco Crown Entertainment grew first-quarter revenue by 42% compared with the previous year, just topping $800m. The increased income came largely from its City of Dreams property in Macau, the firm said, with the House of Dancing Water nightclub and Altira Macau also contributing.
ECHO ENTERTAINMENT Echo Entertainment, the casinos group recently divested by Australia’s Tabcorp, has made its debut on the nation’s stock market. Tabcorp itself retains its wagering and lotteries businesses, while the new Echo takes the Star City casino in Sydney, which it is renovating, and three Queensland venues. But it remains uncertain how long a standalone Echo will exist. Speculation has centred on a takeover by Crown or private equity.
RANK/GALA Britain’s Rank Group, owner of the Grosvenor and G- branded casinos, is believed to be considering a bid for Gala Coral’s casino properties. That would almost double the size of Rank’s estate from 35 to 61 venues, all but one in the UK, and might attract the interest of competition authorities. Gala is attempting to restructure debt and is believed to be considering a break- up. Rank itself was recently acquired by shareholders Guoco Group.
AGEM Four more firms have joined the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers: Abbiati Casino Equipment, Fox Rothschild, Hanco Technologies, and Patriot Gaming & Electronics.
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