INTERNATIONAL NEWS - USA
year’s 2012 Amusement Expo in Las Vegas. Show statistics indicated a five percent increase in
Looking up? O
attendance over last year. Among both attendees and exhibitors, there was also a greater optimism about the future of their businesses than in 2011. Almost every category surpassed 2011 statistics. The
number of exhibitor booths rose to 144 from 135 last year. The show attracted 31 new exhibitors. Total attendance was 2961, including 1384 buyers. The trade show was again run co-operatively by the
Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) and the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA). The Amusement Expo was cross-marketed with the
Pizza Expo, but this year the crossover numbers decreased, totalling 82 compared to 318 in 2011. On the second day, pizza show attendees could attend the music and games show. The National Bulk Vending Association (NBVA)
convention was located on the Amusement Expo show floor for the second year. Twenty-three exhibitors contracted 49 booths, contributing approximately 270 attendees. More than 500 people attended 12 seminar sessions,
up almost 200 from last year. Fifty FEC operators participated in an in-depth pre-expo educational experience, run by the Foundations Entertainment University.
www.euroslot-online.com
perators demonstrated confidence that the overall U.S. economy may be improving slightly at this
Small is beautiful for AMOA T
he Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) has amended its bylaws to reduce its board of directors from 30 to 19, excluding officers, starting next year.
The association attempted this reduction 15 years ago under former AMOA president Randy Chilton, but AMOA’s past presidents rejected it. There had also been an attempt to introduce manufacturer membership on the board. The past presidents have approved the reduction of the board for 2013, but still refuse
to expand board eligibility beyond operators and distributors. Finding qualified leaders has become more difficult, and downsizing the board facilitates better leadership and board management. Fewer potential candidates have applied to volunteer their time and money to serve. AMOA has also altered its membership definition. It now allows companies whose
primary business is running games and other equipment that take coins, bills and other payment methods – a recognition that technology is increasingly enabling cashless payments.
Video games in the gallery T
that East Coast has offered to operators of Ecast digital downloading jukeboxes. Ecast terminated operations last month after 11 years in business, laying off 55 employees. The alliance confirms AMI’s support for Ecast
Ecast rescue A
operators. AMI recently arranged to maintain much of the Ecast network and its Ecast Central secure Website. It will allow access to a portion of AMI’s extensive library of licensed music to operator subscribers through Ecast Central. No modifications to the Ecast equipment will be necessary. AMI is presently developing a full software solution to
complete the transition from Ecast’s network to its own. This will provide Ecast operators with access to all AMI content, online services and system support. East Coast, meanwhile, has been a distributor of Ecast
parts and services for more than ten years, also repairing Ecast jukeboxes. Its knowledge of Ecast’s technology has been enhanced by its role as an Ecast design partner. At its peak four years ago, Ecast served 10,000
jukeboxes online. Since then, the number has fallen by 30-40 percent.
18 APRIL 2012
MI Entertainment Network and East Coast Amusements have united to strengthen the service
Smithsonian Museum, will display a new exhibit entitled The Art of Video Games until 30 September. Curators say the exhibit will explore the 40-year evolution of video games, stressing their powerful visual effects and creative new technologies. Neither development
should impact a current video game case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which questions whether video games constitute an art form that falls under First Amendment free speech protection. A decision should be released this summer.
turning its sights on gaming’s newest potential market – the Internet. It recently applied for an interactive gaming licence with the Nevada State
WMS looks to e-gaming W
Gaming Control Board. Internet gaming remains illegal throughout all 50 American states, but several states with legalised casino gaming are permitting companies to present their paperwork in anticipation of online gaming, in particular poker. This possibility was opened up when the federal government decided in late 2011 that national statutes do not ban state-authorised online casinos. WMS already operates a U.K.-based award-winning online casino game at
JackpotParty.com.
he independent National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which supports artists and arts organisations, will classify video games as an art form in fiscal 2012. Taxpayer funding,
typically between $10,000 and $200,000, will be granted to a project next year. The new NEA criteria have expanded The Arts in Media as a grant category, replacing Arts
on Radio and Television. The new category will cover “all available media platforms such as the Internet, interactive and mobile technologies, [and] digital games…” Also inWashington, the American Art Museum (pictured), part of the federally-funded
MS Industries, the Chicago manufacturing firm that transformed itself from a pinball/video factory to a maker of licensed gaming machines, is
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE AMUSEMENT AND STREET GAMING INDUSTRY
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