—Bryan Kelly
senior VP of technology Bally Technologies
’ WE HUNT FOR TECHNOLOGY
AROUND THE WORLD IN THE GENERAL BUSINESS SPACE AND DETERMINE HOW IT APPLIES TO OUR LAND-BASED CASINO BUSINESS.
’
a player can do on a slot machine, but long before the first ALPHA platform came along, Bally was king of the slot system trade. From the original SDS main- frame systems of the 1980s to the variety of networked applications today, the Bally Systems division has led the market. Enter Reinvention No. 3. This latest rejuvenation of Bally has merged the
company’s prowess in systems and games, and has applied the combined disci- plines to a pursuit of technology that is taking the slot machine beyond its for- mer limits, both literally and figuratively. “The merger of systems and games is going well,” says Ramesh Srinivasan,
Bally’s president and COO. “The number of common areas between games and systems is definitely increasing. There are many examples of game-related ideas that go well with systems. On the other hand, systems ideas used in games are also increasing.” Although the merger is certainly not universal—“The choices must be made
judiciously,” says Srinivasan—it is definitely evolving. For Bally, the practical re- sults have appeared most prominently in casinos like Barona and Pechanga in California, where Ethernet-connected floors host enterprise-wide bonus events such as a floor-wide tournament hosted by the Bally iVIEW Display Manager system, beamed to iVIEW picture-in-picture-style displays on machines across the floor. Bally systems customers are being guided to other networked ideas tied to
player clubs—tailored bonus games given as rewards for loyal play; individualized marketing channeled directly to the iVIEW display—as well as coming up with their own applications to augment Bally’s “Elite Bonusing Suite,” a package of tailored loyalty awards. Moreover, system technology is improving Bally games themselves, and vice
versa. Player interactivity first developed for system bonusing is finding its way to production games, and new game innovations are being used in the bonusing systems. In the end, all the innovation will expand the gaming floor beyond its cur-
rent limits, says Bally CEO Richard Haddrill. “When one thinks about evolving from the traditional slot floor, our first step was floor-wide gaming using the iVIEW and marketing dollars,” Haddrill says. “The second step is to use wager- ing dollars; the third step is mobile applications.” This latest step was helped earlier this year with Bally’s acquisition of leading
mobile technology company MacroView Labs. The new division emerging from that purchase, called Bally Interactive, is now forging ahead with a two-pronged mobile strategy, one to place Bally games on mobile devices—either as apps for free play or as casino games where internet gaming is legal—and the other, says Haddrill, is to develop “a full range of concierge services for players on the floor.” The evolution of Bally doesn’t end with mobile gaming, though. The next
two steps are to put Bally game content on the internet for free play, and then for wagering in legalized i-gaming jurisdictions, in concert with operators. “Finally, we want to put our platform out there for our customers to use in interacting with their players,” Haddrill says.
INNOVATION LAB
Bally’s latest technological evolution is the result of a very deliberate search in the larger world of electronics for new ideas that can be applied to slot machines. Begun three years ago, the Bally Innovation Lab constitutes an active hunt for new technologies that can be used in slots and slot systems. “Our job involves more strategic technology for the long term,” says Bryan
Kelly, the Bally senior vice president of technology who heads the Innovation Lab. “We hunt for technology around the world in the general business space and determine how it applies to our land-based casino business.” Bally products tracing their roots to the Innovation Lab include the iDeck, a
button panel on a single LCD that transforms into a video screen or a touch-sen- sitive bonus pad allowing players to shoot at objects on the screen, roll a ball, spin a wheel, even play a piano—any variety of interactive, hands-on bonus events. “We’ve had this evolving approach to the iDeck,” comments Derik
Mooberry, senior vice president of products and operations at Bally. “Last year, we were stressing its durability. Button decks have been a source of frustration in the industry. They become sticky, they break. Our customers are telling us iDeck might be the last button deck they ever buy—service requests on the device have been next to nothing.” This year, operators are learning all the new ways the iDeck is changing slot
play. “Now, we’re stressing how it can be used in games, and for more interaction at the iDeck device level,” says Mooberry. “We continue to add functions, includ- ing basic things like pop-ups after service requests to assure that service is needed, to eliminate unnecessary service visits.” “The iDeck shows where we’re going in game interactivity—with new game
mechanics, with the world’s first use of multi-touch in gaming,” says Kelly. “The heart of iDeck is the ability to revolutionize the game experience. I came from 20 years in the arcade space. We did track balls, joysticks—every conceivable interac- tive device. We saw that same trend out there in the gaming world, and thought the iDeck would be the perfect input device.” The iDeck fits in well with another of the Innovation Lab’s efforts, the devel-
opment of floor-wide bonus events through Bally’s Elite Bonusing Suite (EBS) and iVIEW DM system. The past year has seen the company piling up contracts for floor-wide iVIEW DM installations and incorporation of the EBS for events like Virtual Racing, in which a casino can generate excitement on the floor as every video monitor in front of a player comes alive with a second screen—play- ers pick from several horses and watch a race, and players picking the winning horse split a prize. (Players can even keep playing their slot during the race—the game screen will shrink to allow for the race to be watched simultaneously.) This choice from the EBS, which has been making casino floors come alive
www.ggbmagazine.com • November 2011 25
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