News INTERNATIONAL UPDATE Ranks rolling ‘G’ over Gala
The takeover of Gala Coral’s casino division by the Rank Group is finally confirmed
Rank Gaming has now agreed terms with Gala Coral for the purchase of 19 of the 23 casinos originally comprised within the deal announced back in May 2012 for a revised sum of £179m. The group has also now confirmed that its G Casino brand will replace the Gala brand at the casinos included in the deal.
The original bid of £205m for gala’s entire estate was blocked by The Competition Commission who insisted that casinos Gala Coral casinos in Aberdeen, Bristol, Cardiff and Stockton-on-Tees should not be included in the package. The Office of Fair Trading also believed that the original sale, which would leave the UK with just two casino operators; Rank and Genting, could have negative effect on customers due to reduced competition. Also excluded from the new deal are licences for the City of Westminster and Dundee, Gala’s Gibraltar venue and its Gala Coral branded online casinos. The new agreement is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013.
Ian Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive Uruguay’s Rivera
signs up IGT Cloud Rivera Casino Group has entered into an agreement to implement the IGT Cloud at two casino sites in Uruguay based on regulatory approval. Rivera will have access to all features offered through the Cloud, including the expansive game library in addition to analytics and floor management features. Salvador Serra, Rivera Casino & Resort GM, said: “The selection of the IGT Cloud provides us with a cost-efficient solution to implement floor management with analytics as there is no need for a substantial investment into infrastructure. This will allow us to make decisions regarding our gaming floor that are more in tune with what our players want.” Sabby Gill, Regional VP of sales for EMEA and SOLAC at IGT, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Rivera to offer the IGT Cloud solution. As we continue to grow our Cloud business we look to the future of gaming and what it can provide to our customers.”
“This acquisition enables us to
capitalise on our proven record of operational
excellence in the
British casino sector and is expected to be earnings
enhancing in the first full year of ownership.“ IAN BURKE,
Chairman and
Chief Executive, Rank.
of Rank, said: “This acquisition enables us to capitalise on our proven record of operational excellence in the British casino sector and is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year of ownership. By rolling out the ‘G Casino’ format into the Gala estate and expanding the Grosvenor Casino brand into 11 new cities, we will accelerate the growing awareness of the brand and support the development of a multi-channel gaming business.”
Inquiry chairman Martin Cave said: “We think that removing the casinos in problem areas from the deal and requiring Rank to sell the Edinburgh cold licence to an upfront buyer will protect the interests of customers. The excluded casinos are profitable and so we believe that they will continue to act as viable competitors to Rank in these areas.”
Bally recruiting for 100 professional gaming roles
In a further sign that the industry is recovering following the darkest days of the recession, Bally Technologies was recruiting exceptional professionals for more than 100 open positions during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Bally Technologies executives, hiring managers, and recruiters exhibited at the conference seeking to fill openings for mobile and interactive content developers; programmers; web developers; graphic artists; digital illustrators; motion- graphics artists; 3D animators; mathematicians; and other high-tech positions.
Bally Technologies’ Senior Vice President of Operations
April 2013 PAGE 20
and Human Resources Gary Kapral, said: “As an innovation-driven leader in the casino gaming industry, our thirst for extraordinary talent continues to grow as fast as our business. With a focus on developing the most entertaining content for casino games, iGames, mobile, and social, the Game Developers Conference is a fertile environment for us to showcase our career growth opportunities, competitive benefits, and award-winning innovation to Bally’s future innovators and leaders.”
The Game Developers Conference and Women in Games International networking event are among several recruiting events that Bally Technologies is attending this year.
TESTING SPECIALIST BMM TESTLABS has opened the doors to its new headquarters in Southern Nevada, paving the way for continued growth and employment opportunities in the region. The newly expanded space, located at 815 Pilot Road, Suite G, in Las Vegas, comprises 22,000 sq. ft. with plans of further expansion into an adjacent building. The entire expansion highlights an economic development success story that showcases an innovative business with North American and global impacts. BMM employs more than 200 people in 12 countries and operates 11 gaming labs. It also serves more than 400 gaming jurisdictions.
BMM Global President and CEO Martin Storm said: ”As our business continues its year-on-year growth, and as we continue to provide gaming product compliance and testing services across North America and international markets, we are proud to make Las Vegas our global business home and celebrate the opening of our wonderful new offices and laboratory space. After hiring many staff in Las Vegas over the years, we are looking forward to adding 100 people or so in Las Vegas over the next two years.”
ARUZE GAMING America has appointed Kelcey Allison as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Paul Omohundro as Director of Marketing. Mr. Allison brings over
20 years of experience to his new position. Prior to joining Aruze Gaming in 2009, he worked for Progressive Gaming International Corporation in various executive management positions in Sales and Marketing throughout the United States and Latin America. In this position, Mr. Allison will be responsible for sales in Canada, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. He will also lead AGA's product marketing and service departments. Richard Pennington, Aruze's CEO and President, said: "Aruze is clearly one of the fastest growing gaming suppliers in the industry. We would not be where we are today without Kelcey's ability to build relationships and execute on key strategic initiatives." Mr. Omohundro also brings extensive experience within the gaming industry. Prior to joining Aruze, he served as the Founder and President of Fairway Gaming LLC, Vice President of Sales for DEQ Systems Corporation, and COO for the DEQ subsidiaries including DEQ-USA and D.P. Stud Inc.
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