You are in:
IGE 2009
There was some trepidation going into the London Show early 2009 – but the jitters were unfounded, as another successful show went without a hitch
G2E Las Vegas was a good exhibition, far better than most predicted, with exhibitors praising the quality of attendees while noting the numbers were certainly down. These words were echoed in Earls Court, London, for IGE 2009 – the numbers were down, but the quality remained. Visitors that might previously have brought a selection of staff with them, just came with the decision makers.
This show has lost none of its buzz, even on a first day which appeared to us to be significantly down on last year in numbers. The second day was quite the opposite, with a positive energy running through Earls Court One and Two, and exhibitors leaving with orders in place. The order books may not be bulging, but business was certainly done. Day three was, as ever, reasonably quiet, but this is no surprise to regular visitors.
Of the technology on show, a lot of it had been seen in Vegas, but there were certainly some standouts which had not been seen before. Novomatic led the line with their quite brilliant Novo Unity II, while NCR unveiled a raft of great product fresh for the casino market which will take them far. More on them later, for now we go back to Novomatic.
Novo Unity II is the company's new multiplayer platform, and Novomatic say it offers operators unrivalled flexibility and unique gaming diversity for the guest. More than half of their substantial booth space in London was devoted to a comprehensive presentation of the multitude of new possibilities opened by this groundbreaking multiplayer innovation. Novo TouchBet Live-Roulette, Novo Multi-Roulette, Novo Flying Roulette, Novo TouchBet Live-Baccarat, Novo TouchBet Live-Black Jack and Novo TouchBet Live-Sic Bo as well as the new electronic live gaming table TX-01 featuring Novo Texas Hold’em Poker and the Novo Wheel of Cash were installed in a huge networked multiplayer live cluster at ICE. One could not fail to be impressed by the grandeur of the company's vision, and of course their ever-excellent execution.
Also on their floor, Novomatic had a selection of new titles for the popular Coolfire II range, along with a wide range of multi-game mixes on their attractive Super-V+ Gaminator and its slant-top counterpart. If IGE is anything to go by, 2009 and beyond will be happy days for Novomatic.
Another company out to impress was Atronic, whose slot offering in recent times has been among the best on the market, with some particularly interesting licenses; the games that impressed in Vegas were on show here for the international market, with Stargate looking great alongside Tree of Riches, the community gaming title which is very striking indeed. At IGE though, the star of their show was their new CRYSTAL.net gaming platform, which the company says is the industry's most robust and powerful platform to date.
It features the most efficient processing performance, longest average lifetime, and highest interface capacity of any online system in the business.
The exciting new online platform impressed customers with enhanced player communication and bonusing capabilities. Visitors enjoyed the CRYSTAL.net display of player information, casino promotions and live messages – functions that allow casino operators to reduce costs at the same time.
In the current climate of challenging economic conditions CRYSTAL.net provides operators with the tool to ultimately optimize their operations. In the development of CRYSTAL.net ATRONIC has listened to the market and included features that help operators streamline their operations.
Elo Touchsystems showed their latest touch technology, with the 2240L gaming monitor front and centre. It boasts a wide viewing angle panel (an incredible 178 degrees) in 22" widescreen format and a pleasant slim housing, which will appeal to cabinet designers. Aimed at casino applications, the 2240L can be supplied with surface acoustic wave, capacitive or acoustic pulse recognition (APR) touch technology within exactly the same form factor.
Euro Games Technology [EGT] brought a wide range of slots to the show, with their Vega Vision range broadened to incorporate the Vega Vision+ Slant Top cabinet, which features a 22" main playing screen and a 26" top screen.
EGT have branched out into multiplayer solutions, and the results look good. On their stand was an attractive electronic roulette product, and a semi-electronic Blackjack table, which got a lot of attention. The company is enjoying greater manufacturing capacity with the completion of its newest facility in Bulgaria, and now they have a range of products that will get the best out of it.
Abbiati had a large presence and the stand was busy from opening on day one to the close of the show with customers old and new. Abbiati reported after the show that the reception to their new carbon fibre tables, wheels and bases was excellent, and they walked away with orders confirmed; their self-aligning overhead wheel reader that can be used with any wheel and display was also well received.
Particular interest was shown in their 13.56 MHz PJM RFID Value Chip and Plaque products; two tables fully functional with all chip and plaque movements and transactions being shown in real time was enough to wow the crowds with their speed and accuracy.
As mentioned earlier, NCR unveiled its casino portfolio at the show, and if you missed what they offer, you missed something pretty special. They describe the portfolio as cross-property self-service solutions, and it is far too involved to get into in this report; we'll look across the range in a future issue. NCR's Vice President for Marketing for Gaming, Scott Winzeler, gives a taster: “NCR is uniquely able to provide a holistic approach to the gaming environment – from the hotel to the casino floor to the buffet – for a seamless and consistent experience. A guest might check in to a gaming resort using a self-service kiosk, locate a favorite Blackjack or Roulette table using an interactive wayfinding device, or purchase tickets to a live show by waving a mobile device in front of a digital poster.”
Bill validator specialists Money Controls showed off their new branding, with a slick white backdrop to their product and a new logo for flagship acceptor Ardac Elite. The Elite was the centre of attraction, with demonstrations of its unique Server Based Gaming applications, as well as its four-way barcode reading. There is a single build for Ardac Elite, with over 60 currencies available, making it applicable worldwide. It has also been approved by more than 70 manufacturers around the world and can retrofitted to virtually any gaming machine. This certainly impressed visitors to the stand, as did the display on a PDA of a full-colour image of the last bill inserted.
Money Controls used IGE to stress that it provides integrated payment solutions, not just products. To this end, its USB integration modules, PayLink and PayLink Lite, were on display, together with examples of unique product solutions produced by Money Controls' application engineering team.
Casinos Austria's big story was the expansion of the company after the acquisition of a one-third stake in Austria Lotteries, which expands what the group can offer customers substantially. We'll look into this in a future issue of Casino International.
Gaming Partners International [GPI] had something to celebrate after winning an International Gaming Award for Best Technology Manufacturer.
At IGE, GPI showed their RFID product in both 125KHz and 13.56MHz in live demonstrations which showed off their chips, readers and operating software; GPI say the new products are their most comprehensive and extremely efficient offerings to date. Their suite of new product includes: TablesSolution platform for the casino cage, gaming floor and dedicated poker area; a progressive version of its RFIDPoker Table, which should be a huge success; a bill validator integrated to a RFID-enabled blackjack table; a roulette table with RFID bet recognition; and much, much more. Instead of one large area as in previous years, the stand was divided into three sections, with a back office, gaming floor and poker areas.
Suzo Happ reported a very busy show, and a positive reception to their range of innovations, which include their topper offerings. Traditionally toppers are used to attract players to slots; Suzo Happ toppers can be integrated into the game play. Gaming machine manufactures now have new ways to distinguish their slots and to extend the player's gaming experience. The new toppers offer plug-and-play USB connectors for gaming manufacturers to integrate as part of the game. This joint-venture with Heber has brought new life to the topper market. Customers can choose from the Round Topper, Round Video Topper and Reel Topper.
Aristocrat's focus was on the Viridian cabinet, alongside products like the ever-reliable PokerPro electronic poker table. Viridian had 15 new games on the cabinet which included Banana King, a double standalone progressive, and a new Extreme Mystery called Sky Heroes, plus Bank Buster, the new Hyperlink title on Viridian. The Excite cabinet was not neglected though, with a double standalone progressive called Mr Woo's Moonlight Market among others.
The stand was bursting with more than 80 slots, and a steady stream of customers certainly seemed to appreciate the product on offer.
CashCode brought their new identity, as Crane Payment Solutions [CPS], to London alongside their bold new CashCode One bill validation solution. It's a superb piece of kit, and CPS say it has true universality, regardless of currency or even different operating voltages. It's just a question of adjusting the software and it's ready to go. Casino International staff think this could be very significant for Crane Payment Solutions worldwide, and could open up new customers and whole new markets for them.
Advansys presented their top five SlotScanner casino management modules, with Accounting&Cage, Ticketing, Player Tracking, Progressive and Mystery Jackpot, and Cashless. IGE gave Advansys the chance to launch the first demo of their cashless system, which recently concluded its testing phase. Its inclusion means the company can now offer a complete solution to casino operators, and Advansys expects its first installation very soon.
Octavian product is generally quite in-depth and detailed, so we can only give you a glimpse of what they were showing on their stand and demonstrating to customers. One of the fun things they're offering is a version of Spot The Ball using GexTech's fine Fantastic League; it's available now on FOBT's. Not, strictly speaking, of interest to the casino market, but it's a brilliant product!
Most arresting on the stand though, was the Global New Media wireless gaming concept. This could be huge, and on many, many different levels. It's hard not to get excited when you see technology harnessed in a simple but direct and meaningful way like this. Basically, they have a remote control which can be used to either market direct to a customer's hand, or to interact with the customer, deliver gaming content… The sky is the limit. Imagine such a handset given out to top-end casino customers; the remote model is the universal type, so it will work with any home device, and the operator can now communicate meaningfully, directly and in real time with the customer off- and on-site. Genius.
TCSJOHNHUXLEY showcased a number of products alongside their shiny new corporate identity, which, they say, depicts "Roulette, chips, and cards without emphasising one particular product". It's colourful and understated, and certainly makes more of a statement than the previous identity.
The stand was awash with product, including a working model of the Novo Unity II mentioned earlier, which TCS will be distributing in certain territories.
Our favourite product was the simple-but-brilliant AccuLevel, a device which allows casino staff to level and rotate a Roulette wheel without adjusting winning number-reading devices. Used with a tri-point level and designed to sit in the ball track, AccuLevel rotates through 360 degrees and has 15 indexed locking positions. Such an uncomplicated tool could help casinos prolong the life of their wheels and help them perform to the optimum.
Speaking of winning number displays, the e-FX Insignia is TCS's good-looking, slimline media display that can help attract – and keep – players to table games. Available in single- or double-sided configurations, the system features an integrated control console mounted under the LCD screen. This ensures no unsightly leads are in view and that controls are located close to the dealer. Controls of the system are managed using an intuitive on-screen menu and for security purposes, the system is password protected with multiple levels of control ranging from management to dealer functions.
Gaming Laboratories International have a wonderful spot for their stand, located between the halls so they see a huge amount of traffic during the show. Predictably, they were very busy, too, as Christie Eickelman explains: "The show has been very good for us; we have been very busy, with phenomenal turnout from regulators and suppliers.
"We come to these shows with a different goal – we can provide good customer service for our suppliers as well. The whole team can come together and we can provide good customer service by meeting everybody; we get a lot done at a show like this."
We're featuring a recent GLI development in a forthcoming issue of Casino International.
Amatic have a product spectrum that seems to grow steadily, and their stand is always very busy: always a good sign! As Georg Steiner explained to us, their highlight at IGE was Showdown Poker, an electronic poker table: "We’re quite convinced this is going to be a showdown for some of our competitors as well…we took advantage of being able to look at what the different market needs are, and how others are doing it, to see what we can do better – and we believe we did it."
Amatic also presented a multi-game terminal, which Georg described as being very 'clean': "From the ergonomic point of view and from the design point of view, this is as clean as possible. In my opinion this is the most beautiful, the most clean-looking, the most lean terminal on the market at the moment. We have monitor ranges running from 19-inch to 26-inch. It is Linux-based to give more flexibility, too." Players can choose between Amatic games and live Roulette on the terminal, so flexibility really is the name of the game.
IGE also saw Amatic launch eight new games on their core cabinet, the X3000.
3M, as ever, impressed, as their tactile feedback technology amazes and delights everyone that encounters it. When is a game designer going to produce something that harnesses this incredible, fun and vibrant innovation?
WMS's slot product is really something. It's the ideal hybrid of gameplay – the kind you'd find in a console – and true casino slot gaming, so it has something for generations old and new. IGE did not disappoint, as they showed Reel 'Em In: Compete To Win, which is part of their Community Gaming canon and combines the fun of a slot machine and the thrill of competing against other players for the big prizes when the bonus level arrives.
Powerball is another Community Gaming product, where the person in the 'power seat' when the bonus level hits is selected at random. Also impressing were the new Wizard of Oz slots, which incorporate Sensory Immersion Gaming to draw the player in. And let's not forget Transmissive Reels, the company's innovation that has brought mechanical reel slots into the 21st century and made them as attractive as – if not more so – their video slot brethren. The reasons for their popularity is simple, as Sebastian Salat explains: "People see this [Time Machine slot] and they want to play it all the time – the bank is always full, because there is nothing similar in the whole exhibition that compares to this concept.
"We have been creating categories that before did not exist on the casino floor. That is what makes us so special."
The Eurocoin stand, always a place to find good advice and solid product, was the place to see TransAct product, which included the Epic 880 – an AWP printer – and ServerPort. The 880 debuted at G2E in November, and is targeted at kiosks, AWP, FOBTs and more, including a casino that might want ticket-out but not TITO. A key selling point is the six-inch printer roll, which means less changes required, less staff intervention.
ServerPort takes advantage of the second port on the printer and allows the printer to be used as a marketing tool to the player; combine it with, for example, Bally's iView, and you make an offer to the player during play, and they can print out a coupon without breaking stride by simply accepting the offer. It's a smart tool, and one that should find its place in casinos now that Bally, LVGI and others are making such progress with 'marketing windows' on slots.
Inspired had a large presence, and one of their main attractions was the automated blackjack product which complies with UK table gaming regulations. This can be played on unlimited terminals from a live table, which conforms to UK requirements; couple this with their server-based casino product, and Multi-Win Roulette, and you have an extremely strong suite of gaming products.
Inspired has come a long way from its server-based roots, while never neglecting its core product, the company seems to have embraced the many facets of gaming to comfortably become a more complete provider to the industry.
With Gaming Support, where do you begin? The last couple of years has seen steady product development on some excellent ideas – but are operators ready for things like a mystery jackpot system on a roulette wheel? It's an exciting concept and a very simple one – something that, handled and promoted in the right way, could drive yet more profits from the wheel.
BonusBox was pushed hard on the stand, their entirely scalable player incentive and jackpot system; it's basically a box which sits on the slot machine or bank of slots, and is a tangible reward for players when they hit a certain jackpot threshold. You might have the keys to a Ferrari in there, or show tickets – anything, really, that your players might want. It's yet another incentive to play, functioning in the same way as a mystery jackpot.
They're also working hard at their digital signage product, which looks great, and CasinoView, which is a way to drive traffic in the casino to 'colder' areas, and something we'll go into in more depth in a future issue.
Alfastreet's stand was much larger than in 2008, as they added a section dedicated to poker product, and also had their new Tago game to exhibit. Tago is similar to Texas Hold 'Em poker, and this automated version is the only one available on the market so far thanks to Alfastreet's exclusive deal with the game's creators.
Never a company to stand still, Afastreet also had new Keno product, and a new multiplayer bingo, which has been redesigned and relaunched thanks to new customer interest. Their core product remains automated Roulette, but Alfastreet's strength in emerging markets drives their research and development into new titles.
Hess had their own stand for the first time, and what a difference it made; rather than one or two kiosks on a stand-share, they had a wider range of product and the space and time to demonstrate everything fully. First up is the Express Series Currency Counter HE303, a currency sorting machine that is developed for TITO sorting.
Of note – though it was not on display on the stand – is their back office solution, which takes the strain of counting and settling up tills for waiters, waitresses and more at the end of a shift. Erik de Kat explains: "Waiters and waitresses can go with their till, throw it into the machine, it is counted and sorted, then they balance the tills – replenishing, we call it.
"If a member of staff is short of coins or notes, normally they have to go to the supervisor. They go to the cash desk, get a note, stamped, signed by two people and so on… instead, she goes to this machine, take their employee pass card, put it in, and ask for, say, two rolls of 50C or two rolls of 2 Euro, whatever, and I want some loose notes, and it comes out, and they can do the next shift.
"We are talking to many casinos at the moment – this is the missing link in the whole system. The front office, in the casino, is cashless. But there is still a lot of cash around – tipping waiters, selling things, restaurants, bars. We have a solution for that – we call it the retail solution, and we are installing it now in casinos."
For smaller operators there's a new bill breaker too, at a competitive price.
Interblock had their wonderful Organic stand once more, all soft edges and pleasing aesthetics, with their automated gaming innovations in the centre. They've now added a multigame principle to their modular gaming offerings, with a twin centre unit with two different games taking place in sealed modules. Players can then choose which they want to play, giving more choice and more fun! As Matija Kostic, Head of Technical Communications, explains: "Our first gaming machine allowed players the choice to play either roulette or a dice gaming machine, but any combination that the customer requires is available – either double roulette, double dice, or a combination – or even our Keno gaming machine."
Interblock has also introduced a Player Information Display to help entice players to machines.
Also on show was a seven-player version of the striking mechanical Blackjack they showed last year, plus a gaming terminal which is software driven, rather than relying on a mechanical random number generator. It's designed with Interblock's usual eye on attractive visuals and player comfort.
Casino Technology were showing off their new Tangra Touch slant-top cabinet, and it is every bit as attractive as the Bulgarian company’s customers have come to expect. It’s packed with features, boasts a very wide viewing angle, a second monitor in the top box along with an additional 7” display for player tracking or multimedia use, and good storng 2.1 sound. It all runs on their powerful new motherboard, Tough Rider.
WagerWorks, a subsidiary of IGT, is talking about the potential for intellectual property sharing between itself and its parent company, which could prove a winner for both. Imagine an online game which proves a huge success adapted to work in a land-based casino, and vice versa. As server-based gaming develops, gameplay itself will become more important and good gaming developers will be a company's most prized asset; working this way could put IGT ahead of the competition in many ways.
And on to IGT itself. The big news before the show was the acquisition of PGI and its assets, which expands IGT's customer base on the systems side significantly. Some former PGI staff were on hand to speak with customers at the show. James Boje, MD for IGT Europe, told us that, for the moment, the status quo for the companies remains. "We need to look at it, in terms of reviewing agreements and there are developer agreements in place with companies – it’s broader than our customer base. There are channels that PGIC has used that we have go and revisit to see how they fit in to the IGT portfolio. Our intention is not to go and break something that is working today. If the customer is happy and is getting the service, it’s not our intention to go and break it down. It is really to see how we can broaden the offering."
Their stand featured a staggering 310 slot machines, and of course among those were a sample of IGT's new cabinet range, a testament to the company's desire to always develop, innovate and, hopefully, to inspire customers. The new Advanced Video Platform was also in evidence, a platform the new cabinets are designed to take full advantage of.
MD of Ainsworth UK, Peter Walford, said of the show: "It’s a great show – a little bit slower than it has been in previous years, but we have had some good customers come through to look at our range of games which have been launched here for the European market."
Ainsworth are working toward expanding their European presence in coming years, and set about this task with a selection of 30, 40 and 50 line games; there's also a new multigame range with an Asian theme, along with two other multigames which are the company's most successful games transferred to a multigame platform.
On the Apex Gaming stand, Johannes Weissengruber showed us their new cabinet, the easy-on-the-eye i-Port, so named because it has interactive games within, programmed in Java. The player enters the feature game, within which further games choices are selected, and this feature game is modeled in a real 3D framework. It looks great, and the game selection is also solid. It works on the company's new gaming platform, and the cabinet features two 20" 16:10 touchscreen monitors.
The cabinet is also incredibly slim, and, Johannes says, the cabinet cannot be accurately copied because of how it is constructed.
MEI has consistently had strong international exhibition presences as they work at proving tot he gaming industry that their product is what a casino needs. London was no different, with a large area devoted to product, and plenty of engineering staff on board to explain to customers the benefits of their lines.
A surprising amount of product on show was for the AWP market, but Easitrax Softcount was prominent, and it's a product they plan to take into international markets in Europe, Asia and further. The product can help casinos make huge time savings with each drop – one casino has told the company they save 90 minutes using Easitrax each time they do a drop, which is incredible.
MEI's Andrew Reichlin was enthusiastic about the show: "It seems to be a pretty good population of people, well-attended especially given the market conditions. We have had a steady flow of people on the booth – it has been good."
Bally had some very exciting new product, not least their intriguing 'Communitive Gaming' idea, in which a gaming machine has a couch-style seat in front of it so couples visiting a casino can sit and play together instead of splitting up. When they hit the bonus rounds, they start to play together instead of individually.
Bally is also working at extending its slot skill gaming offering, a segment where they've already created Pong and Breakout titles which we'll see early in 2009. It's aimed at the kind of player that wants to interact more with the game rather than be passive and trust to 'luck'.
Multigames is also an area of focus for Bally, with three of their popular Blazing 7s titles now in one multigame cabinet.
Bally's Gavin Isaacs spoke real sense when talking about the show calendar, lamenting: "Trade shows are a big expense, and there are so many in the global calendar now that it really becomes hard to do justice to all of them. If only the trade show organizers would get together and maybe rationalize – have one big show in each region, us manufacturers would be able to plan our products better, and maybe show products in each region that would delight them and be much more specific. Because the emphasis is now on the end of the year, beginning of the new year with G2E and ICE so close, it’s very difficult to bring new product to ICE that’s wasn’t a G2E, and that really doesn’t do ICE any service."
Cammegh were their usual upbeat selves, and their stand really did their Roulette products proud. It was much larger than previous years and genuinely looked great. The main products on show were PitBoss HQ, the brilliant Slingshot II wheel, their i-Ball Roulette wheel camera, and their info display. The company has segued neatly into offering a range of Roulette products while not compromising on quality in their existing wheels, nor skimping on R&D to develop existing product further.
Andrew Cammegh told us his experience of the show: "We have had a fantastic show. It has been a really, really pleasant surprise. We didn’t really have any particular expectations. Tuesday morning was a little bit quiet, but what we have noticed is that the number of delegates from casino groups has reduced, but the decision makers are here and the business is being done."
JCM had their big guns on show, with their world-renowned line of currency handling product displayed clearly and plenty of staff on hand to answer questions. Their big story was the Vega unit, which is aimed largely at the AWP market and is apparently at a hugely competitive price level. Personally, we can't wait to see Trident in international markets, it's just so good.
We spoke with Tom Nieman, over from the Las Vegas office, who expressed some disappointment and echoed Gavin Isaac's words: "From our perspective, one of the challenges of this show is its proximity to G2E. Although the operator customers may not have made the trip to Las Vegas this year to see whatever was new, the media do. It has got to be tough for this market – it is almost as if you have to launch something twice.
"From our standpoint, the show has been adequate. The second day was the strongest day for us, while the third day lived up to its billing as a slow day."
Shuffle Master brought the fabulous iTable with them, after it made its debut in Vegas in November. Kirsten Clark talked us through how the company will handle testing with a tightly controlled rollout; "We have already pinpointed some sites where we will put multiple tables in the properties to go live to get these tested. We are going to do a controlled rollout. Because we are doing multiple tables at properties, that way we can have our service staff on site in case there is a glitch, or something goes wrong – we can address it immediately. We are getting such interest from the customers that have seen it that the quicker we can get through on-site testing and make sure it works perfectly, the faster we can get it out there to a wider audience."
Shuffle Master is developing some of its proprietary games for the table, including Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em. If you didn't see it in Vegas, the beauty of this table is that it's an electronic card table rather than a fixed game, so it's just a question of switching the software and hey presto, it's changed from Baccarat to Blackjack, and these games can now offer more complex (in mathematical terms, not in user terms) side bets – Blackjack for instance now offers real live odds based on the likelihood of whether you will beat the dealer according to your first cards. The company is also looking at developing progressive jackpots for the table in the near future.
Signs4U had their own stand, and on it was their new development, a mystery jackpot concept with up to 10 levels. The display shows only the top four levels, with the other levels taken care of by the game cabinet toppers. As Signs4U's Martin Spies explains, "It will attract players to play longer and more because they have interaction with the topper. They will keep getting small jackpots from the topper, and good opportunities for the high level of course.
"You can add this to you existing machines with a SAS port – if you have an existing game that is not performing very well and you want to upgrade it a bit, you can put an extra system like this on it, and it will perform a lot better."
Last but most certainly not least comes FutureLogic, who unveiled for the first time in Europe their really exciting, innovative new range of product. TableXchange is top of the list, their device which allows TITO to reach table games, and allows casino customers more flexibility when playing; with TableXchange, they no longer have to cash in a ticket then buy into a game, they just take the ticket to the table and buy chips with that. When they leave the table, they take another ticket. Simple and quite brilliant. One of the benefits is fewer drops required as there's tickets in the box rather than cash; another benefit is the potential to use this in restaurants or bars across a venue. That's some way off, but the potential is clearly there for TITO to break out of the slot machine.
FutureLogic's John Edmunds was delighted as, on the stand, they had been running "back to back demos of TableNet and PromoNet. Operators have been coming back two or three times, thinking about the product in between – bringing back more people."
|
