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Latino America
In the third week in June we ended a gruelling two-month trip to Latin America, which started in Barranquilla, Colombia and ended in Panama.
However, although there is only about an hour’s flight between the two cities, we managed to take a look at the impressive Crowne Plaza in Maracaibo, with a real cool Casino Maruma; Cartagena in Colombia, which is almost my personal hub; Casino del Caribe in Bogotá; the ‘Three Aces of Lima’: Golden Palace, Atlantic City and Majestic; as well as the building of the new Thunderbird flagship Fiesta Casino in Miraflores.
I had a really wonderful time! From these lines I would like to thank everyone who made my visit to the different properties a real pleasure, from CEO’s to the enthusiastic service personnel and slots attendants. Mexico, nonetheless, was a different story. In Monterrey, where the country’s first expo, ELA 2008, took place in mid-May, there were anxious moments when we visited some slot properties.
The problem in Monterrey is that operators are really jumpy, and when our business troupe, including a business communicator like myself, visited three properties, their security agents and executives in charge went over the top claiming territorial advantage on public property across the road when we took pictures of the smart premises, insisting we should delete the images.
We managed to visit the expo for about three hours and were glad to see a high degree of organization at the show. As expected, gaming public attendance was modest, but there were a few happy faces for business that was done during the two-day event.
Another problem in Mexico for manufacturers is that there are a limited number of operators who own most of the operating licences, and most of them have already closed deals for approved gaming machines on split participation contracts that favour the operators. In this respect, sales of gaming machines do not take priority with operators in the country. Still, as an emergent and exciting market, we shall return there before the month is out!
Cheers,
Ricki.
SAGSE PANAMA 2008
As is usual with Monografie S.A., they are always in the news innovating to enrich the Latin American gaming industry. This time Alan Burak, Commercial & Show Manager of the market leader in gaming events in Latin America, has announced a new activity for the emerging Chilean gaming sector during the last week of March 2009, in Chile’s capital city Santiago.
“The Gaming Week" will pool a group of specialized companies from the gaming sector coordinated in an extraordinary gaming event that includes a congress, business rounds and one specialized course for professionals "Training Trainers". Burak said: “These new activities are going to be a rendezvous of great significance between the new gaming developments and the existing Chilean operations with professionals of the highest credentials from around the world.”
Monografie organizes two leading gaming events in the Latin American region, including the world's third gaming expo: SAGSE Gaming & Amusement Buenos Aires, which will take place during 15, 16 and 17 November 2008. In Panama in mid June at SAGSE Gaming & Amusement 2008, Argentine gaming electronic media Yogonet presented a series of conferences, with excellent work on the "Panama Gaming Update"
Antonio Alfaro, president of ASAJA, the Association of Panama Gaming Administrators was the moderator of a panel with the country's leading gaming professionals: Lucas Aleman, president Thunderbird's Fiesta Casinos, Juan Carlos Restrepo, MD of Codere Panama and Helios Navarro, director of Cirsa Panama. All three were in agreement that Panama is 'the big winner' since gaming legislation was approved almost 10 years ago.
Aleman said that in view of the gaming success story in Panama, it is the State's responsibility to look after the gaming industry "modernizing its management process to develop professionals in the industry as the Panama gaming market comes of age". Aleman added that it has been down to the development of Fiesta, Crown and other casinos that signature hotels like 'El Panama' have been rescued and improved.
It has been gaming investments that has enabled the local tourist industry flourish and bring about the current boom in casino hotels, with investments like the Veneto Casino Hotel and many others in operation and under construction. On the racing side, Juan Carlos Restrepo made an outstanding presentation of Codere’s investment in the Presidente Remon hippodrome, which was at the point of collapse before they took over a few years back.
EIGHT CASINOS TO OPEN IN CHILE
The casino board announced yesterday that during the course of 2008 there will be eight casinos launched in seven of Chile’s Regions, and another six opening in the first quarter of 2009 in the same number of Regions. One new casino is already in operation and the total investment in the country’s 15 new licences has exceeded US$629 million.
At a press conference the gaming board (SCJ) stated that two companies had applied for an extension of the date of completion for their projects. Since being granted a licence the Spanish company Egasa-Nervión developing the Gran Casino de Copiapó has doubled its original proposed investment to enlarge the project, and has requested additional time in which to finish the hotel casino complex.
Salguero Hotels Chile, a subsidiary of a Colombian company, has also asked for an extension, claiming that local studies on environmental impact have called for the company to reformulate its original traffic plans for access to the complex.
The Chilean gaming law allows the new licence holders to request extensions to their timetable commitment for valid reasons. The maximum extra time permitted for an extension is for no more than one third of the original time span promised.
VEGAS STYLE, SOUTH AMERICAN FLAVOUR
Pinnacle Entertainment, with casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Argentina and The Bahamas, has completed its hotel development at Casino Magic in the Patagonian region of Argentina.
Casino Magic is located in the commercial capital of Neuquén province as well as the energy capital of Argentina and home to some 350,000 inhabitants. The casino, with its nightly live entertainment, bingo games, and several hundred slot machines, is a popular centre of entertainment with the local population.
The US$10 million 5-star property, in new colonial style and set in landscaped gardens, has a presidential suite and 31 rooms. The hotel boasts a business centre, gymnasium, heated swimming pool, meeting rooms and space for private events.
The casino complex, which offers ‘Vegas-style gambling with a South American flavour’, has 43 gaming tables with live and electronic roulette, blackjack, punto banco, Caribbean Stud and Caribbean Draw poker, Dice, and 640 slots. There is also a VIP slots area with 60 slot machines.
COPAG LAUNCHES CASINO ROYALE CARDS
For the game Texas Hold’em, a game that is growing in popularity around the world and shown on screen in the James Bond Casino Royale movie, Brazilian card manufacturer COPAG has introduced a new playing card collection. The range consists of six different packs, all 100% plastic and numbered large, conventional or peek face, each type in two colour options. The modern boxes are laminated in gold or silver.
Produced with special materials, COPAG’s packs of playing cards for Texas Hold’em provide ease of handling and dealing as well as the flexibility needed by players. Perfect for games of poker, the cards do not mark or stick and have excellent durability.
Mariana Lopes, Director of Marketing for COPAG, said: “For the launch of this collection we undertook market research with hundreds of players and dealers, with the object of identifying the characteristics players of Texas Hold’em demand from their cards.”
