Marcus Prater is the new Executive Director of trade group the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM).

As the company's new President and CEO, Stephen Crystal has been tasked with building the executive team of table game developer TableMAX. He has also been appointed by the board of PacificNet, Inc as an Independent Director.

Kenneth Anthony has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Cadillac Jack, where he oversees all accountingrelated operations, and directs the company's strategic financial initiatives in order to grow and support the company's overall business.

Las Vegas Sands Corp has submitted proposals to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for airborne casinos that will be used to shuttle high-rollers between Vegas and Macau. The company plans to modify two Lockheed L-1011 TriStar planes it owns. Meanwhile Airbus France, makers of the world's largest passenger plane the superjumbo A380, has been approached by unnamed Asian buyers with gaming in mind - and not just casino operators it seems.

Ameranth, Inc has received an official ‘Notice of Allowance' from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for what it claims is a major patent, which will have a term extending to March 2026, on its revolutionary, automated gaming system invention: ‘21st Century Casino'.

G2E Asia has partnered with the University of Macau and the Singapore campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas to provide gaming training through the new G2E Asia Gaming Management Certificate program.

Las Vegas Gaming, Inc (LVGI) has hired Steve Smallman as Senior Vice President and General Manager of its Bingo Strategic Business Unit.

International Game Technology (IGT) and WMS Industries Inc have agreed to share expertise in server-based gaming systems. Both companies are members of the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) and are committed to GSA's open architecture standards and open network protocols.

Peter Moffitt has joined Octavian International as President, a new position created to strengthen its management team.

Atronic has the licence to develop slot machines based on the popular The Three Stooges brand. Under a four-year, exclusive agreement Atronic will manufacture, market and distribute slot products using the worldfamous names and likeness of The Three Stooges.

For the first time in its ten-year history, the Gaming Standard Association (GSA) held its Annual Technical Meetings outside the United States.

Suzo Americas, a distributor of components and systems for the gaming, casino and vending industries, has renewed a sales and distribution deal with FutureLogic for its TITO printers throughout South and Central America and has been appointed as the official distributor in Argentina of Ardac Elite, Money Controls' bill and ticket acceptor.

Kimberly Stein has joined Sona Mobile Holdings Corp's executive management team as General Counsel, responsible for all of the company's legal matters. Sona Mobile Holdings provides secure software solutions for gaming and entertainment.

Lightning Poker, Inc has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against PokerTek, Inc, which is contesting the lawsuit.

Duplicate Poker, classified as a skill-based game because players compete against other players on other tables who are dealt identical cards, is legal in most US states, and can be played legally using money uploaded from credit cards.

Jens Halle, Managing Director of Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI) opened Gaming Expo Belgrade 2008 in February.

Following months of delay on the promised announcement schedule, and widespread leaks of the outcome of a report, the UK Government's Culture Secretary has told Parliament that there will not be a resort-style ‘supercasino' in the UK. The announcement has disappointed the city of Manchester, which is reserving its position for a legal challenge to the Government, having been promised the one supercasino as a major regeneration project.

World Poker Tour crowned its first female champion at the 6th Annual WPT Invitational hosted by the Commerce Casino, the first time that a female player has won a major televised WPT tournament.

Las Vegas has become a culinary destination, one that features some of the best and most celebrated chefs in the world according to Bon Appetit Magazine, which is hosting Vegas Uncork'd, a four-day celebration due to feature over 25 culinary events in May.

John A Dugas has joined Unicum Gaming as its representative for Latin America and the Caribbean with the brief to maximise Class II and Class III sales and revenue-sharing opportunities throughout the region.

The Electronic GameCard, a credit card-sized pocket game that adds up to 80 spins to Instant Win gaming in a selfcontained device, has successfully completed an inspection, evaluation and approval of security by Gaming Laboratories International, Inc (GLI).

Gary Platt Manufacturing has developed an aluminum Hi-Lo adjustable pedestal understructure.

Gaming Laboratories International will be holding its fifth annual European Regulators Roundtable and Technology Workshop on 10th and 11th April at the Van der Valk Hotel, Schiphol in The Netherlands.

Bally's new iVIEW Display Manager is designed to allow gaming operators to present systems content on the displays of all manufacturers' gaming machines through the iVIEW processor rather than the game processor. This approach avoids the need for separate regulatory approvals and complex development and integration efforts.

Ritzio International, a subsidiary of Ritzio Entertainment Group, has joined the German gaming association FORUM für Automatenunternehmer in Europa.

The European Commission is launching an in-depth investigation into discriminatory practices by the United States against EU gambling operators, following a complaint filed by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA).

With one of the most boring budgets in the history of politics behind it, and a vow from the UK Government that there will be no ‘supercasino’ in Manchester, things in the UK haven’t been all that exciting of late. But the pessimism of the UK economy is tempered by the enthusiasm the gaming world has toward the Gran Scala project which should be breaking ground in just a few months.

As media representatives, we have an awesome responsibility. Media coverage frequently makes or breaks reputations. Lives and careers may soar to greatness from good press, or crash and burn from bad press. Our job as journalists is to tell the story and avoid steering the discussion to promote an agenda.

Es por la fecha de primera semana de abril para Fadja 2008, que recién el reporte de este gran evento latinoamericano que celebró sus 10 añitos este mes, lo llevaremos en la edición de junio. De todas maneras, sabemos que nuestro amigo José Aníbal Aguirre habrá echado la casa por la ventana, y el evento habrá crecido más como lo hace todo el sector en nuestra región.

It’s because of the date of Fadja 2008, in the first week of April that we shall report on the event in next month’s issue. Still, we’re sure that Jose Anibal Aguirre, organizer of one of Latin America’s grand gaming events will have pulled no punches to celebrate Fadja’s tenth anniversary, as this expo keeps on growing along with the gaming sector in our region.

Having broken ground on the City of Dreams hotel-resort-entertainment hub in mid-2005, much of the Melco-PBL project won’t be finished until 2009. Located in Cotai, total costs (excluding real estate) are expected to hit MOP 16.88 billion (US$ 2.11 billion). What will it all come to, and will there be anything to amuse non-gamblers and family-oriented visitors? John Hutchinson reports

ICEi is awash with different approaches to providing games – from Cyberarts, which offers a complete, stable gaming platform for licence that can be used to develop games, to Microgaming, which claims to be the world’s largest online gaming software provider. From virtual football game, Fantastic League which offers a new experience in fixed odds betting, to casino and sportbook or betting exhange systems – they’re all to be found in ICEi.
WagerWorks exhibited outside of the ICEi arena, close to parent company IGT. Casino International took the opportunity to hear about some of the company's exciting developments from Tom Kenny, Commercial Director.

Around 80 suppliers to the remote gaming industry attended ICE 2008 in London’s Earl’s Court this January, with most of them gathered together in ICEi, the remote gaming zone. Casino International checked out what was happening… Here’s a flavour of the ismörgåsbord on offer.

John Grannell discovers a jewel with the newly-open Aurum Casino in Kiev, one of Eastern Europe's finest cities.

TransAct Technologies was founded as a public company more than 11 years ago in Connecticut, USA, and has been growing its transaction printer business since then in the banking, retail and gaming sectors. For the last three years they’ve had an office in Las Vegas, NV, and recently welcomed Tracey Chernay as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing into its ranks. Tracey spoke with Casino International and explained what the company is all about...

Octavian has secured a 3 million Euro order from MaxBet, a leading casino operator in Europe with operations in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania and Georgia...

After its introduction to the gaming world at recent exhibitions G2E and ICE, the striking multiplayer system saw a range of installations in Central and Eastern Europe...

February 2008 saw the Kurhessische Spielbank Kassel unveiled the first Flexi-Link jackpot system installation in Germany to the guests of the Casino at the Kurfürsten Galerie...