Marten Cox has taken up newly-created post of Technical Support Manager for Aristocrat Technologies Europe. His responsibilities include overseeing the technical compliance and specific requirements of the company's new products across all European jurisdictions.

The 2nd annual Gaming Executive Summit will be at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid, Spain, 8th-10th July.

Costs can be more than halved and efficiency better than trebled when it comes to developing games for regulated markets such as casinos and video lottery terminals  (VLTs), according to Meta Games Universal Limited, (MetaGU). Providing you use its new Cargo system, the company claims that games can be generated without the need to understand - or touch - any software code.

Bally Technologies has collected more awards for its CineReels seven-reel widescreen stepper slot and iVIEW Display Manager (iVIEW DM) systems technology. Both these products received top honours in Casino Enterprise Management magazine's (CEM) Slot Floor Technology Awards 2008. Judge Ralph Margolis of Mystic Lake Casino and Resort said that iVIEW DM had "a very, very cool and elegant approach," while judge Buddy Frank of Pechanga Casino Resort noted, "This is revolutionary and allows any game to utilise the main game screen for marketing enhancements."

TableMAX's Progressive Blackjack game has gone live with a wide-area progressive, the first in the world for table games, running in casinos in tribal country in Oklahoma.

Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO of PacificNet was elected a member of the Euro-Asian Cooperation on Gaming at Asia GEM 2008 in Manila, Philippines. The ECG is an association for gaming operators, suppliers, and regulators and promotes the development and growth of the legitimate gaming industry. (www.ecglimited.com)

IGT's operating results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2008 showed a decline in net income for the period, year on year, of almost 50 percent - a reduction in net terms of $59.8 million. The six-month period ended March 31 2008 presented a less down-beat financial picture, but still reveals a 27 percent fall in net income for the longer period, year on year.

Alfastreet is ramping up its presence at G2E Asia, taking its own stand for the first time and using it to premiere a new range of games.

Planning is already underway for the 2009 International Gaming Awards, which are held in London during ICE, the International Casino Exhibition.

Intel's Embedded Communication Group (ECG) has increased the guaranteed lifecycle of components included on its roadmap for embedded systems from five to seven years, including the chipsets and CPUs.

Shuffle Master was recognised as one of the top 35 most innovative companies on the US Patent Board's Consumer Electronic Patent Scorecard, as published in the Wall Street Journal at the end of April.

Software development expert Line Robichaud is the Gaming Standards Association's new Educational Director. She will create and oversee the GSA's educational outreach programs, including its Executive Awareness Program and its Certified G2S/S2S Engineer Programs.

US legislators start to have doubts...

Expert testimony to Congress in April offered evidence that the US ban on Internet gambling won't work. Witnesses unanimously agreed that US financial service companies would face serious regulatory burdens in attempting to enforce the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, a law that is unlikely to stop millions of Americans from gambling online.

The Board of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) has approved the membership applications of 12 new companies, bringing the group's gaming supplier membership to a total of 42.

The Olympic Casino Acropolis, located in Romania's newest shopping centre in the City of Pitesti, is the company's fifth gaming hall in the country, and the second to open there this year.

Ritzio International is the  largest national gaming clubs operator in Romania, with 70 gaming locations and 2,357 machines in 39 cities across the country.

Casinos may soon be operating in Jamaica, following announcements made by Jamaican Prime Minister, Bruce Golding.

Pokertek's financial results for its first quarter, ended March 31 2008, explain its founders' confidence in investing a further $2 million of their own money to fund the company's continued growth (Casino International News, May 2008).

Jay Pierson has joined Gary Platt Manufacturing as Vice President Operations. 

Tropicana Entertainment has filed for bankruptcy protection. Scott C. Butera, the company's President, said that the filing provides "an opportunity to take a break spell" and get the company's debt under control.

Century Casinos, Inc has appointed Paul Campbell as new Managing Director of its South African subsidiary Century Casinos Africa (Pty) Ltd.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc plans to change its name to Caesar's Entertainment Corporation.

Louis J. Nicastro, 79, will retire as Chairman of the Board of WMS Industries Inc, effective July 1, 2008. Mr Nicastro had a 43-year distinguished career with WMS and its predecessor companies; he will remain on the Board of WMS in the new position of Founding Director, and will continue to serve as an advisor to the Company.

Nos Vemos En Panama / See you in Panama was the slogan of SAGSE-Gaming Panama 2008, which aimed to attract leading operators from Central America, the Andean area, the Caribbean, and Mexico according to the event's organisers.

Canadian company Racino Royale's wholly-owned subsidiary InterAmerican Gaming Corp has received licensing approval from the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism to operate a gaming enterprise.

Roger Snow, Senior Vice President of Products at Shuffle Master, speaks frankly to Casino International about his role in the company and exactly what his role entails – and the future for the company's table games…

Ricki Chavez-Munoz brings the news – in Spanish - from Latino America

Ricki Chavez-Munoz brings the news from Latino America

The upcoming US$10 billion tourism city is poised to elevate Manila to become yet another gaming-linked entertainment hub in Asia. Its strategy for family-oriented integrated resorts poses a challenge to Macau… by Max V de Leon

Sharon Harris thinks the more things change, the more they stay the same – in politics, at least.