The world's largest casino, The Venetian Macau, uses facial recognition technology to recognise it huge number of staff and allow them entrance to the building. It's fast, simple, and saves on extra staffing at security level. Darryl Coffey, Managing Director of UK-based Premier Electronics, talks to Casino International about casino security and facial recognition packages…

Meta Games Universal’s creators claim the application can save significant time and money when it comes to developing slot machine games. Casino International caught up with Owen Cullum to find out exactly what they've got up their sleeve…

DM Play is an exciting – and fast – new way to market your casino using direct mail from Perspektiv Marketing, a UK-based company. MD Chris Arthur explains what it's all about.

JCM got the ball rolling with regard to introducing bill acceptors onto the gaming floor around twenty years ago, and unsurprisingly, according to Tom Nieman, Senior Vice President of Operations for JCM Global, the company sees itself at the front of the game.
“JCM brought the bill validator market to gaming, so of course, we see ourselves as the leading experts in the field, as do the big six manufacturers, who use JCM products as their default product,” he asserts. And there’s no arrogance in this – JCM’s ‘intelligent cashbox’ technology (ICB) and its Trident table game system remain (as yet) unmatched by its competitors. More of ICB and Trident in a while…

Cryptologic develops and licenses online gambling software, and are loved by players for their Marvel character-based games. The company is pushing for new business though, as Justin Thouin, VP of Product Management and Business Development told Casino International.

G2E Asia's first year in The Venetian's exhibition facilities was, by most accounts, a success. The show's growth is tremendous, at least tripling in size in the space of a year, mostly thanks to the excellent space now available at the sumptuous Venetian development.

En la  tercera semana de junio terminamos de un viaje de casi dos meses, que me llevó desde Barranquilla en Colombia, hasta Panamá, pasando por el Crowne Plaza en Maracaibo donde se encuentra el chévere Casino Maruma, Cartagena de Indias, que es como un polo de atracción para mi, Bogotá donde visitamos el Casino del Caribe, los ‘Tres Ases’ de Lima: Golden Palace, Atlantic City y Majestic, además del nuevo Fiesta Casino de Thunderbird, en construcción en la esquina de Benavides y la risueña calle Alcanfores de toda la vida.

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.

So, at long, long, last, nearly three and a half years after the Gambling Act 2005 passed into legislation, on the day Parliament rose for the 2005 General Election, after all the Government stumbles and fumbles and changes of tack, we finally have the legislative Order allowing for eight new so-called "large" casinos and eight so-called "small" casinos, passed through both the House of Commons and House of Lords.

Happy anniversary Atlantic City! The seaside resort celebrated 30 years of legalized gaming in late May. There were lots of festivities to commemorate the milestone event, particularly at Resorts Atlantic City, where it all began.

Well, that’s G2E Asia over. What a show it was! Unrecognisable from last year’s event, Reed has certainly invested a lot of time and effort into making this the must-attend event for Asia. As many exhibitors explained to me at the exhibition though, Reed need to go one step further and bring in more operators and potential customers from outside Macau – then they really will have something special on their hands.

Aristocrat Technologies Europe has appointed of David Daniel to the newly-created post of Customer Services Manager.

TableMAX has received GLI certification for its Caribbean Stud poker electronic table game. The company's Progressive Blackjack game was the first to be certified. Other games due to be submitted to GLI or that are pending certification include Caribbean Draw Poker, Bonus Blackjack and Texas Hold 'Em Bonus Poker.

Sanntu Leiononen and Hannu Korva, two friends who travelled from Finland to enter the first Genting Stanley National Poker Championships in the UK, were the last two players in the final game. They each walked away with £27,800, having agreed to split the prize money before playing for the trophy, bragging rights, and a potential seat in a future event. Hannu Korda took the title with a high card.

Following its acquisition by Apollo and TPG, Harrah's Entertainment Inc declared a first-quarter loss of $187.8million. Revenue fell 2.1 per cent, year on year, to $2.6 billion. The company joined Rank (eight per cent overall drop in revenue in the first 17 weeks of 2008) and MGM Mirage (30 per cent profit fall in the first quarter) in posting poor year on year figures.

Austrian Gaming Industries' Super-V+ Gaminator was designed, developed and produced in Austria. Its maker's aim is for it to become the new international standard multi-game cabinet for the top performing, 10- and 20-line Coolfire II gaming platform.

Caro Développement, a manufacturer of gaming equipment in France since 1816, has launched a new finish for its wood tables - a mother of pearl look that is available in ten main colours, gives texture to the material and plays in the light, and has seen great success according to Sales Manager Arnaud Hervé.

While some traditional casino operators are seeing revenues fall, suppliers of gaming equipment have been posting positive financial results.

In a joint venture with the owners of Barajas y Naipes de Mexico, Cartamundi and Copag have set up Cartamundi de Mexico, a new playing card manufacturer in Mexico City, Mexico.

Jamaica's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has spoken up for plans to introduce casinos to his country, echoing the point made by Prime Minister Bruce Golding that the government intends casino gaming to be part of a wider tourism offering, and re-asserting that it would form no more than 15 per cent of the total experience.

The seventh annual Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) regulators roundtables for North America drew over than 200 regulators from 93 jurisdictions across the United States and Canada. GLI's fifth annual European Roundtable attracted 47 regulators from 18 jurisdictions across the continent, from the UK to Lithuania.

Innovative Technology Ltd's latest bill validator, the NV200, is now on sale, following three months of field tests and feedback, "which has been excellent," according to Innovative's Lizzie Thompson, who claims a typical acceptance rate of 99.8 percent for the unit.

Multi-layer display technology (MLD) from PureDepth features in IGT's new REELdepth games and cabinets.

Genting Stanley is to partner the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, UK, in a proposed £90 million project to develop a leisure and entertainment complex, including a large casino, at the NEC. The development is the first phase of a larger plan for the NEC site to deliver a range of leisure and business facilities to complement the current exhibition halls and arena.

Pluto 8 is the latest addition to Heber's range of embedded and PC-based reel and video gaming control systems.

WagerWorks, the online subsidiary of International Game Technology (IGT) now offers integration to Orbis and Finsoft, two leading sportsbook providers.

According to a spokesperson for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, James Packer is about to sign a deal to build a hotel casino resort on reclaimed land in Manila Bay, which the Philippine Government hopes will become a gaming attraction on the scale of Macau.

The UK's Gambling Commission has issued a consultation paper as part of a review of two aspects of the new licensing system as it affects the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005. The twelve-week consultation period ends on 8 September 2008.

Harry C Hagerty has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts and will serve on its Audit Committee.

Aristocrat Technologies has received multiple test lab certifications for its new award-winning VIRIDIAN cabinet in key markets in North America.

The Swiss Casino Association reports that 2007 was a good year for the country's 17 casinos, with gaming profits up 5.4 per cent, year-on-year. Visitor numbers were up too, by 300,000 to five million. The good times may not last though, because a smoking ban is on the cards and new tax laws are in preparation.

AmEx 2009 - The 30th Irish Gaming and Amusement Exhibition, will be held at the Green Isle Hotel, Dublin on 3rd and 4th March 2009. AmEx is organised by MD Associates and supported by IGAA - The Irish Gaming and Amusement Association.

Harrah's is the first casino company to use Microsoft Surface, a $10,000 30-inch tablelike display that allows individuals or groups of people to interact with digital content in a way that feels familiar by using touch, gestures or objects from the real world.

International Game Technology has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, IGT, has entered into an agreement to purchase substantially all of the assets and business of Cyberview Technology, Inc., including cash on hand of approximately $17 million, for a cash purchase price of $76 million. IGT will also enter into a licence agreement with Cyberview to gain access to certain Cyberview patents and technology not included in the asset purchase, for a one-time licence fee of $9 million.