G2E Las Vegas is still a show to be reckoned with, the biggest out there – but with the rise and rise of ICE, SAGSE growing in power every year and Reed's own G2E Asia, one has to wonder if G2E's days as the international show of choice are numbered. The date change of two shows back has left it closer to ICE's January dates, which makes it less attractive for non-us exhibitors and guests. But, at the end of the day, the show is in Las Vegas, the spiritual heart of gambling, and it's a homecoming for so much of our industry. With that in mind, G2E Las Vegas will never die, though its significance to international business may dwindle. It's a great place to visit, and unique as an attraction worldwide – and the reinvention of the city as a family-friendly destination is something we can all learn from.
Every stand seemed to have something new and exciting and, while there was not such arresting technology as G2E 2006, there were more subtle developments that will have lasting impact on gameplay and the gaming experience.
Microsoft announced their Business Intelligence [BI] system with private tours through their fictional casino in one of the convention centre's meeting rooms. The presentation was both exhaustive and fascinating, and prompted the question: "Why has no-one done this before?"
The idea is simple – give staff at a casino resort one interface to work in across the location. This is done by BI acting as an 'umbrella', speaking to different software already in use within the organisation and acting as a hub for all of the information this software gathers. This means that when a guest checks in to the hotel, depending on the level of access the employee on the check-in desk has, the member of staff knows their status in the casino, knows what drinks they like, their level of spend on the gaming floor, whether they prefer slots or tables, which slots, average stay, even the temperature they might like their room at – all within a Microsoft interface which they will more than likely already be familiar with.
This collation means the resort can offer a perfectly personalised package to their guests. Using RFID technology, for example, a hospitality manager might know when this valued customer hits the gaming floor and welcome them with a drink; it's the simple, smaller touches that makes a hotel stay memorable, and this package allows you to fine tune them to perfection.
BI basically allows total customer tracking across all areas of the resort, and as such it becomes an incredibly powerful marketing and customer retention tool that could prove priceless to an operator.
Matt Muta, Microsoft's Global Managing Director, Hospitality explains: "I had a meeting in Las Vegas about four and a half years ago, with 9 CIOs sitting around a table. Their call to action was nothing more than giving us a motivational speech to get involved within this space – mainly because 75+ per cent providers in this space build on our platform, so they look at us and see all the things we're doing with out-of-the-box integration with our suite of products like .net. So they took a leap of faith and said if you're doing that with your own stuff, and these guys are building on your platform, why can't you work with your partners to make a more integrated experience for us?
"Our customers want integration, where we provide a platform which allows customers to slowly or quickly migrate from their legacy applications and openly embrace new technology. The end result of that is a better, heightened guest experience which from an operations standpoint really means there's more return for me from an incremental volume standpoint.
"It's changing that view toward someone as a card player or slot player, to me as a consumer of your suite of products, which means accommodation, retail, spa, golf, food. We want to provide that platform so you as an operator can have a better understanding of the customer.
"Our conversation to you as a customer is not to rip everything out and put Microsoft in. We're going to give you, from our partnering system, our best product for it, and where we don't play, we won't play but we will integrate and help you get the information you need from those applications."
By tailoring each guest's stay, loyalty from the customer grows with familiarity and the feeling that they are known and remembered by their favourite casino. It's so simple, so clever and there's a lot more to it than this. We'll go into great detail on the product in a forthcoming issue of Casino International – watch this space.
FutureLogic cemented their already excellent reputation with a showing of the freshly-rebranded PromoNet marketing coupon product alongside their excellent Gen2 series of thermal printers. PromoNet allows a casino to market directly to its slot customers by printing a ticket which goes straight into their hands – a near-unique avenue with which to reach an audience, this should be in casinos everywhere, where the infrastructure exists.
Their stand was consistently busy and enjoyed a good location in the arena. When a company has market-leading products this good, what more can we say about them – except we will be featuring FutureLogic in a forthcoming issue in more detail.
De La Rue, the company that apparently invented the world's first cash dispenser, celebrated the 40th birthday of this landmark at the show, along with their range of high speed sorting, authentication and cash dispensing hardware and Enterprise Cash Management software.
G2E 2007 also saw the currency handling specialists launch the Multi-Denomination Dispensing Mechanism (MDMM). With highly robust, tamperproof cassettes, fast transaction speed and IDD Intelligent Double Detection technology, this heavy-duty banknote dispenser enables casinos to provide their guests with instant access to their cash 24/7.
Their high-speed bank note sorting and authentication machine, the CPS, also impressed as it can process 2,000 notes and vouchers per minute. CPS can be linked live to Business Intelligence, portal-based software giving senior managers visibility of all transactions in all of their soft count rooms, irrespective of location.
Atronic used G2E to build on their successes of recent years. The company has built up a solid selection of games on a range of excellent cabinets, including some recent linked gaming licenses that have impressed, like King Kong Cash and the brilliant The Game of Life, not to mention Deal or No Deal. Under the latter's powerful branding, Atronic launched Deal or No Deal The Experience a brand new two-level linked gaming concept and multi-level progressive with a unique side bet feature for maximum player interaction and excitement.
Furthermore Deal or No Deal Mega Deal, a wide-area and multi-site progressive with two jackpot levels and shown with three distinct titles. Both new concepts should be a success in North America as well as internationally.
Also on the stand were a range of new King Kong Cash and The Game of Life titles, which should maintain the popularity of the two linked gaming 'umbrellas'.
Alfastreet's automated roulette product was also on show, as Atronic is now manufacturing and distributing their this product in North America, a deal which will prove beneficial to both companies, expanding Atronic's product offering and extending Alfastreet's reach with Atronic's greater infrastructure.
The Harmony slant-top cabinet made its debut at G2E 2007, a cabinet European operators will be familiar with already. A selection of games for the debutant were also shown, including Sun Spirit, African Cash, and Mystical Journey.
Passion Slots, Atronic's stepper product, were on stand with a bold new design and an interactive top screen which makes bonus rounds even more engaging for the player.
Also on show were a vast variety of new stand alone titles for e-motion such as Imperial Rome and The Game of Life – Getting Paid as well as Roaring Tiger, Atronic's multi level mystery progressive concept for the Harmony games library. A hot topic at this year's G2E was also Atronic's recently announced cooperation with IGT on a fully integrated solution for Atronic's Server Assisted Gaming – SAG product line. The co-developed solution for the North American market was revealed at G2E in Atronic's new e-motionSC cabinet causing major interest from visitors to the show.
Bill validator and accounting experts JCM unveiled something too – a new, global branding which sees the various international JCM offices unite under the banner JCM Global. Under the new name, their product remains very strong. G2E saw the return of their innovative Trident Table Safe system, which allows capture and reporting of table game transactions in real-time, enhancing security and accounting through the casino from the first point of contact with a note.
Their Intelligent Cash Box was also on show, widely admired technology that improves a casino's overall accounting efficiency and erases the margin for human error by automating processes.
The Universal Bill Acceptor, their ever-reliable bill validator rounded up the products nicely, with overt and covert technologies in magnetic and optical sensing; infrared, red and green LEDs, phototransistors, UV, reflective, transparency and bar code sensors; self-centering mechanisms and two-time automatic retry feature.
Magic Dreams also attended, despite North America not being a big market for the Italy-based company. They have been trading in South America for some time, and the show was a good chance for them to connect with their existing customer base – and to scout for new custom, of course. Mr Gerardini, Magic Dreams general manager, said: “We think the South American market is an important one. We aim to increase our presence in South American territories, because our machines have had positive feedback and G2E is an important commercial window to let local operators know that you’re on the market.” The company is also opening new Latino America offices in the near future.
One of the show's standouts was Magic Gaming, the Las Vegas company that claims to be changing the face of slots and keno. After G2E, who would deny that? The core of their display was Masterpiece Mysteries, displayed on their partner PGI's booth. The Mysteries on show were four 'full story' games, Mysteries of the Nile, The Caper, Lost Mine and Money Factory, each one with the perceived production values of a real movie and with a coherent story which unfolds during gameplay.
Magic Gaming's VP and general manager Tom Kidneigh explains: “We are incredibly excited about what we are bringing to the industry, because it is so new, it’s revolutionary. Our full-story mysteries are more like major feature films than mysteries. For us, G2E is the red carpet world premiere.
“Because our mysteries fit on top of any OEM’s game, we specifically wanted to emphasise that point by choosing to show the games in different OEMs’ booths, instead of just being in our own, and we are grateful to Progressive partnering with us.”
Each of Magic Gaming’s mysteries fits easily on top of any OEM’s video or reel games, completely freeing both the OEM and the operator to utilize the mysteries at their discretion to attract players to new games or to increase the numbers of players to low traffic flow areas.
Magic Gaming will be featured in a forthcoming Casino International magazine, so you'll be able to find out more about this exciting company and their incredible gaming innovations soon.
CashCode celebrated the formation of their dedicated global gaming group at the show. The move comes so the company can better service the needs of its growing customer base in gaming, and Sim Bielak moves into the role of Vice President, Sales and Business Development, Gaming. Many readers will know Sim from various exhibitions he has attended while promoting the company; in his new role, he is responsible for growing sales and customer satisfaction into the Gaming vertical, which is CashCode’s main market.
Cadillac Jack is a slot manufacturer that has been growing fast, and one look around their stand at G2E might help explain why. Plenty of product, attractive cabinets and staff on hand with real energy and passion for what they do. But the main reason they are growing, the company says, is because they listen to and care about their customers, and that's what drives their products.
As Greg Gronau, Cadillac Jack's President and CEO explains: "G2E's been fantastic. We're showing some innovative product this year and the customers are showing their excitement for the products.
"Due to our increased investment into R&D, we are now ready to introduce our new games to the Class III markets. What differentiates us from others, is we spend much of our time and effort on localizing product for each market we are going into. It's something we are serious about and it's one of our strengths.
"We listen to what the customer wants because it matters to us. Our motto is to be flexible and adapt to the market and what our customer wants. While some companies develop products and go to market, then wonder if the customer likes it; we look for niches that are under-served and see how we can fill that gap."
Kunal Mishra, VP, Product Management and Marketing, added: "Cadillac Jack has really revamped and retooled its product line over the last 18 months and what we're showing here is the culmination of that development initiative into a commercial product. 95 per cent of our booth is brand new from what we displayed last year. Our focus has been on substantially enhancing our operating system and our game development initiatives. The majority of the products on the floor are approved and ready to install.
"The show, product-wise, has exceeded our expectations. In terms of client interest, we're ahead of where we thought we would be right now. Many clients have come to us as opposed to us going out and finding them; they've heard about the product, they've seen it, and they want to experience Cadillac Jack. That's what we're most proud of at this year's G2E."
On show under their 'Everything Matters' banner was a selection of new products and technologies, including the debut of Mega Money Maker, a new multi-level progressive concept which was on the also-new dual screen cabinet, and Cadillac Cash, a wide-area progressive. You'll be seeing a lot more of Cadillac Jack in our pages in 2008. The future seems bright for this Atlanta-based company, as Kunal concludes: "Over the next year, Cadillac Jack is going to transform itself from being known as a provider of Class II slot machines to more of an enterprise-level provider of slot machines in the broader gaming space, encompassing international gaming, Class III gaming and Class II gaming."
Interblock held back its range of Organic multi terminal gaming machines, which were due to clear GLI approval within a few days of the show’s end, according to the company’s Global Product Manager, Olivier de Boel.
Show-goers will have to wait for ICE in London this January before they will be able to see and touch the new range of Generation 4 machines from the company, which have been designed to reflect the qualities of organic life forms and promise some interesting features, including an attract mode that is triggered when an approaching customer breaks an infra red beam, and fingerprint scanning and recognition technology that allows a player to identify his or her arrival in person, instead of using a swipe card. And Keno is promised as a new game on the Organic platform…
While the Organic range, or G4 machines remained off the show floor, Interblock had a representative sample of its G3 range of multi terminal machines on display – and with seventeen machines as standard, it’s some range…
Interblock offers 5, 6, 8, 10 and 24-seat roulette games under the Megastar brand, which can be configured to run roulette or, under the Dicestar name, deliver Fish-Shrimp-Crab, Craps and Sic-Bo – essentially, it’s a matter of swapping out the central, dome-covered unit and reconfiguring the software to turn a Megastar into a Dicestar and vice versa. Three roulette-table-style multi terminals, Supernova 9, 11 and mini 11 provide a look and feel that is less spaceship console and more traditional table game, and like the ‘star’ roulette games, can be equipped with a choice of two wheels – single or double zero.
The final component in the G3 range is Videostar 6, as its name impies a 6-player machine that uses a couple of large screens instead of a dice or roulette centre. Videostar can deliver baccarat, roulette, blackjack and a horse race game, all without a hint of electro-mechanical determination.
According to Cyberview’s Thierry Brunet de Courssou, the company’s Chief Systems Architect and IP Architect, a new era of casino floor management is around the corner. Cyberview, of course, was the pioneer of downloadable server-based gaming, and work continues on that platform, which Brunet dubs “Trustworthy Gaming Systems”. The company has been beavering away to develop its original vision of networked gaming, filing a raft of patents and developing protocols that will help regulators get to grips with new technologies while also allowing independent collaborators to work together to develop new kinds of games. These games should be able to go through the regulatory process more smoothly, following a process of Automated Certification and Automated Deployment – providing the vision of “Trusted Agility”, or what amounts to a gaming eco system, become a reality.
Brunet is in no doubt that the vision of Trusted Agility, which is based on tried and tested Intel hardware, will pave the way to a more interactive future on the gaming floor, allowing operators to deliver games that will captivate a new generation of players, brought up on X-box and Playstation.
Part of the Cyberview vision for gaming of the future includes a new twist on the concept of buying time on a gaming machine, rather than paying a price per play. It works for traditional slots – instead of choosing a denomination and/or the number of lines at the start of a session, the player selects a time period and pays to play for that period. As a player, you simply can’t lose – the credit meter on the machine starts at zero and stays there until you start winning. It’s an alternative to the Guaranteed Play system that Walker Digital has implemented on poker machines.
A couple of arcade-style games were on the Cyberview stand, a pinball game and a shoot-em-up, Galaxium. Both run on the time gaming system, and allow the player to win by playing well. This means that skillbase grading is applied, provides an incentive for players to play well and earn a higher return, and opens up some new possibilities. There is no reason, for instance, why players should not be able to download a free copy of a game, practice at home, then come to the casino to play to play with the aim of winning cash. And there may be responsible gaming spin-offs, achieved by limiting the value of the maximum time contract that a paying player can buy.
It remains to be seen how the regulators react, but video poker and slot games with time gaming facilities have been put forward for GLI approval, and could be available to operators within a year to eighteen months.
Cyberview clearly has more than a vision for a new class of games for the casino floor, and it’s hard to deny Brunet’s assertion that ‘…just watching cherries spinning round is not exciting to the Xbox generation.”
Shuffle Master's stand was as striking as ever, with tables everywhere demonstrating the breadth of product the company offers. New on show this year was the i-Deal, a third-generation single deck specialty shuffler. It reads rank and suit of each card to increase table security, and boasts a low profile and flush-mount load-and-unload ports and can even alert the dealer to missing or extra cards. The company says this will increase table profitability as well as security, and delivers a random shuffle 100 per cent of the time.
Of the games on show, Mississippi Stud looked good. It's a five-card poker game that lets players bet up to 10 units on a single hand and features a top payout of 500 to 1 for a Royal Flush. Players compete against a paytable, not against the dealer, and win if their hand is a pair of 10s or better.
The other standout was Three Card Poker Bad Beat Progressive, a stud poker game with optional $1 progressive bet, and a Pair Plus bet. Players can bet against the dealer, on the value of their own three-card hand, or both. The progressive bet in Three Card Poker is based on the bad-beat concept: if player and dealer are involved in a bad-beat hand (pair or better), the player wins. The top award — 100% of the jackpot — pays when the losing hand is a 7-high Straight Flush or higher.
Bally's G2E was every bit as impressive as one would expect. A huge array of product on an incredibly busy stand, you could have spent a day on it and not seen everything.
Bally's focus seems absolute, there's not a weak link in the chain and they're rapidly becoming a one-stop shop for everything on the gaming floor outside of table games and fixtures and fittings.
Under their banner 'The Future... Today!', Bally showed product that they say can provide a high return on investment today, while being compatible with future technology. There was a wide selection of international product, including the seven-level Pyramid Progressives, under which games like Golden Lotus and Ninja Star attracted attention.
Most of the attention, however, was on their 'Networked floor of the future' and their server-based projects. These are structured for customers to understand easily; Bally has product operators can benefit from now, while preparing for the next wave of technology and each successive step after that. They're trying to future-proof their customers and carry them into that future, it seems. The future, today.
Multi-game platform Game Maker HD also made its much-anticipated sales debut, appearing in a selection of cabinets to impress customers, and also in the new ALPHA Elite Bartop, which boasts the same widescreen display as the upright cabinet.
CineReels is another new product, a cabinet inspired by the successful CineVision slant-top video slot. CineReels features up to seven mechanical reels, apparently an industry first. At the show were games with three- to seven- reel configurations. The cabinet also boasts a hi-res 20" widescreen touch-enabled display with interactive gaming in mind.
Bally Systems had a wealth of product on show too, with their Casino Management System, Slot Management System, and Table Management System alongside Bally Power Bonusing.
Casino Technology's reputation as an exciting, forward-thinking company continues to grow, as they now have certification for a number of products to be sold into US markets. CT's Hristo Kojouharov, Project Manager – Compliance Department, explained: "First we have general approval, GLI-11, and it's now just a matter of time to replace this certification for specific territories as GLI-11 is a general certificate. Our goal is the American market.
"This year, we have made a lot of certification for different regulations. We've also applied for the CSA mark to sell in Canada – of course, we have to have safety certificates to sell, as we want to be able to sell our cabinets as well.
"We have 15 games with approval now, and we are looking at five more."
The other big news from Casino Technology was the launch of their unique Play Me automated roulette. This is so unusual – it is a roulette wheel set into a full-size grand piano. It will be interesting to see where this product is placed, though apparently the company has sold its first one into a Cyprus casino. It would sit well in a cruise ship, one would think, or perhaps a lounge area in a casino. Time will tell; it was certainly one of the most arresting sights at the show.
Alongside Play Me, they also had an interesting innovation in their slots. The concept is called X Win, and the main game screen is separated into five smaller screens. When the spin button is pressed, the screens spin separately; it's possible for the player to win with a diagonal line, for example, and the overall effect is really very engaging. This will be pushed harder at ICE, as it was apparently a last-minute addition to their G2E stand; expect this to be a very popular concept in slots.
3M had some great stuff on show. Their tactile feedback touchscreens are now fully released product, and they had three new surface finishes on the stand too, not to mention their quite brilliant digital signage product.
Scott Hagermoser, Gaming and Entertainment Business Manager explained the three finishes: "Our AG500 ClearTek II finish is a standard, all purpose, somewhat heavier etch, designed for environments where you don't have a lot of control over the lighting. We're in the process of introducing in Q1 our AG 250 etch, a much lighter anti-glare, still giving some ambient light diffusion at a lower level, very good transmission, lower haze so you get crisper graphics. It has a smaller feature size, the actual particles making up the anti-glare properties, that is. We think this is important as various high-definition displays come into gaming.
"The third finish is the WC100 Water Clear product, the polished product. It's for those environments where you really want crisp graphics and no diffusion, excellent in a very dim environment where there is no glare, as it is very reflective, because it's polished. WaterClear will be sampling in Q1, in January, and should be shipping first quarter as well.
"Our MicroTouch Capacitive TouchSense product is on the stand and it's now a fully released product, we've worked with our partners to bring that out. We've also worked with some OEMs – across the way if you go to the Spielo stand you can see they integrated it into a couple of their new games. They've used it in a 7" wide format button panel as well as on a 22" main display. We're working with other OEM's to bring that to fruition as well."
Excitingly, 3M now offers the potential to add tactile feedback to existing games. As Scott elaborates: "In the last year we've really honed the OEM message and the OEM integration as well as developing an upgrade program for casinos that already own games. Now we can add haptic (tactile) feedback to existing games a casino may own that they want to refresh and add a little excitement to.
"This is done with our very powerful controller. We provide a small lookup table and can map out various button section on screen, so if XY goes into that button space, this effect is assigned. It doesn't require the game to be redesigned."
The digital signage product is very interesting. Exhibited on three 42" screens, it's a highly interactive setup, with touch-and-drag to get more information from a listing in the centre of the three screens, and the speed is quite something. It's about time casinos started using digital signage to its full potential and with a user-friendly interface like 3M's, that time is not far away. More on this product in a future Casino International.
Alfastreet also had plenty up its sleeve, with a totally revamped Classic 8 machine, brought absolutely up to date, and its Alfa Solution concept guiding customers as to how they can get the best out of Alfastreet's product.
Matjaz Petek explains: "The Classic 8 machine, our main product really, has been completely refurbished with a new design while keeping the basic shape of the machine which is very characteristic and recognised by players. We added some new features, like 19": monitors, improved the player interface, with new software features.
"There have been important hardware improvements to improve the performance and reliability of the machine and to make it easier to maintain. We didn't want to totally reinvent the machine as it's our core product, we just wanted to make it more modern and appealing.
"We also have our dice machine, in a new configuration with larger monitors, this has also undergone some improvements.
"There's our installation of our multi-wheel technology which allows an operator to have, on the same terminal, the choice for the player or operator to choose between different wheels. This is good if you can choose between live wheels and automated wheels as an operator. You can switch the operation to the automated wheel when the live wheels are not operating, for example, or see which wheel you would like to play if all are running."
Densitron unveiled their rebranding as Innocore at G2E, and previewed six new DPX boards which will be officially launched at ICE in January. Innocore MD Edward Price said: “We received very positive comments across the board on the new brand image and along with the preview of the new DPX boards, based around the latest Intel chipsets, have firmly stamped our position as one of the world’s leaders in providing hardware to the gaming industry.”
Innocore Sales Director Koen Stomph added: “The response at G2E was staggering with over 50 companies setting and attending meetings at our new booth. This is the result of many years of extensive product development along with our recent sales expansion in North America, Central and South America, Spain and Australia.”
We wish the company the best of luck with its new identity – and look forward to seeing the launch of those boards in London.
Cammegh had some beautiful product on display, not least their table-mounted Slingshot II. It's a stunning wheel anyway, but mounting it on a traditional roulette table is certainly a smart move – and according to James Moores, it got a lot of attention from the trade. James said: "It's been an excellent show. I think people have been impressed with the product we've brought, the Crystal Wheel, the EyeBall, everything. The real star of the show has been the table-top Slingshot II; the idea of having a table-based automated roulette, so the dealer has less to do and is more focussed on the customers has gone down really well.
"It's the beauty of a manual roulette wheel with the functionality of an automated wheel."
Of course, for a company like Cammegh, personal relationships are vital to their business, alongside excellent product of course, and shows like G2E allows them to see their customers face to face. James added: "The show allows you to touch base with all of your customers in one place. That's been positive, and we have been able to tell them about new product. But there have been plenty of other, potential customers coming by, who have been impressed with our technology and manufacturing and we've generated a lot of serious enquiries."
WMS continued their rise and rise with another G2E of innovation, superb design and genuine lateral thinking. The company impresses every time we see WMS product, with their attitude, determination and their focus on both end user and their own customers.
G2E saw their Casino Evolved vision spelled out to customers, described as a 'strategic roadmap' which guides operators toward a fully functioning networked environment.
The next-generation CPU-NXT 2 operating system and network architecture, key to WMS's vision, was exhibited. This allows interoperability between gaming devices, servers and network applications. In short, without solid architecture, no networked gaming floor. This is the evolution of their original CPU NXT processor, part of the Bluebird cabinet, a beautifully future-proofed piece of equipment that was launched an incredible four years ago.
The new Bluebird 2 cabinet was also shown, fully digital and slimline, with CPU NXT 2 inside and boasting a programmable button panel, so the cabinet is truly flexible for server-based gaming and configuration. WMS has also submitted to regulators the industry's first GSA-compliant server solution, and has announced plans to commercialise applications focussed on game enablement combined with a suite of player and casino services to make the operator's floor more efficient and profitable. They are moving forward very, very quickly, and very confidently with their product; in many areas, WMS is leading the way for our industry.
In terms of slots, WMS had Adaptive Gaming on show in the shape of its extremely attractive Star Trek game. It's what they describe as an episodic game experience, personalised for the player who can potentially save their game, leave the casino and pick the game up where they left it on their next visit. With the player in mind, the Adaptive Gaming platform adjusts to the player's personal preferences and achievements in the game, which increases their engagement levels and therefore satisfaction.
WMS also acquired Orion Gaming not so long ago, but the Holland-based company maintains its independent face in terms of product and identity, while enjoying the distribution and backing of WMS in all other ways. You'll be reading a lot more about both WMS and Orion in a forthcoming Casino International – there was simply too much there to go into detail about here.
ICIT largely specialises in automated roulette, but the company has several other things up its sleeve too. For example, they have software available to help organise staff rotas, a time-consuming part of management. Scheduler Expert is simple and effective, and could save a company hundreds of man hours.
They are fundamentally, however, a roulette company. The eye-catchers on their stand were the Zuum wheels, with their brilliant overhead displays and exciting visual style, and their Americana, an automated wheel on a traditional roulette table.
Americana, explained Mojca Deticek, ICIT's Marketing Manager, was produced to meet a real demand. "At ICE 2007, the table was something new and interesting for many people. When we started producing it, it was because of different legislation in different countries. Some countries wanted an automated table roulette game because they could not have live gaming, and that's why we started producing it.
Many players do not believe there is no cheating with an automated wheel; with this, they can press the button and start the spin themselves. It's interesting to have at least one table like this in a casino, because people have a lot of fun with this but you still need a dealer for bets and everything. A good dealer really makes this kind of roulette work."
ICIT only recently acquired Zuum's technology, but they say it has been well received. Mojca expanded: "It's interesting, especially because of the display over it. We bought Zuum's technology because we wanted to have a wider range of products. We have classic roulette, we have some which are more modern, but this is different again. It mixes tradition with something new and modern.
"It's great for the Asian market, in their large casinos because you can see the winning number from far away. The overhead display and the roulette can actually be sold separately, as the display can be used with other products, but usually they are sold together because they have complementary design."
Progressive Gaming International are one of those companies whose stands you could spend a day on, such is the diversity and depth of product. The highlight of their G2E was exhibiting Casinolink Enterprise Edition 3.0 with a new joint-developed mystery progressive enhancement.
Casinolink Enterprise Edition 3.0 is the latest version of Progressive’s innovative suite of gaming management system products that support every facet of a gaming operation, including proprietary bonusing and progressive modules as well as consolidation of the management of slots, table games, server-based gaming, account wagering, marketing and cage functions into one integrated system.
Russel McMeekin, President and CEO of Progressive Gaming, said: "Enterprise Edition 3.0 provides operators with an unparalleled, integrated casino management system that employs leading-edge technology to manage all aspects of a gaming floor on an individualized and highly scaleable platform. As customer management becomes an increasingly central component of maintaining a high quality game experience for players, Progressive has evolved our Casinolink system in order to provide innovative technology solutions that seamlessly serve as the essential connections between casino operators and their customers. We expect that the new functionality and benefits derived by our casino customers from Casinolink Enterprise Edition 3.0 will stimulate an upgrade cycle for our current installed base while also helping to grow what is the industry’s largest systems presence outside of the US.”
In addition to the benefits operators derive from the system’s robust information analysis capabilities, Casinolink Enterprise Edition 3.0 also enhances the player’s experience by delivering a full suite of custom branded and prepackaged Jackpot and Mystery progressives. Operators enjoy the simplicity of basic, intermediate, advanced and enterprise mystery jackpot tiers while players enjoy a wide variety of new progressive mystery jackpot innovations including Countdown Mystery, Scheduled Mystery, Happy Hour Bonus and the Acres-Fiore premium game enhancements featuring the Win Proximity Meter that adds a new level of anticipation for players when jackpot awards are close to being hit.
Hess exhibited on the Atronic stand, showing their Scorpion kiosk, an effective, discreet black cash dispenser with a smaller footprint than standard, that made its debut last year. ICE sees a further enhancement to the Scorpion, with a rear-loading version – more on that in January.
IGT's stand was in its usual place, dominating the show's skyline, such as it has. On the stand were the fruits of IGT's acquisitions or partnerships of recent times; their collaboration with Jay Walker's Walker Digital, Guaranteed Play Poker, certainly turned a few heads – we'll go into more detail on this in a future issue though. The corner of the stand occupied by DigiDeal was also enjoying some serious foot traffic, and rightly so; this company produced quality product before IGT's investment and now, with the bigger company's strength behind them, the gaming world could be their oyster.
Tim Richards, IGT's Director of Table Games, explains what makes DigiDeal's four table games on show so special: "The goal is that in certain markets, where chips are required, these DigiDeal tables can be treated as a table product and the different game titles can be offered on that platform. The same titles can be offered with virtual chips or virtual cards [or both], and potentially be approved as a slot product for slot markets. So depending on the taxation, the regulations and legalities, we're trying to make the product fit into various niches depending on what's required. You can also tie it into your slot accounting and player tracking systems, so there's real-time player tracking, all the features and functions, bonusing and points that your players might get on the slot side can be applied to these products."
Elsewhere on the stand, the stunning eBay branded slot bank really caught the eye. Such a simple idea, brilliantly executed. It uses the idea of community gaming in its Group Play Free Spins bonus, played on the five fabulous 40" big-screen reels above the bank of five machines. This machine really should be a huge success.
The other slot machine of note – though choosing standouts on this stand was understandably difficult – was Indiana Jones. IGT have always done licenses superbly, and this is no exception. Under their MegaJackpots banner, the Indiana Jones Multi-Level Progressive is close to a work of art. It's not enough to simply pay for a license, you have to deliver the goods as well, and they have. The top box features a 32" portrait LCD monitor, which shows bonus play and progressive meters, while the base game is played on a 23" widescreen below. At the moment, two games are developed for this: Well of Souls and Treasure of the Incas. Apparently a third game, Cross of Coronado, will be along soon.
What works so brilliantly on the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade slots is subtle yet brilliant. The reel display uses an innovative dual display system, giving a real feeling of depth as you watch the reels spin. It's so simple, yet incredibly effective. Last Crusade is also the first slot available on IGT's SMLD AVP Multi-level Display Wide Screen upright machine.
Indiana Jones will be available in 2008 – more on this when it is available for sale.
Also from IGT in 2008 is an addition to their Star Wars canon, a multi-level progressive which, like Indy and eBay, features a Group Play Bonus in a four-level progressive that is actually competitive. Jabba's Palace is to be the first game under this banked concept.
Gaming Partners International had their now-famous educational stand, with a compere working the crowd and explaining the benefits of RFID chips.
Standout products on the stand included their Mini Table Top Authenticator, a self-contained table top reader and a small, thin antenna concealed under the table's layout in front of the dealer. It speeds up count time and adds to the basic security of the table, giving an easy way for a dealer to authenticate and value chips at a table, and allowing a pit boss to verify transactions.
The Texas Hold'Em RFID Poker Reader should prove very popular, as it even calculates the casino's rake as it allows for constant and automatic reading of the pot. It prevents mistakes in calculation, assists the dealer in all kinds of ways, assists with basic security and apparently speeds up the game.
Also out was their Electronic Chips Surveillance device, a type of scanner for employees to pass through to discourage the potential theft of casino chips by staff.
GPI were also compelled to speak out after a Phoenix TV station tested some Paulson chips and discovered they had higher than permitted lead levels, as decreed by the EPA. Of course, some colours are impossible to create without lead, British Racing Green being a famous example as used on Jaguar cars for many years. Lead contamination is not a risk with casino chips when they are used as intended – ie by adults, for gaming. They are not made to be eaten, or for children, so any risk is genuinely minimal. However, Paulson's CEO has apparently issued a statement saying the chips had been re-formulated to contain a much lower amount of lead.
Currency validation company MEI had some interesting product at G2E. Top of the tree in our eyes was the Cashflow Defender, a simple idea well executed. It's a bill validator that sits in the casino cage, which makes perfect sense when you consider that many less-than-honest individuals are now apparently targeting the cash windows in casinos to move fake currency, as there's really nowhere else to do it on the casino floor. Every other part of the casino is secure, so why not add another level to the cash desk? The note simply comes back out underneath the bezel, back into the employee's hand instead of down into the cash box as it might in a slot machine, for example.
MEI were also pushing the Easitrax hard. It's an RFID-enabled solution for back room accounting and slot floor management; it allows you to track the cashbox through the slot floor process and store Cashflow SC performance data. More on this product in a future issue, along with a closer look at the Defender.
Roulette specialists Abbiati had their roulette display screen on show, and it certainly looks like a quality product. The company has worked hard to expand its product line in the last couple of years, and this really should pay off with new business for the Italy-based company.
They were also pushing their wheel with visible laser sensors, which Abbiati maintain is the best and most accurate way to reveal quickly the winning number in roulette.
Of course, no mention of Abbiati would be complete without their RFID solution, in conjunction with Progressive Gaming International. It's a solid solution for any casino, and partnering with a company like PGI, which excels at technology advances, can only work in Abbiati's favour. It allows the company to concentrate on their roulette product while expanding their offering to customers.
Inspired Gaming Group, innovators and ever-creative when it comes to anything networked, had plenty to talk about. First, they were showing the latest incarnation of their virtual sports games, which benefit from the company owning its own computer-generated graphics specialists. We saw their horse racing and greyhounds, and both looked absolutely stunning. If you were watching from, say, 10 feet or more away, you would be forgiven for a double-take, it's that good.
Steve Wooding, Product Innovation Director, explained why they were pushing this particular product at G2E. "Virtual sports has been long-established in the UK. We [Inspired] have had virtual dogs, virtual horses as a broadcast feed for about five years now. We've been the leading player in broadcast sports for that time.
"It really took off when the foot-and-mouth outbreak hit and race meetings were stopped. The quantity of virtual racing exploded overnight and credibility came with punters betting on it and trusting it, the dogs and horses are very much part of the betting schedule in the UK now. Our virtual dog track is something like the third most popular track in the UK, in among all the real live ones. It's not cartoony at all now, it's very credible.
"So we took the product and we have developed it and we're just showing the latest upgrade to our engine here, which is using photo-realistic backgrounds. We've now put this together with a number of other sports, like soccer and a number of motor-racing products like speedway, and we're launching a virtual sports book product which will allow scheduled races to be configured by the casino or the outlet. They can set their own schedule for frequency, terminals will be able to accept numerous types of payment, cash, ticket or card, and they'll be shown either in picture-in-picture on the terminal or on large plasma screens, whatever the casino wants.
Gold Club's reputation grows with each year, and at G2E they cemented this with a wide selection of machines. The company manufactures a range of automated roulettes, from five-station compact designs like Star and Pearl to the eight-station Omega, which promises more leg room for seated players.
More striking options exist, like their Pepo set-up, a sort of star configuration of integrated player stations around an automated wheel. Its striking red seats, built in to the player station, really do stand out, and they are available in a stand-alone version, in which up to 120 stations can be used.
Neon is their answer to the demand for single-station roulette play, with a 19" touchscreen linking play to any Gold Club automated wheel in a venue.
Gold Club is also active in the slot market, with titles like its Game Star, a multi-game station which includes all of their games in one machine, with the potential to add more in the future.
Aristocrat shared its large stand with some of its partners, companies like ACE Interactive, which it acquired last year, and Interblock, the Slovenian automated gaming company.
One of Aristocrat's stars of the show was their Sopranos stepper, a smartly designed slot product which trades on one of the best-known TV shows of the last 20 years. The company even had Tony Soprano himself, actor James Gandolfini, making an appearance on the stand. Aristocrat's Marc Campman explained: "One thing we have launched in the US, not in Europe yet, is The Sopranos. It's a traditional stepper machine, with the TV show theme incorporated.
"It's not decided if we're going to take this to Europe, we don't have a stepper product in there at the moment. We've had some requests from customers, so we'll see."
ACE was acquired because of their expertise in networks, with a background in lotteries, which translates particularly well to the casino environment. There's a similar need for security and flexibility, and two-way conversation between remote terminal and server, not to mention frequent upgrades and downloads on the network.
Their SBG product for Aristocrat is on the verge of 'going live', as Marc expanded on: "We've taken the ACE software and now put it on the Viridion machine, so we have a server-based offering for casino operators.
"It's in two elements. The first step, our own solution, is downloadable games, which is like the entry-level for server-based gaming, which works from a local server. The RNG is still in the gaming machine. This way allows you to configure the slot floor according to your customers, time of day et cetera.
"The next level is server-based gaming, where it is all done over a wider network, with the RNG in the server, and with a much bigger library of games which we have ported from a number of Aristocrat games to this environment.
"This is almost ready to roll as a product, we're really launching it here. It's about to go on trial in some casinos; it's a major development for ACE, that we now have it in the casino environment."
PokerPro also took up a significant space on the stand, and considering the amount of attention the product always generates, this was a smart move. Four new developments for PokerPro meant lots of interest, and visitors were not disappointed.
PokerPro now has betting functionality within the game, so players can bet on, for example, the suit of the next card drawn; the idea of this game-within-a-game feature is to improve the revenue stream of poker, which is notoriously quite limited for the casino. Another software development is for tournaments, which could be quite something; imagine how much quicker a full tournament could take place using these dynamic tables, and how much more poker customers could enjoy. It's a mouthwatering prospect.
Third of the new developments is an entertainment only product; players put their money in, it buys a certain amount of credits and they play a peer, though only for bragging rights. No prizes, no money, just poker for fun. In terms of brand awareness, this table might prove significant as of course it can be positioned in places a gambling machine cannot.
Finally, there is also a PokerPro kiosk, which relieves a casino of placing a member of staff with the machines to arrange player cards; the kiosk means the player can do everything themselves.
TCSJOHNHUXLEY had plenty to shout about, with an announcement regarding their gaming layouts, two new games and three new table games.
Until now, their KRE8 gaming layouts were only available through their UK facility, but the company has moved to keep pace with demand worldwide by opening full production facilities in Las Vegas, Macau, Australia and South Africa. The KRE8 synthetic gaming surface is highly resistant to spills and burns, so it's perfect for the high-traffic casino environment. On the stand, all the dealers and promotional staff were wearing uniforms made from TCSJH layouts, supplied by Uniforms by John Marks.
Their MultiPLAY Roulette made its US debut, an interesting twist on traditional roulette which brings together a live croupier and wheel with an electronic multiplayer betting area. This is in the form of a 56" Quad HD LCD screen and, frankly, it looks superb. The game is much faster as all transactions are digital, which obviously equates to higher returns for an operator. With a good croupier on the case, this kind of product could mean serious revenue for a casino, as it bridges neatly internet gaming and live roulette.
Another US debut for TCS was Super Sic Bo, a fully electronic animated Sic Bo game with Super Streak side betting alongside Sic Bo's usual 56 betting options. It's another great looking game, the visual design is perfect and all alerts are clear and unmistakeable. Again, play is faster than a traditional Sic Bo table, and therefore profitability is increased.
Their new table games on show were Blackjack Plus, Step Poker, and Lucky Numbers Roulette, which can be played on a single- or doule-zero wheel.
Octavian had a real ace up its sleeve with two new products in the shape of GateManager and CashManager.
GateManager comprises four main areas, with Reception, Surveillance, Player Tracking and Marketing. At Reception, your customer checks in and is identified with a member card; this gives the reception staff all they need to know about this customer in one move, rather than cross-referencing with different software. The surveillance aspect guards the operation against allowing in barred members – assuming they present their card, presumably – but there is also a provision where the system matches newly-registered customers with blacklisted customers, so there is a safety net. Player tracking creates a picture of the client, a data snapshot which includes entries from tables, cashier operations, slots and more so you have an accurate picture of the customer's overall value. This could influence setting bonus levels to the customer, incentives and comps. This can communicate with other casino information systems already in use.
The marketing side lets the operator set eligibility levels, day or time triggers, and redemption criteria, and manages all aspects of promotions top the customer. The system can also generate email promotions, vouchers, SMS and call lists.
CashManager, meanwhile, manages and monitors all transactions within the gaming area of the resort or casino. It is broken down into Cage and Tables. Interestingly, the Tables side provides both actual and theoretical values for table and customer performance; most systems refer only to actuals.
CashManager and GateManager both use the Guardian security system which controls security keys and permissions, audit trails, log files and blacklist info.
Last but certainly not least, Novomatic had an assured presence at G2E with, once again, a strong line-up of product and the busy, bustling stand we have come to expect from the European giants.
On the stand were a selection of new Coolfire II games, like American Poker II deluxe, Holmes & Watson, Beetle Mania plus a selection of recent releases on the platform.
Their new cabinets were at the heart of the attention though. First up was the Novo-Vision slant top, which utilises Coolfire II and boasts a 22" lower touchscreen and a 27" upper screen. Players can flip play between screens depending on which is more comfortable for them. Another smart innovation is the second start button at the foot rest; simple, but very clever.
The Novo-Vision cabinet has distinctive sound, with a sub woofer and active satellites which help make the gaming experience even more immersive. Again, it benefits from Novomatic's Coolfire II gaming platform and a second start button, and has two 16:10 ratio widescreen monitors.
Finally in their new cabinets comes Super-R Gaminator, a very smart, stylish and advanced slot cabinet which features 'hybrid technology' – the ability to combine video and mechanical reels on one cabinet. Three giant mechanical reels complement advanced video gaming technology to provide a stunning gaming floor attraction; it also boasts Coolfire II and a similar audio setup to the Novo-Vision cabinet.
Add to this already outstanding selection of new product their leading multiplayer games, and you can see why the Novomatic stand is busy no matter what show they are attending.
Novo TouchBet Live Baccarat allows up to 250 players to join the fun and is every bit as flexible as the market-leading TouchBet Roulette product the industry is so familiar with.  Their Sic Bo product is equally strong; Novomatic should have no problems selling these units as the initial product for Roulette is so respected, admired and imitated. Expect these multiplayers to extend the company's footprint even wider around the world, notably in Asia.

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