game technology takes center stage at g2e 2015 interviews.pdf · 36 indian gaming november 2015...

36 Indian Gaming November 2015

Game Technology Takes Center Stage at G2E 2015

Ainsworth Game TechnologyCody Herrick, Product Marketing Manager

Indian Country meansa lot to Ainsworth. Theyare core customers andwhere we do a lot of ourbusiness and have fantas-tic relationships.

We're sticking to whatwe do best and that isreally good math models,great games, and contin-uing to produce both.

Sweet Zone and Quad Shot on the SL, the Wheel Winnerbrands on our dual screen product as well as our 40/50/100Lines have all done phenomenal in the tribal space.

Order of the Dragon, which continues the support of ourSweet Zone brand, was just approved in most of our general GLIand tribal areas. This continues our Sweet Zone brand as a Double Sweet Zone, and has three games in that series. We'rereally looking forward to getting that out and excited about it.

On the IP front, earlier this year we released Sound ofMusic right after the 50th anniversary, as well as Showgirls,and now following behind that, we’re releasing Three Amigos, a game based on the movie. Later this year we willrelease Cinderella.

American Gaming Systems (AGS)Kevin Reilly, Director of Slot Products

The acquisition ofCadillac Jack has reallytransformed our entiredevelopment perspective.It's given us the best ofboth worlds from a ClassII and Class III perspectivewith a robust library ofcore video content.Atlanta is going to be ourmain R&D hub, so all of

the titles that will be released are coming out of that office now.It's really helping us diversify our product offering.

Indian Country and Oklahoma has always been the core focusfor AGS. Cadillac Jack was huge in Poarch Creek in Alabama,so it's been a good marriage of both companies – we both hadstrong presences in other markets where the other did not. At AGS, we had about 80 games inside Poarch Creek inAlabama. Cadillac Jack has close to 2,000 games there. InOklahoma, AGS has about 6,000 games, Cadillac has about 600,

so it's really given us the chance now to bring some AGSgames into some Cadillac Jack markets where maybe theyhaven't been before and vice versa. It's helped us diversify ourproduct offering and also bring some core video content,which Cadillac was very strong with, to other markets that AGSnever had in our arsenal.

Some of our core games, Royal Reels, Liberty 7's, Cool Catzin Oklahoma – are continuing to do very well. With Alabama,Cadillac Jack has their So Hot brand, which does incredibly welldown there, so those are the tried and true games. Some new games that we're also seeing working very well are Big Redand Colossal Diamonds.

We're launching a brand new Class III cabinet called the Iconin Q1 2016. We’re really excited about it and also a lot of ourhigher volatility games that are going to go in that box. All ofour game content can go Class II and Class III, so obviously we'restaying true to our roots of tribal Oklahoma and specifically forIndian Class II content. We're also going to continue to supportour Genesis Halo, which is our core video box for Class II.

Aristocrat / VGTMaureen Sweeny, Chief Commercial Officer - AristocratJay D. Sevigny, President - VGT, an Aristocrat Company

Maureen Sweeny:In July, our entireboard came overfrom Australia to visitwith several tribalcustomers in Okla-homa. The entireleadership team plusour board spent acouple of days tour-ing and spendingtime with leadership

at several of the largest operators. Across the U.S., we have verystrong relationships.

Our focus has been on building the best content we can.We’ve acquired many very well known creative talent in theindustry. We have product for core gamblers, product for people who just want to spend time on a machine for enter-tainment and systems that under-pin the whole thing. We focus on making sure we understand what our clients wantand direct our investment to building the best product. That'swhy the acquisition of VGT made so much sense.

Jay Sevigny: We create value for our customers by deliver-ing the world's greatest gaming experience every day. We havecustomers coming back to us because our games are terrific. We'rehelping our customers be successful in their missions. With our

Indian Gaming magazine spoke with leading game technology companies at G2Eabout current strategies, products and where they are headed into the future. Hereis what they had to say...

EXPO COVERAGE

Maureen Sweeny and Jay D. Sevigny


integration with Aristocrat, our portfolio plan as we look forward now through 2016 and '17, has never been this exciting. We are making Class II gaming more exciting and competitive across the market, which is great for tribal gaming.

Aristocrat is bringing a lot of great talent to us. This trans-lates to success on the floor for our customers. We had aspirations of a wide area progressive for many years. And justnine months after Aristocrat’s acquisition of VGT, we offeredthe Easy Money Jackpot wide area, which is now across Oklahoma. We can offer those now outside Oklahoma as well,and are installing them in California and Alabama. In Class IIgaming, Aristocrat has been 100 percent supportive of ensur-ing that VGT continues to do its business in a way that the tribeshave come to depend on. Indian Country is VGT’s life-blood.Our company was formed to help customers in that segment.We now have 25 years of relationships – you can't separate usfrom that. It's who we are. Aristocrat already had a very richrelationship with Indian gaming before the acquisition ofVGT, and VGT has only enhanced the commitment thatalready existed within Aristocrat.

Maureen Sweeny: We also brought on former NIGC Associate Commissioner Dan Little to head up government relations. He's a great addition to our team. He's sitting at thegroup level, across all of our businesses and he's bringing awealth of knowledge and helped us sharpen our focus in making sure that we are serving the tribal clients as well.

We are pushing the envelope constantly, both in terms ofcontent, games, features and the physical format of the games.You can see that with the Arc Single and the Arc Double andthe Behemoth. Then we have the Mammoth, which is a Double Behemoth. We also have a stepper that we're gettingfeedback on. That's another opportunity from partnering withVGT who has expertise in building steppers. We're looking atcontent and we’re looking at form factor. We're also lookingat skill based gaming, trying to understand it better and theopportunities it provides. Through our systems business, we'relooking at mobile and social and how to interact with players.We are looking at content as well as platform and delivery mech-anisms. Several of the tribes that we met with in Oklahoma wereasking us for assistance in the social and online space. We'redeveloping ideas and we’ll be engaging with them.

We respect and appreciate the fact that the tribal casinos giveso much back to their community. It's a privilege to be a partof that experience. Our tribal clients are near and dear to ourheart and hence, the acquisition of VGT, reinforces that.

Eclipse Gaming SystemsGreg Drew, Manager / Major Shareholder

What makes us unique and special in the market for all ofour customers, and especially in Indian gaming, is that we'resmall, flexible and available. We're not bound by a bunch ofbureaucratic processes. Our customers are our partners andwhen we make a decision to do something that's a good deal

for them, we do it. We'reable to help them achievetheir vision. We are not acompany that wants tojust sell something thatwe have on the truck. Wewant to sit down with ourpartners, understandwhat their vision is, andhelp them achieve it bycustomization and allthose things that go along with it.

Our Class II engine is proven and fantastic. It out-earnseverything out there in every Class II market we've ever beenin, and that really is our wheelhouse right now.

EveriRam V. Chary, President & CEO

The brand Everi, andour company going for-ward, was born out of thecombination of what wasGlobal Cash Access andMultimedia Games. Neither of those twobrands or corporatenames really captured thefull breadth of portfoliothat we have to offer our

clients. Everi as a name was generic enough to attach to a lotof our solutions and products. Our lines of business are EveriGames and Everi Payments, and then we have products andofferings underneath that can be attached to the Everi brandvery easily. We chose Everi because it happened to be a brandthat prior management identified on the GCA side several yearsago for a wallet product. That product was a little bit beforeits time, but they went through an extensive process with a third-party firm to identify the name.

A big part of the success we've had with our tribal relation-ships is centered on an approach that we take to be strategicpartners. It is a lot less transactional, relative to selling some-thing, doing something short-term, and instead, really aboutunderstanding the tribal mission and culture, and making surethat we fit into that successfully over the long-term to help tribaloperations. Both GCA and Multimedia have done that success-fully. That's where we differentiate ourselves from any othersupplier in the gaming space. It's very consultative. Very muchlong-term focused, and focused on the culture and the missionof each particular tribe.

We're very focused on the core casino patron. We believethe core casino patron is not the younger patron, but what hasbeen more traditional to casinos. That being said, at some point, one of two things needs to happen – either a younger demographic needs to be attracted, or at least that younger

EXPO COVERAGE

November 2015 Indian Gaming 39

demographic needs to be targeted so as they mature, they still follow the same sort of path that attracted the older demo-graphic to the floor.

We're more focused on that latter piece because some of thethings that younger people like to do today may or may notbe viable from a business perspective or even an entertainmentperspective on the casino floor. We're very mindful of watch-ing trends and watching what's going on in the space, but wewould rather cater to an experience that will convey over time.As a twenty-something becomes a thirty-something or forty-something, they will fit a more traditional casino model. That'ssomething that was taken for granted in the past that we're veryfocused on, because I'm not sure that you can take that forgranted, because without a conserted effort it may not workgoing forward.

IGTKnute Knudson, VP of Global Business Development

We brought togethertwo very large companies[with GTECH’s acquisi-tion of IGT] and havegone to 13,000 employees.We are worldwide and arenow a machine, system, lottery and interactivecompany. We've combinedall the categories and areas of gaming into one

company. Since then we've aligned the company into four categories: North America Gaming, International Gaming, thelottery space and Italy. Italy stands alone with its casinos, VLTs,interactive space and lottery. They all report to one CEO,Marco Sala, and each of those divisions has a CEO.

Within each of those divisions there have been some changes,but one thing we emphasized and wanted to make sure happened was that the face of IGT with the customer was thesame – and 95% of the people who interact with the customerare the same.

The IGT booth at G2E represented the result of the integration of the two companies. For example, take our TMZVideo Slots and Wheel of Fortune Double Diamond 3D games.Those brought together aspects from each company. In the caseof Wheel of Fortune, it was the brand name of Wheel of Fortune from IGT and the technology of legacy GTECH withthe 3D aspect. It makes for a really powerful game. In the TMZspace with regard to the individual player photo that goes in thegame – that also marries technology from the two different companies. It’s powerful and was pulled off in just a few months.We’ve also got Spin Ferno, which we’re excited about, andPlants vs. Zombies 3D Ancient Egypt, which is a great game –blending the technology of the two different companies. Thereare a lot of neat things going on from that perspective.

We also want to carry the legacy of Sodak/IGT forward. We

put tribal governments in the gaming business because we werewilling to finance machines when banks and savings-and-loansand private equity would not. Sodak/IGT financed $1.5 billion dollars worth of purchases of slot machines. Our rateswere fair and we did it for a fixed period of time.

All of the new senior managers are abundantly aware of howimportant Indian Country is for the bottom line of IGT and tothe shareholders. Everybody knows how important the tribes are.Our senior leaders, Marco Sala, Renato Ascoli, Nick Kihn, areabundantly aware of and enjoying getting to know our tribal customers. They're traveling extensively in Indian Country,going from tribal casino to tribal casino. In addition to that, they'veinvited tribal leaders to come to Las Vegas so they can have personal time, not at a trade show or in a circumstance where theydon't get really purposeful and focused time.

I should also say that many of our senior leaders have hadextensive experience in Indian Country already. Nick Kihn hasworked in the casino business for many years and has beeninvolved with tribal governments all over, so we have a personwho is very experienced in Indian gaming leading our sales force. That tradition is carrying forward with a commitmentto fair representation of the company in Indian Country and principally with the commitment to build good products thatwill continue to earn a lot of money on those slot floors.

Interblock USARob Bone, President, North America

We are known forroulette, but when it comesto blackjack, baccarat,craps – we're going to cometo parity with our competi-tion and then we're goingto leapfrog. We want todominate the electronictable game space. I've beenat the company six monthsand I could not be more

pleased with the commitment of the team, the passion and theoverall excellence of everyone involved.

Everyone talks about this millennial factor and trying to findthe new, young player. I don't know if I am completely sold onif they have to be young, but we have to find new pockets ofplayers. Our Pulse solution is something that allows us to dothat. It's not just creating a high-energy experience on a Friday and Saturday night, but also utilizing that space thatcaters to an older demographic or a male or female demographic Monday through Thursday. We've created a fully dynamic, thematic, customizable gaming area that is done in partnershipwith our customers. Their ideas are brought to life in the area.There's going to be an awful lot of intellectual property, an awfullot of innovation, and an awful lot of thought into not just whatwe do at the bank level with our roulette, craps, blackjack, andbaccarat. Case in point, EZ Baccarat, probably the most well


known baccarat game – we licensed that. Pulse is the aggrega-tion of all experiences in one, and I call it the ‘chameleon gamingarea,’ it really changes its form based on the people that are in itand the type of experience that our customers want offered.

Indian Country is an area where we need to invest more time.There are certain rules, internal controls, standard operatingprocedures, and overall legislation that makes mechanical,moving parts within certain states that are highly Native American dominant, somewhat subjective. Case in point, California. We should have many more products in California,but there's this perception that our roulette product is not necessarily illegal – but is it fully legal per their compact? Sowe're getting more aggressive with lobbyists and we're gettingmore aggressive in Oklahoma with certain key partners tolook at whether Class II is an option for electronic table games.

When you look at the pockets of Class II that are largely commensurate with tribal customers, the fact of the matter iswe need more touches. I took my sales team from just threepeople up to seven, and I'm going to add another two. So, nowI've got nine people knocking on doors, trying to meet withour various customers in the Native American communities tomake them aware of what Interblock has to offer. I'd like to saythat we have more interaction with our customers. We'regoing to work harder to be more of a partner with them. If thereare obstacles in our way, instead of just going the path of leastresistance, and going to the right instead of the left, we're goingto deal with that obstacle and try and find a way to be a legit-imate partner in California, Oklahoma, Florida, and whereverClass II or tribal gaming is.

Konami GamingMatt Reback, VP MarketingSteve Walther, Director, Product Management

Steve Walther: Concerto is our first major core cabinet launchsince the Podium, and it's been designed to take the standard corecabinet to a new level. It features two twin 27-inch HD moni-tors – the largest in a standard upright in the industry today. Itmakes an impression with its vivid colors and edge-to-edgescreen. The cabinet also features our DynamicDash button panel– an LCD screen that has dynamic content on it and digital buttons that can change based upon circumstance. The cabinetalso features our signature holographic side lighting element,which attracts people to the machine but doesn’t distract the player,because when a player sits in front of the machine, they don't seeit. The lighting changes depending upon the game – if somebodyis in a bonus feature, it changes, so people can't help but be drawnto that lighting element, wonder what it is, and once they're there,see the game. The cabinet also features a 19.5-inch digital topper. Concerto has a sleek, black finish that doesn't show fin-gerprints, and the finish disappears into the background, leavingthat content to stand out and be the hero. Good content is whatwe build. Driving games like China Shores, Solstice Celebration,Dragon's Law – we want that to be the hero and the cabinet isjust a vessel for which we can present that. In addition to the

cabinet, we're releas-ing a platform calledKP3+, which takesthe KP3 platform tothe next level. KP3 isa 32-bit operatingsystem, while KP3+is 64-bit. It powersmultiple displays, usesricher, fuller high definition graphicsand a superior sound

package. In addition to playing new games on KP3+, it supportsthe entire library of KP3 games. It's a great opportunity to mixand match on the floor and gives our operators the maximumflexibility.

Matt Reback: We're seeing a lot of our tribal partners able toexpand the footprint of Konami because we've got so many hitsnow in addition to a variety of cabinets. We had the Podium, asSteve mentioned five and a half years ago, expanded that to aPodium Slant, then Podium Monument, and with the PodiumMonument, starting last year, the library just grew and grew. That'sgiving people the opportunity to say, ‘Konami works. How canI get more on my floor without putting more of the same cabinet?’ Put a Monument out there. And then we went to thePodium Goliath. So, that diversity of the Podium family for Indiancasinos has been great, and now when they've come and seen theConcerto, they're very excited. With more titles and different formfactors, they can continue to diversify their floors with productthey know is going to work.

Steve Walther: Specifically with Indian Country, Konami excelsat producing content that really appeals to the local, core, repeatgambler, and that's something that's predominant in IndianCountry, versus what you might see at a destination market likeAtlantic City or Las Vegas. We do very well in those markets aswell, but our core game math really works well for those repeatgamblers that want to get an experience multiple times a weekor a month, versus just a couple of times a year. That's why ourproducts have really preformed well in Indian Country.

We’re also very excited about our Rapid Revolver. We talkedabout it last year when we launched Rising Fire Dragon andNorthern Treasure. Those two products have come out verystrong for us. This year we're releasing two more – Prophetessof Fortune and Lucky Sticks. Prophetess of Fortune is a gamethat involves multipliers and video screens down below and thereels up above determine the multiplier. It has a lot of sound, move-ment and attract – great for a locals environment. Lucky Sticksis an extended ROM version of Rapid Revolver, and what thatmeans is casinos can pick any one of the KP3 themes to play inthe base, and then it has a progressive game that is a RapidRevolver up in the top as a mystery.

Matt Reback: We’ve made our name in taking the Podium andputting extended ROM progressives on top because when thelibrary works, you can just plus it up with the progressive. So, when

EXPO COVERAGE

Steve Walther and Matt Reback


the Rapid Revolver or the Monument came out, the idea was letthe base game content work and then throw something uniqueon top. Mix and match, find best practices. We're trying to givethe operator that maximum flexibility versus ‘this cabinet onlyworks with this theme, and the top and the bottom have to belinked and that's it.’ When you put Jackpot Streams, Fiery Sun-burst or Engine Ablaze – any of those games on top – all of thesudden you take seventy themes and it becomes three hundredthemes with combinations. That's a high frequency play forthose properties.

Steve Walther: This G2E we also brought out our new videogame based on Frogger – a modern slot machine that has a nudg-ing and copying wild feature. On a random basis a Frogger bonusis triggered and teleports players back into the days of the 80s toplay that 8 bit version players knew and loved from bowlingalleys and pizza parlors. In this case, it's actually a visual tool, butit will work nicely when skill based gaming becomes available.

Novomatic AmericasRick Meitzler, President

We work wellwith Indian Countrybecause we combinegreat products withgreat service. We’rehelping tribes growtheir businesses withnew innovations andnew ideas by bring-ing our expertisefrom the Europeanmarkets and giving

them great options – that is our priority. Our standard core products are fantastic. They add a lot of

value. The Novostar VIP is a very unique cabinet with a greatdesign and footprint size. It really gets the player engaged andis very comfortable. Another is Nova Unity II, which is amulti-station product. Everybody out there is trying to capturea younger demographic. Nova Unity II is a community stylegame with up to 10 players competing against one dealer. It hasa little bit of a club feel. Players all share the same hand, so ifthey get a blackjack, everyone wins.

This year’s G2E was great. We had a new booth and addedso many more markets over the last year that we had three times the traffic. More importantly, we had quality traffic withbuyers and we signed contracts. It was a great show.

Scientific GamesDan Savage, Chief Administration Officer

With regard to integration, we are 10 months in. We purchased and closed the Bally deal in November last year, and atG2E we showed as one combined company. There are a coupleof specific things we owe Wall Street on the integration. They wantto see $235 million in synergies, and they want to see 80% of that

in year one. That comesto $188 million dollars.dollars this year. We’lloverproduce on thenumbers, and I'll say thatwe are ahead of scheduleby about six months onthe integration. So ourspeed is good. All theplanning for the inte-gration is done and it’sbeen done for six months. We are just implementing on the plan.

We are a 9,000 person company. We have to deliver a lot. Wehave over $3 billion dollars in revenue, and with the integration,the company is based around three businesses: the LAN-basedcasino, Empire is the new thing we are showing right now; thelottery ticket portion, with $1 billion dollars in business, and thatis where the TV monopoly show comes from; and the biggestpiece is from the casino floor type products, and that is about$2 billion dollars.

Gavin Isaacs, our CEO, put three business leaders in place.He put me in the position of CAO, so I run all the SG&A aspects,and my job is to integrate the companies as fast as we can, anddeliver the synergies as fast as we can. In year one of a three-yeardeal, because we have three years to integrate everything, we are90% through our synergies. So it is super fast.

We had quite a few tribes visit our booth at G2E. Our boothwas 26,000 sq. ft. It was unbelievable. What they saw is a bigger company. What they love, and they have always loved,is the relationship with our CEO. What Gavin has challengedus with is we need to be easy to do business with. Let's strive for 40% of the floor, but let's get rid of the bureaucracy and allthe BS, and let's be easy to do business with. When Gavinhandshakes, they know they can take that to the bank. That's whythe tribes love him so much. When he promises something, wedeliver on it.

Score GamingBobby Jones, Vice President of Sales and Marketing

G2E 2015 was anexcellent show for us –our best show ever. Thebiggest element was ourgame selection this year.We have a lot of new andinnovative games.

We are very excitedabout our Double UpBlackjack game, whichworks really well becauseit's easy for the dealers to understand and it's easy for the players to understand. It's quick and simple.

Tribal casinos are looking for something new and exciting,

Rick Meitzler, Max Lindenberg and Jens Einhaus


especially for the millennials. Our Three Card 21 “N” Donewas a big attraction at G2E because it's something unique anddifferent. The players get three cards and have the ability to playup to three hands of 21 instead of one hand. You get a lot of actionon that game and a lot of interaction between the players, highfiving each other, etc. Those are two games specifically that I thinkwork very well in tribal casinos.

Video KingRusty Morin, CFO

On the product front, wehave a new Android tablet thathas a connectionless chargingrack that goes with it – bothvery state-of-the-art. We havea new game that we're releas-ing to Indian Country that iscalled PokerNanza – a bingoversion of a video poker gamethat we think will do very wellin Class II environmentsaround Indian Country.

We have a very robust system called Omni – it's our back endsystem that does all of the financial reporting for the halls thatis compliant with all of the minimum internal control standardsthat the back end systems have to comply with. We have a totallyintegrated system – everything from Omni to the bingo blowers, flashboards, new video displays and handsets. We haveone turnkey system that is a complete system for any operationthat's playing electronic bingo in Indian Country.

Indian Country is very important to us. We have relationshipsthat go back from our days when we were tied into Bingo King –back to the early 80s. We helped found and get one of theworld's largest Indian Country bingo halls up and running at Foxwoods back in the 80s. We still have product in there in 2015.Most of us have been in gaming for 20+ years. Tim Stuart hasbeen around 35-40 years and I've been in the business for almost22 years now. Those relationships are very, very important to us.We believe that they're the foundation of keeping companies veryhealthy. We aren't looking to score the fast buck and be insidea location for a year or two. We want to be there 10-15 years ormore and give everybody products and an economic model thatworks and is very prosperous both for us and for them. ®

EXPO COVERAGE

AgilysysDouglas Quist, Account Executive

G2E 2015 has been fantastic –a great turnout. It’s been really goodenergy and lots of interest all around.

With the liability shift in PCIcompliance, everyone out therewants to be innovative, so we areproviding the right technology sothey can be on the cutting edge. Wehave an rGuest Pay payment gate-way that provides that opportunityfor our tribal customers and positions

them so they are not only PCI compliant but also adding evenmore to their current products.

Indian Country means a lot to us. It means innovation. Itmeans cutting edge and lasting connections. Something that'sbeen key to us has been making connections that last farbeyond our technology and far beyond our products.

Casino Careers & Gaming Hospitality Executive PlacementBeth Deighan, President

G2E was a very successful for Casino Careers. We had the opportunity to personally speak with tribal government/

administration members, and regu-latory/operations management oftribal gaming enterprises across the country. By learning about theirstrategic goals and staffing needs, weare able to focus on attracting theexpertise they will need in the future.We are also able to search our data-base for candidates with NativeAmerican enterprise or gamingexperience.

COST of WisconsinJeffrey Sheiber, Director of Business Development

COST of Wisconsinenjoyed exhibiting atG2E this year. We weredelighted to reconnectwith some of our oldfriends and acquain-tances while also meet-ing some new potentialclientele.

Over the past coupleof years, COST’s core

New Products and Services Lead the WayWe asked leading industry vendors about their G2E experience and how they areuniquely positioned to help tribal properties achieve greater success.

Jeffrey Sheiber and John Hawkinson


construction services have continued to grow and diversify, allow-ing us to help the tribes educate and entertain their guests abouttheir heritage and culture in their casinos, hotels, and museums.

Cuningham Group ArchitectureSam Olbekson, Associate, Director of Native American Design& Planning

G2E 2015 was a very success-ful conference for CuninghamGroup Architecture. With over20 years of experience workingdirectly with tribal communitiesacross the country, we were ableto engage and connect withnumerous current and pastclients and continue to foster

new relationships and partnerships.G2E provided a great opportunity to showcase the talent of

our staff, our commitment to exceptional design for tribalcommunities, and the leadership roles we take in the tribaldesign world. As an enrolled member of the White EarthNation of Ojibwe and Director of Native American Planning& Design for Cuningham Group, I was honored to lead a livelyand provocative discussion on key tribal design issues as aconference session speaker. I related and stressed that strate-gies for long-term sustainable economic success of tribal projects are critical to the future success of tribal gaming andhospitality developments in an increasingly evolving market.

With a Native American lead designer and the talent anddepth of our staff as a whole, Cuningham group is uniquelypositioned to continue to be a leader in the tribal design worldand we look forward to future gaming conferences that allow us to showcase our unique abilities to serve tribes inimportant economic and cultural design efforts.

DiTRONICSJim Kirner, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing

G2E has been really goodfor us this year. I don't know ifit's representative for every-body at the show, but I'm optimistic. It's been busierthan the previous year, that'sfor sure. We had decision mak-ers visiting and investing timelooking at new technologiesto see how they can enhancewhat they're already doing.

Native American gaming and our tribal partners are a largepart of our customer base. They're very important to us and we’remaking sure that we build tools that are good for their businesses.Our customers have a fixed amount of real estate on their gaming floors and can determine what the dollar value of that

real estate is down to the sq. ft. They come to us with the needto put kiosks on their floors, which takes up space. We're veryfocused on layering technologies onto that square footage thatgive an enhanced competitive advantage or an opportunity togrow revenues and create a superior customer experience for theplayer. That's really what we're committed to doing.

DreamCatcher Hotels Greg Hnedak, Founder & CEO

For DreamCatcher Hotels,G2E’s new Interactive ResortExperience (IRE) reflected thegrowing interest in providingamenities that complementand enhance the gaming experience at casinos. Thatspeaks to what we do. Wenever stop evolving. We makesure that we stay on the cuttingedge of the latest technology,

the best amenities and the most sought-after features for ourhotels. This year, we generated strong new leads and were ableto showcase our latest innovations to a receptive audience. ForDreamCatcher, the IRE at G2E was a good first effort and weplan to return next year.

At DreamCatcher Hotels, we continue to refine our product. We are currently working on offering a package that aligns our standards with AAA four-diamond status. A four-diamond hotel offers a level of luxury and service that casinoguests will love. We’re doing the research to determine the cost. Our goal is to provide a 4-diamond hotel at 3-star costsin 2016.

DreamCatcher has grown dramatically in 2015. We have twoprojects under construction as we speak, and expect another tostart in early 2016. We remain well positioned to provide a cost-effective hotel solution for Indian Country.

FABICashNicholas Rabito, Sales Account Executive

G2E has been a great show, and we’veheard the same from our customers. The show is massive and with so many different vendors, represents every singlecasino department.

We supply cash access services, debit,credit card, cash advance, title 31 servicesand check cashing. We also have 3 in 1capability on kiosk as well.

Giving back is an important part ofour philosophy. We make charitable contributions in IndianCountry a priority as a company, particularly with helping sendchildren to school. In the past two years, we have provided over$1,000,000 in scholarships to Native American students.


EXPO COVERAGE

Gaming Capital GroupMelissa Cox, VP of Customer Relations

G2E was busierthis year than in thelast few years. You could just tellwith the amount of people on the showfloor and how longthe line was to get badges. For us, it was awesome, especially for ourcustomers. We'repredominately at

G2E to be with our customers, but also to pick up new business. We've had some really good business meetings. It's great that our name is out there. We're “that little company in Oklahoma,” but we're not so little anymore.

We own and operate over 12,000 machines in the state ofOklahoma. What makes us very unique is we're a one-stopshop. Our service is very important and what people werereally talking to us about at G2E. We have 150 employeesand about 50 techs on the ground. It's important for us to have our games up. We buy from all the different manufacturers, so the variety we can offer is very importantto us.

GANDana Takrudtong, VP of Sales and Marketing

This year's G2E has beenvery exciting for us, because it'sour third G2E now as a company. We're based in theUK, but we've now planted aheadquarters in Las Vegas. OurCEO has moved from Londonhere to further commit to theU.S. market. We're really excitedabout that.

The name change fromGame Account Network to GAN is really meant to representour evolution into a more mature software and services provider,akin to an SAP or an IBM level. We really want to show that we'renot just providing a technology platform, we're providing services around that technology and relationships with contentproviders. What GAN brings to the table for our partners is avery symbiotic ecosystem of operators and content providers coming together, and the help in between to make sure thosepartners are running successfully online.

Since coming into the U.S., GAN has made sure that we'vehad a presence within Indian Country in several ways. One, wejoined NIGA right out of the gate. I'm delighted to serve as one

of the iGaming subcommittee members. We're very active inensuring that iGaming has a place in the discussions for the NIGAAssociate Members. We've also ensured that we're focusingour sales commercial efforts on speaking to tribes in the marketplace. Today, half of our customer base is tribal.

We feel Indian Country has always led in gaming as an innovative group of thinkers who are willing to go outside of thebox and try new experiences and more dynamic elements thatthey can bring to their players. San Manuel is the next major tribal partner who will be going live with our social product. We're excited to plant a flag on the West Coast in such an important tribal jurisdiction as California. Our focus will remainwith Indian Country ahead.

Gasser Chair CompanyMark Gasser, President

We've been asupplier to theIndian gamingindustry sinceback when Fox-woods opened andwe supplied the furniture for theirmajor property.The philosophy ofthe company isthat we're not justa supplier, we're a

partner, and we work with the property long after the initialpurchase is made to help them with maintaining their fur-niture, replacement parts, reupholstering, and expansions.

While we are continually developing new products, we neverreally discontinue anything, so we can support the product yearsand years after the initial purchase. In fact, for 25 years we havehad a program where we will take our old product in on tradeagainst the purchase of new, and we repurpose it, recycle it, andwe put as little in the landfill as possible, even to the extent thatif the foam is not usable again, we will recycle it into carpetpadding. That goes along with the Native American belief in protecting the environment and the Earth.

At G2E this year, our additional booth display for high-limitseating was Gasser's effort to recognize the importance of thehigh-limit experience segment of the gaming industry and tohighlight what we believe is our ability to help customersreach their goals to create a unique environment.

GLIRussell Witt, National Director of Tribal Development

When you're working with tribes, you have to have trust.We work very hard to gain that trust. When we have that trustwe want to keep that trust. The big thing for us is providingtribes with the knowledge they need. We're there to provide

Clint Koehn, Melissa Cox, Jim LaPorte

Roger Gasser, Steve Odden, Evelyn Mihin andMark Gasser


the knowledge, theservices, the thingsthey are asking usfor, and we're thereto deliver it everytime and exceedtheir expectations.Knowledge plustrust equals empow-erment. The idea isto empower thetribe so they haveeverything they

need to operate their enterprise side. We’re there to be atrusted partner.

Hnedak Bobo Group (HBG)Dike Bacon, Principal / Partner

It’s been great to see howpositive tribal leaders were atthis year’s G2E. There are a lotof operations people that attendthe show and from slot techs toslot managers all the way up togeneral managers, the responsewith regard to the health of theindustry has just been incredi-bly positive. This is veryencouraging. Right after therecession everybody was going into a black hole and they've longsince gotten out of the black hole and everybody that we've spoken with is just so encouraged about the health and the vitality of the industry.

JCM GlobalTom Nieman, VP Sales & Marketing

Today, technology is a wonderful thing, but we haveto look at what's successful.What's making money? There'sa tremendous percentage oflegacy equipment out there thattribes own. At times, it’s the mostprofitable equipment on thefloor. Everyone wants the latestgames, but the legacy equip-ment can sometimes be a gold

mine. Our bill validator, printer and PromoNet software – whichhandles promotional couponing – can take that and breathe newlife into an area or equipment. Early adapters have been legacyapplications. Operators say, ‘I have this area of the casino over here.What can I do for it?’ They put PromoNet on 20-30 pieces ofequipment, and run special promotions to bring the customers backto that equipment. Operators have seen significant jumps in

activity. That's one area that is often overlooked and can be very profitable for the Native American market.

Another area that we've had tremendous response with isdigital media. It's the third leg for JCM – we do currency validation, transaction printing, and digital media. The ability to offer NanoLumens, Samsung and LG – all ofthese spectacular digital displays, along with the publishingsystem and content. When players can walk in and see thatmassive video wall, it elevates the experience. We installedan 800 sq. ft. curved NanoLumens video wall at Tachi Palace.We got it in and done the week prior to the Superbowl. Theycame back and told us, when word got out, everybody showedup. Since then, it's been a big boon. The use of larger thanlife technology can have a direct effect. It affects the whole attitude towards the brand and can translate very easily intorevenue.

The Rainmaker GroupAngie Dobney, VP Pricing and Revenue Management Services

The show this yearwas fantastic and itseemed like atten-dance was way up.

Our product isvery unique in that itunderstands exactlythe total ancillary revenue spend, whichwould be the profitsfrom the gaming sideof business. We breakthat down by customer segments, which provides fantasticinsight in order to understand and forecast what players are coming in. Our customers are able to do targeted marketingoffers as well as utilize great pricing tools to make sure they areproperly positioned to maximize revenue.

Rymax Marketing ServicesPaul Gordon, Senior Vice President Sales

This year’sG2E had a dif-ferent dynamicand the reasonmay be theconsolidationof a lot of theslot manufac-turers. Thathas given theattendees more

time to actually venture out and see different parts of the gaming industry. It was a strong show. The only thing I missedthis year from previous years was the really big blowout the firstnight. I felt there wasn't one central point, and I really did miss

Russell Witt, Robert Pagliaroli, Alexandra “Alex”Bertone and Joseph Cox

Amy Forss, Angie Dobney and Portia Johnson

Rich Antico, Lori Baron, Leanne Shapiro, Ashley Gelband Paul Gordon


EXPO COVERAGE

it a little bit. It was a phenomenal show and good for our business. The fact that they're bringing in a broader scope ofpeople that are displaying what their services are also makes theshow stronger.

What's interesting about player loyalty is you have the utting edge casinos, whether they're Indian or corporate casinos, who get it and understand that you have to changethings. Then you have a lot of people who are in the status quo.What we try to do is bring an expertise of the marketing playto our customers coupled with unique products. We have 350 brands in total, but 90 of those are exclusive to us. We give casinos an edge from a purchasing standpoint anda perspective that goes outside of the gaming industry. Wehave tremendous clients outside of gaming for loyalty, so weare able to give the casinos a sense of what's working andwhat's not working. That makes a big difference.

TBE ArchitectsChief Boyd, CEO / Principal

We focus onunderstanding thebusiness climate andtying that togetherwith the culturalheritage of a tribeand designing a facility that speaksboth to the gamingincome situation aswell as to the owner-ship of the facilitythat represents the

tribe. We have a unique history of providing those two thingsto the tribes we work for, and since 1964, we’ve worked with109 tribes.

We focus our individual talents and apply those talents tomeet the client’s needs. To get a creative product out of creative people you have to let them enjoy what they do. Weapproach projects in a new way, where people work togetheras a team, accomplishing goals together. We have a good timeand working together creates success for everyone.

UltraViolet DevicesStuart Myers, East Region Sales Manager

The show was excellentfor us. We got a number ofreally good leads.

The product that wewere showing is our photocatalytic system,which removes smoke aswell as odor, by attack-ing volatile chemicals inthe air stream. We have

successful installations in Indian gaming facilities, and theword's beginning to spread that we can in fact control smokeand control odor, so it allows guests to continue to smoke andenjoy themselves and the non-smokers don't feel like they'reexposed to smoke. This product for gaming facilities is gearedtowards smoking, and most of the Indian gaming facilitiesallow smoking, although we have installed these in some non-smoking areas in gaming facilities. The Indian gaming marketis very important to us.

Vantiv Entertainment SolutionsJoe Pappano, SVP and Managing Director

It was another memorable andimpactful year at G2E for VantivEntertainment Solutions. In addi-tion to our strong presence on theshow floor with our industry partnerSightline Payments, we led twointeractive seminars focused on processing cash and leveraging payments analytics as a marketingtool.

As the industry continues toevolve (and showcase its innovations at shows like G2E), Vantiv Entertainment Solutions is well positioned to providetribal operators with frictionless solutions for their paymentneeds. From cashless gaming to card data security to data science to omnichannel solutions, Vantiv is equipped to helptribes thrive.

VizExplorerAndrew Cardno, Chief Technology Officer

This year’s G2E was the bestI've ever seen. Everyone out thereis talking about innovation. It's great to be seen as a leader. It's been an incredible experiencefor me hearing the feedback fromour customers and partners aboutwhat they're doing with our technology, and how successfulthey've been.

The company is growing at arapid rate – over 150%. It's wonderful to be a part of this inno-vative, dynamic industry. We're deeply committed to being greatbusiness partners with tribes, and we've had a lot of success.We bring independence, training and education. We're alsoextending what we do into other areas. We're looking at landdevelopment and other ideas to build on our existing relation-ship with tribal entities. I'm really pleased with how it's going.Indian Country is becoming the leader of innovation in so manyways. There are many tribes who have the capital and resourcesto invest in innovation in ways that are really quite special. It'sbenefiting the whole industry. ®

Nick Schoenfeldt, Chief Boyd, Linda Roe andRich Emery

game technology takes center stage at g2e 2015 interviews.pdf · 36 indian gaming november 2015...

Documents