Global Gaming Business, April 2019

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GGB Global Gaming Business Magazine

April 2019 • Vol. 18 • No. 4 • $10

DATA ANALYTICS IN SMALL CASINOS SPORTS BETTING PERIPHERALS INAUGURAL EKG SLOT AWARDS KILLING WITH KIOSKS

Chasing MICE

Meetings and conventions are exploding in Vegas and all across gaming

Modern Maturity

Market growth continues to surge in Indian Country despite few new casinos

Tournament Time

Why slot competitions are still a top marketing tool

Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers

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CONTENTS

Vol. 18 • No. 4

april

Global Gaming Business Magazine

COLUMNS

22 COVER STORY

MICE Traps

AGA 10 Getting the Word Out

The growth of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions has fed the growth of the industry in general, particularly in Las Vegas, which has seen convention travel rise by nearly 50 percent since 2010. Here’s how the industry continues to fuel growth in the meetings space.

Bill Miller

By Marjorie Preston

Fantini’s Finance 12 Attack of the Activist Investors Frank Fantini

Making My Point 44 The Big Picture Roger Snow

DEPARTMENTS Cover photo and above: Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City

FEATURES 34 Tribal Gaming Grows Despite a slowing of the initial growth explosion of tribal gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, gaming tribes continue to grow the market.

By Dave Palermo

40 Automatic Marketing 16

Improving technology has made the kiosk into a stand-alone marketing tool for casinos.

By Dave Bontempo

16 Tournaments Reinvented

48 The Power of Data

The slot tournament remains a central tool in marketing and promotions for casinos, and technology has removed the old problems associated with staging them.

The use of data to increase the efficiency of gaming operations is no longer restricted to the big operators, as smaller properties begin to utilize data analytics.

By Frank Legato

By Chloe Fletcher and Chris Irwin

28 Supplying the Books

60 EKG Awards First ‘Slotties’

The spread of legal sports betting in the U.S. following last year’s removal of the federal ban has meant opportunity for the suppliers who make it happen.

Large slot manufacturers dominate the first edition of the EKG Slot Awards, as Joe Kaminkow becomes the first EKG Hall of Fame inductee.

By Dave Bontempo

By Frank Legato

4

The Agenda

6

By the Numbers

8

5 Questions

13 AGEM 46 Emerging Leaders With SugarHouse Casino’s Evan Davis, Eastern Shawnee Tribe’s Wendi Long, and Pinnacle Entertainment’s Geoffrey Goodman

52 New Game Review 56 Cutting Edge 58 Frankly Speaking 62 Goods & Services 65 People 66 Casino Communications With Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer, Evolution Gaming

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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THE AGENDA

Vol. 18 • No. 4 • APRIL 2019

Seeing Visions Roger Gros, Publisher

Roger Gros, Publisher | rgros@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @GlobalGamingBiz Frank Legato, Editor | flegato@ggbmagazine.com twitter: @FranklySpeakn Marjorie Preston, Managing Editor mpreston@ggbmagazine.com Monica Cooley, Art Director | mcooley@ggbmagazine.com

W

e’ve had a feature penciled into our editorial schedule for the past two years, but every time we try to tackle it, it becomes a very slippery topic: Where are the new visionaries in gaming?

It should be easy. Just pick gaming’s most successful companies, recognize the leaders and move on.

But of course it’s not that simple.

When you consider who was a visionary in gaming, the list is rather apparent—and long. Benny Binion, Jackie Gaughan, Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson, Kirk Kerkorian, Glenn Schaeffer, Jim Crosby, Bill Bennett, Claudine Williams, Bob Stupak, Jack Binion, Bill Boyd, Peter Carlino, Lyle Berman, and even Donald Trump in his typically clumsy way. And that list only names a few and in no particular order. And it only covers the operators.

Suppliers have their own long list of visionaries. And let’s not forget regulators.

So you can see why we might have a problem.

First thing we wanted to do was to define “visionary” in today’s context. And even that’s hard.

All those people mentioned above were visionaries because they were the first to do something. I was in the first meeting of the Emerging Leaders of Gaming, which GGB produces with The Innovation Group, and John Acres was speaking. Acres is something of a visionary himself, having played roles in inventing player tracking, bonusing and other breakthroughs. This was about seven or eight years ago now, but Acres was telling those 20-somethings and 30-somethings about how exciting it was early in the history of gaming.

“You should have been there then,” he said. “You had the freedom to experiment—to think outside the box. In today’s gaming industry, that isn’t possible.

Everything is controlled by the suits.”

Yes, it was a rather odd way to congratulate these young people who were just starting out in their careers, but Acres has never been known for pulling punches.

So, what can someone do these days that would be considered visionary? Because, what hasn’t been done in gaming yet? I’m sure there are quite a few things that are currently undiscovered, but those won’t become evident until someone actually does them, right?

But Acres is right about the big gaming corporations. There was a period many years ago when executives who worked for Harrah’s at that time all wore

4

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

blue suits. And of course they were all men, for the most part.

Corporate policy often handcuffs innovation and experimentation. In many gaming corporations, even something as local as marketing is controlled from a corporate office hundreds or thousands of miles away from the property. Anyone with vision would be stifled in such a corporate environment and wouldn’t last long.

And does being a visionary mean that you’re a millionaire—or billionaire, for that matter? Of course not. Lots of those names listed above started out dirt poor, and their vision enabled them to amass their fortunes. So, how do you recognize a visionary without his money? Just another difficulty about creating a story on visionaries.

We can clearly compile a list of visionaries in iGaming. It’s a relatively new field and wide open to innovation. So there will definitely be a discussion in this feature about what makes a visionary in this digital world. From the technical aspects of getting gaming to work on the internet and mobile devices, to the experience of playing online, to the mechanics of player acquisition… there are still dozens of innovations that can catapult someone to visionary status.

The same can be said for the sports betting business, even though it’s been operating in Nevada for decades.

Today’s visionaries in gaming would probably come from the non-gaming side. Some people call our industry “casino entertainment” and for good reason. But we seem to forget the “entertainment” side of that description too often.

The casino entertainment environment is going to have to be experiential from now on. You can gamble from your living room couch or kitchen table these days, so you need a compelling reason to visit a casino. The person or company that discovers the secret to luring players into their casino for the total experience is going to be a visionary for sure.

So you can see our dilemma when it comes to this visionary feature. I’d like to solicit your opinions, and nominations too, if you feel so compelled.

We’re a little reluctant to pinpoint anyone who might be a visionary, because once you do that the vision might slip away.

But nominate away, if that’s how you want to get your opinions across. My contact info is in the top of the masthead on this page, and I’ll be looking forward to your emails.

Lauren Byrge, Director, Sales & Marketing LaurenB@GGBmagazine.com Floyd Sembler, Business Development Manager fsembler@ggbmagazine.com Becky Kingman-Gros, Chief Operating Officer bkingros@ggbmagazine.com Lisa Johnson, Communications Advisor lisa@lisajohnsoncommunications.com twitter: @LisaJohnsonPR Columnists Frank Fantini | Bill Miller | Roger Snow Contributing Editors Dave Bontempo twitter: @bontempomedia Maria Casias | Chloe Fletcher Chris Irwin | Allison McCoy Dave Palermo twitter: @DavePalermo4 Tom Zitt

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Rino Armeni, President, Armeni Enterprises

•

Mark A. Birtha, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Hard Rock International

• Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President, Lifescapes International

• Nicholas Casiello Jr., Shareholder, Fox Rothschild

• Jeffrey Compton, Publisher, CDC E-Reports twitter: @CDCNewswire

• Dean Macomber, President, Macomber International, Inc.

• Stephen Martino, Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, MGM Resorts International, twitter: @stephenmartino

• Jim Rafferty, President, Rafferty & Associates

• Thomas Reilly, Vice President Systems Sales, Scientific Games

• Steven M. Rittvo, Chairman Emeritus, The Innovation Group twitter: @InnovGrp

• Katherine Spilde, Executive Director, Sycuan Gaming Institute, San Diego State University, twitter: @kspilde

• Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman, National Indian Gaming Association twitter: @NIGA1985

• Roy Student, President, Applied Management Strategies

• David D. Waddell, Partner Regulatory Management Counselors PC Casino Connection International LLC. 901 American Pacific Drive, Suite 180 • Henderson, Nevada 89014 702-248-1565 • 702-248-1567 (fax) www.ggbmagazine.com The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS are not necessarily the views of the publisher or editor.

Copyright 2019 Global Gaming Business LLC. Henderson, Nevada 89014 GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS is published monthly by Casino Connection International, LLC. Printed in Nevada, USA. Postmaster: Send Change of Address forms to: 901 American Pacific Dr, Suite 180, Henderson, NV 89014

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BY THE

NUMBERS

NoN-GamiNG is the Name of the Game i

t’s been the story for years. Gaming revenue just isn’t that important in Nevada anymore. In the 2019 Nevada Gaming Factbook, the chart at the bottom shows the increasingly sharp decline in the percentage of non-gaming revenue in the state, posting 42.8 percent in 2018. The disparity is much greater on the Las Vegas Strip, around 35 percent. The chart at the top shows the steady overall revenue growth since 2008 in Nevada from the combination of gaming and non-gaming revenues. The Factbook is a publication of the Nevada Resorts Association and can be downloaded at NevadaResorts.org.

Lighter footprint

C

orporate social responsibility is a mainstay of the casino industry and has been for years. To demonstrate this, the American Gaming Association recently published “Corporate Social Responsibility in the Gaming Industry.” The publication demonstrates how the industry cares about responsible gaming, community and employee engagement, sustainability and the environment. The percentage of AGA members that participate in these efforts is demonstrated by the graphic at left. To download a copy of the report, visit AmericanGaming.org.

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

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Artwork, descriptions, game play, photographs, videos, and other product details depicted are subject to change.

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NUTSHELL

“They

5QueStionS

Andrew McCarron Managing Director, SBC (Sports Betting Community)

S

ports betting has the largest share of mobile gaming in Europe, so the establishment of a “community” to serve that market was logical, and the Sports Betting Community was formed. And as part of that service, SBC Events was launched in 2014 to provide a forum for sports bettors and anyone interested in sports betting. Now an institution in the U.K., the company is expanding to the U.S. in April with Betting on Sports America, to be held at the Meadowlands Expo Center April 23-26, along with some networking events held in New York City. Andy McCarron is managing director of SBC, and he sat down with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the ICE trade show in London in February to talk about the U.S. event.

GGB: Tell us how SBC came about and how you got involved.

McCarron: We’ve been active with SBC for 10 years now. It was originally set up just as a networking

1 2 3 4 5

function so everyone could stay in touch, and it truly became a community. I joined in 2014 after a career in trade journalism. I was the editor of Betting Business magazine. During that time, I was frustrated that there was never enough emphasis on sports betting, so I joined SBC to really build a business. Poker was the big game at the time, and sports betting was a bit down the priority list. So we started a conference, Betting on Football, at Stamford Bridge Stadium, home of Chelsea FC, and it was an immediate success. And now we use seven or eight times as much space as we did originally with 2,000 attendees.

What was the inspiration for bringing the show to the U.S.?

We felt it was time to bring what we do to America. We want to help to educate the market on best practices and the like. Networking is always a big part of any of our events, and we invest quite a bit in that, so that’s a big focus with Betting on Sports America. So, it’s a mix of high-quality content and great networking.

The conference itself is at the Meadowlands Expo Center, but there are networking events across the river, correct?

Yes, we believe New Jersey is the right place for this event because it was one of the pioneers of U.S. sports betting. The Meadowlands Exposition Center is a great location because it’s only 30 minutes from Manhattan.

We do networking parties on both ends of the conference. We’re having the pre-registration party at the 40/40 Club in New York City. On the first night of the conference, we’ve hired out the rooftop terrace at the Meadowlands racetrack. And the closing reception will be held at the Sky Room in Manhattan, with great views of the city.

Tell us about the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, and how you’re going to implement it in the U.S.

We started this in 2014, and we have 11 members. It’s a bit trickier in the U.S. because there’s not that big tradition of sports betting, but we’re adding former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the first U.S. member.

What kinds of topics can attendees expect to see covered at Betting on Sports America?

We’ve got several different tracks that last an entire day, including betting and regulations, trading and operations, sponsorship and marketing, sports and betting, demystifying sports betting and more.

We’ve got a master class on affiliate marketing, a very important element of sports betting. So we’ll cover just about everything.

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Said It”

“We respectfully, but unequivocally, take the position that all gaming expansion proposals—particularly those that involve third parties not involved in that agreement—must not only satisfy the state’s best interest, but must also fully honor the exclusivity rights of the tribes in that agreement.”

—Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, owner of Foxwoods, testifying to the Connecticut legislation about gaming expansion in the state

CALENDAR April 1-4: Indian Gaming 2019, San Diego Convention Center. Produced by the National Indian Gaming Association. For more information, visit IndianGaming.org/events.

April 22-25: Betting on Sports America 2019, Meadowlands Exposition Center, New Jersey.

Produced by SBC Events. For more information, visit sbcevents.com/betting-on-sports-america-2019.

April 23: UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series—Table Games & ETGs: Setting the Bar, Stan Fulton Building, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Produced by GGB Magazine and UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. For more information, visit UNLVGHES.com.

April 23-25: Southern Leadership Development Conference, Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood, Florida. Produced by Global Gaming Women. For more information, visit globalgamingwomen.org.

May 7-9: Southern Gaming Summit 2019, Beau Rivage, Biloxi, Mississippi. Produced by the Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality Association.

For more information, visit SGSummit.com.

May 13-15: ICE North America 2019, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts. Produced by Clarion Gaming.

For more information, visit ICENorthAmerica.com.

May 16-17: Japan Gaming Congress 2019, Conrad Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Produced by Clarion Gaming. For more information, visit JapanGamingCongress.com.

May 20-21: Cyprus Gaming Show, Hilton Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus. Produced by Eventus. For more information, visit CyprusGamingShow.com.

May 21-23: Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia), The Venetian, Macau. Produced by the American Gaming Association and Reed Exhibitions. For more information, visit G2EAsia.com.

May 21: UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series—Tribal Gaming Economy: Battling Competition, Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California. Produced by GGB Magazine and UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.

For more information, visit UNLVGHES.com.

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AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

Getting the Word Out Responsibility in gaming is our top priority

By Bill Miller

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

A

s we close out the first quarter of 2019, the acceptance of gaming as a form of mainstream entertainment is at an all-time high. New types of gaming are spreading across the country, and the overwhelming majority of Americans recognize the important role the gaming industry plays in state and local economies as a job creator and driver of tax revenues.

This shift in attitude is no accident—it is the result of our industry’s steadfast commitment to promoting responsibility in gaming.

The American Gaming Association recently conducted comprehensive polling to capture Americans’ attitudes toward the gaming industry and its commitment to promoting responsibility in gaming—and the results were striking.

According to the new research, 90 percent of casino gamblers are actively practicing responsible gaming. Patrons report setting budgets and sticking to them. And, they are aware of responsible gaming resources at significantly high rates.

This research also found that 88 percent of American adults view gambling as an acceptable form of entertainment, 80 percent say the gaming industry is a job creator and six in 10 Americans believe casinos help their local economies.

These findings indicate that our unwavering commitment to promoting responsibility to our customers, our employees and our communities is resonating.

Continuing to ensure that our customers understand how to enjoy our products responsibly, and how to access help if they need it, is more important than ever as gaming’s popularity and accessibility continue to grow with the expansion of legal sports betting.

Consumers in eight states now have the ability to enjoy wagering on their favorite teams

President and CEO American Gaming Association in a regulated environment. The seven new legal sports betting jurisdictions surpassed Nevada in legal handle for the first time ever in January, and with dozens more states actively considering legislation to legalize sports betting, millions of Americans could soon have the opportunity to enjoy gaming in new ways. As such, it’s our priority to foster responsible play and prevent problem gambling by providing the appropriate funding and resources that give all patrons the tools to wager responsibly.

Over the past decade, the industry has engaged in several ongoing efforts to promote responsibility in gaming. In fact, the U.S. gaming industry commits more than $300 million to responsible gaming annually, supporting education, training and rehabilitation programs across the country. AGA members adhere to the association’s Responsible Gaming Code of Conduct, which guides industry commitments to responsible gaming and is updated annually to reflect new developments and industry innovations. In 2018, AGA updated the code to enhance provisions on sports betting and responsible advertising.

New efforts are under way as well. Last year, AGA launched the Responsible Gaming Collaborative, convening a renowned group of thought leaders, stakeholders and academics to chart a new course on the complex issue of responsible gaming.

While our efforts are paying off, our work to promote responsible gaming cannot slow down.

As gaming continues growing in popularity and expands across the country, we must ensure everyone has access to the resources they need.

That’s why we are committed to our continued work with gaming regulators, our partners in the fight against problem gambling and our employees to ensure customers continue to engage in this form of mainstream entertainment responsibly.

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FANTINI’S FINANCE

Attack of the Activist Investors

It’s not just Carl Icahn making demands of Caesars; any public company must deal with shareholder demands

C

arl Icahn buying 9.8 percent of Caesars Entertainment has returned the most celebrated activist investor to gaming.

But Icahn isn’t alone. Investors with a reputation for rattling things to drive up stock prices have been moving in since last year.

Consider: • Caesars. Before Icahn, there were others, such as HG Vora Capital Management, who bought a stake in September prompting Caesars to get defensive advice from Goldman Sachs.

• MGM Resorts has drawn investment from Corvex Management, and Starboard Fund, which famously shook up Darden Restaurants in helping drive up the stock price 60 percent in 2016.

• Playtech has attracted Jason Ader, who earlier helped convince Amaya to sever ties with CEO and chief shareholder David Baazov. The company, now The Stars Group, today is a diversified online behemoth with a nearly $5 billion market cap.

The arrival of the activists is another sign that the casino industry is maturing. In earlier stages, the emphasis was on growth. Companies came into being to grab riverboat licenses.

Existing companies went public to tap public debt and equity markets. Everyone borrowed in the junk bond market to build.

Those days are long behind, and mergers and acquisitions have become the way to grow now. Buy a competitor and wring out expenses, lower marketing costs, achieve economies of scale.

Along with that, buy back stock and start paying dividends. It was a rare gaming bird that paid dividends just a few years ago. Recurring dividends are now routine.

So, we’ve reached the latest stage: outsiders in the form of activist investors coming in and demanding what are euphemistically called reviews of strategic alternatives.

In most industries, there would be yet an-

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

By Frank Fantini

other stage: mergers between industries. Many believe that won’t happen with gaming because lodging and entertainment executives would not want to go through gaming’s intrusive licensing process.

But that isn’t necessarily true. It’s worth noting that lodging companies Promus, Ramada and Hilton, and lodging investors such as Barry Sternlicht, once owned casinos. Their problem was that they didn’t understand casinos and couldn’t tolerate the volatility of gamblers sometimes winning and wrecking a quarter’s earnings.

The gaming world has changed considerably since then, as have views of the industry by Wall Street and public policymakers in most states.

Meanwhile, the current efforts by activist investors to unlock value is being met by some receptivity on the part of casino companies.

Aside from Caesars’ initial apprehensive reaction, companies appear open to working with their new investors rather than combating them.

Caesars has appointed three Icahn allies to its board in place of three incumbents, and with the opportunity to appoint a fourth. Caesars also solicited Icahn’s advice on a CEO to replace Mark Frissora, who is scheduled to depart

by April.

No shrinking violet, Icahn quickly suggested Tony Rodio, CEO of little Affinity Gaming and former CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, another gaming success story for Icahn, who increased that company’s value several-fold before selling for $1.85 billion to Eldorado Resorts.

Icahn’s goal for Caesars is a lot more than a new CEO and some friendly board members.

He wants the company to sell all or part of itself. Caesars has unrealized value in its many properties, and more potential in its Total Rewards player loyalty program, Icahn has said.

MGM almost immediately reported that it was having constructive discussions with its new

investors, and followed that up with creating a committee to study the company’s real estate holdings and make recommendations on what to do with them. On the three-member committee is Keith Meister of Corvex, who also had won a seat on MGM’s board of directors.

Ader won one of his goals at Playtech when founder and former CEO Teddy Sagi sold his remaining shares. Sagi denied his sale was in response to Ader, who had warned that Sagi’s former legal problems would keep the company out of the emerging U.S. online gaming industry if he remained a major shareholder. Regardless of Sagi’s reasons, he’s gone, and Playtech has just announced a major supplier agreement with GVC, meaning the company will be providing products to the online market in New Jersey, where GVC operates.

Of course, the point of all the activism isn’t just to rattle management or win tactical battles. It’s to raise stock prices.

In that regard, the activists haven’t moved any needles yet. MGM is about flat with its September price when the activist holdings were revealed; Playtech is off around 10 percent since then; and Caesars, which was around $12.80 when positions by HG Vora and other activists were revealed, was under $9 as of this writing.

In fact, the stocks have had similar patterns. They bumped up when activist stakes were announced, and then settled down. Even the arrival of Icahn at Caesars provided just a blip before another dip.

However, the activists have records of success. And Icahn, especially, has demonstrated the ability in gaming to buy assets that eventually provide him with a significant reward. In the case of Caesars, that means a public company open for others to play along with him.

Frank Fantini is the editor and publisher of Fantini’s Gaming Report. For a free 30-day trial subscription email subscriptions@fantiniresearch.com.

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AGEMupdate AGEM MEMBER PROFILE

Synergy Blue provides the casino industry with a new generation of entertainment, through games that are certified and backed by industry-leading patents. The company’s HAWG (Hybrid Arcade Wager-based Gaming) platform blends GLI 11-compliant, skill-based, Class II (coming soon) and Class III gambling with the uninterrupted entertainment of arcade-style play. With a growing library of games showcasing multiple styles, the company continues to deliver fun you can bet on through innovative and entertaining content for everyone.

This year, Synergy Blue will have over 19 skill-based, arcade-style gambling games in its library, showcasing multiple styles including multi-player, touch-screen, joystick, trackball, arcade gun and driving-style play. Several titles are also available on a bar-top multi-game version. From gambling arcade-gun play to driving games and skill-based twists on classics like mahjong and poker, Synergy Blue’s game library continues to deliver innovative, entertaining fun for everyone.

The casino gaming industry is continuing to evolve, with many looking for innovative ways to attract new demographics and drive player engagement. Growing competition in an increasingly crowded industry is leading executives to explore every potential new source of casino revenue, and a lot of attention is being paid to skill-based and arcade-style games.

At ICE 2019, Synergy Blue, which has been creating skill-based games and platforms since 2013, released new research on the state of skill-based gaming. The report, titled “The State of Skill-based Games in a New Era of Gambling,� explores the state of adoption and expectations for skill-based games in casinos, and also reveals some interesting data from the innovative early adopters.

The report discusses how future generations of gamers will increasingly be more tech-savvy and digitally native, discontented with games that require little more than pushing a button. According to the research, half (50 percent) of casino executives said that Gen Xers, who are more financially established, are their target growth demographic over the next five years. And they believe that skill-based and arcade-style games could help them attract those Gen Xers, who make up the early video gaming generations and are accustomed to more engaging and immersive gaming experiences.

The data from those who have already made the leap and adopted skill-based games, or games with skill/arcade components, does show some promise, with 81 percent agreeing that the games provide a different player experience and 38 percent saying they have added a unique marketing element for their property.

To download a copy of the report, visit SynergyBlue.US.

AGEM Board of Directors Actions – March 2019 • The AGEM Gaming Census covering North American slot, table and systems data supplied by operators starting December 2018 was recently shared with members. This latest report reflects the yearover-year improvements in the survey numbers and with 431,000 slots included, which represents the most comprehensive slot sampling in the industry’s history. • AGEM’s recent initiative to make changes to the current regulations that prohibit slot machine or table gaming companies to show games or new innovations that don’t have lab approval at the annual Washington Indian Gaming Association-organized trade show had some success recently. The Washington State Gambling Commission (WSGC) is working toward having everything resolved in time for this year’s show, set for June 17-19 at Tulalip Resort Casino in Marysville, Washington. • AGEM’s Nevada workforce development effort to lower the age of gaming supplier employment and internships from 21 to 18 is moving forward as Assembly Bill 221, which has its hearing by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on March 13. • AGEM members recently approved sponsorship of some forthcoming trade shows and events which included $15,000 for a reception at the Canadian Gaming Summit to be held June 18-20, Edmonton, Alberta; $5,000 to support the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) 38th annual International Gaming Summit, June 4-6, at Half Moon Bay, California; and $50,000 for a two-year title sponsorship of the AGEM-AGA Golf Classic Presented by JCM Global—this contin

ues to be a key for the National Center for Responsible Gam event for AGEM providing a fundraiser Now in it’s $3 million in donations for this very 21st year, the event has raised almost ing (NCRG). worthy organization. • The UK Dealer Championship 2019 organized by the National Casino Forum was recently held at Genting International Casino, Resorts World Birmingham. This year’s competition included 26 finalists from casinos all over the U.K. and saw Catalina Huzum of Les Ambassadeurs Club become the first female to hold the title, along with receiving a £2,000 cash prize. Both Huzum and first unner-up Chris Hall, from Crockford’s Casino London, now go forward to the European Dealer Championship, of which AGEM is a main sponsor, where they will represent the U.K. in Tallinn, Estonia in late April. • AGEM welcomed a new Associate member in March—Butler Snow LLP, a law firm serving the gaming industry from multiple states. This takes membership to an all-time high of 173 companies.

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The AGEM Index increased in February 2019 by 0.15 points to 463.73 points, a 0.03 gain from January 2019. The largest positive contributor to the AGEM Index in February 2019 was Scientific Games Corporation (SGMS), which added 6.47 points due in large part to a 15.96 percent increase in stock price.

(IGT) experienced

a 5.44 percent stock

gain from $16.36

International Game Technology Plc. price to

$17.25, which led to an index contribution of 2.91 points.

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while the NASDAQ

3.4 percent.

AGEM is an international trade association representing manufacturers of electronic gaming devices, systems, lotteries and components for the gaming industry. The association works to further the interests of gaming equipment manufacturers throughout the world. Through political action, trade show partnerships, information dissemination and good corporate citizenship, the members of AGEM work together to create benefits for every company within the organization. Together, AGEM and its member organizations have assisted regulatory commissions and participated in the legislative process to solve problems and create a positive business environment.

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

13

p. 16 Tournaments:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:13 PM Page 16

Tourney Time Technology has changed the way casinos stage slot tournaments

By Frank Legato

A

s much as technology has changed everyday life, it has changed the casino floor. Today’s slot floor bears little resemblance to the floor of 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. But through all that change, one method of promoting the slot floor has remained at the forefront: the slot tournament.

Slot tournaments themselves, in fact, remained unchanged from when slot machines first soared in popularity in the 1980s until well into the 21st century. An operator would either identify a bank of machines to be used as tournament games, placing them in a roped-off area— idle, aside from the tournaments—or would purchase tournament chips for a bank of games and have teams of attendants physically switch the game chips out before and after the events.

Neither method was perfect. The first way would waste valuable floor space on non-earning machines. The second way was very labor-intensive, not to mention the few horror stories over the years of attendants inadvertently leaving a 120-percent-payback chip in a machine after a tournament.

Over the years, operators accepted the problems inherent with each method, since slot tournaments have always been effective as player’s club rewards and customer loyalty incentives, not to mention filling the slot floor with incremental play on otherwise slow days.

For the past decade, technology from several suppliers has solved the ageold problems of slot tournaments, as well as offering new, entertaining play experiences that give operators the option to move away from the old repeti16

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

tive 10-minute bash-fest that constituted the old-school slot tournament.

Suppliers now offer tournament games with special features to boost points, or others that use favorites already on the floor as tournament games—all switching between tournament and in-revenue mode instantly.

No roped-off idle machines, no more outdated games used only for tournaments, and nearly Everi TournEvent 6.0 none of the labor costs of the old days.

These days, tournaments are as small or as large as a casino needs, and can involve the old roped-off special-event tournaments as they always were, on-demand sessions at a player’s leisure as a reward for achieving point thresholds on the slots, or just about any other configuration that suits the promotional needs of the moment.

Technology and Opportunism As it turns out, the old problems of slot tournaments were not solved by the operators’ teams responsible for staging the events, but by the technology pouring from the slot manufacturers—beginning with a pioneering system from what was then Austin, Texas-based Multimedia Games, one of the two legacy companies of today’s Everi Holdings.

Ironically, the technology that would become the groundbreaking TournEvent tournament product was the result of a larger technological trend that ultimately did not pan out—the early 2000s frenzy to develop server-based slot systems.

In the mid-2000s, Multimedia Games introduced a server-based system

p. 16 Tournaments:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:13 PM Page 17

Konami Synkros TrueTime Tournament

called Casino Commander, which enabled timed changes of games, denominations and payouts, scheduled according to the time of day or week, or on the fly, for any given number of slot machines. However, regulations in many jurisdictions prevented widespread adoption.

“Operators were still tied to the red tape they had to use with tribal gaming authorities to create a paperwork trail to change a game or payout,” recalls John Carpenter, senior product manager at Everi. However, he says, changing a game instantaneously for a promotional tournament—and then back to revenue mode just as quickly—carried no regulatory roadblocks, as well as solving all those old tournament efficiency issues.

“So, we took all the best features of the system, and in 2010, we rebranded the tournament module as TournEvent. Over the last eight years, it’s grown from less than 10 sites to now over 400 sites with 5,000-plus machines.”

The TournEvent system caught on quickly with Multimedia customers, and has continued to grow in popularity since the merger that created Everi.

“We really focused, early on, on making the system efficient for operators,” Carpenter says. “That was the real key—working to automate specific tasks operators were doing previously, and reducing the overhead so they didn’t have to have an army of staff to run these events.”

TournEvent also was different in the nature of the tournament games themselves. Early on, the company created unique games tailored to create excitement in the contests. Players still bashed the button on a video slot, but balloons and other objects would float across the touch-screen surface, adding points if the player touched them on the screen. Other features, like a “Jump to First” feature that would load a random contestant’s point total to first in the contest, would keep players engaged.

Soon, the available tournament games themselves multiplied. Today, there are 22 unique titles, ranging from holiday themes to different interactive bonuses, and even a complete skill-based contest based on the game Fruit Ninja.

One distinguishing factor of TournEvent is an integral video host—or the ability to have an actual host as an emcee for each tournament. In 2012, the company first exploited this feature by traveling to customer locations for satellite contests in what became known as the TournEvent of Champions, the first two being statewide tournaments in California and Washington. In 2013, the event went national, and in 2015, the company staged its first TournEvent with a $1 million top prize, awarded in tournament finals in Las Vegas—all finalists, winners of the satellite contests, getting airfare and accommodations for “Everi’s The Million Dollar Event” in Las Vegas, every one winning a cash prize of at least $500.

Today, the TournEvent system has installations in Canada and South

“Everything is managed, controlled and deployed through the Synkros casino management system, so casino operators don’t have to reserve dedicated tournament-only machines or purchase a large set of specialized game cabinets.”

—Jay Bertsch, Vice President of Global System Sales, Konami Gaming

America as well as the U.S. It also has an increasing lineup of competition from other suppliers, each of which has poured new development money into tournament products.

System-Friendly While Everi’s TournEvent certainly injected new life into the genre, other suppliers have captured the benefits of tournaments minus the old hassles by utilizing the evolving technology of casino management systems.

In 2011, Scientific Games (then Bally Technologies) launched its first tournament products run through its casino management systems.

Using the Bally iVIEW Display Manager installed on slots of both SG and competitors, the company launched what is now Scientific Games DM Tournaments, part of the Elite Bonusing Suite (EBS) of player rewards downloaded through the system to active carded slot machines.

The EBS group includes Virtual Racing, a floor-wide bonus video horse race played out on the monitors, and several individual bonus games as well as the DM Tournament module, which allowed casinos to configure slot tournaments on any group of machines, up to an entire casino, choosing any configuration of scheduled session times.

The tournaments run on the iVIEW displays of all the machines, with any of several hit Scientific Games themes as the tournament game. The first DM Tournaments were run on three-reel and five-reel video versions of Bally games Hot Shot and Quick Hit, but Scientific Games has since added more games carrying content from both Bally and WMS legacy game libraries. Customers can now opt to stage tournaments using Hot Shot, Monopoly, Jackpot Frenzy or Quick Hit Mania themes.

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

17

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IGT Spin-Splosion IGT IncrediBell!

Scientific Games now also offers DM Tournaments Express, which is a stand-alone module that can run the same tournaments without having to integrate with the casino management system.

“Tournaments Express can be installed onto any EGM that is compatible with iVIEW Display Manager, of which there are over 200 compatible slot cabinets from over 20 different manufacturers, with no back-end integration,” explains Tony Alanis, senior product manager for Scientific Games. “It creates a roped-off tournament that can be enabled or disabled whenever you want.”

Operators are able to switch between in-revenue and tournament mode through the DM Tournaments Express application.

DM Tournaments allow operators flexibility to design their own tournaments—free-play rewards, invite-only, buy-in contest, player-start tournaments, group-start tournaments and more. “Ultimately, you can get into your multi-day, multi-session, multi-round, shuffled-prize tournament,” Alanis says.

The tournament offering also is being refined by other slot suppliers in conjunction with casino management systems—namely, the Synkros system from Konami and the Advantage system from International Game Technology.

According to Jay Bertsch, vice president of global system sales for Konami Gaming, Konami first added a tournament module to Synkros in 2012. Called True-Time Tournaments, the system allows operators to schedule synchronized or on-demand tournaments that automatically qualify carded players for entry based on specific criteria and behavior. “Today it is used across many different types of casino properties to bring the excitement of slot tournaments to any number of machines by any manufacturer, with the tap of a button,” Bertsch says.

“Depending on a property’s unique promotional needs, True-Time Tournaments has the flexibility to deliver synchronized tournament games and ondemand tournament games to reward carded players. Some of our customers create dedicated sections where their players compete in synchronized tournaments, others like floor-wide events, others award entries for players to access on-demand at their convenience. Some properties will circulate through any number of these depending on the particular promotion.”

IGT, meanwhile, offers three tournament game groups under its TournXtreme product, which is powered by the Tournament Manager system. “The Tournament Manager product is an agnostic module, meaning it can exist on a casino floor that is managed by another casino management system, or it can exist within our Advantage ecosystem,” explains Michael Ratner, director of product management for IGT. “Obviously, there are benefits when it’s coupled 18

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

to our Advantage system.”

He says with Tournament Manager as part of the Advantage system, “you can use a tournament entry as a currency, a way to reward your player. For any kind of activity your player may do on the casino floor—time-based, coin-in based, it’s your birthday—you have this tournament currency in addition to the other currencies.”

But what’s truly unique about Tournament Manager is that it feeds tournaments to three completely different game styles—stepper slots, video reel games and video poker games. “IGT is the only manufacturer in the industry that offers all three modes of gaming—poker, stepper and video—within the tournament space,” Ratner says.

“Under the same Tournament Manager application, you are able to now offer your players on the casino floor an opportunity to play traditional stepper tournaments, video reel tournaments and poker tournaments—and in fact, you can stage a tournament in which all of your tournament attendees get to play all three separately, and consolidate their scores into one score.

“So, as a casino operator, you have tremendous flexibility in offering your players various tournament experiences, or you can create one tournament experience that includes all three.”

Flexibility First Flexibility, in fact, is arguably the first consideration in new additions to all the top tournament systems. Everi, for example, this year will launch TournEvent Now, part of the TournEvent 6.0 version previewed at last fall’s Global Gaming Expo. The new feature enables an on-demand first round for events such as the national TournEvent of Champions.

“We see the TournEvent Now functionality taking over the Round One qualifier,” says Carpenter, “where operators are spending a lot of time and energy with their support staff in getting 1,000 people in Round One to qualify for the next round. With TournEvent Now, the operator will set requirements ahead of time that enable a player to walk up to a slot machine in revenue mode and put their card in. If that player is eligible, a pop-up will appear and ask them if they want to play TournEvent Now.” When the player accepts the invitation, the game—which would be a core Everi game in revenue mode—instantly converts to tournament mode, and switches back to revenue mode when the tournament session ends.

“The operator doesn’t need to rope off the machines, or get people on and off,” Carpenter says. “Now we can get those thousand people through the tour-

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p. 16 Tournaments:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:13 PM Page 20

“One of the flexibilities of DM Tournaments and DM Tournament Express module is that our tournament harness is compatible with over 200 cabinets. Not only SG cabinets, but also competitor cabinets.”

—Tony Alanis, Senior Product Manager, Scientific Games

nament on their own time, at their own pace, and we still have a qualifier where a certain number of people will advance to Round Two, and that’s your community-style event, the same tried-and-true contest where everyone’s competing against their neighbors.”

Julia Kelly, director of creative marketing and promotions for Everi, says adding this mode of session—sometimes called “sit-and-go” or “walkup”—has additional benefits for the operator. “You can use this as a qualifying event that serves as a bounce-back,” Kelly says.

“For example, ‘You qualified for this next event that’s happening on Wednesday.’ Maybe they hadn’t planned to come on Wednesday. That’s additional revenue we’re helping the operator bring into the casino that wasn’t there before.”

Scientific Games’ DM Tournaments system also includes an on-demand tournament feature. “The operator has the ability to configure earning qualifications,” explains Alanis, “so those earning qualifications can be based on coin-in, coin-loss, or other certain player-based criteria, and then, once they’ve progressed toward the tournament, we can enable a feature where they can go in and play a tournament with other players across the floor who may be eligible for that tournament.”

Players follow their progress toward a tournament entry through a bar on the iVIEW display, which will change color when the player is eligible.

“That is essentially a satellite tournament that’s not in a roped-off environment,” Alanis says.

Flexibility in the newest tournament systems also extends to the hardware. Tournament themes are no longer confined to special machines or cabinets—games that are established earners serve as the in-revenue versions of the machines for live play between tournaments. “In revenue 20

mode, we have 150-plus standard video titles they can play that include high- and low-denom, and different payouts,” says Everi’s Carpenter. “We have the 22 unique titles that make up our out-of-revenue tournament game library.”

Other tournament systems are using in-revenue games from their core libraries as well. “Synkros True-Time Tournaments doesn’t require dedicated machines,” says Konami’s Bertsch. “It allows players to both earn tournament entries from any machine and play tournaments on any True-Time Windowing-equipped machines.”

He adds those machines don’t have to be Konami games. “Practically any touch-screen enabled gaming device can be instantly transformed into a tournament-capable machine, and then returned back into revenue-generating game play,” Bertsch says. “Everything is managed, controlled and deployed through the Synkros casino management system, so casino operators don’t have to reserve dedicated tournament-only machines or purchase a large set of specialized game cabinets.”

For tournament mode, Konami has loaded Synkros True-Time Tournaments with a library of tournament game themes, including Midway Madness, Hero Collection, Fruit Funds, Romancing the Reels and more.

Players have the option to choose their game theme on Synkros. Players are given a menu of game theme options when claiming their tournament entries. This is a feature that operators can enable or disable, for any number of available tournament themes.

Scientific Games’ DM Tournaments was one of the pioneers of system tournaments across all cabinets on a slot floor. “One of the flexibilities of DM Tournaments and DM Tournaments Express module is that our tournament harness is compatible with over 200 cabinets,” says Alanis. “Not only SG cabinets, but also competitor cabinets.”

This capability is what enabled huge events like the World’s Largest Slot Tournament at Mohegan Sun and a similar event at Pechanga in California, both property-wide slot tournaments.

IGT’s Tournament Manager system, of course, adds the flexibility of allowing players to choose between steppers, video reels and video poker—and allows operators to tailor promotions to each type of player. “We found our customers are catering toward specific demographics—people who love poker, people who love stepper, and so forth,” says Ratner. “We’re trying to convey to our customers that a tournament experience doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re catering to a specific demographic. However, while your video players may not want to play video poker, as a fun experience, you can expose them to a video poker tournament if you want.”

Ratner says IGT’s system also uses proven performers in revenue mode.

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

GlobalGa

p. 16 Tournaments:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:13 PM Page 21

“I believe a really compelling, unique selling proposition with our product is that we’re able to take our very best machines and best themes, so when the tournament is not in action, the operator has the benefit of cash mode,” he says.

“In other words, they’re just regular slot machines. But the beauty of this is it’s on our latest cabinets, with our latest themes—Scarab, Solar Disc, Golden Egypt, you name it—as regular cash machines. And they’re easily switchable over to tournament mode. So you have the benefit of both worlds.”

Into the Future Suppliers of tournament products continue to push the innovation envelope with new features, and unique tournament games that are increasingly creative, from themes like the tried-and-true Scientific Games titles to Everi’s skill-based Fruit Ninja to IGT’s specially designed video reel game for Tournament Manager, IncrediBell, which themes each round according to a period in the history of the slot machine.

The tournaments themselves will continue to evolve. “As it becomes more competitive,” says Scientific Games’ Alanis, “being more dynamic will be important, when it comes to the ability to offer the tournaments not only in the brickand-mortar, but to allow players to play tournaments on their mobile device, and also possibly through an SG Digital web portal as well.

“I think as jurisdictions become more flexible with their offerings, and allow patrons to plug into their mobile device or a web portal, sending an SMS message that you have the ability to play a tournament now from your mobile device—I think that’s where the market is going.”

IGT’s Ratner notes that the “old-school” slot tournament is still available to any customer who wants it. “There’s nothing wrong with doing that—if it works for you, then by all means do it. But there are more efficient ways of doing it. The savings come from not having to have someone walk around and physically place machines into a tournament mode. The number of people required to run a tournament is reduced, and most importantly, the machines, when not in tournament mode, are in cash mode, and are still the most sought-after titles.”

“The tournament idea will always be around,” says Everi’s Carpenter. “We don’t see it going anywhere, and it’s always going to be used as a promotional tool for the casino to provide the excitement that customers love about a tournament—smashing the button at a hundred times a second, and yelling and screaming, is always something that attracts a crowd and gives players an opportunity to participate in an exciting event.

“Tournaments will always be used as a currency to reward players, or incentivize players to do certain things. And once they’ve qualified for an event, that excitement resonates with players, and they will continue to come back.”

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p. 22 meetings:Layout 1 3/14/19 6:40 PM Page 22

Taking Care of

Business

Billions of dollars in new development is coming to Las Vegas, much of it designed to capture business travelers, who outstay and outspend other tourists | By Marjorie Preston

F

or Steve Hill, it’s a beautiful sound: the clamor of cranes, jackhammers, loaders and dozers on a major construction project.

It’s a sound he can’t quite escape these days, as construction crews work to complete the $1.4 billion expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“I can look out my window and see the second and third floor of the meeting hall area taking shape,” says Hill, CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “The pad has been prepared for the exhibition area. We started setting steel in March. We’re making good progress.”

That development and others in the pipeline—the $375 million Caesars Forum, the $75 million MSG Sphere at the Venetian, and the Strip’s first JW Marriott at the Drew—will serve a customer demographic that’s increasingly cherished by gaming operators: business travelers.

The Bigger the Better In 2017, MICE—short for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions—drew 6.6 million people to Las Vegas, or 11 percent of all visitors.

Since 2010, convention travel to Las Vegas has risen nearly 50 percent, compared with an 8 percent increase for leisure tourists.

Recently completed projects in Las Vegas include the MGM Grand

The new Caesars Forum, going up behind the Linq on the Strip, will feature a room without columns that could hold three football fields 22

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Conference Center. MGM Resorts now offers a staggering 4 million square feet of MICE space, all on the Vegas Strip, reportedly more than all the convention space in Manhattan. Wynn Resorts, meanwhile, has embarked on a development that includes a new 400,000-square-foot convention center expansion.

According to GLS Research, 79 percent of business travelers come to Vegas on a weekday, room alone, and pay a higher average hotel rate ($141.36). Better still, when they aren’t stuck in a conference room, those visitors spend more on average than their leisure counterparts; with most of their expenses on the company dime, their own money becomes play money. By one estimate, in total expenditures MICE delegates can contribute as much as four times more per visit than their leisure counterparts.

Without all the new development, the Las Vegas MICE segment may have been heading for a stall; there just wasn’t enough space. That’s all changing now, and for the better, says Hill. “There’s not only room to grow, but demand to grow. There are 3.5 million total square feet of meeting space under construction in (Las Vegas), and we’re excited about that.”

The concept is pretty straightforward: MICE business helps casino resorts fill hotel rooms during midweek, activates visitation year-round, re-

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Stay Well Room at MGM Grand

Meeting Expectations

I “The goal is kind of this campus mentality—the hotel, the restaurants, the shopping, the High Roller, the Forum, all within easy walking distance.”

—Michael Massari, Chief Sales Officer, Caesars Entertainment

duces the impact of seasonality and of course, turns conventioneers into paying customers at restaurants, bars, retail stores and slot machines.

The business in Vegas is strongest from January to mid-May: the holidays are over, the kids are back in school, and more people have the chance to travel for work. “Then it flips on its head,” says Hill. “With family travel and school vacations, organizers tend to not schedule larger shows in summer.

Then it picks back up from September and October and into November.”

Leisure tourists are apt to sidestep big trade-show weeks, when rooms and rates are at a premium—and that’s to the good, says Hill. “When you have CES in town at beginning of January, that tends to push the leisure traveler into a different week. Meetings help balance the leisure market.”

Trade-show and meeting attendees come from all over the world, building global branding, he adds: “About 16.5 percent of our total visitation is international, and it’s slightly more than that for conventions and meetings.”

The MICE Will Play By this time next year, Caesars Entertainment will have opened its new $375 million Forum conference center, with 300,000 square feet of meeting space connected by skybridge to Harrah’s, the Flamingo and the Linq.

For Caesars, it’s a bit of catch-up ball. According to Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari, “If you were to build a new facility in this market today,

n the past, convention and meeting participants may have been content (or resigned) to sit for hours in colorless conference rooms, be served gluey pasta dishes for lunch or dinner, then retire to rooms stale with tobacco smoke.

No more. Expectations have become much higher, especially with millennials comprising half of the workforce. To keep these picky customers satisfied, many hotels now offer “wellness rooms” complete with air purification systems, aromatherapy and circadian lighting (including “dawn simulators”) to help fight jet lag. Wyndham Hotels and MGM Resorts offer Stay Well rooms endorsed by Deepak Chopra. Four Seasons Hotels maintain stringent noise standards for “optimal sleep acoustics.” And many resorts also offer apps directing guests to local wellness programs.

Appetites have changed, too. Millennials more than their parents or grandparents want a menu that includes vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO and farm-to-table options.

An increasing number of planners are considering alternative meeting spaces—outdoors, on rooftops, in nature—and fun, immersive, shareable experiences, part of a phenomenon they call “festivalization.”

These experiences stoke attendance, boost buy-in, create bonding among team members and ensure that everyone has a good time. In a notable example, Austin’s popular South by Southwest Festival now matches business and pleasure; along with multi-stage entertainment, SXSW has incorporated a trade show element that hosts “a diverse range of forward-thinking exhibitors.”

Bright ice-breakers from recent conferences include panel sessions inspired by game shows like Deal or No Deal and The Newlywed Game; group charging stations powered by stationery bikes, pre-choreographed flash mobs, walkie-talkies, meetings conducted while delegates enjoy a stroll or hike, and even drum circles.

At the GLI Regulators Roundtable at Luxor in March, a party at the HyperX eSports Arena included video games for all and a Super Mario Go-Kart tournament.

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

23

p. 22 meetings:Layout 1 3/14/19 2:51 PM Page 24

“We’re called the MICE giants.

And me? I’m called the MICE rat.”

—Sheldon Adelson, in a 2008 interview with Cigar Aficionado

“There’s not only room to grow, but demand to grow. There are 3.5 million total square feet of meeting space under construction in (Las Vegas), and we’re excited about that.”

—Steve Hill, CEO, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

In the Beginning The Las Vegas Convention Center will soon have an entrance on the Strip

you’d build it with a quarter million square feet of meeting space and a 2,000- to 3,000-room hotel. When we built the Flamingo, Harrah’s and the Linq many years ago, we didn’t do that, and we knew we wanted to have meetings and event business as part of the offering at those properties.”

But networking and PowerPoints are just a prelude to the larger experience. After the meetings adjourn, the suit-and-tie crowd will be able to spill out of the Forum and onto the Linq Promenade, an entertainment corridor crammed with bars, boutiques, clubs, a zip-line attraction and of course, the 550-foot-tall High Roller, the largest Ferris wheel in the world.

“The goal is kind of this campus mentality—the hotel, the restaurants, the shopping, the High Roller, the Forum all within easy walking distance,” says Massari. “It’s probably the next evolution of the integrated resort—an IR, but bigger and broader and utilizing more partners, which always enhances the outcome.” In a smart move, Caesars put all the meeting space on one level, so organizers, vendors and attendees can get in and out quickly.

A lot has been made of the facility’s two massive pillarless ballrooms (according to Caesars, each is equal in size to 27 tennis courts or three hockey rinks). Though the spaces will easily seat groups of 10,000, groups of 50 “won’t get lost in the shuffle,” promises Massari.

Then there’s the outdoor meeting space—all 100,000 square feet of it.

24

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

I

t might be more accurate to call Adelson the big cheese.

He’s the guy who made meeting and convention spaces a staple of the gaming industry. He’s the guy who coined the term MICE—for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions—a pioneering model that’s becoming the standard at commercial and tribal gaming resorts around the world.

In the 1970s, Adelson was a leader in the trade show industry. His company, Interface, brought the Computer Dealers Expo to the MGM Grand and made it the biggest annual convention in Las Vegas. Ten years later, when he bought the Sands Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Adelson was less interested in the hotel and casino than in the chance to build a convention center next door.

The following year, he did so. The Sands Expo and Convention Center, which now adjoins the Venetian, remains one of the largest privately owned convention centers in the world at more than 2 million square feet.

He’s replicated the model in Macau and Singapore and, given the chance, will doubtless do so again in Japan.

In the casino industry, with gaming a smaller slice of the revenue pie, MICE helps make up the difference—and then some. According to Allied Market Research, the meetings business worldwide accounted for $752 million in spending in 2016 and could reach $1.245 billion by 2023.

p. 22 meetings:Layout 1 3/14/19 2:51 PM Page 26

The Eventful Stay “The literature about getting outside (to enhance) learning is quite robust and almost unanimously accepted,” observes Massari. “While I think the space will ultimately be used for breaks, I also think somebody will wake up on a Tuesday with a general session for 5,000 people scheduled on Wednesday, look at the weather and say, ‘You know, it would be great to have our general session outside. Can we do that?’ And the answer will be yes.”

It’s just one example of the company’s increasing presence in the meetings industry; Caesars is developing conference centers in Dubai, Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico and at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. This year, the company will complete a $56 million renovation of its Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, the largest conference complex on the East Coast.

Though virtual meetings, teleconferences and webinars cost next to nothing and are commonplace these days, Massari is confident they’ll never replace on-site gatherings, as long as organizers deliver the goods: the right destination, the right vibe, comfort and connectivity, and of course, a great after-party.

“Meeting face-to-face today isn’t that much different than meeting 10 years ago or thousands of years ago when the Romans gathered in the Forum,” he says. “They’ve evolved to be more participant-oriented, and that’s appealing for all generations. It’s a change with the times.”

By the way, the acronym MICE has started to give way to ME, for meetings and events, handily sidestepping the rodent reference. Another term that’s being bandied about is “bleisure,” for the business-and-leisure guest. It’s a concept to remember, but a word to forget.

L

ast year, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians completed the $300 million expansion of its Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California. In addition to 560 rooms and suites and a 4.5-acre pool complex, the tribe added new meeting and event space, including the 40,000-square-foot Pechanga Summit.

Depending on the business opportunity, it’s as necessary a trend in tribal gaming as in commercial, says Katherine Spilde, gaming expert and associate professor of the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at San Diego State University.

“As the market gets more competitive, both between tribal properties and with the evolving IR model in nearby Nevada, tribal governments are investing in casino upgrades as well as new and improved non-gaming amenities: upscale hotels, spas, golf courses, conference spaces and retail. This evolution is in line with the casino product life cycle, where gaming activities become less important and amenity offerings can provide a competitive advantage.”

Global Gaming Business talked to Pechanga Resort General Manager Lee Torres about the impact of the expansion, which made Pechanga the largest casino resort on the West Coast.

GGB: When did the tribe decide it was ready to grow?

Torres: Before the expansion, we had 517 hotel

rooms and were essentially booked 100 percent of the time. We got a lot of inquiries from groups who wanted to visit and had to turn away business because we couldn’t accommodate it. That helped us finalize our decision to add 70,000 square feet of meeting and event space and significantly enhance the pool and spa experience. We also added two new restaurants. It was putting a lot of pieces into play and saying, “OK, let’s check all the boxes and give the trade shows and conventions what they’re looking for.”

Lee Torres General Manager, Pechanga Resort

The amenity set we wanted to bring on would have to appeal to the gaming customer but accommodate the needs and the expectations of business travelers. So we added a 4.5acre pool complex called the Cove with multiple pools, 27 cabanas, two water slides—it’s a great space that can be used for all kinds of events. We added a two-story, 25,000-square-foot standalone spa just rated four stars by Forbes. On the fourth floor we put a green roof with different types of florals and vegetation that also can be used as a meeting room.

A spa, golfing, pools—are these in demand by the business crowd?

Anyone who attends conferences and trade shows knows you roll up your sleeves and go, but once it’s done, you’re ready to relax.

We have a truly one-stop shop here: if you want golf as part of your experience, we have Journey, a championship golf course, one of the best in California. At Pechanga Summit, you could have a trade show one day and a concert for 3,000 the next day. That’s given us some flexibility. And the pool and spa have been real home runs for us.

And the result in terms of business?

Caesars added the Waterfront Conference Center to Harrah’s Atlantic City

26

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

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Bets

Sports betting legalization has released a landslide of companies that have products and services that can move the North American market forward rapidly

By Dave Bontempo

H

appy Anniversary. As the one-year milestone of the U.S. Supreme Court’s repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act looms, the sport betting party ramps up.

American markets seek instant sports-wagering readiness. The moment states legalize the process, operators need full betting menus for a new breed of gambler.

A massive, and mobile, change greets the sports-betting world. Although classic brick-and-mortar operations remain prominent, mobile accessibility already dwarfs the standard book in newly regulated markets.

Casinos don’t have time to debate and build sports-wagering vehicles.

They turn to the pros, from across the pond, to help them now. Skilled European-based outfits deliver immediate turnkey effectiveness, borne from decades of operation and the foresight to embrace an imminent American gaming avalanche.

The gates have opened, the gamblers streamed through and euphoria reigns. Wagers flood in: pre-game, post-game and in-game. There is prop-bet mania and bets measured in seconds, taking “time is money” to a new dimension. Parlays. What’s the next play? How many free throws will be sunk, at $1 apiece if one participates in a promo? You name it, someone books it.

This is a whirlwind time, comparable to the launch of other gambling eras.

Remember the advent of Atlantic City gaming, when bettors spread rows deep behind a craps table hurled chips through the air, from the back, in the middle of a dice roll? Like buzzer-beaters. Many of the bets were accepted as order met the overflow. It seemed like nothing would match that feverpitched, controlled chaos.

Until now. Gaming found another unique, utopian intersection. Players with trigger-happy gambling fingers find exotic, sophisticated menus. Everything, all the time, with potentially rich payouts. It’s a wagering feast. The allyou-can-eat gambler has walked into Wolfgang Puck.

Betting Big on U.S. Market Kambi made history by becoming the first sports-betting supplier to process 28

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

online wagers in the United States, post-PASPA, last year. It followed the launch of the Kambi-powered DraftKings Sportsbook in New Jersey.

The Sweden and London-based powerhouse will do more than process bets this year. It makes a wager, announcing plans to set up its first American office in Philadelphia during the second quarter of 2019.

What a time to do it.

Max Bichsel, the company’s United States director, says the industry sees more operators turning to third-party sports book solutions for today’s regulated markets.

“The repeal of PASPA was a major moment for Kambi,” Bichsel indicates. “The U.S. market has always been in our thoughts and plans, and we have been careful to build a business that we felt would give us the best chance of success in the United States, whenever the prohibition was to be lifted.

“Since taking that first legal online sports wager post-PASPA, we have dominated the market in the Garden State and are now also the market leader in Pennsylvania due to our on-property expertise, another product area we realized would be key in the U.S. Pending the expansion of sensible regulation in other states, the United States could be the largest market for Kambi in the next three to five years.”

Kambi covers all sports, he says. In 2018, it offered more than 300,000 pre-game events with almost half covered live. In Europe, soccer is the No. 1 sport, while tennis is also popular, particularly in-play where players are able to wager from the first point to the last. Basketball and hockey are also popular in Europe, while the NFL has been growing quickly of late, particularly in the United Kingdom with NFL games increasingly being staged in London, Bichsel indicates.

“We offer the most flexible sports book platform on the market,” he continues. “One of our partners recently described our sports book platform as a ‘blank canvas’ because there are no limits to what operators can create using our technology. In addition, we offer the same high-quality product on-property as we do online. We are a true multi-channel operator.

Our kiosks offer the same intuitive experience you’d expect online, not to

T C

T is y p d E 3 E a n

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mention the same depth of market. Our kiosks have really caught the imagination of the wagering public. We now have approximately 100 in operation across the two states; we are active with more than half of all on-property bets being placed through these terminals.”

Bichsel says the company has two major product launches this year.

Kambi was set to roll out the bet builder, enabling players to make same-game parlays, early in the year. Initially designed for soccer, this will be widened out for all major sports.

“Although not new to the market, the Kambi bet builder has been built with cash-out and in-game betting enabled, which isn’t the case with other versions,” he says. “We are also releasing another innovation later in the year, which we are all very excited about, but that’s about as much as I can say on it right now.

“In general, we’ll continue to improve and iterate what is already the market-leading sports book product, both online and on-property. Late last year, we made 700-plus releases, with each release relating to an improvement to the sports book experience, and we’ll continue to look for those inch-by-inch gains in 2019.”

Mobile is the single biggest platform for sports wagering, bar none, he adds. In mature European markets, mobile generates approximately 80 percent of revenues, and similar numbers, if not larger, are already coming out of New Jersey.

Constructing A Winner BetConstruct is an award-winning developer and provider of online and landbased gaming solutions with development, sales and service centers all around

“The repeal of PASPA was a major moment for Kambi. The U.S. market has always been in our thoughts and plans, and we have been careful to build a business that we felt would give us the best chance of success in the United States, whenever the prohibition was to be lifted.”

—Max Bichsel, United States Director, Kambi

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Getting Creative ever has margin of victory been more literal.

N Or getting a reward for not just covering a spread, but smothering it.

Welcome to PointsBet, where how much one wins a bet by multiplies the payout.

In the online sports book company’s demo, it describes a bet placed on a quarterback to pass for over 240 yards, at 10 times odds. A total of 250 yards is a $100 payout (10 x 10) and each yard means an additional $10. On the flip side, how much one loses by impacts the payout.

Each pass matters. Each play matters.

“Our points Seth Young, the chief innovation officer hired late last year to propel the company, says Pointsbetting product Bet takes creativity to new heights. allows us to offer “Our points betting product allows us to offer unique betting markets that aren’t available unique betting with any other bookmaker on Earth,” he says. markets that “For example, in a Warriors vs. Lakers game, you aren’t available might be able to make a points bet on the over/under for Lebron (James) total points, mulwith any other tiplied by Steph Curry’s assists, multiplied by bookmaker Draymond Green’s rebounds.

“Not only does a bet like this create a proon Earth.” foundly fun betting experience, but it also high—Seth Young, Chief lights how clients can tailor their experience Innovation Officer, PointsBet watching a game directly to what they’re interested in.”

Another bet might be the time, in seconds, of the first successful three-point attempt in a basketball game. In fact, this was one of the first points bets the company accepted in New Jersey.

“It’s a great story,” Young says. “We had a well-respected professional gambler place $20 per second on the first 3-pointer to be over 120 seconds into the game. It was a Pacers/Hawks game, and Trae Young comes sauntering down the court, swishing a three pointer through 20 seconds after tipoff. In this case, this particular bettor lost 100 times the bet (120 seconds minus 20 seconds), but told us that we finally made sports fun again. We’ve had clients bet amounts as small as $1 or $5 and win thousands in points betting.

“This professional client could have easily won 100 times their bet, and that’s what makes points betting—and the unique markets we can offer—so exciting. It’s worth mentioning that for clients without the same risk tolerance as this particular individual, points betting limits can be set that keep any single bet within any individual’s comfort level, whether it’s two, five or 10X in either direction.”

Young was hired to spearhead the company into the fertile American sports-betting age. Most recently, he was named an Emerging Leaders of Gaming and was named to Global Gaming Business Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list in 2018.

Young says PointsBet owns its technology, manages its own trading and risk, and does most everything in-house. Unlike some other sports books in the market, PointsBet doesn’t outsource the key elements of what makes a bookmaker a bookmaker.

“This allows us to control our own destiny in ways that others can’t,” Young says.

“This is evidenced in the speed by which we can react in a fast-growing American market where the only constant is change.”

—Dave Bontempo 30

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

“The use of the highestquality data has many benefits. From a player’s perspective, it provides a seamless and secure live betting experience, and for the sports book, it allows them to have complete confidence in the superior quality of their in-game betting product.”

—Andrew Patterson, U.S. Commercial Partnerships Manager, Betgenius

The data feed solutions provider of BetConstruct presented a more refined and accurate solution for data scouting. It is used in soccer (or football) in Europe and will spread to other sports.

Contemplating the ways of providing sporting data in a faster and more efficient manner, the company developed a feed solution enhanced with AI/ML, named it AJNA and made its biggest splash at ICE in London with a live demonstration. Translated as a third eye, it is an augmented live video streaming companion. It recognizes game flow of the sporting events, provides advanced player tracking in live mode and collects more technical data to create new, unique markets to bet on.

“Machine learning penetrates IT sectors, and as a forward-looking company, we seek the ways to infuse our solutions with methods of automated data analysis,” says company founder and CEO Vigen Badalyan.

“The concept of our solution has its roots in Hindu tradition, the third-eye chakra (said to reveal insights about the future) called Ajna specifically. The on-field observation of a scout provides rather accurate data, whereas the augmented streaming reveals insights to the game flow that a human eye can’t see. With AJNA, we enrich our sports betting offering with additional augmentation and more statistical data gathered.”

The solution consists of a single or double camera setup. As it delivers the streaming, the AJNA solution does an auto field geometry detection from the video. Within a few minutes, the powerful eye of FeedConstruct identifies field scheme and corners, having video frames transformed and sent to the tracking system one by one.

During the match, AJNA recognizes events like ball possession, danger, etc. It also offers an extended personal tracking like player’s speed or distance run per game. Such collected statistics can be converted into a number of markets to bet on.

As for now, FeedConstruct has developed AJNA to provide full live on-field coverage of football with a further intention to expand the coverage for more sports types.

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Genius Strategy Betgenius, based in London, was perfectly primed to embrace the burgeoning American market. It has provided sports data and betting technology to licensed operators in regulated markets around the world, according to Andrew Patterson, its U.S. commercial partnerships manager.

And the world just became Americanized. The company employs more than 120 people across the U.S., and expects that number to grow. Betgenius provides operational expertise for operators who must hit the ground instantly, especially before the college and professional football season.

“If you’re a New Jersey casino starting a sports book from scratch, for example, Betgenius can provide pre-game and in-game betting content, risk management tools and services, and technology that helps acquire new customers through highly targeted online marketing campaigns,” he says. “We offer operators the flexibility to help them set up and manage their businesses. While we offer a full turnkey sports book solution if required, our systems are engineered in a modular fashion, so that our technology can be tailored to meet our customers’ specific requirements.”

In one example, he indicates, Betgenius provides a U.S. retail book with a bespoke, end-to-end price and risk management service that includes live sports data feeds, both pre-game and in-play odds creation, and management across all major sports.

Patterson says the way his company integrates sports data into its sports

“Geolocation compliance is a cornerstone of our online sports betting and iGaming platform, and by partnering with GeoComply, we’re utilizing the industry’s most trusted solution to meet stringent state and federal regulations.”

—Quinton Singleton, Chief Operating Officer, Bet.Works

book and its odds-creation technology distinguishes it from competitors.

“As part of the Genius Sports Group, our products are powered by fast, accurate and reliable data from hundreds of partnerships with sports leagues, including the NBA,” he says. “The use of the highest-quality data has many benefits. From a player’s perspective, it provides a seamless and secure live betting experience, and for the sports book, it allows them to have complete con-

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p. 28 sportsbettgin:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:29 PM Page 33

fidence in the superior quality of their in-game betting product.”

Patterson advocates bringing creativity to the craze. While in-game betting has become a huge driver of growth across the United States sports-betting industry, especially in the mobile-phone sector, he believes players want to be more selective about what and how they bet.

“The ability to offer same-game parlays on U.S. sports is necessary for any ambitious U.S. sports book, whether it be at a self-service kiosk at a casino or online,” he says. “In response to market demand, we have invested in the development of our first-of-its-kind bet builder product, which prices all same-game parlay combinations instantly, allowing sports books to offer their customers complete control.”

Amid the NBA Playoffs, for instance, a player can combine selections on the First Point Scorer, Highest Scoring Quarter and Player Steals bets within a single game and place their bespoke parlay instantly.

Shakers and Movers New products are one identification of a vibrant market. High-level personnel moves are another.

Bet.Works, a U.S.-based technology and services company delivering advanced iGaming and sports book technologies, embraced that trend early this year.

In February, it announced plans to combine with GeoComply to speed entry into the New Jersey online gambling market. Bet.Works links its online sports betting and iGaming platform with GeoComply’s award-winning geolocation compliance solution.

The partnership enables Bet.Works to launch its online platform in New Jersey and other states and be compliant with state and federal geolocation regulations, officials assert.

“Geolocation compliance is a cornerstone of our online sports betting and iGaming platform, and by partnering with GeoComply, we’re utilizing the industry’s most trusted solution to meet stringent state and federal regulations,” says Quinton Singleton, chief operating officer of Bet.Works.

Does Singleton’s name sound familiar? It should. Singleton formerly worked for Scientific Games, where he was responsible for the rollout of U.S. sports betting. As COO of Bet.Works, Singleton focuses on market strategy and operations, and takes responsibility for delivering Bet.Works’ omni-channel sports betting and iGaming platform into existing and newly regulated jurisdictions across America.

This appointment was the second senior role that Bet.Works filled in a short time. At the beginning of January, the company announced that Dr. Laila Mintas will serve as chairwoman of its advisory board.

Mintas is a former U.S. deputy president for sports data company Sportradar.

This is the launch of a heyday for sports betting operators and their vendors. The American sports-betting industry has begun sprinting like a 100-yard dash, hurling prop bets like three-pointers, and, figuratively, tossing touchdown passes.

And the game just started.

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Growing Up New tribal casinos are few and far between, but market growth continues

By Dave Palermo

A

federal government ruling on long-awaited efforts by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians of northwest Michigan to build a casino hotel in Fruitport Township, 90 miles from tribal headquarters, is expected this summer.

The $180 million project has support from the local citizenry and is expected to get the approval of the governor, a requirement under federal guidelines for placing off-reservation land in trust for tribal gambling. It would be the tribe’s second casino.

“West Michigan has embraced the project,” tribal Ogema Larry Romanelli told WZZM13.com. “It means jobs. It means economic development. It means increased tourism.”

In neighboring Wisconsin, the Ho-Chunk Nation is hoping to build a $405 million casino resort in Beloit, on the Illinois border roughly 180 miles south of tribal headquarters in Black River Falls. Ho-Chunk Gaming already operates six gambling facilities.

“We feel energized, as this is the farthest this project has ever been,” Ho-Chunk Nation President Wilfrid Cleveland said in a statement. The casino hotel, he said, will create “thousands of construction jobs and 1,500 full-time jobs for Wisconsin.”

“This is going to have a positive impact on the entire region,” Beloit City Manager Lauri Curtis told a December public forum.

The two Midwest projects bode well for the tribal government gambling market. At least three other tribes—two in California and a third in Texas—are also close to launching new casinos on trust lands off their reservations.

New Casinos Dry Up But Ho-Chunk and the Little River Band are the exception and not the rule, as the nationwide spread of Indian casinos—which exploded with passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988—is slowing to a trickle.

As a result, the growth of the tribal gambling industry is becoming increasingly dependent on the expansion of existing facilities and the development of non-gambling amenities such as hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Tribes are also turning away from the regulatory limits of IGRA and 34

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

acquiring or constructing commercial casinos subject to state taxation and regulations.

The number of tribal gambling facilities ranging from travel plazas to casino resorts has largely plateaued, increasing slightly from 474 operations in 2015 to 494 in 2017, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC). Updated figures are expected later this summer.

The Indian Gaming Industry Report, an annual analysis compiled by economist Alan Meister, puts the number of tribal facilities at 490 in 2014, 494 in 2015 and 500 in 2016, a paltry jump of 1.2 percent.

Roughly 245 of 373 federally recognized tribes in the lower 48 states operate casinos. About 80 other tribes either receive shares of gambling revenue from casino tribes or lease machines. The remaining tribes either are too remote or lack sufficient land to launch a casino enterprise.

“With some exceptions, the Indian gaming market is fully developed,” says Bryan Newland, chairman of the Bay Mills Indian Community and a former counsel with the Department of the Interior. “There are tribes seeking to become new entrants into the gaming market.

But by and large, most federally recognized tribes that want to engage in gaming are already doing it.”

“There just haven’t been a lot of new, ground-up, greenfield developments,” says William “Dike” Bacon, principal of the Hnedak Bobo Group, an archi“There’s definitely tecture and construction mana maturing of the agement firm. “There are some, market, but by no but not many. means is there an “Most of the tribes that had overall saturation.” trust lands and had the opportu—Alan Meister, Publisher, The nity to capitalize on the gaming Indian Gaming Industry Report market have done that. There probably are a limited number

p. 34 Tribal:Layout 1 3/14/19 6:41 PM Page 35

Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk tribe has plans to build a $405 million casino resort across the Illinois border in Beloit

of tribes out there that are not gaming tribes, for whatever reason.”

With suitable reservation trust land becoming scarce, casino tribes seeking additional gambling opportunities under IGRA must go through a rigorous, lengthy and expensive Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs process to acquire new trust lands for the enterprises.

They must also get the approval of the state governor and, for all intents and purposes, local non-Indian and Indian communities. It is preferable that they not encroach on the ancestral lands of other tribes.

Newly federally recognized and restored tribes can also establish casinos on their initial reservations, but that also is a long, expensive and bureaucratic process, often fraught with politics and legal challenges.

Non-Gambling Fueling Growth While new casino projects are on the wane, it is wrong to suggest there is no room for growth with tribal government gambling. To the contrary, Indian gambling remains a relatively vibrant industry.

The once double-digit growth of tribal casino revenues, which according to NIGC audits peaked in 2017 at $32.4 billion, has since 2006 largely leveled off, annually increasing at a rate of 2 percent to 5 percent. Revenues rose 3.9 percent in 2017, according to the NIGC. Revenue growth in California, Oklahoma, Washington, Connecticut and Wisconsin—five states that make up some 86 percent of tribal gambling revenues nationwide—ranged from 5 percent to 6 percent in 2016, Meister says.

“There’s definitely a maturing of the market, but by no means is there an overall saturation,” Meister says.

Indian gambling nationwide is made up of several regional markets spanning the 29 states with tribal casinos.

“When you break it down by state and markets, there are markets you can characterize as saturated, such as the Northeast,” Meister says. “But there is not one large Indian gaming market. Indian gaming operates in many different geographic markets, each with its own unique set of economic conditions and level of maturation.

“There are a good number of markets where Indian tribes are participating that are not as mature,” Meister says. “There’s still plenty of room for growth. You have to look at it on a case-by-case situation.”

“When it comes to tribes that are established and in business, most markets are performing pretty well,” Bacon says. “We’re finding a lot of new opportunities at existing facilities for all different types of projects, from casino expansions to hotels, to non-gaming amenities, to meeting space, to retail.

“A lot of our clients are capitalizing on good business conditions and building a lot of stuff,” Bacon says. “It’s pretty healthy out there. The gaming industry is pretty strong.”

“Tribes are expanding and improving the guest experience… the amenity base,” says Nick Schoenfeldt, vice president of TBE (Thalden Boyd Emery) Architects. “The gaming client is maturing as well as the market. They’re expecting more. They’re expecting better-looking facilities. They’re expecting better service. They want to stay and they want more options than simply gaming.”

Flat Games, Higher Numbers There has been positive revenue growth nationwide despite the fact Meister’s figures show the number of machines (358,713 in 2016) and tables (7,741) has stabilized. Despite the lack of growth in the games, revenues for 2016 grew 3.9 percent, Meister says, the same growth rate NIGC reported for 2017.

California and Oklahoma are two growth markets. California revenues grew 7.3 percent to roughly $8.9 billion in 2017, according to NIGC figures. Oklahoma—separated into two regions by the NIGC for accounting purposes—grew from 2.1 percent to 4.2 percent.

The NIGC does not supply gross gambling revenues for the state of Oklahoma. But Meister put the state revenue figures at nearly $4.4 billion for 2016.

California has 61 tribes operating 63 licensed casinos, according to the state Gambling Control Commission, with about 10 additional Class II, APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

35

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bingo-style operations. There are roughly twice as many tribes operating casinos in California than any other state.

Oklahoma is next in line with 31 gambling tribes operating about 141 facilities, many of “Hospitality is them small operations at travel something the plazas, gas stations, tobacco shops tribes know. It and the like. allows them to Other leading tribal gamdevelop good bling markets, according to Meispeople to lead up ter’s figures for 2016, are Florida their operations ($2.6 billion), Washington ($2.5 rather than hiring billion) and Arizona ($1.9 bilfrom outside.” lion). Wisconsin, Michigan, —Nick Schoenfeldt, Vice Minnesota and Connecticut genPresident, TBE Architects erated from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion, according to Meister’s figures.

California is one of the few states with a number of new casinos in the development pipeline, particularly in what is becoming a highly competitive mid-state and Sacramento market. Hard Rock, Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos are all partnering with tribes in the development of new casinos in the region.

A Cautious Approach To Growth Much of the remaining growth potential in Indian Country can be attributed to the slow, methodical approach most tribes have taken in the development of their gambling facilities.

“Tribes have been pretty conservative when it comes to how fast they want to jump into something,” says James Klas, founder and principal of Klas Robinson QED. “They still are.

“We might come to a tribe and say, ‘We think you can build a facility with x number of rooms and x number of machines and various amenities.’

They’ll come back and say, ‘That’s great, but let’s phase things in. Let’s do half that much.’”

“That’s been a consistent pattern,” Klas says. “It’s very, very rare that things don’t go that way.”

Others working with tribes on the development of casinos since IGRA make the same observation, speculating that tribal leaders are cautious about investing government revenues in what may be a risky endeavor.

“I can observe the pattern more easily than I can assess the reason,” Klas says. “It’s a process that has served them well.”

Many suspect reservation tribes are cautious in dealing with state and federal government agencies on casino projects, particularly a historically bureaucratic Department of the Interior and BIA. “When you have a history of dealing with unpredictable circumstances where things usually go against you instead of for you—when things turn worse instead of better—you’re going to develop a tendency to be cautious,” Klas says.

“The fact it is government gaming is relevant in that the decisionmakers with the tribe are very careful about making sure their people are being taken care of. They’re very cautious about encumbering tribal assets.

That tends to make them very risk-averse.”

The evolution of casinos to hotel resorts has accelerated, however, with some $1.5 billion recently invested in hotels, spas, restaurants, entertainment and retail offerings and other major non-gambling expansions in Southern California alone.

As is the case with Las Vegas, where entertainment, hotel rooms, food and booze contribute roughly 60 percent of the bottom line, tribes are looking to non-gambling amenities as a means of generating revenue as well as luring guests to the gambling tables and slot machines.

“They won’t do anything that is revenue-negative,” Schoenfeldt says.

“We’ve seen a lot of maturing not only in the market, but with the operators. They won’t add anything that’s a loss-leader. They will add something that can carry its own weight, plus enhance the gaming experience.

“If you combine the hotel, the banquet service and the food amenities, revenues from those three items almost equal revenue from the gaming floor in almost every situation I’ve seen. It’s definitely a trend.”

Because tribal facilities are primarily intended for locals, much of the non-gambling amenities consist of bowling alleys, arcades and movie theaters targeted to families. Entertainment venues are increasingly geared to millennials.

Tribes are also tending to promote indigenous culture and traditions unique to their communities. The Muckleshoot Casino in Washington state is offering beer brewed with locally raised huckleberries. The Navajo Nation is serving tribally raised beef in casino restaurants.

“We’re also seeing a huge movement to improve the brand identity of the tribe,” Schoenfeldt says. “They’re saying, ‘This is ours.’ They’re creating a unique space you can’t get anyplace else.

“We’re encouraging our tribes to bring out what makes them unique.

We’re asking them what things are important to them as a tribe and as a nation. It’s part of our DNA as a firm to make sure we listen to the tribe.”

Looking Beyond IGRA A number of tribes are looking beyond IGRA to commercial gambling, most notably the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama, which is in the process of acquiring Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania for $1.3 billion. The tribe also owns casino resorts in Aruba and Curaçao.

Predicting the future of tribal gambling is not easy. Unlike commercial casinos solely dependent on market conditions, tribal gambling is subject to a set of complicated legal and regulatory parameters along with federal, state and local politics.

36

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

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“We’re finding a lot of new opportunities at existing facilities for all different types of projects, from casino expansions to hotels, to non-gaming amenities, to meeting space, to retail.”

—Dike Bacon, Principal, HBG Design Group

The Seminole Tribe has entered into several non-gaming hotel ventures, including the Hard Rock San Diego

games they can offer at the facilities. Compacts vary dramatically among the 29 states with Indian casinos.

Although IGRA largely limits casinos to reservations in existence when the law was enacted in 1988, there are Section 20 exemptions for newly recognized and restored tribes.

Tribes can also seek federal and state approval for new gambling off existing reservations, a usually long, arduous, expensive process. Politics frequently enter into the equation.

“Uncertainty is the nature of Indian gaming,” Meister says. “Commercial gaming is more stable, working within the parameters The Seminole Tribe of Florida, owner of Hard Rock International, and the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut previously entered into the commercial segment of the legal gambling industry. The Cherokee and Quapaw Nations of Oklahoma are pursuing commercial casinos in Arkansas.

Meanwhile, the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot of Connecticut are partners in a proposed commercial casino in East Windsor, a project intended to head off competition from MGM’s Springfield, Massachusetts resort.

Poarch Creek, which operates three Wind Creek casino hotels in Alabama, also is pursuing hotel ventures throughout the Southeast. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe of Minnesota have also invested heavily in hotels.

“There is sophistication now, credit-worthiness and an access to capital,” Klas says of tribes involved in gambling. “There are deals beating a path to their door.”

“Hospitality is something the tribes know,” Shoenfeldt says. “It gives them the ability to train up their staff. It allows them to develop good people to lead up their operations rather than hiring from outside.”

An Uncertain Future Predicting the future of tribal gambling is not easy. Unlike commercial casinos solely dependent on market conditions, tribal gambling is subject to a set of complicated legal and regulatory parameters along with federal, state and local politics.

IGRA states tribes must operate casinos on land placed in federal trust.

It also requires tribes operating Class III casino-style gambling to enter into tribal-state regulatory agreements, or compacts, which often specify the 38

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

of state laws and regulations.

“The elements of Indian gaming involve tribal governments and state governments and tribal-state compacts for Class III casino-style gaming. The federal government leadership keeps changing, creating more uncertainty.

“It’s never clear what the federal policies are with Indian gaming, for land into trust, for instance,” Meister says. “You could submit an application to put land into trust for a casino, and by the time it comes up, President Trump will no longer be around.”

Klas is optimistic. Tribes in California, Arizona, Oklahoma and other states with substantial tribal casino industries have impressive records of working cooperatively with state and local governments, he says. That’s likely to pay off when compacts come up for renegotiations.

“I’m not going so far as to predict that the compacts are going to open things up, but I’m also not ready to foreclose the possibility that changes in compact terms and/or continued growth in Class II (bingo-style gambling) could result in growth, either in the number or the size of casinos over the next few years,” Klas says.

“You certainly won’t have new tribal casinos at the rate that you did. But there are still tribes chasing a variety of opportunities, some off the reservation. There are also compacts that are going to be coming up for renegotiation and renewal in the next few years.

“I’m not expecting the gaming industry will be flat. There will be growth in any criteria you want to point to: square footage, number of devices or positions and even, potentially, the number of facilities.”

Meister is cautiously optimistic.

“There are opportunities,” he says. “But again, there is so much uncertainty.”

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By Dave Bontempo

Tender

Touch

T

How kiosks are revolutionizing gaming

ouch screen, touch points.

Kiosks sport increased influence in the gaming world. From hotel check-ins to food ordering, cash dispensing and now sports betting, these unofficial goodwill ambassadors flaunt new stature. Perhaps no other device mingles with so many revenue areas. Kiosks also have an envied parallel use in other industries: at airports, at doctor’s offices, in supermarkets. Casino patrons already embrace this technology.

What an ascent. The sector once primarily dealt funds the way gas stations replenish a car’s tank. Then its role spread to check-cashing, wayfinding, messaging and jackpot pay. Kiosks became freestanding, wall-mounted, hand-held forms of customer service, used on walls, in corners, in lobbies, or near the gaming action.

A look around the industry reveals their new creative deployment.

Some extend kiosk features to a phone. Others lessen the costly check-in and check-out logjam. Food courts increasingly use them to speed delivery methods.

Kiosks also become a flashpoint in the proliferation of sports betting.

Mobile MVP For Las Vegas-based MGT, the kiosk realm is transportable, expanding its game-changing theme.

The company has long captured public imagination by delivering promos through a game format. This enables customers to earn their comps via board games, collect-and-win competitions and contests like The Price is Right. It’s a slick way to schmooze, entice and invite players into a company property or its promotional umbrella. The games indirectly play the role of a 24-hour casino host.

Given people’s nonstop appetite for access via phones, MGT developed the next step in this process. It will be unveiled at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow as the MGT Mobile Kiosk. Customers may recognize it as an actual app under a tailored casino brand.

“What we’re excited about is the idea of an operator extending the kiosk experience for their patrons,” says Travis Carrico, the company’s sales and marketing vice president. “Beyond your casino, you can provide customers your promotional rewards and games, allow them to play out40

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

side the casino environment and use that as an incentive to come back to the property.

“A person might be sitting on his couch, play a game and find out he has just won $20 in free slot play if he can get off the couch and get to the casino within 24 hours. That’s just one example. There are many.

Casinos have patrons actively involved in the outcome of the promo, which can be delivered through the kiosk and now by the smartphone.

You also have sweepstakes drawing, valet parking, checking into your hotel from the phone, among other benefits.”

The company has dealt with other areas of casino-customer interaction. MGT Promo allows the casino marketing department to create any promotion, including electronic drawings, scratch cards, swipe-to-win, new member bonuses, bounce-backs, age-based or other demographicbased promotions. The system operates through an interface to the casino’s player tracking system and touch-screen kiosks. When players swipe their cards at the kiosk, the system instantly evaluates them and determines the right reward from a prize matrix based on the reinvestment rate that was predefined for the player’s tier in the setup of the promotion.

In a less publicized but equally important realm, Carrico emphasizes MGT’s financial commitment to due diligence. He cites recent news stories about data being sent from kiosks and the back-end server unencrypted over publicly accessible internet. Concerns have been raised that not only could gamblers’ private information be shared, but kiosks could be identified by their MAC address and players could have their account totals changed.

Protection against hacking means spending money in areas that don’t generate direct revenue, which MGT has done.

“With all the data available, we know how important it is to be secured and encrypted,” Carrico says. “We are highly focused on the security of the encryption we do with our API. It takes time and money to test and make sure that due diligence is being met.

“When we tested our Promo Suite in Rhode Island, we brought in a third party to see if there are any weaknesses that needed to be fixed before we put anything on casino floors. We are diligent about making the information secure.”

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Express Train Sometimes, fast and steady wins the race.

Kiosks reducing check-in times are inrGuest Express valuable, particularly to customers enduring a cross-country flight to gamble. A Kiosk, designed check-in of 30 minutes to an hour at the end to expedite guest of a 12-hour cross-country travel day creates a risky first impression to the gambler. A sys- service with selftem bypassing that logjam produces a strong service kiosk one. check-in, room More properties have reduced overhead key encoding, and enhanced customer satisfaction by providing a kiosk. check-out and Agilysys, the Alpharetta, Georgia-based folios via email global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, maintains an aggressive presence in the kiosk space.

One of its latest introductions is rGuest Express Kiosk, designed to expedite guest service with self-service kiosk check-in, room key encoding, check-out and folios via email.

Company officials say rGuest Kiosk expedites guest service operations by enabling them to check in, encode a room key, check out and email a folio—all without having to wait in line at the front desk. The rGuest Express Kiosk is a self-service solution that integrates with both Agilysys Visual One PMS and Agilysys Lodging Management System.

• The rGuest Express Kiosk allows guests to obtain an email copy of their folios at any time during their stay, without checking out.

• Guests can also request that folio receipts be emailed or mailed to an address based on information captured in Visual One or LMS. Special messages, vouchers and printed instructions can be provided to guests based on management-defined criteria.

• By automating check-in and check-out, employees concentrate on providing the guest services that help create a lasting impression.

• Guests can also reprint room keys at any time during their stay.

Agilysys has been a leader in hospitality software for more than 40 years and continually enhances its product lineup.

In 2017, Agilysys unveiled enhancements to rGuestBuy, its groundbreaking self-service kiosk POS solution that extends point-of-sale reach, improves guest service and reduces staff demand, plus enhancements for Café workflows and a new Grab N Go guest experience.

Company officials cite industry reports indicating that 63 percent of resort guests prefer kiosks as their paying vehicle for buying food.

Looking Automatic Novomatic Americas broke from the gate quickly to embrace the sports-betting craze. Its F-V830 full-service sports betting kiosk made its debut late last year in North America.

The Novomatic F-V830 kiosk (right) equipped the opening of DraftKings Sportsbook at the Resorts

Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.

The kiosks, outfitted with the Kambi sports book platform, are located inside and outside of DraftKings Sportsbook, offering sports fans efficient ways to place a bet. The retail space also features five betting windows, stadium-style seating with device chargers, a VIP area, and a full-service bar with food, drink and bar-top video poker.

The market-leading sports betting kiosks, combined with Kambi’s sports betting products, proved to be a significant contributor to the overall guest experience. Draft Kings Sportsbook at Resorts Casino Hotel features a dozen of these intuitive solutions in an intimate environment surrounded by 1,000 square feet of ultra-high-definition digital video displays.

The Novomatic kiosks and Kambi’s sports betting expertise have combined to deliver a state-of-the-art, world-class sports betting environment, officials say. Kathleen McLaughlin, vice president of marketing and product management for Novomatic Americas, calls it “sports-betting nirvana.”

Taking a Shot IGT PlayDigital’s PlayShot QuickBet Kiosks have taken another step toward acceptance from the players. IGT announced last month that patrons of the FanDuel Sportsbook at the New Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey can now place sports wagers via the kiosks.

The 14-unit installation is IGT’s first U.S. deployment of the kiosk technology, and makes the New Jersey-based FanDuel Sportsbook the first venue to leverage IGT’s complete omni-channel PlayShot sports betting solution including platform, retail, mobile and kiosk technologies.

“PlayShot’s flexible and fully integrable design enabled FanDuel to incorporate IGT PlayDigital’s PlayShot QuickBet kiosks into its worldclass sports book ecosystem at the New Meadowlands Racetrack,” says Enrico Drago, senior vice president, IGT PlayDigital. “The self-service kiosks deliver the same high-quality user experience as the FanDuel website and mobile apps, and feature real-time pricing updates for a full range of markets to give players at the New Meadowlands Racetrack the best possible betting experience.”

The PlayShot QuickBet kiosk includes the innovative PlayShot Mobile Kiosk technology and the immersive CrystalBetting Terminal.

Kiosk Competition Olea, based outside of Los Angeles, is a kiosk powerhouse. Its clients include Boomtown, Caesars, Chickasaw Nation, Hard Rock, Tropicana and Empire Casino/Yonkers Raceway, among others. The company has deployed hundreds of kiosks in the gaming sector for player loyalty, and works with all software partners including Scientific Games, Agilysys and IGT properties, according to Craig Keefner, its manager of kiosks.

(Keefner also is a founding board member of the Kiosk Manufacturer Association and a member of the Kiosk Hall of Fame.)

From a sector viewpoint, Keefner cites a bullish Frost & Sullivan report on self-service kiosk projected revenue. It climbs dependably from 2014 results through 2022 in all major worldwide regions. This analysis reflects a trend the industry covets: a steadily improving niche, especially

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

41

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Many casinos are finding that “sports betting kiosks provide the needed automated self-service solution to handle a higher volume of sports wagers without requiring the need for additional customer service staff.

Olea Monte Carlo kiosk

“

—Craig Keefner, Manager, Olea Kiosks

Odd Couple one that lowers labor costs.

Olea forecasts robust demand in the player-loyalty realm and growth potential in the hotel checkin, food/buffet ordering kiosks and sports betting areas.

“According to a May 2017 Oxford Economics Report, legalized sports betting is projected to generate $8.4 billion in new tax revenues, create more than 200,000 new jobs and add over $22 billion to the (U.S.) GDP,” he says. “The market has an inherent ‘burst cycle’ to it with the deadline on bets. You want to convert all those would-be bettors, and you have a limited time to do it. Mobile betting terminals that can be deployed at those times would help.”

What would that look like?

“Casinos will need to be well-prepared for the influx of new customers that will be flocking to their venues in hopes of placing their first legal sports bet,” he indicates. “As a result, many casinos are finding that sports betting kiosks provide the needed automated self-service solution to handle a higher volume of sports wagers without requiring the need for additional customer service staff.”

Keefner ties projected food-service demand to rising wages and focus on more healthful and costly menu items. “Whether deployed inside or at the drive-through, our units will speed orders and improve accuracy, all the while letting operators reassign staff to more critical roles,” he says.

All of this will keep the company busy. Olea designs and builds selfservice terminals. Its 2019 fleet includes a line of cash/currency transactional “standard” units. Olea has been building for the OEM channel up to now, and has begun releasing those units as standard models.

“We make both player loyalty and the hotel check-in/self-order kiosks used in non-gaming mode,” Keefner says. “Generating player loyalty cards on the spot instantly is the main function. Our units can verify credentials such as a driver’s license and print ticket stock. Dual touch-screen displays are 22 inches, and accommodate wide-screen format for the software (16:9 aspect ratio as compared to older 5:4 aspect). There is an attractor screen to entice users and identify the purpose for the machine as well as programmable LEDs to add the Vegas or sizzle visual experience.

Our Monte Carlo is our flagship unit.”

The product visually stimulates with two large displays and brilliant LED lighting. Keefner says kioskmarketplace.com named it the most innovative gaming kiosk for 2017.

42

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Some partnerships go beyond connecting patrons and operators. It may involve two powerful industry segments coming together, showing a glimpse of the future.

Everi’s financial and Atrient’s promotional membership transactions merged into a dynamic showcase at ICE in London.

The companies demonstrated how Atrient’s PowerKiosk and Everi’s multi-function CXC 5.0 L kiosk can combine to enhance player loyalty and drive more funds to the gaming floor. Going forward, these companies figure to join forces in several ways.

Individually, each company has unfurled new products.

Late in 2018, Atrient announced the release of V3, the newest version of its PowerKiosk suite. The kiosk employs facial recognition technology to allow patrons to log in to promotional devices without a player’s club card. Customers not utilizing facial recognition can also log in with an email address or mobile phone number. Traditional magneticstriped and RFID cards will continue to be supported.

More recently, Atrient has touted PowerKiosk’s ability to be deployed onto mobile devices, game screens, video slots and stand-alone kiosks as an interactive, automated solution. Customers can log in, check balances and redeem promotional offers on their mobile devices. They gain similar access to their portfolio via the game screen of any machine with picturein-picture technology.

Everi demonstrated a number of its innovative products. Chief among them was the CXC 5.0 L, its newest full-service kiosk with a smaller footprint and lower price point. It offers enhanced security features including a real-time rearview camera as well as plentiful branding and marketing space.

Everi CXC 5.0 L With full integration with other Everi Financial Technology solutions, such as CashClub DCCA/CCCA, Everi Compliance and the robust CashClub Wallet, these new kiosks give properties an opportunity to move cage-based transactions to the casino floor while still providing traditional functionality like ATM, ticket redemption and bill breaking.

Throughout the gaming and hospitality worlds, kiosks continue to gain traction. They are versatile, adaptable, and thus, essential to their operators.

PROM OTI ONAL KI OSKS DRAW I NGS PROM OTI ONS I NCENTI VES

CARD PRI NTI NG KI OSKS ENROLLM ENT REPRI NT

UPCOM I NG TRADESHOW S: NI GA G2E ASI A WI GA CM TC

a t r i ent . c om

p. 44 mypoint:Layout 1 3/14/19 3:17 PM Page 44

MAKING MY POINT

The Big Picture Sometimes, being the cutoff man is as important as being the batter

E

nos Slaughter was a dead man.

Red Sox outfielder Leon Culberson knew it, his baby-soft, lollipop throw hitting cutoff man Johnny Pesky with oodles of time to make the relay.

Cardinals third base coach Mike Gonzalez knew it, his arms frantically flashing the handsup-don’t-score sign from the time Slaughter touched second.

On-deck batter Marty Marion knew it; in fact, he was so stunned his teammate was a’rounding third and headed for home that he stood frozen in the base path, awkwardly jumping out of the way—like someone had thrown a dodge ball at his ankles—to avoid being steamrolled.

And the 36,000 fans in St. Louis knew it, even those in the cheapest of the cheap seats. They could see the physics of this, the algebra of this, the futility of this. It was like an SAT question, where two trains leave the same station at different times and at different speeds, and you have to figure out when the second one collides with the first.

Except this brain teaser was a no-brainer.

Pesky, the Red Sox shortstop, caught the ball with one foot in the outfield grass and the other on the infield dirt, and wheeled around counterclockwise to funnel all of his momentum towards home plate. True, Slaughter had a 40-foot head start and true, he was running as hard and as fast as he could. But unless he was running 80 miles an hour—about how hard Pesky could accurately throw a baseball from that distance—it was a fait accompli he was T-O-A-S-T. You’ve heard of “Merkle’s Boner?” (And we certainly hope so; otherwise you’re going to be disappointed when you Google it.) Well, this Alaska-sized miscalculation was sure to go down in baseball history as “Slaughter’s Folly.”

When Enos was hosed at home, the game would still be tied 3-3 and the series would still be tied 3-3. Instead of having runners on second and third with two outs and a chance to blow the Red Sox off the field, the Cardinals would take the field in the top of the ninth inning contemplating the opportunity his recklessness had deprived them of.

But then, putting the WTF into this DOA,

44

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

By Roger Snow

Pesky incredibly, unexpectedly, un-freaking-believably, double-clutched. Whether he was caught off guard by Slaughter’s Mad Dash—as it became known thereafter—or simply bobbled the transition, he balked long enough to tilt the physics and the algebra against himself and his team. And by the time his panicked relay throw one-hopped its way to the catcher, dead man Slaughter was alive and well and sliding across home plate with the winning run of the 1946 World Series.

“In baseball, as in business, the key to a good cutoff is speed and accuracy. Get rid of what you got as quickly as possible, and get it to exactly who needs it exactly when it’s needed.”

As for Pesky, a man whose accomplishments include a career .307 batting average, his uniform number being retired, being memorialized as a Red Sox Hall of Famer, and for having the rightfield foul marker at Fenway Park nicknamed “Pesky Pole,” he is best remembered for this.

For a blunder.

For a brain freeze.

For holding the ball.

Business people—you know the type—especially those selling books or consulting services, yammer on a lot about corporate culture. They talk about teamwork. They talk about coaching.

They talk about seven highly effective habits of some and the five dysfunctions of others. They talk about cheese that gets moved, and how what got you here won’t get you there. They talk bigpicture stuff.

But if you want to shrink that big picture down to something you can control, every day and in every situation, look no further than to the past, to the lessons of this episode.

In business, as in baseball, we—like Johnny

Pesky—are sometimes nothing more than mere cutoff men. Or women. Our only task is to take something from one source and flip it to another.

Could be a message. Could be financial data.

Could be a sales lead. Could be… Well, it could be just about anything.

And in baseball, as in business, the key to a good cutoff is speed and accuracy. Get rid of what you got as quickly as possible, and get it to exactly who needs it exactly when it’s needed.

Twenty-first century global commerce has no time for you to flinch, to hesitate, to doubleclutch. If someone texts, emails or calls you, get right back to that person. You’ve heard of RSVP? Well, how’s about RPDQ, as in pretty darn quick?

You all have smartphones and Wi-Fi; there’s no reason short of laziness to not respond. Even if you don’t know the answer, don’t leave them hanging.

Let them know you’re working on it.

Tapping into the same vein, just into a different vessel, here’s another tip: If you want a quick answer to an email, don’t send it to more than one person. You wouldn’t have a second cutoff man standing in the same area, would you?

Sure, it’s OK to “cc” or “bcc” someone else, but never, ever, ever put more than one name on the “To” line if you’re in desperate need of a response. Because you won’t get one. At least not right away, as courtesy and deference make everyone wait for the others to reply first.

That email will end up like a pop fly that everyone expects someone else to catch.

Splat.

Finally, add this to your weekly routine to shore up your skills as a cutoff man: Go through your phone, go through your inbox and reply to any messages you forgot about or didn’t want to deal with. Make that call. Send that e-mail.

Thumb-type that text. Monday mornings are a good time for this, in large part because they are a bad time for everything else.

And above all else, don’t hold the damn ball.

Roger Snow is a senior vice president with Scientific Games. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Scientific Games Corporation or its affiliates.

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EMERGING LEADERS When Opportunity Knocks Evan Davis Vice President and General Counsel, SugarHouse Casino van Davis’ lack of gaming experience ironically is what helped him secure the vice president and general counsel position at SugarHouse Casino, and as he says, when opportunity knocked, he was compelled to answer.

Upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Davis clerked for a federal judge for one year, and then joined a large international law firm in Philadelphia, never anticipating his career path was leading him to the gaming industry.

After working as an attorney for several years, Davis began exploring in-house opportunities, and during the interview process at SugarHouse, it became apparent that his position as an “outsider” to the industry actually gave him an advantage.

“My decision to leave law-firm life and take this job was a roll of the dice (pun intended),” he jokes, “but I’d say it’s turned out pretty well so far.”

Davis credits SugarHouse’s then-GM Wendy Hamilton and her executive team with selling him on the people and the fundamentals of SugarHouse’s culture: fun, service, integrity and respect.

“SugarHouse is a company that believes in the power of ideas,” Davis states. “It’s a company that encourages its leaders to think outside the box and not necessarily ‘stay in your lane.’”

He describes the executive meetings there to be more like huge brainstorming sessions, allowing emerging leaders to have their voices heard on a wide range of issues and topics.

Davis has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects at SugarHouse beyond a legal capacity, most recently working on launching their sports betting operation. He is thrilled that he’s been able to branch out in a broader capacity as a “gaming executive” and tries to be available and approachable to his colleagues to provide candid and honest perspectives on the company and his experience with the industry.

Beginning with his parents, Davis has been fortunate to have had many mentors in his life.

He credits his parents for instilling in him from a young age that his achievements would be a result

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Determined to Succeed—A Long Journey of his actions and would not simply be handed to him. He recognizes his father-in-law as being a tremendous resource for him professionally.

Within the Rush Street Gaming family, he’s learned much from watching and working with former GM Hamilton, CEO Greg Carlin, and Vice President of Regulatory Compliance & Legal Counsel Laura McAllister Cox. Over the past few years, Jordan Savitch, the former general counsel at Penn National, has also acted as a mentor and resource for Davis as he navigates the gaming industry.

When he’s not working, Davis enjoys spending time with his family, watching his older son play soccer and his younger son excel at kids CrossFit, and attending Penn basketball games.

In looking at the future of the industry, Davis sees the rise of internet gaming and sports betting as significant opportunities for young professionals to make names for themselves.

“Both brick-and-mortar properties and online companies are adding new roles and positions,” he says, “and there is a significant dearth of people in this country with a lot of experience in these areas.”

He admits that as a young person embarking on a new career, the hardest thing is acknowledging what you don’t know, but that staying humble, asking questions and asking for help are keys to successfully moving ahead. Additionally, his recommendation to other emerging leaders is to always look for opportunities to work on projects that might be out of their comfort zone, and whenever asked to take on additional responsibility, say yes.

—Allison McCoy, The Innovation Group

Wendi Long Marketing Director, Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Indigo Sky Casino & Resort, Outpost Casino and Bordertown Casino & Arena endi Long has faced many challenges during her 14-year career in gaming, including rising to the top of the male-dominated world of poker management. Imagine being at a convention and realizing you are only one of two women in a room filled with over 100 poker managers.

But her uncompromising work ethic and commitment to succeed have propelled Long past all obstacles, and she was recently promoted to marketing director of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe’s three casinos in the highly competitive Northeast Oklahoma market. She takes pride also in how she achieved success: through hard work. Says Long, “There are people who want to move up by bringing other people down, but that’s the easy way out.”

Long’s journey has been mirrored by Eastern Shawnee’s gaming business, which has grown from a single 500-slot facility with a handful of table games to a three-casino portfolio totaling more than 1,800 total slot games, two hotel towers, a pool and a convention center.

Dealing blackjack and poker, working as a cocktail waitress and in the casino bank, or being supervisor of poker and off-track betting—nothing directly prepared Long for a career in marketing. But five-plus years ago, Long’s dedication to excellence caught the eye of the previous marketing director, Melanie Heskett.

Long’s decision to make the move to mar-

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Mentorship Motivates Geoffrey Goodman Former Vice President, Business Development and Strategy, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. keting was the pivotal—and risky—decision of her career. She was taken out of her “comfort zone” and had to learn a new discipline. But she asked questions, and more questions, and never gave up.

“There were some tough times where you step back and ask, is this right for me and my family?” says Long. “The drive to the top isn’t easy. Lots of sacrificing of time, work coming home with you, nights and weekends and holidays.”

But having been tempered by the process, Long takes comfort in knowing, when faced with a new challenge, “I got this.”

Long credits Heskett, now general manager, with providing invaluable career mentoring. It wasn’t just that she taught Long everything she knew about marketing, but how she did it.

“Melanie is one to lead side-by-side with you, not demanding from the front,” Long says. “What she showed me then and what I continue to believe today is that a great team is not made up of the most impressive resumes or the longest collective tenure. A great team is made up of great people.

People who listen and understand each other, who have the same vision and who just fit together.”

Now Long is the leader of the team, and she is carrying on Heskett’s tradition while imparting her own vision to the team on how to work together to reach their customers most effectively.

In her mentoring, she encourages team members to distinguish between a job and a career.

“If you see this as a job, you will never give 100 percent,” she says. “It’s knowing that not just the big things but all the little things you do above and beyond your job will get you far. Someone is watching and there will be an opportunity to grow.

Maybe not today, but it will be there, and this is where viewing it as a career will keep you focused and not deterred.”

Additionally, she advises young professionals looking to advance to “be the problem solver.

There are always going to be disagreements and the unknowns that come up, but be the one who starts with possible resolutions. The casino world is always changing and we need fixers, not derailers.”

Most of all, Long leads by example, and she hopes the “passion and energy she pours into her career inspires others” to work their way up, as well.

— Tom Zitt, Ph.D., The Innovation Group

eoffrey Goodman’s expertise in strategic finance, corporate development and analytics came about from several factors over the years.

After graduating magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina Marshall School of Business, Goodman ascended the ranks at various firms involved in the gaming industry, developing his skill set and broadening his knowledge base all the while. One of the key factors he cites for his success is mentorship.

Having been mentored from a very young age, Goodman says, “I believe having a trusted mentor can be an invaluable way to leverage different perspectives for important decisions throughout your career.”

At age 13, Goodman completed a school mentor project with then-president of Treasure Island John Strzemp. The project goal was to learn more about a career of interest, and Strzemp taught Goodman the ins and outs of a casino resort operation, which proved an amazing experience for that age. It piqued Goodman’s interest in the gaming industry, and he kept ties with Strzemp throughout the years, eventually interning for him in corporate finance during college.

Strzemp consistently provided him with valuable advice on how to think about the business, how to evaluate career opportunities, and how to approach challenging decisions.

Being in finance, Goodman had the idea early on that his career would grow in a very logical progression. He was climbing the proverbial corporate ladder on the finance/development path when he pivoted. Asked to become the leader of Pinnacle’s analytics organization, Goodman’s past experience in this field was limited. Trusting that he would broadly impact the company and cultivate new skill sets for his career development, he worked with his team to improve the credibility of how analytics can help the business, achieving direct improvements in financial results.

“It challenged me to grow in ways I wasn’t expecting and to become a stronger leader,” says Goodman.

The successes Goodman reaped from being on the receiving end of great mentoring prompted him to develop a mentorship program for his analytics team. This program behooved mentors and mentees alike by helping mentors to

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develop their leadership skills, and by helping mentees to receive valuable career advice. In addition, matching individuals from different disciplines helped improve interdepartmental communication.

Another key factor that Goodman credits for his successes is trust. He made earning the trust of those who led him in the early days of his career a top priority, knowing that the best way to earn that trust was to work hard and exhibit a keen eye for detail. His curiosity to learn proved that he cared about his work, thus creating more opportunities to contribute. Another key asset that helped him flourish was a good sense of organization.

“Organization,” says Goodman, “will help you solve problems faster and prioritize your responsibilities.” All of these assets and initiatives paved the way for Goodman’s lucrative career, one of the highlights of which was building a team of professionals who worked collaboratively together, performing their jobs at a high level and achieving impactful results.

As for where the casino gaming industry is headed, Goodman sees it following the same digital evolution as many other industries of today.

Although the regulations inherent in gaming have slowed that evolution down a bit, digital gambling is beginning to take form as states continue to approve online gambling, sports betting and social gaming. Goodman predicts that the digital gambling segment will continue to grow alongside the careers of young industry professionals in particular.

“Young professionals have spent a fair amount of their lives as consumers of digital products,” Goodman says, “and therefore have an opportunity to provide their informed perspectives on these emerging gambling businesses.”

—Marie Casias, The Innovation Group

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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Playing With the

Big Boys Data Analytics for Small Operators: Low-Cost Techniques to Mimic Economies of Scale

By Chloe Fletcher and Chris Irwin

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s gaming saturates regional markets, casinos that once existed in their own monopoly now find it increasingly difficult to improve financial performance through organic revenue growth. Companies eager to show year-over-year improvement have largely focused on increasing their margins, and industry consolidation provides the necessary economies of scale.

While large brands like Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts continue to dominate in size, others have worked to absorb the remaining regional commercial competition—as seen with Eldorado Resorts’ acquisitions of Isle of Capri Casinos and Tropicana Entertainment, Penn National Gaming’s acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment, and even Golden Nugget’s recent bid to acquire Caesars Entertainment.

Synergies driven by this level of M&A activity include operational excellence through the development and sharing of best practices, labor savings through the centralization of leadership roles, and purchasing power on everything from slot machines to shampoo.

An exemplary benefit of consolidation is found in data management and analysis, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Enterprise data warehouses are costly, and the IT and analytics professionals required to manage and leverage them command high salaries. Return on these types of investments is highest when their costs can be spread across several properties in a portfolio sharing the resources.

But as large gaming brands expand and regional brands consolidate, one segment remains relatively untouched: Native American casinos. The economics in tribal gaming are different. Because of jurisdictional restrictions, these casinos operate as individually owned entities and, even among those that operate multiple casinos, the vast majority cannot benefit from the scale that many commercial operators have built.

In this article, we explore three critical ways tribes and single-operator properties can mimic the economies of scale that many of their competitors enjoy around data and analytics operations while remaining budget-conscious and growing ROI. Our methods include improving existing reports, developing centralized data storage incrementally, and fostering a culture of collaboration between analysts and operators.

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Method 1: Make the Most of the Data You Already Have Nearly every casino or department within a casino already uses reports in some capacity, whether it be a daily operating report, a profit-and-loss statement, or a structured post analysis for marketing events and campaigns.

There is a common tendency to get set in how we view and consume these reports—looking for a specific number or two and glossing over the rest; or worse still, becoming too busy to read the report altogether.

By doing so, we risk losing sight of more nuanced trends or opportunities. What’s changing? What’s stable? It’s important that reports are designed to help us efficiently answer these questions, extract the information we need to make good decisions, and spot trends. Regular conversations between report authors and end users are a low-cost way to ensure we receive meaningful, timely information to inform our decision-making. The questions below can help drive this evaluation process:

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Do I need this report?

The first step in evaluation should be considering whether we need the report at all. Ask yourself what motivates you to read it. Is the information valuable and useful? Do you actually use it to make decisions, or is reading the report merely a force of habit? Reporting should evolve as our businesses evolve; even reports that provide excellent value should someday sunset, yielding to new reporting that is more effective. Allowing less useful reports to retire not only reduces inbox clutter but also frees up the report author’s limited time to provide value in other ways.

What information in this report is valuable to me?

Once we’ve established that a report itself provides value, we must ensure its design efficiently delivers the information we want. Reports need to be easily and quickly consumable—if we’re constantly searching for a specific number in a report or performing ad-hoc calculations with the data provided, it may be time for a refresh.

We have always found the most success in updating design and presentation when operators and analysts review the report together. End users should discuss the information that interests them in the report, share ques-

T is y p d E 3 E a n

tions that come to mind as they consume it, and provide any of the ad-hoc manipulations they’re performing. The more the analyst knows about how the operator is using the report to make decisions, the more tailored and easier-to-use the report can be made. Likewise, the analyst who built the report may have had a use case in mind that he or she can share with the operator.

What information would make this report more valuable to me?

Hand-in-hand with what we already find valuable in a report is what’s missing that would make the report even more useful. It is critically important to identify and communicate information gaps in report content to its authors.

Sometimes a report only shows a snapshot when a trend would be useful.

Sometimes a report shows a trend but insufficient details in a snapshot. Other common information gaps are caused by the time period of the report or lack of data accessibility.

Here’s an example we’ll continue to follow: a hotel reservations report may not incorporate patron information that could be helpful for hotel staff looking to provide extraordinary guest service. Report authors can diagnose why an information gap exists and develop solutions. Gaps caused by time periods can be resolved quite easily through supplemental reporting. Analysts can create a trend report to go along with a snapshot report.

Data accessibility gaps, like the interest in viewing a patron’s ADT or F&B preferences alongside hotel reservations, are generally caused by a need to view data from multiple departments or business units in the same report, and these may be harder to tackle. Even so, they spark valuable conversations about centralizing data, which we propose a strategy for addressing later in the article.

Do I receive this report at the right time?

As creatures of habit, we may be accustomed to receiving a report on a set schedule, be it daily, weekly or monthly. But is that schedule optimal? We should ask ourselves if a change in delivery timing would help us make better decisions, and communicate those needs to the report author.

If we need information daily or weekly for it to be effective, and we are only getting it every two to four weeks, there may be easy ways to solve this problem—perhaps the analyst is creating a 30-slide PowerPoint deck when a few key summary numbers are all we need. Or, we may need to consider an investment in reporting infrastructure that is more push-button if analysts are putting reports together manually that arrive too late to be effective.

Typically, the more frequently a report is delivered, the higher the burden on analyst and technical resources, so there may be limitations to what is immediately possible. But these conversations provide an important starting point for understanding reporting demands in the organization. What’s more, a focus on these questions will help direct energy to the most important information needed so that resources are appropriately allocated. It is best to keep analysts motivated and empowered by ensuring that the information and analysis they provide is being used to make more effective decisions.

Method 2: Centralize Your Data Incrementally (Without a Costly Warehouse) Data within a casino resort tends to become siloed in the department that generates it: marketing controls marketing data, casino operations controls gaming floor data, and food and beverage data often stays buried in the pointof-sale. This hinders creation of more nuanced reports like the hotel reservations we described earlier.

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Centralized data stored and maintained from a single location and accessible by many departments provides the technical infrastructure necessary to quickly and efficiently create these cross-departmental reports—reports that will become even more useful as our view of the customer evolves. Casinos have begun to rethink guest worth to include spend off the casino floor, and centralized data storage that combines guest activity data across gaming, hotel, retail and F&B departments is vital for these calculations.

Additionally, developing centralized data storage is crucial to expanding the data analytics capabilities of an organization, as many off-the-shelf analytics tools require a central data source to function.

Knowing how much information to bring into a central data source can be challenging. While well-designed enterprise data warehouses (EDWs) that capture every nugget of data created in the organization are an analyst’s dreamcome-true, development and maintenance of these systems can require significant time, talent and capital investments. EDWs and the analytic capabilities they enable can be extremely valuable, but the return on investment may not make sense for small operations or organizations just beginning their shift to more data-driven decision-making. A better approach for these casinos may be to start small, with only the most pertinent information, and incrementally build their centralized data source as a more analytics-driven culture and its associated demand for data grows.

Avoid the temptation to map every piece of information into an all-encompassing data warehouse. In fact, rather than a “warehouse,” aim for a much smaller “storeroom” that houses only the most important data items in your organization.

Start with feedback from the report reviews and aggregate the items that report users identify as most important for driving their decisions, or that they’d most like to see in new reports. Likewise, ensure that information that is relevant across multiple departments is among the first to enter the storeroom. These common items provide good starting points for building your central data storage.

Remember, the goal here is to eliminate data silos. Once a storeroom is established, teach analysts how to access it and build from it. Many low-cost tools can plug right into such an environment, and the value provided from sharing a single source of truth across the enterprise will provide the opportunity to experiment as well as the use case for future storeroom expansion.

Method 3: Bring Analysts and Operators Together A data-driven culture must encourage interaction between operations and analytics staff, which you’ll remember we advocated for earlier in this article. A challenge we commonly face is the conflicting feelings of analysts who believe their work is being ignored and operators who think analysts have insufficient context—perhaps understanding the “numbers” but not the “business”—to help them make decisions. It is imperative that the business eliminate this narrative so that the operators and analysts can work together and build the mutual trust and respect required in the joint pursuit of operational excellence. The methods we share above may bring an organization closer to the actionable answers it seeks, but this is only possible through true collaboration and partnership.

Creating the environment described above can be labor-intensive, but from a dollars-and-cents perspective, no direct monetary investment is needed to begin reshaping organizational culture. In fact, here is an example of where smaller operators can use size to their advantage. Since analysts and operators are all located on property, everyone has easy access to one another. Avail yourself of this unique opportunity to ensure that analysts and operators work together to share ideas and build the trust required for their relationship to thrive.

One simple and cheap way to get started is to facilitate analysts rotating through operational positions in the departments they serve, even if only for a shift. One of this article’s authors was horrified to learn how many ways data could be (and was being) entered incorrectly or ambiguously when she shadowed a player’s club desk for the first time. But the experience was invaluable, and shaped her sense of how data could be trusted. She has since worked with mar50

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keting teams on SOPs and with IT and analytics teams to develop better automated rules for merging guest accounts. Here are some additional ways you can foster this critical relationship, depending on where your role falls on the analytics-operations spectrum:

Analysts Seek opportunities to learn operating procedures, and always be sympathetic to the very real challenges faced by people who interact with guests. Build meaningful and deep relationships with business leaders to develop analytics champions who can vouch for your work and speak from experience to the business value added by data-informed decisions. To accomplish this, reach out to business leaders to understand what issues they face. Take time to understand the business perspective and context of a problem that may benefit from data analysis, and aim to provide relevant, actionable recommendations with your findings.

Operators Get to know the “numbers” people in your organization, which in most casinos are the planning and analysis resources. Communicate regularly with these individuals, take them to lunch, talk to them about what they’re working on, chat about the things you’d love to improve, and ask how they’d think about those challenges. Ask how they assist other departments—this may spark an idea about how their expertise can benefit your team.

Expose analysts to the day-to-day issues you and your team face so that they see the many variables. Involve them in the conversation when something seems off; reaching out shows a willingness to incorporate data-driven thinking into your operations and paves the way for future collaborations. Conversely, try to understand the type of data the analyst sees, and work with your team where possible to improve its quality. Analysts generally want three things: to work on interesting problems, to know that their work is being used, and to have that work recognized for its value. If you can provide this, they’ll dedicate enormous amounts of time and energy to your projects.

Property Leaders When you’re setting goals for the year, prioritize this type of relationship building. You have immense power to change the way your team thinks about the business and business goals. Putting your support behind these initiatives by budgeting lunches or directing analysts to spend a portion of their time shadowing can move the needle quickly and at minimal cost. Diversity of thought and experience makes everyone smarter and more effective.

Identify and Change As the industry consolidates to leverage economies of scale and develop efficiencies, tribes and other small operators are forced to balance the cost-benefit of similar improvements. It’s important that they identify low-cost opportunities to drive a large portion of this value. Some cultural changes, as well as some low-cost technology changes, can provide a lot of this budget-conscious value.

We encourage these operations to take the following approaches: • Review and critique existing reports for opportunities to streamline, supplement, reorganize, improve delivery, and potentially sunset.

• Remove data silos and develop high-value cross-departmental reporting and analysis through the creation of a centralized data storeroom. Do this thoughtfully and incrementally, rather than by undertaking a costly, all-at-once data warehousing project.

• Foster a culture that encourages two-way communication, development, empathy and a sense of teamwork between analysts and operators.

Chloe Fletcher is manager of data analytics for The Innovation Group.

Chris Irwin, director of Native American and interactive services for The Innovation Group, assisted with this feature.

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NEW GAME REVIEW

by Frank Legato

American Gods 4D

International Game Technology

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his latest game in IGT’s TRUE 4D series is based on the Starz network fantasy series American Gods, which is based on the Neil Gaiman novel about a mythical battle between Old Gods and New Gods.

The game uses the TRUE 4D glasses-free 3D technology, along with midair haptic technology and gesture control, to recreate the series in sharp animation surrounding a variety of story lines from the show. The base game is a five-reel, 50-line video slot packed with primary-game mystery bonus events and three interactive bonuses recreating scenes from the TV show.

Mystery features during the base game include the “Bilquis Feature,” which awards up to five full wild reels; the “Czernobog Feature,” in which a hammer appears and hits a symbol to award one or two surrounding wild symbols; and the “Mr. World Feature,” in which all high-value symbols transform into the Mr. World symbol.

Three buffalo symbols on the middle reels trigger a screen in which the player selects from three bonus games, and is randomly awarded a number of free games, plus a number of bonus chances for the round.

The bonuses include the Slice Bonus, in which the player uses midair hand gestures across the screen to destroy charging enemies; the Bunny Bonus, in which players guide a rabbit on the screen to search for up to 12 eggs, each hiding a bonus award; and the Coin Toss

bonus, in which players are awarded up to seven coins to toss into glasses to award bonus credits. Players create a cointossing gesture in the 4D interaction area to fling the coins in the air.

There also are four free-game options—the Bilquis, Zorya, Czernobog and Mr. World free games features.

The game carries a wide-area progressive jackpot resetting at $100,000. The progressive is awarded for three American Gods symbols on the middle reels.

When two land on reels two and three, the player receives a re-spin for a second chance at the top prize.

There also is a stand-alone version of the game with a static top jackpot of 1 million credits ($10,000).

Manufacturer: IGT Platform: CrystalCurve TRUE 4D Format: Five-reel, 50-line video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 375 Top Award: Progressive, $100,000 reset; Standalone, $10,000 Hit Frequency: 27% Theoretical Hold: 12%-13% (WAP) 4%-14% (Stand-alone)

Fu Pig

AGS

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his new game on AGS’ Orion Slant cabinet features a progressive jackpot that links to the company’s Da Ji Da Li, Stampede Power and Xtreme Jackpots titles, feeding four progressive jackpots with the top prize resetting at $10,000.

The base game is a five-reel, 40-line video slot in penny denomination. Its central feature is a free-spin event in which the player chooses the volatility of the round by choosing the number of wild symbols that will be added to the reels for the free games.

When the free-spin round is triggered by three or more consecutive bonus or wild symbols in a winning combination, the player is presented with the following choice: 52

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

• 15 free spins with 35 wild symbols added; • 12 free spins with 45 wild symbols added; • eight free spins with 60 wild symbols added; • five free spins with 75 wild symbols added; or, • a random pick by the computer of one of the above.

The progressive jackpot is determined by a picking game triggered randomly when a wild symbol lands on any of the middle reels during the base game. The player is presented with a field of jackpot icons, and picks until matching three to win the corresponding progressive prize.

Manufacturer: AGS Platform: Orion Slant Format: Five-reel, 40-line video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 500 Top Award: Progressive; Resets at $10,000 Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% Theoretical Hold: 4.93%-15.97%

2019 SAVE THE DATE EDUCATION OCTOBER 14-17 EXPO HALL OCTOBER 15-17

SANDS EXPO, LAS VEGAS

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FarmVille

Aristocrat Technologies

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his game, based on the Zynga game FarmVille—one of the earliest social-game hits on Facebook—showcases Aristocrat’s new EdgeX cabinet, which features two 43-inch LCD monitors stacked in a landscape configuration that the company calls “personalized space” to create a “minijumbo feel” within a standard slot footprint.

That landscape is used to maximum effect with the famous Zynga farmbuilding game, in which players plow fields, plant crops, raise livestock and perform other farm activities to achieve points and advance levels.

The FarmVille slot game combines the Mighty Cash hold-and-spin feature and the popular Progressive Free Games mechanic into a new experience. In FarmVille, the number of Mighty Cash spins increments and allows players to play a new Mighty Cash matrix every time the current Mighty Cash matrix is entirely filled up.

The base game is a five-reel, 243-ways-to-win game in the Reel Power series.

There is a five-level, single-site progressive that resets at either $2,500 or $5,000.

Bonus features include the Mighty Cash Unlimited Feature, where the player plays one of three levels of Mighty Cash, differentiated by the “all positions filled” bonus award—2X, 3X, or 4X applied to all prizes, according to the number of Mighty Cash spins awarded.

The goal is to collect Mighty Cash symbols to fill a matrix on the way to the 4X multiplier.

The Mighty Cash level also determines the number of Mighty Cash spins awarded. If the player has remaining spins after a blackout, then a new matrix is presented and the round continues.

The Wheel Bonus Feature awards credits, free games with unlim-

ited retrigger, or the progressive picking bonus, in which the player selects icons on a screen until matching three to win the corresponding progressive jackpot.

In addition to the dual 43-inch screens displaying panoramic views of the player’s “farm,” the EdgeX cabinet features stereo symphonic surround sound and a virtual button deck.

Manufacturer: Aristocrat Technologies Platform: EdgeX Format: Five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 225 Top Award: Progressive; $2,500 or $5,000 reset Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% Theoretical Hold: 4%-16%

Wheel of Prosperity Aruze Gaming

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his new game showcases Aruze’s new Muso Curve 43 cabinet, a premium presentation featuring a 43-inch, J-shaped curved high-resolution monitor along with a high-powered graphic display and high-quality sound system.

Wheel of Prosperity is a game series, with the two inaugural themes Wheel of Prosperity Dragon and Wheel of Prosperity Phoenix. Both are centered around a giant central bonus wheel that figures in two separate bonus events and the progressive jackpot round, with a top prize resetting at $10,000.

The base game is a five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot. During any bought game, three wheel symbols on the middle reels trigger the Bonus Wheel.

The wheel contains multipliers of 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 7X, 8X,10X and 18X; and a “Free Games” space. If the spins land on a multiplier, any win from the triggering spin is multiplied by that number. The Free Games space triggers a second “Free Games Wheel.”

The Wheel spins to award six, seven, eight, 10, 12, 15, 20 or 25 free games. During the free games, if three wheel symbols appear on the middle reels, the Free Games Wheel is retriggered for additional spins.

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Randomly, when one or more wheel symbols appear on the second, third and fourth reels, a third wheel, the Jackpot Wheel, is triggered. The wheel spins to award the Mini jackpot ($10 reset), the Minor ($25), Major ($800) or Grand ($10,000-plus) prize.

Manufacturer: Aruze Gaming Platform: Muso Curve 43 Format: Five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot Denomination: .01 Max Bet: 880 Top Award: Progressive; $10,000 reset Hit Frequency: Approximately 50% Theoretical Hold: 5.88%-15%

CONNECTING PEOPLE AND INNOVATIONS IN THE ASIAN ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

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CUTTING EDGE

by Frank Legato

Flexible Display Product: LED Direct View Manufacturer: JCM Global

very casino market has its sports fans, and spring brings a wealth of sports action for every fan. And that means every casino operator will want to provide the best possible viewing experience for guests.

JCM Global has a wide range of flexible options to meet every operator’s budget and create incredible viewing experiences for every guest.

JCM’s portfolio of digital displays can accommodate every taste, need, and budget, JCM works with each individual customer from concept through design and installation to provide the perfect solution tailored to each property.

JCM’s line of LED Direct View digital media product offers incredible flexibility with easy-to-configure and easy-to-assemble panels that effortlessly accommodate any size or space need or challenge.

JCM’s Direct View LED panels are high-resolution with the immersive visual fidelity of 4K Ultra HD. They provide the perfect vehicle for

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operators to deliver impactful, larger-than-life imagery for an incredible entertainment experience. Because they are LED, the panels are extremely energy-efficient, do not require any special ventilation system or reconfiguration, and fulfill a property’s “green” initiatives.

JCM is a full one-stop shop and in addition to displays, JCM offers a complete line of hardware, video player, and processor as well as installation and service.

JCM also offers a wide range of digital displays that help operators communicate messages directly to customers in the casino and throughout the entire property beyond the sports book. JCM displays can be configured for any and every area of the property, from way-finders to exterior displays, creating a perfect solution for displaying property information and education.

For more information, visit jcmglobal.com.

Sports Printer Product: Epic 880 Printer Manufacturer: TransAct Technologies Inc.

s sports betting continues to gain popularity in America, TransAct reports that it’s fully equipped to support this new gaming sector with its Epic 880 printer. The Epic 880 is the industry-leading printer used in established sports betting markets across the world. Known for its reliability and flexibility, the printer is used extensively across gaming sectors where the most dependable, robust product is required.

The Epic 880 is ideal to print sports betting slips, as it provides ultra-reliable, roll-fed printing of different size betting slips and a functionality that prevents player interference with the slips as they print.

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Featuring a small, modular design that is configurable to any space, the printer also supports amusement-with-prizes, skill-with-prizes and video lottery terminals. This proven solution continues to please customers and partners as they find new opportunities for sports-betting kiosks in many global markets.

One of the most recent operators incorporating the Epic 880 is the DraftKings Sportsbook center at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Working in conjunction with Novomatic, one of the biggest international producers and operators of gaming technologies, along with Kambi, a leading provider of premium sports betting and technology services, the kiosks and printers made their debut November 20.

For more information, visit transact-tech.com.

23-25 APRIL 2019 Meadowlands Exposition Center, New Jersey / New York Betting on Sports America is the largest sports betting conference & exhibition in the US

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PHIL MURPHY Governor New Jersey

CHRISTIAN STUART Executive VP of Gaming & Interactive Entertainment Caesars

ADAM GREENBLATT CEO Roar Digital (MGM / GVC)

SCOTT BUTERA President of Interactive Gaming MGM

JAY KORNEGAY EVP Race & Sports Book Operations SuperBook – Westgate Las Vegas

KRESIMIR SPAJIC SVP Online Gaming Hard Rock International

EVAN DAVIS VP and General Counsel Sugarhouse Casino

JEFFREY GURAL Chairman American Racing and Entertainment

DAVID REBUCK Director NJDGE

ART MANTERIS VP Race and Sports Book Operations Station Casinos LLC

MAY SCHEVE Executive Director & President Missouri Lottery & NASPL

SHEILA MORAGO Executive Director Oklahoma Indian Gaming Assn.

VINCENT MAGLIULO Vice President of Corporate Relations LVDC

VIC SALERNO President USBookmaking & USFantasy Sports

RAYMOND LESNIAK Former Senator Democratic Party

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05/03/2019 13:47

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FRANKLY SPEAKING

by Frank Legato

Tourneys and Pips

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Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Pipless condition into account before they placed their bets. I know I would have, had I bet. And had I watched the beginning of the Super Bowl. I think I was watching hockey recorded the night before.

Come on, who wants to see the Patriots and the Rams?

Moving on, the Harrah’s Southern California casino resort has just added a Topgolf Swing Suite attraction, in which guests can play virtual golf, but also can pay to take hockey shots using an NHL-branded street hockey ball and stick, or they can play “Zombie Dodgeball.”

Zombie Dodgeball has you chucking a regulation dodgeball at “virtual undead,” gaining points for taking them down. You know, before they can eat your brains.

This is a great attraction. lf they had sports betting there, they could take prop bets on who will be the next to lop off a zombie’s head with a dodgeball.

Is that what you do? Is there some type of grisly animation that goes with taking down the undead with regulation dodgeballs? (I’m just assuming they’re regulation. The rules may be different when applied to the undead.)

Finally, the Springfield Republican reported last month that the new MGM Springfield casino has been serving cocktails on the casino floor since its August opening that are prepared completely by robots.

I do believe they still have humans who bring you the drinks. If not, I’m sure they at least use attractive robots. Not like that one on The Jetsons.

Actually, automated drink systems, like this one and the one in place at Caesars properties, called BOSS (for Beverage Ordering Service, and Something), have been great customer service improvements for the casinos.

The only possible drawback I can see? A double is always exactly two shots.

Next time, take Gladys minus 2 Pips.

VIC TOR RINAL DO

I

f you turn to page 16 (not yet), you’ll see I wrote about tournaments this month—concentrating on slot tournaments, and how they’re no longer played on rusty three-reelers, or on those primitive three-reel video slots with the big animated cherries and 7s, with Atari-level graphics.

(I placed in one of those at Caesars Atlantic City back in the day.

Won $250! Gambled away $600 over the three days!)

But there is more to casino promotions than slot tournaments, as shown in February by the Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa, which held a three-day “Cornhole Classic” with a $10,000 prize pool.

The three-day tournament welcomed “90 teams from as far away as Washington state,” according to one press report, and featured “some of the best players in the nation.”

Apparently, the impressive lineup of cornhole athletes includes winners of the national American Cornhole League championship, which was broadcast on ESPN 2 in January.

Wow, the ACL. Seriously, is that really a thing? I mean, this game was one we called beanbags back when my kids were little and I actually, you know, did big barbecues, with the apron and the backyard and the chef hat and all.

As I recall, the radio was playing “The Macarena.” But I digress.

The kids grew up to refer to the game—basically, tossing beanbags at a target hole on a raised plywood board, and scoring like horseshoes—as “cornhole,” which, despite its rather unseemly original connotation, has become quite a common term—and now, evidently, the name of a national professional sports league.

I wonder if I can get on a team as a walk-on. I once identified bowling as my favorite sport, because it can be accompanied by beer-drinking, but here’s a sport that you can play with a brew and a hot dog. Held in one hand, while you throw with the other. Or, at least I’ve heard.

So, is there also an NCL to go with the ACL? I’m thinking Cornhole Super Bowl I. And now we have sports betting. Can’t wait.

Speaking of sports betting, there was one more weird story in February, concerning wagers on the Super Bowl. (The football one, not the cornhole one.) There was a brouhaha with the sports books concerning the Over/Under bet on the length of the National Anthem, as sung by Gladys Knight. When Knight finished singing “and the home of the brave,” officially ending the lyrics, the “Under” bets had won.

But then, Knight put a little flair to the ending, singing “bra-aave” a second time. The grand coda put the length to where the “Over” bets won.

You know, this never would have happened if Gladys would have had her Pips with her. They would have stopped on a dime.

But I didn’t see a single Pip. “Under” bettors should have taken her

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Slotties Are Born!

Aristocrat, Scientific Games dominate first EKG Slot Awards

By Frank Legato

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ristocrat Technologies, International Game Technology, Scientific Games and other top slot suppliers were honored by gaming research and consulting firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming in the first EKG Slot Awards, staged in a gala event last month at the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip.

The awards—immediately dubbed the “Slotties” by the first winners— covered 21 individual categories of games in the slot sector, with the winners determined by votes from more than 100 slot operations officials from over 300 casinos across the U.S., who collectively operate around 300,0000 slot machines. A panel of social gaming experts determined the voting on social casino games.

The big suppliers led the way in the voting, with Aristocrat Technologies capturing seven top awards. Scientific Games took five awards, with IGT the only other supplier scoring multiple awards with three.

Aristocrat took home the EKG equivalent of the Best Picture Oscar, winning the title of Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content.

In addition to the individual game awards, the EKG judges kicked off the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame by inducting Joe Kaminkow as the inaugural member. Kaminkow was the longtime slot development VP at IGT, and was responsible for some of the biggest hits in the slot sector before leaving for his current twin roles as a game developer for Aristocrat and for Zynga, the online and social games leader.

Kaminkow’s roots were in the amusement game industry, with Williams Electronics beginning in the early 1980s. He co-founded Data East Pinball in 1986, and produced pinball games including RoboCop, Back to the Future and The Simpsons. He moved to IGT in 1999, where he oversaw the rollout of iconic games including Wheel Of Fortune, The Price Is Right, Sex and the City and many others before returning to the amusement sector with the creation of Spooky Cool Labs.

Kaminkow was inducted into the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2014, and the American Gaming Association Gaming Hall of Fame in 2017.

“When we thought of who should be the first inductee into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame, it was a clear choice, Joe Kaminkow,” said Todd Eilers, principal at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC. “Joe has consistently been one of the top game developers in the land-based gaming industry and most recently has created some of the industry’s top social casino games. We are very excited to have him be our first inductee into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame.”

“It was a great night celebrating excellence in the slot sector, with approximately 200 executives in attendance from all the major gaming equipment suppliers, as well as several of the industry’s largest casino operators and key media representatives,” said Eilers, according to CDC Gaming Reports.

Following is the complete list of awards: 60

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Above: The Aristocrat team celebrates the award for “Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content” Joe Kaminkow (l.) is inducted as the first member of the EKG Slot Hall of Fame by EKG principal Todd Eilers

Land-Based Awards Top Performing Core Video Reel Game: Dancing Drums, Scientific Games Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game: 88 Fortunes, Scientific Games Top Performing Premium Game: Dragon Link, Aristocrat Top Performing NEW Video Reel Core Game: Wonder 4 Boost, Aristocrat Top Performing NEW Mechanical Reel Core Game: Quick Hit Triple Blazing 7s Super Wheel, Scientific Games Top Performing NEW Premium Game: Dragon Link: Happy and Prosperous, Aristocrat Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Core: Twinstar J43, Scientific Games Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Premium: MegaTower, IGT Top Performing 3rd Party IP Branded Game: Wheel of Fortune Triple Red Hot 7s Gold Spin, IGT Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game: Dragon Link, Aristocrat Top Performing Electronic Table Game (ETG): Interblock Roulette Top Performing Video Poker Game: Ultimate X, IGT Top Performing Skill Game: Match 3Volution, Gamblit Most Improved Supplier – Core: AGS Most Improved Supplier – Premium: Aristocrat Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content: Aristocrat

Social Casino Awards Best New Social Slot Game: Lightning Link, Product Madness/Aristocrat Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game: Jackpot Party Casino featuring SciGames content, Scientific Games – 2018 Most Innovative Social Slot Game: POP! Slots, PlayStudios Best B2B Social Slot Company: GAN Top Social Casino Company: Playtika EKG Hall of Fame: Joe Kaminkow

UNLV_2019_Fullpage2.qxp_Layout 1 3/13/19 2:28 PM Page 1

Presented by

Don’t Miss These 2019 Episodes!

FEBRUARY 21

THE ROAD TO 2020: KEEPING PACE WITH GAMING

Listen as some of the industry’s top visionaries discuss the future of gaming and hospitality and the changing landscape of Las Vegas. *Archived webinar available.

MARCH 21

OPERATORS VS. MANUFACTURERS: MAKING PEACE

Operators and manufacturers will come together and discuss vital issues for casinos: the changing casino floor, the price of new games, and the regulatory stranglehold in some jurisdictions. *Archived webinar available.

APRIL 23

TABLE GAMES AND ETGS: SETTING THE BAR

Table games have made a resurgence in gaming in the last 10 years. Hear from operators and manufacturers on how this segment of the industry is quickly evolving.

MAY 21

TRIBAL GAMING ECONOMY: BATTLING COMPETITION

At this full-day episode presented at the Morongo Resort & Casino in California, gaming executives will hear from a panel of casino and tribal leaders.

SEPTEMBER 18

RETAIL AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE: MENU OF OPTIONS

Non-gaming amenities are becoming a larger part of every casinos’ revenue stream. F&B and retail experts will discuss the latest trends in dining, what works and what doesn’t and how to maximize your retail space. Explore which non-gaming segments perform best in a casino environment.

OCTOBER 30

CUSTOMER SERVICE & HR: THE PEOPLE FACTOR

At this Episode, hear the best practices in human resources, debate the details of great customer service and discover how to link great employees with remarkable service.

Attend In Person, Live Stream or View Webinar. Visit UNLVGHES.com UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series Sponsors

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GOODS&SERVICES

30 and Counting...

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AGS CELEBRATES TABLE PROGRESSIVE MILESTONE

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aming supplier AGS announced that its base of installed table-game progressive products has surpassed 1,000 units. The company’s table progressive suite includes two platforms: the wheel-based Bonus Spin and the award-winning STAX, which features titles like Blackjack Match, Royal 9 Baccarat Progressive and Super 4 Progressive Blackjack.

“The growth of our progressive installed base has been phenomenal,” AGS Senior VP of Table Products John Hemberger said, “especially considering that we only launched our tablegame division in 2014 and had to build a development team, product portfolio and sales team from scratch.”

Foxwoods Vice President of Table Games Wayne Theiss said that AGS has allowed the casino to “add excitement” to its casino pit.

“We have over 100 AGS progressive products on the floor,” Theiss said. “Our players love the must-hit-by and community features of these products. We look forward to working with the AGS team to further enhance tablegame revenues and deliver more value to our table-games players.”

GAMECO APPROVED FOR NEVADA LICENSE

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ameCo LLC, the New York-based startup that is one of the pioneers of skillbased games for the slot floor, received final approval for its Nevada license, when the Nevada Gaming Commission voted 30 to confirm the recommendation for licensing previously issued by the

“Nothin’ But Net 2” (r.) will be released on the casino floors of Nevada shortly 62

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

ast month’s edition of Gaming Laboratories International’s North American Regulators Roundtable happened to coincide with the company’s 30th anniversary.

One of the best stories in gaming, GLI pioneered the concept of a private lab streamlining the approval process for games and systems in the casino industry. Today, GLI remains the brand that every technology company wants to recognize. The founders of GLI, James Maida (l.) and Paul Magno, welcomed attendees during a reception at the Esports Arena at Luxor with a specially constructed cake to celebrate the milestone. The latest Regulators Roundtable set a record with more than 400 participants.

Nevada Gaming Control Board.

GameCo first launched its arcade-style, skillbased “Video Game Gambling Machines” in Atlantic City, where Caesars casinos and the Tropicana have placed various versions of its games over the past two years.

At the licensing hearing, Gaming Commission Chairman Tony Alamo praised the arrival of skill-based gaming in Nevada, while conceding the games have had mixed results. “I’m very excited about this that eventually, hopefully when I’m long done with this commission, I’ll be able to walk into a hotel-casino and see an entire area where I’m going to recognize some of these games and play them and gamble at the same time,” Alamo said. “I always thought this was going to blow up, but I’m a little disappointed that it’s not blowing up, not just with you but with your competitors. I’m just not seeing the products coming.”

GameCo CEO Blaine Graboyes described the company’s latest games, which he told commissioners will bring younger players into casinos. New entries include “Call of Duty,” “Nothin’ But Net,” “Steve Aoki’s Neon Dream” and “Terminator 2.”

ARISTOCRAT COMPLETES PLAYERMAX ACQUISITION

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as Vegas-based slot supplier Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. has purchased the source code and IP of SIC Innovations as it relates to the casino mobile technology known as PlayerMax. The result of the purchase is that SIC’s PlayerMax mobile technology is now a wholly owned Oasis

360 systems product, allowing Aristocrat to further enhance its player-focused offerings to its customers.

Under the agreement, Aristocrat has received all PlayerMax web and mobile source code for exclusive use in the gaming industry. In addition, Aristocrat has received a non-exclusive license to leverage SIC’s award-winning AvT patent for use within the PlayerMax mobile platform.

The PlayerMax mobile app, combined with Oasis 360 Loyalty, creates an ideal situation for casino operators to extend the brand beyond the limits of their four walls, maximizing efficiencies and providing an opportunity to reduce overall marketing expenses.

KONAMI’S FORTUNE CUP DEBUTS IN MACAU

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sia Pioneer Entertainment Holdings Ltd. (the APE group), the distributor for supplier Konami Australia Pty. Ltd. in Macau, announced that Fortune Cup, Konami’s multi-station horse race game, has debuted in two “prominent” Macau casinos.

The announcement did not specify the number

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of units of Fortune Cup that are being installed in the city’s casinos, nor the names of the venues in which the games are being installed.

The arcade-style game, a miniature horse track combining electro-mechanical and digital technologies, features 12 betting terminals around a 274-centimeter-wide mechanical track with eight horses that travel freely and independently across the course. The horses’ actions are mirrored by real-time digital animation on connected LCD screens in a sports broadcast format in Cantonese, and players place their bets through touch-screen stations with race stats, horse odds, and comprehensive bet options for win, place and quinella.

MERKUR HALLE GOES 100 PERCENT INTERBLOCK

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pirit Gaming, the distribution partner for electronic table game supplier Interblock in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, announced that the new Merkur Casino Halle in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt has implemented 100 percent Interblock solutions for both automated roulette and automated blackjack offerings.

Interblock’s Diamond automated solution offers both roulette and blackjack, and a software generator drives Diamond Video Blackjack with computer-generated animation. No human assistance is required for simulating the traditional table game.

Secondly, the Interblock Diamond has been integrated to solve the problem of uniting players who wish to smoke and those who don’t. By law, the smoking and non-smoking areas have to be separated in this German state. Nevertheless, the intelligent positioning ensures that players can enjoy automated roulette and blackjack regardless of whether they smoke or not.

Merkur Casino Halle makes use of terminals of two different monitor sizes, 21.5 inches and 27 inches. The technology is all interconnected, proving that casinos can integrate different Interblock terminal sizes very simply.

For more information or to subscribe to the database or monthly report contact Ashley Diem at ADiem@FantiniResearch.com or call +1-302-730-3793 - www.FantiniResearch.com APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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PEOPLE D’ARRIGO, SIBELLA OUT AT MGM

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GM Resorts International CFO Dan D’Arrigo and MGM Grand President and COO Scott Dan D’Arrigo Sibella have become the first casualties of the recently announced corporate policy to slice $100 million from staffing costs by 2020.

D’Arrigo announced his retirement last week after more than 23 years with the company. He will also relinScott Sibella quish his board seat with MGM China.

D’Arrigo will be replaced by current COO Corey Sanders, who had previously served as CFO for MGM Grand Resorts. Moving into Sanders’ COO spot will be Bill Hornbuckle, who is also the company president.

Sibella started his career in the Trump organization in Atlantic City and later moved to Las Vegas, where he worked for MGM at Treasure Island and later took the helm at the Mirage. No word on who is replacing him at MGM Grand.

The labor savings is part of the “MGM 2020” plan that is designed to increase profitability and transform the company digitally.

“Part of MGM 2020 is clarifying responsibilities and driving change. We are creating the path to success through the transformation with this team,” said MGM Chairman Jim Murren in a statement.

NEVADA PROBLEM GAMBLING COMMITTEE ELECTS FELDMAN

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GM Resorts International Executive Vice President of Global Industry Affairs Alan Feldman recently was elected chairman Alan Feldman of the Nevada State Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The committee supports effective problem gambling prevention, education, treatment and research programs throughout the state.

Feldman, who oversees MGM’s planning and implementation of policy development on indus-

try issues and programs with a focus on responsible gambling, serves as chairman of the National Center for Responsible Gaming. He recently directed the launch of GameSense, an MGM program that encourages players to adopt behaviors and attitudes to help lower the risk of developing gambling disorders.

Available at all MGM Resorts U.S. properties, GameSense has resulted in more than 750,000 positive responsible gambling conversations with guests and has been recognized by the National Council on Problem Gambling.

NEW COO AT STATION CASINOS

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ongtime Station Casinos executive Joe Hasson has resigned as chief operating officer of the Las Vegas-based operator, and Station has chosen another company veteran, Robert Finch, to replace him.

Station parent, publicly Joe Hasson traded Red Rock Resorts, reported the change but did not provide details, except to say that Hasson, whose involvement with Station goes back to 2003, will continue to serve in a consulting role over the next 12 months.

In his time with Station he served as general manager of several casinos in the Las Vegas area, including Green Valley Ranch, where he starred in the reality TV series American Casino, before joining Penn National Gaming for a year. He returned to Station in 2012 to open and manage Graton Resort & Casino, an Indian-owned operation in Northern California.

Finch first joined Station Casinos in 1983. He left to work elsewhere in the industry for several years and returned in 1996. He has since served in a variety of senior operating roles, most recently as general manager of Green Valley Ranch Resort in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson and as senior vice president of Native American operations.

STEELMAN PARTNERS LLP NAMES NEW PRESIDENT

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asino design specialist Steelman Partners LLP has named Steve Anderson as the company’s new president after Ethan Nelson’s resignation in December.

Anderson has been a senior project designer for Steelman Partners since

Steve Anderson

1991, and has served as the director of Steelman Architecture Asia and as a senior partner in Dalton Steelman Arias and Anderson Interiors. He is a graduate of the Phoenix Institute of Technology and brings more than 38 years of experience in interior and architectural design, including 27 years as a senior project designer, to his new position.

Anderson previously spent eight years working in interiors with Atlandia Design as a project designer on developments for the Golden Nugget and Mirage Resorts in Las Vegas.

HARRIS JOINS UNLV GAMING REGULATION CENTER

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ecky Harris, former chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, has joined the International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an academic fellow with an Becky Harris emphasis in the study of sports betting.

The fellowship will support the ICGR’s expanding role in the area of sports betting following a recent Supreme Court ruling that repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and paved the way for the legalization of sports wagering across all 50 states.

GGB

April 2019 Index of Advertisers

AGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 AGEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Agilysys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 AGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Aruze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Atrient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Dickinson Wright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Eclipse Gaming Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Everi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Fabicash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Fantini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Fox Rothschild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 G2E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 G2E Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Gaming Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 IGT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Incredible Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Interblock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 JCJ Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Kambi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14, 15 Konami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover Merkur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 MGT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Novomatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 RPM Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Betting on Sports America . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Scientific Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19, 39 TransAct Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 UNLV Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 UNLV Morongo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

APRIL 2019 www.ggbmagazine.com

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CASINO COMMUNICATIONS

Q

&A

Todd Haushalter

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odd Haushalter moved from landbased gaming to iGaming without missing a step. Now the chief product officer for the “live dealer” company Evolution Gaming, Haushalter has experience with gaming operators (MGM) and suppliers (Shuffle Master) but is very excited about the opportunities for the live dealer aspect of iGaming.

Haushalter spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the ICE trade show in London in February. To hear a full podcast of this interview, visit GGBMagazine.com.

GGB: Let’s start at the time you joined Evolution. It was a big leap of faith for you. Tell us how that came about.

Todd Haushalter: It’s actually an interesting story. I’m at MGM, I’m VP of gaming, thinking about how to grow the slots and tables business at the corporate level. And I really believed, “This is my dream job. I’m never going to leave this job. I like everybody I work with.” It was just awesome.

So Evolution called and said, “We’re public now; why don’t you come on out, and just chat with us?” So I came out and they convinced me that this is the future. They were growing at 40 percent and were going to continue to grow at 40 percent for a long time, and basically, we can do anything. They’ve got these dealers working from studios, streaming it live; it’s kind of a crazy business, but I get table game operations, and then the players play live on their phones. It felt like the future. So I moved to Malta three and a half years ago, been making games with them ever since. It’s been a lot of fun; it’s really cool.

It’s really just a table game operation broadcast out over the internet. Right?

It’s literally that. But if you came to one of our studios, you’d see 3,000 or 4,000 people working there. And it’s just studio after studio. It 66

Global Gaming Business APRIL 2019

Chief Product Officer, Evolution Gaming

looks more like a television studio than a casino, but you see dealers moving cards around, and spinning roulette wheels. And what’s fascinating is, we’re not limited to physical space. We have roulette games where there’s 1,000 or 2,000 players playing at any given moment. Here’s a fun fact: All five of the biggest roulette tables in the world judged by gross gaming revenue are with Evolution now.

In blackjack, we see players in Vegas playing the 6:5 rules, and it’s migrated to other parts of the country now. Do they understand that that’s not a good bet for them, your online players?

Collectively, there’s a big group of them that are just agnostic about it. But as you move up in limits, everything starts to change. And so, for the first time in my career, I can literally see every decision a blackjack player makes, because it’s digital. And so, we can ask questions like, “How do $10 players play differently than $50, versus $5,000 players?” And literally, as you move up in average bet, the quality of the play improves.

Do you use eight-deck shoes, and do you worry about card counters?

Yes, we have eight-deck shoes, and we have this interesting dynamic where everybody is effectively anonymous, and they can all use digital equipment to count the cards, so the counter-measures that you have to have in place are severe. But we deal four of the eight decks, as the most aggressive counter-measure. But you just have to; otherwise you would get eaten alive by card counters.

How does it work in New Jersey, where everything has to be dealt inside a real casino?

That’s burdensome, but that’s the rule. We partnered with Hard Rock, and we’ve got 30,000 square feet inside the Hard Rock casino, and it’s a beautiful environment. And so, in that space, at maturity we’ll have, depending on how you configure it, maybe 30 or 40 tables. And so, from

that casino, not only will we service Hard Rock, but we’ll service all of our clients online, and then hopefully we’ll also be able to service clients in Pennsylvania, from New Jersey. If you have to do that every time—add casino space and dealers, and add a whole operation—it becomes very difficult.

Looking at some of your new products here at ICE, it became evident that you’re not just about table games. Explain some of the new things you’re getting into.

We’ve started to broadcast game shows that you can bet on. We’ve recently licensed the rights to Deal or No Deal, and we asked, what if we can build a game that is literally like a game show, but you can play along at home?

So we started looking across the horizon line at all the different game shows that are out there, and what might make sense. Deal or No Deal has some heritage already in our industry, and it’s kind of a great gambling game. And so, we hired these British actors, and nobody’s ever done it before. A game round lasts three minutes. By our standards, that’s crazy. But look: not everything has to be blackjack and baccarat.

Evolution Gaming seems to be changing the industry.

Yes. As an industry, we should assume it very well could be an alternative to land-based. Everything else across our lives—the way we watch movies, the way we buy stuff—has transitioned from landbased to digital. So, we should assume that like everything else in our lives, online gambling could be a preferred way of playing, for some people.

Land-based operators are all wondering how we become more experiential. As Steve Wynn used to say, “You’ve gotta get people from over there, to come over here.” And you’ve got to have something compelling. We’ve all got the same blackjack tables and slots, but you want to be on people’s phones. That’s where they’re living their lives.

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