Casino Apr 07 P30-43 3/28/07 9:51 am Page 32
SHOW REPORT
announcement at G2E that they were merging with ICE, as did some of their exciting partners –
ebet that only strengthens our ability to penetrate Interblock, PokerTek and ACE Interactive.
the international market. In our market place we look Aristocrat had cause to celebrate, with their new
at three million existing machines worldwide, of offices enjoying their official opening shortly before
which two million are international and only a million the show; at the show itself, the company's stand was
are domestic, so the international market for LVGI is twice the size of last year's, highlighting their
the larger market. Our partnership with Octavian and confidence and ambition going into 2007.
now ebet is where we’re going to drive most of our The company was showing three new slots for the
business and with that, I think ebet brings strength UK market in Geisha, Arabian Nights and Big Ben.
in Australia and Asia, two significant markets in our The latter is noteworthy because it is a standalone
PortalVision application, and Octavian brings its progressive, so the jackpot is built into the game itself.
traditional strength in markets such as South This was far from everything though, as Aristocrat
America, Europe and Russia; the combination of both exhibited an impressive 75 products on the stand. Also
of them gives us excellent reach into those markets of note were the two new double standalone
and this trade show has been focussed on reaching progressives, Outback Jack and Wild Panda. As UK
out to those markets. Marketing Director Natalie Spicer explains: "Outback
"In addition to that we’ve used our ICE presence to Jack has shown phenomenal performance in every
promote our partnership with Golden Gaming in other jurisdiction we have placed it so we are
Africa where we will be launching an effort to, absolutely certain it’s going to do the same here, it’s
initially, introduce our Keno game to the existing got fantastic features and it’s quite player interactive
casinos which is content for our PortalVision product so we’re really happy to bring it to Europe.
and then ultimately rolling out PortalVision into the "The other great game title that we have is the 100
casinos and then ultimately participating in several Lions game concept. The game title under 100 Lions
casino initiatives in the African continent." is Wild Panda and again we’ve got four of those on the
The company generated similar buzz at ICE as at stand; again it's had fantastic performance in other
G2E, and I suspect they left with yet more orders and markets around the world. We are also introducing
enquiries about their superb product line. Zorro-Link, which is really taking over the success of
EGT landed in ICE with their new cabinet leading the standalone Zorro game and combining that with
the charge. The cabinet is called Vega Vision, and is a the Hyperlink concept that we have, bringing those
dual-screen model with 19" TFT displays, one of two together for a fantastic game.
which is touchscreen. It's a good-looking slot cabinet, "We also have PowerPay, it’s a new concept
easy on the eye and seems to have been designed
with player comfort in mind, marrying form and
‘Heads Up’ was simply not
function well. The cabinet has been designed with
the future and ease of maintenance in mind, with
profitable for operators –
easy stacker and counter access, and an option to
until now. Slick design and a
install a casino management system.
EGT were showing a hot title on Vega Vision, Rise
great idea superbly executed
of Ra, an Ancient Egypt-themed 15-line multi-denom
video reel. Managing Director Vladimir Dokov said of altogether. Basically, you take a standard game, the
the new game: "The new video slot has completely game we’ve chosen here is Wicked Winnings, and you
new mathematics and aims at exacting operators with double your credit for the chance of winning many
elite casino floors. A novelty in EGT’s conception for more features; it basically brings bonus features and
Top: Octavian’s stand making games that thrill players is the 3D animated added value to games which may not have that
Next: Aristocrat’s PowerPay concept
scatter game that enhances player interaction.” already. The advantage of that for the player is they
Above: EGT’s team, with Gergana
The company's familiar and successful Classic get more interactivity and the chance of winning
Kutseva on the left, and bottom,
Blend cabinet, and a range of games for it, were also much more. The advantage for the operator is for the
their stand
on the stand, with the full range on show. Inca Gold, average spend per reel."
Crazy Bugs and Gold of Roma were three brand new Their investment in US-based PokerTek looks set to
titles at ICE, all five-reel games with 20-bet lines. reap dividends, not least because on top of the
The Classic Blend Jackpot system also got brilliant PokerPro table, a new innovation saw the
attention. This solution makes it possible to connect light at ICE; Heads-Up, which is basically a two-player
up to 64 EGT machines in a LAN, and supports 16 game, a head-to-head machine which takes up next to
progressive jackpots for each active denomination no room on the floor, but offers the customer
and three mystery jackpots common to the four something not usually found within the casino.
chosen denominations. Heads Up was simply not profitable at all for
The Bulgarian company have also agreed an Asian operators – until now. Slick design and a great idea
distribution deal with Pacific Net Games, and have superbly executed, this is what we are coming to
added more space to their Romanian office thanks to expect from both PokerPro and Aristocrat.
demand for their product in the area. Natalie summed up Aristocrat's new direction for
Aristocrat followed an outstanding series of the future, saying: "Aristocrat is not just a slot
international exhibitions with a superb showing at manufacturer: we’ve now combined with PokerPro,
32 APRIL 2007
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50