Worldwide tour to continue on to EMEA with addition of ICE 2016 dates – by Andrew Behan
Having successfully completed star-studded performances at G2E and SAGSE, Aristocrat Technologies has now added new dates to its ‘Big Play’ tour with ICE 2016 providing the next stage on its global circuit.
“Every casino operator wants to make the big play – creating an experience for their player that is exciting, engaging and that builds loyalty,” says Chief Commercial Officer Maureen Sweeny, explaining the rationale behind Aristocrat’s latest comprehensive package of Class III gaming solutions.
Gaming has come a long way since sitting around a table to enjoy a game of whist or a board game with all the family was considered the norm. And nowadays, video games also bear very little relation to the ones that first appeared in pubs and clubs in the 1980s.
With technology changing at such a quick rate, what can we expect to see in the near future?
Unsurprisingly, it’s an area that virtually every month brings exciting new developments and innovations, and close observers of games and the gaming world are already making bold predictions for the future.
If there was one iGaming trend that captured the industry's attention in 2015, it was mobile gaming
If there was one iGaming trend that captured the industry's attention in 2015, it was mobile gaming. Despite many sites launching mobile products as early as 2010, the industry has only just started to come into its own and many are now predicting that 2016 could be the year the medium starts to overtake desktop gaming.
Indeed, thanks to a combination of improved smartphone technology and increased gaming options, mobile casino operators are now gearing up for a major push over the coming months.
Laurent Lassiaz, CEO of Groupe JOA, discusses the acquisition of Casino de Besançon and JOA’s developments with Damien Connelly
We are accelerating the development of Groupe JOA by making acquisitions of other casinos. On November 1, we completed the acquisition of Casino de Besançon from Groupe Lucien Barrière. We made this acquisition because it allows JOA to better serve the market in the newly created grande région Bourgogne Franche-Comté, which has a population of almost 3 million and whose major cities are Dijon and Besançon. Our acquisition of Casino de Besançon may also see JOA acquire some new Swiss customers, as the border with Switzerland is quite close.
If I were to tell you that there is an existing casino slot machine game that has a wide following among players, is inexpensive to manufacture, contains a high yield for the operator – traditionally somewhere between 8% and 14% house hold – but one that is being substantially ignored by both gaming manufacturers as well as casino operators, would you know to which game I am referring?
Those “M’s” and all things social…They just happen to be my students. Bob Ambrose
I am excited that the gaming industry is studying the next generation of customers. Quite frankly I am bored with my baby boomer counterparts.
Those “M’s” are 80 million strong; according to the US Chamber of Commerce. This is the first generation that has grown up from diaper to “cap and gown” centered in a planet sized evolution of technology.
They are also my students. Not all 80 million! But I do have a microcosm of multi-cultural 18-30 year olds that don’t like being generalized. I get it! As a child of the 1960’s in the US I felt the same way with the entire “flower-power” hippie-generation tag I had to bear.
Jim Simms and Seth Schorr are striving to create the casino of the future at the Downtown Grand. By David McKee
“Gamblers wanted” is the new mantra of Fifth Street Gaming’s Downtown Grand casino, in Las Vegas—and no wonder. On a recent midweek night, the casino floor was thinly populated and the high-limit room empty. The lively exception to the prevailing quiet was a crowded craps table. The Downtown Grand has been a victim of geography. Executives will tell you that its biggest handicap is being a block off the Fremont Street Experience, the main artery of downtown Vegas. That one, long block might as well as be a mile as far as foot traffic is concerned.
Guido Berghmans, CEO, CASINO 2000, chats with Damien Connelly about its connected entertainment
We are the only casino in Europe where you find the Las Vegas concept implemented 100% throughout the property. Everything we offer is behind our entrance control; our casino and bingo, our hotel, our F&B, and our Chapito events facility. The most important thing is we now have our Chapito directly connected with our venue.”
Since 1999, the owner has invested over €60 million in CASINO 2OOO. From expanding the casino floor, through building a second hotel tower, to renewing the restaurants and adding the Chapito for events, CASINO 2OOO has improved significantly over the years. From my first visit to my latest, I am always amazed by the efficiency of the team.
.gif)
Having successfully completed star-studded performances at G2E and SAGSE, Aristocrat Technologies has now added new dates to its ‘Big Play’ tour with ICE 2016 providing the next stage on its global circuit.
If there was one iGaming trend that captured the industry's attention in 2015, it was mobile gaming. Despite many sites launching mobile products as early as 2010, the industry has only just started to come into its own and many are now predicting that 2016 could be the year the medium starts to overtake desktop gaming.
