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Featured Editorials

The STRAT Las Vegas Standing Above the Rest

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Bill Healey chats to Brian Stanton VP of Table Games Stratosphere Resort Casino Las Vegas

Standing tall between the Las Vegas Strip and the city’s downtown casinos is The STRAT, an iconic gaming, shopping and dining resort formerly known as the Stratosphere.  Casino Life Magazine recently toured the remodeled property with Brian Stanton, the casino's VP of Table Games.

What led you to get into casinos & gaming?

Around the time I was about to take a semester off from school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee was opening. I had recently learned to deal cards from an Atlantic City dealer and was always drawn to the exciting casino environment. I loved the nuances of the business, the math behind it and the new situations coming up every day. I took the job as a dealer at Potawatomi.

DR Gaming Technology™: 10 Years On African Soil

 

In March 2020, DR Gaming Technology™ (DRGT™) proudly celebrates a decade of operation in Africa. From humble beginnings in a small office in Corporate Park North, Midrand and a staff compliment of 3, the Company has grown to a staff compliment of almost 10 times that, and now operates out of a far larger premises comprising offices, an R&D development hub, a showroom and a warehouse in the heart of Sandton.

Hard Rock sets out to change Casino culture

Casino Life magazine recently had the opportunity to interview Paul Pellizzari, Vice President of Global Social Responsibility for Hard Rock International, which is the first US-based gaming company to develop its own fully-immersive, branded casino-and-player interactive program for responsible gaming, called the PlayersEdge.

This program is intended to not only educate players about their own gaming decisions and choices, but to also educate the Hard Rock casino staff and managers on how to interact effectively with casino players on the topic of responsible gaming, including how to spot potential problems in players who may benefit from this educational program.

An Exceptional Experience Grand Casino Luzern

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Wolfgang Bliem, CEO Grand Casino Luzern, chats to Peter White

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa will Rock You

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Steve Bonner, President at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, takes Casino Life inside this upgraded resort casino. By Damien Connelly

I flew in to Tampa on the red eye from Las Vegas. I wasn’t hopeful. Tampa? What did I know about Tampa? It’s in Florida and … in truth, that’s all I knew. Oh, and that people go to Florida either to have a family vacation or to retire.

Then I got a proverbial waking up, even if my eyes were still red. What a city. It might well be the best kept secret in the U.S. Tampa has a lot of assets that make it a great city. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa (“Hard Rock Tampa”) may well be Tampa’s best asset. Hard Rock Tampa is one heck of a resort. It is a destination property you won’t want to leave.

The Network Effect

By: Raymond Chan, CEO Alphaslot

A network effect is the positive impact on a product or service when additional users are presented. It becomes significant after the critical mass has been achieved and resulting in a positive feedback loop. In fact, the ability to leverage the network effect of a platform gives an advantage over competitors in every industry. It is evident by seeing the results from Microsoft Windows in the 90s and Apple’s iTunes store over the last decade.

More recently, Uber and AirBnB are examples of some of the most disruptive companies in their respective industries that leverage the network effects when a new technology arise. The network value leads to a snowball effect that allows these companies to dominate the multibillion dollar markets. This should also apply to gaming, and I believe this will happen for those who can first utilize the future use of technologies.

Self-Exclusion by Gamban

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Peter White Chats to Co-Founder of Gamban, Matt Zarb-Cousin

Self-exclusion is a difficult thing in the gaming industry. Casinos are frequently fined for not enforcing their own rules. What is the responsible player to do? Fortunately, there is a one-step solution on the market, in the form of Gamban. While the software was developed with British casinos and regulation in mind, it is available universally through the Internet and can be quickly installed on one’s computer. (Gamban developer Matt Zarb-Cousin wisely made it compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers.) Gamban has been taken up by GambleAware and the National Health Service. This undoubtedly contributed to Gamban’s recognition as the RegTech Provider of 2019. It’s a fascinating story ... but best we let its developer tell us in his own words.

High-stakes bet at Genting Resorts World Catskills

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Ryan Eller rakes the chips for Genting Group’s lavish Resorts World Catskills. By David McKee

Genting Group made a high-stakes, $1.2 billion bet on reviving the casino business in New York State’s mountainous Catskills region. Their gleaming destination-resort project opened in February 8, 2018 and there’s never been a dull moment since. The megaresort is a work in progress, with some amenities only just coming online now. It also finds itself in the jaws of a nutcracker, considering fierce competition from other upstate New York casinos, as well as ones in northern Pennsylvania—especially the former Sands Bethlehem (now Wind Creek Bethlehem) which was already deeply entrenched with New York City gamblers.

The next stop for DRGT™ is ICE London

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Following Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas, DRGT™ CEO, Jurgen De Munck, DRGT™ Mexico MD, Alfredo Moreno and DRGT™ LatAm and the Caribbean MD, Alex Stiglich discuss what products and technologies drew the most interest from local operators.

G2E is the core exhibition for your local markets Alex and Alfredo. Did the event live up to expectations?

Alex: I believe so. Our market is a lot more mature than Alfredo’s and as such the upgrades to our current Tables Management System, as well as our new drReelBonus slots Bonus game were the key talking points.

The fact that all table configurations can now be done in the Cage, and our ability to now do FOREX transactions in cash at individual Tables was really well received, as was the ability for Tables players to now be able to cash out directly to their player card at the Table.

G2E Continues to Do Good

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Allie Barth, VP of Industry Relations with the American Gaming Association, and Korbi Carrison, Event Director for Global Gaming Expo at Reed Exhibitions. By Damien Connelly

Trends

As the AGA’s Allie Barth commented: “There are elements of push and pull around Global Gaming Expo (G2E). Attendees ask for specific topics to be covered (that’s the pull) and the AGA pushes select topics to our industry.