Bally Announces New International Positions at European Headquarters
Bally Technologies announced that Marco Herrera has assumed additional responsibilities directing the company’s global sales and support operations. Herrera has been named vice president and managing director of Bally Europe, Middle East and Africa to oversee games and systems sales, service and support. He is relocating to Bally’s European headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Since 2006, Herrera has served as vice president and managing director of Bally’s MCC casino and slot management system division in Nice, France. Bally also announced the appointments of David Barrie as director of game sales and Shellie Meagher as director of systems sales. Both will be responsible for products throughout Europe and northern Africa. For more information, visit www.ballytech.com.
AGA Members Re-Elect Five Board Directors
At their December annual meeting, the American Gaming Association (AGA) membership re-elected five current members of the board of directors to three-year terms. Re-elected directors include Brian R. Gamache, chairman and CEO of WMS Gaming Inc.; Gordon R. Kanofsky, CEO and vice chairman of Ameristar Casinos Inc.; Michael Leven, president and COO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.; Virginia McDowell, president and COO of Isle of Capri Casinos Inc.; and Anthony Sanfilippo, president and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. The board also elected Robert Heller, managing director and head of gaming and leisure for the Americas at UBS Investment Bank, to his first term as an at-large member of the board. Larry Ruvo, senior managing director of Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, was re-elected as an at-large member. Both at-large directors received one-year terms. For more information, visit www.americangaming.org.
AGEM Announces Nine New Members, Re-Elects Officers, Opens New Office
The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers announced that its board of directors has approved the membership applications of nine new companies, bringing the trade group to a total of 108 members. The new AGEM members are: Advantech-Innocore, based in North Shields, U.K.; Chetu, based in Miramar, Fla.; Cantor Gaming, based in Las Vegas; DigiDeal, based in Spokane Valley, Wash.; Flextronics, headquartered in Singapore; Galaxy Gaming, based in Las Vegas; Leap Forward Gaming, based in Reno, Nev.; Table Trac, based in Minnetonka, Minn.; and Inspired Gaming Group, based in London.
AGEM also announced that its board of directors has re-elected a slate of officers that includes Thomas A. Jingoli, chief compliance officer for Konami Gaming, as the organization’s president. Jingoli will serve a second two-year term. One-year terms were also approved for: Vice President Orrin Edidin (president, WMS), Secretary Seamus McGill (chief operating officer, Aristocrat Americas), Treasurer Tom Nieman (vice president, global marketing, JCM Global), Co-General Counsel Neil H. Friedman (associate general counsel, IGT), and Co-General Counsel Mark Lerner (senior vice president and general counsel, Bally Technologies).
Also, AGEM announced the opening of an AGEM Europe office to serve the organization’s growing membership base there and the appointment of Tracy Cohen to serve as AGEM Director of Europe. The AGEM Europe office in North London will serve as the central contact point for current European-based members and prospective new members. Cohen currently serves as marketing manager of TCSJOHNHUXLEY, an AGEM-member company based in the U.K. With more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, Cohen will serve in a part-time role for AGEM and continue her position for TCSJOHNHUXLEY. For more information, visit www.agem.org.
GPI Names Clark VP of Global Marketing and Product Management
Gaming Partners International announced that Kirsten Clark has been named vice president of global marketing and product management, a non-officer position, effective immediately. Clark was most recently the vice president of worldwide marketing at Shuffle Master. In her new role, Clark will have direct oversight of the branding, commercialization and marketing of GPI’s existing and future product lines and will oversee a variety of key projects, including the continued development of the company’s RFID products. As a member of the executive management team, she will also be involved in numerous strategic initiatives, including GPI’s expansion into new markets, and will assist with investor relations. For more information, visit www.gpigaming.com.
BMM Approved by Missouri Gaming Board
BMM Compliance is pleased to announce the Missouri Gaming Board has approved the company’s license as an independent testing lab. It is one of many license and contract approvals gained by BMM during 2010. “Missouri has long been identified by BMM as a critical jurisdiction for testing recognition,” said Martin Storm, CEO of BMM. “We are so very pleased to work with the MGB going forward.” BMM’s designation by the Missouri Gaming Board as an “Approved Supplier Licensee” is particularly noteworthy. Missouri has always been one of the most highly regulated jurisdictions in the U.S. market. For more information, visit www.bmm.com.
Isle of Capri Casinos Announces Executive Transition Plan for CEO
Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. announced a transition process to ensure a smooth and orderly transfer of executive responsibilities at the company. Upon the conclusion of the transition process, Virginia McDowell, the current president and COO, will be promoted to president and CEO, and James B. Perry, the current chairman and chief executive, will become the company’s executive chairman. Perry and McDowell will continue in their current roles until the transition date, which is expected to occur no later than Dec. 31, 2011. Both appointments are subject to regulatory approval. For more information, visit www.isleofcapricasinos.com.
NRT Renews Agreement for NCR to Provide Nationwide Support
NCR Corp. and NRT Technology Corp. announced they have renewed an agreement for NCR to provide hardware support services for 1,300 NRT TITO cash redemption devices across the United States. “Our casino customers operate day and night, and our TITO machines must be readily available and running seamlessly at all times to ensure that guests have the best experience,” said John Dominelli, president and CEO of NRT. “Over the past few years, NCR has proven its ability to ensure round-the-clock operation. NCR is the ideal partner to support NRT’s growth aspirations across the country as we bring new gaming solutions to market.” For more information, visit www.nrttech.com.
The Glenn Group Receives Three AGA Voice Awards
The Glenn Group, a Nevada-based full-service marketing communications agency, received three Gaming Voice Awards at the 10th annual American Gaming Association Communication Awards ceremony. The agency received honors for the best multi-format advertising campaign and best broadcast advertisement in radio for the “You Know How to Rock” campaign developed for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, Fla., and the best outdoor advertisement for the “Prime Burgerhouse Construction Wall” created for Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Ill. The AGA Communication Awards recognize outstanding achievement in advertising and corporate communications in the global gaming industry. Winning entries can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/TheGlennGroupAGA.
Cadillac Jack Appoints McDermott, Malinowski to Development Roles
Cadillac Jack announced it has appointed two gaming veterans to support business development in new jurisdictions and drive development of new products and technologies. Marc McDermott joins as director of jurisdictional engineering and Ron Malinowski steps into the role of director of sales. McDermott will be primarily responsible for Cadillac Jack’s jurisdictional engineering and software quality assurance. Previously, he served four years as technical director for the Gaming Standards Association (GSA) in Las Vegas where he worked to develop the G2S and S2S protocols. Ron Malinowski’s primary focus will be on the VLT market in Illinois and other expanding commercial jurisdictions. He brings more than 25 years of gaming experience to Cadillac Jack, with recent tenures managing the sales organizations at Sega and Capcom. For more information, visit www.cadillacjack.com.
Wright Casino Marketing Introduces WCM Media
Wright Casino Marketing Inc. is introducing WCM Media for effective planning, placement and buying of media for the gaming industry. “Along with our exceptional gaming expertise, WCM Media will provide in-depth media knowledge and state-of-the-art technology to help our clients target their market more effectively and realize the highest level of value for their media investment,” said Wright Casino Marketing President Tony Aveni. Vice President Ryan Meister and media veteran Melanie Lauck will supervise the new department. Lauck previously worked at a nationally recognized Chicago-based agency where she placed media for several Fortune 100 companies. For more information, visit www.wrightcasinomarketing.com.
Colossal Gaming Promotes Lietz
Colossal Gaming announces the promotion of Andrew Lietz to account executive for the Southwest region. Lietz joined Colossal Gaming in May 2010 as a sales representative for New Mexico and Arizona, and was a sales manager for the Marriott Corp. when he was recruited to join Colossal. Lietz has been in sales for over 10 years. Steve Weiss, CEO, said, “Andrew has shown himself to be a great asset to our company. We are anxious to increase our market share in California, Arizona and New Mexico. We believe Andrew will play a key role in our accomplishing our goals.” For more information, visit www.colossalgaming.com.
Shuffle Master Adds Two New Members to its Board of Directors
Shuffle Master Inc. announced the appointment of two members to its board of directors. Eileen Raney and Randy Thoman joined the Shuffle Master board effective Jan. 11, 2011. Raney currently serves as the chair of Deloitte & Touche’s Retired Partner Advisory Council. Thoman joins the board after more than 32 years of experience as an audit partner with Deloitte & Touche serving large, complex public companies in the gaming, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, health care and real estate industries. For more information, visit www.shufflemaster.com.
Lionel Sawyer & Collins Names Three New Shareholders
Mark Clayton, Erin Flynn and Jennifer Roberts, attorneys at Lionel Sawyer & Collins, have been named shareholders in the firm effective Jan. 1, 2011. Clayton’s practice emphasis is in finance, public gaming companies and gaming in other U.S. jurisdictions and in foreign countries. Flynn’s practice emphasis is in business law, and has worked on various mergers of health care facilities in Nevada. Roberts’ practice emphasis is in gaming; federal, state and local liquor laws; planning and zoning; and regulatory and administrative law. For more information, visit www.lionelsawyer.com.
ATRONIC’S STARGATE SG-1™ Now in Eight French Casinos
Since ATRONIC and its French distribution partner, Ludi, first introduced the STARGATE SG-1™ linked gaming concept at the Hotel Casino Barrière de Lille in northern France this spring, the game has swept through the country’s casinos at warp speed. STARGATE SG-1 is the video slot version of the popular movie and TV show. Following its success at Casino Barrière, installations followed at: Gujan-Mestras (Gironde, independent), Les Sables d’Olonne-Les Pins (Vendée, JOA groupe), Amnéville (Moselle, groupe Tranchant), Cannes-Croisette (Alpes-Maritimes, groupe Barrière), St Jean de Monts (Vendée, groupe Emeraude), Chatelaillon (Charente-Maritime, groupe Emeraude) and St Julien En Genevois (Haute-Savoie, independent). The JOA Groupe is also expected to roll out the concept to its other casinos. For more information, visit www.atronic.com.
Cantor Gaming Opens First Phase at Tropicana
Cantor Gaming announces the opening of its newest race and sports book at the Tropicana Las Vegas. The initial phase at the Tropicana began operations on Dec. 22. The temporary book is located adjacent to the site of Cantor’s brand new, approximately 4,200 square foot, state-of-the-art race and sports book, which is currently under construction. The complete new race and sports book was scheduled to open in January 2011. In the meantime, guests can sample Cantor Gaming’s full suite of unique sports betting technology, including In-Running, in the Ambhar Lounge at the Tropicana using Cantor Gaming’s mobile gaming devices. For more information, visit www.cantorgaming.com.