Part 2 of Jon Bruford’s report on World of Games 2006
The second annual World of Games was a show of peaks and troughs – time will tell if, for the industry in Russia, the troughs outweigh the peaks or if recovery is possible with rapid resolution and action from the State Duma.

Aristocrat, pledging their long-term support of the Russian industry, were exhibiting with a large stand in association with Aurora, their exclusive Russian distributor. The company spoke very clearly to customers stating simply: We're here to stay.

The core of the exhibition was twofold: the AX cabinet, a development in association with SmartGames (of which Aurora is a division) exclusively for the Russian market, and PokerPro, the poker innovation which is getting huge attention worldwide and looks set to be a hit in Russia.

The AX cabinet takes Aristocrat's MarkVI board and software and marries it to SmartGames' expertise at making cabinets for Russian customers. The only thing holding this machine back is a licence for manufacture, so expect this to shift units once legislation is clarified and actioned. Aristocrat, however, made it clear that they're willing to wait for what will no doubt be another profitable area for them.

PokerPro is the innovation of PokerTek, distributed by Aristocrat and unveiled to much acclaim at ICE 2006. It's the perfect blend of online poker and live poker, as PokerTek's Chief Technology Officer Hal Shinn explained to a press conference at World of Games. "It is a fully automated poker table that looks like a traditional poker table; unlike a traditional table it doesn't require a dealer, cards or chips and provides the player with a fast, mistake-free game. It was developed to benefit both casinos and players. For casinos, the benefits are increased revenue and decreased costs. No time spent shuffling cards, counting chips or changing dealers, the PokerPro table will deal 50% more hands per hour than a manual table."

Hal also outlined exciting developments for the table which will increase its impact and popularity in casinos – more news on this is expected in July, but Hal offered us a taste. He added: "Product enhancements include additional poker games like Omaha and Seven-Card Stud; demand for these games is increasing and while they typically make less money for a casino, Pokerpro makes them as profitable as Texas Hold'Em. Also, we're adding multi-table tournament capabilities, which allows operators to offer large tournaments with higher payouts to more players. We're very excited to be partnering with Aurora and Aristocrat to bring Pokerpro to Russia."

Exciting times for Aristocrat lie ahead, and its alliance with SmartGames should provide the know-how and relative insurance to make their Russian venture a great success.

Austrian Gaming Industries had the large stand and impressive games that we've all come to expect of them, but at World of Games AGI had something special up their sleeves. They have taken the piracy problem in Russia very seriously and there was a statement of intent from the company. Managing Director Jens Halle has long talked of the problems in CIS countries with intellectual property theft and lack of protection for companies compared to the west. The company was showing a strong selection of games, of course, on the Gaminator Professional cabinet, including Party On with a free games feature and Joker Jewels, a great entry-level machine for new players.

With AGI's determination and street-smarts behind them, these games will herald more success for AGI – though hopefully through solely legitimate sales, and not through piracy.

EGT followed their recent success in Latin America with a strong showing at World of Games. The company has latetly made inroads into the South American market, partly thanks to the appointment of a regional sales manager. After exhibiting in Bogotá, Colombia, and also in Panama, World of Games must have been something of a disappointment in terms of visitor numbers, but EGT still drew plenty of crowds with their four new titles on show. EGT's PR Manager Gergana Kutseva was still reasonably enthusiastic about the show, as over the last year the Bulgaria-based manufacturer has been growing their business in neighbouring countries. Gergana explained, "The most important markets for us at the moment with these games are Romania, Ukraine, Lithuania and our newest, very important market, Latin America."

EGT is one of the companies boldly leading the way out of Eastern Europe in order to maintain growth and thrive in an increasingly crowded pool; with a positive, 'can-do' attitude, they are providing a model for other companies that may find themselves locked in the erratic Eastern European market.

CATS – Casino Amusement Technology Supplies – also had a positive take on the show, as they were offering Gaminator cabinets for lease at a very reasonable price. It's another move to combat intellectual property theft in Russia, and the Russian government would do well to take note. CEO Harmen Brenninkmeijer said of the offer: "We will be making Gaminators available for a lease price of 420 Euros per machine, per month, throughout Russia only."

So what brought about this offer? "The idea came about because Russian manufacturers started to copy the Gaminator, and because there is so little protection, a lot of people are trying to cut corners, copy the cabinet one-to-one, copy the games supposedly one-to-one, but obviously that's difficult because of the maths, it's complicated but people are still trying it. That doesn't help the situation, so what we are basically saying is 'Take it from source.' We've had some over-capacity on the machines for the Russian market, so we figured let's put the machines out at a much better price. There has been tremendous interest in this at the show."

Companies hoping to continue competing in Russia are having to play smart and use new tactics to continue growth or even maintain business on an established level, and CATS proves even large companies are capable of adapting quickly and changing tactics in order to preserve market share.
© Jon Bruford

(E-06.20.06)

© Copyright 2006 CasinoCompendium



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