“At Cummins-Allison, we are fired up about the introduction of our new line of JetScan iFX products at G2E”

What are your expectations for G2E 2011?
We look forward to an exciting event, as always, and plan to bring our share of energy and enthusiasm into the mix. Preliminary attendance forecasts are promising, and there appears to be an uptick in the market. In addition to renewing relationships with existing customers, we anticipate engaging with many new prospects in our key markets. Interacting with our international distributors and the customers they serve is another important opportunity made possible by attending the show. G2E provides the context for both new product introductions and for the demonstration of some of our larger, less portable solutions.

What will the company’s participation consist of?
We are all very fired up about the introduction of our new line of JetScan iFX products at G2E. The opportunity to reveal their full range of revolutionary capabilities to key market segments that can quickly perceive their value is inestimable. The ground-breaking nature of these products should bring significant traffic to our booth and generate a lot of excitement. We will naturally be showing the latest and greatest of the traditional product lines as well, including our larger currency and coin sorters, employee banks and ticket imaging processors.

Do you believe that the change of date and venue will be beneficial?
The rationale for holding the show earlier in the year, before budget decisions for 2012 are cast in stone seems sound enough, and the reason for the decision to relocate to a venue on the strip rather than the less high profile convention center is compelling – but the jury is out on how advantageous these changes will turn out to be.

How did you view the global gaming industry during this year?
It seems to be gaining some momentum but for the most part, gradually. In Vegas, three key indicators– visitorship, hotel occupancy and per patron spending – are down, and the industry is getting creative in its efforts to increase traffic. Multiple years of declining revenues for Atlantic City properties have slowed their ability to make capital improvements. Revenues from some tribal casinos are adversely affected by the growth of regional casinos – one of the bright spots for gaming here in the U.S. The international picture is still more divided. While there has been tremendous expansion in the Asia-Pacific regions of Macau and Singapore and impressive growth in Latin America, growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has been disappointing this year.

What has been the performance of the company’s target markets?
In spite of the challenges facing our target markets, we have been fortunate to continue meeting our goals for growth while continuing to invest in new product development. Reinvestment and developing new technologies and applications has enabled us to weather the market uncertainties of the past several years. At Cummins-Allison, we are continuously looking ahead to anticipate what customers need from our products and where the potential exists to create new markets in the future. We are also working to build our brand internationally and have begun to see an increase in our global market share as a result of that effort.