“Bally is showing creative, new, innovative ways to attract players”

How do you see SAGSE?
It’s been a good show again. We continued to enjoy being here at the show, as it’s real been a premium event for Latin America and obviously I’m proud to be part of it. The traffic has been good and also the quality of the visitors. I was certainly not sure what to expect with the change of date but the attendance has been nice and we’ve been greatly surprised.

Are you presenting the same products that you presented in Las Vegas?
For the most part, yes. There are a couple of things here and there but for the most part this is the subset of the line-up that we had at G2E show in Las Vegas. However, at that show we had 300 games on the floor, because it was bigger in size and magnitude, but in terms of what I would call the exciting features and important items, they are here. And there are launch points for us in Latin America. A number of customers may not have attended G2E so you see great things here as well.

What are the highlights of this presentation?
From the games perspective, it is the launch of two major mega brands: Grease and obviously Michael Jackson. Both have phenomenal global appeal, Grease, certainly the musical film, the worldwide appeal of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and their success in other movies as well, really left a mark in a generation. It targets gamblers from 45 to 65 year-old range, who have seen the movie. When you play the game, it mimics a lot of the things that you've seen in the movie, like clips and bonus round and a lot of features around the high-school days.

And the other big attraction is Michael Jackson, who was one of the most recognizable musicians of all times, who made “Thriller” and some of the best-selling albums of all times. I think he has tremendous global feel; in Latin America, Asia, US, you recognize Michael Jackson and probably appreciate his music as well. His showmanship and the music itself into the game is all integrated with the sound-chair, so when you play the game, you really experience the music; and when you get the bonus rounds, and the dancing, it makes it very fun as well. So we couldn’t be more pleased with the two brands and the launching in G2E this year and obviously this is the first exposure to the Latin American market as well.

And from the systems perspective?
From the systems perspective we continued to push our iVIEW Display Manager (DM). We released applications with the ability to put a secondary window in the game, which is becoming more and more popular, and this is so much the ability to put a window on a game, to put the content on your iPhone or your iPad. The hardware or the device is a greater feature, so what makes it fun and entertaining is the application you put in it. So we’ve got great things to show, contents and applications that customers can buy and put in the window, everything from bonusing applications to secondary chance to win games, to order a game on demand, to put a card and see the last time you made an order, or if you like to order again, so you put a lot of features and functions into the window, because we feel that technology becomes a differentiator.

Because if you have two casinos that are side by side, they can both buy the same games, so if you have the exact same games that the other casino, you have to make the casino different to the one that is next to you. And we feel the technology towards the systems division allows that. If I enter your casino and I put my card in, and it immediately knows who I am, recognizes me, maybe offers me a bonus or offers me a drink, I will come back here because it is more comfortable for me. And that’s a great example of using technology in the different stages of the marketplace.

And what is the potential of the Argentinian market?
In Argentina, we are working, for example, with Casino Maipú, we are putting iVIEW Display Manager (DM) there. But on the systems side, we see Latin America as a whole. It really has gained a lot of acceptance. You can launch products initially in US but they are becoming more popular and global-based. Now there are several locations in Asia and Latin America that are becoming popular as well.

What are the main plans for next year?
We continue to extend the content that you see on the new Pro Series cabinets. Last year when we launched them, it was more about the hardware, the new features and functions, but the message this year and for the future is that we are building a library of exciting games that would make a good investment decision not just for today but for the future as well. When an operator makes an investment in a new piece of equipment is an investment for years, so they need to feel comfortable that we are putting a lot of our R&D values into making new and exciting games for the future. We are showing creative, new, innovative ways to attract players, based on their experience, and, you know, making the games more fun.

And are you preparing to launch your products in Italy?
Yes, you’ll start to see the launch of Bally products in Italy in 2012. We’ve been undergoing a long testing period in terms of getting our systems and products proof. So then you’ll start to see a lot of the products that you see here today at the Italian market as well.