Interview with Chris Rowe, Managing Director for Latin America at Aristocrat

"G2E visitors had the first look at our MarsX cabinet, which will make its LatAm debut at SAGSE"

"The new MarsX has already become a favorite of players and operators across North America, and we are delighted to be launching this product in Latin America at SAGSE," says Chris Rowe, Aristocrat's MD for LatAm.
2019-11-14
Reading time 4:04 min
Rowe speaks to Yogonet about Aristocrat's two awards in Las Vegas, and the success of its ready-to-go activations at its booth, highlighting the Star Trek: The Next Generation experience. He says leading the way at SAGSE will be the company's 'Gana con Susana' linked progressive, along with new games on linked titles including Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Mighty Cash Link, and Gold Stacks 88 Link.

How do you assess G2E 2019?

G2E was a big success for Aristocrat, which started on day one of the show at the Global Gaming Awards when we were named best supplier. Our new Buffalo Diamond title also won best slot. Then on the last day of the show, attendees named Aristocrat the best in show, so from start to finish, it was very exciting and rewarding. With an eye to SAGSE, we were pleased to welcome a record number of customers from across Latin America to our G2E booth, and customers got their first look at the incredible, new MarsX cabinet, which will make its LatAm debut at SAGSE. We were also happy to show customers all the exciting innovations we will be bringing to LatAm in 2020. Our theme for G2E was It’s all about what’s next,” and we certainly fulfilled on that promise.

Why are these awards you mention important for the company? How does winning these kind of awards help to drive Aristocrat's business?

These awards are fantastic; however, the greater reward comes from the joy of play our players experience in our customers’ casinos. We are so proud of our employees – the best and most talented in the industry – for creating the world’s leading games, hardware, and system solutions. Awards like these add to our inspiration, and we will never stop creating or innovating for our customers.

The company decided to show its customers ways that they can activate Aristocrat products to their players in interesting ways. Would you please give us your comments about the results of these activations?

We wanted to show our support for our customers beyond the sale, so our booth featured several ready-to-go activations our customers could use to drive further excitement on the casino floor for specific products. For example, to promote Dollar Storm, we had a money grab box, where attendees entered the enclosure, we turned on a fan, and they grabbed tickets for prizes. To support Mad Max: Fury Road, attendees spun a wheel to win a range of prizes. For our new Crazy Rich Asians title, attendees were able to pose for photos in a replica of the famous wedding scene from the movie. Supporting our new Billions title, we hosted a fun whiskey tasting. And the largest activation was our Star Trek: The Next Generation experience where attendees became a crew member of the U.S.S. Enterprise and received a 180-degree loop photo sitting in the Captain’s Chair from the TV show’s Bridge set. We had a lot of fun with each activation, and judging from the size of the lines, attendees did too. 

How would you describe the visitors' responses to that particular experience?

Attendees were thrilled with the game and with the activation, and the response extended online where people from all over the world were following the game’s launch via various social media channels. We are excited for this game because it takes full advantage of the EDGE X cabinet’s design, which features two stacked, horizontal, curved 43” LCD screens displaying panoramic views, with stereo symphonic surround sound and a virtual button deck, all in a cabinet that occupies a larger-than-life footprint.

Are you going to replicate this experience at SAGSE Buenos Aires? Why? What products would you choose?

While the size of our booth is scaled down a bit at SAGSE, the excitement is just as big. We will be showing our latest cabinets, games, and system technologies, and leading the way at SAGSE is our Gana con Susana linked progressive game. As your readers may have seen, this popular link recently came to Casino Buenos Aires, where Argentine television megastar, pop culture icon, and star of the game Susana Giménez welcomed the link to the casino. We are also showing a wealth of new games on player-favorite linked titles including Lightning Link, Dragon Link, Mighty Cash Link, and Gold Stacks 88 Link. The game themes and linked titles appear on Aristocrat’s innovative cabinets, including the Helix, Helix XT, Helix+ ARC Single, and the stunning new MarsX cabinet, which makes its Latin American premiere at SAGSE. 

Aristocrat has already anticipated launching the MarsX by the end of this year in Latin America. Why is SAGSE a good stage for its launch? What content will it include initially?

The new MarsX has already become a favorite of players and operators across North America, and we are delighted to be launching this product in Latin America at SAGSE. The first game category we will be showcasing is Mighty Cash Ultra, bringing new fun and excitement to the category which players across Latin America already enjoy. We will follow soon with an expanded portfolio of titles for this cabinet. We have developed a broad library that will appeal to many different types of players.

Aristocrat has installed the One Link Mystery Progressive Jackpot featuring Latin America superstar Susana Gimenez at City Center Rosario and Casino Buenos Aires. What is the margin of growth of this product? How many units do you plan to install in the coming months?

The launch was a big success, and we are happy to report our players love the game. We expect to continue with the expansion and to make it available to players everywhere in Argentina. 

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