Inside Asian Gaming

January 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 33 EGT’s Current Installed Base of Electronic Gaming Machines Venue Location Units Commencement Date Premier VIP Manila, Philippines 200 August 2007 Casablanca Clark, Philippines 120 August 2007 Almond Manila, Philippines 246 December 2007 Macau Clubs Phnom Penh, Cambodia 190 December 2007 Star City Phnom Penh, Cambodia 150 December 2007 Angkor Paradise Siem Reap, Cambodia 120 December 2007 Hotel Caraba Siem Reap, Cambodia 100 December 2007 Lucky Diamond Phnom Penh, Cambodia 95 December 2007 Alibaba Phnom Penh, Cambodia 89 December 2007 Long Beach Phnom Penh, Cambodia 80 December 2007 Tin Tin Phnom Penh, Cambodia 80 December 2007 8th Wonder’s Phnom Penh, Cambodia 72 December 2007 Slots & Tech five star hotels, a lot of them,” explains EGT Executive Director & SVP Joe Pisano. They don’t know gaming. They come to us and say: ‘We have a room this size, can you turn it into a slot club?’” Mr Pisano’s answer is a resounding yes, but only if the venue gives EGT a 100% share of the floor and a share of revenues generat- ed.“The guidance we give to the market is a minimum of 20% share,” says Mr Pisano, but in reality, EGT secures an average of just over 25% of net win (i.e.after any taxes) across the properties. Furthermore, EGT has secured 30% on its last ten deals, so that average will soon creep up. In return Mr Pisano is insistent on having 100% control of the slot clubs EGT helps set up. “I want to be able to determine what games go on the floor,and if there games that aren’t working, I want to be able to change those games. If you have other product on the floor, it’s a bit difficult to manage the com- plete floor mix.” In return for total control and a share of slot revenue, EGT assists the property owner with the licensing process, casino design, construction management, slot and game floor design layout, purchases the machines and management systems from top manu- facturers (IGT, Aristocrat, Bally, Melco, etc.) for the venue, installs the gaming machines and systems, and provides on-site mainte- nance.“I employ one engineer per site,”adds Mr Pisano, and EGT currently has teams in Macau and the Philippines to handle instal- lation and maintenance, and is also building a Cambodia team. Owning the players The agreements with the property own- ers are valid for five years, and are automati- cally renewable. Importantly, EGT retains ownership of the machines and manage- ment systems, as well as the data.“At the end of five years, if you don’t want to continue with us, we pull out the machines, the sys- tem, and the players’ club. We own the play- ers. So what happens is I then make their [the players’] cards valid at one of our other properties, if a property doesn’t want to con- tinue [with the arrangement].” It’s highly unlikely the property owners would not want to continue, however, con- “Atlantic City” - “The Vegas Strip”