Inside Asian Gaming

April 2009 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 21 Stuart Gribble is probably very good at the famous board game Monopoly, where players aspire to build up a critical mass of property assets and bump their competitors out the market. That’s because when it comes to sales of his WMS slot products, he believes in careful planning followed by decisive action at just the right moment. The imagery is very appropriate, given that WMS is the maker of the hugely successful slot game series MONOPOLY Big Event, which was named Best New Slot Game in the Inside Asian Gaming – Supplier Awards 2009 in January. WMS doesn’t claim to have been first out of the gate in pursuing slot sales in Macau, but the company does believe it has made up for that by working really hard to understand the market. Clear target “We’ve been extremely focused on the Macau market in the last year and the results are coming through,” says Mr Gribble, WMS’ Sales Manager South-East Asia. “We’re growing our market share, and not necessarily through market shrinkage, but through sales. Every time I come in contact with a competitor I’m hearing congratulations. Perhaps we were a little slow to start, but we are consolidating now. “My sales are perpetuated by the work that we do beforehand. The evidence is clear, because I’m receiving orders in Macau, and I don’t know of anybody else in this position,” he adds. “Aristocrat is still dominant in the Macau market, but I’d like to think WMS is somewhere around second. I’m not talking about machines on the floor, but in terms of performance,”Mr Gribble states. When asked about the origin of his meticulous approach, he smiles. “It’s probably my manufacturing background,” he explains. G2E Asia The next big WMS product launch for Asia, at G2E Asia 2009 in June, will be the BLUEBIRD®2 cabinet. It’s described by the company as a slimmer, sleeker version of the original BLUEBIRD concept, with dual LCD displays in both video and mechanical reel versions. The BLUEBIRD2 supports all of the peripheral devices of its larger sibling, but sheds the traditional glass in favour of a second high definition LCD panel. Importantly, the cabinet is supplied ready for server-based gaming. If Melco Crown Entertainment’s new Cotai resort City of Dreams opens in the first half of 2009 as planned, then it is likely to be the first venue in the region to carry BLUEBIRD2—at around the same time as the regional launch of the product at G2E Asia. Simply fun One of the striking things when looking at the chunky electro-mechanical reels of the Reel Estate WMS says careful preparation and market knowledge is helping the company gain traction in Asia The BLUEBIRD®2 cabinet MONOPOLY Big Event, named Best New Slot Game in the Inside Asian Gaming – Supplier Awards 2009 WMS