Inside Asian Gaming

September 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 39 Asian Gaming 50 – 2010 TCS JOHNHUXLEY scored major sales success this year in Singapore, including an order for more than 100 Novo Unity™ II TouchBet® Roulette terminals at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), the first of the city state’s two integrated gaming resorts to open. Genting, the operator of RWS, had previously installed Novo TouchBet Roulette at ResortsWorld Genting, its casino property in neighbouring Malaysia. Tristan Sjöberg, Managing Director Asia for TCS JOHNHUXLEY, masterminded the groundwork for the Singapore sales success by identifying the need to set up a sales and support operation in the city well in advance, rather than trying to manage the project remotely from Macau, the region’s other major market. That decision to localise the operation in Singapore in turn ensured 38 (46) Tristan Sjöberg Managing Director Asia TCS JOHNHUXLEY the company and its products were well placed to satisfy the exacting technical requirements of the local gaming regulator, the Casino Regulatory Authority. The TouchBet terminals at RWS have reportedly seen 100% occupancy since the resort opened in February. TCS JOHNHUXLEY attributes some of that success to TouchBet’s configuration as a single player terminal, creating a relaxed environment for new and experienced players alike, thus significantly increasing time on machine. Mr Sjöberghas aPhD inoceanography, so a career in gaming was not the most obvious choice of direction. The fact, however, that oceanography deals with analysis of highly complex systems probably set him in good stead when he moved into the electronic gaming equipment market. In August, Gaming Partners International (GPI) announced an alliance with International Game Technology (IGT) on gaming chip know-how that could influence the future performance of both companies in this segment for some years to come. The tie up could also play a major role in defining the legacy of Gregory S. Gronau as CEO of GPI. GPI, a manufacturer and supplier of— among other things—radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for casinos, entered into a technology licence and transfer deal with IGT. It allows GPI to develop, manufacture, and distribute IGT’s high-frequency RFID products and systems worldwide. IGT acquired the basis of that high frequency technology when it took over the intellectual property of Progressive Gaming International (PGI) in January 2009. PGI’s systemwaswidely trailedas a significant breakthrough in high frequency RFID chip tracking, but glitches in implementing the system limited its impact on the market. The GPI-IGT alliance could be the breakthrough the technology needs. “Our leadership in gaming currency and RFID products makes GPI the logical choice for unifying these technologies,” Mr Gronau said of the deal. GPI alsomanufactures and supplies table layouts, playing cards, table accessories, gaming furniture, dice roulette wheels, and casino chips under the brands Paulson, Bourgogne et Grasset, and Bud Jones to casinos all over the world. GPI is based in Las Vegas, withoffices inothermarkets including Atlantic City, Mexico, and France. 39 (39) Gregory S. Gronau Chief Executive Officer Gaming Partners International Corporation GPI is not only one of the longest-serving equipment providers to the Macau market, with a 43-year track record, but it is also one of the most dominant, currently claiming a market share of around 90%. Mr Gronau joined GPI in October 2008 as Chief Operating Officer. From 2002 to 2006, he served as Vice President of Operations for Shuffle Master Inc., a major supplier of automatic card shufflers and proprietary table games. 40 (41) David Kinsman CEO Weike Gaming Technology Under David Kinsman’s leadership, Singapore-based Weike made a major commercial breakthrough in April. The company was accepted as an Approved Manufacturer and Approved Supplier of gaming machines and gaming equipment by Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) after Weike’s senior personnel passed all the rigorous technical competence and personal probity checks required by the Authority. That month, the CRA also approved the Weike Infinity gaming machine together with a series of Weike’s 25-lines and 50- lines slot games for use in Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. The company now joins a small group of international manufacturers that are licensed in Singapore to supply those two newly authorised casinos. Given that Singapore is known to have one