Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | May 2011 32 S ingapore-based Weike Gaming Technology was named ‘Best Asian Supplier’ in Inside Asian Gaming ’s Supplier Awards 2011 for good reason. Weike was established in 1998. In the first decade of its existence it built a solid business supplying slots, electronic table games, progressive jackpot link and gaming management systems to gaming venues in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines. From 2008, Weike sought tomovebeyond its erstwhile regional focus and has made strong international strides. The first move in Weike’s campaign to widen its reach was to bolster its game development team. Andrew Masen joined Weike as head of game development in late 2008. His previous six-year post had been as Game Design Manager for Stargames (which was acquired by Shuffle Master in 2006). Led by Mr Masen, Weike’s development teams have been rolling out new games with world-class maths and graphics, with The Brotherhood, Phoenix Dance and Dragon Legend among the latest releases. Mr Masen—who cut his teeth helping establish Stargames as one of the leading slot suppliers into the highly competitive Australian market—was recently promoted to the position of Vice President, Slots Gaming at Weike. Breaking in Weike chose the red-hot Macau market as the initial target of its geographic expansion.Slotplayers in Macau are known for their reluctance to try new games, largely because of their fierce loyalty to the old games. This in turn makes casinooperators reluctant togivenew manufacturers a chance on the floor. “We knew we needed an especially focused sales effort to break into Macau, and in March last year, we appointed Gus Noble our new sales and marketing agent for Macau,” comments Weike Gaming Technology Vice President for Product Strategy Chow Chee Keong. It certainly helps that Weike’s subsidiary Weike (G) Management Macau Ltd, which has taken over the operation of around 400 slot machines at two venues on the Macau Peninsula, has placed a high proportion of Weike machines on the floors it operates, creating showcases for Weike in Macau. “Importantly, thosemachines areperforming very well against the established games in the market,” claims Mr Chow. “Weike (G) took over its second Macau operation in December 2010, and almost as soon as it assumed control, there was a marked increase in average win per machine.” As Weike proves its games can perform in the Macau market, its machines will make their way to the bigger casinos. “Several Weike games are among the top performing slots at Singapore’s IRs, even though the floors contain a wide mixture of games from the major manufacturers,” points out Mr Chow. The 15th May opening of the Galaxy Macau megaresort on Cotai will see a bank of 16 Weike ‘Winner Takes All’ slots go live on the casino floor. ‘Winner Takes All’ is an innovative slot tournament concept, where rather than playing against the machine or the house, in the tournament mode players can play against other players. Unlike some other slot tournament products that are Weike Coming of Age Weike has successfully broadened its international horizons through a patient and carefully executed expansion strategy Weike Vice President for Product Strategy Chow Chee Keong