Inside Asian Gaming

May 2012 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 45 We’re getting quite a bit of interest in that as well. Quite a lot to be excited about going forward then? Yes, this is a very vibrant company with money being spent on product development in all categories. I came to Shuffle Master just around two years ago, and the growth and progress has been amazing. You look at what is coming from R&D, the innovative products being developed and the range of the products and this company really has it. In terms of Asian markets specifically, where do you see the best opportunities? The Philippines is certainly a growing focus with the casinos that are going into the Manila Bay projects opening up that market there. We’re getting good growth over there already with the utility products and slots. We’re actually growing in that market to the point where we’re looking to open a branch office in the Philippines by year-end. Our Rapid product in Cambodia at NagaWorld, originally 91 terminals, is about to double. For shufflers we’re getting regular calls now from small markets that previously had hand-shuffled cards, places on the Cambodian border that shufflers have never been before. That’s growing. … We’re looking obviously at the i-Table which very much suits markets such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and the Philippines. Those are going to be the target markets for this product initially. We have the i-Table already in the market in Goa, India, which was our first installation in Asia. But we’re ready to roll it out elsewhere fromG2E. Customers are already talking about i-Table. On the slots side, plenty of room for growth there as well? Slot machines, obviously, is a big push. We have put Equinox into NagaWorld in Phnom Penh and three other sites in Cambodia. It is also installed in Lao, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, the Philippines. In my opinion, for the first year of a new slot product we have achieved good market penetration. At Shuffle Master we’ve developed a strong team, the innovations through R&D have helped us make good inroads into new markets, and we’re certainly looking forward to seeing everyone at G2E Asia. Shuffle Master will be exhibiting at G2E Asia Stand 801. MD3—card verification at your fingertips