Inside Asian Gaming

68 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | September 2013 INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS G2E Will Be Largest Since 2008 Global Gaming Expo 2013 will host its largest trade show floor since 2008, organizers say. To date, more than 455 companies have registered for more than 285,000 square feet of exhibit hall space at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, an increase of nearly 10% over last year, boosted by more than 110 new exhibitors and 77 international exhibitors. This year’s G2E, the largest gaming industry exhibition in the world, will be held 23rd-26th September. It is produced by Washington, D.C.-based trade group the American Gaming Association in partnership with Reed Exhibitions. Some of the largest overall sales increases this year are in the so-called iGaming Zone, which will feature more than 19 exhibitors in 2,900 square feet of space, a 61% increase over 2012. Across the entire floor, exhibitors in the remote and online sectors will occupy more than 5,000 square feet. The Food, Beverage and Hospitality Pavilion also will see a large increase over 2012 sales numbers, with more than 86 exhibitors buying up 5,153 square feet, an increase of 84%. Pinnacle Completes $2.8B Purchase of Ameristar US regional casino giant Pinnacle Entertainment has won Federal Trade Commission approval of its $2.8 billion acquisition of rival Ameristar Casinos and will sell off riverboat properties in St. Louis and Louisiana to satisfy antitrust rules. The merger between the two Las Vegas-based companies, accomplished at $26.50 a share plus the assumption of $1.9 billion in Ameristar debt, gives Pinnacle 15 casinos and racetrack casinos in nine states, effectively doubling the size of NYSE-listed Pinnacle. Pinnacle agreed with the FTC to sell its Lumiere Place in downtown St. Louis—the company owns three casinos in the market—and Ameristar’s $580 million casino development in Lake Charles, La. The latter will be sold to Golden Nugget Casinos, a subsidiary of Houston-based Landry’s, for $250.9 million, which includes Ameristar’s development costs to date plus a $37 million credit to Golden Nugget. Louisiana regulators have to sign off on the sale. Carl Icahn’s Tropicana Entertainment is reported to be the buyer for Lumiere in a $260 million deal that includes several adjacent hotel parcels. The transaction requires FTC approval and approval from Missouri regulators. Tropicana operates eight casinos, including the Tropicana Atlantic City, the Tropicana Laughlin in southern Nevada and the MontBleau in Lake Tahoe in northern Nevada. Icahn also owns the stalled Fountainebleau project on the Las Vegas Strip. Pinnacle has a 23% stake in The Grand – Ho Tram Strip, which opened last month on the southern Vietnam coast, and will operate the resort’s second hotel and casino, slated to open in 2017. Bally Posts Record $997M Year Bally Technologies approached US$1 billion in revenues for the financial year ended 30th June on record systems sales, revenue from progressives and continued expansion into new markets. The Las Vegas-based slot giant reported net income of $235.5 million, a 41% year-on-year increase, on $997 million in total revenues, which were up 13% over fiscal 2012. Earnings per share (NYSE: BYI) hit $3.45 in what President and CEO Ramesh Srinivasan called a “truly momentous year”. “We made enormous progress in many different ways, including continued growth in wide-area progressive units, record gaming operations revenue, significant success in new markets like Canada, Illinois and South Africa, and establishing new revenue records in systems while setting up systems for further growth in the years ahead.” Systems revenue was up 19% for a record $252 million while the base of wide-area progressives grew by 38% and also produced a revenue record. Combined they offset an 8% decline in machine sales, which the company attributed to fewer casino openings. The three months ended 30th June was the eighth consecutive quarter of earnings-per-share growth. Revenue and total earnings also set quarterly records. The 95 cents per share represented a 55.7% increase over Q4 2012 and beat consensus estimates by a penny. Earnings of $64.6 million were up 32.4% on a 7.6% increase in revenue to $264.4 million. The quarter benefited significantly from a 32% jump in revenues from the systems division. “The growth and stability of our revenues that are recurring in nature continue to provide significant financial flexibility,” CFO Neil Davidson said in a statement. “With the planned acquisition of SHFL, we now expect to utilize the majority of our excess free cash flow to repay debt.” Bally said its $23.25-per-share acquisition of Nasdaq-listed SHFL Entertainment is on track to close next year. The $1.3 billion deal was announced in July. Lumiere Place in downtown St. Louis Bally’s Ramesh Srinivasan