Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MAY 2015 76 G2E ASIA 2015 M atsui will launch a new line of gaming chips at G2E Asia, though it’s keeping the details under wraps ahead of the unveiling at the show. “Our new series of innovative gaming chips have a distinct style and appearance. Although we cannot disclose further information before the show, we are confident that this new-style chip will be very popular and loved by both operators and players,” says Shigeki Machida, managing director of Matsui Asia Ltd, Matsui’s Macau office Over the past year, “We have been investing a lot of resources into the development of new gaming chips, which are our core product,” notes Mr Machida. “In addition to our ongoing commitment to product development, we’ve also invested heavily in increasing our production capacity. We’ve installed a lot of new machinery and equipment that not only speed up production, but also improve the quality of the chips. Also, because security is so important to us as a casino currency supplier, we’ve also significantly upgraded the security at our factory using state-of-the-art technology. We’ll be introducing these latest improvements to our clients at G2E Asia.” All of Matsui’s manufacturing takes place at facilities it has 100% ownership of, ensuring Upgrades All Around Matsui Asia returns to the show with an all-new series of innovative gaming chips, backed by a significant boost to its production capacity its supply chain is fully secured. The company prides itself on its competitive pricing and speedy response to customers’ needs. The Matsui group, headquartered in Tokyo, specializes in the supply of gaming chips and layouts (both wool and synthetic). Its subsidiary serving Asian markets outside Japan and Korea, Macau-based Matsui Asia is part of a global network also spanning Europe and the Americas. Its chips and layouts are used by more than 700 casinos in over 100 countries, and in addition to Macau, the group has sales offices in Manchester, England, Moscow, Las Vegas and Seoul. “Our business has been very stable at all our offices around the world. There are new casino projects coming up in all those jurisdictions, and we are trying our best to secure their business,” says Mr Machida. “In Asia, we have been focusing on gaming chips and layout. We have developed very good relationships with operators here. You can find our chips at most of the major casinos and the market share of our layouts is quite high.” Matsui produces around 5,000 of its customized table layouts a year, and has capacity to accommodate small and urgent last-minute orders from customers. Matsui’s design team is on hand to assist customers in creating layout artwork incorporating special logos, event themes and commemorative designs. Matsui also welcomes requests for trial samples from new layout customers. In order to help customers visualize possible customized chip designs, Matsui developed a software tool, dubbed “Design Your Own Chips,” which has been upgraded and is accessible on the Matsui Gaming website, www.matsui-gaming.co.jp/english . “It covers all our existing chip designs, colors and other options. You can make a customized selection of chip mold, colors and other options, and you’ll be able to see what it will look like straight away,” explains Mr Machida. “It’s a very user-friendly interface. Many customers use it when they discuss their chip design ideas with us. It’s a very helpful tool.” In addition to chips and layouts, Matsui also supplies table accessories, including playing cards, a unique card-shredding machine, roulette wheels and winning results displays Through its established presence in South Korea’s gaming market—a market poised for major expansion with a string of planned integrated resorts—Matsui has been distributing products there for other suppliers. Its latest Korea distribution agreement was signed with slot giant IGT. “The partnership has just started, but it has already been successful. We supplied IGT and Aristocrat machines to Genting’s new foreigner-only casino in Jeju, which opened in December [as a revamp of the casino at the former Hyatt Regency, which Genting bought]. We’ve been the distributor for Aristocrat in Korea for many years already, and now with the IGT agreement we’ve added another top brand to the lineup of slots we offer there. Several new casino licenses are expected to be issued in Korea over the next few years, which will create more and more opportunities for our slot distribution business.” Visit Matsui Asia at Stand #613 In order to help customers visualize their own customized chip designs, Matsui developed a software tool, dubbed “Design Your Own Chips,” which has been upgraded and is accessible on the Matsui Gaming website.