Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/384862
G a m i n g N e ws Th u r s d a y, O c to b e r 2 , 2 0 1 4 1 8 SHAKE THE SKY: 'CULTURALIZED CONTENT FOR ASIA' High 5 Games created Shake the Sky as the first social casino specifically designed for players seeking Asian- themed slot games. Shake the Sky offers players the largest, most authentic, pre- mium Asian social slot library available. These are social slots for people that want to play for fun and for free on all devices – from desktop to mobile. As the premier destination for authentic Asian-themed slot games, Shake the Sky offers proven slot titles from H5G's existing collection (including top-per- forming games in Asia like West Journey Treasure Hunt™, Golden Three Kingdom™, and Four Great Chinese Beauties™) as well as never-before- seen brands before they premiere in real casinos around the world. When creating Shake the Sky, H5G focused on the principle that there's localized content and then there is con- tent that goes the extra mile to be "cul- turalized" content. Some companies cre- ating content for the Asian market attempt to localize by simply changing the language, but this proves insufficient for penetrating the market and gaining popularity. High 5 Games truly culturalizes content by tailoring game themes and art styles for Asian players. When it comes to creating culturalized content for Shake the Sky, High 5 Games has established who its audience is and who it is creating con- tent for. The company invests the time to analyze and glean insights to better inform game design teams and art teams of what content and gameplay will best resonate with the target Asian market. The themes of many Shake the Sky games exist in other areas of pop cul- ture. Creating games inspired by film, TV and music allows for H5G to create games that already feel familiar to Asian players. Shake the Sky offers recognizable casual-fun games like Fortune Cat Fever, and games that are based on mod- ern contemporary Korean pop videos or soaps like Tall, Rich and Handsome and Who's My Candy Prince. Shake the Sky titles feel authentic, and High 5 Games is bringing these great, localized social slots to the Asian market as a free-to- play product. For more information, stop by booth 2230. THE VALUE OF PROVISIONAL CREDIT TO CASINO RETAIL OPERATIONS By Bob Allexon, VP of Product Management at Glory Global Solutions, North America Cash has always been a primary payment instrument for retailers in the gaming industry, and it will continue to be for years to come. Managing this cash is both costly to process and to secure. It can require expensive armored services to move it from point A to point B, as well as significant staff resources. Indeed, staff can spend hours counting and balancing cash drawers throughout the day or reconciling books at the end of a shift. It is therefore no surprise that gaming enterprises are looking to automate these processes with cash handling solutions from companies like Glory Global Solutions. Automated cash han- dling can significantly reduce employee stress and improve accuracy, efficiency and security across the complex transac- tion landscapes of casinos and their retail operations. In addition to these core benefits, the introduction of automated cash manage- ment can open the door to techniques that can generate further benefits. One model that we've seen in the wider retail industry is for businesses to work closely with their banks to intro- duce technology solutions for remote cash capture. Under this concept, retail- ers deal with cash through the same automated handling processes, but they are able to receive provisional credit from their bank at the end of the day for cash that remains locked securely on site in their cash recycler. By effectively eliminating idle cash that is trapped on site, provisional credit allows deposits to be credited to a business's account sooner, which can provide increased visibility of its overall finances, faster access to funds, and will ultimately have an impact on its bottom line. Also, as cash can be stored for longer in cash recyclers on site, fewer cash deliveries and pick-ups are needed, meaning that this concept can reduce the risk of theft and the cost of armored carrier services. Given the additional benefits this offers, you can bank on forward-thinking casinos and retailers in the gaming indus- try taking advantage of this concept, par- ticularly as more move towards automat- ing their cash handling processes. For more information, visit www.glory globalsolutions.com, call 800-527-2638, email sales@us.glory-global.com or stop by booth 5235. CHUMASH CASINO RESORT: A CALIFORNIA LUXURY PROPERTY Like many other tribes in California 20 years ago, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians stepped into the gam- ing industry with a bingo hall and the promise of a brighter future. In the early days, visitors to the Chumash Casino arrived at a cinderblock building, which housed bingo, slots and table games – a far cry from today's lux- urious facility. Still, the casino opened the first day with 300 percent more guests than expected. In spite of its instant popularity, however, the gaming industry was shaky in the half decade after the Chumash Casino opened. But in 1999, when the tribe negotiated a compact agreement with then-Governor Davis and Proposition 1A was passed by 64 percent of California voters, it was a clear sign that Indian gaming was here to stay. Nearly a decade after opening its doors, the tribe embarked on a new era by consolidating the hodgepodge of build- ings on its reservation and building a new gaming facility that housed an expansive gaming floor, restaurants, a showroom and a gift shop. One year later, the tribe opened the doors to a luxury hotel which received an AAA Four Diamond Award of Excellence three months after opening. Recently, tribal members passed a tribal ballot measure for improvements and additions to the Chumash Casino Resort property. "When the Chumash Casino Resort hotel was built in 2004, it was dramati- cally downsized during the tribal envi- ronmental review process," said Vincent Armenta, Tribal Chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. "We were trying to address the concerns of the community, but we did ourselves a dis- service by building a hotel much smaller than the market dictated and certainly not large enough to address the potential future growth in the market." A few improvements the tribe is con- sidering include: adding 215 rooms to the Chumash Casino Resort Hotel; possibly relocating non-smoking area and poker room from third floor to second floor gaming area, allowing expansion of the two restaurants on the third floor; adding a new parking garage for 750 vehicles; widening the gaming floor by approxi- mately 60,000 square feet (no new gam- ing devices – the tribe operates at the maximum of 2,000 machines allowed in its tribal-state compact). "We are confident that the changes we make on the property will help with potential market growth," said Chairman Armenta. "In addition, the project will also create more than 400 jobs and con- tribute significantly to the local economy." For more information, go to www .chumashcasino.com or www.santaynez chumash.org or call 805-325-1187.