Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/484387
G a m i n g N e w s T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 , 2 0 1 5 4 AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH NIGA Lee M. Oser CEO and Editor-in-Chief Jules Denton Kim Forrester Paul Harris Associate Publishers Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director Jeanie Catron JoEllen Lowry Richard Thompson Associate Editors Yasmine Brown Andre Gressieux Graphic Designers Caitlyn Roach Sarah Glenn Customer Service Managers Heather Canale Keri Gall Jamie Green Tara Neal Show Logistics & Distribution Jay Avery Neil Catura Marcos Morhaim Account Managers Enrico Cecchi European Sales Gaming News is published by Oser Communications Group ©2015 All rights reserved. Executive and editorial offices at: 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300/Fax: 520.721.6300 www.oser.com European offices located at Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini, 11, 50125 Florence, Italy THE MATURING GAMING MARKET: URBAN CASINOS AND REDEVELOPMENT By Joseph Baruffaldi AIA, Project Director, JCJ Architecture As gaming markets mature, new green- field developments of casino resort and entertainment facilities are fewer and far between. New opportunities in gaming development are increasing in urban set- tings, changing the dynamics and param- eters that facilities must respond to in order to be successful. These new urban conditions provide creative and strategic opportunities for operators to integrate their properties into an existing commer- cial fabric and provide unique guest experiences. One prime opportunity is to capital- ize on existing entertainment and hotel options within an urban environment to complete a guest experience, and mini- mize development expenses related to a hotel or entertainment facility. Casino operators can work with local businesses to develop unique "stay and play" pack- ages that benefit from concerts and encourage hotel stays that are offered off-property but within easy walking distance. When tied to a gaming experience and earned from volume play within the casino, these packages can provide the same incremental gaming revenue increases as on-site facilities, without the capital expenditure of expensive hotel and entertainment amenities. Another opportunity is to consider a more holistic approach with the develop- ment of a mixed-use urban resort. As a resort property, the goal is to provide TOURNEVENT OF CHAMPIONS AND TOURNEVENT FOR CHARITY FROM MULTIMEDIA GAMES Only in its third year, Multimedia Games' TournEvent of Champions has exploded in popularity, virtually dou- bling in size each year since its inception, with 2015 promising to be even louder, as it goes international and awards a $1 million dollar grand prize at its Million Dollar Event on September 30th in Las Vegas. Hosted again at the Wynn Las Vegas & Encore Resort's XS Nightclub, the two-day Championship this year will host more than 100 casinos and more than 150 players from across the country to determine who has the slot skills to take home the crown and title of the Nation's Best Slot Tournament Player. "The success of TournEvent of Champions really belongs to the casinos running events throughout the year," said Ram Chary, CEO. "The format of the event adds undeniable electricity to the casino floor, and the casinos along with our promotions team, do a great job of drawing in big crowds to compete – many of them compet- ing for the very first time." In addition to giv- ing away a total prize purse of $1.3 million, Multimedia Games will also be hosting its second annual TournEvent for Charity™ during G2E, pitting celebrities and media personnel against one another in a fight for cash for their chosen celebrities. For 2015, Multimedia Games partnered with Save A Warrior – a program dedicated to heal- ing U.S. veterans struggling to cope with life after returning home from the battlefield – to make the organization the Continued on Page 29 Continued on Page 23