Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/574333
G a m i n g N e w s 4 5 W e d n e s d a y, S e p t e m b e r 3 0 , 2 0 1 5 Much has changed. Young adults today have largely grown up in smokefree envi- ronments and expect clean air in work- places and public places. Millennial smoking rates are the lowest of any mod- ern generation – as low as seven percent in some states. Plus, many smokers don't want to breathe other people's smoke and don't mind stepping outside to a smoking patio to light up. Not surprisingly, more cities, states and sovereign Tribal governments are taking steps to implement 100 percent smokefree indoor air environment for all workplaces and facilities –including casi- nos – as a way to improve the health of a community and its workforce. After all, it is about people's lives. Smokefree laws also help create parity for businesses on this regulatory health issue. More than 500 gambling venues across the U.S. have either opened with or transitioned to a 100 percent smoke- free indoor air policy, and even more are on the way. Smokefree air is already a normal part of the casino entertainment and job experience in many markets. There are many valuable lessons learned for how to make going smokefree indoors a smooth process. One example Smokefree Casinos (Cont'd. from p. 1) is conducting player club surveys to understand the perceptions of current players, as well the potential to bring in new gaming customers and growing non- gaming revenue streams too. Another consideration is the design and placement of outdoor smoking areas located off the gaming floors. People get up from table games or slots to use the restrooms, to eat, to go to nightclubs or to do other things. Stepping outside to a smoking deck for a couple of minutes isn't a big deal for someone wanting to light up. When opening a new property or making renovations, that can be a good time to make the switch to 100 percent smokefree indoor air. Indoors, it's shared air. The science is clear that there is no safe level of expo- sure to secondhand smoke. Even brief or low levels of exposure cause significant health risks. Health agencies like the CDC and the U.S. Surgeon General (and even the HVAC standard setting body ASHRAE) affirm that smoking sections, smoking rooms and even sophisticated casino ventilation systems and air clean- ing technologies do not address the health hazards of secondhand smoke. For more information, visit www.smoke freecasinos.org or stop by booth #3814. five years ago, the Anderson Group, a private equity firm based in Florida, acquired Cole Kepro and began the process of growing the business and creating more deeply entrenched busi- ness partnerships with our gaming cus- tomers who we call our partners. At the same, Fred Cook, our CEO, embarked on a process improvement internal strategy that earned CKI the prestigious Frost and Sullivan award. While many contract manufacturers operate with the mentality of a supplier, we at CKI real- ize that in order to differentiate our- selves from the intense competition, it all starts with company attitude. GN: Can you share with us which manu- facturers you are "partners" with? CC: We typically do not advertise our partner base. We are proud, however, of our partner growth over the last couple of years, though. We like to describe our strategy as being a go-to contract manu- facturer for tier one and two slot manu- facturers, and the leading cabinet provider for tier two and three manufac- turers that desire a cabinet that we devel- oped or co-designed. GN: Tell us about the award winning Cole Kepro International (Cont'd. from p. 1) cabinet, which fits nicely into your strat- egy of providing innovative solutions to the gaming industry. CC: Great. It has been a long time coming for the Evolver™ Radius. We showed a new cabinet design two years ago, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), had an overwhelming amount of CM demand that consumed enough resources that our own designs were placed on hold. We realized this year that that type of decision making did not support the CKI mission, and the company recommitted and rededicated resources to our own designs which has always been part of the CKI company legacy. Obviously, today's slot floor is in transi- tion. Interestingly enough, no one is really sure what it is transitioning to. SB9 is paving the way for a skill-based slot floor, and the hardware supply chain must be ready. Our Radius cabinet provides some of the next generation feature sets neces- sary with a more convenient and ergonom- ic button deck/PT panel assembly that transitions to a correctly placed 32-inch 2000mmR curved LCD monitor allowing for a robust game display with the appro- priate head/shoulder ergonomics. It is a great cabinet for the coming years! For more information, visit www.cole kepro.com or stop by booth #4753. appeal from previous product. These design improvements have solidified the superior game content, which Aruze Gaming America strives to provide to its customers. By creating a cabinet both technologically advanced and ergonomi- cally friendly, its presence on any opera- tor's floor is commanding. Representing this new and exciting platform is the Extreme Progressive Series. Aruze Gaming America has decided to keep this prominent series going by providing it as a Cube-X Video. Extreme Dragon and Extreme Phoenix, with Every Way (243 Ways) paylines, are the two themes added to the state-of-the- art Cube-X platform. The chance to win 10 free games with unlimited retrigger motivates players to sit down and gamble. Three or more Bonus Symbols on consecu- tive reels beginning with the leftmost Aruze Gaming America (Cont'd. from p. 4) reel trigger the Feature Free Games. Included in the Free Games are special reels comprised exclusively of Picture, Feature and Wild symbols. Yes, the moment is electrifying but the fun has just begun. The Jackpot Feature can be triggered when the Wild symbol appears. With four Progressive Jackpots ranging from Mini, Minor, Major and Grand, and a guaran- teed payout, Extreme Dragon and Phoenix are going to keep the player on the edge of their seat and growing with anticipation for the chance to win big. Players can grab fortune by matching four dragons correlated to each progres- sive level. Aruze Gaming America has a proven product and it is shown again with the Extreme Progressive Cube-X Series! For more information, visit www.aruzegaming.com or stop by booth #1356. remote cash capture. Under this con- cept, retailers deal with cash through the same automated handling process- es, but they are able to receive provi- sional 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 cred- it allows deposits to be credited to a business's account sooner, which can provide increased visibility of its over- all finances, faster access to funds and will ultimately have an impact on its bottom line. Also, as cash can be stored longer in cash recyclers on site, fewer cash deliveries and pick-ups are need- ed, meaning that this concept can reduce the risk of theft and the cost of armored carrier service fees. Given the Glory Global Solutions (Cont'd. from p. 4) additional benefits this offers, as more forward-thinking casinos and retailers in the gaming industry move towards automating their cash handling processes, you can bank on them taking advantage of this concept. At Glory, innovation is at the heart of what we do. We bring real innovation to our customers through technology, process and our people. Through our innovation, we fundamentally change the way cash moves across operations, how teams work, how customers are engaged and the ways in which businesses con- nect their cash management systems and processes. For more information on its full portfolio of gaming solutions, visit www.glory globalsolutions.com, call 800.527.2638, email info@us.glory-global.com and visit booth #4130. REVOLUTIONARY PAYMENT TECHNOLOGY – NEVER LOSE YOUR CARDS AGAIN You may or may not have heard about a comparatively small, but highly innova- tive tech company called NXT-ID. They've been busily developing their Wocket ® biometric smart wallet since long before consumers had ever heard of Apple Pay. NXT-ID Inc. saw the evolu- tion of the payment industry before it happened and stepped up to the plate. So if you haven't heard the name, pay atten- tion – this smart security company is about to change the way we think about wallets forever. NXT-ID Inc. was recently listed on NASDAQ (NXTD and NXTDW), mak- ing its debut to technology investors that realize the payments industry as we know it is evolving. Smart money is looking for the next game-changer. The founders of NXT-ID predicted consumers asking, "Why do we need to carry a wallet full of plastic cards and cash to handle day-to-day commerce?" This massive opportunity has been virtu- ally untapped, and while most of its com- petitors are targeting payments tied to mobile phones, NXT-ID is doing some- thing quite special. Wocket™, its next generation smart wallet, is designed to replace your traditional wallet along with all the cards you carry in it, without requiring a smartphone or internet con- nection. NXT-ID saw the need for protect- ing your identity, making secure pay- ments and replacing all your credit cards, gift cards and ID with one sin- gle, secure card. The team's back- ground in biometric security enabled them to approach the product develop- ment with an advanced knowledge of the threats that consumers may face in the future and the best ways to protect against them. This security-first think- ing led the team to create a revolution- ary wallet that they are calling the "smartest wallet you'll ever own." Analysts following the stock are bullish, with several "outperforms" if the company meets its 2015 mile- stones. Behind the scenes, the compa- ny's technology team is working on the next evolution of its Wocket, knowing the payment industry is not standing still. All the tech leaders are entering the digital wallet market; with its first mover advantage and standout team, NXT-ID Inc. aims to build on its success by put- ting Wockets in the pockets of people everywhere. The Wocket works anywhere credit cards are accepted and only works with your biometric stamp of approval. Learn more about the product and how you can order one for yourself at www.wocket- wallet.com. For more information, go to www .nxt-id.com.