Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/731832
Gaming News 2 9 Tuesday, September 27, 2016 reduce our beer costs by 70 percent. When we learned the technology was developed at the University of California in Davis, which is world renowned for its brewing sciences, and we saw how beau- tifully the system displayed, we recog- nized the opportunity to greatly increase our profits from beer sales we already made. In addition, our marketing depart- ment loved the strong marketing story it gave them to promote our casino and hotel and identify with the popularity of craft beers, which tends to attract highly loyal customers. When we learned the invest- ment was much less than we expected and the system did not require a brewmaster because of the simplicity of the process and computer automation, we decided to proceed because the financial benefits would begin immediately and last for as long as we were selling beer. At that time, our average cost per serving was about $1.25 per pint, and we were able to imme- diately reduce our cost to between $0.30 and $0.40 per pint depending on the beer we were brewing. The other benefit was that we were able to turn space in the casi- no that wasn't profitable into one of our highest profit per square foot areas. GN: How did your customers respond to the beers? GG: Very favorably. Everybody has their Craft beers (Cont'd. from p. 1) personal preferences, but that is part of the advantages of the HouseBrew system, because we can brew so many different flavors and styles of beers. We have 12 beer taps, of which we have replaced seven brands with our own beers and received many compliments and increased customer loyalty. Our marketing depart- ment loves the many ways we now have of promoting our name, Diamond Mountain Brewery, and it gets attention. Last month, we sent kegs to the Mammoth Mountain Beer Festival, where we received many compliments, and this month we have entered our Coronado Amber and Coronado Ale in the California Craft Beer Festival in Sacramento. This promotes our brand name and we support that with sales of our branded growlers, beer mugs and clothing apparel. GN: What has been the financial return? GG: After the first five months of sales, we already have exceeded what we pro- jected for the first 12 months of opera- tions. Our HouseBrew system has become a valuable income producing asset, providing Diamond Mountain Casino and Hotel independence, market- ing opportunities and much higher profits from beer sales as craft beer continues to grow and mature. For more information, visit booth #6330. aging of the Boomers and the emer- gence of the Millennials. As a result, we took an in depth look into all social media where we could speak to the broadest possible audience. Casino promotions and call to action via vari- ous sites is important, but creating a social network that reinforces the attributes of the casino and its promo- tions through actual players is para- mount. We have found that through traditional social media platforms, we have been able to drive engagement, customer acquisition and retention. Facebook is consistently the most successful platform to run marketing campaigns and drive engagement through contests and promotions. It is a great platform to connect current and potential clients with the different events and activities we have on the main web page, our blog pages or our success in the media. However, Facebook is starting to be less of a force for the younger demo- graphic and that demographic is quick to seize upon opportunities at the spur of a moment. This is where Twitter and Instagram continue to be a successful stage to acquire new customers. With weekly Twitter talks and Instagram campaigns, we are able to reach out to existing cus- Rymax (Cont'd. from p. 1) tomers as well as prospective ones to understand their needs and wants, as well as conversing with some of the industry's leading experts. Social media is a vital proponent of the marketing strategy, as it pro- vides invaluable data about what the players like, don't like and want to see more of. It allows us to tailor our pro- grams to fit the targeted audience and successfully promote, implement and maintain our programs in the casino industry. Year-to-date, Rymax has brought on 60 new brands to broaden our port- folio of brands to more than 350. The more than 10,000 SKUs all have high brand equity and reflect the current product and brands that are in demand. Our casino programs are fluid, meaning that we don't allow the offerings to become stale or commonplace. Today's player is the smartest and most sophis- ticated consumer because of the readily available information through "smart" devices. Embrace the social media outlets and provide the players with a choice of brands that they want, and you have the winning formula to grow your player base. Visit Rymax at booth #3020. For more information, visit www.rymaxinc.com. patrons." With a powerful resurgence in licensed brand games, Everi will show several new gaming titles including Penn & Teller™, Casablanca™ and Fruit Ninja™. The company will also showcase Richie Rich™, Underdog™, Casper the Friendly Ghost™ and Hot Stuff, the Little Devil™ from its DreamWorks Classics™ games portfolio. Designed to appeal to a wide variety of slot players, these familiar titles will entertain players with fun char- acters and unique gameplay features. "We're so thrilled to be working with Everi's creative, inventive team who are adding their own special brand of magic to our game," said Penn Jillette. "We thought that having a theater named after us in Las Vegas was an honor, but it turns out that having our own slot machine is the ultimate honor." Everi is also unveiling Empire MPX™, a new premium cabinet that will be used to launch select licensed brand games in style. This sleek cabinet includes a 40-inch full HD display screen, game-controlled lighting, spot- light feature and recharge dock for mobile devices. Also, the cabinet's unique shape allows for easy game bank and pod configurations that occupy less space on the casino floor. Everi (Cont'd. from p. 1) Additional gaming product highlights from Everi include the Tower 370™, a pre- mium video top box featuring a physical wheel, and Game Crown™, an eye-catch- ing top box that creates a new look for select Player HD ® and Player SLX ® cabi- nets. Progressive and linked games will be well represented with Everi's new Jackpot Jump™ LCD sign package and impressive 65-inch Foundation™ sign that will add excitement to the casino floor. Everi hosts its third annual TournEvent for Charities slot tournament at 2pm Tuesday, Sept. 27 in booth #1116. The fast-paced tournament will feature local celebrities and media personalities competing on behalf of their favorite charities. From Penn & Teller to Robin Leach, this year's tournament will be the biggest yet as the participants compete to win first place and receive a $10,000 check that will be donated to the winner's selected charity. All G2E attendees are invited to Everi's booth to cheer on the players as they spin their way to victory. With decades of gaming industry experience and the ability to offer a com- plete suite of products that positively impact revenue-generating aspects of casino operations, Everi is focused on being the casino industry's one-stop ven- dor for gaming and payments solutions. Visit Everi in booth #1116. a special focus on Class II gaming. This year we will deliver more than 20 new themes to market to broaden the scope of our portfolio of games. With the addition of our new game platform, our emphasis is on developing dynamic game content utilizing a variety of stun- ning high definition graphics, rewarding bonus levels, engaging game features and a variety of math models, all designed to create the unforgettable entertainment experience players have come to expect. All of this means even stronger perform- ance for our customers. With the recent enhancements to our Starlight cabinet, our content is now fully integrated with our platform and delivers a seamless experience to the player. As the market continues to evolve towards interactive gaming and as social gaming offerings and markets are now a viable and legitimate gaming segment, we are continually evaluating strategic partnerships that will help Eclipse remain competitive and provide stronger solu- tions for our customers. Eclipse has and Eclipse Gaming (Cont'd. from p. 1) will continue to strategically invest in game development and partnerships to expand the depth and breadth of our product portfolio. At the end of the day, our primary focus really is solely on our customers' success. We understand that it's not just about providing great products; it's about relationships and how well you work with your customers to realize increased return on investment. Tribal gaming is core to our business and we are deeply commit- ted to our partnerships here. One of our top priorities is to build stronger relation- ships with our customers and achieve bet- ter collaboration to ensure the right prod- uct mix that provides optimal value. I am excited about Eclipse's future, the direction we are heading and the value that we can provide to you. I invite you to come visit us at booth #2844 so that we may share our vision and present the "new" Eclipse Gaming to you. Visit Eclipse Gaming at booth #2844. For more information, go to www.eclipsegamingsystems.com or call 770.277.8783. to work within existing jurisdictional frameworks and to stand side-by-side with existing systems, giving operators a quantum leap in functionality by leverag- ing technology and protocols that are already in use today. Developmental efforts are already taking into account play at card tables, roulette tables or other non-gaming loca- tions such as the casino restaurant, spa or gift shops. For example, Iverson is active- ly exploring strategic partnerships to allow the smartphone to be used to reserve a spa appointment, open a video chat with the casino helpdesk, open a play-for-fun social casino game or tie in to real-money iGaming wagering platforms. For player tracking, the smartphone screen can now be used to display infor- mation that used to be displayed on the slot machine's touchscreen. For example, the smartphone can display player points, Iverson Gaming Systems (Cont'd. from p. 4) tier status, offers or other marketing material that has either been collected by the existing slot system or input into a CRM database. Promotional and informational material can be sent to the player's phone, whether they are sitting in front of a slot machine, sitting in the casino restaurant or even when they are at home. Privacy levels, opt-in choice and messag- ing content can be modified to comply with jurisdictional requirements and industry best practices. Responsible Gaming Responsible gaming protections can be established such as player "pre-commit- ment" features or self-limiting features. Moreover, the "VirtualATM" associates the ATM transaction with the wagering event in a way that was heretofore not possible to do. Visit Iverson Gaming Systems at booth #2613.