Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/805143
Gaming News Wednesday, April 12, 2017 1 0 VIZEXPLORER DRIVES TRIBAL CASINO EFFICIENCY & PROFITABILITY As a company, VizExplorer prides itself on building software solutions that empower casinos to achieve greater mar- ket share, efficiency and profitability through operational intelligence and insights. It sees the effect of its solutions within just a few months of getting them installed at customer properties, but in Indian Country – where VizExplorer clearly sees the impact that a thriving gaming enterprise can have on an entire community – this mission is about so much more than optimizing slot opera- tions. VizExplorer already serves more than 50 tribal casino operators nation- wide. Yet, it treats every new tribal cus- tomer as it did its first – with the same respect and understanding of how casino success can impact future generations of the tribe it supports. Each new license agreement it signs reinforces the value and the relevance of the VizExplorer solution for casinos in Indian Country and beyond. In the last six months, VizExplorer has been honored to add a range of new tribal casinos to its customer roster. These new casino customers include, but are not limited to, Clearwater Casino Resort in Suquamish, Washington; Elk Valley in Crescent City, California; Golden Pony Casino in Okemah, Oklahoma; Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With the VizExplorer plat- form installed, these customers now have the ability to analyze live, fast-changing data and take immediate action using a single toolset. VizExplorer's opera- tional intelligence solutions for casi- nos include: floorViz™ – an advanced space optimization solution to increase profits and maximize gaming floor ROI. campaignViz™ – a marketing cam- paign management solution, complete with test and control to better segment audiences to deliver targeted campaigns to high value players. hostViz™ – a robust CRM tool fea- turing advanced player management and development capability for hosts, and team performance reporting for host managers. techViz™ – a real-time service and dispatch man- agement solution to maximize efficiency of your service department and drive slot floor profitability. greetViz™ – a lightweight customer service automation solution to dynami- cally respond to guests in real-time to drive loyalty and return visits Don't miss your chance to see opera- tional intelligence in action at booth #435. Visit the booth for a product demonstration and to learn about the lat- est features that enhance the VizExplorer solution. For more information, go to www.viz explorer.com or stop by booth #435. EVERI SHOWCASING MANY NEW PRODUCTS AT SHOW Everi is uniquely positioned as the casino industry's only single source provider of robust payments solutions, vital intelligence offerings and engag- ing gaming machines that power the casino floor. Everi was formed through the merger of two companies that have served the casino industry for decades – Global Cash Access, Inc. (GCA) and Multimedia Games, Inc. (MGAM). Everi, a NIGA associate member, is co-hosting along with NIGA Chairman Ernest Stevens, Jr., the first Tribal Leaders Charity Slot Tournament on Thursday, April 13 at 1 p.m. in booth #1344. The tournament raises funds for Spirit of Sovereignty, a NIGA-advised fund at the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. The first-place tournament winner will direct up to $10,000 to support scholarships at trib- al colleges or programs serving Native youth on the reservation of their choice. The second-place finisher will designate up to $5,000 and up to $3,000 for third place. Everi encourages NIGA attendees to view the many products being show- cased this year. Jackpot Lockdown™, Everi's first Class II WAP showcases an eight-level linked progressive and features a top award that resets at $100,000. This premium linked pro- gressive banked product takes jackpot wins to the next level with the eye- catching Foundation™ sign package. Jackpot Lockdown adds excitement to the already wildly successful five-line mechanical titles players love. Also making its NIGA debut is Jackpot Jump™, a premium linked progressive banked product with a striking sign package and Apex N™ LCD toppers. Now, Everi's popular Jackpot Jump bonus can be a part of select linked progressive games, pro- viding memorable progres- sive win celebrations that get noticed on the gaming floor. With the ability to offer players larger pro- gressive prizes – featuring a $20,000 top award reset and new gaming titles – Jackpot Jump is a must- have addition or the perfect enhancement to existing Everi Player HD ® cabinets that will bring game banks to life. Everi is also showcasing its best payments products, starting with the award-winning Jackpot Xpress™ that allows casinos to manage jackpot pay- outs more efficiently and securely than ever before using a mobile device at the point of play, integrating with Everi JackpotXchange ® or JackpotXchange Lite kiosks for quick and easy jackpot processing. Processing payouts faster means cus- tomers can return to playing right away. VersatileXchange™ (VXC) uti- lizes Everi's proprietary UXC kiosk platform and provides a smaller, less expensive non- cash dispensing alternative for gaming operators. This lightweight kiosk is packed with versatility, allowing operators to customize the purpose of the kiosk and expand its use beyond tradi- tional services. New offerings designed to boost efficiency in the cage include CageXchange™, a cash dispenser that speeds up transactions, reduces exposed cash and improves customer experience by eliminating tedious manual cash counting and wait times. Everi's RecyclerXchange™ cash recycler con- tinues to boost efficiency by removing the need for cashiers to count and veri- fy currency, improving operational effi- ciencies by reducing cash handling and labor costs by automatically counting, storing and sorting cash. Visit Everi at booth #1344 to see offer- ings, and www.everi.com for more details. PREMIUM VOICE-ACTIVATED SPEAKER CONCEPT Voice activation in IoT (Internet of Things) products has grown signifi- cantly over the past two-plus years. Amazon set the standard with Echo, its first voice-activated speaker, from an engineering and user experience per- spective. Other companies followed, integrating voice activation into their own IoT products. As companies not traditionally associated with audio technologies continue to integrate voice activation, two things are clear. One, there's an ongoing shift in user experience design from physical but- tons to voice control. Two, companies planning to integrate voice activation need to quickly come up to speed on audio technologies to compete as thought leaders, rather than followers. As a full-service product develop- ment firm that has helped design and ship over 400 CE products, SurfaceInk knows an investment to support this market shift towards voice activation was necessary. It has brought on expe- rienced audio engineers and formed strategic partnerships with some of the largest audio hardware and software companies in the world, including Cirrus Logic. The company decided it would be an interesting challenge to create a pre- mium voice-activated speaker concept to stimulate category innovation and demonstrate its capabilities. Having used and torn down many of today's voice-activated speaker products, it has identified a few opportunities with respect to audio quality and aesthetics. Most current voice-interactive speaker products feature small speakers with limited bandwidth, and while some feature stereo capability, their speakers are so close together it results in an unbalanced soundstage. Since many people use these products for music playback, the compa- ny thought it benefi- cial to add high-end audio performance with true stereo sepa- ration. Additionally, while most IoT speaker products tar- get home users, their "techy" aesthetics often fail to blend into a typical home environment. As audio enthusiasts, SurfaceInk set out to address these issues and build a voice interactive speaker with great audio performance that was less CE oriented and more aligned with tra- ditional home décor. Starting with audio performance, it wanted to repre- sent as much of the audible bandwidth as it could in a small form factor. While not a subwoofer, the design allows for faithful reproduction of fre- quencies down to around 70Hz. It worked carefully to balance the high and low frequency drivers by using an active crossover and equalization topology. Next, it divided the system into two separate speakers to achieve true stereo with great sound staging. With its audio architecture estab- lished, the company began to explore industrial design directions. It wanted its concept to visually stand out and arrived at a simple form that relates directly to the speaker cone elements and evokes the notion of "projecting sound" across the room. From a material standpoint, it wanted to use something warm and authentic; more art and less tech. It considered concrete, glass and granite, but eventu- ally selected porcelain due to its rigid- ity and beauty. Its premium look and feel is also better suited to home décor than plastic. The concept turned out just as SurfaceInk had hoped! For more information, go to www .surfaceink.com.