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Gaming News Thursday, April 19, 2018 6 Making Room for Bowling Just Got Easier Keeping offerings fresh is a challenge in and of itself, but as more and more casino resorts look to diversify their entertain- ment options, finding an attraction that can also generate impressive revenue and value makes the task even more daunt- ing. That's where bowling comes in. Although it's one of mankind's oldest sports, the game is far from feeling its age. With the integration of modern tech- nology, guests are experiencing bowling like never before. Today's centers are far from the dingy alleys of the past. Instead, high-quality interior design and furniture offerings, interactive games with stun- ning HD graphics and premium food and beverage pairings are making bowling centers the hot hangout spot for guests of all ages. The draw of bowling for casinos is multifaceted. Not only does adding bowl- ing as an anchor attraction create revenue streams and offer better-than-average returns on investments, but casinos can expect to keep guests entertained and on campus longer while also attracting new demographics. That's not all – bowling is an exceptional amenity for members of the local tribal community to enjoy with family and friends. With so many benefits directly relat- ed to the bowling addition, the only thing that gives many casino resort owners or investors pause is limited available space. Not every facility can accommo- date traditional bowling equipment. Understanding that this roadblock was keeping many out of the bowling busi- ness, Brunswick Bowling introduced a solution: Epicenter™. Epicenter by Brunswick is an authentic bowling experience that has been adapted from tra- ditional bowling. No arcade or mini-bowling here. By using reduced lane length and a compact StringPin™ pinsetter, this configuration is the real deal, providing all the fun, technology and customization options without the space commitment required by tradition- al bowling. When customers choose Epicenter, they have the opportunity to customize their synthetic lanes, design enticing spaces with Center Stage™ fur- niture and take advantage of Brunswick's Sync™ Scoring and Management System. Bowling – it's a game that virtually everyone enjoys, and now, one every business can take part in. To learn more about bowl- ing and building Epicenter at your facility, visit www .brunswickbowling .com/build-a-center /epicenter/. About Brunswick Bowling Products The leader in the bowling industry for over 125 years, Brunswick Bowling pro- vides products, services and industry expertise for the development and reno- vation of new and existing bowling cen- ters and mixed-use facilities across the entertainment industry. Brunswick is the only full-line supplier of bowling center equipment, supplies and consumer bowl- ing products. For more information, visit www.brunswickbowling.com or stop by booth #415. SlipGrips Features Groundbreaking Slip-Resistant Tread Design SlipGrips, a leading designer, manufac- turer and provider of slip-resistant footwear, features DragonGrip – a cut- ting-edge non-slip tread design that is bringing the gaming market to its feet. The key to DragonGrip's unparal- leled performance is the combination of an advanced technology rubber com- pound that is confidential and exclusive to SlipGrips with a patented revolution- ary tread design. The proprietary tread consists of hundreds of hexagonal pylons of varying heights that form a three- dimensional pattern. On a micro level, each individual six-sided pylon inde- pendently adjusts to changing surface textures while creating numerous small channels that efficiently funnel away liq- uid, soap and grease. At the same time on a macro level, the larger valleys created by the 3D relief allow for faster disper- sion and therefore greater outsole-to- floor contact. It's a smarter, ambitious, multi-tasking, fearless outsole that empowers the wearer to work the floor with the sole of a dragon. Independent laboratory Mark II ASTM F1677-05 test results confirm unrivaled performance in maximum sur- face-to-surface contact to prevent slip- ping and sliding. Superior test scores of 0.62 in oily and wet (vegetable oil and water) and 0.54 in soapy conditions (50/50 blend of liquid soap and water) powerfully prove this outsole outperforms the competition in reducing slip/fall incidents and improving employee safety. But while these shoes definitely have the brains, they also have the looks. From the iconic style skate shoe to the trendy style athletic shoe, employees will enjoy wearing these fly hot dragons. While SlipGrips definitely offers industry-standard black for conservative uniform wear, it takes it up a notch with cool color options. These shoes can be tailor-made to your specific company colors to fashionably coordinate with your brand identity. A colored tread will add a subtle flash of bad-ass dragon that secretly inspires a more productive shift and allows your employees to show their true colors while staying safely on their feet. You can also maximize employee safety by incorporat- ing a comprehensive shoe pro- gram. As a division of Lehigh Outfitters, SlipGrips is the leader in managed corporate shoe programs. With a dedicated website, on-site kiosks, subsidy, payroll deduct and voucher options and so many other customized services to specifically fit your company needs, you will increase employee participation and sig- nificantly reduce the risk and cost of slip and fall accidents. To learn more about the customized shoe program and SlipGrips DragonGrip advanced tread technology styles, call 800.444.4086, email customfit@lehigh outfitters.com or go to www.slipgrips.com. LoveHandle Wins Phone Grip Challenge We've all seen the huge variety of smart- phone grips, knobs and rings parading on the backs of smartphones and cases these days, but which one is the best all-around consumer choice? A recent survey asked users to try each one and rank their favorite based on overall functionality. Here are the results: 1. LoveHandle – The clear winner for function and comfort, LoveHandle passed the pocket-friendly test as the lowest-profile grip in the group. The thin profile also allowed it to operate with wireless charging, unlike some of its thicker and all metal competition. Reviewers liked its use of a softer elastic grip surface instead of hard plastic or metal, but promptly commented on how comfortable it is to securely hold the phone with just a fingertip. 2. Metal Rings – Coming in second place in the survey were the variety of swiveling metal rings that boast grip and stand functionality. While these rigid ver- sions did offer a reliable grip when worn as a ring on the user's finger, they did not score well in the comfort category. Some reviewers commented that the ring was somewhat uncomfortable and was not really a one-size-fits-all product. 3. Expanding Circles – These round expandable knobs are a current pop cul- ture fad among young teens and middle- school lunchrooms. However, reviewers said they lack the basic utility of offering a reliable and comfortable grip for the phone. Large and bulky, many survey respondents complained that the knob would get hung on their pocket or purse when putting their phone away. On the comfort rankings, the popping circles scored low as well due to the way it is held precariously between your fingers and constantly requires an active grip to prevent phone drops. Young reviewers still gave high marks for the addictive fidget-like qualities of popping and col- lapsing these expanding grips just for fun, though. It doesn't seem like the smartphone is going anywhere in the near future, so all of these grip accessories will have a piece of a growing market. However, its quite likely that fads will give way to function as mature consumers have the opportunity to try each of the current available solutions and decide which one works best for their needs. For more information, visit www .lovehandle.com or email sales@ lovehandle.com. Coming Soon: W3C Standards for Virtual Reality on the Web By Dominique Hazael-Massieux, W3C Community Management Virtual Reality (VR) is the next frontier for immersive entertainment experiences that let you physically interact with con- tent on the web. As witnessed by the commercial push during this past year's holiday shopping season, the entertain- ment industry has been an early adopter of VR, with proprietary solutions offered by a number of leading brands. As the Virtual Reality ecosystem expands, so too does the demand for VR to leverage standard web technologies such as HTML5, and to provide common ways to define, build and interact with 3D content on different devices. In the same way we advanced web standards for the mobile web and web and television, the World Wide Consortium (W3C) – the global standards body for web technologies – continues work to enable Virtual Reality solutions to use the Open Web Platform as a full-fledged development environment. With stan- dards, there will be interoperability to avoid fragmentation and duplicated effort, which in turn lowers development costs. At the 2016 W3C Workshop on Web and Virtual Reality, more than 70 organiza- tions actively working in the VR ecosys- tem came together to demonstrate the ben- efits that the web can bring to VR develop- ment. Industry experts from companies including W3C members Apple, BBC, Dolby, Facebook/Oculus, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, Qualcomm and Samsung, addressed some of the short- comings needed to make the web more feature-rich and attractive for deploying innovative VR applications and services. Among the features workshop partici- pants identified as needing standardization attention were: better integration of existing web content in VR experiences; improved support and optimized transmission of 360° videos and audio; turning web pages into enjoyable Virtual Reality spaces; and inte- grating the 3D building bricks of VR content into the fabric of the Open Web Platform. For more information about W3C's WebVR activities, email w3t-pr@w3.org.