After a great premiere in 2007 Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI), wholly owned subsidiary of Novomatic Holding, returns to the Gaming Expo Belgrade 2008 with a spectacular range of innovations and market-specific products. The show will be held from 19th-21th February at the Belgrade Fair in the Serbian capital.

At booth A400 AGI will present the very latest product innovations recently launched at ICE such as the new Coolfire™ II games in the sophisticated Super-V+ Gaminator® and Super-R+ Gaminator® multi-game cabinets. These new multi-game products were received with great interest and admiration in London and will for sure again be a highlight of the show in Belgrade.

Most prominently among the new cabinets is the Super-V+ Gaminator®: it epitomizes the  next generation AGI standard cabinet for the international markets. Featuring state-of-the-art video gaming technology the Super-V+ Gaminator® stands for performance by design!

Super-V+ Gaminator® comes with panoramic displays in extra-wide screen format, Multi-Denomination and Multi-Language options and offers great sound through subwoofers and an active satellite speaker system. Sophisticated style and highest quality make this cabinet a top casino attraction for maximum guest attraction and superior performance.


Unlimited Coolfire™ II gaming fun is guaranteed with AGI’s Novo-Vision™ Slant Top I. This casino slant top cabinet features a 22” bottom touch screen plus a giant 26” top screen for a new dimension of gaming entertainment. The innovative flip-screen feature allows players to switch their main game from the bottom to the top screen to play in their preferred and ergonomically perfect position. Another new feature is the secondary start button located in the foot rest for ultimate player comfort and relaxed gaming fun.
The Novo-Vision™ Slant Top I brings sophisticated style and exclusive comfort to any casino floor. For casino operators who seek to thrill their guests with a full-impact gaming experience.

In Belgrade AGI will also present a market-specific product range for the Serbian market: Multi-Games 4 You™. Also the latest mixes of the international bestseller Multi-Gaminator®, versions 30 and 31, will be on display.

Managing Director AGI, Jens Halle: “Serbia is a growth market where we see great potentials for the near future. Our new sales office in Belgrade, which was opened in October 2007, as well as our extensive show-appearance, signal our strong commitment to the market. We invite everybody to visit our booth at the show!” 

Atronic recently launched its brand-new e2-motion™ cabinet in Europe at ICE 2008 in London. Pronounced e-motion square, the attractive and stylish cabinet, the breathtaking design, the dual 19” TFT screens and the eye-catching frame lights and toppers made the e2-motion™ machines the most alluring machine at the show.

The new cabinet has all the regular features of e-motion™ that have made it one of the most popular cabinets in the industry and with some exciting enhancements. The new e2-motion™ cabinet takes player convenience to a new level and offers optimum serviceability for operators.

The re-location of key player components allows for premium player comfort such as the positioning of player tracking units between the TFT screen and button panel, easier access to the card reader, centrally located speakers for improved sound experience, redesigned player button panel incorporating a soft hand rest and coin bowl with integrated cup holder. Furthermore, e²-motion features two 19” TFT screens which further enhance the playing experience and allow for exciting presentation of bonus events and jackpot celebration.

Operators will enjoy the serviceability enhancements including sideways air circulation allowing for full back to back mounting possibilities. The use of high-quality, reliable Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL) for Topper Glass illumination increases the lifespan from 8,000 to 30,000 hours, name/serial plates located on cabinet side allow for easier access, mechanical meters are accessible via the main door, removable side cabinet handles allow for easy lifting and smooth edges on the under surface reduce the scratching of machine bases.

Further, the e2-motion™ cabinet offers various configuration options including the topper with or without a progressive meter, bill-less or coin-less operation, front door with or without coin bowl and a choice of colours; standard black or gold option.

Klaus Achmüller, Atronic Group’s Executive Director for Product, Content & Strategy, commented on the launch of e2-motion™ “We are very pleased with the launch of the new e²-motion™ cabinet. Our focus was mainly to make the machine even more attractive and comfortable for the players, while, at the same time, also enhance the cabinet’s serviceability for the casino’s technical staff.”

At the prestigious International Gaming Awards ceremony held on the 21st January at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London, Atronic’s multi-level progressive King Kong Cash was named best Slot Machine Game.

The ceremony brought together International manufacturers, operators and organisations from around the world to support Care International and Macmillan Cancer Support charities.

Events Manager, Lisa Barrett commented “Atronic International truly outshone in their category making them the 2008 Slot Machine Game winner. We would like to congratulate them on their outstanding achievement. Atronic International continuously launches attractive and successful gaming concepts and is without a doubt one of the leading global gaming manufacturers.”

Anette Jauch, Marketing Director Atronic International commented “We feel extremely honoured that King Kong Cash has been chosen by the International jury. The King Kong Cash linked gaming concept has been very popular with players in the international market and it is a testament to a great product that a panel of gaming experts recognised its potential”.

King Kong Cash is a 4-level progressive jackpot concept based on Universal Pictures’ epic movie King Kong. The concept includes the Mystery Kong Bonus where players are awarded either credits or may enter the King Kong Cash Bonus feature for a chance to win one of the progressive level jackpots.

UK based MD Gaming Int. Ltd has signed an exclusive distribution deal for the UK and Ireland with the leading European Casino Equipment Supplier CTC.  In the last sixteen years CTC has continued to expand throughout Europe and currently enjoys a healthy percentage of the Table Gaming Equipment sector, enjoying exclusive agreements with some of Europe’s largest operators.  “We are very happy to be now focusing our attention on the UK market, where we believe with our new partner, our quality products and competitive pricing will ensure we will be an interesting option for operators” commented Edvin Lobinch CEO of CTC.  MD’s James Illingworth was delighted with the new agreement and believes an opportunity in the market is there. “The name of CTC will not be too familiar at present for UK operators, however anyone involved in the European market will know they are a major player with a very successful track record”  “This is an exciting time of growth for both companies and we look forward to this continuing with the signing of this distribution document”

MD Gaming Int. Ltd  is a UK based sales and distribution company specialising in the sales and support of gaming machines and equipment to Europe, Asia and Africa.  It is the sister company of Magic Dream SRL the Italian slot machines manufacturer with a twenty-year experience in casino industry.  On Italian territory the company directly manages machines in more than 350 locations such as betting shops and pubs with approximately 4.000 slot machines; on international side, Magic Dreams’ products receive all necessary licenses by the authorities of the countries in which they are exported. The obtained approval licenses (G.L.I.) and the different partnerships allow Magic Dreams to be present in many foreign countries such as:

- Western and Easter Europe

- Central and South America (Chile – Argentina - Columbia)

- North Africa and Mediterranean Countries

National and international partnership, alongside with its regional offices in UK, Columbia and Buenos Aires, guarantee Magic Dreams a capillary distribution and presence to ensure high-level and constant quality service to its customers.

CTC Holdings manufacturers Casino and Gaming equipment since 1991. It has supplied more than 300 customers in eastern and Western Europe, Africa and Asia.  At present CTC Holdings has 2.000 square meters of manufacturing space and employs about 50 skilled and experienced professionals.  CTC Holdings offers a wide range of standard and custom designed products. All its Products meet the highest gaming industry quality standards.  By offering the best quality and price combination, CTC Holdings can become your reliable supplier of casino equipment worldwide.

MEI exhibited at this year’s IMA in Düsseldorf with a whole range of solutions for note and coin handling.

The change in German law brought about a change in money handling in AWP’s. With higher stakes and payouts available, manufacturers found the necessity to look beyond the traditional coin validator with tube payout system. The popularity of the new multi-game AWP’s has been aided with increased player payment options. A banknote reader integrated in AWP’s has become commonplace and the technology of the MEI Cashflow SC83 banknote reader is making strong progress in Germany. Operators are seeing real advantages in using this product. But let’s look back to how MEI developed this product. Its origins are in the casino industry and MEI spent considerable time researching the market for product improvements. Fitting into the industry standard mechanical dimensions, the SC83 Cashflow offers unique features to the market. These have are been developed to provide optimal performance, customer satisfaction and highest levels of security against frauds and manipulation.

MEI has sold over 500,000 of the Cashflow SC series around the world with major casino operators specifying it. Operators in casinos are invited to trial the product. This value-added trial (VAT) allows the end user to quickly become acquainted with the benefits this product offers. The German market has been introduced to the Cashflow SC83 with very positive feedback. Mikjail Abasow, MEI’s Sales Manager in Germany stated, “The feedback from the IMA has been very positive. We had several operators visit us stating their appreciation of the product. We are bringing real advantages to the German AWP market with our Cashflow SC83. One of its main advantages is the highest level of security against manipulation which is clearly a top requirement for the German AWP market.  With the knowledge of having over half a million units working around the globe, we are very confident in the long-term acceptance of the Cashflow SC83 here in Germany”.
 
Product development that brings clear customer advantages is the major goal for MEI. Understanding the marker trends and how to give customers the correct solutions to make use of these trends is the key to the continued success of MEI. Therefore, at the IMA MEI introduced two completely new products to the market – a bank note recycler and a coin changer.

As we know, the change in the German AWP law has brought about many positive changes. The increase of the game cycle, coupled with higher stakes, has lead to the quick acceptance of the banknote readers. Indeed, the challenge today is ensuring players receive their winnings in full each and every time without service personnel having to partially pay the winnings. Coin hopper payout has increased the number of coins available for pay-out. Nevertheless, coin starvation is a serious subject for operators and manual coin refills are time-consuming and player-unfriendly. The Banknote Recycler - BNR - from MEI solves this issue. With the BNR the operator has up to 460 notes that can be recycled. The cashbox itself can stack up to 600 notes. The BNR can recycle 4 separate note denominations. MEI’s market research has introduced a solution for note starvation. What does this mean? Well, note recyclers can only pay back notes that have been entered. Market research underlines that players like to keep the larger notes won. Thus, operators would like to pay out winnings in smaller notes, preferably EUR 5 notes. However, if players play predominantly with EUR 10 notes and higher, then a EUR 5 note starvation could prevail. The loader module of the BNR is the solution. Approximately 300 notes can be stored in the loader that can de used as a reservoir for paying out the winnings in the note denomination that operators wish for.

The increased interest in bank note recyclers raises the question on the necessity of large coin payout units for future AWP requirements. The Cashflow CF7900 from MEI integrates the coin validator and tube system in one unit. Indeed, the CF7900 has its origins in the vending market and vending machine operators have had years of experience with this product. The CF7900 integrates five pay-out tubes that can be simply adjusted for differing coin payout requirements. For example, up to 75 EUR 2 coins can be stored in one tube. For a configuration of two payout tubes for EUR2, two for EUR 1 and 1 for EUR 0.20, the operator can stored just over EUR 450 in coin value. The AWP manufacturer has the advantage that the dimensions of the CF7900 are more compact than the standard solutions. The CF7900 itself is simple to use and incorporates a whole range of features.

Mr. Mikjail Abasow – MEI’s German Sales Manager – can gladly provide more information via telephone +49-162- 2190249 or email mikjail.abasow@meigroup.com