Inside Asian Gaming

September 2011 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 49 Asian Gaming 50 – 2011 36 (35) Sebastian Salat President WMS International Sebastian Salat has focused intensively on bringing WMS International’s systems applications to Asiathisyear.Systemsareanimportant and growing driver of casino equipment sales and recurring revenues in Asia. That’s been a natural progression as the regional industry moves beyond the initial ‘build’ phase to a consolidation phase and as its marketing and data networks mature. As President of WMS International, Mr Salat’s responsibilities cover a range of key functions including overseeing business strategy, market development, sales and distribution and operations for WMS International. The company’s global footprint has grown under his leadershipandpresentlyWMS International generatesmore than30% of WMS global new unit sales. His and the company’s focus has been on bringing new gaming experiences to players, and better value to operators in the region. That’s being delivered in three ways: via WMS’s Innovation product series; via introduction of the company’s WAGE-NET® technology, and by aligning the maths of WMS games and products to Asian players’preferences. Over the past year, Mr Salat has introduced WMS Innovation Series products such as Cascading Reels™ and Money Burst™ themes to Asian market operators. They are designed to engage players with heightened ‘Big Win’ celebrations, synchronised lighting and special audio effects. There’s also a degree of interactivity via the company’s Community Gaming™ and Sensory Immersion products and via its progressive slots. Most notably, Mr Salat has focused on bringing the WAGE- NET suite of platform technologies and system applications to the Asian market. WAGE-NET has been developed to help increase the revenue generating capabilities and operational efficiency of casino gaming floors while providing differentiated player experiences. WAGE-NET’s Portal Game Enablement technology makes use of digitally delivered gaming content across a casino floor or across multiple floors in a jurisdiction. That allows it to extend the life cycle of base game themes. The first commercially availableWMS Portal application‘family’is the Ultra Hit Progressive (UHP) series. To provide Asian operators with maximum flexibility and ease of implementation, Mr Salat made UHP available at the level of individual banks of machines on the casino floor. Mr Salat introduced the UHP Networked Gaming Portal ‘family’ of products at this year’s G2E Asia in Macau, citing a preference among Asian players for mystery-driven jackpots and multi-level progressives. The G+™ Deluxe series of games has also been a focal point for WMS in Asia. It utilises 30% larger, highly detailed reel symbols, optional game statistics, amped-up win celebrations and synchronised lighting and audio effects. Mr Salat’s recipe for achieving success as a trusted supplier of casino gaming equipment is based on having local and cultural knowledge, as well as service capabilities in each region of operation. In addition to its headquarters in the United States, WMS has international offices in Macau, Australia, Italy, Holland, South Africa, Spain, Argentina and the United Kingdom.