Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2012 14 blackjack and four specialty games) will be one of the principal beneficiaries of this new approach to technological integration. “We love our iTables,”Mr Isaacs says. Not surprisingly, he’s got big plans for Rapid Fusion too.“[The new version] is going out now in Asia,” he says. “We hope to get one big install in Macau, and then from there penetrate that market properly. But it’ll go all over the world.” On the slot side, SHFL continues to improve on Equinox. New math models are being explored and new themes as well. A 32-inch LCD“Super Top Box”has been added with four randomly triggered multi-feature games, and the company continues working with a design house in China to develop more dedicated, culturally proficient games like Duo Fu Duo Cai for Macau and beyond. “We’re targeting strong improvement there. And we’d like to roll the Equinox out across that market. We’re beginning to get there,” says Mr Isaacs. The company recently placed its first slot order in the Philippines, and under industry veteran Ken Jolly, who heads up SHFL’s Asia business, Singapore, Southeast Asia and South Korea are now firmly in its sights. “The focus, really, is across the whole of Asia,” Mr Isaacs explains. “We’re trying to get all our products in. Electronic tables. Again, we hadn’t invested for many years. Now with the new product, ‘concurrent gaming’ being approved—recently, we got a big approval we’d been waiting for for two years in Singapore—we think now that we’ll really flex our muscles. And going forward, where opportunities arise for proprietary tables, we’d love to place them out there.” Above all else, the new SHFL is about “showing people from the rest of the world what you can do,” as he puts it. “We’re a technology company. And if you are going to be successful in gaming as a technology company you must consistently and continually innovate. We will, as long as I’mwith the company—which I hope is a long time—continue to invest in our R&D. Every year our products will lead in playability, functionality, looks and entertainment value. And that’s how you win.” SHFL Rapid Fusion Duo Fu Duo Cai on the Equinox cabinet CEO Gavin Isaacs—“We have invested now”