Bally Gaming Debuted Titanic Slots and David Copperfield Slots Recently
Bally Technologies had a strong third quarter 2014 showing, mainly due to its acquisition of SHFL Entertainment. SHFL is a manufacturer of shuffling devices formerly known as Shuffle Master.
Bally finished acquiring SHFL in November 2013. That makes 3rd quarter 2014 the first quarter Shufflemaster’s revenues were reported with Bally’s. The final earnings for Q3 were $66.1 million and revenue of $338.4 million. Those numbers compare favorably to the $06.7 earnings and $259.1 million revenues for the same quarter in 2013.
Shufflemaster Acquisition
SHFL was a major competitor to Bally prior to the acquisition. Both companies made automatic shuffling machines, which are used for table games like blackjack. The shuffling machines are provide solid revenues on the international market. The acquisition has allowed Bally to own a larger share of the market.
Ramesh Srinivasan Speaks
Ramesh Srinivasan, the CEO and President of Bally, said the automatic shufflers are turning out to be exactly what Bally hoped it would be. “The shuffler business is turning out to be everything we believed it would be…Our systems business continues to be a major factor as we gain a greater share of the industry’s increasing technology-related spend.”
Meanwhile, Bally has continued to pay down its debt. The company bought back 150,000 shares of stock, which erased $102 million of the company’s $1.9 billion in debt. The gaming company remains determined to continue reducing its debt over the coming quarters.
James Cameron’s Titanic Slots
James Cameron’s Titanic Slots, the much-anticipated licensed slot machine, made its debut on the open market in the third quarter. The slot machine, based on the second higher grossing film in Hollywood history, was shown at gaming industry conventions in late 2013. It is expected these slot machines should have significant appeal, especially to the female slot machine gambler.
The Magic of David Copperfield slot machine will make its debut in the next several weeks, as well.
Midwestern Gaming Machine Sales
Srinivasan said Bally’s is doing well in the American Midwest, which is helping the company maintain solid revenues. Bally’s sells to 8 of the 9 licensed land-based casinos in Ohio. Meanwhile, the company sold 4,100 units in the Illinois gaming market in 2013. Though the sell of gaming machines might sound like a one-time profit, the continued maintenance and replacement of these machines tends to mean continued profits.
For instance, the company boosted its international replacement machine sales in Q3 2014 by 19% over the same period in 2013. The total in sales in this category equaled $102 million, compared to $81 million in 2013. The Bally CEO said the sales involved 930 Equinox units were delivered. Bally expects good sales in Asia and Australia in the electronic slot replacement sales category in 2014.
Bally’s Atlantic City Hopes WSOP Poker Room Succeeds
In February 2014, the brick-and-mortar Bally’s Atlantic City Casino debuted a World Series of Poker themed poker room. The 42-table poker room includes a big area for tournament play, along with a closed-off area for the high roller tables. The reception has been positive so far, with one member of management saying they never “go dark”.
It can be an uphill battle in Atlantic City, because Borgata Casino poker room has been dominant for so long. Borgata has a large, bright room with easy access to the parking lot and restaurants. The Borgata poker room draws a steady stream of regulars, and the competition is known to be high quality. The WSOP Poker Room at Bally’s may never challenge Borgata’s dominance, but the staff believes they have a successful idea and they expect a big summer.
While Bally’s management team hopes they’ll draw off a few customers from Borgata, their real intent is to collect players from the Boardwalk. Because the WSOP TV broadcasts are aired on ESPN (owned by the Disney Corporation), the World Series of Poker has become somewhat “Disneyfied” over the years. For that reason, Boardwalk tourists are likely to respond to a WSOP poker room. That is the thinking at Bally’s Atlantic City, anyway.
