Second quarter revenues at slot machine manufacturer WMS Industries were $162.2m for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, down 18.9% from the $199.9m in the same period the previous year. Net income came in at $16.1m, compared with $27m the previous year. On the positive side, the Q2 revenue figure is a 4% rise from Q1, which the company says is proof that the aggressive cost-cutting measures it announced in August are already paying off. WMS chairman/CEO Brian Gamache expects “quarterly sequential improvements in revenues and operating margin to accelerate in the second half of fiscal 2012.”
WMS competitor International Game Technology (IGT) will pay a $375k fine to the state of Missouri after the Missouri Gaming Commission ruled IGT hadn’t been straight with them. The Associated Press reports that the brouhaha stems from IGT’s failure to inform Missouri regulators that it had been the subject of several actions related to the state of Alabama’s recent crusade against electronic bingo. Those actions include IGT being served with a federal subpoena in 2008, a letter Alabama’s governor sent IGT in 2009 and the seizure of a bingo machine from an Alabama gambling hall in 2010. The Las Vegas-based company has yet to make an official comment on the fine.
Bally Technologies is teaming up with the Pechanga Resort & Casino in California to attempt to set a Guinness World Record for The World’s Largest Slot Machine Tournament. The (shameless) attempt (at promotion) is scheduled for Feb. 11 and participation is free to anyone over 21 years of age. (If you’re under 21, it’s $10 a head. KIDDING! KIDDING!) The tournament will involve over 1,000 machines (out of the Pechanga’s total 3,800) equipped with Bally’s iVIEW Display Manager, which allows players to compete against each other across the casino floor. There’s a $100k prize pool up for grabs, with 200 people earning cash and $25k going to the overall winner. Problem is, we can’t ascertain if there’s an existing Guinness World Record for such a tournament, suggesting that even if only two people sign up, it’s still a record (of sorts). Um… well done?
