Andrew Tottenham has dedicated his life to making gaming better. Founder of the British-based consulting group, Tottenham & Co., he spent five years in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s heading up the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) division for Caesars Entertainment. More recently, he was the lead negotiator for Las Vegas Sands in its pursuit of an integrated resort in Spain. The client list for Tottenham & Co. reads like a who’s who of quality gaming companies: MGM Resorts, Rank plc, Sun International, Kerzner International Resorts, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, just to name a few. He recently launched the Tottenham Report, European news and commentary, for CDC Gaming Reports. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros about his views on gaming in Europe and beyond at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Andrew Tottenham has dedicated his life to making gaming better. Founder of the British-based consulting group, Tottenham & Co., he spent five years in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s heading up the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) division for Caesars Entertainment. More recently, he was the lead negotiator for Las Vegas Sands in its pursuit of an integrated resort in Spain. The client list for Tottenham & Co. reads like a who’s who of quality gaming companies: MGM Resorts, Rank plc, Sun International, Kerzner International Resorts, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, just to name a few. He recently launched the Tottenham Report, European news and commentary, for CDC Gaming Reports. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros about his views on gaming in Europe and beyond at G2E in Las Vegas in October.

Ramesh Srinivasan was named president and CEO of Agilysys in January. Before joining Agilysys, he spent nine years with Bally Technologies, where he was instrumental in building a small systems unit into a $300 million annual powerhouse. He was later promoted to president, COO and finally CEO. At Agilysys, he is keenly focused on leveraging his comprehensive background in the gaming industry to drive the company forward as the industry’s leading hospitality technology provider. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Agilysys offices in Las Vegas in October.

GGB: Agilysys has a lot of technology solutions for the gaming industry. But there’s other companies that do that, too. What is it that differentiates Agilysys from your competitors?

Ramesh Srinivasan: Especially with respect to gaming, our history includes a lot of gaming DNA. For example, our InfoGenesis POS solution started with casinos as the primary users, and shortly after that, we added LMS property management with a large gaming customer base. In fact, nearly all our products have some measure of the gaming industry’s needs built into their DNA.

This gaming-centric focus is not just evident in our products, but also in our people. You will find a lot of the Agilysys team has 10, 15, 20 years’ experience in gaming, and that includes me. Of course, this deep industry experience also applies to the non-gaming hospitality industries we serve. In addition, Agilysys is the perfect size for our markets. We’re in the $100 million to $300 million annual revenue bracket, which means we provide a higher level of customer service than very large vendors. We are very close to our customers, and they each get a personal level of attention that only a company of our size can provide.

Lastly, the breadth and depth of the products and services that we offer also sets us apart. Many of our solutions have been in the marketplace for well more than a decade, and we are constantly adding new features and capabilities. This, combined with the fact that Agilysys is the only comprehensive solution provider to focus exclusively on the hospitality industry, is how we provide a clear advantage for our customers.

Even before you left Bally, there was a strong trend toward non-gaming revenue. How important do you think that is today?

It is no longer only about gaming spend; it’s about non-gaming spend as well, and that has always been the key area in which we play. Between our solutions for the non-gaming parts of the casino resort and our robust integration with casino systems, we understand what our casino customers need in order to track and grow non-gaming revenue.

To accomplish this, our customers tell us they need a single view of the guest. They need to understand how much the patron plays in the casino, and how much the patron spends outside the casino. At Agilysys, we offer not only hotel property management and point-of-sale systems, but we also have software solutions for managing golf, spa, retail and food service. So, we are in a position to bring all that patron data together to facilitate the desired single view of the guest.

In addition, we have integrations with casino management systems, and other solutions that our customers use. With a product like rGuest Seat, for example, we can help customers to better understand the guest. When a patron comes to the restaurant, we provide the ability to address them by name, to understand their preferences, their allergies, their favorite table, and the food they prefer. So, as non-gaming is becoming more and more important, our role becomes more and more important as well.

In evaluating gaming and non-gaming spend, profit margins in a restaurant are smaller on food, but larger on alcohol. How do you balance that, and give the casinos a good picture of their non-gaming spend?

It’s about understanding the guest’s behavior, understanding their preferences, and thus their value. The casino industry—as i

Ramesh Srinivasan was named president and CEO of Agilysys in January. Before joining Agilysys, he spent nine years with Bally Technologies, where he was instrumental in building a small systems unit into a $300 million annual powerhouse. He was later promoted to president, COO and finally CEO. At Agilysys, he is keenly focused on leveraging his comprehensive background in the gaming industry to drive the company forward as the industry’s leading hospitality technology provider. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Agilysys offices in Las Vegas in October.

GGB: Agilysys has a lot of technology solutions for the gaming industry. But there’s other companies that do that, too. What is it that differentiates Agilysys from your competitors?

Ramesh Srinivasan: Especially with respect to gaming, our history includes a lot of gaming DNA. For example, our InfoGenesis POS solution started with casinos as the primary users, and shortly after that, we added LMS property management with a large gaming customer base. In fact, nearly all our products have some measure of the gaming industry’s needs built into their DNA.

This gaming-centric focus is not just evident in our products, but also in our people. You will find a lot of the Agilysys team has 10, 15, 20 years’ experience in gaming, and that includes me. Of course, this deep industry experience also applies to the non-gaming hospitality industries we serve. In addition, Agilysys is the perfect size for our markets. We’re in the $100 million to $300 million annual revenue bracket, which means we provide a higher level of customer service than very large vendors. We are very close to our customers, and they each get a personal level of attention that only a company of our size can provide.

Lastly, the breadth and depth of the products and services that we offer also sets us apart. Many of our solutions have been in the marketplace for well more than a decade, and we are constantly adding new features and capabilities. This, combined with the fact that Agilysys is the only comprehensive solution provider to focus exclusively on the hospitality industry, is how we provide a clear advantage for our customers.

Even before you left Bally, there was a strong trend toward non-gaming revenue. How important do you think that is today?

It is no longer only about gaming spend; it’s about non-gaming spend as well, and that has always been the key area in which we play. Between our solutions for the non-gaming parts of the casino resort and our robust integration with casino systems, we understand what our casino customers need in order to track and grow non-gaming revenue.

To accomplish this, our customers tell us they need a single view of the guest. They need to understand how much the patron plays in the casino, and how much the patron spends outside the casino. At Agilysys, we offer not only hotel property management and point-of-sale systems, but we also have software solutions for managing golf, spa, retail and food service. So, we are in a position to bring all that patron data together to facilitate the desired single view of the guest.

In addition, we have integrations with casino management systems, and other solutions that our customers use. With a product like rGuest Seat, for example, we can help customers to better understand the guest. When a patron comes to the restaurant, we provide the ability to address them by name, to understand their preferences, their allergies, their favorite table, and the food they prefer. So, as non-gaming is becoming more and more important, our role becomes more and more important as well.

In evaluating gaming and non-gaming spend, profit margins in a restaurant are smaller on food, but larger on alcohol. How do you balance that, and give the casinos a good picture of their non-gaming spend?

It’s about understanding the guest’s behavior, understanding their preferences, and thus their value. The casino industry—as is true of other industries—is

Jeff Hartmann got his start in the tribal gaming industry at Foxwoods after he began his career at Price Waterhouse. He later moved to the Mohegan Sun, where he was president and CEO. In 2011, he took over the Revel casino in Atlantic City and later started the Hartmann Group. His organization has a joint venture with Foxwoods to build and operate a Foxwoods casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in October.

GGB: Tell us about the formation of the Hartmann Group.

Jeff Hartmann: We formed the Hartmann Group in 2012, and over the last couple of years we’ve had a lot of success. We do two things: We work with Native American and commercial casinos and do the Hartmann Group 360-Assessment, which is a deep dive on the complete operations—everything from operations to marketing to game protection to slot floor layout. And then we also focus on retail, dining and entertainment—what are the cutting-edge restaurants, entertainment and stores?

Non-gaming revenue is such an important element these days. How do you advise tribal casinos about how to enter that space?

It starts with the technology when the guest arrives. We need to recognize every guest. A lot of operators only focus on the gaming data, but we look at all the customer spend. What’s the holistic view of the customer and how do you acknowledge the guest? Are you using any retail beacons, and how do you recognize guests for some of their non-gaming behavior?

F&B is so important. The industry is moving away from food courts to food halls. In retail, the trend is now for personal shopping, so we try to bring some of that to the retail ventures.

It all starts with integration. You’ve got to have great service and all the touch points as well.

We look at the marketing data and reinvestment. We see a lot of tribal operators who get caught up unfortunately competing on price, like free slot play. We try to get them to focus on their products and their service and look at trends in their database.

How do you work with tribes? Each tribe is different and the approach has to be different.

I learned a long time ago you have to listen and ask questions, rather than tell the tribes what you have to offer. Tribes have been free of compensation for a long time, and now states are considering getting into the game or allowing other tribes to open casinos on non-tribal lands. There are additional pressures, so we try to get tribes to think less gaming-centric and more about the integrated resort. You have to take certain snippets of that if the tribes are in remote locations, but we try to help them think long term.

What has been a recent effort where you helped a client?

We recently worked for the Lucky Eagle Casino, which was facing the opening of the Cowlitz casino right in their market. We were able to come in and refine their operations and their marketing strategies. Some of the pundits said there would be a high-teens or low-20s impact on their revenue. We’re happy to say it was just a low-single-digit impact. We’re proud of the work we did at Lucky Eagle.

Tell us about the joint venture with Foxwoods in Biloxi.

It’s been a pleasure to reconnect with the tribe and Felix (Rappaport) and his team. That’s where I got my start, so it’s a great opportunity. Our project has 500 rooms, 70,000 square feet of convention space, 1,200 slots, 30 tables. It will truly have an authentic Gulf Coast experience. The site we have at Point Cadet is kind of like the Borgata site in Atlantic City. It’s on the back bay with great brands from the Gulf Coast. It will be an entertainment-centric experience. It’s been a fun project so far.

Jeff Hartmann got his start in the tribal gaming industry at Foxwoods after he began his career at Price Waterhouse. He later moved to the Mohegan Sun, where he was president and CEO. In 2011, he took over the Revel casino in Atlantic City and later started the Hartmann Group. His organization has a joint venture with Foxwoods to build and operate a Foxwoods casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at G2E in October.

GGB: Tell us about the formation of the Hartmann Group.

Jeff Hartmann: We formed the Hartmann Group in 2012, and over the last couple of years we’ve had a lot of success. We do two things: We work with Native American and commercial casinos and do the Hartmann Group 360-Assessment, which is a deep dive on the complete operations—everything from operations to marketing to game protection to slot floor layout. And then we also focus on retail, dining and entertainment—what are the cutting-edge restaurants, entertainment and stores?

Non-gaming revenue is such an important element these days. How do you advise tribal casinos about how to enter that space?

It starts with the technology when the guest arrives. We need to recognize every guest. A lot of operators only focus on the gaming data, but we look at all the customer spend. What’s the holistic view of the customer and how do you acknowledge the guest? Are you using any retail beacons, and how do you recognize guests for some of their non-gaming behavior?

F&B is so important. The industry is moving away from food courts to food halls. In retail, the trend is now for personal shopping, so we try to bring some of that to the retail ventures.

It all starts with integration. You’ve got to have great service and all the touch points as well.

We look at the marketing data and reinvestment. We see a lot of tribal operators who get caught up unfortunately competing on price, like free slot play. We try to get them to focus on their products and their service and look at trends in their database.

How do you work with tribes? Each tribe is different and the approach has to be different.

I learned a long time ago you have to listen and ask questions, rather than tell the tribes what you have to offer. Tribes have been free of compensation for a long time, and now states are considering getting into the game or allowing other tribes to open casinos on non-tribal lands. There are additional pressures, so we try to get tribes to think less gaming-centric and more about the integrated resort. You have to take certain snippets of that if the tribes are in remote locations, but we try to help them think long term.

What has been a recent effort where you helped a client?

We recently worked for the Lucky Eagle Casino, which was facing the opening of the Cowlitz casino right in their market. We were able to come in and refine their operations and their marketing strategies. Some of the pundits said there would be a high-teens or low-20s impact on their revenue. We’re happy to say it was just a low-single-digit impact. We’re proud of the work we did at Lucky Eagle.

Tell us about the joint venture with Foxwoods in Biloxi.

It’s been a pleasure to reconnect with the tribe and Felix (Rappaport) and his team. That’s where I got my start, so it’s a great opportunity. Our project has 500 rooms, 70,000 square feet of convention space, 1,200 slots, 30 tables. It will truly have an authentic Gulf Coast experience. The site we have at Point Cadet is kind of like the Borgata site in Atlantic City. It’s on the back bay with great brands from the Gulf Coast. It will be an entertainment-centric experience. It’s been a fun project so far.

The GGB Podcast features an interview with Lou DeGregorio, the founder and president of Shark Trap Gaming & Security Systems, about his new shufflers that he promises will revolutionize table games.

The GGB Podcast features an interview with Lou DeGregorio, the founder and president of Shark Trap Gaming & Security Systems, about his new shufflers that he promises will revolutionize table games.

Aristocrat has long been dominant in video gaming, but has been a late-comer to the reel games. After the purchase two years ago of VGT, whose strength was in reel games, things have changed. Jon Hanlin, Aristocrat’s VP of commercial strategy—gaming operations, talks with GGB about the new release of the RELM XL cabinet and the reel games that accompany it. It starts with the very successful Buffalo game and goes from there.

Hanlin, who he leads product and marketing strategy for the Gaming Operations Division, has wide operations experience with Caesars Entertainment, and explains why he believes Aristocrat will have a strong entry in the premium slot market with the new RELM cabinet. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Aristocrat headquarters in Las Vegas in October.

Aristocrat has long been dominant in video gaming, but has been a late-comer to the reel games. After the purchase two years ago of VGT, whose strength was in reel games, things have changed. Jon Hanlin, Aristocrat’s VP of commercial strategy—gaming operations, talks with GGB about the new release of the RELM XL cabinet and the reel games that accompany it. It starts with the very successful Buffalo game and goes from there.

Hanlin, who he leads product and marketing strategy for the Gaming Operations Division, has wide operations experience with Caesars Entertainment, and explains why he believes Aristocrat will have a strong entry in the premium slot market with the new RELM cabinet. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at the Aristocrat headquarters in Las Vegas in October.