JCM Global was present at last month’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. At its booth, the company exhibited a range of advanced technologies and solutions for both the casino floor and count room, including digital signage and systems for cash and mobile transactions.
During the expo, Yogonet spoke with Dave Kubajak, SVP of Sales, Marketing, and Operations at JCM; and Juan Pablo Farcuh, Commercial Manager of Mercado Gaming, the official reseller of JCM In Latin America.
Kubajak and Farcuh shared insights not only into JCM’s novelties but also into the various markets the brand is present in, or expanding into, including North America, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
What was your impression of this year’s G2E?
Dave Kubajak: The show this year was amazing, we had so many customers. The foot traffic in our booth was very intense. I am so pleased, compared to years past, with the number of customers that we had coming in.
We saw plenty of people from North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. We pretty much covered the whole map by the end of the show. It’s unbelievable.
What were some of the highlights for this edition?
Dave Kubajak: The big theme for us at JCM is always about hospitality and showing our appreciation to our customers. When our customers come in, we always try to have a lot of seating. We have a coffee bar, we have snacks for them. We want them to know how much we appreciate their business.
On the product side, we always try to bring innovation and show our customers something new. Some of the novelties we had this year included clear transparent signage. We won ‘Most Innovative Product of The Year’ last year for that technology. We’ve taken it a step further, and now we have it designed for the front of buildings. You can build the exterior of a building out of transparent glass with LEDs embedded into it, turning the entire front of a building into one giant TV screen.
Along with that, we have the transparent circle technology. This is for atriums, lobbies, hotels, convention centers, and any space where you want to create a unique environment that people have never seen before. This lets you do that in a very cool way. Digital signage is a big focus for us this year.
What other major areas of focus can you highlight for us?
Dave Kubajak: Our robotics technology is something JCM has brought to the industry that nobody else has. When you look at large casinos, the amount of cash that they have to process and handle is bigger than any bank that you’ll find, unless it’s kind of a central bank or a large regional bank. Casinos process more cash than anybody in the world.
The robotics automation we brought over from our industrial side uses robots that typically in the past have been used to build cars. They have 20-year lifespans; they’re meant to run 20 hours a day, non-stop, flawlessly. That product has been installed in Detroit’s Motor City Casino for over a year now. Over 200,000 cash boxes have been processed on that product at Motor City. It’s a huge win for us.
Are you seeing interest from other operators looking to leverage these solutions, both in North America and elsewhere?
Dave Kubajak: Absolutely. And as you said, not just in North America. We’re also seeing the large casinos that are in Asia and some of the large casinos that are going to be built in Europe and the Middle East that are looking at that kind of technology. Everybody is always afraid to be the first. People always say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be the first’, but now that we have a casino that’s been running it for a year and they were the first, everybody now realizes that it works.
What about Latin America?
Juan Pablo Farcuh: Latin America is very different from the United States, Asia, Europe, and Australia. They are markets that follow trends, always looking to the north, so to speak. What we focus on in Latin America is more related to post-sales, technical service, and maintenance.
We help ensure that the gambling hall itself, through the technology already installed, increases profitability as well as improves customer contact. Our focus is more oriented towards that. Although casinos in the region want to integrate new technologies, the path is slower.
Is there still an appetite for these solutions despite the slower pace of adoption?
Juan Pablo Farcuh: Even though it’s somewhat lagging behind, I would say there still remains also a focus on Latin America for these technologies. JCM is the number one worldwide casino brand. Casinos always seek to have it in their gaming room; operators want to have that equipment integrated.
Which markets offer the greatest potential for JCM’s products?
Juan Pablo Farcuh: The Latin American market, as I said before, is a market that follows trends by integrating new equipment. JCM is a benchmark in technology, so the customer always aspires to have the brand integrated into its operation.
At Mercado Gaming, we promote and push that integration of the JCM brand, whether it is with a new device or with a post-sales and technical service device so that the operator continues to carry the brand.
It is very important for JCM the presence of Mercado Gaming because even though the volume of new units is not as high when compared to the United States and Asia, it is still relevant to keep the brand alive in the operator.
This post was originally published on here
