IGT’s EZ Pay™ installations in three more states close out a highly successful year for the product

Reno.
January 2nd , 2002
 

    IGT capped a year of demand for its EZ Pay™ Ticket System-equipped gaming machines with the first installations at casinos in Atlantic City, Colorado and Indiana.  Additional installations of EZ Pay machines at casinos in Southern Nevada and Manitoba, Canada, brought the total installed base of the ticket-in ticket-out machines to more than 34,000 units in 58 locations worldwide.

    Bally’s in Atlantic City became the first casino there to offer EZ Pay technology.  Bally’s offers 54 of the machines, all video nickel games, and said it intends to convert up to 4,200 slots to the EZ Pay system, after the machines pass a 60- to 270-day test period by the Casino Control Commission.  Park Place Entertainment, which owns Bally’s, plans to expand EZ Pay installations to its other Atlantic City casinos - Caesars, Claridge and Hilton - by the end of March.

    “We’re very pleased with the progress EZ Pay technology is making in every gaming venue where it’s been introduced,” said Rich Pennington, IGT’s Senior Vice President of Product Management.  “The response to ticket-in ticket-out technology has been positive from customers and casino operators, which include Park Place Entertainment properties and a host of others.”
 

IGT EZ Pay™ Installations

 Other December EZ Pay installations included:

• The new Green Valley Ranch casino in Henderson, Nev. - 2,000 machines connected to the EZ Pay System;
• Forty machines at the Avi Casino in Laughlin, Nev., and 43 machines at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm, south of Las Vegas;
• Sunset Station in Las Vegas - 361 machines;
• Blue Chip casino in Indiana - 127 machines;
• Isle of Capri in Colorado - 38 machines;
• Two casino properties in Manitoba, each with 140 machines.

    EZ Pay technology combines ticket printers with traditional machine hopper pays to improve the cashout function on a gaming machine.  Casino operators can program a machine to pay a portion of its payout in coins and the rest as a ticket.  That ticket can be redeemed or played in a variety of ways.  It can be reinserted in other EZ Play machines, exchanged for cash at a casino cashier, cashed by casino floor attendants with wireless validation units, or even held by the player for use at a later time.  The system can also be programmed to pay out tickets only, with the hopper as a backup.

     IGT is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of microprocessor-based gaming products and software systems in all jurisdictions where gaming is legal. 

For more information on International Game Technology, visit the company web site at www.igt.com