IGT to provide gaming system for Cosmopolitan

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Gaming equipment maker International Game Technology announced a deal Thursday to provide a server-based gaming system to the under-construction Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which will link slot machines at the Strip resort expected to open in December.

The system, which could connect games from multiple slot machine companies to a central server, allows for better game management. IGT has a similar system at Aria, which connects about 50 percent of the resort's slot machines, and recently installed the system at the Monte Carlo.

IGT also said its slot machines would encompass a majority of the Cosmopolitan's casino floor.

No terms for the agreement were released.

The $3.9 billion, 2,995-room Cosmopolitan includes a 100,000-square-foot casino.

Many slot machine makers have yet to agree on ways to connect machines to server-based systems.

Earlier this month, IGT announced a plan for a field trial test at The Orleans where an IGT server-based system will connect with a competitor's system.

Reno-based IGT has slowly been rolling out its server-based system into various markets in the past year. Last month, the company announced a deal to place the system at a casino in France.

The company has placed its server-based system at Ameristar St. Charles (Missouri), Barona Resort (San Diego), Colusa Casino (Northern California), FireKeepers Casino (Michigan), MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City Casino (Detroit), and the Imperial Palace Biloxi (Mississippi).

"The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is now going to be part of this ongoing momentum of operator flexibility, functionality, value and player choice, all driven by IGT and the open network," IGT Chief Executive Officer Patti Hart said in a statement.

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas CEO John Unwin said having a server-based gaming system in place when the casino opens was an important product the resort, which is not connected with any other Strip resort, needed for customer marketing purposes.

"When our doors open, we're confident we'll be offering our players the best casino experience possible," Unwin said.

Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Joel Simkins said casino operators had been wary of server-based gaming, which has been under development much of the past decade. A system at the Cosmopolitan might serve as a good proving site for IGT's system.

"Our recent conversations with slot managers in many regional gaming markets have led us to believe that there is more interest of late in deploying test banks of this technology," Simkins said.