International Game Technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| International Game Technology | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Public (NYSE: IGT) |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | William S. Redd |
| Headquarters | Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. |
| Industry | Gaming technology |
| Products | Slot machines, gaming software/hardware |
| Employees | 4,500(2007) |
| Website | www.igt.com |
International Game Technology is a Reno, Nevada based maker of slot machines and other gaming products. The company also operates a facility in Las Vegas, Nevada and has branch offices around the United States. Presently, IGT also has offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Africa. For purposes of facilitating operations in Latin America, IGT also maintains a presence in South America. [1]
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[edit] History
IGT was founded by William S. Redd in 1975 as A-1 Supply. The name was changed to SIRCOMA in 1979 and finally International Game Technology in 1981.[2]
On October 27, 2003, IGT acquired Acres Gaming, a slot machine and gaming software development company. Acres continues to operate as a subsidiary of IGT.
On August 25, 2005, IGT acquired WagerWorks, a San Francisco, California based company that provides software for online casinos. Wager Works has exclusive rights to provide online versions of slot machine games like Wheel of Fortune, I Dream of Jeannie and The Price is Right. [3]
On December 21, 2006, IGT completed its acquisition of Venture Catalyst Incorporated, changing its name to Mariposa Software Inc. and selling its gaming consulting division to a group of its previous management. Mariposa Software continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of IGT, enhancing IGT's positioning as a single-source supplier, offering a complete package for all of a casino's gaming & profit operations.
Further expansion in the Class III market has led IGT to New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, along with the cruise ship industry. According to New Jersey and Pennsylvania law, IGT cannot enter without a distributor; in accordance to state law, AC Coin bought Class III IGT machines and is now entering them into the New Jersey and Pennsylvania market under the AC-Coin/IGT name. IGT had a similar problem in the Oklahoma market when a new state compact was introduced allowing Class III vendors to enter Native-American Indian Oklahoma casinos (where before, only Class II games were allowed); in accordance to this compact, the casino had to offer an electronic back-end system to monitor the hard-meters within the game. IGT also offers the IGT Advantage System, which is very expensive, thus prompting smaller casinos (which are the majority of Oklahoma's 95+ casinos are) to find independent companies to monitor the meters.
[edit] Technology
Created the Slot Accounting System (SAS) protocol. One of IGT's most notable technologies is EZ-Pay, their ticket-in, ticket-out system.
[edit] TV and Film themed slots
IGT is notable for its large stable of licensed television and motion picture brand slot machines. Some of these television and movie themed slot machines include:
- Jeopardy
- Wheel of Fortune
- The Dating Game
- The Newlywed Game
- The Price is Right
- Family Feud
- The Joker's Wild
- Sale of the Century
- The Twilight Zone
- I Dream of Jeannie
- Bewitched
- The Addams Family
- The Munsters
- Elvira
- Soul Train
- American Bandstand
- New Year's Rockin Eve
- Censored Bloopers
- I Love Lucy
- Laverve & Shirley
- Gilligan's Island
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- Star Wars (Multiple themes)
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- The Terminator
- Alien Vs Predator
[edit] WagerWorks
WagerWorks does not allow USA based players to play for real money on their software. They provide software to some of the following gaming operators:
- Virgin
- Cashcade
- Skybet
- Paddy Power
WagerWorks has offices in San Francisco, London and Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The London location is the game studio and also head UK office. Leamington Spa is the base for Technical and Customer Services.
