Bally Technologies

Template:Short description Template:About {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }} Bally Technologies, Inc. is an American manufacturer of slot machines and other gambling technology based in Enterprise, Nevada. It is owned by Light & Wonder.

The company was founded in 1968 as Advanced Patent Technology. It eventually changed its name to Alliance Gaming and in 1996 acquired Bally Gaming International, a former division of Bally Manufacturing. In 2006, the entire company adopted the Bally name.

Scientific Games (now Light & Wonder) acquired the company in 2014. Today, Bally constitutes one of the three brands of Light & Wonder, along with WMS and Shuffle Master.<ref name="2016 merger">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Advanced Patent Technology

Advanced Patent Technology was founded in 1968 by Jack Solomon and Alvin Snaper,<ref name=hoover>Template:Cite report Template:Subscription required</ref> entrepreneurs who held patents in fields including medicine, optics, and electronics.<ref name=riggs>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The company's stock was publicly offered the next year.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Its first 12 years were spent in the development stage.<ref name=hoover /> It boasted a portfolio of over 80 patents,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> but generated considerable publicity for five in particular: an ultrasonic fluidic fuel system for combustion engines, an ultrasonic endodontics device, a "louvered television screen", an ultrasonic meat tenderizer, and an ultrasonic dry cleaning machine.<ref name=metz>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Entry into gaming

Advanced Patent made its move into the gaming industry in 1979, acquiring United Coin Machine Company, one of the largest slot route operators in Nevada,<ref name=metz /> and announcing plans for the Colorado Belle hotel and casino in Laughlin, the first of a series of hotels to be built in the Las Vegas area.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> An obstacle arose in July 1980 in the form of an SEC investigation, alleging inadequate financial disclosure and sale of unregistered stock.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Under scrutiny from the Nevada Gaming Commission, Solomon was forced to step down as chairman, as a condition of licensing for the casino.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Three new directors were added in November to the company's board as part of a settlement under discussion with the SEC,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> but by March 1981, regulators still had questions about the company's public disclosure, and trading in the stock was suspended for 10 days.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The SEC investigation ended in 1983 with no further action against the company,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> while Solomon personally agreed to an injunction against any further securities violations, rather than fighting charges that he illegally sold stock in the company between 1975 and 1980 to raise money for its gaming ventures.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

A management shake-up in the wake of the SEC probe saw C. Richard Iannone installed as president in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> According to Iannone, he was told the company "won't last six months", but he cut expenses and restructured debt, effecting a turnaround by 1983.<ref name=riggs /> The company changed its name to Gaming and Technology Inc. in March 1983 to better reflect its focus.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The Colorado Belle, described as unprofitable,<ref name=riggs /> was sold the following year to Circus Circus Enterprises for $4 million.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Cal Omega takeover

On January 1, 1985, the company merged with Omega Enterprises, a manufacturer of video slot machines through its Cal Omega subsidiary, in a "reverse acquisition".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Gaming & Technology acquired Omega's assets, and Omega's shareholders received 72.5% of the company's stock.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> One of Omega's owners, Alfred Wilms, was named CEO of the combined company.<ref name=riggs />

By 1986, machine sales were in a slump, and slot route operations accounted for 80 percent of the firm's revenue, so the Cal Omega plant in Carlsbad, California was closed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The company changed its name again in 1988, to United Gaming Inc., acknowledging United Coin as its principal asset.<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref>

In 1989, United outlined a plan to become a major casino operator.<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> It opened a $40 million line of credit to finance the construction of five mini-casinos.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> It partnered with the developer of the under-construction Chaparral Casino to build and operate the property's casino and dining facilities,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and with another developer on the planned Double Eagle hotel and casino.<ref name=interview>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> It leased the casino at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada,<ref>Template:Cite report Template:Subscription required</ref> bought the Plantation Casino in Sparks, Nevada for $9.5 million,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and opened two small casinos in Downtown Las Vegas, Miss Lucy's<ref name=interview /> and the Trolley Stop.<ref name=yearend>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> Wilms pumped more money into the company, investing $10 million in June 1990 to raise his ownership stake to 54 percent.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

The company began restructuring its operations in summer 1990.<ref name=stutz>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> It abandoned the Double Eagle project after its development partner ran into financing difficulty,<ref name=yearend /> and withdrew from the Chaparral project because of its own financing problems.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> By the winter, it was missing payments to its creditors,<ref name=stutz /> but a debt restructuring was achieved in September 1991.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> United closed Miss Lucy's Casino in February 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

In 1992, United Gaming expanded to Louisiana, where video poker had been legalized the year before.<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> In August, it began operation of 600 machines at two race tracks, the New Orleans Fair Grounds and Jefferson Downs, and their eight off-track betting parlors.<ref name=fair>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> United also planned to install 1,000 machines at bars and truck stops in the state.<ref name=fair />

Kirkland-Fort Worth takeover

In 1993, United Gaming and Wilms reached an agreement with Kirkland-Fort Worth Investment Partners, a group affiliated with Texas investor Richard Rainwater, for a $5 million investment in exchange for 11 percent of the company.<ref name=completes>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Wilms owned 62 percent of the company, but agreed to give up control to Kirkland, allowing them to name 4 of the 7 directors, in exchange for the investment.<ref name=completes /> Concurrently, the company sold $85 million in convertible debentures.<ref name=completes /> Rainwater outlined a plan to "become a really large factor" in the gaming industry, looking for bargain-price casinos "in every jurisdiction".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Rainwater's level of involvement in United became a matter of some dispute. After George W. Bush's ties to Rainwater, a fellow member of the group that owned the Texas Rangers baseball team, became a campaign issue in the 1994 race for governor because of Rainwater's involvement in gambling, Kirkland head Joel Kirschbaum described Rainwater's interest in the company as "passive".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> But a later lawsuit by Bally Gaming alleged that United admitted downplaying Rainwater's level of control because Major League Baseball frowned on team owners being involved in the gaming industry.<ref>Template:Cite report</ref>

Within months of the Kirkland investment, United partnered in a bid for a gaming license in Evansville, Indiana, to build the River City Casino,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> was in discussions to acquire a stake in the under-development Diamond Jo Casino in Dubuque, Iowa,<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> agreed to buy a 45 percent stake in the under-construction Rainbow Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and agreed to invest $20 million for a 43 percent stake in Capital Gaming International, which was developing casinos with various Indian tribes and the Crescent City Queen casino in New Orleans.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

The company came under scrutiny in November for its relationship with Antoine Saacks, Assistant Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, who had worked as a consultant for United's video poker operation in Louisiana. Saacks was suspended and later fired for violating a department policy against officers working for video poker companies, and for his connection to Frank Caracci, a nightclub owner tied to the New Orleans crime family.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> A week after the scandal broke, the company pulled out of its deal with Capital Gaming; United said the timing was coincidental, but a Capital Gaming insider said the situation could impact licensing of the New Orleans casino.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

In March 1994, United bought 90 percent of USA Gaming of Native America, which had gaming development agreements with four Indian tribes.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> In June, United formed a joint venture with Casino Magic to build and operate a casino at Camptown Greyhound Racing in Frontenac, Kansas.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> In July, United agreed with Lone Star Casino Corp. to invest $15 million for a 50 percent stake in the Pine Hills Casino to be built in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Some plans did not pan out. In August, the River City Casino group withdrew its bid after receiving low marks from a local evaluation panel.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The company announced plans in September to wind down some of its smaller operations, closing the Trolley Stop in December 1995, ending the Mizpah Hotel lease in April 1996, and selling the taverns it had acquired in the course of slot route operations.<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> In December, the company decided, after performing due diligence, not to make an offer for the Diamond Jo.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

With Kirkland's backing in place, analysts expected the company to execute a major merger.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> United was cited as a possible suitor to buy Casino Magic,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Caesars World,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> or Circus Circus.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

In December 1994, United changed its name to Alliance Gaming Corporation, to reflect the company's "revitalization and redefinition".<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Bally Gaming acquisition

Alliance began seeking ways to apply its marketing strength in the equipment business. Company executives felt there was a market opportunity in new riverboat and Indian casinos, where a slot maker could compete for "shelf space" without having to convince casino managers to switch from machines built by IGT, the market leader with a 70 percent share.<ref name=orwall>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> CEO Steve Greathouse felt that machines could be made more fun, more interactive, and therefore more profitable, in contrast with IGT, whose executives believed that slot gamblers were "not playing to be entertained".<ref name=orwall /> Starting from scratch against such a dominant competitor was daunting though, so Alliance looked for an acquisition. The natural choice was Bally Gaming International, the number two player with a 15 to 20 percent share.<ref name=orwall />

Kirschbaum had contacted Bally Entertainment about a merger as early as 1993, but Bally's CEO rebuffed him because of Alliance's heavy debt load and lack of earnings, suggesting they "develop their company a bit".<ref name=battle>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Talks began again in October 1994, until Alliance broke them off in February 1995.<ref name=battle /> Bally reached out to Alliance the next month through Rainwater, who discussed possibilities including a three-way merger with Autotote, a maker of lottery and pari-mutuel wagering technology.<ref name=battle />

In June 1995, with Bally already considering a buyout offer from WMS Industries, Alliance made an unsolicited offer of $210 million in cash, stock, and assumed debt.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Days later, Bally's board of directors accepted WMS's offer of $120 million in stock, conditioned on Bally selling its German subsidiary, Bally Wulff, for at least $55 million.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Bally called Alliance's offer "illusory and highly conditional" on financing,<ref name=edwards>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and said that WMS stock would give shareholders more long-term value than Alliance stock,<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> and that a combination of Alliance and Bally would be so undercapitalized as to raise licensing concerns among gaming regulators.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

Alliance undertook a hostile takeover effort,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> suing to block the WMS merger, announcing a tender offer of up to $55 million for 4.4 million shares of Bally, enough to give it a controlling interest,<ref name=edwards /> and seeking consent from Bally's shareholders to replace a majority of the board.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Bally and WMS fired back with separate lawsuits seeking to block Alliance's tender offer.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Alliance raised its offer to $70 million for 5.4 million shares,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and WMS, in turn, raised its total bid to $142 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October, Alliance announced that it had been tendered 5.8 million shares,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and alleged that Bally and WMS had reached an impasse over Bally's failure to find a buyer for Bally Wulff.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> The next day, Bally's board capitulated, canceling the deal with WMS and approving a merger with Alliance on terms similar to those of the tender offer, with a total value of $215 million.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

After the two companies agreed to revise the deal down to $185 million to ensure the combined company would have enough cash to grow,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> and Alliance raised $166 million in financing,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> the acquisition was completed on June 18, 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Bally was organized as three divisions within Alliance Gaming: Bally Gaming, which made slot machines, Bally Systems, which made casino accounting and management systems, and Bally Wulff. Bally Gaming and Systems were combined into a single unit in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

In 1999, Bally launched Thrillions, a wide-area progressive jackpot system,<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> as part of a strategy to focus on games to be installed on a revenue-participation bonus instead of being sold outright to casinos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The game initially launched with a Betty Boop theme, and later added variants based on Blondie<ref>Template:Cite press release Template:Subscription required</ref> and Popeye.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

This period also saw the introduction of the EVO VIDEO game platform and the EVO 3, which was created in partnership with Microsoft.<ref name="Marfels">Christian Marfels; 2007, Bally: The World's Game Maker, 2nd ed., Bally Technologies Inc., Las Vegas Template:ISBN</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Alliance Gaming, SEC 10-K, FY 2001, p. 3.</ref>

The company began seeking buyers for its slot route and casino operations in late 1999, to narrow its focus on gaming technology.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After six months, no acceptable bids were received for the Rail City and Rainbow casinos.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> An agreement was reached to sell United Coin to a pair of Iowa riverboat casino operators for $118 million,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but Alliance backed out of the sale a year later because of increased profits at the subsidiary.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The 2000s

Bally took the publicly traded company from the brink of NASDAQ delisting in 2000 to record revenues and profits just two years later. On December 12, 2002, Alliance Gaming moved from NASDAQ to the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker symbol “AGI”.

The effort to divest non-core assets resumed in July 2003, with agreements to sell United Coin for $127 million to Century Gaming, the largest slot route operator in Montana,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Bally Wulff for $16.5 million to German company Orlando Management, and Alliance's 49 percent share in the Louisiana video poker operation to New Orleans–based Gentilly Gaming.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In December, Alliance agreed to sell the Rail City casino to Sands Regent for $38 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Meanwhile, Alliance considered acquiring Multimedia Games, a leading maker of Class II machines for Indian casinos and bingo halls, but the asking price was too high.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> Instead, the company in 2004 acquired Sierra Design Group for $165 million,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> giving it a strong entry into the markets for Class II machines, video lottery terminals, and centrally linked progressive machines for Washington state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Determining that its Evo platform lacked the horsepower to produce satisfying video games,<ref name=bigger /> Bally re-engineered its entire line of video and reel-spinning slot machines. Alpha, its new platform based on Sierra's operating system,<ref name=bigger>Template:Cite news</ref> dramatically improved Bally's entire portfolio of games, leading to the release of Hot Shot Progressives, a new series of video and reel machines. Overtaking the Blazing 7s line, Hot Shot Progressives quickly became the company's biggest seller and the most successful product launch in the company's history. Bally also introduced several new gaming platforms, including the V20 upright, the dual-screen V20/20 video slot, the S9E reel-spinner and the CineVision wide-screen video gaming device. As of July 2009, more than 550 casinos worldwide utilize Bally systems products running on more than 400,000 slot machines.

In 2006, Alliance changed its name to Bally Technologies, Inc., discontinuing the use of Bally Gaming and Systems as a subsidiary, to present a unified identity.

In 2007, Bally Technologies celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Bally trademark with a series of special customer events in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Chicago. Also, the company commissioned Christian Marfels, author of the book Bally - The World's Game Maker<ref>Template:Citation</ref> to write an updated second edition,<ref name="Marfels"/> a copy of which was given to every Bally employee.

In 2008, Bally acquired CoolSign, a multi-media management tool, from Planar.Template:Cn On the games side, in 2008 and 2009, Bally released a number of new gaming products, including its new Digital Tower Series, whose games feature dynamic, interactive and animated top-box displays. Additionally, in 2009 the company released its new "Jumbo" cabinets, which measure nearly eight feet high by over three feet wide. In late 2009, Bally displayed their new Pro Series V22/22 upright and Pro Series Slant Top slot featuring a 22" game display and a 26" top display. Bally engineered reduced power consumption in these new platforms. Bally also developed Ultimate Texas Hold'em in 2009.<ref>Justia</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2010, Bally sold the Rainbow Casino to Isle of Capri Casinos for $80 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On November 25, 2013, Bally acquired SHFL entertainment, a global gaming supplier operating in five primary categories: Utility products (including Deck Mate card shufflers and roulette chip sorters), proprietary table games, electronic table systems, electronic gaming machines (including video slot machines) and iGaming.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2014, Bally won four awards in the 'Slot Floor Technology Awards' as well as earning two spots in the annual ‘Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming Technology Products' awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In August 2014, Bally agreed to be acquired by Scientific Games (now Light & Wonder), maker of lottery and sports betting equipment, for $3.3 billion plus $1.8 billion in assumed debt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The acquisition was completed on November 21, 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Today, Bally constitutes one of the core brands of Light & Wonder.<ref name="2016 merger"/>

Today

Bally Technologies is focused on the casino gaming industry, specifically slot machines. Acquisitions of such companies as Casino Marketplace, MindPlay and Advanced Casino Systems Corporation (ACSC) enabled Bally to grow. In terms of computing software infrastructure, the Legacy Unix SDS slot system is still the industry standard. The company’s past acquisitions include the now-defunct firm Honeyframe Cashmaster of Telford, England, and Micro Clever Consulting (MCC) of Nice, France.<ref name="Marfels" /> Those two firms made casino-management software.

Bally MultiConnect (BMC) is a distributed enterprise-wide slot management system designed for multi-property casino firms. This enables centralized accounting and analysis, thereby providing a single view of the entire gaming operation. This enables the casino owner to have complete control over every aspect of the casino, including game functionality, attributes, revenue, and payout of winnings.