Merit Entertainment launched two new products at the recent AMOA show to great acclaim: the Megatouch Entertainer, which combines music and games into one Wallette unit; and the Megatouch Firefly, Merit’s portable, wireless, handheld entertainment system (available in 2008).

JPM International has announced a partnership with Betfred, one of the UK’s leading independent bookmaker. The deal will see JPM’s offer an extensive range of skill with prizes games (SWP) through its patent-pending Gameology system. Since the company formed in 1967 by industry pioneers Fred and Peter Done, BetFred is now one of the top four bookmakers in the UK.

OmniTicket Network, a leading provider of admission and venue management systems, has been appointed by Singapore GP Pte Ltd as exclusive ticket distributor for the 2008 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

IMA’s new exhibition hall has already hosted the International Trade Fair for Visual Communication, which was also under the management of IMA Director Petra Lassahn, and was found to be ideal.

Merit Entertainment has introduced its new ION 2008 software to the US market. UK and international versions will be available to operators early in the new year. The 2008 release is considered one of Merit’s strongest ever. New content elements have also been introduced on 30 ever-popular existing games, including Photo Hunt, Trivia Whiz and Hollywood Match.

Just months after being named the Association of Exhibition Organisers’ ‘Trade Show of the Year’, ATEI, ICE and ICEi have scooped a second prestigious accolade. The exhibitions, collectively known as the ‘London Show’, were presented with the Silver Award in the 2007 Event Awards Best Business Exhibition category at an awards ceremony, which took place at London’s Natural History Museum in September.

Games Media has been awarded an agreement to supply an integrated digital solution for commercial trial with Admiral Taverns, the UK’s largest independent tenanted and leased pub operator, managing 2,600 sites throughout the UK.

Harry Levy Amusements has appointed 37-year-old Elliot Reid to its sales department. Elliot, who is married with three children, will be largely focussed on the UK market, with a brief to get out and visit customers both inland and on the coast.

TransAct Technologies Incorporated, a global leader in market-specific printers for transaction-based industries, has received thermal lottery printer orders valued at approximately $7.7 million.

JPM International has launched a new game for interactive platforms based on the famous darts-based TV quiz show Bullseye. In JPM’s new game, players must skillfully throw darts and answer a series of questions to win a cash prize.

Global VR has announced that the newly released EA SPORTS NASCAR Racing Version 1.1 will support a location’s ability to link up to 10 game cabinets. Currently, EA SPORTS NASCAR Racing is the only game to support this number of linked cabinets, allowing players to challenge a veritable team of players, making the experience more exciting for players and financially rewarding for operators.

In 2008 Ireland’s Coin-Op Expo celebrates its 29th birthday, when it will be held on March 4-5. Over the years it has had a number of name changes, from Coin-Op to AmusExpo to AmEx, with the 2008 event being titled Coin-Op Expo - AmEx 2008! There have also been a number of venue changes from Leopardstown Exhibition Centre to the Burlington Hotel and finally to the Green Isle Hotel.

Aristocrat Technologies Europe has reinforced its presence in Bulgaria following the opening of the Nymphes Princess Casino in the town of Svilengrad. Owned by the Pleasure Company AD, the casino features 30 Aristocrat slot machines including 16 Zorros, eight Outback Jacks, three Big Bens and three Golden Gongs.

UK-based family attractions specialist Innovative Leisure enjoyed an extremely successful three days at the recent Leisure Industry Week (LIW) show, with numerous operators visiting the company’s stand to view a wide range of attractions on display. “We were talking to people virtually non-stop for the duration of the show,” said Managing Director Phil Pickersgill.

Novomatic, together with its Polish branch ATT S.A., subsidiary of the Novomatic sister-holding C.S.C. Casino Systems, celebrated a great show appearance at Poland’s Surexpo from 18th-20th October 2007 in Warsaw. Novomatic’s Hot Spot machine, was awarded the show’s Grand Prix for the most successful AWP-machine.

Suzo-Happ Group has acquired Chinatec Industries, a China-based manufacturer of parts and components used in the gaming, amusement and transportation markets. Chinatec is a long-time Suzo-Happ supplier that will now be part of the Suzo-Happ Group, a portfolio company of Pfingsten Partners, L.L.C.

LAI Games USA launched two new games at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) trade show held in Orlando, Florida last month. Chuckles the Clown is an entertaining new ticket redemption game for children, that’s easy to play.

Taiwan-based Jumbo Technology Co. has chosen Money Controls’ Ardac Elite bill acceptor for its latest video bingo machine. Established in 2000, Jumbo designs and manufactures professional gaming and bingo products.

Games Media, has been awarded agreements to supply an integrated digital solution for commercial trials with four major pub retailers at the forefront of digital development: Enterprise Inns, Greene King, Orchid Group, and The Spirit Group, spanning both the managed and leased/tenanted sectors. Between them, these four pub retailers control over 11,000 pubs, representing approximately 20% of the total U.K. pub market.

The BV100 is one of the latest in the product range from the Innovative Technology Group and upholds their tradition of being exceptional value. The company has recently undergone some reorganisation in order to progress and develop, and these improvements have been carried through to the end products.

Bally Wulff has incorporated many new ideas into the Rio Bravo video slot machine for the Spanish market. For example, there is the funny meerkat payout or the exciting card shooting feature, which allows the player to multiply wins. In addition, attractive main prizes range between Euros 120 and 1,000, according to the legislation in each respective province.

Rio Bravo combines mechanical reels in the bottom game and animated video technology in the top game: it starts with the bottom game on a classic win line of up to three different stake levels. To play in the top game, the player collects the necessary bonus points at the bottom first, which can later be used with the risk feature.

The popular US television show Wheel of Fortune celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Stern Pinball celebrates this achievement with a pinball machine which is perfect for all locations – particularly street sites. In many bars in the US, the game show is shown five nights a week.

Laurel Pub Company and Gamestec, the UK’s leading gaming and amusement machines operator have teamed up to secure a commercial risk and reward deal, the first of its kind since the implementation of the Gambling Act in September 2007.

CashCode has created a dedicated Global gaming group within the Crane Payment Solutions infrastructure to better support the specific needs of gaming manufacturers and operators worldwide.

UK cue sport cloth manufacturer Milliken Woollen Speciality Products has been awarded approved status by the Deutsche Billard Union (DBU). It is a significant business coup for Milliken - Germany being the largest European market for cue sport cloth outside the UK - and closely follows the company’s appointment of Busch Billards as its German distributor.

Suzo’s Robert van Enkhuijzen attended the first AWP/gaming show in Romania held in Bucharest in September.

Gamestec has appointed Stuart Ross as Group Managing Director. Ross has more than 20 years commercial, operational and management experience in major logistics and retailing companies, including Joint-Managing Director of Iceland Frozen Foods Ltd and Group Supply Chain Director for T&S Stores plc. He has also previously held the positions of Supply Chain & Distribution Director for Tesco Stores plc and Managing Director of Exel Consumer Europe

Taking centre-stage on the Money Controls stand at G2E is Ardac Elite, its top of the range bill and ticket acceptor. Since its debut at last year’s G2E, Ardac Elite has undergone rigorous testing with OEMs and has also been tested in a series of high-profile field trials in casinos around the world. The test results were impressive and have led to Ardac Elite being approved by several major OEMs, with retrofit programmes being carried out in every one of the casinos taking part in the trials.

OmniTicket Network has secured the contract to supply a complete ticketing and access control system to one of the most prestigious new attractions currently being built in Asia. The Singapore Flyer, a 150 metre-diameter giant observation wheel located in Marina Bay, Singapore’s prime waterfront central business district, is set to be one of Asia’s most visible iconic visitor attractions.