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Atlantic City Sands Hopes Slot Expansion Pays Off1 July 2002ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – As reported by the Press of Atlantic City: "With its remaining 26 gaming tables crammed into the far end of the casino floor, Sands Casino Hotel this weekend hopes to begin cashing in on its radical move to jettison dozens of blackjack, roulette and craps tables. "The casino is finishing installation of an additional 435 cutting-edge slot machines, including a 90-day city exclusive on the American Bandstand game. "`This is the first big step to bring more excitement, more fun for our customers,' President Herbert Wolfe said. "Sands majority owner Carl Icahn hired Wolfe in March, asking him to reverse the casino's decade-long slide in profitability. "…A month into his new job, Wolfe said he would discard two-thirds of Sands' gaming tables, dramatizing the city's increasingly heavy tilt toward more profitable slot-machine revenue. "Sands paid about $4 million for slot leader International Game Technology of Reno, Nev., to build truckloads of its latest and hottest games, such as My Rich Uncle, Tailgate Party, Enchanted Unicorn and Rich Girl. "As a reward for the big order, IGT granted Sands' request to be the city's exclusive carrier of American Bandstand all summer "…Most of Sands' new games are nickel denomination, boosting the casino's percentage of nickels to 30 percent compared to an average of 20 percent at other casinos, said Tom Reale, executive director of slot operations. "… Sands' table games, meanwhile, seem like an afterthought on the casino floor. With only 26 of them, however, they remain busy, enabling Sands to keep a $25 minimum most times…" |