Alliance
Set to Switch Name, Ticker
Alliance Gaming hopes a trip
down memory lane will give the slot machine
manufacturer a fresh start.
The
Las Vegas-based company said Monday it would
ask its shareholders to approve a name change
to Bally Technologies, which would reflect the
growing systems segment of the company.
Results
of the vote will be announced at Alliance's
annual shareholders meeting March 6. If approved,
the company will begin trading on the New York
Stock Exchange the next day under the symbol
BYI. It trades now as AGI.
Alliance
was known as Bally Gaming before a name change
in the 1990s that reflected the company's multifaceted
business operations. In 1975, as Bally, the
company was the first gaming company -- manufacturer
or operator -- ever listed on the New York Stock
Exchange.
Since
2000, however, Alliance has sold off its slot
machine route operations in Nevada and Louisiana,
a casino outside of Reno, and a German-based
slot machine unit in order to concentrate on
American-produced gaming equipment and management
systems.
The
company still owns the Rainbow Casino, a 35,000-square
foot riverboat in Vicksburg, Miss.
Alliance
spokesman Marcus Prater said the company will
continue to be a slot machine manufacturer.
But the systems division, which provides software
and equipment for all areas of casino management,
including accounting, slot machines and table
games, has become a much larger revenue producer
for the company. He said the company's systems
equipment is being used in more than 600 casinos
worldwide.
"Systems
are technology based and the name change reflects
the direction in which the company wants to
focus," Prater said.
All
of the company's gaming equipment is distributed
under Bally Gaming and Systems, a subsidiary
of Alliance Gaming.
"When
we had all the other divisions, the Alliance
name made sense," Prater said. "Changing
to Bally Technologies allows us to concentrate
on our core business."
The
name change also allows Alliance to shed a title
that hasn't had much good news in the past two
years. The company's stock price fell almost
75 percent in value in 2004 because of diminished
earnings.
In
2005, Alliance went through a management restructuring
in the early part of the year and spent the
last half deflecting criticism after delaying
the announcement of its year-end earnings almost
five months.
"As
a marketing person, the name change would allow
us a clean slate of sorts," Prater said.
Investors
have warmed up to Alliance of late. Shares in
the company hit a 52-week high Monday, closing
at $16.08 during on the New York Stock Exchange,
up 27 cents, or 1.71 percent. In April, Alliance
hit is 52-week low of $9.32.
Company
Chief Executive Officer Richard Haddrill said
the decision to refocus the company away from
multiple gaming disciplines necessitated the
name change.
"Given
our enhanced commitment to research and development,
the Bally Technologies name also more accurately
reflects our corporate identity as a true technology
provider," Haddrill said.
Most
of the major gaming equipment manufacturers
are in the early stages of developing server-based
gaming systems, which allows casinos to switch
out games and content on their slot machine
floor through a central computer. Prater said
a name reflecting technology might give Alliance
a boost in the endeavor.
"Most
slot players don't realize the machines are
all hooked to a network computer in some manner,"
Prater said. "We've been very successful
in placing the back-end systems."
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