LV company announces major order from Station

Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001 | 10:50 a.m.

The stock of Acres Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas advanced 15 cents per share, or 7.7 percent, to $2.18 this morning after the firm announced a big order from locals gaming giant Station Casinos Inc.

Acres said Station is buying $21.8 million of Acres Advantage slot bonusing and promotion products under an exclusive deal for its Palace, Boulder, Texas, Sunset and Santa Fe Station casinos. The deal also includes the Green Valley casino now under construction.

"This deal is a real breakthrough for us," said Bud Glisson, Acres' chairman and CEO. "It gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the power of Acres products with Station, the premier provider of casino entertainment to the Las Vegas locals market."

Station gained "certain exclusive rights to use certain Acres products in a defined geographical zone within the Las Vegas metropolitan area" -- not including the Strip and downtown Las Vegas, Acres said.

While Acres' revenue fluctuates quarter-to-quarter based on the timing of orders, the Station deal is significant. Acres reported revenue of only $13 million for the six months ending Dec. 31.

Glisson said the Station contract as well as deals with IGT and MGM MIRAGE give it a record backlog of $39.8 million.

The number of slot machines using the Acres Advantage bonus promotion system is expected to grow from about 14,000 machines at June 30 to about 48,000 machines during the next year, Acres said.