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NEWS BU LLETIN ..,. STATE ASSOCIATION HEADS CONVERGE IN VEGAS ... Fortytwo attendees representing 24 states, plus Canada and New York City, met in Las Vegas on Jan . 21-23 for AMOA's Council of Affiliated States Meeting. Video lottery, to no one's surprise, garnered much of the attention. But another topic raised some eyebrows: AMOA president Craig Johnson's comments on a Dec. 16 meeting between himself, former president Gene Urso, and officials from Capcom and Capcom USA. The subject : Capcom 's providing of product to two route operating companies, Diversified Coin and Hustle Enterprises, and charges that they received Street Fighter Champions under more favorable conditions than other route operators. We'll have Johnson's full comments on the meeting, a response from Capcom , and complete coverage of the state association meeting next month . ..,. DISAPPOINTMENT IN WEST VIRGINIA ... On Jan . 21 , Gov. Gaston Caperton halted implementation of statewide video lottery, citing too many unanswered questions. Influencing factors include controversy over the decision to select one supplier for both the central computer system and the terminals, plus federal investigations into video lottery. Charleston businessman Fred Haddad , a member of the seven-member Lottery Commission , resigned his post on Jan. 20 overt he sole-source issue, maintaining that free choice of terminals is the best path . Lottery director Butch Bryan is convinced that a single supplier is the most secure route. VLC of Bozeman , Mt. , and IGT of Reno, Nev., both submitted bids to the commission. Loss of expected video lottery revenue ($50 million) will mean tightening the state's budget belt . ..,. NOVA SCOTIA RESTRICTS VLTS ... The fi rst North American government-run video lottery program has run into a snag . Following a Jan. 20 announcement by Premier Don Cameron , the video lottery terminals in Canada's Atlantic province of Nova Scotia will be restricted to bar and tavern locations, effective Feb. 8. The machines were previously placed in a vari ety of locations, including corner stores, laundromats, bowling centers, rental stores, and restaurants. Public pressure to limit machine access has been mounting in the province. In neighboring New Brunswick , where video lottery is a government/private enterprise partnersh ip (coin machine operators) , Finance Minister Allan Maher told reporters : " It 's regrettable that Nova Scotia has run into the difficulties they have had . However, we feel our system is working quite well." He credited New Brunswick 's strict controls for that program 's success. VLTs in both provinces are administered under the auspices of the Atlantic Lottery Corp. , which also administers pro grams in Newfoundland (government-run) and Prince Edward Islan d (gove rnment/private enterprise) . ..,. INDUSTRY LOSES TWO ... We were saddened to learn that two of our beloved industry friends passed away in January, Dick Needleman and David Rockola. Needleman was a man who attracted friends, especially in the industry he loved . He was with Atari for many years and remained in touch with those he worked with. Rockola, founder of the Rock-Ola Jukebox Company, passed away at age 95. They will be greatly missed . ..,. NAMCO BUYS ALADDIN'S CASTLE CHAIN ... Namco's purchase of the Baily's Aladdin 's Castle arcade chain is now a "done deal ," according to Namco-America coin-op vice president Kevin Hayes. The acquisition of Aladdin 's 225 arcades gives Namco Operations (the company's operating wing) a total of 275 arcades in 47 states, with "99 percent of them located in malls," he said. In this month's " News" section , we reported that WMS Industries, too, was vying for the chain , but its agreement was terminated when Namco offered to pay a higher price. " The intent at this point is to keep both the Aladdin's Castle business and the name," Hayes said . "Aladdin 's Castle is headquartered in Chicago and will remain there. We do intend to join Namco Operations and Aladdin 's Castle, but that will be sometime in the future." Meanwhile, WMS Industries president/CEO Neil Nicastro said his company was interested in buying Aladdin 's Castle because " it's an existing business with existing locations in malls. That 's much different than going into the street business and competing with operators for street locations." As for the possibility of WMS acquiring another existing arcade chain, should the opportunity arise, Nicastro said, "I think if a businessman sees an investment that could generate a good return , he has to look at it. That 's not limited to the coin machine industry; it's true in any business." ACME BIGGER THAN EVER ... The American Coin Machine Expo, sponsored by AAMA and Play Meter, has already booked 875 booths, surpassing last year's total of 770. A special feature is Redemption City, an area for manufacturers and suppliers of redemption equipment and merchandise, which will include 150 booths. For information on ACME, contact WT. Glasgow Inc. at (708) 333-9292. AAMASAYS " NO " TO MAGAZINE, "YES" TO MOVE .. . AAMA president Bill Rickett announced that the AAMA board of directors has voted down plans to publish an AAMA-sponsored trade publication. "After considering the pros and cons, the board has decided that there are other avenues available to us to promote the coin-operated amusement industry," explained Rickett. The board has asked AAMA's general public relations/cause-related marketing committee to review internal promotional ideas and an outside PR firm report and make recommendations to the board at its meeting , to be held in March. "A top-notch industry promotion program is one of our top priorities," Rickett added. The AAMA board , meanwhile, in a very close vote, opted to move the AAMA offices from its current Washington D.C. suburb to Chicago, a more central location. There is no date set for the move but it should be before the end of the year. SEGA SETTLES SUIT ... Sega Enterprises Ltd . of Tokyo, Japan has settled a lawsuit brought by Magnavox and Sanders Associates. The two had sued Sega, claiming patent infringement on its video games. The patent the companies alleged was an infringement became public domain in 1988, but they claimed that Sega had violated the patent when it was still in force . Sega will pay $13 million, while its American subsidiary, who was also named in the suit , will pay the remaining $1 .25 million of the settlement amount. WIEDERAENDERS ESTABLISHES MEMORIAL FUND ... Paul Wiederaenders of Irem has established the Linda Wiederaenders Memorial Fund at Illinois' Loyola University Medical Center in honor of his late wife, Linda , who underwent single lung transplant surgery there in 1992. The fund will help defray the cost of maintenance and medicine for patients who need financial help following transplant surgery. Donations may be sent to Loyola University Medical Center, Development Office, 2160 S. First Ave., Maywood , IL 60153, Attn: Suzanne Saletta . NSM EXTENDS FINANCING PROGRAM .. . NSM-America was so overwhelmed with the response to its 'O"k" financing program, scheduled to end on Jan. 31 , that it decided to extend it another month. The program allows qualified operators to finance any number of new NSM jukeboxes for 12 months at no interest , 18 months at four percent , or 24 months at under six µercent. TAITO ADDS TO STAFF ... Jim Belt has joined Taito as its coin-op sales manager. Jim spent 10 years with Bally/Midway, three years with Wi lliams, and most recently was with Kaneko. Taito has also added Carlos Laguardia to the sales force; he'll be handling North and South American territories. In addition , Taito has made some key personnel changes : Yoshi Nakanishi now serves as vice president of coin-op sales, Larry Stal mah as vice president of manufacturing , Anita Platacis as sales administrator, John Pi pp as distribution and parts manager, Ed Manning as parts assistant, Paul Torres as technical service manager, and Rich Zver as treasurer. Gail Smolen remains involved in coin-op. CALL AMUTRONICS TOLL-FREE ... At press time, Jim Pietrangelo of Amutronics, a new redemption manufacturer, called to tell us he now has a toll-free number (800) 945-3224. See more about this company in our "News" section. PLAY METER MAGAZINE , February 1993, Volume 19, No. 3. Copyright 1993 by Skybird Publishing Company. PLAY METER MAGAZINE (UPS 358-350) is published monthly, except for the two issues in Janua ry. Pu blish ing office : 6600 Fleur de Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124 . MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184, USA . Phone : 504/488-7003 ; FAX 504/488-7083. Subscription rates: US. and Canada-$60. Advert ising rates are available upon request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION . The editors are not responsible for unsol ici ted manuscr ipts . PLAY METER MAGAZINE buys ALL RIGHTS. unless othe rw ise specified , to accepted manuscripts, cartoons, art work , and photographs. Second-class postage paid at New Orleans , LA 70113 and add itio nal ma iling off ices. POSTMASTER Send Form 3579 to Play Meter. P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans. LA 70184 . PLAY METER 3 FEBRUARY 1993