TROPICANA ENTERTAINMENT INC. ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH SOCIAL GAME DEVELOPER RUBY SEVEN STUDIOS
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (April 13, 2015) – Tropicana Entertainment Inc. (“Tropicana”)announced today it has entered into a strategic relationship agreement with San Francisco-basedmobile and social games developer Ruby Seven Studios to develop and launch an online socialgaming site. The agreement will allow Tropicana to bring immersive, casino stylebranded gaming experiences to its existing customers, and will enable players around the worldto access Tropicana’s free casino style games via mobile, Facebook and personal computers. “We’re very excited about this venture,” said Tony Rodio, President and CEO of Tropicana.“We’ve been studying the social gaming sector for some time, and are enthusiastic about thepotential to provide even more entertainment options by pooling Tropicana’s talent for deliveringexciting land-based gaming and entertainment with Ruby Seven Studio’s extensive expertise insocial and mobile game publishing.” “We chose to partner with Tropicana because, in addition to representing a globally known andrespected brand, Tropicana shares our dedication to delivering fun and entertainment throughexceptional product standards and forward-thinking approaches to customer experience,” saidMichael Carpenter, CEO & Founder at Ruby Seven Studios. “We are already fast at work ontraditional casino style games with unique new twists to engage and entertain existing and futureTropicana audiences.” About Tropicana Entertainment Tropicana Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded company that, through its subsidiaries, ownsand operates eight casinos and resorts in Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, NewJersey and Aruba. Tropicana properties collectively have approximately 7,166 employees, 5,525rooms, 8,035 slot positions and 304 table games. The company is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.Tropicana is a majority-owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (NASDAQ: IEP). To learnmore about Tropicana, visit our website at Tropicanacasinos.com About Ruby Seven Studios Founded in 2012, Ruby Seven Studios is one of the leading social casino publishers on iOS,GooglePlay, Amazon Kindle and Facebook. The company is focused on bringing gamesdesigned for traditional casino environments to the free-to-play social casino experience. RubySeven’s top titles include TimeQuest, Big Spin Bingo, Magician Casino, BlockBuster Slots,Ruby Seven Video Poker and Fire and Ice Slots. To learn more about Ruby Seven Studios andtheir games, visit rubyseven.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release containsstatements relating to the Tropicana’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, events andplans that are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, without limitation,statements regarding the anticipated benefits of entering the social gaming sector and partneringwith Ruby Seven Studios, and the expected advantages for its current and new customers. Theseforward-looking statements are based upon assumptions made by Tropicana as of the date of thispress release and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could causeactual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include,without limitation, risks relating to Tropicana’s ability to successfully launch and operate a socialgaming website, risks that Tropicana may not realize the anticipated advantages of entering thesocial gaming sector, legal and regulatory requirements, and the additional risk factors describedin Tropicana’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tropicana expresslydisclaims any duty to provide updates to any forward-looking statements made in this pressrelease, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH GALA CORAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 3, 2014 — SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Social casino app developer and publisher Ruby Seven Studios today announced the launch of “Magician Casino”, a free-to-play mobile slots app featuring three titles from the popular UK bookmaker Gala Coral: “The Magician”, “Wild Magic”, and “Jokers Gold”. The game is available on both Google Play and Apple iTunes for smartphone and tablet users. Download on Apple iTunes: http://goo.gl/PIo7mX Download on Google Play: http://goo.gl/5MdanA Ruby Seven Studios has experienced tremendous growth in the past year as evidenced by its success with TimeQuest Slots, which was named one of the top 5 overall games on Google Play, as well its completion of four partnerships with real-money casino game design partners. Magician Casino is the latest in a series of free-to-play adaptations of real-world casino games brought to market this year by Ruby Seven Studios. Players of Magician Casino are greeted by “The Magician”, who accompanies them through an array of exciting slot machines featuring expanding wilds, free spins, and several unique mini-games. All of the games are adaptations of Coral’s own games IP to the international social market. In all machines, The Magician works his magic to bring excitement and wonder to the screen through immersive, 3-D animations and storylines, which is not typically found in most free slot apps. The initial mobile launch features three games, with several new games from Coral’s own games development studio scheduled for release in the months following the initial launch. Mark Kemp. E-Gaming Director at Coral comments “The games in the ‘Magician Casino’ social casino app are feature-rich, casino-style slots with colourful HD graphics and we believe that alongside Ruby Seven’s excellent adaptation work to convert these games, the quality is above anything else currently available in the social gaming markets.” Mark Kemp adds, “Ruby Seven Studios expertise in developing and publishing social games alongside our own real money games development experience and expertise has created an outstanding product in ‘Magician Casino’ for the international social gaming market. This is an excellent platform to build on and, coupled with Coral’s own extensive and expanding library of UK slots and casino games, will allow us to reach international markets and customers, specifically in the US and Australia, as well as the UK with our newest and best games.” Coral is one of the world’s foremost Betting and Gaming Companies offering a broad range of products through 1850 betting Shops; over the Internet, on the telephone and on mobile/tablet devices. Its goal is to give customers the best betting and gaming experience whenever, however, and wherever they decide to play; the launch of the “Magician Casino” app in partnership with Ruby Seven Studios is its latest step toward achieving that goal. Ruby Seven Studios was founded in 2012 by Michael Carpenter, the former VP of Social Product Operations for PopCap Games, and Jugul Thachery, co-founder of leading Indian casual games developer ChaYoWo Games. Their combined vision is to bring innovative gaming products to the social casino game genre with high-quality titles and fresh twists on classic casino games. With nearly 100 employees worldwide, Ruby Seven Studios has released over 25 titles for Facebook and mobile platforms. Top titles include TimeQuest Slots, Fire and Ice Slots, Big Spin Bingo, and Ruby Seven Video Poker featuring Multi- Strike Poker. To learn more, visit www.rubyseven.com
PARTNERSHIP WITH 2 BY 2 GAMING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RUBY SEVEN STUDIOS ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH CHICAGO’S 2 BY 2 GAMING Partnership will bring well-known real-money casino titles from 2 By 2 Gaming to social/ mobile. July 3rd, 2014– SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Ruby Seven Studios announced a new partnership today with Chicago based casino content creator 2 By 2 Gaming to develop a new social mobile casino app. This is the fifth partnership with real-money gaming companies Ruby Seven Studios has sealed since the start of 2014. Other partners include Grand Vision Gaming, Gala Coral, Leading Edge Design, and investor Rush Street Gaming. Ruby Seven Studios will combine the design expertise of 2 By 2 Gaming and recent partner LED Gaming to create a new social casino app featuring select well-known real-money casino titles by 2 By 2 Gaming such as Time Treasures and Pinocchio’s Fortune as well as LED Gaming’s popular titles Multi-Strike Poker and Wild Tiles. This is the first collaborative game between Ruby Seven Studios and more than one of its partners. CEO Michael Carpenter commented on the partnership. “Ruby Seven Studios understands that proven real money casino game design creates the best game experience. The social casino game we’re creating with 2 By 2 and LED Gaming will be very innovative and bridges the divide between land-based and social casino players.” 2 By 2 Gaming’s founder and CEO Shridhar Joshi is an industry veteran bringing over 20 years of experience to the partnership. Joshi has held senior-level executive positions at WMS and has over 40 issued patents in the real-money gaming space. “We at 2 By 2 Gaming are excited to be working with LED Gaming as well as Ruby Seven to bring a new casino experience to the worldwide market of mobile and social casino,” said Joshi. “We have some fantastic ideas and are looking forward to bring them to the social mobile arena in a collaborative manner.” 2 By 2 Gaming is a leading independent slot game development company that develops content for landbased gaming and legal online wagering. With an experienced group of talented professionals that are responsible for some of the most popular casino gaming brands, 2 By 2 Gaming is focused on innovation and player excitement. Several of 2 By 2 Gaming’s popular titles are currently deployed on the casino floors with leading gaming companies, including Bally Technologies (NYSE: BYI) and Incredible Technologies. Ruby Seven Studios was co-founded in 2012 by the former VP of Social Product Operations for PopCap Games, Michael Carpenter, and founder of leading Indian casual games developer ChaYoWo Games, Jugul Thachery. Their combined vision is to bring innovation to the social casino game genre with high-quality titles and fresh twists on classic casino games. With over 100 employees worldwide, Ruby Seven Studios has released over 25 titles for Facebook and mobile platforms. Top titles include TimeQuest Slots, Slots of Plunder, Fire and Ice Slots, Big Spin Bingo, and Cats vs Dogs Slots. To learn more about Ruby Seven Studios and their games on iOS, Android, Kindle, and Facebook, visit www.rubyseven.com.
INTERVIEW WITH RUBY SEVEN STUDIOS’ CEO MICHAEL CARPENTER
Article Originally Published By Jon Jordan To the outsider, the world of social casino games appears to be something of a lottery. There are big winners – notably IGT’s $500 million acquisition of DoubleDown in 2012 – but much of the sizzle surrounding the potential of real-money social gaming (aka gambling) in 2013 appears to have evaporated. Still, there are 11 social casino games in the top 50 US top grossing iPhone chart, including two in the top 10 – so it’s clear there’s plenty of cash in the sector. Estimates suggest the market, which is focused on English language countries such as US, UK, Canada and Australia, is worth around $3 billion, and is projected to rise to over $5 billion by 2016. No Education Required “Social casino games are the best monetizing mobile games,” comments Michael Carpenter, CEO of boutique social casino developer Ruby Seven Studios. “Card collection games might have higher ARPDAU but they have a much smaller audience.” With a design office in San Francisco and production in India, the 120-strong studio is focused on soft money casino games, in which players can only win in-game currency. It currently operate nine titles across 35 releases, including iOS, Android, Amazon and Windows 8. The games mainly use Facebook Connects for their social layer, although Ruby Seven does have its own inhouse chat system. “Social casino games are very casual. And you don’t have to teach players that they need coins to use a slots machine and if they don’t have coins, they have to buy them,” Carpenter points out. “That’s more logical than teaching them they have to buy virtual fuel for their tractor.” What Plays in Las Vegas Of course, every market has its challenges, and social casino is only different to other mobile games in terms of the importance of real-world casino brands that people have spent billions of dollars playing in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. “It’s hard to compete with land-based brands like Cleopatra Slots,” Carpenter says. More than just brand awareness, however, he says that licensing real world slots games for mobile also provides the advantage that players get the same play experience. “If a land-based slots game doesn’t work, it doesn’t survive on the casino floor,” he says, explaining the sector’s strong evolutionary filter for providing the highest monetizing experiences. In the Nexus Of course, having a license doesn’t guarantee success. The skill of companies like Ruby Seven is providing the wider mobile user experience in terms of the presentation, audio, graphics and overriding metagame, which keeps people playing and paying day-in and day-out. “The early social casino companies didn’t understand the game side,” observes Carpenter. “It’s all about entertainment so the metagame is as important as the casino game.” Indeed, he argues this is one of the advantages social casino games have over real-money casino games.” It’s difficult to make $2 last two hours in a casino, but in one of our games, you can make it last two weeks,” he points out. And even now, this intersection between monetization maths and game art is a valuable skill. Ruby Seven works with real money companies such as UK bookmaker Gala Coral and US real-world casino game companies LED Gaming and Grand Vision. In the case of Grand Vision, Ruby Seven has already released a version of its Fire and Ice Slots game, while the LED Gaming hook up will see the release of games based on its Multi-Strike Poker game. The Next Big Roll The market is hotting up in other ways too. Zynga has snapped out of a long decline, revitalizing its casino games, which it now views as one of its strategic pillars, while the likes of Big Fish, GSN and Playtika all feature strongly on app store charts. But Carpenter says he enjoys the competition. “I like competing against giants. We have people who have worked at the likes of Zynga and GSN. We can be more nimble.” Yet, social casino games also compete in some of the most expensive markets in terms of user acquisition. “UA is fundamental to any company in the F2P space,” Carpenter says. “You don’t get much more casual than a slot game. All our advertising is aimed at the 21+ age group, so we have a broad potential audience but you have to be very targeted in your approach.” And there are other ways in which casino games are similar to general F2P games. “Our games are always in development,” he says. “We update two to three times a month. This is a long journey.”
PARTNERSHIP WITH LED GAMING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5th, 2014. Social mobile casino creator Ruby Seven Studios has announced a new partnership with renowned casino game developers Leading Edge Design (LED Gaming), best known for their popular casino titles Cleopatra WildTiles and Multi-Strike Poker and influential founder and prominent game designer, Larry DeMar. DeMar got his start in game design developing classic arcade titles such as Defender, Stargate and Robotron: 2084, which went on to be some of the best-selling arcade games of the 1980s. For 35 years, DeMar and his team have been industry leaders, creating innovative game design for pinball machines, video games, and gaming machines. DeMar is a member of the Pinball Hall of Fame, has 38 issued US Patents and has received 20 best-of-industry awards for his games. Most recently, DeMar was a founding partner of Spooky Cool Labs, now a part of Zynga. The partnership between LED and Ruby Seven Studios includes a publishing agreement to take LED games, starting with Multi-Strike Poker, to social and mobile platforms. The social and mobile casino segment has experienced tremendous growth, with projected combined revenue of $2.9 billion in 2013 alone. Michael Carpenter, CEO Ruby Seven Studios commented on the new partnership. “Ruby Seven Studios is very excited to be working with LED’s incredible game design talent. We can’t wait to take Multi-Strike and other great LED titles to social platforms.” “This partnership combines the Casino and game-making expertise of LED with the social and mobile operation and expertise of Michael and his Ruby Seven team,” said Larry DeMar, President of LED Gaming. “We can’t wait to bring hit games like Multi-Strike Poker to this market along with some ideas that are totally new.” Leading Edge Design was founded in 1999 and is one of the chief suppliers of innovative casino games played on casino floors across America. With a mission to bring new types of games to the casino industry, LED’s game development staff has over 100 years of combined experience making award-winning, industry-leading games. With 16 patented games and many patents pending, LED is dedicated to creating new, innovative, and unique gaming concepts and continually pushing the boundaries of the casino gaming experience. Ruby Seven Studios was co-founded in 2012 by the former VP of Social Product Operations for PopCap Games, Michael Carpenter, and founder of leading Indian casual games developer ChaYoWo Games, Jugul Thatchery. Their combined vision is to bring innovation to the social casino game genre with high-quality titles and fresh twists on classic casino games. With nearly 100 employees worldwide, Ruby Seven Studios has released over 25 titles for Facebook and mobile platforms. Top titles include TimeQuest Slots, Slots of Plunder, Fire and Ice Slots, Big Spin Bingo, and Cats vs Dogs Slots. To learn more about Ruby Seven Studios and their games on iOS, Android, Kindle, and Facebook, visit rubyseven.com