Foundation is literally what its name implies — it is the bedrock upon which we build . It collects the data . Now we will create applications that replace every function of a CMS , but we also invite any third party to do a better job than what we do . We ’ re open to creativity .
“
Foundation is literally what its name implies — it is the bedrock upon which we build . It collects the data . Now we will create applications that replace every function of a CMS , but we also invite any third party to do a better job than what we do . We ’ re open to creativity .
”
— Noah Acres , Chief Operating Officer , Acres Manufacturing and get onto a desktop computer to get information , and then go back out and please the player — to where that information is inherently presented on a mobile device to the person in the moment , not just something they have to dig out and think about .” He adds that Foundation is capable of calculating the best course of action related to that information , and lay out the best actions for that host to take . “ All of that information about the player is automatically ingested , automatically calculated ,” he says , “ and the things that that host or service person should do for the player are laid out for them on the smartphone . It tells them what to do next .” For Acres Manufacturing , what to do next is to educate operators on the potential benefits of the Foundation technology and what will follow in the next few years . John Acres — who was inducted into the AGA Gaming Hall of Fame in 2016 and has , so far , 149 patents to his name — is relying on the partnership with his son Noah to move the technology forward .
“ I can provide the experience of where the bottlenecks are going to be . From my experience with EDT and Mikohn and Acres Gaming , I ’ ve got some better insights as to what the stumbling blocks down the road might be and how we can work to avoid those before we ever get there ,” John Acres says . “ Noah , on the other hand , brings that new energy , that new look at things ... I never participated in social media , so he ’ s dragging me kicking and screaming into it , but it ’ s natural for him .”
He ’ ll soon have a lot more help , as this year ’ s IPO — expected to raise as much as $ 60 million — will mean expansion for Acres Manufacturing . “ We ’ re on track ( with the IPO ),” John Acres says . “ We ’ re going to use the proceeds to build Coherence , and to further our patent portfolio , which we fully expect to quadruple over the next four or five years , and to hire great people — because technology is just what people use to create the player experience . We need people who will continue to evolve with that technology .
“ We want to make sure that Foundation and Coherence feed into that when that becomes the norm . We don ’ t want to be stuck in a world where the machines that we build today look an awful lot like the machines of 20 years ago . We ’ ve got to go where the rest of the world already is , or we ’ re just going to disappear .”
For now , Acres Manufacturing is working with Penn National to bring cashless game functionality to what eventually will be all of Penn ’ s properties . “ I believe we ’ re installed on around 15,000 machines so far , and we ’ ll probably equip 20,000 machines this year and 100,000 next year ,” John Acres says . “ But you won ’ t see those big examples until we get a significant installed base , and until we get all the regulations in place .
“ So , we ’ re still on the runway ready to take off . But you ’ ll see us in the air next year .”
29 Global Gaming Business FEBRUARY 2022