5 QUESTIONS
Jeff Jordan
Managing Director , SlotCycle
Jeff Jordan has had a multi-faceted career that has touched just about every aspect of the gaming industry .
He started by managing slots for a number of high-profile properties before moving on to executive-level management for suppliers such as IGT , Bluberi and GameCo . Now , Jordan has launched SlotCycle , a revolutionary new platform for buying and selling used slots and casino equipment . Jordan spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros from his office in Las Vegas in March .
1
GGB : How did you come up with the idea for SlotCycle , and how does it work ?
Jordan : I came up with it when I was working on a project . I was looking at a Greenfield casino , and a gentleman asked me what I would do , and I said , “ I ’ d buy used slots given the low yields in the market .” So he wanted the budget , and we had to go out and look for used slots to develop that budget . It required calling a lot of people and really doing an investigative kind of buying . So I came up with this idea of having a marketplace where everybody could come as a community to buy and sell gaming equipment and
make it a lot easier and more transparent about what ’ s available in the marketplace .
2
You ’ ve referred to it as the eBay of slot machines and gaming equipment . Is that accurate ?
Yes , a bit , but we also developed a physical service . As we went out to the marketplace explaining what we had built with our software , we had lots of clients who said they loved the vision , but they ’ d like to see us step into their shoes as a seller on the platform . So we developed what we call White Glove Service , where we take in equipment on their behalf and turn around and sell it on the platform for them . So not only do we offer the platform , but we ’ re also eating our own cooking , so to speak , by selling on the platform .
3
So who are your customers now ? Obviously there ’ s a lot of turnover in the slot machine business , with a lot of new machines coming out . What do they do with the old machines ? We ’ re fortunate that we have in excess of about 50 customers so far that have engaged us in various ways . Some of our bigger customers that were very early and instrumental in our development are here in Las Vegas casinos , such as Penn Entertainment and Maverick Gaming . We also have a tribal customer in Cache Creek in California . So we ’ re fortunate to have some early customers that were very instrumental in getting us off the ground and into operations .
4
What other services do you offer to your clients ?
Typically in an engagement , we ’ ll pay for the transportation of the slot machines from a casino to our facility . Once they get to our facility , we ’ ll do some assessments of the inventory to see how complete or incomplete it is . Then we ’ ll work to figure out the best way to monetize that particular asset , whether that ’ s to sell its parts , or sell it as a whole game , and by the time we actually sell the game or the part , we ’ ve actually tested and certified that the equipment is working up to factory standards .
5
What are some of the accomplishments so far ? Obviously , turning over the slot machines and getting more money for the clients , that ’ s a big accomplishment . We ’ re about 20 months into operating , and we ’ re now operating in a 35,000-square-foot facility . So our team has a large footprint that we can use to leverage for different services and opportunities to service our clients . We ’ ve also launched our platform so that it ’ s actually functioning . We ’ ve got other sellers on the platform buying , and we ’ ve seen digital transactions where buyers and sellers are connecting to purchase things . We had one casino buy used casino furniture from another casino here recently on the platform . So we ’ re seeing different use cases develop as we grow . We also offer a feature we call the SlotCycle Wallet , and that ’ s where sellers of equipment can keep their money to buy other equipment on the platform and put it to use .
“ They Said It ”
“ If promotions are restricted or banned , there ’ s only one place punters will go — that ’ s the growing , unsafe , unregulated gambling black market .”
— Michael Dugher , chief executive officer of the Betting and Gaming Council ( BGC ), speaking out against calls for a ban on free bet promotions in the U . K .
CALENDAR
May 9-11 : SBC Summit North America , Meadowlands Exposition Center , East Rutherford , New Jersey . Produced by SBC . For more information , visit SBCEvents . com .
May 15-17 : Casino Marketing Boot Camp , General Managers Edition , Rolling Hills Casino Resort , Corning , California . Produced by J Carcamo & Associates . For more information , visit CasinoMarketingBootCamp . com .
May 23-25 : CasinoBeats Summit ( CBS ), InterContinental in St Julian ’ s , Malta . Produced by SBC . For more information , visit SBCEvents . com .
May 23-25 : Gambling & Risk Taking Conference , Park MGM , Las Vegas . Produced by UNLV ’ s International Gaming Institute . For more information , visit unlv . edu / igi / conference .
May 25-27 : Gambling Brasil , Frei Caneca Convention Center , Sao Paulo , Brazil . Produced by Afiliados Brasil . For more information , visit GamblingBrasil . com .
June 13-15 : Canadian Gaming Summit , Metro Toronto Convention Centre , Toronto , Ontario , Canada . Produced by the Canadian Gaming Association and SBC . For more information , visit canadiangamingsummit . com .
June 20-23 : International Gaming Summit , Culloden Estate and Spa , Belfast , Northern Ireland . Produced by the International Association of Gaming Advisors . For more information , visit TheIAGA . org .
July 18-19 : Casino Marketing & Technology Conference 2023 , Grand Sierra Resort and Casino , Reno , Nevada . Produced by Casino Marketing and Technology Conference . For more information , visit casinomarketingtech . com .
August 8-10 : OIGA Conference & Tradeshow , Cox Business Convention Center , Tulsa , Oklahoma . Produced by the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association . For more information , visit oiga . org / tradeshow .
September 19-21 : SBC Summit Barcelona , Fira Barcelona Montjuïc , Barcelona , Spain . Produced by SBC . For more information , visit SBCEvents . com .
8 Global Gaming Business MAY 2023