Chris Wieners: “Velvix aims to be a major player in the area of tribal gaming”

Chris Wieners, Managing Director at Velvix, sat down with Focus Gaming News to talk about the company’s attendance at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (NIGA).

Exclusive interview.- Velvix has confirmed its appearance at the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (NIGA), a highly expected event for the company.

To talk about this presentation, Chris Wieners, Managing Director at Velvix, granted Focus Gaming News an exclusive interview where he also shared his views regarding the situation in Ukraine and how it affected the industry.

How are you preparing for the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention (NIGA)?

Our team has been hard at work to ensure a successful presentation at NIGA. Being our inaugural event, we are placing a major emphasis on the show to ensure that attendees will have the opportunity to view our full suite of products, including our cabinets and most recent game titles. 

We will be bringing various team members from our USA and overseas offices including those involved in game design who will be at the booth to talk with operators and collect candid feedback on our games. 

Velvix is rooted in design via player and operator feedback – we aim to showcase this point through engaging in discussions with our game design team directly at the show.

Is there any alliance in particular that you would be interested in achieving at NIGA?

In addition to developing new tribal partnerships, we will work to build relationships with top technology providers who will assist us in continuing the improvement of our physical cabinet product. 

Velvix aims to be a major player in the area of tribal gaming and we see NIGA 2022 as the key launchpad for our brand to develop new relationships in this space. 

Can we expect Velvix to introduce any new innovative content at the showcase?

Absolutely! In addition to the formal launch of our premium curved-display cabinet product, CurlX, we will be unveiling a range of game titles not previously released at our last showcase during G2E 2021. We’ll be unveiling titles that were created after the initial feedback at G2E, as well as updates and enhancements to existing titles. Visitors will be able to trial BaoBao King, our flagship link progressive title that introduces a new and exciting ‘battle feature’ that aims to create engagement between random players on the bank. 

You recently announced that the “CurlX” cabinet product will be available to North American casino operators from June 2022, how do you prepare this launch?

This is an exciting time for us, in that we’re going to be showcasing all of our cabinets for the first time in the USA on actual gaming floors from Q3 of this year. Preparation for the CurlX launch has included considerable testing, re-testing and validating the product for acceptance on the floor. For example, we’ve been in touch with several operators to ensure that the cabinet not only looks amazing but that peripherals are adaptable to ensure the cabinets’ quick approval and launch when we are ready to go live. 

We’ve also worked to ensure our partners (i.e. supply chains) are ready, meaning that we can fix, manage and adjust any machine allowing for quick speed to market in the regions we plan to launch, including California and Oklahoma to start.

“We’re going to be showcasing all of our cabinets for the first time in the USA.”

Chris Wieners, Managing Director at Velvix.

How does the situation in Ukraine affect the industry?

The horrible situation in Ukraine has had repercussions that will affect us (and others in our space) for some time to come. While it’s a bit remiss to talk about business considering what exactly is unfolding across the world, we have seen compounding issues that started with the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to this day. These include supply chain issues that affect items such as parts and supplies, as well as ongoing labour shortages in the United States. 

I am positive the gaming industry will prevail over these challenges, but it definitely requires considerable planning and forethought to ensure we provide the best possible experiences for our customers and their patrons.