Mikohn Gaming

Mikohn Gaming was a company founded Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1986 to produce original slot machines and signage for casinos. ^[1] Formed by John Acres and Mike Stone, the company's principal activity was to develop, manufacture and market branded slot machine and table games, gaming machines, gaming products including signage, progressive jackpot systems, and table game management systems. ^{[2] [3]} The company was restructured and renamed to Progressive Gaming International Corporation (PGIC) in 2005, and was publicly traded on NASDAQ with the trading symbol PGIC. At its peak, the company had about 300 employees and had offices in various other cities around the world. It went bankrupt in 2009.

Products

Some of the slot machine game themes produced by Mikohn Gaming included several that were based on well-known brands, including: ^[1]

• Several games produced by Hasbro:
  • Trivial Pursuit
  • Clue
  • Yahtzee
  • Battleship
• The rock band Kiss
• The comic strip Garfield

The Garfield game faced some criticism over the potential for it inappropriately appealing to children. ^[4]

Timeline

• 1986: Mikohn is founded in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 2005: Mikohn is restructured and renamed to Progressive Gaming International Corporation (PGIC), and was listed on NASDAQ with the trading symbol PGIC. ^[1] Part of the restructuring included buying VirtGame, a company that made slot machines using a central server-based system architecture with downloadable content, for $20 million in stock swap value. ^{[5] [6]} At its peak, the company had about 300 employees and had offices in various other cities around the world. ^[1]
• 2006: PGIC introduces Rapid Bet Live, a system for live real-time sports and race betting that supports betting on details within ongoing games, launching the system at The Palms Hotel and Casino, where it proves popular. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]} The system receives the "Product of the Year Award for 2006" by Casino Journal and is extended to support wireless mobile betting devices. ^[12]
• 2007 PGIC's Rapid Bet Live system is pulled out from The Palms without explanation. ^[13]
• 2007: After failing to prevail in litigation against the game maker Derek Webb in which it had alleged patent rights violations by Webb's Three Card Poker game, PGIC agrees to pay a $20 million settlement for alleged anticompetitive behavior in attempting to enforce patent rights claims that were not valid. ^[14]
• 2007: PGIC's Table Games Division, including the rights to all of PGIC's specialty table game titles, is sold to Shuffle Master for an upfront payment of $23.4 million and future payments, with an estimated net value between $37.4 million and $46.5 million. ^[15]
• 2008: Having difficulty maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements for public trading amidst a general slowdown of the gaming industry during the Great Recession, ^[3] PGIC conducts a 1-to-8 reverse stock split. ^[16]
• 2009: PGIC files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, listing assets of $263,600 and unsecured debts of $5.6 million. ^{[3] [17] [18] [19]} Most of the company's assets had been sold to International Game Technology (IGT) in a foreclosure sale just before the bankruptcy declaration. ^{[17] [19] [20]} The company's largest unsecured creditor was Hasbro, to which it owed $1 million from a 2007 lawsuit settlement. ^[17]

References

1. "Mikohn Gaming Family of Slot Machines and Slot Games History and Information". Slot Machine Makers. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
2. "Mikohn Gaming Corporation" . Retrieved 2011-05-31.^{[ dead link ]}
3. "IGT Acquires PGIC Assets". Global Gaming Business. February 3, 2009.
4. "'Garfield' slots face scrutiny". Las Vegas Sun . May 13, 2003.
5. Progressive Gaming International Corporation (January 24, 2005). "Progressive Gaming Intends to Acquire VirtGame" (Press release) – via Casino City Times.
6. Progressive Gaming International Corporation (February 22, 2005). "Progressive Gaming International to Acquire VirtGame – Technology to be Used for Central Server-based Slot Game and Sports Betting – Driving Towards the Next Generation of Integrated Casino Management Systems" (Press release) – via U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
7. "Palms Casino to test Rapid Bet Live". Bookmakers' Review. December 16, 2005.
8. Bustillo, Miguel (April 1, 2006). "When You Wager, He Wins". Los Angeles Times .
9. "Live mobile betting at Palms". Casino City Times. October 31, 2006.
10. Haney, Jeff (March 20, 2006). "Jeff Haney tries to keep up with a rapid-fire betting option introduced two weeks ago at the Palms race and sports book". Las Vegas Sun .
11. Herz, Stal (January 13, 2006). "Enhanced Betting Takes Sports Wagering To The Next Level". Doc's Sports Service.
12. "Progressive Gaming wireless product approved". Casino City Times. December 22, 2006.
13. Greenberg, Herb (March 29, 2007). "Progressive Gaming: Rapid Bet Live Pulled from The Palms". Seeking Alpha .
14. Stutz, Howard (November 7, 2007). "Progressive agrees to pay $20 million to end lawsuit". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved August 13, 2018.
15. "Progressive Gaming, Shuffle Master sign deal". Casino City Times. September 28, 2007.
16. "Progressive Gaming (PGIC) Plans 1-for-8 Reverse Stock Split". Street Insider. September 2, 2008.
17. Stutz, Howard (March 20, 2009). "Progressive Gaming International files for bankruptcy". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved February 27, 2023.
18. "Breaking News 41590457". Las Vegas Review-Journal .^{[ dead link ]}
19. Wahba, Phil (March 20, 2009). "Update 1 – Progressive Games files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy". Reuters .
20. Skariachan, Dhanya (January 20, 2009). "IGT buys rival Progressive Gaming's operating assets". Reuters .

External links

• Official site ^{[ dead link ]}
• Mikohn Slots – Mikohn Slot Machines archived company profile from Slots Hero from July 2006