NCET

Despite nearly a half-decade of development and millions of dollars invested in research and testing, slot machine manufacturers are still a few years away from bringing server-based gaming — often referred to as downloadable technology — to casino floors.

Wall Street has viewed the technology, which could let casino operators better manage their slot machine area and have greater flexibility in what they can offer customers, as the next wave in gambling.

Conceivably, downloadable technology would allow casino managers to change a slot machine’s games, denominations, bonus payouts and promotions from a central computer server rather than requiring technicians to perform the work manually.

Investors believe equipment makers will harvest a financial windfall from a cycle in which older games are supplanted by newer models. Profits could be similar to the monetary heyday the manufacturers experienced earlier in the decade when cashless gaming — ticket in-ticket out technology — energized a mass replacement of slot machines and fueled record earnings and chart-topping stock prices for game providers. Read more:

Technorati tags: server-based gaming, downloadable technology, Wall Street, technology, slot machines, gaming, Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal, RJ, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, Las Vegas, Nevada, Deutsche Bank, Bill Lerner, International Game Technology, IGT, Bally Technologies, Patrick Cavanaugh, WMS Industries, Bill Pfund, Steven Kent, Goldman Sachs, Prudential Equity Group, Joel Simkins, MGM Mirage, Barona Valley Ranch, Treasure Island, MGM Grand Detroit, Ameristar St. Charles, Orrin Edidin, Jeff Allen, Nevada Gaming Control Board, Mark Clayton, Cyberview Technology

Sierra Pacific Power Company and the University of Nevada, Reno are

hosting a Renewable Energy Showcase workshop. This is an opportunity to learn more about renewable energy, the Nevada Renewable Energy Portfolio, and initiatives that are underway to increase power generation using renewable energy technologies. A tour of the solar photovoltaic and wind power installations on the Sierra Pacific Plaza campus will be provided.

Date: May 1, 2007
Time: 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. 
Location: Sierra Pacific Power Co. (6100 Neil Rd.) Auditorium  
City: Reno 
Fee: Free 
Registration: Online or (775) 689-6690 or registration@nsbdcbep.org 

Technorati tags: Sierra Pacific Power Co., renewable energy, UNR, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, Nevada Small Business Development Center, NSBDC

University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) President David Ashley says he wants to expand the university’s research capabilities, attract better undergraduate students and more graduate students, and improve communication between faculty and administrators.

“In short, the UNLV you see now is not the UNLV you will see in the next decade or in the next year,” Ashley said during his inaugural address to faculty, students and higher education officials at Artemus Ham Hall.

Although Ashley joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in July, school officials said it was customary for university presidents to wait several months before giving their inaugural address.

UNLV spokesman Dave Tonelli said Ashley wanted the event to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the university, which is this year. Read full story here:

Technorati tags: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV, David Ashley, Artemus Ham Hall, Dave Tonelli, research, Frederick Krauss, Graduate & Professional Student Association. Thalia Dondero, Carol Harter, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, Nevada

How do you fix a shot-up Black Hawk helicopter in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when the mold for the parts is in the United States? How can the Navy save money using batteries rather than constantly running backup generators? And how can a computer system process all the information required in a missile-defense system?

Several Northern Nevada companies think they have the answers. And they’re slated to earn more than $27 million in public military contracts this year, according to the defense appropriations bill approved last fall, mostly for research projects scattered across a variety of high-tech firms in the region. That does not include projects funded through the government’s “black budget” for highly secret work.  Read full story:

Technorati tags: Nevada, defense technology, Ryan Randazzo, Reno Gazette-Journal, missile-defense system, military contracts, Defense Department, Bob Goff, Sierra Angels, Bill Gray, OptiComp Corp. eTreppid Technologies Inc., Sierra Nevada Corp., Jim Gibbons, Peter Guilfoyle, 2Phase Technologies Inc., University of Nevada, Reno, UNR, Linda Clements, Shen-Yi Luo, Altair Nanotechnologies Inc., Edward Dickinson, Evan House, NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology

April 26, 2007
Siena Hotel Spa Casino

Flickr photos courtesy of Inbytes Studio and Twelve Horses