Newly Public PlayAGS Take its Table Games International
Slot machine-maker PlayAGS made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, and CEO David Lopez sees opportunity for growth both in the U.S. and abroad.
“We’re actually entering the Philippines in the Latin bingo space right now,” he told Cheddar. “That’s about a 70,000-unit market...Then in Brazil...if a new law goes into effect you’ll see 500,000 or so video bingo machines come online.”
The company, which primarily serves the Native American Market, brought in revenues of $154 million in the first nine months of 2017 and swung to a profit of $13.6 million for that period.
And though the gaming industry has come under pressure from the rise of online and mobile gambling, Lopez says he’s not worried about his casino games getting poached.
“It’s a little bit of a training ground for brick and mortar...If you talk about millennials you think, ‘Hey, when are those millenials going to walk into those casinos and start gambling?’ Well some of it starts on their phone.”
PlayAGS, backed by private equity firm Apollo Investment, sold 10.3 million shares at $16 apiece in its IPO, valuing it at the low end of its expected range at about $550 million.
The stock, which trades under the ticker “AGS”, rose more than 15 percent in its first day of trading.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/playags-rings-nyse-opening-bell-to-celebrate-ipo).
According to a Wall Street Journal report, McDonald's is closing its U.S. offices this week ahead of planned layoffs. The report cited an internal memo that told managers to stay home through the week, so they can inform employees of the layoffs virtually.
Cheddar News breaks down what to look for Next Week on the Street. Donald Trump will be arraigned after his indictment this week while jobs data for March will be released.
NBA's Giannis Antetokounmpo and investor John Koudounis are launching an ETF to make investing more accessible, with 10% of profits going to charitable causes. Both joined Cheddar News to discuss their partnership and explain the importance of their venture.
UPS has more than 100,000 drivers on roads across the globe. Lindsay Cordova, Site Manager for UPS Integrad, joins Cheddar News to discuss what this intense training entails, and its Circle of Honor program for employees.
A federal appeals court has ruled that a 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union.
Major news organizations such as The New York Times and Washington Post are declining to pay to have their accounts verified on Twitter ahead of the anticipated changes on the platform Saturday.
Netflix said it plans to reorganize its film unit with the aim of making fewer movies a year as it looks to cut costs with layoffs and a reorganization in the works.
