Route 66 Casino went to Alpha Video & Audio for help promoting the new progressive slots game to customers inside the casino. “When they built their new sportsbook, they built a new high-end bar to replace the previous 360-degree bar area,” said Lance Hutchinson, vice president, Alpha Video & Audio. “In keeping with the 360-degree theme they wanted to have a circular sign to put in the former bar area that would be a feature and help promote their new progressive slots area.”
With progressive slots, a wide area jackpot increases by a small percentage each time a game is played and there is no winner until, finally, someone wins the jackpot. The Route 66 progressive slots jackpot game is called, appropriately enough, “Route to Riches.” “Our progressive area was the first in New Mexico to have as many machines associated with it as it does,” said Trevor Taylor, Director of Marketing for the Route 66 Casino. “We needed highly visible informational signage for our guests to be able to locate the new area and keep track of the jackpots from anywhere.”
Route 66 Casino approached Alpha Video & Audio looking for a complete hardware, interface, and content solution that would look great and fit their budget. Hutchinson took his idea for a large, circular video wall about 10 feet above the floor to Planar®. They recommended Planar® CarbonLight™ CLI Flex™ LED modules that are literally bendable, making them ideal for video wall applications such as Hutchinson’s column wrap idea. “Off-angle viewing clarity, smooth playback of motion video, and brightness of the display were the big features of the product,” said Hutchinson. “It works great on the floor, it attracts your eye from just about everywhere.”
With the LED displays selected, it was time to consider the structure behind the video wall. Planar recommended Hutchinson work with Draper on a custom curved supporting structure for the LED halo. ‘Draper has the ideal equipment for fabricating Planar CarbonLight CLI Flex frames, a unique roll-fed sheet metal laser cutter that delivers a visually compelling LED halo array,” said Peter Lawrence, director of the custom solutions group at Planar. The project only took 90 days from product order to installation completion—proof that the “Route to Riches” is always easier when you work with the right partners.
“The key to the success for this type of solution is a robust design combined with precision manufacturing methods that enable precise location of the structure on site,” said Grant Wylie, director of AV product management for Draper. “The structure does have some ability to adjust the X, Y & Z axis for placement of the LED modules. But Instead of having significant X, Y, and Z axis adjustments that can lead to over adjustment issues during installation, we rely upon our sound design and precision manufacturing process to ensure proper LED module alignment.” Precision manufacturing capability and close partnerships between Draper and leading LED manufacturers mean that when you’re ready, we’re ready. “It really was a process we almost didn’t have to spend any effort on,” said Hutchinson. “The Draper solution just worked as designed and the team was great to work with. We had one last minute change that had to be done and it was handled with ease. I would definitely rate it a success; the customer likes it, and it was very well received.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
