Press Releases
New York’s Tom Thibodeau wins 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year Award

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA (www.NBA.com) announced yesterday.
This is the second NBA Coach of the Year Award for Thibodeau, who earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Bulls in his first season as an NBA head coach. Now honored in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, Thibodeau has become the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach with two different franchises. (Cotton Fitzsimmons won the award in his first season as the Kansas City Kings’ head coach, 1978-79, and again in the first season of his second tenure as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach, 1988-89).
Thibodeau received 43 first-place votes and earned 351 total points to edge Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who finished in second place with 340 points (45 first-place votes). The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers marks the smallest margin since the current NBA Coach of the Year voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season.
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder finished in third place with 161 points (10 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
With Thibodeau as head coach, New York finished tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks won 16 of their final 20 games to complete a turnaround from last season’s overall record of 21-45.
Thibodeau led New York to an 11-4 record in April for its winningest month since March 2014 (11-5). He was selected as the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for May after guiding the Knicks to a 6-3 record in the final month of the regular season.
The Knicks showed dramatic improvement on defense with Thibodeau at the helm, leading the NBA in points allowed (104.7) and opponents’ field goal percentage (44.0) and ranking fourth in defensive rating (107.8). Last season, New York finished 17th or lower in all three categories.
Under Thibodeau, Julius Randle was named an NBA All-Star for the first time and won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award. In addition, Derrick Rose was a finalist for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, 2021 NBA Rising Stars selection RJ Barrett ranked as the fourth-leading scorer among second-year NBA players (17.6 ppg), and rookie Immanuel Quickley averaged 11.4 points after being selected by New York with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Thibodeau is the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises. In addition, he is the third head coach to be selected as NBA Coach of the Year with the Knicks, joining Red Holzman (1969-70) and Pat Riley (1992-93).
New York hired Thibodeau as its head coach on July 30, 2020. He has a career regular-season record of 393-277 (.587) in nine seasons as an NBA head coach, guiding teams to the playoffs seven times. Before joining the Knicks, he served as head coach of the Bulls for five seasons (2010-15) and the Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons (2016-19).
The NBA Coach of the Year Award trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Red Auerbach. The legendary head coach guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-66.
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EGTs RK6C roulette with a first-ever installation at Volcano Casino in Montenegro

EGT’s RK6C roulette made its debut on a global level. The product was installed at the sophisticated Volcano Casino in Ulcinj, Montenegro, earlier this month.
“We are very happy that the first installation of RK6C was accomplished here,” said Milen Dimitrov, Director of EGT’s office, responsible for Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. “We have a long-term, fruitful cooperation with the operator, which we have now strengthened once again. This roulette has enormous potential to become a favorite of the casino’s customers and the results it has demonstrated so far are eloquent testimony.”
RK6C is the latest member of the company’s portfolio of ETG solutions. Standing out with a sleek design featuring 6 play stations and numerous advanced features, including dynamic LED lighting and engaging sound effects, it provides players with a state-of-the-art gaming experience. Guests of the establishment enjoy unparalleled comfort while trying their luck with Blue Power HD and Green Power HD multigame mixes, containing some of EGT’s well-known slot titles combined with widely preferred multiplayer games such as Baccarat, Blackjack, European, and American Roulette.
Adi Plakalo, Chief Executive Officer, Vezuv d.o.o., highly appreciated the product’s performance. He stated: “Having in mind the great popularity that EGT’s slot games and cabinets from General, Phoenix, and General Series have gained among clients on all our casino floors, we had very high expectations for the RK6C. It not only met, but even exceeded them. That is why, next month, another roulette of this model will be available at one of our other locations. We are also considering more installations in the future.”
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EGT Digital in a strategic partnership with Pepeta in Kenya

EGT Digital is thrilled to announce its collaboration with the prominent Kenyan operator Pepeta. Thanks to the provider’s Gaming Aggregator, pepeta.com customers can now enjoy the hit slot titles from the Bell Link, Clover Chance, High Cash, Single Progressive Jackpot, and Gods & Kings Link jackpots.
“We are very impressed with the performance of EGT Digital’s products, especially Bell Link and Clover Chance, which immediately caught the attention of our players and became their favorites,” said Joseph Mbugua, Kenya Country Manager of Pepeta. “I believe that our cooperation with the Bulgarian company will fully unleash its potential in the coming months, continuing to deliver remarkable results for us and our clients.”
Zsuzsanna Zeibig, Sales manager for Africa at EGT Digital, also shared her positive expectations regarding the partnership, stating that “it is of strategic importance for positioning our company as a leader not only in Kenya, but also in the region as a whole.” She concluded: “I would like to thank Pepeta for placing their trust in us. I am confident that together we will be able to further enhance the gaming experience of local players, providing them with access to innovative gaming solutions at a world-class level.”
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Quick Custom Intelligence Welcomes Industry Veteran Melissa Chiaurro as Vice President of Business Development

Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), the global leader in AI-driven analytics and enterprise solutions for the gaming industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Chiaurro as Vice President of Business Development. This strategic addition to QCI’s leadership team comes at a time of unprecedented growth, with QCI expanding its footprint to over 1,000 sites worldwide and experiencing 50% compound organic growth in 2025.
Melissa brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the gaming technology sector, including serving as President of VizExplorer. Her career spans Class II, Class III, and VLT markets with a focus on scaling business intelligence software, electronic gaming systems, casino signage, digital media, and progressive systems. With her proven record of leading national sales teams, building customer-first partnerships, and executing enterprise deployments, Melissa is uniquely positioned to drive QCI’s next phase of growth.
“QCI has redefined how technology empowers operators, and I am thrilled to join at such a pivotal moment,” said Melissa Chiaurro, Vice President of Business Development at QCI. “Our rapid global expansion is a direct result of turning data into action, and I look forward to helping accelerate that momentum—delivering measurable revenue impact for our customers while building new markets and partnerships.”
QCI’s Chief Technology Officer, Andrew Cardno, added: “Melissa’s deep experience and proven leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale. She knows what it takes to grow businesses globally, and her ability to forge strong industry relationships makes her a key driver of our expansion strategy. With Melissa on board, QCI is even better positioned to deliver innovative, AI-powered solutions that fuel profitability for our customers.”
Melissa’s appointment underscores QCI’s commitment to building a world-class leadership team and reinforces its position as the fastest-growing provider of integrated analytics and AI solutions for the gaming industry worldwide.
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