Casino Enterprise Management

It seems as though new slot games are introduced almost daily. Because your players demand more entertainment value for their dollars and you want to provide the latest cutting-edge games for your market, each manufacturer vies for a share of your valuable floor space. Manufacturers work very hard to be the first to market with new ideas and to get the most exciting developments to you as quickly as they can. And once a particular game proves popular, spin-offs always follow. (How many of your slot games feature LED lighting on the bezel around the reels, backlit reels, multilevel progressives or an Egyptian theme?) This gives you a tremendous selection of games and new concepts from which to choose and makes your floor a stimulating place to work and play. With catchy graphics, rich stereo sound, eye-catching symbols and new themes, your casino floor has never been more exciting.

Although summer has come to an end, there’s no reason your gaming floor should cool down. This month, Casino Enterprise Management asked major slot manufacturers to select their hottest video slot. So sit back, relax, and we’ll step up the heat with just over a half-dozen hot video slots. Featured are games from A.C. Coin & Slot, Aristocrat, Atronic, Bally Technologies, IGT, Konami and WMS Gaming.

AC Coin & Slot

AC Coin & Slot is known for its mechanical top-box bonusing games. Seaside Fries™, developed with IGT using the Game King Plus platform, continues the tradition of excitement.

“We have had incredible success with our Advanced Slotto® games like Break the Bank™ and Popcorn Slotto®,” says Chris Strano, VP of sales and marketing, “and now we are taking that same technology and introducing it to the video slot player with Seaside Fries.”

This game is progressive-capable at no extra cost, as it includes the meter. It also features a 19-inch LCD touchscreen monitor and has what AC Coin describes as a “crowd-gathering Advanced Slotto top-box where Slotto balls branded with multipliers bounce out of a ‘fry basket.’”

The game uses animated characters and symbols based on a boardwalk eatery — hamburgers, hot dogs, waitresses and, of course, french fries. The mechanical top-box is offered with an upgraded lower-maintenance bonus mechanism.

This 20-payline game is available in 15 denominations, from 1 cent to $50 with a maximum bet of 1,000 credits.

Free spins, a current favorite with players, are initiated and re-initiated with three, four or five scattered Bonus symbols. A multiplier amount is awarded at the start of the bonus game. During the Free Spins event, whenever a Bonus symbol appears on reel three, the Slotto® bonus is activated, awarding a multiplier between 1x and 5x. Multiple Slotto® bonuses and even more free spins can be awarded during a Free Spins event. In keeping with the current trend of high-credit jackpots in video slot awards, players can win up to 750,000 credits with max credits bet.

Aristocrat

Aristocrat’s latest offering is BANK BUSTER™, featuring the Hyperlink progressives.

Hyperlink is Aristocrat’s version of a linked bonusing product, connecting banks of gaming machines to a progressive four-level jackpot. Hyperlink’s most distinguishing feature is its unique second-screen jackpot game that, when randomly triggered, determines the level of the prize.

BANK BUSTER features six high-frequency bonus features. This uses three of the most popular Aristocrat games with a 25-line penny slot base game, K.G. Bird™, Sun and Moon™ and Treasure King™. The four-tiered Hyperlink jackpots include a $10,000 or $20,000 top award.

The games utilize the standard game belly glass to identify the particular game model. The top glass shows the BANK BUSTER pig character, which matches the top marquee and display.

Atronic

Some games just naturally appeal to players and become perennial favorites, finding a long-term place on your floor. These games make good sense for future changes, too. As players are already familiar with the games’ graphics, sounds and how they play, it makes sense to upgrade them and offer new releases to your customers. Historically, some great games have been upgraded and released in numerous spin-off versions that have performed very well.

Atronic’s Sphinx slot is a remake of one such classic game. Atronic has released numerous versions of the popular Sphinx game on various platforms; each has offered various features of its own, such as two-way pay and a flashy bonus game with cards that flip to reveal prize amounts.

This time, the Egyptian theme returns with familiar symbols and bonus rounds. The game targets players who enjoy medium-volatility game play. Atronic has tried to enhance the player experience and states: “The game is presented on Atronic’s new C-Level software platform. The reels are flat and feature a crisp, clear spinning action. The graphics are intense and beautiful on all of the C-Level games. In addition, the screen layout is more player-friendly, with a relocated credit meter and the benefit of multi-denomination play.”

While many slots are increasing their paylines, Sphinx is introduced on a 5-line and 9-line payline. This puts it in the position for higher-denomination play. The game can also be ordered with a rapid-hit paytable for inclusion in a Mystery Magic bank of games.

All wins are paid left to right, and Tutankhamen substitutes for all symbols except Coin. Three, four or five Scarab symbols pay a scatter win. If three or more Coin symbols appear on a playline, the Sphinx Bonus is triggered. The player enters an Egyptian Burial Chamber and selects a Sarcophagus to reveal a mystery win. Only one Sarcophagus contains the Sphinx symbol, which increases the chance for a higher bonus. If the Sphinx symbol is revealed while in the Egyptian Burial Chamber, all remaining picks are chosen before advancing to the Sphinx Chamber. In the Sphinx Chamber, one of the Sphinx symbols may be selected for a mystery win.

Operators also have the flexibility to set up unique progressive banks with Mystery Magic™. Any Mystery Magic-capable title can be ordered with a rapid-hit paytable and linked in a unique progressive bank. Players are eligible for the progressive jackpot with any bet.

Bally Technologies       

Everyone gets nostalgic from time to time. Bally Technologies’ latest video offering is betting your players are no different. As time goes on, your casino sees more players who were video game players in their youth. Back in the 1970s, graphics were poor and sound was limited, but even these technologically challenged games were groundbreaking in their time.

According to Bally: “Atari® PONG, the classic TV tennis game that started the worldwide video game craze, promises to captivate players at casinos everywhere. With its vintage neon ‘70s graphics, PONG faithfully recreates the experience of playing the world’s first video game, right down to the game’s signature pong sound effects and memorable on-screen game play.”

The developers of this video slot have attempted to strike a fine balance between modern technology and a nostalgic representation of ‘70s technology. Using modern cases with blue LED lighting and i-view displays, the game provides a sharp contrast. The graphics are made to look original, with oversized square pixels and jagged edges.

Bally suggests using this game on a penny base (with a multi-denom option), 25 lines and a maximum 5 credits per line. The game will, however, support a maximum wager of 1,250 credits. This game has a unique paddle dial on the button deck and a truly interactive bonus round. In the PONG bonus round, the player has 45 seconds to score more points than the computer. If the player loses, a bonus amount is still awarded. If the player beats the computer, the player receives a higher bonus. PONG turns back the clock to a time when a simple white square bouncing across a black-and-white TV screen spawned a multi-billion dollar video game industry that’s still going strong.

As the sale of retro video game consoles fuel a nostalgic return to a simpler style of game play, Pong’s enduring appeal as the “granddaddy of them all” is a reminder of this game’s truly timeless player appeal.
PONG is due out this month, to be seen first at the Greektown Casino in Detroit.

IGT

IGT’s latest offering is also based upon a classic favorite but, using the base math model, introduces a brand new theme. White Orchid™, Desert Spirit™ and Wolf Run™ all use the popular Coyote Moon™ slot as a base. Let’s study the White Orchid game.

Instead of the traditional 3x5 video slot grid, this game uses a 4x5 grid, offering an extra visible symbol for each reel. This gives us a 40-payline game using the MultiWay Xtra configuration, with 1,204 ways to win.

Stacked Wild symbols increase the player’s ability to win. It is possible for all symbols on a reel to be Wild, with many of these Wild symbols distributed throughout each reel. When a number of stacked Wild symbols appear on the first two or three reels, players are guaranteed big wins.

Also capitalizing on the popularity of free games, there is a Free Spins bonus that can retrigger. The bonus uses independent reels and a “Bettor Chance” wager feature. It is a high-volatility game with a low bonus game hit frequency. Depending on the game and configuration, the player can wager a maximum of 2,000 credits.

The symbols and sound have been upgraded and include a multitude of colorful butterflies, tree frogs, fish, birds and exotic tropical plants, plus attractive male and female Pacific Islanders. IGT says the graphics “are so real, players can almost smell the tropical flowers.”

Konami

Konami offers Mystical Temple™, a new fixed 4-level (MAXI, MEGA, MAJOR and MINI) symbol-linked progressive product. Developed on the new K2V™ multi-line video platform, this progressive game is a self-contained program that is compatible with any multi-line video game developed on the K2V platform.

This progressive is developed to support a 20-line, 200-credit max bet configuration in penny, 2-cent or nickel denominations. Mystical Temple has Konami’s fixed max line option to increases player hit frequency and win-per-day for the casino. It features buttons with fixed betting amounts, which cover the paylines with a pre-determined wager per line.

The secondary screen bonus is triggered when three or more Invisible Trigger symbols appear in a scatter configuration. During the bonus round, players select one of four treasure chests, revealing one of the four symbols corresponding to the MAXI, MEGA, MAJOR and MINI progressive levels. When a symbol appears, it will move from the selected chest to the column associated with that symbol. The player continues to pick treasure chests until three like symbols are collected, at which point a Celebration Animation is played and the player discovers which progressive level has been won.

The progressive meters are displayed at all times on the second-screen 19” LCD that is located in the top-box, while the progressive Celebration Animation is displayed on a plasma screen that is part of the accompanying sign package.

WMS Gaming

WMS Gaming continues to expand its library, adding new features and themes, and incorporating some current favorites into new games. Village People Party™ uses the popular Jackpot Party® play in a new base game.

Available in 9, 20 and 25-line versions and covering 14 denominations from penny to $100, these games have a high maximum-credit capability ­— the player can wager up to 5,000 credits.

The Jackpot Party bonus game starts with Scattered Bonus symbols on reels one, three and five. Classic Village People songs are featured in this game, including “Y.M.C.A.,” “In the Navy” and “Macho Man.” The player selects one of the six Village People to win a credit award of 1x to 5x the total bet. Next, the player begins to pick from an array of records on screen. Records reveal credit awards, a multiplier, Pick a Macho Man, or a Party Pooper. Any record that reveals a credit award pays 1x to 5x the total bet, plus the total value of all selected Village People. When Pick a Macho Man is revealed, the player gets to select a second band member, which adds both Macho Man values to all future picks.

The next credit pick is multiplied if a 2x, 3x or 5x multiplier is revealed. If the next pick reveals a Party Pooper, that Pooper is nullified. If Pick a Macho Man is revealed, that vocalist’s value is multiplied and applied (in its multiplied state) to every future pick. If a Pooper is revealed prior to selecting a record credit award, the player is given a second chance with a 50/50 shot at picking a Party Saver that will send the Pooper packing. One of the Village People also has his own Party Saver. The record-picking continues until a Party Pooper is revealed, ending the bonus. Picking all six Village People in the bonus awards an additional 200x the player’s total bet.

Players are familiar with the Jackpot Party game, which was introduced many years ago and is found on a number of WMS games, including linked multilevel progressives. The new base game capitalizes on a bit of nostalgia, too — the resurgence of disco and the Village People.

Now, I wonder what would happen if we had the Village People playing Pong at a boardwalk snack bar …

This sampling of hot video slots shows the great momentum in new gaming designs. Each manufacturer wants to develop a truly unique spin on gaming (no pun intended) that will set its games apart from everyone else’s — and you want games that will set your casino apart from everyone else’s, too. The latest games offer a nice balance of new technology, improved graphics and sound, ergonomic case designs and high visibility — with a twist of the familiar. Whether it is something from our recent entertainment history or improvement on a tried-and-true classic game, your slot floor is sure to keep the heat of summer well into the winter.

This article is dedicated to Bruce Sawyer (1928-2007).

John Wilson is the Owner of ICS Gaming, providing slot consulting services and game design. He has designed several slot games in both Class II and Class III markets. He can be reached at jwilson[at]icsgaming.com.