| Wink's Survey of America, featuring animation of longtime game show host Wink Martindale, asks players to guess responses from a survey of 100 people. In the Wink-O-Meter round, the player might be asked how many people surveyed said they can whistle. The closer you come to the correct number, the higher the bonus. A couple of decades ago, Bally Gaming was THE big name in slot machines. That changed with the ascendance of IGT, which today is by far the nation's leading manufacturer of slots. Bally has stepped up its aggressiveness in recent years, encouraged by the success of its Betty Boop series and other games such as Popeye and Blondie. Last year, it unveiled its high-definition EVO video platform, along with EVO hybrids that combine reel-spinning games with bonus rounds on a video screen in the top box. One of several companies seeking to increase its share of space on casino slot floors, Bally promised to put 100 new games on display for the Global Gaming Expo in September in Las Vegas. There was no way I was going to be able to try out 100 games by any one manufacturer, but I did spend a couple of hours at the Bally's booth, trying to get a feel for what the slot maker is up to. There was nothing as innovative as the EVO system, and no one game really knocked my socks off. What I did see was a very solid collection of games and themes that are certain to appeal to slot directors and players alike. One of the major trends in the industry is basing slot games on pop culture icons, and Bally has plenty of games with familiar themes--To Tell the Truth, The Lone Ranger, Andy Capp, even a game themed on the ubiquitous "Dummies" books, a slot called Winning for Dummies. Beyond the themes, Bally is making a big push to increase its share of space for wide-area progressive slot systems. Wide-area slots are the games that link several casinos to a large common jackpot. Bally brings a new wrinkle to the progressives with its Cash for Life system. Instead of the progressive meter displaying a total jackpot amount, it's broken down to a weekly award--the player who hits the jackpot wins a minimum of $1,000 a week for life. The Cash for Life jackpot system can be matched with several base games, including old Bally favorites such as Blazing 7s and Double Jackpot. There's a game called Cash for Life Offer Bonus, along with Two Times Pay, Wild Times, Rich and Famous, Cash for Life Concentration, Cash for Life Bob Eubanks and a couple of Saturday Night Live-themed games--The Blues Brothers and Pumping Up With Hans and Franz. Most of the slot machines we see on casino floors are produced by a handful of manufacturers. IGT is by far the largest slotmaker, while WMS, Bally Gaming, A.C. Coin, Aristocrat, Atronic and Mikohn have carved out shares of the market. At the annual Global Gaming Expo, which I attended in September in Las Vegas, I spend a lot of time looking over new games from those manufacturers, but I also like to check out the companies that are just starting to make a name in the market. One of those is Konami, a Japanese company that has been claiming growing respect from casino slot managers. Another is Shuffle Master, long known as a producer of card shuffling machines for table games as well as distributor of the table game Let It Ride. In the last few years, Shuffle Master also has become active in the slot machine market. |
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