Pokies and Slot Machine Information

TITO takes over the world

TITO (Ticket in, ticket out) machines allow for the insertion of normal cash notes into slot machines, but will pay out any wins/credits held in the form of a barcoded ticket. This ticket can then be redeemed for cash at a cashier window, or inserted into another slot machine which is capable of reading it - transferring the balance to that new machine.

Any regular pokie punter knows how cumbersome - and noisy - coin based payouts can be. Not to mention the rather rancid coating left on your hands when dealing with large numbers of coins.

The steady march of technological progress in slot machine design will one day eliminate cash payouts completely. TITO is usurping cash pays in many US jurisdictions - and is encroaching rapidly on other markets.

The advantages for gaming venues are numerous. They don’t have to deal with coins at all. Coins are heavy, dirty and messy to deal with. Slot machine hoppers will often run out of coins to pay. Barcode ticket printers will run out of tickets as well, but not nearly as often. Replenishing them is also much simpler than lugging around suitcases full of coins. Payouts can also occur much more quickly. Punters can thus move from machine to machine faster - which means they can lose money faster as well. Additionally, the entire stored value of a ticket is entered into a machine instantly when the machine accepts it - no time consuming entry of coins or notes is required.

Players generally like TITO. Waiting for a hopper to pay out or be refilled is a chore which distracts from what they are there for - to play. Some slot machine designers have implemented simulated coin payout sounds while the tickets are printing - to provide a soothing pay experience reminiscent of the sound of coins spilling into the overflow tray.

Removing coin hoppers leaves a lot of vacant space inside a typical slot machine. It might be a handy location to build in something else of benefit to a player - bigger screens might come in handy.

The future of TITO is going to be interesting. At some point regulators will probably accede to the likely wishes of casinos and allow entirely cashless machines. You’ll be able to enter a credit/debit or stored value card and play directly from the credit available on it.

Mobile gaming is also taking off - perhaps you’ll even be able to wirelessly transfer credits from your mobile phone to a slot machine.

The most difficult management issue may be in reminding people to actually remove their card from a machine after they’ve finished playing. If you wander around venues now, there are a surprising number of player loyalty cards left in machines. People play, go and and leave their cards behind. Loyalty cards have only limited intrinsic value though. No doubt slot designers can implement audible and or visual warnings if a player attempts to leave a machine with a card still embedded.

Global Gaming Expo Las Vegas 2007

In late 2007, we’re off to the Australasian Gaming Expo in Sydney, Australia.

As with the 2006 expo, its bound to be an audio-visual feast, a tantalising taste of whats new in gaming in 2008.

In November 2007, we’re off to the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, USA. This is the largest gaming conference in the world, held every year, and also bound to be exciting.

If your company is interested in sponsoring either trip, please let us know. We are going to provide much more indepth reviews this year, right down to analysis of individual gaming machines.

Las Vegas is still the crown jewel in global gaming. Indian Casinos and upsurges in casino activity in Asia and new developments in Britain have yet to tarnish the appeal of Vegas.

Some interesting facts from the Las Vegas Conventions and Visitors Authority

Visitors to Las Vegas, 2005: 38,566,717 (almost twice the population of Australia!)

Average gambling budget per trip, 2005: $627. They make it really easy to get started as well - you’ll run into slot machines right in the airport arrival lounges.

Average room rate, 2005: $103. Watch this on your package tours - its often cheaper to book direct or via websites.

Average visitor age: 47.7.

Hotel room count, 2005: 133,186. More hotel rooms in one city than there are in most countries.

The three percent increase in visitor numbers between 2004 and 2005 shows that Vegas still has what it takes to attract the punters - and keep their cash.

Vegas style casinos headed for UK

The United Kingdom is edging closer to introducing proper casinos. Until now, UK casinos have been more like small private clubs. Slot machines have been limited to old style ‘fruit machines’ with limited payouts.

Last month, Manchester was the surprise winner of a competition to host the supercasino, which although small by Las Vegas standards, is likely to be huge in UK terms, with 5,000 square metres of gaming space, 1,250 slot machines and 2,700 workers.

Yahoo news

We know the UK is poorly represented as a percentage of game sales for Pokie Magic. There is a definite correlation between availability of modern slot machine games in a market, and game sales in that market.

Once modern slot machines enter the UK, the sophistication of players will grow. As will tax revenues for the British government, and thats what its really about.

Pokies in the 90’s

I won’t bore you too much about the 70’s and 80’s this time around. We will move on to the 1990’s.

By the 90’s it was either video display or stepping motors, the latter finally biting the dust by the turn of the century.

My favourite games from that era were Black Rhino, Cagey Bird, Hearts, Golden Canary and Chicken Run.

In the 80’s and early 90’s pokies still took 5-10 & 20 cent coins, it used to take ages to feed $20 into them, and then the $1 coin acceptors came in, faster loading time meant less down time on feeding the hungry blighters. Overnight all the shrapnel the pubs and clubs had to keep on hand disappeared.

Finally note acceptors arrived, the salvation to harried bar staff, except in QLD where Pokies only accept $5 $10 and $20 bills, and only up to the value of $100 on the credit meter. The government did try $20 maximum and state wide turnover dropped 40% in a week so it didn’t take long for the govt bean counters to figure out that less turnover equates to less tax revenue.

Things were reversed to five $20 bills again and everybody in pokie land was happy again and flocked back to their favourite venue, much to the delight of the government and venue owners.

The point of the machines not accepting $50 and $100 bills in Queensland was supposedly to reduce problem gambling. Quite easy to work arround - casinos have simply installed note changers everywhere - making it very easy to convert those nasty $100 bills into acceptable $20 bills!

We will look at the new millennium next. Lots of exciting things to come

Lawrie

The lure of the linked jackpot

Stand-alone pokies have been around for several decades. They’re fun to play, but the latest generation of slot machines have a feature which is becoming ever more common – the linked jackpot.

Note that linked jackpots are quite distinct from standalone jackpots – where all jackpot amounts and wins are confined entirely to a single machine in isolation.

The basic principle of the linked jackpot is simple. A group of slot machines, which could be in the same room, the same state or even nationwide via computer link all contribute part of every bet towards a central linked jackpot or jackpots. The linked machines usually display the jackpots in vibrant second screens and or overhead plasma or LCD display monitors.

There may even be several levels of jackpot – commonly there are three or four. The smaller jackpots increment more quickly and are won more frequently. The largest jackpots are won much less often – perhaps once every few months or less.

The more exciting large jackpots are those played across wider areas. An Aristocrat Money Train II jackpot operates across dozens of venues in the state of Queensland, Australia. Because so many venues and individual gaming machines are linked, the major jackpot increments very quickly – thousands of dollars per day.

A jackpot which accrues faster is also won more frequently – a real attraction for players.

The real big daddies of linked jackpots are found in Las Vegas, USA. The enormous numbers of tourists visiting and depositing the contents of their wallets and purses allows for massive jackpots to accrue.

The largest slot machine jackpot ever won was $US39,710,826.36 in 2003. Unfortunately under American rules the jackpots are heavily taxed – but a pretty hefty sum was still taken home.

Slot machine maker IGT maintains a list of superjackpots won online:

IGT jackpots

Linked jackpots may operate quite differently in different jurisdictions.

One type of jackpot link popular with players is that which has a known upper limit. This jackpot may top out at, for example, $50,000 and must be won before that level is reached. Some players like this jackpot type because on the rare occasion the jackpot reaches a level close to its ceiling, they know they have a chance of winning it over a small period of time.

There was a case reported in New Zealand some years ago of groups of people taking over an entire bank of linked machines when the jackpot ceiling was close – guaranteeing that one of their party would win it (unless they ran out of funds to play with!).

The more common jackpot type is a simple incrementing jackpot which has a known starting point (it may reset to $20, $2000 etc after being won) – but no published upper limit. A central computer selects a secret win point for the jackpot and as players gamble, part of each dollar goes to each jackpot. When the pre-selected jackpot threshold is met, the jackpot is won.

The new breed of slot machines are technologically advanced and feature entertaining graphical animated sequences during the jackpot wins. Some make it appear as though your interaction is deciding which jackpot you’ll win. You’ll see people getting super-excited as they play. They don’t realize that the jackpot they’re going to win was pre-decided in most cases and what buttons they press, in what order, won’t make the slightest bit of difference.

Kissing the machine, rubbing it, talking nicely to it, threatening to ignore it – none of these make a difference either. Look closely at the artwork on the top or bottom of the slot game you’re playing and in fine print you’ll usually notice a disclaimer about the jackpot selection mechanism.

You might wonder why the linked jackpot slots have become so popular. They definitely tend to turn over higher amounts of revenue than stand-alone slot machines. Whilst we could make all kinds of clinical observations about the ‘excitement factor’ and the lure of the elusive super-win which contribute to their popularity, we’d like your feedback instead!

What makes you want to play the linked jackpot pokie machines? Have you won a jackpot? What was the biggest, and where?

Gambling revenue recovers as smokers return

The introduction of a smoking ban to indoor venues in Queensland Australia in July 2006 saw a marked dip in the patronage of some. Some smokers railed in letters to the editor in various newspapers, but despite some of the best denunciatory harangues ever written, the bans were here to stay.

A recent visit to a Queensland casino revealed a bustling hive of activity. As the anger faded, smokers had returned.

Smokers can still engage in their favourite ritual, they simply needed to walk to one of the adjacent purpose built outdoor smoking centres. You’d be surprised how many folks can fit into these hazy little niches.

The atmosphere in the casino was considerably more pleasant and breathable than on a visit we made before the smoking bans were introduced. On leaving the venue, it’s a pleasant novelty to have ones clothes not reek like an ashtray.

Pokies with money management displays

Some new slot machines in one of Queenslands largest casinos are quite happy to inform punters of their impending losses. Taking a ticket out of New Zealands new approach, the machines are able to report on average losses and also losses already incurred by a player.

“The machines also tell players how much they will spend each game if they make a particular choice, as well as their spending per minute and per hour.”

News.com.au

There is another way for players to work what they’ve lost - they could weigh their wallets at the end of a session.

These new informational displays though inform the players of what they are likely to lose before they even start to play - an innovative and welcome approach to player financial management.

Gaming Conference 2007

Time to update your 2007 calendars, the Sydney gaming conference dates are 19 – 21 August 2007. We’ll be there with bells on! The 2006 conference went down really well.

Gaming expo website

Global gaming conference Sydney 2006 a success

As per a previous blog post, we were lucky enough to attend this years global gaming conference, held in Sydney Australia. The three days of the conference held in early September 2006 just flew by! See the official site here.

In other posts we’ve reviewed the different products on display, all sorted by manufacturer. There were almost 300 exhibitors though, so we’ll cover the major slot makers and reference other exhibitors in limited depth. The overall ratings given to each poker machine maker are very similar - this indicates a high level of quality of presence, not an inability for us to rate them properly!

You can play the pokies that are present - they all come pre-loaded with credits. Thats not what the convention is really about though - its about getting a feel for machines/brands and making deals.

The conference seemed to be primarily designed for male attendees - if the number of attractive ‘promo girls’ is any indication.

The Sydney conference in a nutshell:

City : Sydney Australia.

Venue : Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre.

Exhibitors: around 300. Huge variation in type - from the major slot makers, to ATM sellers, coin machine makers - even venue aroma specialists. The larger exhibitors were also giving out ’show bags’ which usually contained interesting trinkets and gaming machine brochures.

Attendees : many thousands by our count.

Poker machines present : several hundred.

Drinks : delicious and complementary.

Deals made at venue : there were many discussions made between attendees and exhibitors which likely will lead to huge sales.

Overall rating: 4.5 / 5 stars. Organisation was excellent. Design and layout were superb. There were simply no glitches. Everything ran smoothly. Even the queue to obtain entry badges was orderly and processed efficiently.

The addition of extra seating around the bars may be helpful in future years (though the drinks bill might go up a bit!).

Next years conference is at the end of August 2007, and we’re already pre-registered. There is also a larger exhibition held annually in Las Vegas. Thats being held in October 2006 and we’re going to miss it (no invite as yet!), but we have every intention of attending the 2007 Las Vegas conference and you’ll see all the juicy details here afterwards.

Until next year…

(all trademarks are copyright of their respective owners.)

Gaming expo exhibitor - pokies manufacturer IGT

Worlds largest slot machine manufacturer.

Exhibitor in a nutshell:
Display area : large.
Gaming machine selection : very large.
Staff knowledge/approachability : good-excellent.

With a huge range of machines on display, and the new Wheel of Fortune jackpot game finally here, its looking good for IGT. The new range of Blue Chip games are such a large upgrade over previous games, that you really need to play them to understand the difference. Larger, clearer graphics, nice scrolling and interactive touchscreens all make for a greatly enhanced slot machine player experience - and thats really the bottom line.

The only downside to some of the games was the positioning of the note acceptors. When they are mounted low and right on a machine, its easier for the notes to drop to the floor if they are rejected on insertion.

The new “Money Chimes” linked jackpots are based on the blue chip hardware and software. We found it was just fun to play for the progressive jackpots, once again with touch screen interactivity and smooth, pleasing graphics.

What really pleased though was the Wheel of Fortune jackpots - there was a real element of competition with other players on the same bank - even though a jackpot could be summoned at will with the assistance of the friendly IGT staff. The jackpots are multi-level, and graphically exceptional.

Another preview of the future was found in the 10 game product (available for New Zealand). Players can choose any of ten different games on the same physical machine. There are many advantages - one of which being that players are happier if they don’t have to move around.

As with other manufacturers, there were some updates to older games alongside the all new ones. This vendor appears to have more licenced concept content for its slot machines - licenced from television shows. Whether this translates into higher player revenue is unclear.

Overall rating: 4.5 / 5 stars. If you have pokies in your venue, you need the Wheel of Fortune jackpot games.

Wheel of Fortune is a registered trademark of Califon Productions, Inc.