New slot machine from IGT offers guaranteed playing time

30.11.2006, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «New slot machine from IGT offers guaranteed playing time»

IGT has been testing the product at some local casinos (US).- A new video poker machine called "Guaranteed Play," ensures a certain amount of playing time, no matter how bad your luck. The device, which is expected to be offered in Las Vegas casinos within six months, allows players to buy a certain number of video poker hands up front for a set price.

This machine was conceived not in the back room of a casino or at a slot machine laboratory, but at inventor Jay Walker’s office in Stamford, Connecticut. For example, Walker’s games can offer 150 hands of "Jacks or Better" for us$ 20 and 400 hands for us$ 40. Those hands could take 20 minutes to an hour to play. Games offer more or less hands for the money based on the type of video poker game and the odds that apply to that game.

The gambler should assume that he will lose his money - but that he will have enjoyed playing a guaranteed number of games in the meantime. "At the movies you know you’re getting about an hour and a half plus some popcorn," Walker said. "You don’t have that in a casino. We can assure customers that even before they leave their house, they know they’re going to be on a game for a while."

The idea of paying for gambling the way consumers pay for dinner and a movie seems to remove the ancient allure of gambling, which involves taking risks and shedding inhibitions. Not so, according to Walker. "Human behavior is not rocket science," Walker said. "Consumers like packages. They like a bargain."

"Casinos want people to have a good time. I don’t have to win to have a good time. But if I lose my money quickly and have to leave, is that fun?" he said. The devices represent a breakthrough opportunity for casinos to cultivate new players, said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter.

Casinos could offer a hotel guest attending a convention $20 of video poker with the assurance that most people would give it a shot, he said. Some players will end up buying more after trying out the games once or twice, he said. "I think people are looking for ways to justify activities they want to try but think they shouldn’t," Curtis said.

Walker began working with slot maker International Game Technology a few years ago to design the game. IGT also has a stake in Walker Digital Gaming, a Walker company that owns several hundred casino-related patents. IGT has been testing the machines at some local casinos.

For many players, the opportunity to gamble for a certain amount of time is more attractive than chasing the off chance that a smaller initial bet can last several hours - or yield a big jackpot. In focus group tests, players have said they like the ability to see where their money is going, said John Daley, IGT’s director of video poker. Las Vegas Sun

Über Glücksspiele Las Vegas - Gambling in Las Vegas:

Las Vegas liegt im Westen der USA im Bundesstaat Nevada und ist das Glücksspiel-Paradies von Amerika.

Las Vegas hat rund 100 Spielcasinos. Im Bundesstaat Nevada sind sogar über 300 Spielcasinos registriert. Die grössten Casinos sind das Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Venetian / Palazzo, Wynn / Encore, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay.

Weitere bekannte Casinos sind das Mirage, frühere Heimat von Siegfried und Roy, das Luxor in Form einer Pyramide oder das Casino Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, in welchem jährlich die Pokerweltmeisterschaft (World Series of Poker WSOP) durchgeführt wird.

Die bekanntesten zwei Strassen sind der Las Vegas Boulevard, welcher auch als Las Vegas Strip bezeichnet wird. Daneben ist die Fremont Street eine gut besuchte Casino-Meile, wo beispielsweise das legendäre Casino Binion's (vormals Binion's Horseshoe) seine Spiele anbietet.

Las Vegas erstreckt sich über eine Fläche von 340 km2 und hat rund 650'000 Einwohner.

--- Ende Artikel / Pressemitteilung New slot machine from IGT offers guaranteed playing time ---


Weitere Informationen und Links:

Weitere Nachrichten der Gaming-Branche