Page 10 - October 2003 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Fantastic new slots!
The annual Global Gaming Expo previewed amazing new slots coming to Southern Caliornia Casinos!
by Billie Lee Bartell
Over 500 new, amazing slot machines were previewed in Las Vegas in mid September at the Global Gaming Expo, also known as G2E, the annual gaming show where gaming industry manufacturers show their new products, and casino slot managers come from all over the
world to survey the trends and machines that we will eventually see on their casino oors.
Page 10
October 2003
Get ready, Southern California gamers, for some fantastic new slots—amazing new penny and two-cent wide-area progressives, movie, TV-show and celebrity- themed games with fun, engrossing bonus rounds, and
some with amazing state-of-the-art graphics and sound. New slots were the stars at G2E, and they shared the limelight with various lm and television luminaries who lend their images or names to exciting
slot machines. This year, the celebrities included Bob Denver
and Tina Louise (Gilligan’s Island slot), Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams (LaVerne and
Shirley slot), Barbara Eden (a newIDreamofJeannieslot)Max
Baer (The Beverly Hillbillies slot), Dick Clark (American Bandstand slots), Dan Ackroyd and Kevin
Nealon (Saturday Night Live slots) and comedian Jeff Foxworthy with a new slot all his own!
Gaming pundits at G2E also wax
about the future of gaming, and this year, more high-tech advances are predicted. While we in Southern California are accustomed to cashless gaming with tribal casinos’ ubiquitous ticket-in, ticket out technology (we love it!); the future of
gaming may include smart cards, downloadable games, and at-screen monitors! But the focus at G2E is on slots, the games we love to play, and there are many exciting ones getting ready for
2004.
When will we see the new slots here in Southern
California? Anywhere from four months to a year,
depending on the manufacturer and the machine. The process of getting new slot machines into casinos involves gaining the necessary regulatory approvals, so some slot machines will arrive in casinos sooner than others, depending upon the manufacturers’ and regulators’ schedules. And, of course, casino slot directors have to make the decision to acquire the games. So we may have to be patient. Meanwhile, here is a preview of some of our favorite slots from G2E.
Artimitateslife,and,yes,we believe slot machines have artistry, with their inventive
and often beautiful graphics, animation and clever bonus rounds. Some of the most successful (and we think artful) slot machines are based
on American pop culture.
Just walk around any casino oor and you’ll see Wheel of Fortune®, Harley Davidson®, Betty BoopTM, Lifestyles of
the Rich and FamousTM—just to name a few. This year’s crop of iconic slots includes lm and television stars, movies, TV shows, and comic strip characters.
IGT, the world’s largest slot developer has created some fantastic new wide area progressives. New MegaJackpotsTM slots include funnyman Rodney Dangerfield’s Reel RespectTM video slots. This 5-reel, 15-line, 75-coin nickel game supplies plenty of laughs with one-liners from the comic master and two funny bonus rounds—the Paying No Respect bonus and the Rodney’s Mug bonus. The new Diamond Cinema Featuring Frank SinatraTM video slots include two versions: The Record Wheel and the Gift Wheel in 5-reel, 15-line, 75-coin nickel games with sound clips