Page 16 - Southern California Gaming Guide • April 2020

Slot Tournament Basics: FI un Competitive Play f slots are your favorite casino game, you can get into the high-paced frenzy of competitive slot play almost any day of the week at Southern California casinos. With prizes that include free play and often big cash, slot tournaments provide a thrilling level of competition where slot players can join together right on the casino floor in an exciting event. Casino slot tournament staff are cheer and party leaders who provide a fun experience encouraging players to tap-tap- tap a slot’s screen or spin button at breakneck speed. Slot Tournament Play If you have never played in a slot tournament, you’re missing out on lots of thrills and a chance to win big. For the uninitiated, casino slot tournaments are played on a specific group of slot machines, including the award-winning Everi TournEvent® system. The TournEvent system provides players a dynamic tournament experience. With the TournEvent system, casino operators can switch networked slot machines from live single- guest play to tournament play at the touch of a button, eliminating the hassle of machine moves, or need for separate tournament areas. TournEvent enables casino operators to create unique team slot tournaments, offering a variety of customizable options based on the number of players, mechanics of team advancement, rankings and tournament prize awards. Gone are the days when casinos had to take hours to determine session and overall tournament winners. Slot tournaments are run at a specific time, and are divided into sessions, with each session lasting a predetermined length of time, often in short increments, 3 to 5 minutes. Slot tournament machines automatically stop when the time has elapsed. The object of slot tournament play is to rack up as many points as possible in the allotted time. Usually, players can play only one time in a slot tournament, but there are sometimes exceptions. Players compete in the 2018 TournEvent of Champions Million Dollar Event® in Las Vegas When all the players of a session are ready, the slot machines are activated and the frenzy of play begins. Players furiously tap the slot machine’s spin button or screen for the entire length of the session. The top prize goes to the participant who has the highest point total for the entire event. Slot tournaments are not like regular slot play. Instead of trying to win the most money from slot machines, the objective is to accrue as many points as possible. In a slot tournament, a player wants to accumulate more points than any of the other players. The slot machines are adjusted for play without money, therefore risk is limited only to the cost of the tournament entry fee, if any. Many casinos run slot tournaments in which players club members can enter by earning a specified number of points within a specific period of time. Or there are invitational tournaments for certain levels of players club members. Or there may be tournaments with ♦ Arrive at the registration area before the required time. ♦ Turn off your cell phone before you start to play. ♦ Be sure to press the spin button or tap the screen fast. ♦ Play the maximum bet on every spin. ♦ Be sure nothing distracts you. ♦ Don’t waste time waiting for wins to count up. ♦ Don’t look around to see how other players are doing. ♦ Don’t stop playing until your session time is up. ♦ Don’t chat with neighboring players. ♦ Don’t forget to have fun! Slot Tournament Dos & Don’ts PAGE 16 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE APRIL 2020