Casino on the Net

The traditional “pull a lever” slot machine used for over a hundred years in every casino is likely to be replaced by more sophisticated and computerized slot machines. A new class of machines, designed to attract younger players who grew up with video games, is also demanding more than just time, they also require dexterity.  The hand eye coordination is an element that will be added to slot machines as well as joysticks, which the industry expects to be particularly popular, and others that will allow users to play in tandem or against one another, much as they do in many online games, including online poker. The new machines include features like surround sound, flat-panel display screens and images as vivid as those seen on today’s video games. One of the more popular is a slot machine based on the movie Top Gun, created by WMS Gaming, in Waukegan, Ill.

 “Younger players come to town to party,” said George Maloof Jr., president of the Palms Casino Resort. “They drink, they go to nightclubs, they go to the after-hours clubs, they check out the pool for the scene there. Gambling in general is not high on their agenda.” Slot makers are in the early phase of their efforts to draw in younger players. Moreover, they do not want to discourage their prime audience; they continue to create games aimed at reaching those they identify as the industry’s most coveted users: women 55 to 65 with time on their hands and money to spend.

Still, the generation that grew up on digital electronics is not about to turn its back on them. In one effort to appeal to a younger generation of gamblers, Bally Technologies, of Las Vegas, signed a deal with Atari, the video game pioneer, to develop a series of skill-based slot machines, starting with a Pong-style machine. That game was presented to the public in August 2007 and includes a paddle control knob that can be used when reaching a bonus round.

“Younger people, after years of solitary activity on their Gameboys and televisions and PCs, desire real human interaction,” said Joseph S. Weinert, an analyst with the Spectrum Gaming Group, a consultancy based in Atlantic City. “That’s why you see poker being so popular, along with other table games.”