I've been writing this column for 10 years, and going to casinos a good
deal longer than that, and the casino industry never ceases to amaze me.
When I first came up close and personal to slot machines, penny slots were
a curiosity, a relic from the past. Downtown Las Vegas had penny machines
at the El Cortez and the Gold Spike with an area called the Copper Mine,
and there was a little throwback place called Little Caesar's, near the
Aladdin on the Strip, that had penny games.
That was it. Penny games were on their way toward becoming extinct, and
nickel machines weren't far behind.
Times change; technology changes. Nickel machines are among the most
popular, plentiful, profitable slots around. And it looks like players are
eager to see just how low they can go with their coin denominations.
Within the last few weeks, Hollywood Casino in Aurora and Empress in
Joliet have added 2-cent slots. In Indiana, 2-centers are long-established
at Trump and Majestic Star in Gary. Majestic Star also has had penny
Hundred Play video poker for some time and is starting to sprinkle in
penny video reel slots. A little farther afield, Blue Chip in Michigan
City, Ind., has 2-cent slots and Par-A-Dice in East Peoria has both penny
games and 2-centers.
What was it that has brought low-denomination games back from the
near-dead?
Technology. If slot machines had never grown beyond traditional three-reel
games, and if coins were still dropping into trays after every win, we
wouldn't be seeing penny and 2-cent games today. Such games just couldn't
earn enough money to justify their places on the floor.
Video slots have changed everything. Players have become used to the idea
of having five, nine and sometimes more paylines on nickel games. Now,
with penny and 2-cent games, most have 15, 20 or more lines. Just as
important, ticket-in, ticket-out paybacks mean that casinos don't have to
keep huge inventories of coins or tokens on hand, and they don't lose time
to coin jams or hopper fills.
It's possible to play these games one line at a time, one coin at a time.
A truly dedicated low-roller could spin the reels or deal hands of poker a
penny or 2 cents at a time, but most don't. Most players at least bet all
the paylines, even if they wager only one coin per line.
The bottom line has been low-cost fun for the players and profits that
hold their own for the casinos. In May, Majestic Star and Trump earned
more per machine on their 2-cent slots than they did on either nickel or
quarter games. Illinois doesn't publish statistics that allow for the same
comparison, but Tammy Couchman, slot director at Par-A-Dice, told me that
her penny and 2-cent games are top performers.
That's by no means a local phenomenon. Andre Filosi, director of slot
operations at the locals-oriented Sam's Town casino in Las Vegas, told me
his penny games also are outearning his nickel and quarter machines.
Low-denomination games are the hot growth items in the casino industry of
today, and in the next few years you'll see more games designed for
low-denom games. Look for penny and 2-cent games to have more paylines and
higher-coin maximum bets than nickel games, for starters.
On a recent walk through Empress, I took a look at its new 2-cent games.
All the Empress slots now have ticket printers. Among the 2-cent games,
most offer multiple denominations, allowing the player to touch the screen
to choose among 2-cent, 5-cent and 10-cent denominations. However,
Aristocrat, a pioneer in producing low-denomination games in Australia,
has games such as Pompei and Wicked Winnings in 2-cent-only configuration
on the Empress floor.
There are quite a lot of multiple-denomination games at Empress, and not
just with a 2-cent base. I checked out several games on WMS' new CPU Next
system and comfortable ergonomic Bluebird slot cabinets. Games such as
Milk Money, Wild Wilderness and Jackpot Party Classic allow the player to
choose nickel, dime or quarter play. Same with IGT games, including Dick
Clark's Bloopers, Risque Business and Lucky Larry's Lobstermania.
Before long, we're likely even to see penny options in
multiple-denomination machines in many Chicago-area casinos. Thanks to the
technology, that works for both players and the casinos.
