Slot machine-playing regulars are used to the drill: When they sit down at a
machine, they insert a player rewards card into a reader. A small screen
flashes a message that can be as simple as "Accepted," to let the customer
know play is being tracked.
In more forthcoming clubs, more information is offered, with a message such
as "Welcome (player's name). Points: 140. Coins to next point: 40." The
player then may be given a countdown, showing progress as the player builds
points toward cash back or other comps.
Such systems have been around for a decade or more, and it's time for an
upgrade. Both hardware and software on slot machines have taken leaps
forward in technology, so why not player rewards systems?
At the recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, several manufacturers were
showing player tracking systems that incorporated color LCD panels with
touch-screen capability, all the better not only to advertise casino
promotions right at the machine, but to allow players to check the status of
their club accounts, summon a slot host or call a cocktail waitress.
Not everyone is going to spend the money to convert their systems overnight,
but make no mistake, the LCD panels are coming. The combination of upgrading
customer service while keeping the customer seated at the slots instead of
wandering off to check points is going to prove irresistible to many
casinos.
The system that wowed me at the expo, the one with the most bells and
whistles, was Konami Gaming's Namb II. The casino advertising on the screen
can be customized to player preferences. As the player builds a history, the
system can keep track of customer preferences, and present on the screen
advertising for the promotions, restaurants or amenities most likely to
interest that player. The player not only can check slot club points on the
screen, but the system can be configured so the customer can transfer slot
club cash back into credits on the game.
One extra really caught my eye. Set into the left side of the screen was a
square that gave the player streaming video. The player could touch the
screen to choose one of four channels.
At the expo, I touched the screen, and up popped live video of the Houston
Astros-Atlanta Braves National League baseball playoff game. Not as big a
deal, perhaps, as it would have been if the Cubs hadn't collapsed in the
last week of the season, but I multitask well enough to keep track of both a
ballgame and the spinning reels as long as I'm not in a bonus round.
Even among casinos that choose to upgrade soon, not all will take advantage
of all of Namb II's capabilities. Regulators in some states won't allow
direct transfer of cash back to slot credits just yet, and some operators
will be wary of the video slowing play on the games.
But make no mistake. The technology upgrade is coming, and Konami is showing
us where it can go.
***
In my review of new slot machines a couple of weeks ago, I didn't nclude
Konami's new products. Its games aren't commonplace in the Midwest just yet,
although they are making inroads. Konami's place in the market at this time
appears to be on the low-denomination, penny and 2-cent games that are
taking off in popularity.
All of its games incorporate bonus rounds, both on reel-spinning and video
formats. The reel-spinning games have a 7-inch LCD screen to the right of
the reels on which bonus rounds similar to those on video slots are played.
And like many manufacturers, Konami has gone big for multi-level progressive
games. In introducing its Fusion series, Konami went for a five-way
progressive, with copper, bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels. The
lower levels hit frequently, giving more players the thrill of winning a
progressive jackpot, while still enabling the casino to offer a larger
jackpot at the top.
One Konami video game I tested was the bow-wow themed Barkin' Bucks. I
forced a couple of bonus rounds - one of the fun things about the expo is
that since you're not playing for money, the games are set up to allow
potential buyers and prying reporters to see what they can do. On Barkin'
Bucks, the Dog Day Bonus on the first screen is a scatter pay, with dogs
landing on the paylines digging deep under the symbols for a bonus bone. On
the second screen, I tried the Family Fun Bonus, choosing family members to
play with the dog - a man tosses a ball and the overexcited dog crashes, or
the family cat arches its back and fights, or a woman feeds the dog. It's
your basic video slot fun.
