Inside Asian Gaming

April 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 23 they play, and the casino says if you come back to us with over 10,000 credits in your balance, we’ll give you $100 free at the casino to play,” explains Mr Zinder. “We have messaging components inside the game. Let’s say once a week the casino can push a message into the game saying at the Venetian in March, there’s going to be a big jackpot, for example,” adds Mr Zinder. “That is a very powerful tool. It bonds the player much more tightly with a specific casino. It keeps the players involved with the casino, it keeps the casino’s brand in front of the player’s face, it continues to create a relationship, and it also provides an incentive for the player to come back to the casino, cash in their loyalty points, and get something.” Mr Zinder mentions the case of one OnCash client operating a land-based casino within a province where casino gambling is legal, while casinos are illegal in other provinces of the same country. When players go to the cashier to cash in their chips and leave the casino,“the cashier asks if they’re interested in continuing to play on their mobile device,” says Mr Zinder. When the players return to other provinces where casino gambling is illegal, they can continue playing on their phones as long as “the only place where players can purchase credits and cash out their winnings is in the physical location at the casino.” Mr Zinder believes this extension of a casino’s presence to provinces where it is not permitted is something which could be applied to mainland Chinese visitors returning from Macau. It is by no means certain this would be allowed, however, and Mr Zinder admits “we are still looking into it.” Prolific portfolio Spin 3 trumpets its broad range of graphics-rich mobile games as “small on size, big on details.”The table games include blackjack, roulette, and the Asian favourite, baccarat.Theslotgamesincludeprogressives, classic three-reel and the highly popular Lara Croft Tomb Raider™. Video Poker and other colourful games such as keno and scratch cards round out the company’s unparalleled made-for-mobile games portfolio. The Major Millions™ progressive slot game offers “a huge jackpot network that’s connected to all Microgaming powered casinos,” and has made seven instant millionaires to date. “It has a progressive jackpot that stars at a quarter of a million dollars, pounds or euros, depending on which currency the player is playing. No other mobile game in any genre that has a prize that is that high, anywhere in the world,” says Mr Zinder. When the line drops Asked how Spin 3 games stand up to falling phone lines and other technical issues, Mr Zinder responds: “It is extremely robust, so when you have a connection drop, it refreshes the game exactly to the point where the connection was dropped.” In addition, “players have access to a system called PlayCheck™,” says Mr Zinder. “It’s an instant replay system that allows the players to go back and see exactly what happened in every given moment in every one of their games. You can go in and have a visual representation of every one of the hands that were dealt, any one of the results on the slot reels—everything. This feature is unique to Microgaming powered and Spin 3 mobile casinos.” Mobile Gaming