Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MAY 2015 40 On Sic Bo Bonus Jackpot, the dream of winning big is fueled by the four-level Cai Shen Progressive Jackpot, which all players are eligible to win without any side bet necessary. The crowd-pulling elements come in the form of dice floating on a cushion of air, along with massive signage and results displays. The selection of female dealers on the video baccarat game ranges from a girl-next-door type to more exotic, risqué choices, with video images of the models from the wrist up seamlessly combined with a clever computer rendering of their hands and the cards they’re holding. The game allows the player to place bets on five different tables, and the main unit has separate screens enabling players to follow the action on their table of choice, along with their preferred dealers. The massive big-wheel game consists of three concentric rings with numbered positions around which a ball spins. Unlike other big-wheel games, it features additional positions that allow the ball to progress to the next ring. Each successive ring features larger payouts and higher-level progressive awards to build excitement and anticipation. The play is easy. Simply place a wager on a single number. No side bet is necessary, but larger bets have a greater chance of qualifying for higher-level progressives. The company recommends placing about 30 betting stations around the main unit of each game, though it provides operators the flexibility to scale that up to 100 stations. The stations have large screens equipped with handy features that help players follow the games and intuitively place bets. “These machines are very important for our company, basically to show what we are capable of doing,” stresses Mr Maekawa. “Even if we go on to make slot machines, we will always make sure they have an entertainment aspect to them. We don’t know how long it will take for our products to gain traction in the market, but we’re sure that Macau is going to need these types of machines and I think that time will prove our games successful.” There are obvious benefits to having a backer like SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. “It gives us access to a strong, experienced development team that provides considerable help in producing new games with new technology,” says Mr Maekawa. “Also, in terms of sales it helps because a lot of people are familiar with the games SEGA provided in the late ‘80s and ‘90s [through arcades and home consoles worldwide], so it’s easier for us to actually talk to these people because they’re usually interested in finding out what kind of products SEGA SAMMY is going to provide in the gaming industry. It’s certainly given us a chance to talk to operators directly. At least it gets our foot in the door.” Another benefit of having such a big, established parent company is it offers prospective customers an assurance of quality. “SEGA obviously needed to achieve a high standard of quality to become a global leader in amusement, and it’s also a requirement at Sammy because pachinko, like gaming, is a very strictly regulated industry. So we have that background of ensuring quality. The part that we were lacking was the knowledge of gaming compliance, so we made sure when we started this business that we had members on our team with knowledge and experience from the gaming industry. So while we set out to produce machines that look new, very different, they’re not just a bunch of crazy machines and operators can feel safe we make them based on quality and gaming compliance, and the machines have a solid and secure backbone.” Feature The selection of female dealers on the video baccarat game ranges from a girl- next-door type to more exotic, risqué choices, with video images of the models from the wrist up seamlessly combined with a clever computer rendering of their hands and the cards they’re holding.