Inside Asian Gaming

FEBRUARY 2016 inside asian gaming 31 Tech Talk they would typically see at the slot machine, and offering targeted bonusing applications directly on their mobile device. Konami aims to augment a player’s gaming experience by using a familiar, everyday device that players already have in order to provide more opportunities for player engagement.” IGT Tournament Manager, IGT’s slot tournament solution, has been in the field for several years and the company recently unveiled Tournament Manager 5.0, its latest iteration of the system. Part of the Tournament Manager 5.0 offering is Spin Ferno, a product that enables operators to host single or multi-site slot tournaments on IGT’s S3000 line of spinning reel cabinets. “Spin Ferno debuted at G2E and it was met with resounding enthusiasm, as it gives our customers another way to build on the successful momentum of the S3000 cabinet,” said Victor Duarte, global chief product officer, gaming, for IGT. “Of course the player interest in the solution is what drives its success, and response to the S3000 cabinet has been remarkable. Our focus groups and G2E feedback on Spin Ferno reflect a similar positive sentiment. Players really enjoy the touch-panel display below the Spin Ferno mechanical reels, as it adds an extra, interactive element to the spinning reel slot experiences and encourages players to use both hands in tournament play, rather than just bashing buttons repeatedly.” According to Duarte, Spin Ferno is going through trials and is expected to enter the market in early 2016. “Based on feedback collected at G2E and the overall popularity of the S3000 cabinet as performance predictors, we believe that this product is well- positioned to be a hit on casino floors.” With a 90 percent market share in the video poker space, it only makes sense that IGT has also developed a tournament solution for the still popular slot game format.The company’s Ultimate X Poker with Power Deals Tournament Game is fueled by Tournament Manager 4.0 and enables operators to host spirited video poker tournament games on their casino floors. SCIENTIFIC GAMES Online literature states that with the Bally Tournaments Express, casino operators can quickly and easily turn just about any iVIEW Display Manager (DM)-equipped slot machine on their floor into tournament machines, regardless of the slot-management system or manufacturer. Once the tournament ends, games can easily be switched back into revenue-generating mode, adding versatility and the best use of floor space. Using a PC or tablet, Tournaments Express can easily change more than 120 different slot cabinets from over 20 manufacturers into tournament games within seconds. The Tournaments Express game suite includes just about any kind of tournament — free-play, invite-only, buy-in, multi-round, group-start sessions, or play-as-you-come. Tournaments Express is a complete package that includes an interactive kiosk for players to self-register — requiring less time and fewer operating staff. There is also a display that shows scores and results in real-time for everyone to see. A feature setting Scientific Games apart from competitors is the full integration of the player tracking system. “A lot of the competitive solutions all make various portions of the tournament operations, but only the DM tournament product enables everything from tournament creation, setting-up the invite list, segmenting players, all the way through to running the tournament and at the very end awarding those prizes,” said Ted Keenan, senior director of systems product management, Scientific Games. Another claim to fame for Tournaments Express is that it’s the first system to offer a Bonus Tournament format which allows the game to stay in revenue producing mode. This allows the player to continue to play their base game while at the same time playing their bonus tournament game. “We are taking the tournament application and really expanding it into other areas and opportunities,” said Tom Doyle, vice president of systems product management for Scientific Games. “One of the features that is coming out next year is that we are going to allow the people at the machine to suddenly have the opportunity to buy into a slot tournament.” Scientific Games’ new BetVIEW technology is a new wagering solution that enables players to make secondary, concurrent bets, on a variety of games through Bally’s iVIEW DM and the Elite Bonusing Suite. Players will be able to spontaneously use their game meter credits and place additional wagers on secondary games like floor-wide tournaments, without leaving their machines. Reprinted with permission of Casino Journal . Spin Ferno reel slot tournament system from IGT