Tony Gambler
Belatra Games
Even today the mighty slot machines are the both the biggest draw and the most profitable portion of a casino’s bottom line as players often play them continuously 24 hours per day in an attempt to win those huge and elusive progressive jackpots.
In order to keep slot machines such a huge hit, gaming companies are always striving to offer the latest and greatest features and themes to punters in an effort to draw them in. With technological advances this is possible now more than ever before, allowing generations of players to immerse themselves in a television or film themed experience, potentially winning huge cash prizes in the process.
New land based slot machines generally launch in quarterly segments, and many of the games themselves are premiered at trade shows such as the Global Gaming Expo and the ICE Show in London. At every show dozens of spectacular games are teased, complete with the latest wonderfully constructed game cabinets, technical innovations, new screens/displays, and the latest audio advances, which will boom throughout the casino as a backdrop.
By far the highlight of my annual calendar is to travel to the G2E convention in Las Vegas where all the leading slot manufacturers give sneak previews of their new flagship titles that will be released over the forthcoming year. Companies such as Bally Technologies, WMS, IGT, Konami and Aristocrat all offer slot machines to land establishments across the world and for G2E attendees you can get the chance to play all their brand new slot machines before they hit the casino floors in Las Vegas.