Ever since Aruze Gaming America was established in 2007 to re-establish its Tokyo-based parent company—then called Aruze Corporation—as a major U.S. slot manufacturer, the company has been evolving.
Evolution was nothing new for Aruze. The Japanese parent company started life as pachinko manufacturer Universal, which itself evolved into a major U.S. slot supplier in the 1980s. After reverting to mainly pachinko, the newly named Aruze got back into U.S. gaming first as a stakeholder in Wynn Corporation, and finally as what it is known as today, an innovative Las Vegas-based slot manufacturer.
The parent company, which went back to the name Universal Entertainment in 2009, has Aruze subsidiaries in Australia, Macau, the Philippines, South Africa and Japan, and is a major slot supplier in Australasian markets. Meanwhile, Aruze Gaming Americas has continued to evolve.
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That evolution has come in the form of a succession of hot slot products in a wealth of different product groups, from simple, classic video slots in the G-Series group to the “Reel Feel” technology of the monster hit Paradise Fishing in the G-Link series, to the G-Station series of multi-player table games.
For each of the past few years, Aruze has cultivated new product groups—first the G-Deluxe series, which adds elaborate, interactive top box bonuses to video slots; then two groups of its groundbreaking stepper series, Innovator with Radiant Reels. The Innovator stepper series features large reels—at 18.1 inches across, which each reel strip measuring 3.54 inches, they are the largest strips for a five-reel format in the business—backed by multi-colored LED lighting and variable reel speeds, with lighting and colors varying according to game conditions. Radiant Reels spin forward and backward at various speeds.
“There are 240 LEDs behind each reel,” notes Paul Omohundro, Aruze’s director of marketing, of the technology behind Innovator with Radiant Reels. “The reels have 10 different movements, as well as speeds ranging from 3 RPM to 200 RPM.”
Last year, Aruze combined the elaborate top boxes of G-Deluxe with its unique steppers to create the Innovator Deluxe series, with breakout games like “Alibaba,” “Aladdin and the Lamp,” and the two games that have become the company’s top earners, “The Gold” and “Platinum.”
Each game group has its own special game mechanics and unique bonus features, and each has its own appeal to players. For G2E 2013, the company is capitalizing on all those factors to inject new themes into all of its game groups, as well as introducing a completely new version of the Innovator stepper format.
The 4+1
That new Innovator series, called Innovator Multi-Action Extra Reel, employs a format called the “4+1 Reel.” It employs a four-reel base game, with a fifth mechanical reel used exclusively for bonusing. Many of those bonuses occur as random mystery events during free spins.
“The format is pretty spectacular,” says Omohundro. “The innovative technology and lighting just on the fifth reel changes between free games and multipliers and random awards.”
Just as in previous Innovator games, the four base Radiant Reels light up and spin at various speeds according to what’s happening in the game. But the fifth reel has a life of its own, speeding up, spinning various directions and coming alive at random times during the primary and bonus games to award multipliers, free games and credits.
The inaugural game for the new Innovator series, “Golden Frontier,” is packed with special features, many of them centered on interaction between the video character on the face of the top screen—a crusty old miner—and the bonus reel itself.
The face of the game is a masterful blend of 3D graphics and the mechanical reels. Above the reels is 3D animation of mountains in the background. Look just below and you get a dimensional look inside the mine. And there, standing right next to the mine, is the miner, who dances around, talks to the player and uses tools to affect what the bonus reel is doing.
For example, during free games, the miner dances to a goofy tune while the reels spin. But at any time, he may grab his pick and swing it to break through the dirt to the bonus reel, sending it spinning wildly to land on a multiplier, or extra free games.
In another random action, the miner will go back and get a hose and flood the bonus reel with water—the more water, the higher the multiplier goes. Or he may do it with dynamite—he grabs dynamite, throws it on the reel and blows the multiplier all the way up to 12X.
It’s all done with comical animation, and it transforms the reel-spinning game into an entertaining experience normally only found with video.
Innovator Parade
Aruze’s G2E booth this year will provide a showcase of new stepper games in the other two Innovator groups, as well as the new 4+1 version. In the Innovator Deluxe series, Aruze’s game developers this year set out to reproduce the great success achieved by The Gold and Crystal.
The two new Innovator Deluxe games follow the recipe of those two top games for the manufacturer. “Diamond Jackpot” and “Platinum” feature beautiful, sculpted top boxes conveying the valuable subject of their themes, featuring dual displays similar to The Gold and Crystal, with a wheel-like display of credit amounts alongside a display of free-spin numbers.
Each bonus symbol in a spin triggering the jackpot awards a special credit prize, and the more bonus symbols—in this case, a diamond or platinum symbol—the higher the number of free spins. The entire effect of the top-box displays merge with the Radiant Reels to offer remarkable visuals.
Aruze is launching an extensive group of new titles in the standard Innovator with Radiant Reels series. Among the standouts is “Sinbad,” which is a two-game community-style game that features both individual bonuses and a head-to-head competition between the two players, known as the “Versus Event.”
It is the follow-up to last year’s “Rich Life,” with the competitive bonuses taking place on a 60-inch common monitor—the actions of one player affecting the results of the other.
The Sinbad game presents an elaborate bonus sequence based on the literary seven adventures of Sinbad the Sailor. Credits rise as reel spins to send Sinbad through a top-box game board trying to defeat the Skeleton Knight, the Snake, the Cyclops and other famous foes from the legendary story. Getting past each obstacle awards credits and free games, or a Versus Event against the other player. All of Sinbad’s “battles” use perceived skill to create a distinct video-game feel.
The new community game is accompanied by a host of stand-alone Innovator titles. There is “Howling Wolf,” with its beautiful artwork, free spins and the “Moon Prize” bonus credit circle. There is “Circus Clown,” with slightly creepy clown characters and a hilarious “Clown Race” bonus that lets you pick a clown, who competes against the others in a bounce across the screen on big rubber balls. (The other bonus is a game board on the top box, with spins on the reels advancing a clown around the board.)
There is “The Great Inca,” with 3D Inca god bonus symbols that appear to jut out of the reels in one of the best examples of 3D technology you’ll find.
There are three different new “Cherry Chance” games, two of which bathe the entire cabinet and both LCD screens in a design that conveys the animal in the title—“Leopard Seven” or “Zebra Seven”—and the other a dazzling display called “Brilliant Seven.”
And finally, there is “Mountain Lion,” the latest game to feature the “Double My Feature” side bet. A five-credit ante wager doubles the free-spin choices, in which the player chooses a free-spin/multiplier combination according to volatility.
Classic Video
The wealth of Innovator games will be matched by new video slot titles in the G-Series, Aruze’s series of classic video slots with basic free-spin bonus features.
Many of the games feature Aruze’s “Ultra Stack” feature, which randomly stacks groups of symbols—including wilds—for big wins. Others include a progressive feature introduced last year with “Ultra Stack Lion Jackpot”—the jackpots in a multi-progressive display rise with the bet, but even betting the minimum qualifies the player for a progressive.
New titles in the Ultra Stack series include “Ultra Stack Diamond,” “Ultra Stack Diamond Jackpot,” “Ultra Stack Bison” and “Ultra Stack Panda Jackpot.”
One standout G-Series game being launched at the show is “Wolf 500G.” The “500” refers to the total possible number of free games. Each free-game bonus symbol randomly awards from three to 30 free games. The symbols can cover the entire screen, which, with a bonus number of free spins, gives you 500. The player has the option of picking a credit award in a range comparable to the free-spin prize if he wants to dispense with all that spinning.
Other G-series games debuting at G2E include “King Eagle,” “Ramses” and “Monkey Adventure.”
In all, more than 200 games on display will make this year’s G2E the biggest show in the history of Aruze Gaming.
That makes it the next big step in Aruze’s evolution.
- Appendices
- Slots Analysis
- Miscellaneous
Introduction
The following table ranks the Las Vegas casinos according to the looseness of their video display reeled nickel slot machines. The returns are based on a sampling of five different types of machines. The data collected goes back as far as October 2001 so the information is a bit dated.
Las Vegas 5 Cent Slot Survey
| Rank | Casino | Average Return |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palms | 93.42% |
| 2 | Gold Coast | 92.84% |
| 3 | Sahara | 92.81% |
| 4 (tie) | Bourbon Street | 92.63% |
| 4 (tie) | Imperial Palace | 92.63% |
| 4 (tie) | Slots a Fun | 92.63% |
| 7 | Key Largo | 92.60% |
| 8 | Western | 92.57% |
| 9 | Ellis Island | 92.56% |
| 10 | El Cortez | 92.56% |
| 11 | Orleans | 92.56% |
| 12 | Circus Circus | 92.56% |
| 13 | Gold Spike | 92.55% |
| 14 | Fitzgeralds | 92.54% |
| 15 | Fiesta - Rancho | 92.53% |
| 16 | Arizona Charlie's East | 92.51% |
| 17 | Barbary Coast | 92.50% |
| 18 | Terrible's | 92.49% |
| 19 | Arizona Charlie's | 92.49% |
| 20 | Hard Rock | 92.47% |
| 21 | Town Hall | 92.47% |
| 22 | Longhorn | 92.47% |
| 23 | Riviera | 92.23% |
| 24 | California | 92.14% |
| 25 | Lady Luck | 92.10% |
| 26 | Nevada Palace | 92.06% |
| 27 | Plaza | 91.94% |
| 28 | Luxor | 91.92% |
| 29 | Paris | 91.92% |
| 30 | San Remo | 91.88% |
| 31 | Excalibur | 91.84% |
| 32 | Palace Station | 91.84% |
| 33 | Ballys | 91.82% |
| 34 | Las Vegas Club | 91.76% |
| 35 | Four Queens | 91.75% |
| 36 | Texas Station | 91.71% |
| 37 | Casino Royale | 91.67% |
| 38 | Boulder Station | 91.55% |
| 39 | Aladdin | 91.5% |
| 40 | O'sheas | 91.48% |
| 41 | Hilton | 91.40% |
| 42 | Boardwalk | 91.28% |
| 43 | New York New York | 90.99% |
| 44 | Horseshoe | 90.96% |
| 45 | Sam's Town | 90.89% |
| 46 | Santa Fe Station | 90.87% |
| 47 | Flamingo | 90.86% |
| 48 | Golden Nugget | 90.85% |
| 49 | Stratosphere | 90.8% |
| 50 | Tropicana | 90.71% |
| 51 | Golden Gate | 90.64% |
| 52 | Silverton | 90.57% |
| 53 | Main Street Station | 90.56% |
| 54 | Westward Ho | 90.40% |
| 55 | Fremont | 90.37% |
| 56 | Castaways | 90.36% |
| 57 | Monte Carlo | 90.24% |
| 58 | Stardust | 89.97% |
| 59 | Frontier | 89.91% |
| 60 | MGM Grand | 89.81% |
| 61 | Harrahs | 89.32% |
| 62 | Treasure Island | 89.32% |
| 63 | Mirage | 89.3% |
| 64 | Caesars Palace | 89.05% |
| 65 | Mandalay Bay | 88.87% |
| 66 | Rio | 88.72% |
| 67 | La Bayou | 88.26% |
| 68 | Mermaids | 88.26% |
| 69 | Bellagio | 87.42% |
| 70 | Venetian | 86.66% |
| 71 | Airport | 85.02% |
Excluded Casinos
The Suncoast and Rampart Casino in Summerlin do not allow playing slots and taking notes at the same time. I can not include any casino that prohibits the method in which I gather data.
Location Averages
The next table shows the average return by location.
Returns by Region
| Location | Average Return |
|---|---|
| Off strip | 92.07% |
| Downtown | 91.66% |
| Strip | 91.47% |
| Total | 91.74% |
The above sign can be found across the street from the Palms. Although I did the study Anthony Curtis published it in the LasVegas Advisor, which is how it become well known. The'...' in the sign encompases quite a bit of information,which was conveniently left off the sign. Actually the study only says that the Palms had the lowest nickel video slotsof the casinos surveyed in Las Vegas. The small print at thebottom says, 'Independent study conducted between November2001-February 2002 on Austin Powers, Fortune Cookie, Reel'em In, and Wheel of Fortune games. They left off LeopardSpots, and the study began in October.
Observations
There seemed to be no truth behind slot placement myths. Machines on the end of a bank did no better on average than those in the middle. There was also no correlation between return and proximity to such things as the main door, table game pit, high traffic areas, and low traffic areas.
Most casinos were very consistent in their slot returns.If one nickel machine had a return of x% then all others like it also returned x%. However some casinos did mix up loose and tight machines, most notably Treasure Island and the California casinos.
Methodology
A kind and anonymous source provided me with par sheets for the games in question. The EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) chip is what tells the machine the order of the symbols on the reel, in some cases how the stops are weighted, how much each winning combination pays, and any other pertinent information about how much the machine pays.It is up to the slot manager to select which EPROM chip to order according to the return percentage desired. On atypical game there might be about 8 different possible return percentages, ranging from about 85% to 98%.
Each of the different par sheets has five sets of distinct reels. On video display slots the stops are not weighted; in other words all stops are equally likely. The distribution of each symbol on each reel is what determines the theoretical return of the machine. For example a higher paying machine may have more of the higher paying symbols.
On the machine itself three consecutive symbols arevisible on five different reels. By comparing actualobservations of results to the par sheets it is possible todetermine which reels the machine uses, and thus which par sheet and which return. There are various three-symbol combinations that appear in at least one but not all par sheets. So if one of these combinations occurs on an actualmachine it narrows down the possible par sheets. By playingenough the player can narrow down the possible par sheets tojust one.
To help identify the unique combinations I wrote a computer program for each game, which had the exact reel order of all 5 reels of all the par sheets. The program then counted the number of par sheets with each possible three-symbol combination. If the number was greater than 0 and less than the maximum then that combination was identified along with the associated par sheets it belonged to.
Golden Frontier Slot Machine Machines
It is then a matter of simply playing the game and comparing the outcomes to the list of partially unique combinations. It only takes about 5-10 plays per machine to narrow down the possibilities to just one par sheet.
The averages in the table are actually an average of averages. For each kind of machine at each casino I took an average return. Then I took the average of these averages over the five kinds of machines I tested for.
Slot Machine Definition
There is some confusion about what constitutes a 'slot machine' or 'slot.' My definition, and that of most gamblers, is a gambling machine with either actual spinning reels or video representations of the them.
People in the gaming business and regulators generally refer to a slot machine as any gambling machine, including reeled slots, video poker, video keno, video blackjack,etc.. For purposes of statistics both casino managers and regulators combine all the electronic gambling machines together. For example, the Slot Chart in Casino Player magazine and reports by the Nevada Gaming Control Board do not isolate just reeled slots but consider all electronic games a 'slot.' Therefore my return percentages should not be expected to agree with those reported by the casinos or regulators. As far as I know mine is the only source to isolate just the return of reeled slots.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Rob Feldheim for helping with the slot play and record keeping. Rob helped me with most of the casinos on the east side of town and part of downtown. I would also like to thank par Sheet Pete (not his real name)for providing the par sheets, without which this project would not have been possible.
Internal Links
Go to slot machine appendix3B (Jean/Primm slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3D(Henderson slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3E(Las Vegas quarter and dollar slot returns).
Go to slot machine appendix 3F(Montreal slot return).
Go back to slot machines.
External Links
The main-stream media has covered this study in depth. Here are links to some articles.
- Turning'em loose, an article that appeared in the Las VegasReview Journal on May 19, 2002, about the possible effectsof this study.
- One-Armed Bandit or Robin Hood?, an article by myself for Contingencies Magazine explaining the methodology, results, and weaknesses of the study.
- Play by the rules and the one-armed bandits will still win. Boston Globe article about slot machines, in which my Las Vegas survey is mentioned and my advice quoted. (cache)