Each year brings new slot products, many of which are themed from recent TV series, popular movies, and, oh, Wheel of Fortune. The latest incarnation is Wheel of Fortune Double Diamonds 3D, which is rolling out across the United States this year. The graphics include coins that sometimes appear to fly off the screen and into the player’s lap.
Those who have walked slot floors in the past two decades can confirm that slot machines are somewhat like restaurants: patrons are attracted to the newest thing, and if something sticks around a few years, it’s special. In the case of Wheel of Fortune, it’s been 20 years now: the TV show, hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, has proven to be a long-term attraction for both TV viewers and slot players.
“It’s one of the very few game brands that is truly timeless, and a huge home run,” said Staci Alonso, executive vice president for Station Casinos.
Alonso, who worked for two years at International Game Technology, the manufacturer of the Wheel of Fortune game, says IGT has done a good job of keeping the game fresh, but there’s also a universal appeal.
“Of course the game elements are great, but they continue to adapt as tastes change in player preferences,” she said. “And there’s nothing more powerful when you walk across the floor and you hear WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE. You instantly know.”
The other universal is that the game is multigenerational. “I think it’s somewhat nostalgic. People just starting to come to casinos grew up watching it with their grandparents,” she said. “It’s a positive emotional memory for at least three generations.”
Rick Ronca, slot director at El Cortez Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, agrees, saying he sees young people playing Wheel of Fortune games. “Just over the weekend, I walked by and the games were all taken up by people in their 20s,” he said. “It was a great show and that also attracts players to it.”
IGT has created more than 230 variations of Wheel of Fortune, some featuring the wheel spinning and others even giving players a chance to solve a word puzzle. “They’ve just done a remarkable job of rebranding it,” Ronca said.
There are more than 7,500 machines of some Wheel of Fortune ilk scattered across the United States, said Phil O’Shaughnessy, IGT senior director of global communications. He notes that the machines have yielded record jackpots, including $14.4 million won in Biloxi in 2009.
Wheel of Fortune machines at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, are part of a group of “progressive” machines, meaning a little piece of each spin goes into a larger jackpot. Over the past weekend, that jackpot was near $400,000, and similar jackpots are piling up wherever there is a progressive game. Hit one of those and you can buy a heck of a lot of vowels.
