AGS, whose Bonus Spin Xtreme brings slot-style jackpots to table games throughout a casino, will spotlight several new pit innovations at the Global Gaming Expo, September 28 through October 1 at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.
Among them is a FlexBet option of Bonus Spin Xtreme that allows for two progressive jackpots at a single table and gives players the ability to wager different amounts on each. Another is a new table game called Free Raise Hold ’Em, a poker variant in which the house provides the pre-flop raise for players with strong starting hands, such as pocket aces through jacks.
“We’re showing the continued passion our department has when it comes to introducing new things and expanding on things that are working in the market,” said John Hemberger, senior vice president and general manager of table products for AGS. “We want to make sure we’re being a good partner to our customers and, most importantly, delivering games that are exciting for players.”
Hemberger said the company “planted our flag” with table game progressives and he expects FlexBet to be a “game changer.” He said FlexBet’s first installation, at a tribal casino in California, will likely be completed shortly after G2E. The sensor for placing the optional bet is color coded, such as red for $5 and green for $25; payouts for triggering events are made as a multiple of the bet rather than a set dollar amount.
“This lets players choose their own path when it comes to their bet amount,” Hemberger said. From an operator viewpoint, one player making a $25 progressive bet is equivalent to each player at a five-person table making a $5 bet.
This month, AGS announced the installation of its 1,000th unit of Bonus Spin Xtreme since the line was introduced in 2020. It is unique in its ability to build a progressive jackpot by linking all types of table games, including blackjack, baccarat, craps, poker variants, pai gow poker, and even live poker. Some operators offer one progressive for pit games and another for the poker room, while others link table games throughout the casino.
He said the rollout of Bonus Spin Xtreme in poker rooms has been “wildly successful” over the past 12 months, with more than 100 units in the market across about 20 properties. “On the performance side, it’s delivered meaningful revenue growth to the properties that are live with it,” he added.
Hemberger said the poker room at Firekeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek, Mich., reported that many players will wait for a table linked to Bonus Spin Xtreme, bypassing seats at a table without it. Because most poker players fold more hands than they play, a bet on the progressive keeps them involved in the game.
Free Raise Hold ’Em offers its own buzz, he said, because of the house-provided additional bet for “all those premium hands that you get excited to have as you’re peeling your cards open,” Hemberger said. While keeping details of the game mechanics under wraps before the G2E kickoff, he said the free-raise offer is part of the base game, with no side bet required. Players reveal their cards preflop only if they have a hand eligible for a free raise and standard game protection procedures apply. The house advantage is slightly more than 3 percent.
Premium payouts for royal flushes, quads, and similar payouts will come through side bets and progressives. “The key thing about the game is that when you open up any big starting hand, the house makes your Raise bet for you,” he said.
Free Raise Hold ’Em is easy to learn for players and dealers alike, Hemberger continued. “One of the hardest things with new games is training the dealers and getting them to understand the play and the payouts and everything. This is in the family of games they’re super comfortable dealing already, so just a little twist on that makes training very easy.”
AGS also will present a rejuvenated version of 3 Dice Football, a table game blending craps and American football. The game, first introduced about 15 years ago, mimics a drive that starts at the opponent’s 20-yard line. The shooter rolls three dice, two green and one red, to determine the outcome of a play. Green dice are positive yardage and red is negative. Participants bet on the outcome of the drive, which Hemberger compared to the pass/don’t pass line in craps, as well as on the results of each “down.” The shooter has three rolls to make a first down and up to three more to reach the end zone.
“It’s going to be wildly popular, because it is a great segue from sports betting into table games,” Hemberger said. “Dice games are where all the energy is in the pit.” 3 Dice Football will also be available online through AGS Interactive.
AGS will be in Booth 1150 during G2E.
