Next Gaming, which began its Nevada trial of skill-based slot machines amid the pandemic slowdown last fall, is revving up its placements as casinos and the economy roar back.
CEO Michael Darley said the company recently signed contracts for its arcade-style slots to be placed at the $1 billion Circa casino in Downtown Las Vegas, in addition to shipping machines to Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla., and Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, N.M. Those join installations at Pioneer in Laughlin, Nev., Blue Lake in Northern California, and Binion’s and Four Queens in Las Vegas.
“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Darley said. “We want to make sure that we don’t get over our skis here with too many placements at once, because we want to execute well.”
Next Gaming’s slots are markedly different from traditional machines on which players make a bet by pressing a button and watching symbols spin on a virtual or actual reel. Instead, these games attract players with video game action and titles, including Asteroids by Atari, BUST-A-MOVE and Arkanoid from Taito, and Next Gaming’s own shooting game, Zforce.
Darley said traditional slots “ingrained” players to “press a button, get an outcome; press a button, get an outcome.” With the company’s skill games, players must complete a task on the screen before a bet is made. In Asteroids, a player must blast an object first; in BUST-A-MOVE, a player must pop at least three balls.
“Ours have an activity – press a button, use the joystick, use a spinner. It may or may not derive an outcome, but when it derives an outcome, you have a wager. That’s different,” Darley said.
“You’re honestly playing longer in an enjoyable sequence.” Although a player’s skill at the video game can lead to larger wins, the machines employ a random number generator to ensure a casino’s long-term return.
With full certification granted by BMM Testlabs and Nevada regulators, the company’s games can be placed in any state, as long as individual jurisdiction or tribal requirements are met. Next Gaming has additional titles expected to be available in the next few months: Tempest, Missile Command and Centipede, all from Atari, plus Space Invaders and BUST-A-MOVE Adventure from Taito.
Darley said the company expects to focus most of its efforts on Nevada, at least for now. “Not that we wouldn’t go to Oklahoma or New Mexico or California, but we have so many opportunities in Nevada,” he said.
Next Gaming was founded by gaming veteran Terry Caudill of TLC Casino Enterprises, which owns Binion’s and Four Queens casinos. It is based in Las Vegas.
“I’m going to make sure that we populate Nevada – Las Vegas, specifically – with machines,” said Darley, whose 30-plus years of gaming experience include being chief operating officer of Majestic Star Casino and general manager of Fitzgeralds (now The D) in Las Vegas.
In Las Vegas, “you’ve got half-a-dozen different gambling spots that have completely different demographics,” he said, citing Dotty’s slot machine parlors, Station Casinos, Downtown casinos and Strip megaresorts. “You’ve got a wider swath of a demographic population in Nevada than I think anywhere else.”
Keeping the company moving forward during the COVID pandemic was a challenge and accomplishment, Darley said.
“Our strategy from the start (was) not to be everything to everybody but have strong strategic alliances so we can get things accomplished.” That approach allowed the company to minimize pandemic layoffs, to complete the Nevada game trials, and to “emerge with some momentum,” Darley said.
The pandemic forced many companies, including casinos, to find ways to operate leaner and more efficiently. For example, many casinos had to shut down as many as half their slot machines to meet social-distancing requirements. As casinos reopened, Darley said, early figures suggest operators are able to hit revenue targets with fewer machines. That can allow a casino to add skill-based games without directly replacing traditional machines.
“Slot floor space has always been some of the most valuable real estate at a casino,” Darley said. “Some of the casinos now aren’t so concerned about revenue per square foot … and they can be a little more flexible with the win per unit.”
Darley said players who have tried Next Gaming machines represent a wide age range, from those who enjoyed the video games in arcades during their youth to those accustomed to playing on consoles or online.
“They don’t want to sit down and press a button and look at an outcome,” he said. “They want some stimulation. They want to feel like they’re engaged in the game.
“That’s one of the reasons we designed these games.”
