The annual Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention held this past week in San Diego featured the latest in flashy, high-tech, video slot machines. Likewise, nearly every booth advertised some form of artificial intelligence enhancements. There’s no doubt that the future was on display at on the show floor.
However, it was somewhat refreshing to learn that some of the old-school proven promotions not only still work, but also remain one of the best ways to create additional casino visits.
Cash Blast from category-leader SCA Gaming is a type of promotion that has been around forever under different names, like “Whirlwind of Cash,” “Cash Hurricane,” and many others. In the photo below, SCA sales rep Dawn Keller is attempting to stuff as much cash into a slot as she can in 30 seconds to win that amount.
SCA, in addition to leasing this type of equipment, is also in the risk business. They’ve updated the “whirlwind” concept (if the casino wants) by offering prizes of $100,000 and more.
In that case, one of the bills in the blower booth has a special marking. If it ends up being one of the bills the player has stuffed into the slot, they win the giant jackpot. Not only is this exciting for the one chosen to be in the booth, it’s also a great spectator event.
Kirk Hasell has been with SCA for nearly three decades and says that the inspiration for many of these promotions comes from TV game shows. “One of our most popular promotions is our ‘triple’ wheel, which is very similar to the single one used on ‘The Price Is Right’,” he says. However, the triple wheel also looks a lot like a standard (but giant) mechanical-reel slot machine. It combines the best of both worlds.
A newer company, Odds On Gaming, offers similar game-type promotions. Business Development Manager Chris Gardiner says, “We like to give a mini-game-show experience to the players. These games are something that everyone grew up watching, like the ‘Price is Right’ or ‘Wheel of Fortune.’ That’s the biggest draw that you can go to your local casino and participate in a game that you’ve seen for years.”
Hadsell says that SCA has hundreds of these types of games crisscrossing the country, whether it’s a tribal facility, traditional Las Vegas resort, or on the coast in Mississippi. “We’re even in Macau and other international markets.” He said they have hundreds of different units and “we keep them busy almost all the time.”
What really makes both of these companies unique as compared to local in-house promotions is that they can offer the option of life-changing jackpots if the casino is interested. Both Hadsell and Gardiner said they’re also specialized insurance companies. In other words, they insure the risk of the someone hitting one of the big prizes. They evaluate the odds and for a fee commit to paying the large jackpots if they’re hit.
It would be rare that any casino (or non-casino) golf tournament didn’t offer a high-end prize for hitting a hole in one. More than likely, that prize of a new car or cash was insured by SCA or Odds On.
Hadsell said the company started by offering sports-team promotions like sinking a golf putt the length of the basketball court at halftime. “We’ve taken that general concept to the gaming industry and it’s our challenge to keep coming up with ideas for casinos to offer their guests, like changing prizes.”
He adds that his games are offered on leases and the average promotion stays in place for about 30 days. “Most casinos let 50 to 100 guests play the larger games throughout the month. However, with our digital kiosks, we can get thousands through. It just depends on what the casino wants to do.”
Likewise, Odds On offers mass promotions, some featuring free lottery-like tickets for drawings or others that use traditional bingo or keno blowers that can award prizes depending on the numbers shown. Generally, all entries are free and therefore are not really “gaming” devices.
Perhaps the real appeal of these products is that the casinos can choose when and where to offer their promotions. Maybe they need players earlier in the day or just on big weekends. The options are endless. Best of all, just like the game shows that inspired them, they never seem to go out of style.
