Every year, slot machine manufacturers debut hundreds of new games, and the prime place they introduce them to casino executives is the annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. The display floors include the wares of companies that pitch new table games, security systems, chairs, chips and just about anything you'd ever find in a live casino. The biggest, brightest booths commanding the most floor space are those of the major slot manufacturers.
All have games that practically scream "Play me!" Here are five of the best new slots you'll see in the coming year. Most will debut in live casinos before being adapted for online casinos, but you can expect players to flock to these games.
There are bonus events featuring Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer, of course. But secondary characters also are featured, such in the Festivus Bonus. You use a motion sensor to grab the Festivus pole while Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza announces, "A new holiday is born: Festivus for the rest of us." When you have the pole, it launches the Festivus free spins.
Then there's the Soup Nazi, a fun bonus event featuring custom content Thomas recorded in a green-screen shoot at Scientific Games' Chicago facilities.
In the Soup Nazi bonus, cartons of soup roll by on a conveyor. Some reveal bonus credits, others contain a character's face. If you get a character, it's worth a trip to a bonus wheel that's superimposed on the Soup Nazi. Some wheel segments are open so you can see Thomas beneath. Other spaces award credits, but if the wheel lands on an open space and the Soup Nazi's face shows, it's "No soup for you!" and the round ends.
"Sharknado is a very fun slot game", said Matt Wilson, senior vice president for global operations at Aristocrat. "This has a cult following, and it's obviously a bizarre concept that the movie's based around. Sharks are thrown out of the tornado at you. You swat the sharks for bonuses. All the time, the music from the show is playing".
Money Rain has some fun differences of its own. Symbols are U.S. currency, and when you have a winning combination, the depicted presidents' smile. Symbols aren't static; they're on a split flip display. It's as if there's a hinge in the middle of a video symbol instead of reels spinning the top half of each symbol flips down to reveal a whole new symbols.
The Super Skybox version adds a bonus wheel. In live casinos, it's huge, the product of syncing video on screens across four machines.
One bonus event takes full advantage of touch-screen technology. Currency of different denominations flies across the screen and you touch them to collect bonuses".
Some of the flying currency doesn't' award credits. Instead, some bills award spins on a Super Sky Wheel. On the wheel, you can win more credits or a progressive jackpot.
It's great fun in live casinos with features that would translate well to an online version.
Everi does just that with Casablanca, a five-reel video slot with a five-level progressive jackpot.