Aristocrat, Everi Dominate EKG Slot Awards

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) has announced the winners of the third annual EKG Slot Awards, with Aristocrat once again dominating the field.

The EKG Slot Awards were created by EKG, a top slot industry consultancy, to recognized excellence in slot machine gaming development within both the land-based and interactive sectors. There are 21 categories of awards for which the consultancy received nominations, and the winners are determined by votes from more than 100 qualified slot directors representing over 300 casinos from across North America.

Interactive gaming winners are determined by a vote of a distinguished panel of industry experts.

The 2020 EKG Slot Awards were conducted despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented the in-person award banquets o the first two. However, the change in format did nothing to affect the results: For the third year in a row, Aristocrat Technologies took the top award of Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content. It was one of nine awards logged by Aristocrat in the competition.

Coming in second as far as winning companies was Everi Holdings, which claimed four EKG awards.

In the other main result of the competition, slot legends Scott Olive and Charlie Lombardo were announced as the new inductees to the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame.

Aristocrat’s dominance of the awards covered a wealth of different slot categories. In addition to the top prize, the company won Top Performing New Video Reel Core Game for Buffalo Chief; Top Performing New Premium Game for Cash Express Luxury Line Buffalo; Top Performing New Premium Cabinet for Mars X; Top Performing Core Video Reel Game for Buffalo Gold Revolution; and two awards Top Performing Premium Game and Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game, for Dragon Link: Happy and Prosperous. Aristocrat also got the nods for Most Improved Supplier-Premium and Top Social Casino Company.

Everi, for the second year in a row, took the award for Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game for the unique Cash Machine. Everi also won the award for Top Performing New Cabinet for Empire Flex, Top Performing Third Party IP Branded Game for Smokin’ Hot Stuff Wicked Wheel, and Most Improved Supplier-Core.

Among other highlights on the land-based side, Scientific Games won for Top Performing New Mechanical Reel Core Game with Dancing Drums Reels. IGT once again won for Top Performing Video Poker Game, with All Star Poker 2. As is typical, three of the top five nominees in the video poker category were IGT games.

Interblock took the award for Top Performing Electronic Table Game with its roulette ETG. In the skill-based EGM category, Gamblit Gaming’s Cannon Bears treasure took the award for Top Performing Interactive Electronic Gaming Machine-Skill. The Top Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier was Dice Seekers Heroes and Villains from Gaming Arts.

In the real-money online gaming category, Big Time Gaming won Best New Online Slot for Extra Chili, and SG Digital’s 88 Fortunes got the nod for Top Performing Online Slot. In the social gaming category, in addition to Aristocrat’ top award, IGT’s Double Down Casino won the award for Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game.

Gaming Legends

EKG added two names to its Slot Awards Hall of Fame. Joining inaugural inductee Joe Kaminkow and last year’s inductee Ernie Moody are former Aristocrat game design whiz Scott Olive and longtime slot executive Charlie Lombardo.

Olive, founder and principal of content supplier HRG Studios, created some of Aristocrat’s most storied titles when he worked for the supplier from the late 1990s until 2007—including the groundbreaking Hyperlink progressive jackpot system with games such as Cash Express and Penny train. He co-founded True Blue Gaming in 2007 with former Aristocrat colleague Kent Young.

After Aruze Gaming acquired True Blue Gaming in 2009, Olive founded HRG Studios and went back to creating hits for Aristocrat under an exclusive contract. Among the most notable success stories of his second stint with Aristocrat is the mega-hit Dragon Link, with its Hold & Spin mechanic that is arguably today’s most copied game mechanic. Olive’s other recent Aristocrat hits include Dollar Storm and Buffalo Link.

Olive was inducted via video by Aristocrat CEO Trevor Croker.

Lombardo, the first gaming operations executive to be inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame, is one of the deans of the U.S. slot business. He started his career in the 1970s as a slot mechanic at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and worked his way up the slot operations ranks, eventually becoming senior vice president of slot operations at Bally’s Las Vegas. One of the first operators to open his slot floor to new suppliers, Lombardo worked with slot manufacturers on proprietary games for the Bally’s floor, and designed the slot floor for Bally’s new sister property Paris Las Vegas.

Caesars Entertainment ultimately made Lombardo vice president of slot operations for Bally’s, Paris and Caesars Palace, before he accepted a position as senior vice president of gaming operations for the Seminole Tribe in Florida. While with the Seminoles, he developed the slot floors of the two Hard Rock casinos and significantly expanded the slot floors of all the Seminole casinos. Lombardo serves the tribe as a consultant to this day.

“On behalf of everyone at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, I would like to congratulate all of the individual award winners as well as this year’s Hall of Fame Class,” said Todd Eilers, principal at Eilers & Krejcik

Gaming, LLC. “I would also like to thank our board of advisors, official voters, and our event sponsors.”

A complete listing of the winners for 2020 EKG Slot Awards is below.

Land-based Awards – 2020

Top Performing NEW Video Reel Core Game

Buffalo Chief – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Diamond Trails Safari Winnings – Konami
Drop & Lock – Deep Sea Magic – Scientific Games
Money Storm Classic Hits – IGT
Red Silk – AGS
Roller Wheel Jungle Roll – Incredible Technologies
Wicked Wheel Panda – Everi Holdings

Top Performing NEW Mechanical Reel Core Game

3x Wild Diamonds – IGT
Dancing Drums Reels – Scientific Games – 2020 Winner
Jixing Gaozhao – Aristocrat
Triple Wild Dragon – Everi Holdings

Top Performing NEW Premium Game

All Aboard – Dynamite Dash – Konami
Cash Express Luxury Line Buffalo – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Fortune Coin Boost – IGT
Golden Wins Deluxe – AGS
Hong Kong Double Deluxe – Incredible Technologies
The Vault Egypt Gems – Everi Holdings
Willy Wonka – Everlasting Gobstopper – Scientific Games

Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Core

A Star Curve – Ainsworth
Empire Flex – Everi Holdings – 2020 Winner
Infinity Summit – Incredible Technologies
Orion Curve – AGS
TwinStar Matrix – Scientific Games

Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Premium

Dimension 49j – Konami
Infinity Pilot – Incredible Technologies
Mars X – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Orion Starwall – AGS
Peak Slant 49 – IGT
TwinStar J43 Motion Wheel – Scientific Games

Top Performing Core Video Reel Game

Buffalo Gold Revolution – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Dancing Drums – Scientific Games
Fortune Coin Free Games – IGT
Rakin’ Bacon – AGS
Super Charged 7’S – Quick Spin – Ainsworth
Wheel Of Prosperity Dragon – Aruze
Wicked Wheel Fire Phoenix – Everi Holdings

Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game

88 Fortunes Diamond – Scientific Games
Buffalo Gold – Aristocrat
Cash Machine – Everi Holdings – 2020 Winner
Quick Hit Triple Blazing 7s Super Wheel – Scientific Games
Red Hot Tamales – IGT

Top Performing Premium Game

Colossal Diamonds – AGS
Dancing Drums Explosion – Scientific Games
Dragon Link – Happy And Prosperous – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Jin Ji Bao Xi – Rising Fortunes – Scientific Games
Lightning Link – High Stakes – Aristocrat
Smokin Hot Stuff Wicked Wheel – Everi Holdings
Wheel Of Fortune – Exotic Far East – Cash Link – IGT

Top Performing 3rd Party IP Branded Game

Game Of Thrones – Winter Is Here – Aristocrat
Smokin’ Hot Stuff Wicked Wheel – Everi Holdings – 2020 Winner
The Price Is Right – Triple Showcase Showdown – IGT
Wheel Of Fortune – Exotic Far East – Cash Link – IGT
Wizard Of Oz – Munchkinland – Scientific Games

Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game

All Aboard – Dynamite Dash – Konami
Crazy Money Deluxe – Incredible Technologies
Dollar Storm – Ninja Moon – Aristocrat
Dragon Link – Happy And Prosperous – Aristocrat – 2020 Winner
Jin Ji Bao Xi – Rising Fortunes – Scientific Games
The Vault Egypt Gems – Everi Holdings
Ultimate Fire Link – China Street – Scientific Games

Top Performing Electronic Table Game (ETG)

Baccarat – Interblock
Baccarat Maximum Fortune – Sega Sammy
Casino Wizard – Gaming Arts
Craps – Aruze
Fortune Cup – Konami
Roulette – Alfastreet
Roulette – IGT
Roulette – Interblock – 2020 Winner

Top Performing Video Poker Game

All Star Poker 2 – IGT – 2020 Winner
GameKing – IGT
Match Card Draw Poker – Scientific Games
Super Star – IGT
Ultimate X – IGT
Winners World – Aristocrat

Top Performing Interactive Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM)/Skill

Bust-A-Move – Next Gaming
Cannon Beards Treasure – Gamblit Gaming – 2020 Winner
Sweet Spot Golf – GameCo

Top Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier

Dice Seekers Heroes and Villains – Gaming Arts – 2020 Winner
Flags of Fortune – Castle Hill
Fortune Feast – Bluberi
Fruit Jackpots Progressive – Lightning Gaming
Money Party Link Fruity Fruity – Novomatic
Wealth Rush Incredible Coins – Sega Sammy

Most Improved Supplier – Core

Everi – 2020 Winner

All Suppliers Considered

Most Improved Supplier – Premium

Aristocrat – 2020 Winner

All Suppliers Considered

1 Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content

Aristocrat – 2020

All Suppliers Considered

Social Casino Awards

Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game

88 Fortunes featuring Scientific Games content – SciPlay
DoubleDown Casino featuring IGT content – published by Double Down Interactive – 2020 Winner
High 5 Casino featuring High 5 Games content – published by High 5 Games
Lightning Link featuring Aristocrat content – published by Product Madness