New York-based GameCo has announced plans to install a new type of slots game based on skill in the three Caesars Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City.
The company says it is ready to launch the games pending approval by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Another company, Gamblit, has also announced plans to put similar machines at Caesars-owned properties in California and Nevada in October, according to the Associated Press.
The games are described as having a random element in terms of the environment players are presented with, but player’s win is determined by how well or poorly they maneuver their way through the game, the AP report said.
GameCo officials said the games are aimed at the millennial demographic and people who play games on social media networks or on their phones.
“There’s a great focus on being first,” GameCo CEO and co-founder Blaine Graboyes told the AP. “Certainly we’d like to be first for ourselves, our investors and our customers. But we’re interested in this being a long-term proposition.”
Both companies are awaiting approval from regulators in the respective states in which they hope to launch. Other manufacturers working on similar products include IGT and Nanotech Gaming, the AP said.
According to the AP, GameCo plans to deploy three triple-unit carousels at Caesars, two at Harrah’s and two at Bally’s, with a total of 21 playing stations. Titled “Danger Arena,” the games give the player a brief tutorial, make sure the customer knows how to use the controls and that they are working properly, and then presents the customer with a map, or game scenario. This scenario will vary randomly. It is then up to the player to maneuver through the playing field in 45-second increments.
“If you take out six or more robots, you’re in the money, and if you take out 10, you get the highest payout,” Graboyes said.
Each game also includes a secondary random winning opportunity, with a possible instant cash win ranging from $1 to $5,000, he Graboyes said, so all players have a chance at winning regardless of skill.
The company is seeking licensing through the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s New Jersey First program, which speeds approvals for new gambling products if they are introduced first in Atlantic City.
“We are glad to have the opportunity to review GameCo’s skill-based game through our New Jersey First program,” DGE Director David Rebuck told the news service. “That program allows products that are submitted to our DGE Technical Services lab before any other jurisdiction and that meet our high regulatory standards to get out onto the casino floor expeditiously.”
Gamblit plans to debut its machines at Harrah’s Rincon in southern California. After field trials, Caesars Entertainment anticipates putting machines with 125 Gamblit gambling positions into multiple Nevada casinos, and intends to put 100 more positions into additional markets in early 201, the company said.
