Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) has announced the nominees in 24 different categories of slot games for the 6th Annual EKG Slot Awards, with winners to be announced at a banquet at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on February 29.
The slot awards rate slot games that are most popular, using revenue statistics to gauge the games that are most played, as well as subjective surveys of qualified operators. Over the past several years, the awards have been dominated by Aristocrat Gaming, which won a total of six EKG awards last year, including Top Overall Supplier, which it has won several years in a row.
Last year, in addition to the top-supplier award, Aristocrat won Top Performing New Video Reel Core Game (Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Red Festival), Top Performing New Premium Game (Lightning Dollar Link: Kung Fu Master), Top Performing New Video Cabinet (Neptune Single), Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game (Dragon Link), and Most Innovative Game (Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Red Festival).
However, competition to Aristocrat’s games is on the rise, which led to accolades for IGT (four awards, headed by Wheel of Fortune High Roller); Light & Wonder (three, headed by Blazing 777 Triple Double Jackpot Wild) and Bluberi, which won for the first time with its Devil’s Lock game, named Top Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier.
In addition to the individual game awards and the ratings as top suppliers, the EKG Slot Awards feature new entries into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame.
“We are very excited to announce the official nominees for the 6th Annual EKG Slot Awards,” said Todd Eilers, principal at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC. “This event continues to grow, and the list of nominees is very impressive and includes some amazing new games. We look forward to hosting a fun and exciting event to honor and recognize the winners in each category.”
The EKG Slot Awards Show is produced by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC and is designed to recognize excellence in slot machine game development within the casino gaming industry.
The EKG Slot Award categories are determined by EKG principals and EKG Slot Awards Board of Advisors. Individual award winners will be determined by utilizing a data-driven approach to include both proprietary game performance data as well as a survey of qualified slot managers for land-based categories. For award categories where proprietary data is not available, the award winner will be solely determined by the survey responses. For the Social Casino and iGaming segments, winners will be determined by a distinguished panel of industry experts combined with EKG proprietary data.
A complete listing of the EKG Slot Awards categories is provided below. All nominees are listed in alphabetical order.
Land-based Awards
Top Performing NEW Core Video
- Big Hot Flaming Pots – Tasty Treasures – Light & Wonder
- Coin Trio – Fortune Trails – Aristocrat
- Dragon’s Law – Fortune Bags – Konami
- Firestorm Bull – Aruze
- Magic Treasures Dragon – IGT
- Press Your Luck Whammy Bucks – Everi
- Rocket Rumble – Bluberi
- Shamrock Fortunes – AGS
- Treasure Lock Emperor’s Gift – Incredible Technologies
- Treasure Spirits – Phoenix – Ainsworth
Top Performing NEW Mechanical Reel Core Game
- Blazing 777 2x3x5x Nudge – Light & Wonder
- Blazing 777 Triple Double Jackpot Wild Nudge – Light & Wonder
- Double Chili Mania Respin – IGT
- Legend Of The 3x2x Phoenix Wheel – IGT
- Patriot Extra Spin Signature – Everi
- Wild Stacks Deluxe Ruby Fire – Everi
Top Performing NEW Premium Game
- Bull Blitz – Fortunes of the Orient – Konami
- Jackpot Carnival – Buffalo – Aristocrat
- Journey To The Planet Moolah – Light & Wonder
- Lightning Dollar Link – Corrida de Toros – Aristocrat
- Megabucks – Mega Vault – IGT
- Mystery Of The Lamp Enchanted Palace – IGT
- Ultimate Fire Link Cash Falls – China Street – Light & Wonder
Top Performing NEW Video Cabinet – Core
- Cosmic – Light & Wonder
- Mars X Flex – Aristocrat
- Muso Triple 32 – Aruze
- Peak Curve 49 – IGT
- Spectra UR43 – AGS
Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Premium
- Cinema – Aristocrat
- Cosmic – Light & Wonder
- Peak Curve 49 – IGT
Top Performing 3rd Party IP Branded Game
- Little Shop of Horrors Directors Cut – Everi
- Monsters – Frankenstein – Light & Wonder
- NFL Super Bowl Jackpots – Aristocrat
- Tarzan City Of Gold – Aristocrat
- Wheel Of Fortune – Diamond Spins -Triple Double Stars – IGT
- Wheel Of Fortune – Lucky Coins On Tour – IGT
- Willy Wonka – I Want It Now – Light & Wonder
Top North American Electronic Table Game (ETG) Supplier
- Alfastreet
- Gaming Arts
- IGT
- Interblock
- Light & Wonder
Top Performing Video Poker/Keno Game
- Bonus Wilds Poker – IGT
- Fortune X Poker – IGT
- Gamblers Gold – Ainsworth
- Keno Star – IGT
- Powerhouse Plus Poker – IGT
Top Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier
- 88 Link Lucky Charms – Daruma Mystery – Zitro
- Ching Shih – Lightning Gaming
- Golden Elements – Sega Sammy
- Lucky Pick Bumble Bee – Gaming Arts
- Rocket Rumble – Bluberi
- Ultra Boost Link Tiger Storm – Novomatic
Top Performing Game – EMEA
- Bell Link – Euro Games Technology
- Egyptian Link Nefturi’s Treasure – IGT
- Jewel of the Dragon – Valley of the Tiger – Light & Wonder
- Merkur Multigame – Merkur
- Mighty Hammer – Zitro
- Mo Mummy – Valley Of The Riches – Aristocrat
- Novo Line Interactive Edition X3 – Novomatic
- Red Hot Burning Xtreme Clover Link – Apex
Top Performing Game – Latin America
- Bao Zhu Zhao Fu Red Festival – Aristocrat
- Coin Combo – Hurricane Horse – Light & Wonder
- Epic Kingdom – Zitro
- Fruits Collection 2 – Euro Games Technology
- Olympus Link – IGT
- Rakin’ Bacon Pirate Plunder – AGS
- Solar Link – Merkur
- Xtension Link 1 – Ainsworth
Most Innovative Land-Based Game
- Big Bear Poker – Aruze
- Big Shake Carnival – Eclipse Gaming
- Cha-Ching! – Everi
- Golden Elements – Sega Sammy
- Magic Treasures Dragon – IGT
- Monster – Frankenstein – Light & Wonder
- NFL Super Bowl Jackpots – Aristocrat
- Quad Shot Platinum Electric Nights – Ainsworth
- Shamrock Fortunes – AGS
- Stuffed Coins Toad – Konami
- Tic Tac Go – Gaming Arts
- Treasure Wave Coin Pusher – Aries Technology
- True Pick Roulette – Incredible Technologies
- Xing Fu 888 – Bluberi
Most Improved Supplier – Core
- All Suppliers Considered
Most Improved Supplier – Premium
- All Suppliers Considered
Best Overall Supplier
- All Suppliers Considered
Social Casino Awards
Social Slots Game of The Year
- Cash Club Casino – Bole Games (Netmarble)
- Jackpot Magic Slots – Pixel United (Aristocrat)
- Jackpot Master Slots – Zeroo Gravity Games (AppLovin)
- Jackpot Party Casino – SciPlay (Light & Wonder)
- Quick Hit Slots – SciPlay (Light & Wonder)
Retail-Branded Social Casino Game of The Year
- Caesars Slots – Playtika
- Choctaw Slots – Ruby Seven Studios / Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
- Hard Rock Jackpot Casino – Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment
- MGM Slots Live – PLAYSTUDIOS
- Wynn Slots – Wynn Social Gaming
Top Sweepstakes-Based Social Slot Game of The Year
- Chumba Casino – VGW
- Fortune Coins – Blazesoft
- High 5 Casino – High 5 Games
- Luckyland Casino – VGW
- Pulsz – Yellow Social Interactive
Top Social Casino Operator
- AppLovin
- Bagelcode
- KamaGames
- Pixel United (Aristocrat)
- SciPlay (Light & Wonder)
iGaming Awards (Real-Money Online Gaming)
Top Performing NEW Online Slot
- Almighty Buffalo Megaways Jackpot Royale – White Hat Studios / Blueprint Gaming
- Buffalo – Anaxi
- Call of the Wild – Inspired
- Charming Ladys Boom – Greentube
- Dynamite Riches Megaways – Evolution
- Gold Blitz – Digital Gaming Corporation / Fortune Factory
- Gold Standard Jackpots – Everi
- Jewel of the Dragon Valley of the Tiger – Light & Wonder
- Mega Diamond – AGS
- Wheel of Fortune Elegant Emeralds – IGT
Top Performing NEW Online Table Game
- Blackjack Lucky Lucky – Oddsworks
- Deal or No Deal Roulette – White Hat Studios
- Free Bet Blackjack – Evolution
- Multihand Blackjack Perfect Pairs 21+3 – IGT
- Sweet 16 Blackjack – Playzido
Top Performing Online Live Casino Game
- 24/7 Live Roulette – Authentic Gaming
- Liver Dealer Lightning Roulette – Evolution
- Mega Fire Blaze Roulette – Playtech
- Mega Roulette – Pragmatic Play
Most Innovative Online Game
- Fire and Roses Joker – DGC / Triple Edge Studios
- Piggy Payouts Bank Buster LuckyTap – Design Works Gaming
- Shadow Of The Panther Infinity – High 5 Games
- The Goonies Return Jackpot Royale – White Hat Studios / Blueprint Gaming
- Ultimate Fire Link Cash Falls China Street – Light & Wonder
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Gold Gold Spin – IGT
Best Overall Supplier of Online Content
- All Suppliers Considered
Top Performing Omnichannel Slot (Retail & Online)
- All Aboard Piggy Pennies – Konami
- Buffalo – Aristocrat/Anaxi
- Cash Eruption – IGT
- Dancing Drums Explosion – Light & Wonder
- Devils Lock – Bluberi/Bragg Gaming Group
- Gold Standard Jackpots – Everi
- Mega Diamond – AGS
- Ultra Rush Golden Steed – Incredible Technologies
