Participation Slots - Will the wizard participate?

I have a question about participation slots. If I look International gaming Technology website I see that more than half their revenue comes from their gaming division.

There was a lot of articles about "Wheel of Fortune" games being removed from many of Harrah's properties as they reduced their involvement in participation games.

Are participation games identifiable by their brands? Are all Wheel of Fortune games participation slots regardless of the denomination? Are all network games participation slots? Can someone open a casino and fill it entirely with participation games reducing their capital requirements? If you see a lot machine with a TV or film image on it, can you presume it is a participation game while a game with a cartoon or generic image is not a participation game ? What about a classic brand like a Monopoly machine? What about a recognizable but generic brand like "Caveman Keno".

If participation slots are identifiable by brands, then why can't I find on IGT's website a list of which games are participation and which are not?

Will slot manufacturers ever strike deals with individuals to license their likeness (apart from their corporate presence)? I would think Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Paris Hilton, Wanda Sykes, and the rest of the celebrity power group would be just as interesting as the Sex and the City, Star Trek, and other film images. People would play a video slot game to watch Beyonce's video when they hit a jackpot.

And lastly, who owns the rights to all those variations of video poker? Anyone?

I'm just guessing here.

I believe the specific game in question is the nine player Wheel Of Fortune machines. It plays a lot like the single player 25¢ machine, except there are nine positions around a big wheel.

The are several reasons that I can think for why casinos don't like it:

1 - They are huge. I estimate about 15 feet in diameter, not including the chairs. You can easily fit more than 9 regular machines in the same space. Probably much more. It's big because there is a giant wheel in the middle that spins when a player hits a bonus.

2 - When a player hits that bonus, there is a delay to allow additional bettors to qualify for the same spin. Since you now have at least one player waiting, this reduces the amount of coin in.

3 - When the thing finally spins, ALL players are encouraged to watch. This further reduces the coin in.

4 - The thing is so big, that the chairs are oversized. They are actually small benches and allow two people to sit at a single betting position. So now, unlike regular slots, your gambling partner is not gambling at the next machine, but merely sitting comfortably while spectating. How dumb is that?

5 - The thing is so big, its intimidating. That discourages play, so it's wasted floor space. I often see the machine with only 3 or 4 positions in play - even on busy weekends.


For what it's worth, I've seen versions of this machine where the wheel is a little smaller, mounted vertically, with only half of it showing, only 5 positions, and single person chairs. It takes up the same space as 5 traditional machines. I'm not sure if it has problems 2 and 3. If so, with fewer positions, the reduction of coin in is not so bad so this machine may have a better chance of being on the floor at your local casino.

There are lots of kinds of Wheel of Fortune slots. I know from seeing PARS sheets for them, that the old small kinds are not "participation slots," and have competitive returns. The thing with the gigantic wheel I'm quite sure is a participation slot.

How in general can you tell a participation slot from a regular slot? For the benefit of other readers, the reason you would want to know is participation slots are set more tight, to a return of about 88%. Less fancy slots will usually be set to about 90%-94%. Sometimes it is hard to tell but red flags that a game is a participation slot if it is based on a successful TV or movie theme, like 'Sex and the City' or 'Wizard of Oz', and has elaborate signage. A slot based on an old show, with no fancy signage, like slots for the 'Munsters' or 'I Dream of Jeanie' are likely not participation slots. Something with no brand-name theme like Texas Tea or Miss Kitty is almsot defintely not. As a rule of thumb, the simpler the slot, the higher the return.

Quite a few years ago at World Gaming (before it was G2E) I heard an honest IGT executive speaker talk about participation games. This was when participation games were just being pushed by the manufacturers and being resisted by operators. He said "The only reason you should get a participation game is if it's the only way you can get the game." Participation games are a large expense to casino operators.

I'm not quite sure what is meant by "participation slots," but a lot of slot banks will have things like "Community Gaming" or "Big Event Bonus," where everybody participates in the bonus round. Ebay, Press Your Luck, and Monopoly are three examples I can think of, in addition to the aforementioned Wheel of Fortune big wheel. I also rarely see people playing these games. Perhaps they've sniffed out the lower payouts?
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Reel 'em in is a another one that has this feature.

The above was a good guess, but is not what is meant by a "participation slot." The term refers to the casino and the slot maker participating in sharing the profits from the game. Perhaps the casino also has to pay higher rental fees too. However, whoever is getting your money shouldn't matter to the player, just how strong the vacuum cleaner is sucking money from your wallet.

I remember being in Vegas in the Summer of 2006 when I first saw the huge Wheel of Fortune slots, and there were people standing around waiting for open seats to play. It was dramatic, big, and I think it got a lot of people's attention (when it first came out). But it got old quick.

Quote: Wizard

How in general can you tell a participation slot from a regular slot? For the benefit of other readers, the reason you would want to know is participation slots are set more tight, to a return of about 88%. Less fancy slots will usually be set to about 90%-94%. Sometimes it is hard to tell but red flags that a game is a participation slot if it is based on a successful TV or movie theme, like 'Sex and the City' or 'Wizard of Oz', and has elaborate signage. Something with no brand-name theme like Texas Tea or Miss Kitty is almost defintely not. As a rule of thumb, the simpler the slot, the higher the return.

Thank you Wizard. Now I understand why there is no list of participation slots. The fiscal reports indicate that over half of IGT revenue and most of their profit comes from the gaming division. Second comes the selling of equipment that is "behind the scenes" (network equipment, etc.). Finally at the bottom is the selling of physical machines. WMS has a similar structure.

No wonder there is such a huge roll out for a new machine like "Sex and the City". I see that IGT goes out of their way to downplay their non-participation slots (using titles like "low-denom play"). I appreciate that the only thing that matters is how strong the vacuum is, but it makes sense that if it is feeding two vaults instead of one, then there is a strong incentive to increase suction.

Here is a a story about WMS Gaming reaching 10,000 participation games in July of 2009. According to your logic, I can assume that Star Trek and Wizard of Odds and all of the sensory immersion games with BOSE® 3Space™ audio system and gaming chair are participation games, while Reel 'em In probably is not.