In Business Las Vegas, July 20th, 2007
Remember Pong, the Atari product widely regarded as the game that turned pinball wizards into video-game junkies in the '70s?
The video version of tennis is poised to make a comeback in casinos, only now, a player's skill could dictate how much a player wins while playing.
That new element — incorporating a player's level of skill into a slot-machine payout — is a new twist in gaming that was debated last week by the state Gaming Control Board. Board members acknowledge that a slot's base game has to have an element of randomness for consideration. But because the skill element is part of the game's bonus feature and the regulations are silent on bonus rounds, the board agreed to consider approving that skill-game component.
The three-member panel recommended approval of the new game concept, unveiled by
Las Vegas
-based Bally Technologies. It next goes to the Nevada Gaming Commission, which has to sign off on the concept before it could be played in a casino.
"Ever since we showed it a couple of years ago, there's been a great deal of interest," said
David
Schultz, director of video games
for Bally.
The game is a bonus feature on a slot machine that has been shown by Bally at trade shows.
Ironically, when Pong was first introduced, Bally was given the first crack at buying the rights to the game. The company passed on it, opening the door for Atari to turn it into a home-console sensation. But Bally didn't pass on the opportunity to feature Pong as a slot bonus component.
The machine plays like most five-reel video slots. Among the brightly colored symbols on each reel are logos for a Pong bonus. Match up three of the logos on a spin and the game goes into a bonus mode. The player competes against the machine, playing a 45-second round of Pong by controlling a paddle with a radio knob mounted on the machine.
The Pong slot plays true to the original Atari video games, starting slow in the early volleys, gradually picking of speed as the game progresses.
The payback is based on the player's success in the match. Every player wins some level of bonus, one of the requirements of the Gaming Control Board. But the better players do, the more they would win.
"If a patron reaches the bonus round, he has to be awarded a minimal amount," said Gaming Control Board member Mark Clayton. "That was one of the things we required."
Clayton
said another requirement by regulators is signage that clearly explains that the video-game skill element is a bonus and not a part of qualifying play.
Clayton
said it's doubtful that skill would ever play a role in a base game because gambling is popular because every player has the same chance of winning or losing.
He acknowledged that skilled players have a better chance of winning video poker, but random chance is still at the base of the game since a good hand is predicated on what cards a player is dealt.
"Our main concern is that the patron has to be aware that skill is involved in the bonus round (of Pong),"
Clayton
said.
Under the concept presented to the Control Board, players would receive a minimum of 175 credits for getting into the bonus round and a maximum of 350 credits for a high score.
Bally officials have calculated that the payback difference for a person of no skill and a person who plays the game flawlessly is 7 percent.
The Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to make a decision on the skill-based game concept at its July 26 meeting. If the concept is approved, Bally would be allowed to submit the game for lab and field testing. The company indicated it hasn't determined where a field test would be conducted
Schultz
said if skill-based gaming is approved by the commission, it could open the door to other skill-based video game concepts.
While video games appear to be the domain of a new breed of casino gambler — Generation X'ers who grew up with video-game consoles in their laps — Pong is expected to be popular with Baby Boomers who make up the core demographic in most casinos and who will view the game with nostalgia.
"Ever since we showed it a couple of years ago, there's been a great deal of interest."
DAVID
SCHULTZ
,
Bally director of video games
