It’s been quite a 2018 for AGS’ slots department. Beginning with approvals from the Nevada Gaming Commission to sell its machines in the state just two weeks into 2018, they followed with a successful public offering at the end of January and are now listed on the New York Stock exchange (Symbol: AGS).
AGS’s Orion cabinet has been a hit in Native American casinos since its release in 2016. But with Nevada now taking games, AGS’ share of placements has soared. In the monthly Eilers-Fantini Game Performance Database for August 2018, four AGS games made the Top 25 Index for all categories. That puts AGS fourth among all slot manufacturers, ahead of heavyweights like IGT, Everi, Ainsworth, Interblock and Incredible Technologies. Only Aristocrat, Scientific Games and Konami have more games on that list. That’s quite an accomplishment for a company that didn’t really exist prior to rebranding itself from American Gaming Systems to AGS five years ago.
But if you think they’ve been moving fast in slots, it’s really their products in the table games sector that are booming. At last year’s Global Gaming Expo, they made some history by acquiring and introducing five new table game products. Most companies are hard pressed to launch more than one a year. According to AGS Senior Vice President of Table Products, John Hemberger, “If people thought we were aggressive launching new products last year, wait until they see what we have on display at G2E 2018. Our customers will be blown away.”
Indeed, between new games, enhancements to others, a just-approved shuffler and an interesting venture into interactive table-game signage, the AGS game product list is up to 35 unique offerings in just four years. Some of that was due to the company’s acquisition of known hits like Buster Blackjack and Bonus Spin. Both of those were doing okay prior to becoming part of the AGS library, but they’re booming now. As an example, the pre-AGS Buster Blackjack had 200 installs, but that number has grown to 1,300 games today under AGS.
On the enhancement side, AGS has sweetened its Bonus Spin Blackjack with a new version debuting at G2E 2018 called Bonus Spin Xtreme. The improvements reflect Hemberger’s vision that AGS table games can be more interactive, aimed at a wider audience and attract new players to what’s recently been a somewhat static market. The Bonus Spin Xtreme game features three slot machine-like wheels on a sign that provides a community bonus to multiple players during winning hands.
Sounding a little bit like a slot guy, Hemberger says, “We’re on the edge of being a disruptor in the table game sign space by using them as an interactive tool for messaging and bonus features. We’re not targeting traditional high-roller VIP players,” he says, “but rather someone who finds table games interesting, and who’s looking for more entertainment value. Younger players are used to multitasking on their phones, and we think they’ll like our new concepts of community bonuses, more ways to win and exciting graphics.”
If you’re a Vegas Golden Knights fan, there’ll certainly be something to cheer about: AGS was the first gaming equipment supplier to sign a multi-year corporate partnership deal with the team, and is using an animated Knights’ golden helmet logo on their interactive roulette signage. That may not go over well at MGM National Harbor, where they most likely favor the Washington Capitals, but Hemberger says not to worry: “The signage is easily configurable to use any number of characters and graphics.” These animations seem to add a bit more fun to the standard roulette scoreboard.
Super 4 Progressive Blackjack is one of their fastest growing games; even new casinos like MGM Springfield opened with 50 of the tables. Players making the optional side bet have a chance to win when when the dealer has an Ace up. If it’s a blackjack, the prizes can really get big. Hemberger gets excited when he notes, “We’ve had 14 winners of over $1 million on our Super 4 progressive since it was rolled out at Mohegan Sun in February 2015.” And AGS’ award-winning STAX table-game progressive really lets players know that Super 4 has jackpots that are normally associated with WAP slots or the lottery.
And the good news keeps coming. AGS received word on the day we talked, this past Friday, that their new Dex S poker shuffler had received its GLI approvals and is now ready for distribution. Hemberger, along with several other AGS executives, is a ShuffleMaster alum. Therefore, the AGS team cherishes this opportunity to give their old colleagues some competition. He says, “In our field trial in northern California, the Dex S operated beautifully with minimal preventative maintenance.”
With so many of the big public companies are laser focused on slots these days, it nice to see that AGS also has the future of table games as part of their prime mission. Their booth is in the left rear corner of the Sands Expo Center, opposite Novomatic and Konami.
