In less than a decade, Everi has transformed from a payment provider and Class II/bingo supplier to one of the top slot machine manufacturers nationwide.
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In the most recent Eilers & Krejcik index report on Game Performance (September 2021), Everi holds 21 of the top 25 rankings in the profitable “High-Denomination Mechanical Reel” category. Not even Aristocrat has ever shown that kind of dominance in any single category.
Likewise, in the Cabinet report from Eilers during the same period, both Everi’s Player Classic with Skyline and Player Classic are ranked #1 and #2 in mechanical reels. So, it might come as a surprise, even to some who attended Everi’s pre-G2E shows, that they’re introducing a new high-denomination mechanical reel game at this Expo.
Dean Ehrlich, Everi’s Executive VP & Games Business Leader, says, “We’re very much continuing to develop great content for our extremely successful Player Classic cabinet. This new Player Classic Signature is a “complimentary” model that brings some newer technology for an even further enhanced experience for the traditional mechanical player. The Player Classic continues to perform, but we’ll be able to add a stronger CPU and other new enhancements and display technology with this Signature model to utilize some bonusing and top-screen features of the Classic In a more ergonomic way.” Ehrlich guarantees “support will be plentiful for both cabinets, with many new titles for each model demonstrated at the show.”
Their new marketing materials illustrate some of the subtle, but meaningful, differences between the cabinets with the Player Classic on the left and the new Player Classic Signature on the right.
The company’s strategy of introducing a complimentary model, rather than a replacement, seems wise. Often, new cabinets that render earlier versions obsolete have led to sales downturns. Everi’s aggressive and continuing support for their existing models should pay off via customer loyalty, while offering newer technology and more flexibility for operators who choose to upgrade.
With their dominance in the high-denom mechanical reels, some might have overlooked Everi’s steady progress in video. In the last year, their sales mix has climbed to 60% video and 40% mechanical. Everi’s Crystal Star Deluxe theme scored third in Core Overall Performance on the Eilers index. Their Crystal Star took the fifth position. Likewise, they showed good results in the Premium Leased & WAP category. Zoltar, which debuted two years ago, is ranked eighth, just behind several long-term leaders.
In their pre-G2E shows, the company noted that 43% of the installed base in the second quarter of 2021 consisted of premium products versus just 25% in the same quarter of 2019. They also saw an overall 10% increase in installed units during that time-frame comparison.
In Las Vegas at G2E, they’ll be showing a host of new themes and series of themes on their popular Empire Flex portrait cabinet and on the larger Empire 5527 (that’s a 55-inch vertical monitor stacked on top of a horizontal 27-incher). That latter box hosts a popular series of themes collectively called The Vault.
Four titles among the many that are catching some early buzz are the for sale Cha-Ching and Money Line on the Flex cabinet; Cashnado as a premium product on the Flex Fusion cabinet; a new Discovery Channel Shark Week premium variant called Shark Week Feeding Frenzy on the Empire DCX; and (winning an award for the longest title) Smokin’ Hot Stuff Wicked Wheel Fire & Ice on the Flex Fusion.
There’s a lot to see at the Everi booth, located between Aristocrat and Konami on the far wall of the show at booth #1150.
