For Everi Holdings, adhering to a classic style pays off, especially with slot machines.
The company’s high-denomination mechanical slots routinely hold more than 20 of the top 25 titles in the Eilers-Fantini monthly performance reports; Everi’s Gold Standard Jackpots and Cash Machine Jackpots were Nos. 1 and 2 among high-denomination premium titles in September’s Reel Metrics report.
Everi intends to expand that dominance with its new Player Classic Signature slot cabinet, which features numerous improvements to the original Player Classic cabinet designed in 2007 and on the market in 2009. The Signature, first displayed at this month’s Global Gaming Expo, retains the overall look of its forerunner while updating key components such as monitors and reels, simplifying the button deck, and improving player ergonomics.
Loren Rosenberg, Everi’s senior vice president and chief product officer for games, said the design emulates the approach of Rolex and Range Rover, two brands with classic styles “that really stand the test of time.”
“We wanted it to be 100 percent identifiable as a Player Classic, but it has a lot of innovation under the hood,” he said.
The Signature’s reels are slightly wider, can spin faster, and employ full-spectrum color lighting. “We can now do things that are hard to do with a 13-year-old cabinet,” Rosenberg said.
An LCD touchscreen directly above the reels puts the pay table directly in the player’s line of sight, in contrast with cabinets that force players to look up to see how much they’ve won. A high-resolution 28-inch LCD monitor above the touchscreen provides room to highlight a game’s name or the value of a progressive jackpot.
Mike Wabschall, Everi’s director of game design, said the “holistic nature” of the new cabinet is essential. “It’s not just about the math,” he said. “It’s about having a player that is resistant to change, a player that wants to have trust and comfort in their experience.”
That understanding of high-denom stepper players guided Everi to several other innovations while holding onto the classic bars and sevens that are hallmarks of a mechanical reel game. Wabschall said players flocked to Everi titles when the company moved into nine-line, nine-coin games with greater hit frequency a couple of years ago.
The Player Classic Signature cabinet offers a range of choices for operators and players alike. Everi’s games on display at G2E typically offered three base denominations, such as 25 cents/50 cents/$1, and the choice to play from one to nine lines. Operators can set the denominations and the max bet, from nine up to 90 credits, for example. The range of base-credit choices allows the machines to be placed throughout the gaming floor.
Some games have bonus multipliers, and others offer a free respin when a wild logo lands on reels one and two but not on the third. “It’s done in concert with all the mechanics we’ve done before,” Wabschall said. Some nine-line games also offer a double-nudge feature, in which a wild symbol can move up from the bottom line to the middle line and then to the top line, potentially paying off for all three.
Wabschall emphasized the Player Classic Signature is not a replacement cabinet but an addition to the Player Classic series line for operators to choose. Everi will continue to develop its library for the original Player Classic.
Rosenberg is confident of the future of slot machines in general and mechanical slots in particular.
“Our strategy has been to give (players) a gentle ride and at the same time give a very perceivable and attainable upside that doesn’t drain their wallets with extreme volatility,” he said. “It’s really that classic feel, keeping the player in the game.”
