Skill-based game maker Synergy Blue said Tuesday it will place arcade-style slot machines on field trial at two Station Casinos’ properties in Las Vegas over the next two to three weeks.
Synergy Blue, which was licensed in Nevada early this year, will place the games at Red Rock Resort in the west Las Vegas community of Summerlin community and at Palms Casino Resort just west of the Strip.
The company said it has plans to announce a third trial at a Nevada casino next week.
Field trials are required under Nevada gaming rules, which give the state’s Gaming Commission information on their performance. The commission can then allow the games to be released market wide.
Synergy Blue CEO Georg Washington said field trial will include machines that “feature a variety of skill-influenced games and offer styles to intrigue and entertain all types of players.” The portfolio will include video poker and several games from the company’s library, including Candy Ca$h, Mahjong and Safari Match.
To date, Synergy Blue’s games have only been on the floor at the Augustine Casino in California’s Coachella Valley, and it has products and applications are in five other countries.
At the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Synergy Blue unveiled four new arcade-style games. The company now has a library of 23 games.
“We’re very excited to introduce our games to the Las Vegas market and to be working with Station Casinos,” Washington said. “This agreement marks a key milestone for our company and the Las Vegas market as we work together to progress the industry with engaging new experiences.”
Washington was critical of recent articles quoting casino operators with not having an interest in skill-based games over concerns of their profitability compared to traditional slot machines. He said he didn’t find that to be the case at G2E.
“I had the contrary experience (from operators) of how fast we can get it and when can we get it,” Washington said. “I know some operators are cautious but from our point of view, we don’t have a sales problem. It’s a little weird. There’s valid concerns about can they produce money but at the same time you want a different experience and demographic. We have to learn those things just like electronic table games.”
Washington said some of the concerns from the casino industry about revenue originate from the first generation of games that are evolving. He pointed out that only three out of 10 traditional slot machines are successful. The skill-based industry, however, doesn’t want to mimic slots. Instead, it would rather generate interest from new players, he said.
“To expect a single supplier with a handful of games to hit home runs is probably not a realistic view on things,” Washington said. “The second generation should see some better numbers and more interesting things. It’s only now in Nevada that you have four to five (suppliers) here. Up until last year, it was one. If you look at electronic table games and stadium seating, there’s a good comparison, and there’s only now a good acceptance of it and where to put them and how to market them. Before then, it was thought it didn’t do well and then Macau — and boom. It’s huge there so it was let’s try it here, and it became more successful. It’s the same process if you look at skill gaming.”
Washington said there’s been interest worldwide for their games and not just in the U.S. In some jurisdictions in Asia, the demographic fits the skill-based gaming profile of a 45-year-old. It also fits well in parts of Europe, and there’s been a huge response in Latin America, he said.
“It’s an evolving niche market,” Washington said.
Synergy Blue’s skill-influenced, arcade gambling machines are currently available in a large format VGM2 cabinet or a standard width (28”) Slant Top cabinet and are offered in a multi-game configuration, allowing casino guests to choose from seven titles, Washington said.
#theFLASH – Synergy Blue games make Las Vegas debut at Red Rock Resort and Palms. –@BrianBuckWargo, CDC Gaming Reports. https://t.co/WazGYxlTsy @SynergyBlue1 @redrockcasino @Palms #CDCgaming
— CDC Gaming Reports (@CDCNewswire) October 22, 2019
All of Synergy Blue’s games are built on the company’s HAWG (Hybrid Arcade Wager-based Gaming) solution, blending regulatory compliant, skill-influenced, Class II and Class III gambling with the uninterrupted entertainment of arcade and mobile style play, “providing unique entertainment offerings for a burgeoning demographic,” Washington said.
“Synergy Blue’s HAWG platform and gambling solutions are incredibly unique, both in the flexibility they offer our operators and the variety of arcade-style game play they offer to guests,” said Roger Pettersson, vice president of corporate slots at Station Casinos. “We see huge potential in skill-influenced games and we’re proud to have Palms and Red Rock Casinos offer Synergy Blue’s products to the Las Vegas public.”
