It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not cheering for blankets of white snow or hoping to catch a Christmas special on TV, instead I am celebrating the start of this year’s Global Gaming Expo.
Ever since landing my first job in a casino, where my passion for the games became glaring obvious, incredibly fast, everyone I met in the industry said to mark my calendar for G2E. You’d think that everyone that works in the gaming world would enjoy G2E, but in my opinion, this is where the true casino enthusiasts shine.
That first year, I was like an excited baby deer standing willingly in the headlights of a big rig. Everything was exciting, brand-new, and about my favorite passion- gambling. Confronted with the reality of exploring the world’s largest gaming expo, I was unsure exactly where to look or where to go, but as the day unfolded I found my footing. I walked into countless booths, tried out hundreds of titles, and started to become familiar with what felt like every slot manufacturer known to man.
Coincidentally, my first G2E was the year the new Star Trek game was being released. I grew up on a healthy diet of Star Trek, in all the flavors, so imagine my excitement when I turned the corner and saw a fullscale replica of the bridge.
Personal attachments aside, this year’s expo is notable because it is the 25th anniversary of the annual event. Each year G2E draws thousands, if not more, of slot enthusiasts, casino industry innovators, and the software developers that keep everything running to the mecca of gaming.
Read on below to see what caught my eye on day one. Interested in more G2E coverage? Follow our week here!
Multi-Denomination Slots
Multi-denomination slots appear to be the name of the game at this year’s expo. This is great news for players like me that like to seamlessly switch up their bets. Whether I am chasing a maxed out major and just trying to get the max number of spins in or trying to “reset” my luck, I love being able to shake up the routine and try other bet sizes out. I often will pick games to play on the floor based on what games afford me that option.
It seems that manufacturers are leaning more into multi-denominations compared to year’s past. Almost all of the games that I naturally gravitated towards at this year’s event were multi-denomination. The most common lineup that I saw present players with the choice to try out were the standard one cent, two cent, five cent, and 10 cent denomination.
In addition to allowing players to switch their gaming style, I like that this option delivers a little bit of something for players of all bet sizes.
Larger Bet Sizes
Every year, the standard bet options seem to get just a little bit bigger and bigger. Instead of seeing bet sizes starting out at under a dollar, most that I saw started far above what was considered palatable for a min bet on pennies. This isn’t a complaint, it is a natural evolution that mirrors what happens to the value of a dollar over time.
Next time you are at your local casino, you can investigate this for yourself. Take a look at the older title, talking about the likes of “Benny Big Game,” and compare that to one of the newest slot installations. Those older titles typically have lower bet sizes that start off around 40 cents (or even lower!).
Opportunities for the Future
One of the best parts about G2E is checking out all the greatest and latest technology making its way onto the casino floor. This can look like investments into IT systems like WIFI or beefing up the data processing of players. Of course, and what I find the most interesting, are the improvements being added to the actual slot games.
While taking a look around the gaming floor, something that caught my eyes, or should I say nose, was a smell coming from the Eclipse booth. I couldn’t put my finger on the exact smell but it was fruity and definitely smelled different than the surrounding area… But only for a few seconds. I was delighted to learn that they had added some sort of fragrance diffuser that was releasing the smell of bananas to accompany their new title “Banana Bash Monkey.”
The excitement was short lived, I unfortunately learned that the smell was specially added to the show cabinet specifically to create a “wow” factor for the expo. Although I am deeply disappointed that not all Banana Bash Monkey games will come with the scent of banana’s, it does give me hope for the future! If smell is being added now to get attention on the expo floor, it tells me that it is something that can be fully done in the future. I look forward to a casino experience that includes new sensory elements like added smells.
Disclaimer: I fully acknowledge that there needs to be some guidance about what smells should be allowed, only nice smelling things please.
Leaning Into Popular Titles
We’ve seen it time and time again, when a slot manufacturer finds a title that resonates with audiences, they will start to make a wide variety of slightly different variations of the game. The obvious example is to encourage you to think about all the different irritations of “Wheel of Fortune” you can think of. There are a lot, but for good reason. Players enjoy the game and if the number of different versions tell us anything, it is that they gravitate towards the familiar.
At this year’s event, it quickly became obvious that Monopoly would be that beloved title back for another round. Immediately upon entering the expo, I was greeted with a lifesize version of their Scotty dog game piece. After taking a picture for my mom, I headed inside to explore the floor. It wasn’t too long after that I stumbled upon another game installation, this time Mr. Monopoly himself. Keep your eyes out for the latest release, Monopoly Slots.
