Where we’re based, we’re a bit spoiled, because one of our nearby casinos happens to be a common launch location for big new slots. Of course, with 1,000 casinos out there, not everyone is so lucky:
Why do small casinos take so long to upgrade their machines? And when they do, they usually are not the new releases from slot manufacturers? The old machines keep being used with worn out video screens and damaged buttons. My home casino is Hollywood casino, Bangor ME.
Robert W.
You’re not alone – more than 20 percent of players polled on Brian Christopher’s YouTube channel said their casinos don’t get the new slots. Another 44 percent said they get them, but only sometimes.
Let’s start with some common factors that impact all areas of the United States. We’ll also address some market-specific factors as well related to where you’re located.
First off, smaller casinos may be slower to replace machine for the simple fact that replacing machines is expensive. Larger casinos will presumably have more revenue coming in, and the draw of a larger player base on top of that, and they can therefore justify a higher investment rate in new machines.
But this isn’t always the case as well. Until a few years ago, many casinos had areas of their casino floor filled with old machines. In your part of the country, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun both had massive spaces filled with old machines. Both of those spaces (Casino of the Wind in Mohegan’s case, Festival Slots in Foxwoods’ case) actually don’t even exist anymore, with their casino floors being downsized so they can focus on investing in more busy parts of the casinos.
The pandemic has accelerated many casinos’ investment in new machines, especially when the data came out that showed despite half of machines or more were being shut off for social distancing, revenue didn’t drop by half.
It became harder to ignore that replacing a bank of 6-8 old machines that were rarely played with a pod of 3-4 newer ones tended to improve the performance, so casinos got more aggressive in removing old machines (which also were harder and more expensive to maintain over time) with newer options. This is one of the reasons why some older games have quickly become harder to find now.
So then to your question about why the latest and greatest don’t necessarily make it to smaller casinos right away. This can sometimes be more a function of location. You see, titles have to be approved state by state. Some states have a lot more casinos, and therefore a better chance to sell more copies, then other states.
Sometimes, depending on how a game performs and its popularity, it can be harder to justify getting a game certified in a state with a limited opportunity to sell them. This means they’re going to lean on games with more enduring and performance, and that means leaving out the brand new games. The smaller casinos may also opt for titles that have the most brand recognition, again leaving the newest titles out of the stack accordingly.
So that’s probably what you’re facing in your particular case. Smaller casinos, a limited number in your state and a limited investment budget and that’s where we are. On the bright side Hollywood is owned by a larger player, which means when the time is right they’ll probably focus on updates – it just won’t be as often as it would if it was in a busier market.
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