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MULTIPLAYERS
marketed on the strength of a decorative housing table games as well as fully automated systems. Games
that's easy to change (and presumably replace with available are Digital 21, Dragon Baccarat, Golden
the casino's own branded housing if desired), as well Baccarat, Roulette Evolution, Texas Hold 'Em Bonus,
as a giant interactive display to attract non-players. and Triple Towers Virtual Horse Racing.
The Futura, another eight-seat Roulette table, is Another departure from the normal run of card
said to be one of the smallest available with a simulations, the 12-seat Triple Towers allows players
diameter of just 2.3m, answering the needs of sites to place up to six types of horse-racing bet, including
where space is tight. Still, ICIT emphasises player two types of random quick pick as well as the usual
comfort with this unit: small doesn't have to mean selections of winning and placing runners.
cramped.
Interblock offers two multiplayer product lines -
And at the other end of the size scale, ICIT's the futuristic G4 Organic series, and the simpler,
Primadonna can connect to as many as 32 player plainer G3.
stations, although the standard sizes range from five
to 12 - each with individual light effects. The Organic units, with six to ten player stations,
offer the usual Blackjack and Roulette as well as a
The Primadonna is a good example, too, of how the range of card games - Sic Bo, Joker Sic Bo, Fish-
vendors of multiplayer systems need to bring together Shrimp-Crab, and Craps. Also available are bingo and
a diverse range of technologies - digital and keno tables, with a distinctive bubble design.
analogue, gaming-specific and commodity IT, custom-
built and off-the-shelf. The Primadonna may have at Each player can choose any of the games from any
its heart ICIT's own Vertigo wheel, but it also Organic terminal.
includes a JCM bill acceptor, a FutureLogic ticket
printer and Elo touchscreens. Playtrix is unusual among suppliers of multiplayer
games in that it has put wireless connectivity at the
ICIT's reading of what patrons find appealing in heart of its systems. Conceptually, the structure of
multiplayer games sums up how these systems can the Playtrix Miinii Blackjack and Punto-Banco
benefit casino and customer alike: “With the help Baccarat gaming systems isn't that much different
of special buttons, players can place faster French from fixed-position multiplayer units: each player (up
bets, such as neighbours of zero, zero game and to five of them) has their own control unit, the game
orphans, thus placing them more often than they is driven by the main control box, and the action is
would otherwise. They also love the interactive shown on a large monitor TV.
screen graphics, which reminds them of the classic
American Roulette. The easy-to-understand icons The difference is that the battery-powered units
contribute to player satisfaction and reduce can be positioned anywhere up to 100m from the
complaints.” electronic “dealer”. There's also another remote
control for managing credits in and out...but there
IGT, besides its involvement with DigiDeal, offers are no prizes for guessing that with a multiplayer
the M-P Series, which includes hosted electronic system, both should grow.
CASE STUDY: THE CHANGING “This means that players on the Roulette machines can have a
(MULTI)PLAYER chance at the big money prizes, as well as take part in multi-level
jackpot bonuses, something that will appeal probably to the more
The markets that drove the huge popularity of automated occasional player,” Stopar said.
multiplayer casino games are shifting, and when players want more
features, manufacturers have to step up to the plate. Bostjan Stopar of Of course multiplayers (and Gold Club) are about much than just
Gold Club in Slovenia – home, through accidents of history, to more automated Roulette. “On every casino floor, even in purely electronic
well-known manufacturers of multiplayers than any other country – casinos, there has to be a full mix of games,” said Stopar, “slot
told Casino International how player needs are changing, and how machines from different manufacturers, different games, a mix of pay
casinos can respond. tables and volatility. One reason why Roulette dominates in this format
is that it is the easiest game to make a full simulation of without a
Take the tournament feature in multiplayer Roulette, for example. dealer. There are, of course, other games out there, such as Blackjack,
Said Stopar: “While video slot machines are still popular, or even but card games have proven much more difficult to replicate, certainly
becoming more popular as players learn to trust them as they enjoy all with real cards.”
the bonus features, there are still very many people who want to
compete with each other, not just the machine.” In its own Blackjack, Baccarat and Texas Hold 'Em multiplayer, Gold
Club uses electronic cards but it is also trying to replicate the live
Or consider the universal player fascination with giant prizes. Last game as much as possible through an interactive animated dealer that
year Gold Club launched a system that allows multiplayer Roulette senses when players sit down and greets them and reorients the on-
machines to link into progressive jackpots along with standard slot screen display for each turn, to reinforce the sense of personal
machines. attention.
34 DECEMBER 2009
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