PENNY SLOTS STRIKE THE BOARDWALK

More affordable and just as fun to play, one-cent slots are the latest rage in Atlantic City

It's quickly becoming penny-slot pandemonium in Atlantic City. One-cent denomination machines are creating a major craze among players who are quickly discovering they love these machines. And it's not hard to understand why they are enjoying them so much.

With the ability to wager anywhere from a single penny up to 1,000 on a single pull, penny slots are giving slot fans the flexibility to play some of the hottest titles at any denomination they choose. And it's still possible to nail big windfall jackpots, too.

Casino executives are cashing in on this trend as they realize these tech-forward machines are a great way to give players more choices from a single machine. There's a huge influx of one-cent slots hitting the shore and some casinos, like the Tropicana Casino and Resort and Claridge Casino at Bally's, are loading up their casinos with brand-spanking- new titles and entire areas solely dedicated and themed to these intoxicating new games.

"The fascination and attraction with the public is the penny denomination itself", says John Newman, executive director, slot operations, with Resorts Atlantic City.

Manufacturers are getting hot for penny slots, too, including Bally, Atronic, Anchor, IGT, Sigma, Mikohn, Williams, and Aristocrat, who are investing in distributing one-cent slot machines under new and established titles.

Ever since the introduction of multi-line games and video displays, denominations have been inching lower while the fun factor on each machine has been climbing exponentially higher. Ron Baumann, vice president of casino operations for Showboat, The Mardi Gras Casino, says it's been a boon for them to give customers the chance to play however much they choose. "It's about allowing our customers to get the time on they decide they want to have at our machines. Pennies give them a little more time and allow them to allocate their gaming budget the way they want to. It also allows you to take advantage of max bets", says Baumann. "Guests love to hit the max bet every time. They are punching that max button and they love it. That is the biggest thing we are hearing".

Many of today's penny slots offer players as many as 20 to 25 lines of action per pull, with the ability to play up to 200 to 300 coins per game, or up to a 1,000 per game at places such as Harrah's Atlantic City. It gives the player a wider degree of control over their bet than a lot of higher-denomination machines, says Dave Polizzi, vice president, slot operations, at Trump Plaza. "Our guests are getting more value for every pull of the handle", he explains. "With the bonus second-screen feature, they really get a bang out of the credits they accumulate. Even if [someone is] not a high roller, it makes them feel like they are".

"The best thing with penny slots, first of all, is it is affordable", says George Mancuso, vice president, slot operations with the Tropicana Casino and Resort. "You can do a penny per line, a nickel, or more. Depending on your income or budget, you can afford to play the game at any level".

Penny slots also allow players to more easily wager the maximum coin amount, ensuring they vie for top jackpots on progressive machines. According to Dave Lyons, senior vice president, slot operations, Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City (which owns Caesars Atlantic City, Bally's Atlantic City, and Hilton Atlantic City) a casino guest scored a big $25,000 win on a one-cent machine this past spring.

As the first gaming entertainment company offering these machines as far back as the fall of 2002, Lyons has seen the rapid rise in their popularity. It's causing him to add more floor space to these machines, including the all-new "Pennyville". Consuming a gigantic 10,570 square feet of casino space, Pennyville is located on the mezzanine level of the Claridge Casino at Bally's. This new slot parlor opened Memorial Day weekend and offers 152 one-cent machines and 86 nickel games.

Pennyville features a freshly spruced-up casino section with extra-wide isles, custom adjustable seating, and many all- new and modern classic games in one-cent denominations. Games include: Wild Taxi; Buffet Mania; Ghost Island; Cops & Donuts; Slin-go; Monster Mansion; Money Storm; Uncle Sam; Lucky Larry Lob-stermania; Frog Prince; Kenny Rodgers; Tabasco; Phone Tag; Easy Riches; Lava; Yahtzee; Enchanted Unicorn;, Triple Double Dollars; Red, White & Blue; Triple Diamond; Flip Flop; Ghost Hunter; Sign of the Zodiac; Double Diamond Run; Pennyville; Triple Lucy 7's; Double Diamond; and Five Times Pay.

Pennyville also offers a mix of fast-paced video slots and customary reel slots. Video slots are the newest style slot machine and feature an exciting second-screen bonus round requiring players to be active participants. Their decisions directly determine their total rewards. Yet people gravitate toward the time-honored one-armed bandit, too. "Guests still like the traditional feel of the [classic] slot machine. They want a balance between video slots and regular slots", says Lyons.

Also at Bally's is Coyote Kate's Slot Parlor, located in the Wild Wild West Casino, where there are more one-cent machines, including the most popular slot machine of all time, Wheel of Fortune.

Other machines at various Caesars properties such as the Atlantic City Hilton and Caesars Atlantic City include: Rapid Fire, In the Money, Pay Day, Blazing 7's, New York Shell Consuming a gigantic 10,570 square feet of casino space, the Claridge Casino's "Pennyville" offers 152 one-cent machines .Game, Crystal Sevens, Sugar and Spice, 3 for 1, Risque Business, Babooshka, IC Cash, Cleopatra, Money Bars, Bonus Frenzy, and Double Gold. Since adding the games last summer, the Tropicana's Mancuso has seen penny slot popularity increase quickly. They've caught on so swiftly, the Tropicana now has "Pennies In Heaven", a dedicated penny slot area featuring nearly 200 one-cent machines.

Pennies In Heaven has titles from Aristocrat, IGT, Atronic, Sigma, and Williams, including: Cleopatra; Double Diamond Run; 5 Times Pay; Red, White & Blue; Cops and Donuts; Ghost Island; Buffetmania; That Girl; Deep Pockets; Triple Lucky 7; Triple Diamond; Monster Mansion; Money Storm; Enchanted Unicorn; Scatter Magic; The Good, The Bad, and The Money; Eagle Rock; Tiki Torch; Pirates; Jail Bird; Snap Shot; Geisha; Double Dolphins; Flame of Olympus; Crazy Fruit; Break The Spell; I.C. Money; Chickendales; Sphinx 2; Babooshka; Rock & Rollin'; Full of Sheep; Amigo Road; Throw The Dough; Big Top Circus; Easy Riches; Jackpot Party; Top Banana; Raken It In; Rich Little Piggies; Wild Wilderness; Quackers; Reel 'Em In; and Jackpot Party.

Players at Trump Plaza are so into the penny slot phenomenon, the casino is literally adding new machines on a weekly basis to keep up with surging demand. "The response has been fantastic", says Polizzi. Here, every single one-cent machine (and two-cents, too) are fresh from the manufacturers and reflect the titles most requested by the Trump Plaza customer base.

With the recent expansion that added the brand new "Rendezvous" hotel tower and a larger casino, Resorts Atlantic City has more penny slots then ever before with 117 different machines. The games are spread throughout the casino floor and are available under a wide variety of titles with a mix of progressives and, coming soon, wide-area progressives (where machines at various casinos are linked to provide a larger bonus). "We try to give every-one the best selection in pennies on as many different models we can", says Newman.

Harrah's Atlantic City is also going gaga for single-cent machines. The casino currently has about 100 ticket-in/ticket-out one-cent video reel machines from IGT, including: Catch a Wave, E l e p h a n t King, Fortune Cookie, I Dream of Jeannie, Texas Tea, and more. At Showboat, there are more than 50 IGT ticket-in/ticket-out one-cent slot machines, including: Dragons Gold, Frog Prince, Little Green Men, Phone Tag, Uncle Sam, and others.

The new wave of penny slots is also free of the negative connotation once associated with nickel slot rooms, where people played with buckets full of coins. These days, you won't actually need a sack full of pennies to play these games. "The customer needs to know they don't have to actually bring pennies. You can come and play the penny slots, but leave the pennies at home", says Trump Plaza's Polizzi.

That means the days of straining backs by lugging buckets full of winnings are all gone. These machines all accept bills and are designed for ticket-in/ ticket-out play. That means when The Tropicana's dedicated one-cent slot area, Pennies in Heaven, features nearly 200 penny slots, while the new casino expansion at Resorts (r.) has resulted in more penny slots than ever "With the bonus second-screen feature, they really get a bang out of the credits they accumulate. Even if [someone is] not a high roller, it makes them feel like they are". Harrah's currently has about 100 ticket-in/ticket-out one-cent video reel machines you're done playing, you simply hit a button. Out pops a feather-light voucher usable at another slot machine or exchangeable for currency with the cashier.

The machines also eliminate another annoying slot machine fan bane-waiting for a change hopper refill. You'll never have to choose between claiming that last dollar of winnings or missing your bus again.

In the future, many slot machines will even vary the base amount, meaning the player will be able to select if they want to wager a penny, a nickel, or more per betting unit. For now, penny slots have established a major foothold among other slot denominations and are here to stay. "Most casinos during the next year or two will take as much as 10% of their [total slot] machines and turn them into penny games.

They will also convert some nickel games to pennies", says Mancuso. Penny slots are also redefining how casinos view their players. It's no longer possible to pigeonhole players into specific categories like quarters, 50 cents, or a $1. "It's not about the denomination of the machine that is played, but how many credits you put in a single handle pull", says Ike DeNafo, director of slot product strategy for Harrah's Atlantic City and Showboat. "Now we think of players in a different way".

In the coming years, you should expect to see the biggest jackpots to date with the possible approval of Aristocrat's Hyperlink progressive slot system. If approved, places such as Harrah's expect to offer Aristocrat's Millioni$er (pronounced "millioniser") to its customers with a penny slot machine offering a top jackpot of an astounding $1 million. A collection of some of Aristocrat's most popular slots machines, all Mil-lioni$ er games in a jurisdiction are interconnected, giving more players in a single casino the chance to win the top prize. "They are working on it now. We are waiting on the Hyperlink technology to be approved. We've been waiting two years for the hyperlink progressive to be offered here", says Harrah's and Showboat's DeNafo. Casinos in Nevada and other gaming jurisdictions already offer this game. "This stand-alone product is the first time anyone is giving players a chance to win $1 million on a penny slot", Kent Young, the vice president of marketing with Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., told Strictly Slots back in March.

Also on the horizon for the Atlantic City market are multi-denominational machines that allow the user to select the value of each credit played. That way, a player can select as many pay-out lines they desire, as well as if each line is played for a penny, nickel, or quarter. "It is going to become more and more about customer selection and options. The options customers are get-ting are becoming more advanced. That's great for the industry, and it is great for the customer", says Showboat's Baumann.

Overall, the best part of the penny slot is how these games make the most cautious player feel like a high roller. Finally, you have a compelling reason to cash in that dusty old change jar. Penny slots are here to stay