G2E 2016 Preview - 2 AGS

Yesterday we looked at Ainsworth Game Technology and some of what we can expect to see on the Global Gaming Expo floor the last week of this month.  Today we want to take a look at another popular game manufacturer whose name you might not know - AGS, American Gaming Systems. You might not recognize the new name, but, especially if you play in Native American casinos, you will certainly be familiar with its popular Cadillac Jack games.  AGS acquired Cadillac Jack as part of it acquisition of rival Canadian company Amaya Gaming for $382 million dollars a year ago this summer. Their goal was to broaden the company's market in both Class II and Class III machines, and the company has been making great strides in this endeavor in the past two years. Information in this preview comes from Frank Legato's articles on the web.

American Gaming System - AGS

Booth 1253

I have never paid much attention to the cabinet slot games are housed in - except of course for the huge displays three screens tall - but slot manufacturers do, and they use G2E to show off the improvements in these cases as well as their games. After AGS acquired Cadillac Jack - a Class II company with some Class III hits - they began work on the new platform which they named the Icon cabinet, a dual -monitor format with state of the art lighting and sound.  They launched the new cabinet last year at G2E 2015, and titles began appearing in our casinos in May of this year. At G2E 2016 this year, AGS will display 36 titles on Icon, part of a launch of 40- 45 new titles.  A second cabinet, called Orion, will make its debut at G2E this year and will house another 10-12 new titles. It will feature a 42-inch flat screen, a high def monitor, providing a continuous screen for expanding reels, bonus features, and other interactive features on a touch sensitive surface. It has been compared to a billboard with LED lighting.

The Orion will be launched with games that have proven to be winners for the company - games like FireWolf II. The original FireWolf series was a hit for the former Cadillac Jack company. It is a PowerXStream game with a 3-4-4-4-3 setup with 576 ways to win and lines that pay both left to right and right to left.  A clone of FireWolf called River Dragons adds interactive animated features like fish that react at the touch of the screen.  The new version will be called Gold Dragon Red Dragon Extreme Jackpots.  Other games include Fire Bull, Fu Panda, and Wolf Queen.  Shadow Sirens is another new game featuring Streaming Stacks. Great Gorilla is another game with the Streaming Stacks feature. You can find thumb shoots of AGS's games at playags on the internet.

Kevin Reilly, the director of slot products, says AGS is aiming for medium-to-high volatility. They want a variety with core high volatility games (gamblers' games) and some entertainment games as well. They say they are still going after the high-limit player, and will be showing 3 or 4 specific high limit games at G2E.  Most of AGS's licensed brand games are about to expire, and the company is debating the future of this type game. Current titles include it Pays to Know Series - Family Feud, Are you Smarter than a 6th Grader, Ripley's. These are not games that get a lot of play in the casinos I visit. 

The company will also be displaying its table games at G2E- with an array of blackjack side bets, progressives, original poker derivative games, and Des, the company's first card shuffler.

If you would like a sample of the demos YouTube videographers will showing us next month, here's a sample of an AGS/Cadillac Jack video filmed by Random$$slots at last year's Global Gaming Expo 2015.

This game is in casinos today, but the video demonstrates not only the game but also gives you a feel for AGS's approach to gaming.  There are several videos of the FireWolf games you can watch on YouTube also.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of these previews in another day or two.

G2E Preview - Part 1: AGS/Cadillac Jack

Slot fanatics and game lovers of all kinds will be heading to Las Vegas and the Sands Expo and Convention Center September 29 - October 1 for the world’s premier casino-entertainment event, G2E 2015. You may be one of the lucky ones who are able to attend. If so, you’ll have a chance to see hands-on demonstrations of the new games we’ll all be playing soon on the casino floors and the innovative systems that slot manufacturers will be unveiling for the first time. Perhaps you’ll even attend seminars and network with gaming executives and exhibitors. Whatever you do, you’ll find this year’s Integrated Resort Experience an unforgettable one.  

Here’s a preview of what you can expect at G2E this year, courtesy of the September 2015 issue of indiangaming.com.  We’ll focus on a different manufacturer every few days between now and the big event. Because we’ve spent so much time discussing Class II slots lately, we’ll start with a leader in the Native American gaming industry we are all familiar with: Cadillac Jack. 

AGS/Cadillac Jack
playags.com

G2E Booth #2256

Those of you who gamble at Native American Casinos have undoubtedly seen a lot of new Cadillac Jack machines on the tribal casino floors this summer. American Gaming Systems (AGS) acquired Cadillac Jack for $12 million as part of its acquisition of rival Canadian company Amaya Gaming for $382 million this June. The goal was to broaden its range and market in both Class II and Class III machines, and because of Cadillac Jack’s strongly established footprint in Mexico, to give AGS an international presence.   

AGS developed its first Class II platform in the late 90’s for the Native American market. Since then they have expanded into Class III, Vegas style slots along with Wide-Area Progressives and Casino Management Systems. Sources say they operate over 10,000 games worldwide. AGS recently has expanded its product line to include live felt-table games. Many of their new games were displayed in San Diego this April at the NIGA’s Trade Show and Convention. Now those of you attending G2E at the end of this month will have a chance to see them too.

If you are into table games, AGS will be exhibiting Bonus Spin Blackjack, and the Tornado roulette utility device. But the star of the show will be the debut of the Count’s Kustom Blackjack. This is the only live table game with a side bet that offers players the chance to win a custom car, truck, or motorcycle from the automobile restoration and customization shop of the same name, Count’s Kustoms. You may be familiar with the shop from the History Channel reality television series  Counting Cars.

In addition to blackjack, AGS will conduct live product demos of its newest poker games, 2 Card Poker and Top 5 Poker. Play for Fun versions of 2 Card Poker and nine of the company’s 15 other table games are available at www.PlayAGS.com/table-games.html

AGS is also courting the mobile gaming market. They announced their entry into mobile gaming with the acquisition of RocketPlay - a well known developer of online and mobile games which they have dubbed AGS Interactive. They hope to piggyback on the success of their flagship product, Lucky Play Casino. The company expects to showcase a new app, Vegas Fever, by the time G2E rolls around according to Indiangaming magazine.

AGS will also be exhibiting a range of new and recently released slot titles. One new addition to the company lineup is Dr. Cheddar’s Clone Machine, The game features cartoon mice as mad scientists and the irresistible mechanical wheel in the top box. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Another featured slot is Tidepool Wonders, the next installment in the company’s Skytower cabinet.The game contains expanding reels and its own virtual wheel. Colossal Diamonds will round out AGS’s offerings on its impossible-to-miss Big Red cabinet. At the size of three standard cabinets, this three-reel, single-pay line game was  a big favorite when it debuted this summer at Caesar’s Palace and Paris Las Vegas. 

Showcasing the company’s most innovative video content, is the ICON cabinet new from Cadillac Jack. It will house the company’s core video content, including two new games, Golden Wins and Tiger! Tiger! which are aimed at fans of the high-volatility, big win style of slot machines.

The company will also be introducing its latest addition to the It Pays to Know series, Family Feud. Some sites say the Family Feud slots were introduced at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas way back in 2001. IGT purchased the licensing and rereleased the game in both a modern form and a vintage incarnation featuring the first host, Richard Dawson. Declining popularity took the game off casino floors. 

This new game by AGS is also based on the popular television game show and features a skill-based trivia bonus round. The survey questions in the game come directly from the show, and by choosing the most popular answers, players can affect the outcome of the bonus game and win more credits. Although they claim this is a new release, there are already Family Feud games on YouTube you can watch. 

I hope you found something in the AGS/Cadillac Jack preview to look for at G2E. In a few days I’ll share some information from another manufacturer with you. Check back in a couple of days, and see who it will be.