If it's the end of September then it's time for me to visit Las Vegas for G2E, something I have enjoyed going to for the last five years!
What is G2E? It is the Global Gaming Expo, an international gaming trade show and conference for the gaming industry by the gaming industry! It's for those businesses that are involved in anything related to gaming, for them to see the latest products and trends from food/beverage, hotels, slots, table games, etc...and to network with each other and no doubt to party together too. Then there's people like me who it's really not for but somehow we find ourselves there each year to see the new slot machine games and chat with some of the designers.
For the official scoop on G2E visit their webpage:
http://www.globalgamingexpo.com
If you are on Facebook and want to see a overall look at some of the activities besides slots that took place during G2E go here:
https://www.facebook.com/globalgamingexpo?fref=ts
This year was going to be extra exciting for me because a good friend of mine who has a very popular youtube slot channel SDguy1234 had been hired to be a character in a new Aristocrat Slot Machine and it was going to debut at G2E! Oops, I'm getting ahead of myself, more on this in a bit!
The exhibit hall of G2E opened on Tuesday, September 29th from 10am to 5pm, the same hours on Wednesday but on the last day, Thursday it closed early at 3pm. I was there all three days but usually not until around noon as I knew from years past it was busiest the first couple days especially in the mornings. Alright, I'm not a morning person but honestly the first day is always super crowded with usually the last day being the least packed, though this year it seemed more crowded to me on all the days it was open.
There's so much to see at G2E but I only had time for the slot games this year even though there was some fun activities going on at the convention like a cooking competition among well known chefs. Also this report is slanted heavily to Scientific Games and Aristocrat because they let us record some videos of their slots and also they have most of the new slot games that I'm going to be playing the most in the casinos, though I also tend to like a lot of IGT games too. Both companies were great about making time for us, thanks so much!
I started out at the Scientific Games booth which now owns WMS and Bally Technologies. Actually there is a couple other companies they own too but I know little to nothing about them.
Since WMS and Bally Technologies were together in the Scientific Games Booth, I'm not going to say this slot game or that one was by the WMS or Bally Technologies Studios as I would likely get confused and make a mistake. What I did notice is both studios have a huge selection of licensed games. Personally I'm fine with licensed games and enjoy many of them despite knowing that when I gamble at a M-Life MGM Resorts International property I will be penalized player points for playing them. Oops, excuse the brief rant, going back on topic you will see above there is finally a Caddyshack slot! What took them so long? Unfortunately I didn't get a video of this game but like the movie it looked funny with some really cute bonuses and features. Can we say Gopher Bombs? LOL!
Okay, I confess, I like Cher's music and my husband and I enjoyed her show years ago at Caesar's Palace. Now there is a Cher Live video slot game! While many slots at G2E are six months to a year or more from being released to casinos, Cher Live does seem to have all its bonuses in place so perhaps we will see it within the next six months. If you are interested I have a video to share of some of the bonuses that we played during G2E. Instead of embedding most of those videos here on the blog, I will give links to the majority of the videos I took during G2E. Here's Cher Live!
https://youtu.be/xbNnftqT088
Thanks to my friend Brent who was smart to make an appointment with Scientific Games to record some videos of the new slots, I along with SDGuy was able to tag along and also record some of the new games. The three of us when recording tried to do different games or when we covered the same game to record different bonuses. So check out Brent's channel for additional Cher Live Bonus previews!
https://www.youtube.com/user/BrentWolgamott
My husband and I are both big Monty Python fans so you can bet we will be playing this slot based on the movie of the same name. There are two base games, Black Knight and Killer Bunny and both in my opinion are funny! Link below to what I briefly recorded. However keep in mind that a lot of the slots at G2E are not finished yet!
https://youtu.be/-UidwiLbu0I
I didn't have a chance to play Elvis Lives but for fans of Elvis there is a new video Elvis game coming out in the future. There's also a Miss Universe Crowning Moment Slot Machine but with so many other themed slots that appeal to me more I didn't even give it a try.
Space Invaders, a blast from the past! This new game has a skill based bonus round but for those like me who don't care to play anything skill based in a slot machine you can opt out of the skill based version and just go for free spins. All the latest news of course is about what is coming in the future with skill based slots, but since I'm not personally interested in that and I'm also not the demographic they are trying to entice into playing, I will stay neutral for now on the subject. I will give my opinion that if you want to entice the younger demographic who when I was their age I wasn't interested in playing slots either then do something tied to social media instead or at least tie that in with skill based gambling.
Quick Hit! They look interesting and of course I'm always going to give a new Quick Hit game a try when I see one but oh woe is me I forgot to play them as I was distracted by other shiny slots!
I did try Kronos and Zeus and if the Lightning Respin's happen as often when I'm playing with real money as they did during the brief time I tried them at G2E I will like these games!
This caught my eye when taking photos and while I didn't stop to try it then I likely will in a casino.
I love the Pink Panther theme, but didn't get a chance to try it out at G2E, but I will definitely give it a gamble when I see it in a casino!
More Quick Hit for those of us who love it! Apparently we can't have too many Quick Hit games!
I was surprised to see this new Friends slot at G2E as none of my friends seem to like the current Friends slot and when I'm in the Vegas strip casinos I seldom see anyone playing them. Perhaps they are popular at your local casinos?
The Simpsons! I love the the new cabinet that The Simpsons and the World of Wonka had at G2E. I read that it's called the Gamescape and I thought it was very immersive. There were three screens surrounding the gambler and then a large screen on top. While The Simpson's is still in development it's easy to predict this will be popular with fans of the show when released. Heck, I have never watched much of The Simpsons but I found the slot engaging and fun so even I will play it! Here's some video footage I have:
https://youtu.be/h5_U7ibhRJU
What took them so long to decide to put this classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show in a slot? I didn't get a video of it but did play it briefly and had the Time Warp feature a few times. Didn't get the main bonus so something to look forward to seeing when I play it for real!
Another Michael Jackson slot. I have had some luck on the previous versions so I'm sure I will also play Michael Jackson Icon too.
I was surprised to see a sequel to the Iron Man Slot Machine as I never see the original very busy. However what I glimpsed of it did seem interesting for those of us who like Wild Reels in our slots.
Pitbull and the Playboy Bunnies, a winning combination? I'm thinking I would like to see a version of the slot with the Playboy Bunnies and the Thunder from Down Under hunks together. ;)
Upstairs in the private area of the Scientific Games Booth I'm assuming that was Pitbull himself with some Playboy bunnies meeting casino VIP's.
I have friends who love Titanic so I'm sure they are happy to read Titanic Heart of the Ocean will be at casinos in the future. Sorry, didn't have a chance to give it a try.
In the same cabinet as the latest Friends slot is Cheers.
The World Of Wonka was always so busy I never got to play it, I'm sad! It has the immersive new Gamescape cabinet that I loved on The Simpsons.
Parrots Head Fans of Jimmy Buffett will no doubt love Escape to Margaritaville featuring the music of Buffett with lots of clips of concerts and what looks to be lots of bonus features!
Gold Fish Deluxe!! Finally a possible contender to the original Gold Fish game that I love and still play at Venetian and Palazzo! I've never been happy with any sequel so far, but this may finally capture what I loved with the original and perhaps, just maybe I might love it more? We'll see once it's released and I'm playing it with real money!
Here's a video of the new Gold Fish Slot from G2E that isn't released to casinos yet.
https://youtu.be/6m84KAay9rU
Next door to the Scientific Games both was Aristocrat! Here's where I finally got my first look at the game that my friend SDGuy is in, The Walking Dead Season Three slot! The Walking Dead slot that is currently in the casinos is a personal favorite of mine because to date I have had two hand pays on it and numerous other big wins and now that SDGuy is a zombie in the new game I'm sure to love this one too when it's released. Unless of course I don't win, LOL!
The Walking Dead bonus in the new game has a picking feature before the free spins and SDGuy is the zombie in the middle row on the far right! Warning, why the picking I'm sure is random each time at G2E I selected SDGuy's zombie during the bonus he was the minor jackpot. ;)
At the link below is a glimpse of this slot which is not yet released and of course I'm not playing it for real money!
https://youtu.be/GGAxB561TB4
The last day of G2E Aristocrat surprised us with t-shirts with SDGuy's zombie character on them! That's SDGuy kneeling, Brent beside me and Rex next to Brent.
