New slot machines: A look at what’s to come at G2E in Las Vegas

For IGT, a brand synonymous with Nevada, next week’s Global Gaming Expo represents a homecoming of sorts.

The 25th running of the world’s largest gaming industry trade show gathering that opens Monday at The Venetian Expo marks the first time since 2015 that IGT is a Las Vegas-based company.

Slot machine and systems products are the heart of G2E, an annual trade show event sponsored by the American Gaming Association.

In addition to the thousands of gaming floor products presented by around 400 exhibitors, G2E presents a series of more than 100 educational sessions with some 330 speakers. There will be daily keynote presentations that will feature MGM Resorts International President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle, Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment, Jason Robins, CEO of DraftKings and AGA President and CEO Bill Miller updating the state of the casino industry.

Dazzling show floor

But in the end, the trade show is all about the dazzle of the machines.

Among the exhibitors will be some of the large locally based manufacturers, including IGT and Light & Wonder.

It was 2014 when Italian gaming equipment manufacturer Gtech acquired IGT for $6.4 billion and moved the company headquarters to London. While IGT’s identity never disappeared in Las Vegas and Nevada, the Italian company focused on its dominance in the lottery business until February, when IGT and another Las Vegas gaming equipment manufacturer, Everi Holdings, announced a planned merger.

But weeks later, a new plan emerged — IGT and Everi would be acquired by New York-based high-end asset manager Apollo Global Management, which already owns The Venetian and Palazzo resort properties on the Strip.

The deal, which enabled IGT to blend its best products with Everi’s and return the newly joined company to a Las Vegas home, has been in place for just over 90 days, but acting CEO Nick Khin said it presented a perfect opportunity to hail the return to Southern Nevada.

On Tuesday, the second day of the four-day G2E, which is expected to attract more than 25,000 industry professionals to Las Vegas, IGT will celebrate its return with a ceremony at the company’s G2E booth, which again this year will be the largest on the trade show floor.

Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley has been invited to the event to be hosted by entertainer Mark Shunock and the company will show off its newest product, the Wheel of Fortune Cash Machine, a blending of top IGT and Everi products inside an 11-foot MegaTower Rise cabinet.

“We wanted to surprise our customers with a kind of a different look and feel at the booth,” Khin said in an interview.

Wheel of Fortune blend

Cash Machine has been one of Everi’s most successful brands; Wheel of Fortune, a series of games based on the popular television game show, is an IGT best-seller. G2E attendees will get the first look at the blended machine before it’s rolled out to casino floors next year.

The Wheel of Fortune Cash Machine will be one of 251 slot machines that will be on display at the IGT booth. Khin said the company will also show a wide range of video poker, video lottery terminal games, electronic tableware and fintech products.

Light & Wonder’s hot item for this year’s show will be a cabinet – the hardware that contains the computerized slot machine.

LightWave

“We’re going to lean into the launch of our LightWave cabinet, which is a really innovative piece of hardware,” said Ryan Scott, vice president of commercial strategy for slots for Light & Wonder. “It’s really where the slot screen and the signage come together to create a large-scale canvas for game designers to design on.”

The company is demonstrating LightWave with one of its most popular games, Frankenstein. But Scott said other games in the company portfolio, including Jackpot Party, Invaders, Dancing Drums and Ultimate Firelink, will follow.

Company executives believe the new display cabinets have the potential to change the entire look of casino floors.

“LightWave and our new cabinets are more than new hardware — they’re new ways to play, creating immersive experiences that captivate players and give our customers the tools to shape the future of the casino floor,” Light & Wonder President and CEO Matt Wilson said when initially announcing the new cabinet last month.

Scott said when a player hits a jackpot or activates a special feature of a particular game, the signage part of the cabinet takes over, focusing attention to the machine.

“It really kind of draws people in as a center of energy,” he said.

Other companies also will have new gadgets to show. Aristocrat Gaming, which recently was awarded a multiyear license from Hasbro, will show new innovations to its Monopoly franchise.

And Konami Gaming will have dedicated spaces for its three business segments: the company’s Money in the Bank series of land-based games; new game releases that include Broadside Bounty, Kinstugi Cat and Volcanic Rock Fire; and new titles for Historical Horse Racing, New York Lottery and Illinois video gaming terminals.

While G2E annually addresses all things gaming, the AGA has been criticized for shying away from the controversial topic of prediction markets participating as unlicensed sports wagering companies. Recent actions by companies like KalshiEx LLC and Robinhood will likely be raised in some of the sessions as lawsuits from those markets involving state gaming regulators rage on.

A new feature of this year’s G2E will be the first-ever U.S. Dealer Competition pitting the best blackjack and roulette dealers from more than 30 commercial and tribal casinos against each other in a competition that will be judged on technical skills, hospitality and game control.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.