\nLAS VEGAS (AP) \u2013 With the gambling industry anxious to attract younger players, some slot machine makers are looking to challenge the generation raised on video games.<\/p>\n
\tPlayers in the United Kingdom will soon get a chance to make real wagers after sinking a battleship, knocking a character off a perch, or playing a word worth a triple-word score.<\/p>\n
\tIn Mexico City, Merkur Gaming is testing a slot machine that has players sit inside a cozy, futuristic-looking orb much like sensory heavy arcade video games.<\/p>\n
\tIt\u2019s all part of a push to offer more skill-based, social games to attract younger players while retaining more traditional games for women in their 50s and 60s \u2013 the most lucrative players.<\/p>\n
\tFor them, the allure of slot machines has been simple. Pull the handle or press a button, hear lots of noise and watch excitedly as the reels come to a stop, often so close to a big win that players can\u2019t wait to try again.<\/p>\n
\tThat\u2019s not enough for a younger generation that grew up on fast-paced video games. The industry is looking to attract them with games similar to ones they\u2019re already used to playing.<\/p>\n
\tAt a recent convention of casino game makers in Las Vegas, Edvard Toth, studio head for California-based Gamblit Gaming, sat in front of a four-sided touch-screen table showing how a flick of his finger could launch a virtual slingshot sending a puppy clad in a police uniform flying toward a zombie cat.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis is a slot machine that doesn\u2019t look like a slot machine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tThe company strategy aims to appeal to players 21 to 45 who will recognize the games it wants to bring to U.S. casinos \u2013 Lucky Words (think Scrabble), Police Pooches (like Angry Birds), Dreadnaught (like Battleship) and Raze (think Risk).<\/p>\n
\tAll were on display at the annual G2E Global Gaming Expo.<\/p>\n
\tTo meet regulatory rules, the new titles must be as much a game of chance as a traditional slot machine \u2013 a requirement that makes it difficult to design a game that includes an element of skill.<\/p>\n
\tIn the case of Gamblit games, mastering one of the more skilled challenges doesn\u2019t win a bet but instead triggers the spin of a reel or wheel, or a roll of dice for a chance at real money.<\/p>\n
\tSlot machine makers have tried to insert skilled games into traditional slot machines before, Toth said. But it\u2019s akin to sticking a slot machine inside the classic video game \u201cCall of Duty\u201d and expecting his grandmother to like it, he said.<\/p>\n
\tGamblit is cleared to offer its games in the United Kingdom, where real money will eventually be wagered. The company is licensed in Nevada but will still need regulators to sign off on the technical side of its games once if it gets a U.S. casino order.<\/p>\n
\tTraditional slot machine makers don\u2019t necessarily see a young gamer when they design new games. Jean Venneman, vice president of product licensing for Bally Technologies, sees 52-year-old women as the most coveted players.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI try to find things that are classic and current,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tWith that in mind, makers of more traditional slot machines are offering models with themes incorporating reality TV shows, 1970s superheroes and 1990s sitcom characters.<\/p>\n
\tAt the expo, Bally introduced games featuring Lynda Carter\u2019s \u201cWonder Woman\u201d and the cast of \u201cFriends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe were a little concerned at first that the show was too dated,\u201d Venneman said of \u201cWonder Woman.\u201d But the footage was spruced up and she said the resurgence of superhero popularity has led her to believe it will be a hit with her target audience.<\/p>\n
\tJoey Sanchez, slot manager for the Northern Edge tribal casino in New Mexico, gave Bally\u2019s \u201cDuck Dynasty\u201d game a try at the expo. He said he\u2019s still genuinely surprised when he sees who is playing the 750 slots at his tribe\u2019s casino.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou\u2019re trying to please everybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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