Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | November 2009 42 Technology—Transmissive Reels™ When WMS introduced this groundbreakingproduct—avideoprojected over mechanical reels—at G2E in Las Vegas in November 2006, it was an immediate hit with players and the industry alike, picking up awards for innovation. “Transmissive Reels have been very successful already in the BLUEBIRD 1 cabinet. In Macau, The Grand Lisboa, The Venetian, and MGM [GRAND Macau] all use them. This combination of video and mechanical reel product has really taken off,” says Mr Gribble. “In June, the first Transmissive Reels in the BLUEBIRD 2 cabinet were fired up at City of Dreams [Melco Crown Entertainment’s new Cotai resort]. It’s a 22-inch widescreen, with double screen format and thinner cabinet design,” he adds. The smaller footprint of BLUEBIRD 2 gives operators the opportunity to improve further their yield per square foot on the gaming floor, while the double screen feature ensures that player entertainment and interaction is actually increased. A pull handle on the BLUEBIRD 2 is optional, depending on the preference of the property or of the local market. Games—Hot Hot Super Respin™ A five-reel game using Transmissive Reels technology is Hot Hot Super Respin. “It’s very adrenalin pumping,” says Mr Gribble. “It freezes winning symbols, allowing you to re-spin the remainder and increase your chances of winning.” A notable feature of the video-meets- mechanical technology of Transmissive Reels is the way the reels slow before stopping, just like an old-fashioned fully mechanical game. For the players, it creates a sense of anticipation akin to card peeking in baccarat. “You can really get a very high multiple of whatever your bet was,” states Mr Gribble. “The Max Win character is a mystery feature. The character will wave his wand to randomly issue bonus credits or multipliers. It feeds the anticipation of winning and a sense for the player of how their luck is progressing. It takes you completely away from the traditional format of the simple five-reel spin,” he explains. Games—Goldfish™ Another Transmissive Reels offering fromWMS is Goldfish. “With this one we’ve got a real fish tank up above [the bank of machines]. That’s something a little different to look at,” says Mr Gribble. As with Hot Hot Super Respin, the game uses animated‘characters’that communicate with the players, creating a more personal relationship between player and game. “A lot of these characters and the animations were developed for our server- WMS Goldfish™ 2 on the BLUEBIRD™2 cabinet All in the Game A selection of WMS’s top performing technology in Asia Hot Hot Super Respin™