Ah, dear old Sigma Derby. We just knew that even the slightest mention of the game in a recent QoD (3/28) would be enough to trigger at least one follow-up query, and here it is!
If the interest in this quaint mechanical horse-racing game could only have been translated into commensurate profits, then we figure it would pretty much be the only game you'd ever find on any casino floor, anywhere (aside, perhaps, from a few examples of that other popular dinosaur, the Silver Strike machine). A quick perusal of the Question of the Day Archives reveals that we've answered at least eight QoDs specifically dedicated to Sigma Derby, while it's received mention in many more. But for a game that takes up enough floor space to seat ten players, accepts only quarter-denomination bets (the max bet is a $5 quinella), and plays really slowly (on account of how long it takes the little plastic jockeys to get their diminutive steeds around the clunky track), it's just not destined to be a contender against the multi-denomination video-reel and electronic-keno monsters that cater to the video-game generation and can suck up your dollars at a rate that would make Derby blush.
Back in the day, most self-respecting Strip casinos featured a Sigma Derby game somewhere on the floor, some of which were customized to fit with the property's theme (it was absent from downtown, again most likely because of the spatial requirements* - see "Update"). As late as mid-2004, you could find it at Bally's, Caesars Palace (which, we've read, featured racing chariots), Excalibur (with knight-type riders), the Hilton, Imperial Palace, Luxor (racing camels), MGM Grand, New Frontier, New York-New York, Orleans (racing 'gators - no, we jest!), and Riviera. (In 2011, the machine that had formerly been at Circus Circus and had since passed to private hands, was offered for sale for $7.000.) But by the time we first answered a QoD on the subject, just a year later, the only ones still standing were at Excalibur, Luxor, and MGM Grand. When we revisited the subject in 2009, only MGM Grand still had the game. (There was a minor outbreak of hysteria back in 2012, when it temporarily disappeared; it turned out the machine was down for maintenance due to overheating and other mechanical issues, but after awhile it returned.)
That remained the case until the D opened downtown, in what was formerly Fitzgeralds, and created an old-school area upstairs, with low-denomination coin-in slots and video poker games. In August 2012, the owners had the genius idea of adding a Sigma Derby game, which has already hosted a big tournament weekend and has always been packed with players every time we've seen it. It's the same machine that once graced the floor at the New Frontier, now refurbished and passed as up-to-muster by Gaming Control. It's now one of only three** (see "Update") Sigma Derby casino machines in the state, the other being at the MontBleu in Lake Tahoe.
While Derby's low-earning potential was one serious strike against its viability as a casino game, the other reason for its disappearance is more political.
The game, introduced in 1985, was the creation of Japanese manufacturer Sigma Game Inc., which also the previous year had become the first internationally owned manufacturer and distributor of slot machines to be licensed by the Nevada Gaming Commission. In 1990 Sigma introduced the first slant-top reel slot machine, designed for more comfortable play, while other claims to fame from the acknowledged game innovator include being the first company to install coinless slot machines in a major casino and designing the first machines with embedded bill validators.
However, while Sigma was flying high in the 1990s, in 2003 a major hiccup occurred when the company temporarily lost its gaming license in Missouri on account of the refusal of a company creditor to hand over requisite financial-disclosure forms. The company in question was Aruze Corp. of Japan and its CEO, Kazuo Okado, was the same Japanese billionaire investor who recently had a major and messy falling out with his former friend Steve Wynn. In the case of the Sigma spat, Aruze and Okado refused to submit to the mandatory background check resulting from the company having loaned Sigma some $20 million, and Missouri temporarily suspended Sigma's ability to operate.
The whole incident seems to have dealt the independent manufacturer a major blow and in late 2004, the Las Vegas-based American HQ laid off 50 of its 80-strong workforce, citing the inability of the small privately owned company to compete against slot giants like IGT and Bally Technologies. The following year, its United States-based assets were acquired by Multimedia Games of Austin, a specialist in making games for the tribal-casino market that wanted the opportunity both to expand its product range for those customers and acquire a foothold in the non-tribal gaming sector. Then, in 2010, Universal Entertainment Corporation, formerly Aruze Corp., acquired a controlling interest in Sigma, which effectively ceased to exist.
While Derby lives on as a private collector's item and cult classic on those few casino floors that still carry the game, it ceased to be economically viable as a commercial gambling device many years ago and without a strong market to support the game going forward, its simply not worth anyone's while manufacturing parts for those few machines that still exist; instead, the "weakest" of those models tend to end up being culled and cannibalized for parts in order to keep the remaining working machines operational (which is likely what happened to those from MGM Grand's sister properties Excalibur, Luxor, and New York-New York). Hence, sooner or later, Sigma Derby is doomed to go extinct. In the meantime, however, there are still working machines out there, some of which have been customized to pay out in tokens instead of coins in order to avoid falling foul of state laws prohibiting the private operation of gambling devices, so keep your eye peeled for opportunities like this example, which went up for auction back in 2008. And keep supporting the games at MGM Grand and the D with your quarters, to help ensure their longevity on the casino floors here.
P.S. Are you sure they put a man on the moon?
