Do Celebrities Get Paid for Their Images on Slot Machines?

Do Vanna White and Howie Mandel receive compensation for allowing their images to be used in Wheel of Fortune & Deal or no Deal slot machines?

As a generalization, we'd say they do. But as you'll see, there's an important variable involved.

First, a little background. The Wheel of Fortune slot machine launched a veritable feeding frenzy among slot manufacturers for licensing deals for celebrities, TV shows and movies, and other intellectual properties.

The Wheel of Fortune machine appeared in casinos for the first time in 1996. Not only was it based almost entirely on the wildly popular game show, with the soundtrack regularly repeating ''Wheel! Of! Fortune!'' but it also featured a spinning-wheel bonus round. The popularity of the TV show immediately translated into adoration for the gambling device.

We couldn’t find any numbers about Pat and Vanna’s cut of the proceeds from the bandits, but we did come up with other interesting dollar amounts.

As far back as 2003, a former (unnamed) IGT executive admitted that each Wheel of Fortune machine generated an average daily win of at least $300. Multiplied by roughly 12,000 Wheel slots on casino floors at the time, that added up to profits of at least $3.6 million a day or $1.3 billion a year. And that was 15 years ago. The Wheel machines have demonstrated staying power greater than any other slot machine, ever.

Given the response from players, slot manufacturers started pursuing other TV show licenses. Initially, they were looking to appeal to the 40- to 60-year-old slot players with shows like “I Love Lucy,” “Gilligan’s Island,” and “Happy Days.”

In those early days, the rights holders to the shows (creators, networks, production companies, or syndication agencies) received advances in the $100,000 range, then were paid $500 to $1,000 per machine (after the advance had earned out). As for the celebrities, depending on their contracts with the producers, they might be entitled to a percentage of those royalties, and probably are if their faces or voices are used for the machines' displays.

The old-time stars, at first, were reluctant to be associated with slot machines and licensing agreements were a tough sell for slot manufacturers. Wheel of Fortune succeeded in part because it was created by Merv Griffin, who’d been in the casino business (in Atlantic City and the Bahamas) for years. But then two things happened.

First, the slot manufacturers started raising the stakes. For example, when they tried to buy the rights to “I Love Lucy” from the families of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, they offered $10 million. That got everyone’s attention. Even Frank Sinatra's family cut a slot deal only six months after his death.

Second, gambling became increasingly less controversial and stigmatized and slots were infused with much more sophistication than when they were just a mechanical box with handles and spinning reels.

A third thing that happened was that the stars received increased brand awareness on the casino floors — especially those who had a direct Vegas connection, such as Céline, Britney, Cirque du Soleil, and others.

Today, licensed slots are big business, with IGT and other manufacturers spending up to $200 million every year for the rights to popular brands and celebrities. Madonna’s licensing agreement with Aristocrat Technologies alone is reportedly worth more than $10 million. And it’s rumored that licenses for current brands (“The Big Bang Theory” and “The Simpsons”) are approaching $20 million.

So it’s not a stretch to assume that Vanna and Pat have done quite nicely for themselves over the past 22 years since their game show morphed into a slot machine.

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Dave Dec-20-2018

Never assume

Don't assume that Pat & Vanna made a fortune, or even extra pocket change, from the Wheel Of Fortune slot machines.

I mean, do they appear in the game, or even on the cabinet? I know they didn't when the game first came out. At that time, and even today, the lure of that game was the wheel spinning during the bonus round, not the personalities.

There are many themed games that feature the stars of the shows the game is based upon, as well as using their voices and/or clips from the shows. Do those stars get the big bucks? Maybe, maybe not. A lot of it depends upon what their original contracts said about future licensing.

Then there's stars such as Penn & Teller. They have their own slot machine, for which they recorded special video clips for use specifically in the game and bonus rounds.

Bottom line, There's a lot of money involved, but I suspect Pat & Vanna are near the bottom of the list for slot machine royalties.

O2bnVegas Dec-20-2018

Queen/Dragons Rising

Dragons Rising slot machines (not Dragon Spin), use Queen song "Dragon On My Back" at the close of the bonus round.  Nothing on the outside of the machine suggests it is related to the band. When a slot tech opened a machine I was sitting at, it showed signatures on an inside panel that included Bryan May's.  There was also one of those 'copyright' type statements that included Bryan May as having the rights to...something...related to leasing or licensing of "Dragon Attack" to the manufacturer of Dragons Rising machines.

I'm curious what type of financial arrangement is involved in these machines regarding Queen and Bryan May.  "Dragon On My Back" is a long song.  Only about one line, "Got a dragon on my back, its a dragon attack" is played.  I had to really listen to get the words, didn't realize it was from a Queen number until the tech opened the machine.  Anyone know?

Jackie Dec-20-2018

Everyone Jumps

on the money making train but of the suspected new themes I'll bet on the Simpsons.  Why?  They have had a continuous run going on 28 years with no stopping in sight.  That covers a huge age range of potential players.  No celebrity photos involved and voice actors most likely have already "updated" their future income clauses for use in slots.

Mark Bashore Dec-20-2018

Decreased pay out?

Because of all the money being spent on licensing, do the casinos reduce the payoff schedule to account for that and rely on the customers fondness of the subject to keep playing? I love the Classic Batman and Holy Grail because I love the subjects but I see much better pay outs on non licensed games.

Ray Dec-20-2018

I'll assume

Since the "Wheel" slots have evolved and most of the video slots DO use Vanna's name (and some use her voice too, I think), I would be willing to wager that if she didn't get much of a share of royalties 22 years ago, that she has since negotiated a good chunk for herself. Her popularity and longevity on the show means the producers have re-upped her contract several times and it would be a shock if royalties weren't included. Also, the stories we hear and read about where actors did not get residuals and royalties were mostly about the 50's and 60's and since Vanna and Pat joined the "Wheel" in the 80's residual income had become standard in their contracts.

Question of the Day - 20 December 2018

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