{"id":25459,"date":"2019-11-25T10:57:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T18:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=25459"},"modified":"2020-10-19T06:50:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T14:50:35","slug":"scientific-fluent-in-chinese-william-hill-seeks-new-horizons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/scientific-fluent-in-chinese-william-hill-seeks-new-horizons\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientific fluent in Chinese; William Hill seeks new horizons"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s not just for China<\/strong> anymore. Scientific Games<\/strong> is reporting success with its Chinese-themed slots, including in North America<\/strong>. Yes, games \"\"with titles like\u00a0Jin\u00a0Ji Bao\u00a0Xi<\/em>, which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but is gaining traction with slot players worldwide<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cIf you go back to\u00a0\u2018Duo Fu Duo Cai<\/em>\u2019\u00a0it was designed for Macao<\/strong>, and now it\u2019s a product all around the world and successful all around the world,\u201d said Managing Director for Asia Ken Jolly<\/strong>. You’d be jolly too if your slots were performing better than expected. The secret? Good game math.\u00a0\u201cOne of our mathematicians is extraordinarily good \u2013 particularly when it comes to concepts and volatility,\u201d Jolly told GGR Asia<\/em>. Congratulations on SGMS to having transcended language barriers and borders.<\/p>\n

Scientific Gaming is also moving\u2014along with Aruze<\/strong>\u2014into a kind of preemptive strike on the Japan<\/strong> market. Both companies are displaying pachinko-like slot games. Since Japanese consumers are strongly anti-casino but are hooked on pachinko, could developments like these split the difference enough to make Nipponese customers flock to casinos once they’re built? It’s far too soon to say. But the game’s reliance on factors other than a random-number generator could help it connect<\/a> with stateside punters.\u00a0\u201cI tell people Sir Isaac Newton<\/strong> invented this game,\u201d explained SGMS games designer Jeff Nauman<\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cIt is pure gravity. There is so much natural anticipation with the ball bouncing around, and then it doesn\u2019t bounce the same way twice\u2014which is the beauty of it.\u201d Or, as Nauman says, “The beauty of what we have here is you can\u2019t get a more trustworthy result. You release it, you see where the values are, and it either lands there or not.”<\/p>\n

* Having been crimped by new betting limits in the United Kingdom<\/strong>, bookmaker William Hill<\/strong> is looking to the United States<\/strong> as fertile \"\"territory. 700 U.K. betting shops were closed, causing a shift of focus<\/a> to Internet gambling and U.S. expansion. Across a 17-week period, same store revenue fell 16% but the blow was softened by a 60% increase in Yankee winnings. William Hill operates a mind-boggling 113 sports books in Nevada<\/strong> alone. The buyout by Hill of CG Technology<\/strong>\u00a0ends an error- and fine-prone era<\/a> in Silver State gaming. We’re sure the transition to new ownership will be a major step upward.<\/p>\n

* Lots of news from MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, all of it encouraging. Note the subtle dig at the competition when Marc Jacobson<\/strong> mentions that the company’s\u00a0Las Vegas Aces<\/strong> are the city’s “first<\/em> professional basketball team.” Your move, Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>. Speaking of MGM, did it take Blackstone Group<\/strong> to the cleaners on the Bellagio<\/strong> sale? One casino pundit<\/a> thinks so.
\n