REEL ACTION
Jackpot wins, industry news and missed fortunes
By Sean Chaffin
This edition of “Spinning Reels” runs the gamut of interesting stories in the news—from a truly crappy lawsuit to massive online progressive jackpots to a player who missed out on a six-figure payout because of his own doing. A few interesting notes in the slot machine industry are also making some news, including an American manufacturer leading the way for a potentially big new gaming destination. Here’s what is happening in the world of slots.
DraftKings Progressive Jackpot Surges to Record High Online gaming continues to set revenue records and playing slots online has been a major part of that. The industry continues to see record- setting progressive jackpots and that continued recently on the DraftKings online casino platform in Michigan. The platform’s jackpot stood at almost $6.5 million as of Oct. 18, marking the largest jackpot in online gaming history.
Players can compete for the jackpot for as little as $.20 across 26 online games, including DraftKings Rocket, DraftKings Fire Buffalo and DraftKings Blackjack.
“We take a lot of pride in providing our customers with a best-in-class experience, so it’s always exciting to see our jackpots reach historic numbers knowing one of our DraftKings Casino players is going to take home the largest U.S. jackpot in online casino history,” DraftKings Vice President of iGaming Marketing & Operations Jason March said. “Our current $6.46 million jackpot is monumental not only for DraftKings but for us in Michigan, and we look forward to celebrating the winner of this record-setting jackpot.” Launched in 2018, DraftKings Casino is live in five U.S. states and in Ontario, Canada. To date, DraftKings Casino has celebrated more than 50 Single-Level Jackpot Millionaires.
Dragon Train Getting 86ed
As noted last month, a federal judge ruled in September that the popular Dragon Train slot from Light & Wonder violated the trade secrets of Aristocrat Technologies, which argued that the game was a copy of its own Dragon Link and Lightning Link games. After the ruling, Light & Wonder began removing the games from casinos in North America, replacing most with other titles.
Despite the setback, the company isn’t giving up on Dragon Train and is forging ahead with development of a new version of the game. However, the original designer of the game is no longer with the company, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The company had an Oct. 23 deadline to remove the games from casinos.
“We have approximately 33,000 leased units installed in the market, and Dragon Train represented a mid-single-digit percentage of that install base, or roughly 2,200 units,” Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said recently on the company’s website.
“We’re working very diligently with our customers to convert those games out in compliance with the judge’s order. Happy to say at this point we’ve not had a single removal request from our customers, and we have a lineup of great games from a deep portfolio of franchises such as Ultimate Fire Link, Invaders Attack Again from the Planet Moolah, Dancing Drums, Huff n’ Puff, Wizard of Oz, and many more that we’re working on, from which we can backfill these requests.”
Aristocrat Granted Slot License in United Arab Emirates
In other slot industry news, Las Vegas-based Aristocrat Gaming was recently the first slot company granted a gaming-related vendor license in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Aristocrat will provide land-based electronic gaming machines and online games and technology solutions to licensed commercial gaming operators in the company.
The UAE has moved to allow some casinos in the country and Wynn Resorts is already building a $4 billion resort near Dubai. Adding gaming licensees is another move in that direction.
“We are honored to be the first large, international technology provider to be awarded a gaming-related vendor license to serve the UAE market,” Aristocrat CEO for Gaming Hector Fernandez said. “At Aristocrat, our vision is to deliver the best seat in the house wherever, and whenever, the world plays. We look forward to doing so by providing premium content for players in the UAE while simultaneously encouraging responsible gameplay.”
The Wynn project is being built on one of four small man-made islands, known as the Marjan Islands, that sat mostly unused for the last year. Plans call for a 1,500-room beachside hotel and casino, which will be one of the company’s largest properties. The resort will also include a shopping venue, a spa and meetings and event space.
The resort is expected to open in 2027 and has also spurred additional construction projects on the islands, including homes, resorts, shops and a new airport. Dubai and the UAE have long attracted higher-end tourism clientele and the country’s leaders apparently see casino gaming as a way to enhance that. Some industry insiders believe the region has great potential.
“I think it is reasonable to expect the UAE will be the Las Vegas of the Middle East,” CBRE Institutional Research analyst John DeCree noted in a recent research report about the industry’s prospects in the country.
“We believe the UAE represents one of the most compelling opportunities in global gaming.”
A JACKPOT NOT TO BE
This jackpot doesn’t come with a happy ending. While the exact casino isn’t known, a video from a casino massage therapist named Kelley went viral in October regarding a player she had seen hit a $150,000 jackpot. That seems like a nice score, right?
However, the winner had added himself to the state’s self-exclusion list at one point. These lists allow states and casinos to block them from playing. They often have problem gambling issues and these programs keep them from wagering more.
“I work in a casino, and this guy hit a $150,000 slot jackpot,” she said.
“Then they came to pay him out, and they took his ID and everything. It turned out he had banned himself from the casino, from all of the properties. So, he literally got trespassed and did not get anything.”
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and senior writer for Casino Player and Strictly Slots magazines. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions or email him at seanchaffin@sbcglobal.net for story assignments.
