 Spinning
the Wheel
Who knew that slot machines have been around since
the 1800’s? Apparently, gaming and gaming equipment are as
old as recorded history. Illustrations of gambling have been discovered
on primitive cave walls. Dice were found in the excavation of Pompeii,
and the word “casino” comes from “little houses”
or “casini” where Venetian society gathered to play
cards and make wagers.
In comparison, slot machines have been around for
only a century. They started out as penny games that – if
they paid players at all – dispensed trinkets or candy. Candy
payout gave way to coins after the Jennings Company developed a
jackpot bell machine in 1930. The association with ‘the one-armed
bandit,’ which was prevalent in Las Vegas after World War
II, did not help its reputation as being nothing more than a novelty.
Fast forward about two decades, in 1963, when Bally
introduced the granddad of the modern machine. A free spinning reel
slot with such bells and whistles as an electrical bell, electromechanical
circuitry and motorized hopper pay. In turn, the mechanical slot,
gave way to the electronic slot, which led the way to the first
video and poker machines in the mid-70’s.
At no time in history has this industry grown so
quickly, than in the last 25 years. International Game Technology
(IGT), though established in the fifties, only became a serious
player in the market in 1981, when the company went public. They
rapidly built a franchise for its products, starting with the Fortune
1™ line of video slots and followed by the Fortune 1™
Draw Poker machines. Throughout the last 25 years, IGT has been
slowly but steadily, making history and milestones, in addition
to making substantial contributions to the gaming industry, with
more than a couple of “firsts” such as in January 1986
– The S Slot™ spinning reel machine gives IGT a foothold
in the microprocessor slot market; in March 1986 – Megabucks®
is launched in Nevada as the world’s first wide-area progressive
system; in March 1989 – IGT’s production output is honored
with the U.S. Senate productivity Award; in January 2000 –
the IGT production team celebrates the assembly of it’s one-millionth
gaming machine – appropriately a Red White & Blue®
S2000 slot; and in the same year, launched the next innovation for
gaming machines – EZ Pay® ticket-in-ticket-out technology.
It’s not surprising, then, to find that
the company currently builds about 300 gaming machines per day and
sells over 100,000 machines per year; though its biggest production
year was 2004, when it sold 159,200 units.
Not content to rest on its laurels, IGT spent $188.5
million on research and development in 2006. In addition to the
R&D, the company also relies on marketing projects such as its
first contest to run online, the “$150,000 Super Wild™
Sweepstakes.” Beginning October 1 and ending November 30,
it spotlights the Wheel of Fortune® Super Spin™ group-play
and draws attention to a new Super Spin™ variation called
Wheel of Fortune® Super Spin™ Super Wild™.
Players who log on to the sweepstakes are immediately
launched into an animated experience – flying through a casino,
zooming toward the Wheel of Fortune® Super Spin™ carousel.
This game is the entry into a chance at a top prize of $150,000
and a daily prize of a Sony Cyber-shot® Digital camera. Players
can enter the online sweepstakes once a day and no purchase is necessary
to play or win a prize.
The online sweepstakes is open to US legal residents,
excluding New York and Florida, who are 18 years of age or older
at time of entry. It’s void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited
by law.
Playing is easy - using an internet connected computer,
users are invited to go to: www.SuperWildSweep-stakes.com and register
for a chance to instantly win prizes. Once registered, the user
will be instructed to enter the unique 5 letter code from the magazine
containing the advertisement for a chance to instantly win the $150,000
grand prize (only one grand prize to be won); or one of 60 Sony
Cyber-shot® Digital cameras.
One last thing for the gaming fanatic – the
odds of winning the $150,000 prize are 1:2,000,000. So what are
you waiting for? Get Gaming!
-Rachel M. Sugay
$150,000 Super Wild™ Sweepstakes
No purchase necessary to play or win a prize! October 1 (12:01 a.m.
– ET) – November 30, 2007 (11:59 p.m. – ET) Log
on to: www.SuperWild-Sweepstakes.com to play and for the complete
Sweepstakes rules.
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