Technology: Winning streak
Phil Mellows explores games machines in pubs and discovers that it is possible for everyone to be a winner, in this case especially the licensee.
Amid the noise and flashing lights of another ATEI show, one of the more unusual ideas making its public debut was a machine called "Everyone's a Winner". In brief, it's a kind of vending machine that guarantees pub customers a prize that's worth more than the money they put into it. Doesn't sound like much of a deal for the publican, does it? But when you work it out in the context of promotional offers it begins to make sense.
Everyone's a Winner is the brainchild of former TV stuntman Andy Egan. Pub-goers play at three levels, putting in £1, £2 or £5, selecting from an apparently random choice of six prizes worth from £2 to £14,000 (not too many of those).
The machine issues a voucher which, in the case of smaller prizes, can be redeemed over the bar, or are sent away to claim a bigger prize.
Pub operators can put their own stock in as prizes to clear excess stock or get trial of new products.
You also get half the take, less VAT, and the potential to build a customer database from players who input their details.
Also on display were the latest range of video ATMs from Gamestec, designed to attract a wider audience for the traditional fruit machine.
Games such as Touch Casino, Battleships, Roulette, Deuces Wild and Monopoly introduce an extra dimension to the spinning reels, giving a longer play per pound and more entertainment.
Chief executive officer Glyn Mellor expects 1,000 of the machines to be installed by the end of 2005.
"The demand for these kind of machines hasn't really been there before," he says. "We had to make sure we got the games right. Now we are getting very good results with pub operators and seeing an uplift of 11 per cent on their previous machines."
Digital jukeboxes are bringing a new dimension to music in pubs. A new device from Leisure Link, which can be fitted to a standard Itbox, offers more than two million tracks, including new releases, to pub customers. Alternatively the licensee can download an array of themed playlists to provide background music for any occasion.
Gamestec is launching a wireless digital jukebox called FiVE Music this month. Pubs can install up to four wall-boxes - each offering a different style of music to cater for varying zones within the venue.
"FiVE Music is not simply a jukebox, it is a method of developing the atmosphere of a venue and catering for a broad mix of tastes in one location," explains points of network products director Tim Kennedy.
MIDAS Wireless is the next generation version of Gamestec's pioneering machine management system. As the name suggests, there is no need for a hard-wired network and the system uses wi-fi technology to enable licensees to communicate with machines using a hand-held unit from anywhere in the pub.
