Gambling rockers rejoice: Kiss to get a slot machine

Courtesy Photo

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 | 6 p.m.

Kiss Machine

Years ago, MTV rocked around the clock, but if you want classic music videos these days, you need to head to the Las Vegas Strip.

Elvis is already shake, rattle and rolling and Michael Jackson is doing the moonwalk on casino floors. Dolly Parton is tuning up with her own game, too.

Next up on the bill: Kiss. The glam rockers who began pounding out Top 40 hits in 1975 will soon be literally rocking casino chairs with its new slot machine from WMS, set to debut next week during the Global Gaming Expo at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Don't confuse these jukebox slots with the old-time jingling one-armed bandits, which have gone the way of the 45 rpm single. Slot manufacturers now have recording studios and music producers, some of whom actually were in rock bands, to mix and match the sounds. Similar to the other musical games, the Kiss slot features Bose surround sound and pulsating chairs, bringing an anthem rock type of experience to blast your eardrums, as live concert footage plays on bonus rounds.

It's apparently enough to impress globe-trotting rock stars.

"We're blown away by this new cutting edge slot game," Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss said in a statement today. The two rockers, who also have the Kiss name on a miniature golf course just off the Strip, will be at the WMS expo booth from 10 a.m. until noon Tuesday to kick off the new game.

Here's a closer look at the Kiss slot and other musical chairs either in or coming to a casino near you:

Courtesy Photo

'And party every day'

Like other slots of the genre, players on the new Kiss slot will be able to hit bonuses that trigger sensory overload of the band's hits such as "Hotter Than Hell" and "Rock and Roll All Nite." Players can win up to three bonus sets on a spin. On the next level, players will receive "Back Stage Passes" to win more music video clips. From time to time, scantily clad dancers pop up and talk to the players.

"Everything that makes Kiss one of the most well-known bands of all time is featured in this game, from their distinct look and original album artwork, to their chart-topping hits," said Rob Bone, a vice president of marketing at the WMS office in Las Vegas.
Courtesy: IGT

Hello, Dolly

Dolly Parton is another new singing slot debuting next week at the Global Gaming Expo.

The country music diva croons and shimmies through concert footage and hits such as "Two Doors Down" and "9 to 5." Throughout the game, made by IGT, Dolly will talk to players, enticing them to keep plugging cash into the money maker.
Courtesy: IGT

Heartbreak Hotel

The Elvis slot debuted last year and has one of the bigger progressive jackpots -- this week surpassing a half-million dollars.

The pelvis gyrates on wildcard symbols and the video screen has a design similar to an old Wurlitzer jukebox. Bonuses include a tour through the "Heartbreak Hotel," where players try to find Elvis in one of the rooms, amid silhouettes of women designed to break players' hearts and pocketbooks. There's also a "Jailhouse Rock" bonus, featuring cell blocks on the touch screen in search of the incarcerated King of Rock 'n' Roll.
Christopher DeVargas

Can you 'Beat It?'

The games premiering at this year's G2E won’t be in casinos for months. The "Michael Jackson King of Pop" slot was first unveiled at last fall's expo by Bally Technologies, but didn't actually hit Strip casinos until July. Designers tweak details and then the machines have to pass vigorous testing before they're allowed to take players' money.

The Jackson slot was one of the first musical games to feature speakers that play from chairs and shake to the beat. Jackson dances on screen to hits "Billy Jean," "Beat It" and "Smooth Criminal" for those lucky enough to strike one of those bonuses, leading to a progressive in the six-figure range.
Dino parties on

It's not all about screaming guitars and country twangs. Dean Martin is still partying all over the place with campy casino fare.

At the slot banks you'll find "Dean Martin's Pool Party," "Dean Martin's Wild Party," or "Dean Martin's Vegas Shindig," all from WMS.

Dino nods like a bobble head on a cartoonish, small body as the reels spin. On the "Pool Party" bonus, he sings for players to "Go Go Go," a Martin hit from the early 1950s.