Gone is the emphasis on traditional reel slots with game formats that vary in appearance but are pretty much standard in substance. The trend now is video display terminals, games within games, multiple-coin spin formats and, most predominant of all, licensing agreements with game manufacturers and TV shows. Now the company has unveiled machines with an Elvis Presley theme. The common denominator among all the games is the worldwide grass-roots appeal. All indications point to them being a huge success on casino floors across America.
Monopoly is one of the oldest and most popular board games.
Their appeal, name and trademark recognition is broad-based. When slot machine manufacturers go to icons of American pop culture as a means of re-inventing themselves, we, as consumers, must run up a caution flag. At the same time the famous Monopoly trademark is being used in conjunction with a new line of slot machines, you can see it connected with an ongoing promotion at McDonald's restaurants. We think of people of all ages playing them for fun, and when we play, we expect that winners and losers are determined randomly by luck and, in the case of Jeopardy, a degree of skill. When it comes to transferring their appeal to gambling, however, always remember that a slot machine by any other name is still a slot machine.