Multi-Game suggestions please

[Rane420]

Hi all, I'm not ready to buy any new slots quite yet, but wanted to get some ideas on what to keep an eye out for.  We don't have a ton of space and are looking to have as much line game variety as possible.  So far, that comes in the form of a couple Game Kings, but I have seen other multigames in the casino.  Some Aristocrat ones with Miss Kitty, some WMS Game Chests with Zeus, etc.  I know Bally has the Game Maker HD's but with all the keno and poker on my Game Kings, I'd prefer to stick to line games as much as possible and am not sure if the Ballys go into that as much.

I don't know what all is available for the home market, so I thought I'd ask the question to the group for some recommendations.  If you have ballpark ranges you'd expect to pay, that would be helpful as well.  I saw one of the Game Chests on a used slot site for more than $8000 and that makes it beyond my pocketbook.

As always, I appreciate so much the education this site provides!

[rickhunter]

Multi-game sets are done best in the 044 IGT line.  Super Star Pokers is by far the best multi-game set available there.


WMS Bluebird 2 - The game chest software is hard to find, and when you do, it is around $1,600 just by itself.  I've also been told the games lack certain eye-candy in order to fit multiple games into the same software setup.


Bally S9000 -  To the best of my knowledge the only multi-game sets are the Game Maker HD machines.  There are 3 games sets that I've seen so far Set 0, Set 1 and Set 7 (I would assume there are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 but I have never seen those).  The pokers, keeno, blackjack are essentially the same thing, the only difference is the slot games.  Different sets come with different slot games, I believe they include 4 of them.


Aristocrat - Don't have experience on these, so I have no learned opinion.  Most sellers have always guided me away from aristocrat machines, although the new veridian line looks nice and I really like the game sky riders, but that is another story.


My opinion on game platforms is as follows:  If you normally play certain game types in the casino, you should look for that at home.  I am a HUGE WMS game fan. Their video titles are second to none in my opinion, until Bally came out with the Alpha 2 line.  Software for the WMS games is less expensive to obtain than IGT.  I have too many games to for my own good, but they all seem to be fun to play at some time or another.
Their cabinets can be converted from reel to video, but the conversion process involves a lot of parts and details.  But the WMS platform's strength is in it's video titles anyway. 




The beauty of the Bally alpha cabinets, is that the parts are everywhere right now as casinos move away from the alpha 1 platform into alpha 2.  If you get an alpha S9000 elite cabinet, you can convert that from
3 reel to 5 reel to video without having to make cuts or modifications to the cabinet.  It is easier to get a 3 or 5 reel machine and convert to video than it is to go from video to reels.  There are ways to upgrade the alpha 1 cabinet to alpha 2, but at this moment in time you are looking at around $2K in parts to do the conversion.  The best reel games with free spins and bonus tops are made by Bally in my opinion, so if you like 3 or 5 reel games, this is the way to go.


So in a nutshell, next time you go to a casino, pay attention to the machine cabinets you play, and try do duplicate that at home.  I realize at this point that most bb1's are out as are most bally alpha1 machines.


Both Alpha S9000 elite cabinets and BB1 cabinets can fetch between $1K and $2K depending on configuration, software, appearance of machine, etc.  A good ballpark range would be $1,500 for a bb1 fully shopped and ready to go, and around $1,100 or so for a 5 reel S9K elite fully shopped and ready to go from a reputable dealer.  Your prices may vary based on your geographical location and can vary by as much as $400 either way.

[Rane420]

Thank you!  That helps to clear up a lot of the questions I had on these.  And as for the casino research, it sounds like a great plan!