1,000-machine mark reached with ‘Jumble’ slot

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000 | 11:32 a.m.

WMS Gaming Inc. of Chicago announced it has installed more than 1,000 "Jumble" slots in North America, three months after the game's introduction.

The slot is based on a newspaper crossword puzzle game distributed by Tribune Media Services. The game, introduced Sept. 18, is a "participation" slot, meaning that WMS receives a portion of revenues from slot play, rather than selling the slot to casinos outright. Such slots help produce recurring revenue streams for slot machine makers; currently, WMS has more than 5,000 participation slots installed, including the popular "Monopoly" slot series.

Jumble is the first slot in WMS' "Puzzle Pays" slot line. The company plans to release slots based on the board game Scrabble in March, and Pictionary in the summer.

"Jumble is currently one of the most successful participation games in the industry and its formidable footprint has established the Puzzle Pays brand as one that will be among the most popular with casino patrons," said WMS President Brian Gamache.

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