Nevada kiddie rules prevent introduction of ‘Popeye’ slot

David Strow

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 | 11:29 a.m.

Joining a growing trend in the slot machine industry, Las Vegas-based Alliance Gaming Corp. plans to introduce a machine later this year themed on the cartoon character "Popeye."

But the cartoon sailor won't be telling Nevada players to eat their spinach any time soon -- in a nod to Nevada's "slots for tots" regulations, Alliance officials say they don't have any current plans to introduce the slot in this state.

"In our initial introduction, we're filing (for approval) in jurisdictions where we know the slots for tots issue is not on the forefront of the minds of regulators," said Robert Saxton, Alliance chief financial officer. "We believe we could design a game that would comply with Nevada regulations. But we're not going to hold up its introduction into other jurisdictions."

The Popeye character is being licensed by Alliance from King Features Syndicate, along with other characters in the cartoon series. Alliance already has a license to use characters from King Features' "Blondie" comic strip in slot machines.

The Popeye series of slots will be developed by Bally Gaming and Systems, a division of Alliance. They will be the first video slots in Bally's "Thrillions" line, a wide-area progressive jackpot system marketed by Alliance.

The slots will initially be introduced in New Jersey, California and other tribal casino markets, and is being targeted for launch by the end of June. Popeye slots could, at some point, be introduced for Nevada's consideration, but Saxton said no decision has been made yet.

One year ago, the Nevada Gaming Commission banned all slot machines with themes "derived from or based on a product currently and primarily intended or marketed for use by persons under 21 years of age." With the regulation, Nevada became the only gaming jurisdiction in the United States to restrict slots by their potential attraction to children -- primarily because Nevada casinos, unlike other states, permit escorted children to pass through casino floors.

Access to casino floors in other states is restricted to those above the legal age for gambling, "so it's not an issue in Mississippi, New Jersey or a majority of Indian casinos," Saxton said.

But to date, not a single slot has been rejected by the Nevada commission under the regulation. International Game Technology's "The Addams Family" was restricted under the regulation to non-restricted locations only. IGT withdrew its "South Park" slot from consideration in Nevada after state Gaming Control Board members expressed concerns that the slot could appeal to children, but this came before the slots for tots regulation.

IGT's "The Munsters" machine, however, was approved after regulators ruled the game's theme should be considered nostalgic, rather than a brand marketed for children.

Saxton said nostalgia is the goal of the Popeye slot, which will be targeted at players from the mid-30s to the 50s. The character made its first appearance in 1929.

"The niche we're trying to attract are people familiar with the cartoon from the '40s to the '60s," Saxton said. "This will be more attractive to people 45 years old and up.

"It may be construed as similar to the Addams family, and it may not be."

Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said it would be premature to say whether Popeye would be appropriate for a Nevada slot before an application was presented to the board for consideration.

"The way the regulation works is they have to come in with demonstrative evidence that the audience for Popeye is not primarily persons under 21," Neilander said. "Without looking at the evidence, I don't have a gut reaction on that one."

Though Popeye is an older cartoon, Neilander noted that the character was the basis of several recent movies, including a 1980 movie featuring Robin Williams. The cartoons are also frequently aired on television.

"We'd have to look at all that, weigh all the evidence, and determine where it's marketed," Neilander said.