Alliance to unveil more than 200 slots at trade show

Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 | 11:05 a.m.

Alliance Gaming Corp. said its Bally Gaming and Systems business unit plans to present about 250 slot machines at the 2004 Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

The machines include new themes and new versions of brands drawn from popular TV shows and cartoons such as "Hee Haw," "Rocky and Bullwinkle," and "Felix the Cat." The company also will show new "Chippendales" and "Playboy" slots.

The Las Vegas company also will debut a new slot progressive with a $100,000 jackpot called "Cartoon Jackpots" that will feature new titles from its "Betty Boop," "Blondie and Dagwood" and "Popeye" brands.

A previously announced slot with an "S&H Greenstamps" theme will allow players to use cash out tickets to shop for products at a nearby high-speed Internet kiosk, including Jamaican cruises and high-definition TV sets.

The company's Sierra Design Group unit will display more than 60 slot machines and electronic bingo machines for tribal casinos.

Separately, Alliance and Atari Inc. have signed a licensing deal to create a series of slot machines based on classic Atari arcade games.

Atari, a majority-owned subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment SA of France, expects to debut the first game in the series -- a slot based on its vintage video game "Pong" -- at the Global Gaming Expo.

Other games will include "Asteroids," "Centipede" and "Breakout."

"There is a huge population that grew up with these Atari games and that audience is still clamoring for ways to recapture the fun of their first gaming experience," said Wim Stocks, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Atari. "By joining forces with Alliance and Bally, we know that we'll reach a large audience of gaming devotees."

The Global Gaming Expo, Oct. 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the gaming industry's largest trade show and the premier showcase for many new gambling devices.