Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Announces Winners for 1st Annual EKG Slot Awards Show
Event held on February 28th at The Bellagio in Las Vegas
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, March 4, 2019 — Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) is proud to announce the category winners for the 1stAnnual EKG Slot Awards. This event was produced by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC and is designed to recognize excellence in slot machine game development within the land-based casino gaming industry and social casino sector. All category winners were announced on February 28th at the Bellagio casino and hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“On behalf of everyone at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, I would like to thank all award nominees for participating in the 1st Annual EKG Slot Awards, said Todd Eilers, Principal at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC. I would also like to thank our Board of Advisors, Official Voters, VIPs, and our Event Sponsors, Macquarie Capital and Fantini Research.” It was a great night with approximately 200 executives from all the major gaming equipment suppliers as well as several of the industry’s largest casino operators and key media representatives.
The land-based category winners for the 1st annual EKG Slot Awards were determined by the official voting from over 100 qualified slot managers and slot directors representing over 300 casinos across the U.S. and Canadian markets and representing roughly 300,000 total slot machines. For the Social Casino segment, winners were determined by voting from a distinguished panel of social casino industry experts. A complete listing of the winners for the 1st annual EKG Slot Awards is provided on the following page.
Event Photos
http://photos.cashmanphoto.com/eilerskrejcik
Land-based Awards
- Top Performing Core Video Reel Game
- 88 Fortunes – Scientific Games
- Buffalo Gold – Aristocrat
- China Shores – Konami
- Dancing Drums – Scientific Games – WINNER
- Fu Dao Le – Scientific Games
- Fu Nan Fu Nu – AGS
- Wonder 4 – Aristocrat
- Top Performing Core Mechanical Reel Game
- 88 Fortunes – Scientific Games – 2018 WINNER
- Blazing 7’s – Scientific Games
- Gold Bar 7’s – IGT
- Red Hot Tamales – IGT
- Triple Double Diamond – IGT
- Wild Wild Gems – Everi
- Triple Red Hot 7s Free Games – IGT
- Top Performing Premium Game
- Buffalo Grand – Aristocrat
- Dragon Link – Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- Lightning Link – Aristocrat
- Monopoly Millionaire – Scientific Games
- Wheel of Fortune: Double Diamond – IGT
- Willy Wonka World Of Wonka – Scientific Games
- Top Performing NEW Video Reel Core Game
- Dancing Foo – Aristocrat
- Double Blessings – Scientific Games
- Fate of the 8 Power Wheel – Incredible Technologies
- Scarab – IGT
- Star Watch Magma – Konami
- Super Charged 7’s Quick Spin – Ainsworth
- Wonder 4 Boost – Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- Top Performing NEW Mechanical Reel Core Game
- Diamond Jewels 2x3x4x5x – Aristocrat
- Dragons Luck – Everi
- Easy Riches – Everi
- Quick Hit Triple Blazing 7s Super Wheel – Scientific Games – 2018 WINNER
- Triple Double Diamond Progressive Free Games – IGT
- Top Performing NEW Premium Game
- Dragon Link: Happy and Prosperous – Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- James Bond: Casino Royal – Scientific Games
- Lightning Zap – Everi
- Solstice Celebration Triple Sparkle – Konami
- Timber Wolf Grand – Aristocrat
- Ultimate Fire Link: China Street – Scientific Games
- Wheel of Fortune: Triple Gold Gold Spin – IGT
- Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Core
- Concerto Crescent – Konami
- CrystalDual 27 – IGT
- Helix Xt – Aristocrat
- Infinity V55 – Incredible Technologies
- Twinstar J43 – Scientific Games – 2018 WINNER
- Top Performing NEW Cabinet – Premium
- Concerto Opus – Konami
- Gamefield 2.0 – Scientific Games
- MegaTower – IGT – 2018 WINNER
- Relm XL – Aristocrat
- Twinstar V75 – Scientific Games
- Top Performing 3rd Party IP Branded Game
- James Bond: Casino Royal – Scientific Games
- Gentlemen prefer Blondes: Starring Marilyn Monroe – IGT
- Monopoly Hot Shot – Scientific Games
- Tarzan King of The Jungle – Aristocrat
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Red Hot 7s Gold Spin – IGT – 2018 WINNER
- Top Performing Proprietary Branded Game
- Buffalo Grand – Aristocrat
- Colossal Diamonds – AGS
- Dragon Link – Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- Lightning Link – Aristocrat
- Money Rain Deluxe – Incredible Technologies
- Riches with Daikoku Triple Sparkle – Konami
- Ultimate Fire Link: China Street – Scientific Games
- Top Performing Electronic Table Game (ETG)
- Interblock – Roulette – 2018 WINNER
- IGT – Roulette
- Aruze – Craps
- Interblock – Baccarat
- Alfastreet – Roulette
- Scientific Games – Prism Lightning Launch Roulette
- Scientific Games – Fusion Blackjack
- Top Performing Video Poker game
- All Star Poker 2 – IGT
- GameKing – IGT
- Match Card Draw Poker – Scientific Games
- Super Star – IGT
- Ultimate X – IGT – 2018 WINNER
- Top Performing Skill game
- Match 3Volution – Gamblit – 2018 WINNER
- Nothin’ but Net 2 – GameCo
- Lucky Karts – Synergy Blue
- Beat Square – Konami
- Most Improved Supplier – Core
- AGS – 2018 WINNER
- All Suppliers Considered
- Most Improved Supplier – Premium
- Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- All Suppliers Considered
- Best Overall Supplier of Slot Content
- Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- All Suppliers Considered
Social Casino Awards
- Best New Social Slot Game
- Confetti Casino – Fort Mason Games
- Lightning Link – Product Madness/Aristocrat – 2018 WINNER
- MONOPOLY Slots – Scientific Games
- Royal Charm Slots – PlayStudios
- Best Use of Land-Based Content in a Social Slot Game
- DoubleDown Casino featuring IGT content (published by Double Down Interactive)
- Heart of Vegas featuring Aristocrat content (published by Product Madness)
- High 5 Casino featuring High 5 Games content (published by High 5 Games)
- Jackpot Party Casino featuring SciGames content – Scientific Games – 2018 WINNER
- my KONAMI featuring Konami content (published by PlayStudios)
- Most Innovative Social Slot Game
- Huuuge Casino – Huuuge Games
- MONOPOLY Slots – Scientific Games
- POP! Slots – PlayStudios – 2018 WINNER
- Scatter Slots – Murka
- Willy Wonka Slots – Zynga
- Best B2B Social Slot Company
- AGS
- GAN – 2018 WINNER
- Greentube / Novomatic
- Ruby Seven Studios
- Scientific Games
- Top Social Casino Company
- Aristocrat
- Huuuge Games
- Playtika – 2018 WINNER
- PlayStudios
- Scientific Games
EKG Hall of Fame
- Joe Kaminkow – 2018 Inductee
The EKG Slot Awards – Land Based Casino Advisory Board
Skyelar Perkins – is Senior Director of Slot Operations for the Choctaw Casinos & Resorts. Skyelar oversees the slot operations across 22 individual properties in Southeastern Oklahoma totaling approximately 10,000 slot machines. The Choctaw’s flagship property is located in Durant, OK and has 4,300 slot machines and is one of the largest casinos in North America.
Mike Laubach – is the Corporate VP of Slot Operations for Boyd Gaming Corporation. Mike oversees the slot operations for 29 individual properties across 10 different states totaling 38,000 slot machines. Boyd Gaming is one of the largest casino operators in the world in terms of both revenue and number of slot machines installed.
Roger Pettersson – is the Vice President of Corporate Slot Operations for Station Casinos. Roger oversees the slot operations across 21 individual casinos with roughly 22,000 slot machines. Station Casinos (or now called Red Rock Resorts) is the largest Las Vegas based locals casino operator in the state of Nevada.
Todd Eilers – is a principle at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, where he is responsible for leading all research and consulting services related to the Gaming Equipment & Technology sector within the casino gaming industry. Todd created the gaming industry’s largest slot survey tracking industry demand and market share trends and is one of the leading voices in the Gaming Equipment sector.
The EKG Slot Awards – Social Casino Advisory Board
Lior Shiff – is an entrepreneur and active investor in early stage companies. He is currently the Co-Founder & CEO and of Tripledot Studios, a mobile game studio based in London. Previously he was the Co-founder and CEO of Product Madness, a leading social casino company that was sold to Aristocrat.
Brett Nowak – is the Founder & CEO of Liquid & Grit, a leading provider of product insight and business intelligence reports for the social casino gaming industry. Previously he worked at Zynga as a Lead Product Manager and Blue Shell Games as a Director of Product.
Niko Vuori – is a proven entrepreneur with a passion for consumer products and technology. He is currently the Founder & CEO of Drivetime, which is developing next generation of interactive entertainment for drivers. He was previously Co-Founder & COO of Rocket Games, a social casino company that was sold to Penn National Gaming in 2016.
Lloyd Melnick – is a Gaming industry veteran with over 20 years of experience. He is currently Director of StarsPlay (The Stars Group), where he is responsible for building and leading social casino, slots, and poker products. He has previously worked for Zynga, Spooky Cool Labs, and The Walt Disney Company.
Adam Krejcik – is a principle at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, where he is responsible for leading all research and consulting services related to the interactive gaming industry. He has become one of the leading voices in the social casino industry and his quarterly research reports have become the gold standard.
Thank you to our Sponsors
About Macquarie Capital
Macquarie Capital is the advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group. Macquarie Capital provides strategic M&A and capital raising advice as well as partnering with clients by investing capital into their projects and companies. Globally Macquarie Capital focuses on six core sectors: infrastructure, utilities and renewables; real estate; telecommunications, media, entertainment and technology; resources; industrials; and financial institutions.
About Fantini Research
Fantini Research publishes e-dailies and information services for investment professionals and corporate executives. Fantini also performs research projects on request and offers an advisory service, Gaming Investment Research. Additional information regarding Fantini research products and services can be obtained calling Ashley Diem at 302-730-3793, or visiting the company’s website at www.fantiniresearch.com.
About Eilers & Krejcik Gaming:
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC is a boutique research and consulting firm focused on servicing the gaming equipment, interactive gaming, and sports betting sectors within the global gaming industry. Our products and services primarily include market research, company research, and consulting and advisory services designed specifically for land based & online casino operators, equipment & technology suppliers, social gaming operators & suppliers, gaming regulators, and institutional investors. Additional information regarding our research products and advisory services can be obtained calling Todd Eilers at (949) 387-7701, or visiting our website at www.ekgamingllc.com .
