Gaming industry innovator worries casino operators aren’t taking risks
Enshrinement into a hall of fame typically caps a person’s career. Not for John Acres, 72. Almost a decade after his induction into the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame, retirement isn’t in his vocabulary. Acres remains a top gaming industry innovator.
John Acres’ biography reads like a history of the casino floor.
He holds nearly 200 patents covering slot machine products used in casinos worldwide, including player tracking systems, progressive jackpots and programs that determine frequent rewards and bonuses.
His current company, Acres Manufacturing — the fourth iteration of the family gaming business — unveiled a payment adapter for cashless gaming during last fall’s Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.
Acres has long held a view that the casino industry needs to constantly evolve and change how it does business or it risks leaving money on the gaming table.
“Our real problem is we’ve lost our bravery. We’ve lost our courage. We’ve lost the willingness to continue to take risks,” Acres said during a half-hour talk at the Bob Maheu First Wednesday luncheon at the Ahern Hotel last week.
He suggested that 2025’s yearlong decline in Strip visitation — chalked up to high prices, resort and parking fees and other add-ons — can be alleviated by giving players a better reason to visit Las Vegas.
“We simply need to make a player feel like a winner even when they're losing,” Acres said. “That’s the emotional twist we need to provide.”
The growing use of cashless gaming and digital payments makes it easier for casinos to track their customers’ gaming habits and favorite games, thus providing incentives for players to make return trips.
Acres said the data collected by casinos from thousands upon thousands of customers helps operators understand what brings their players back.
“There is an old proverb that says there are two wonderful things about gambling — winning and losing,” he said. “Winning has no meaning if there's no opportunity for loss.”
During his career, Acres has created and sold three companies — Electronic Data Technologies, Mikohn Gaming and Acres Gaming — all for large profits.
Acres helped speed up the Nevada approval process to bring new products to casinos statewide through his involvement, along with other equipment providers, while participating in the Gaming Control Board’s 2023 efforts to streamline regulations.
Acres said Nevada’s gaming industry often views new ideas as a threat, and during a question-and-answer session at the Maheu event, he spoke about the current debate over prediction markets. The websites are regulated federally by a commodity-focused regulatory panel but reach into all 50 states, including those that do not offer legal sports betting, such as California and Texas.
He suggested prediction markets are “just another set of odds and most players will lose.” Acres said Nevada should be “preparing a way to tax the hell out of it if we can’t get rid of it, to make sure that we make our money. Put them on equal footing with the casinos.”
Slot operator sees dollar signs after Chicago’s sweeping video poker legalization
Illinois-based slot machine route operator Accel Entertainment, which entered Nevada three years ago through its $140 million purchase of Century Gaming, is eyeing an opportunity in its hometown.
Chicago, which had been the state’s largest municipality without slot machine route operations, recently legalized video poker and slot machines in every Chicago bar or restaurant with a liquor license.
The company announced last week that it was evaluating the potential business opportunity in Chicago, a market that could reach $1 billion in total gaming revenue. Accel said the revenue figure would translate into approximately $320 million of annual net income split among route operators.
Texas Capital Securities gaming analyst David Bain told investors Accel already has 30 percent of the Illinois slot route market with almost 15,800 slot machines in more than 2,700 locations, making the company “ready to go in Chicago with a potential highly profitable rollout.”
Accel, which operates in 10 states, expanded its Nevada route operations in December when it acquired Dynasty Games, a small Northern Nevada business with 20 locations in six communities, for an undisclosed price. Before the transaction, Accel had 370 locations covering 2,757 slot machines.
Light & Wonder pays $127.5M, retires slot machines after rival claims patent infringement
Slot machine developer Light & Wonder agreed to pay rival developer Aristocrat Technologies $127.5 million to settle a patent infringement lawsuit covering the development of two slot machines.
The lawsuit was filed more than a year ago and involved the use of a proprietary math formula owned by Aristocrat. Light & Wonder said in a statement that the settlement includes covering Aristocrat’s legal costs.
“This matter arose when a former employee inappropriately used certain Aristocrat math without our knowledge and in direct violation of our policies,” Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson said in the statement. “Upon discovery, we took immediate action and have since implemented strengthened processes aimed at preventing similar issues in the future.”
Light & Wonder agreed to remove the games, “Dragon Train” and “Jewel of the Dragon,” from casino floors globally and to “permanently cease” marketing and sales efforts for the games.
What I'm reading
✈️ Allegiant to buy rival budget airline Sun Country in $1.5 billion cash and stock deal — Leslie Josephs, CNBC
Both Las Vegas-based Allegiant and Minneapolis-based Sun Country focus on cost-conscious budget travelers.
⁉️ A $400,000 payout after Maduro’s capture is putting prediction markets in the spotlight — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, The Associated Press
The downfall of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is drawing renewed scrutiny into this murky world of speculative, 24/7 transactions.
🎰 Online casino coming to Maine after governor’s approval — Matthew Waters, Legal Sports Report
Four tribes will operate the casinos. Maine will be the eighth state with legal online gaming, joining Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Nevada is restricted to poker only.
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