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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3. JULY 2015 THE WORLD'S FAVORITE NEWSLETTER NEWS • UPDATES • PREVIEWS |
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| | Banilla Games offers a “Summer Sizzler” Deal
Greenville North Carolina – Banilla Games announced today an unprecedented move in the Georgia COAM market. According to Michael Smith, “Smitty” to his customers, Sales Manager for Banilla, the company is offering a $300.00 discount on its Diamond Skill Line of Games. When reached at his office in Greenville, NC, Smitty said “We are really excited about this sales program that starts today and lasts until 500 boards have been sold! To get the discount, a Georgia Master Licensee only has to send us a board that has been used in Georgia at some point.”
Smitty at first said that he would not speculate on what Banilla intends to do with 500 old boards that are traded in. He then went on and speculated that Tim Smith, Vice President of Banilla, will probably use the boards for target practice. The Banilla Times could not reach Mr. Smith for confirmation.
A quick reference to the website of the National Weather Service reveals the following: “The big story for eastern North Carolina in June was the persistent heat and humidity over the last half of the month. After not issuing a Heat Advisory for the past 2 summers, numerous Heat Advisories were issued as a strong subtropical ridge remain anchored across the southern half of the United States for most of the last half of the month.”
Our sources at Banilla confirm that Smitty and Tim might have been somewhat affected by the heat.
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| | | No Chance Game Suite II Released by Banilla Games! |
| According to some high-placed sources within the company, one of the most popular products ever released by Banilla Games is the “No Chance Game Suite I.” “The Patent-Pending No Chance Game is unlike anything else in the market because the element of Chance is removed from the Game. As you know if you have the NCG Suite I, it is a consistent producer in the marketplace and extremely popular with players,” stated Brooks Lee, National Business Development Director of Banilla
Games, Inc., when reached at his office in Greenville North Carolina.
“We have had a lot of existing customers that have been asking for another NCG and I am very
proud and excited to announce the release of the Second Edition of the No Chance Game!” said Lee, “The NCG Suite II is a six game multi- pack with six of the best games to ever come out of Banilla.”
If you’ve ever heard anyone refer to “That Duck Game” by Banilla, they were referring to “Bathtime Bucks,” one of the leading games in terms of player popularity ever produced by Banilla. “Bathtime Bucks” is a 25 line reel game with a rubber ducky theme. It includes a Rubber Duck Respin feature, Free Spins with 3x multiplier, a Rubber Duck Instant Win, a Double Wild Symbol, and an exciting Big Win Tally Feature. Apparently, everyone loves the Duck Game!
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Next is “Lucky Striker.” “Lucky Striker” is one of the leading performers in Banilla’s skill game product line. In the NCGII version of the game, it is a 5 line, 3 Reel Slot Themed game featuring Free Spins with a 2x multiplier, a “Pick-a-Pot” picking bonus, a “High Striker” Bonus, and a Big Win Tally
animation.
After seeing “Arabian Riches,” this reporter can say that it may be the most visually stunning game he has ever seen. It is also packed with brand new bonus features never before seen in a Banilla product. The first thing you may notice is the 6th reel in the main game. During the Free Spins Feature, you have a choice of Reel Manipulations by the Genie, Wild Reels, or Random Multipliers.
There is also a Treasure Chest Bonus, and, just wait until you see “Smitty” the Monkey jump off the reel, run around and steal the jewels off the screen and dump them in your Win Column!
Another new game in the line-up is “Lightning Strike.” “Lightning Strike” is a Single Line, 3 Reel
Slot-themed game. Even though it is a One-Liner, its use of a Wild Icon which triggers random
multipliers packs a lot of excitement into that one line! There is also an addictive Instant Prize feature and the customary Big Win Tally animation!
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| Banilla says you’re invited to Crash the Party with the new “Party Crashers” game. “The colorful icons in this 25 line, 5 reel slot themed game make this game one of the most attractive we have ever produced.” said Lee. “With its 8-Way Expanding Wild Icon, Free Games, and the exciting Multi-Party Present Picking Bonus, this game is sure to be the life of the party!”
Brooks Lee is particularly proud of the “Super Keno” game which rounds out the NCGII. “Super
Keno” is a classically styled Keno game with the popular Super Ball Bonus which triggers a random multiplier. “It was very challenging for our game developers to make this game work with the finite, pre-determined prize pools which are the core of the NCG concept. However, Tim Smith and
the game developers did just that! This is Classic Keno at its best!” according to Lee.
Sounds like another home run from the guys at Banilla! |
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| | | | Banilla Games is OCMA's Preferred Provider of SKill Games in Ohio!
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Columbus, OH-Banilla Games announced that they have been named the preferred provider of skill games to the Ohio Coin Machine Association (OCMA). Banilla created two brand new boards specifically for the state of Ohio, “Diamond Skill Games OCMA 1st Edition” and
“Diamond Skill Games OCMA 2nd Edition.” These games were produced with input from the OCMA. According to Vice President Tim Smith, those boards have been examined and reviewed by Mr. Nick Farley of Eclipse Compliance Testing. These two, five title boards will be available exclusively to members of OCMA and only to be operated in D permit liquor license locations.
Banilla Times had a chance to speak to David Corey, Executive Vice President of the Ohio Coin Machine Association, “From the onset, the Ohio Coin Machine Association has prided itself on ensuring that its members understood and complied with all state regulations as they relate to skill games in Ohio. As an association we have recommended to our members to only operate games that are compliant with the Ohio revised code and ensure any device has legal support and testing lab approval before placing it in their locations. Our members operate skill games awarding gas vouchers as defined by the Ohio revised code, and other legal prizes. We a very excited that the lab testing is completed on these games and are looking forward to the ensuing placement in the market.”
Attorney Kurt Gearhiser provided his expertise in helping design the games and ensuring they would meet testing standards. Gearhiser said “Banilla has been very responsive and eager to make whatever changes I believed necessary for this jurisdiction. Clearly, they did a good job here as can be seen by the reports on the games from Nick Farley. I submitted critical questions to Mr. Farley, the answers to which determine the legality of the games under Ohio law. I was very pleased with the answer to each and every question!”
Here is an excerpt from Mr. Gearhiser’s opinion on the “Diamond Skill Games OCMA 1st Edition” and “Diamond Skill Games OCMA 2nd Edition”: I have reviewed the materials …, observed the operation of the machine, contacted the programming and manufacturing staff of Banilla Games, Inc., reviewed the report from Nick Farley of Eclipse Compliance Testing, and studied the applicable Ohio statutes and the developed case law. For the reasons stated below it is my opinion that the software as reviewed complies with the definition of skill-based amusement machine as that term is defined by Ohio law.
It looks like Banilla Games has taken the first step to be considered the “gold standard” for compliant skill games in Ohio! |
| | Joke Of The Month
How do you catch a squirrel? |
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- Climb up a tree and act like a nut!
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| | Diamond Skill VI a Certified Winner!
A long awaited announcement just came out of Banilla Games of Greenville, North Carolina. As of the printing of this edition, Banilla has released “Diamond Skill VI” for the Georgia COAM market.
As most Banilla Times readers are aware, Skill Games for Georgia must be certified to be SAS 6.02 compliant before they can be sold or operated in Georgia. On Friday, June 5th, Gaming Labs International, or “GLI” Certified to the Georgia Lottery Corporation that the sixth edition of the Diamond Skill line of boards is SAS compliant and interoperable with the COAM Central Accounting System!
According to Tim Smith, Vice-President of Banilla, Diamond Skill VI is a big step forward in the Skill Game market. Diamond Skill VI includes the following game themes: “St. Patty’s Payday,” “Lightning Strike,” and “Double Shot.” The “Double Shot” and “Lightning Strike” game themes are themes that are supplied by Grover Gaming Inc., Banilla’s sister company, for use in some other regulated markets and have been extremely popular with the players in those markets. “We have every reason to believe that the “Nudge” type versions of those games will be a big hit in the Georgia COAM market,” said Smith.
“St. Patty’s Payday” is a brand new, leprechaun themed, 25-liner, “Hot Swap” type skill game made just for Georgia. You can bet by next St. Patrick’s Day, every location in Savannah will have at least one “St. Patty’s Payday” on the new “Diamond Skill VI”! |
| | | For this installment of our regular feature, “Technically Speaking,” we spoke to Marcus Stukes, Chief Technician and Warehouse Manager at Banilla Games. If you’ve ever called into Banilla’s Tech Support line, you’ve probably spoken to Marcus and you know that it is really hard to present him with a cabinet or hardware issue that he has not seen before and which he can’t help you to correct. When we caught Marcus without his head stuck in a cabinet, we asked if any technical
issues have been on his mind recently."Lately, I’ve have become aware that there is some apprehension among some Master Licensees and their Technicians surrounding the process of changing a game at connected COAM locations from another manufacturer’s SAS board, or an older board with a transitional device, to a new, fully updated, SAS 6.02 Banilla. The fact is, it is really painless and it works!" Marcus continued… “With Intralot’s cooperation, Banilla’s SAS 6.02 boards have a 100% success rate when it comes to connecting to Intralot’s Central Accounting System so there is really no issue with installing new boards at connected locations. ” Marcus suggests these 5 simple steps to replace another SAS board, or Non-SAS board with a transitional device of any kind, with a new Banilla Games board at a connected location:
Step #1 Call Intralot’s Scheduling Hotline at 844-806-8927 to make an appointment to install the new Banilla Games SAS 6.02 board.
Step #2 Go to the Equipment Management page of the Georgia COAM website and select the appropriate updated Banilla Games board you will be If you are installing a brand new, updated Banilla board, choose the board with the “320” extension. For example, if you are installing the new updated version of the Diamond Skill I Game, select:
Banilla Diamond_Skill_I_320 |
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Step #3 Call Intralot Hotline at 877-261- 6242 from the location on the appointed date and time and allow Intralot to decommission the old board.
Step #4 Install the new Banilla Games board. (Make sure that the Null Modem cable is still attached to the correct port on the Intralot Site Controller on one end and attached to the SAS port on the board on the other end.
Also, on the Main Admin Screen, make sure that the “Terminal #” is set to the same number as the port on the Site Controller.)
Step #5 Tell your Intralot Technician that you are ready to commission the new Banilla Games board and, after it is commissioned, follow their instructions regarding testing the game.
According to Mr. Stukes, that’s all there is to it!
Marcus had some closing words for this edition “Technically Speaking.” “It’s been my experience that, if you make the appointment with Intralot and call them from the location at the appointed time; the process has been going very quickly and smoothly.”
Marcus asked us to encourage you to call and speak to him in person with any questions or concerns at 252.329.7977, extension 2 for service. |
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| | Diamond Purple Collection Going Strong in Iowa!
Greenville, North Carolina, June 6, 2015 – Banilla Games, Inc. announced recently that its latest addition to the “Color Collection” line of electronic games, the “Purple Collection,” has been approved for sale in the State of Iowa.
In Iowa, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals regulates all Electrical and Mechanical Amusement devices. Amusement devices may award merchandise prizes up to $50 in value under the Iowa Code. Each device must be registered with the Department and every Manufacturer must be licensed by the State of Iowa in order to market amusement devices in that state.
“Banilla Games has been licensed in Iowa since earlier this year,” said Garrett Blackwelder, President of Banilla Games, Inc. “While it is a well-established market there, our Red and Blue Collection games have been very well received.”
According to Tim Smith, Vice President of Banilla, “We are particularly happy about Purple because we have revamped the math in the games and field testing has shown that we are right on the money and the players really love the new games!”
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| The “Purple Collection” includes three new games, “Lucky Striker,” “Arabian Riches,” and “Party Crashers.” According to Wes Owens, Art Director for Banilla Games, these games are not just rehashed old games. “For example, with “Arabian Riches,” the challenge was creating a variety of game features that could all work simultaneously. A player may be in the “Mystical Multipliers” Free Games bonus and land a Monkey icon, the Monkey then steals gems, which are multiplied by the Free Games multiplier!”
“Working in a real-time 3D game engine allows us to create more dynamic game features. We can do a lot of things that simply can’t be done with a traditional pre-rendered game.” |
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| Did you know....
Where the name "Banilla" came from?
One day Garrett Blackwelder, President of Banilla Games, was trying to think of a name for his new company. He was eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream with his youngest daughter, and she called it "banilla" ice cream. That was the end of that! |
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