Slot Machine Band Biography
Slot Machine - Asia On Tour: Cowboys, Ghosts and Sleepwalking (Part 2/3) Slot Machine - Asia On Tour: On Stage (Part 3/3) view all. The Final Word about Slot Machine Manufacturers. The brand names in the slot machine manufacturers category are many, but, of course, IGT (International Game Technology) towers above the rest like Walmart towers over other retail establishments. The list above gets longer when you account for the companies making online slot machine games, too.
WMS Gaming is a manufacturer of slot machines, video lottery terminals and software to help casinos manage their gaming operations. It also offers online and mobile games. The company is based in Chicago, Illinois. WMS is a subsidiary of WMS Industries, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation in 2013.
WMS entered the reel-spinning slot machine market in 1994, and in 1996, it introduced its first hit casino slot machine, Reel 'em In, a 'multi-line, multi-coin secondary bonus' video slot machine. It followed this with a number of similar games like Jackpot Party, Boom and Filthy Rich. By 2001, it introduced its Monopoly-themed series of 'participation' slots. Since then, WMS Gaming has continued to obtain licenses to manufacture gaming machines using several additional famous brands. The company continues to sell gaming machines and to market its participation games.
History[edit]
WMS Gaming is a subsidiary of WMS Industries, whose roots date back to the 1943 founding of Williams Manufacturing Company. Over the last decades of the 20th century, Williams produced popular pinball machines and video arcade games. By 1996, WMS had transferred its video game library to its video game subsidiary, Midway Games, which it took public and finally spun off in the late 1990s.[1] With the rapid decline of the arcade industry in the 1990s, the company's pinball business became unprofitable, and WMS sold off the pinball line in 2000.[2]
Meanwhile, in 1991, WMS created a new division, Williams Gaming, to enter the gaming and state video lottery markets, developing and releasing its first video lottery terminals for the Oregon market in 1992. Williams Gaming entered the reel-spinning slot machine market in 1994, but the company's video gaming roots ultimately would prove to be its strength when, in 1996, it introduced its first hit casino slot machine, Reel 'em In, a 'multi-line, multi-coin secondary bonus' video slot machine. WMS followed this with a number of similar successful games like Jackpot Party, Boom and Filthy Rich. During the 1990s, the gaming industry grew as additional states permitted casino gambling and video lottery games, and as Native American tribes built gaming casinos. The division was incorporated as WMS Gaming in 1999 and has since focused exclusively on the manufacture, sale, leasing, licensing and management of gaming machines.[3][4]
Slot Machine Band Biography Richard
In 2001, a glitch was uncovered in the company's software that allowed players to earn credits on some machines without paying for them.[5] The industry leader IGT also sued WMS for patent infringement related to its reel-spinning games, winning a judgment that required WMS to limit the flexibility of its line of reel-spinning games. WMS Gaming's new video operating platform, CPU-NXT, debuted in 2003. It employed a faster, more open architecture that took advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by Intel and other PC component vendors. The slot machine platform is based on the Linux operating system, initially ran on an Intel Pentium III processor and was the first to use flash memory rather than erasable programmable read only memory.[3][6][7]
By 2001, WMS introduced its very successful Monopoly-themed series of 'participation' slots, which the company licenses or leases to casinos, instead of selling the games to the casinos. The company's subsequent participation games have included machines based on well-known entertainment-related brands as Men in Black, Hollywood Squares, The Wizard of Oz, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings and Clue. Some of these games are networked within casinos and even between multiple casinos so that players have a chance to win large jackpots based on the number of machines in the network. These branded games proved popular with players and profitable for WMS, as the net licensing revenues and lease fees generated by each game have exceeded the profit margins of its games for sale.[8][9][10] The company's revenues grew to a high of $783.3million in 2011, but they decreased to $689.7million in 2012.[11]
WMS Gaming's parent, WMS Industries, merged with Scientific Games in October 2013, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. Scientific Games paid $1.5 billion for WMS, and WMS shareholders received $26.00 per share. At the time of the merger, the company's stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[11][12]
Products, technology, business[edit]
WMS Gaming's products have helped to move the industry trend away from generic mechanical slot machines and toward games that incorporate familiar intellectual properties and more creative ways to pay off. For more than a century beginning in the late 1800s, mechanical slot machine reels employed limited themes: card suits, horseshoes, bells and stars, varieties of fruit, black bars and the Liberty Bell.[6] WMS's 1996 video slot machine Reel 'em In, introduced multi-line and multi-coin secondary bonus pay-outs. Later, the company's licensed themes, beginning with Monopoly, helped to greatly expand its sales and profits.[13]
Some of WMS Gaming's product designs reflect the changing demographics of its industry. Younger players raised on video games often seek more challenging experiences, both physical and mental, than do women age 55 to 65 – the traditional audience for slot machines. Accordingly, some of the company's machines incorporate surround sound, flat-panel display screens and animated, full-color images.[14]
The company also manufactures the G+ series of video reel slots, the Community Gaming family of interconnected slots, as well as mechanical reels, poker games, and video lottery terminals.[10] WMS began to offer online gaming in 2010 to persons over 18 years old in the UK[15] and in 2011 in the US at www.jackpotparty.com.[10] In 2012, WMS partnered with Large Animal Games to incorporate several of WMS's slot machine games into a cruise ship-themed Facebook game application titled 'Lucky Cruise'. By playing games and enlisting Facebook friends' help, players can accumulate 'lucky charms' (instead of money). The game play is similar to playing a slot machine but includes a 'light strategy component'.[16][17]
In 2012, after experiencing a decline in revenues from the contracting casino market, the company introduced gaming on mobile devices and focused its efforts on expanding its online game offerings. For casinos, it introduced My Poker video poker games.[11]
WMS Gaming technologies include:
- Transmissive Reels gaming platform, which employs video animation that is displayed around, over and seemingly interactively with mechanical reels. The technology is based on the CPU-NXT2 operating platform.[18]
- Operating platforms. CPU-NXT2 operating platform, which incorporates an Intel Pentium IV class processor, up to 2 gigabytes of random access memory, an ATI 3-D graphics chip-set, and a 40 gigabyte hard disk drive, is used in most of the games.[10] The CPU-NXT3 operating platform was introduced in 2012 for participation games and new cabinets.[11]
- Cabinets: The Bluebird2 gaming cabinet, which includes a dual 22-inch wide screen, high-definition displays, Bose speakers, and an illuminated printer and bill acceptor, was introduced in 2008.[19] The Blade and Gamefield xD cabinets were introduced in 2013.[11]
Approximately 70% of WMS's revenues are derived from U.S. customers.[9] Its corporate office and manufacturing facilities are in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has other development, sales and field services offices across the United States and international development and distribution facilities located in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom[10] and an online gaming center in Belgium.[11]
References[edit]
- ^Midway Games Form S-3 filed with the SEC and dated on November 27, 2001
- ^Form 10-K Annual Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2001, WMS Industries Inc., accessed May 9, 2012
- ^ abHughlett, Mike (November 19, 2006). 'WMS places bets on new slot technology: Server-based gaming, arcadelike machines may spur sales jackpot'. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^'WMS Corporate Profile'. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^Yamanouchi, Kelly. 'Slot glitch offers cheater payoff', Chicago Tribune, May 1, 2001, accessed September 8, 2013
- ^ abEisenberg, Bart (January 2004). 'The New 'One-Arm Bandits' Today's slot machines are built like PCs, programmed like video games'. Software Design. Gijutsu-Hyohron Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^'WMS Industries Inc. 10K filing'. United States Security and Exchange Commission. September 11, 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
- ^WMS Annual Report for Fiscal 2008 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28, 2008
- ^ abWMS Annual Report for Fiscal 2010 (ending June 30, 2010) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2010
- ^ abcdeAnnual Report for Fiscal 2011, WMS Annual Reports, WMS Investor Relations pages, September 29, 2011
- ^ abcdef'WMS Annual Report for Fiscal 2013', (ending June 30, 2013) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 2013
- ^'News release: Scientific Games Completes Acquisition of WMS'Archived 2014-01-17 at Archive.today, Scientific Games Corporation, October 18, 2013
- ^'WMS Reports Quarterly Record $0.41 Diluted Earnings Per Share for Fiscal 2009 Second Quarter'. Business Wire. April 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^Rivlin, Gary (December 10, 2007). 'Slot Machines for the Young and Active'. New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^WMS Quarterly Report for the period ended December 31, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2011
- ^'Lucky Cruise Launched on Facebook as First Social Game Collaboration Between Large Animal Games And WMS Gaming', WMS Gaming, Reuters, February 14, 2012
- ^Green, Marian. 'A matter of persistence…', Casino Journal.com, June 1, 2012
- ^'WMS Launches Premium, For-Sale, Multi-Game Gaming Machine on Popular Transmissive Reels Platform'. WMS press release. October 7, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^'WMS Wins Four Awards for Player-Focused Products in Casino Journal's Top 20 Most Innovative Gaming Technology Products Awards for 2008'. WMS press release. April 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
External links[edit]
Open the third eye, the eye of wisdom, and truly see.
Slot Machine is back with their brand-new second English-language album, Third Eye View. The three members, vocalist Karinyawat 'Foet' Durongjirakarn, guitarist Janevit 'Vit' Chanpanyawong, and bassist Atirath 'Gak' Pintong, are more than ready to unveil their gutsy new sound.
After the band’s critically acclaimed first English-language album Spin the World cleared the path to international recognition for the boys four years ago, Slot Machine no longer feels tethered to restrictive songwriting limitations. Earlier, the band released four new English-language singles, 'Know Your Enemy', 'Magic', 'Hummingbird', and 'Bangkok, and three singles in Thai 'Rao Ma Yang Santi', 'Lok Sommut', and 'Plueak'. The new album, Third Eye View, is made up of 14 tracks in English and four in Thai.
'What we want to get through to people with Third Eye View is that we are now wearing the lens of truth - our vision is no longer blurred by prejudice or the humanness of emotions. It is a little bit supernatural, not something people often talk about. The three of us also wanted to put more artistic effort into our music,' said Foet.
In terms of sound, Foet, Vit, and Gak, who call themselves 'the Creators', want to take their listeners into boundless new musical territory in Third Eye View. Bold rock, weird synths, crisp guitar sounds, and Foet's rarely-used baritone are just a few examples of their intention to be more exploratory with their music.
'We want to do something more than just rock. We're looking at a big picture and trying to create a perfect piece of art. We weren’t thinking of commercial success at all when we were making this music,' elaborated Vit. 'This album is an opportunity for Slot Machine to go all out, and to make something that if we were to listen to it 10 years from now, we would still feel strongly about.'
Slot Machine pioneered their place as Thailand's leading rock band, but what is more interesting is how the band defines 'rock'. They see rock as more of a mentality or a soul than a music genre. It is the guts to do something, to rebel against something. 'Is it difficult to break through our image? No, not really. Because once we're bold enough, nothing is actually that difficult,' revealed Gak. Having the courage to make Third Eye View is the best description of the three members' identity, and they are genuinely excited to see their fans' reaction to the “unusual” sounds.
What’s more, Slot Machine had the chance to work with two world-renowned producers: Brandon Darner, (Imagine Dragons), and Justin Stanley, who has worked with legends like Prince, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney. Needless to say that this has revolutionised Slot Machine's conceptual and working processes.
The band's determination to express themselves with this album is also reflected in the design of their Limited Edition CD Box Set, which exudes nothing short of delicacy and attention to detail. The artwork is one of a kind and designed by Thailand's frontline graphic designer Supichan 'Odd' Rojvanich, who has been working with Slot Machine since their third album, Grey.
Another equally remarkable component is the cover photo, which is an ambrotype, a photographic process of shooting on a glass plate that is quite rare today. The iconic cover was shot by Chardchakaj Waikawee, the famous photographer whose work is so exceptional and unique that he is acclaimed and recognised by international artists and brands alike.
'This is the nature of Slot Machine. We're full of surprises and we have always been. Repetition isn't our thing. And of course, we want to share this excitement with our fans in Third Eye View,' concluded Foet.
Welcome to the new world as seen from a Third Eye View
Slot Machine Wiki
brought to you by Slot Machine.
The band’s next adventure involved taking on the international market. Slot Machine’s first all-English album was released in early 2016. Slot Machine has always been willing to take risks, and the band members believed the time was right. With the help of six-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Steve Lillywhite who has worked with U2, The Rolling Stones, The Killers and 30 Seconds to Mars, the album heralded a new chapter in the band’s career.
Slot Machine vocalist Foet shared his experiences working with the legendary producer: “We have worked with foreign producers before but Steve was different. He has worked with the world’s biggest bands. It was an amazing experience for us to work with him. He saw us performing live and wanted to work with us! Steve is very easy to work with and he made us all feel at ease. The one-month period flew by so quickly. At first, we planned to work on just four tracks, but before we knew it, we had completed the entire album.” The album was recorded in a productive one-month burst at Karma Sound Studios.
Steve Lillywhite shared his views on seeing the band live for the first time, “I was amazed by both their musical talent and the age of their audience, who, for a rock band, were young. It’s my rule that I must see a band perform live first before deciding whether to work with them. Slot Machine impressed me. It was great to see the young audience enjoying their music. It’s new to me. I thought I could help the band reach another level.”
“We rarely see the real band these days. The four of them have different characters but when they’re together, they are great. They have a singer who has a unique voice, with music that is intelligent and hard-hitting.
Gak, the band’s bassist, talked about his expectations on their first English album: “We want to challenge ourselves and see how far we can go. We believe in our music. Thai culture and Thai food are well-known across the world and I think we can make Thai music international, too.”
Slot Machine released the first single ‘Give It All To You’ from the album ‘Spin The World’ on July 27th, 2015. This first international single of the band was not only been released in Thailand but also in 14 other countries under Sony Music distribution i.e. Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Taiwan.
In August 2015, Slot Machine performed their first international music festival in Taipei at ‘Super Slippa Festival’, sharing the same stage with both Asian & international acts including Magic Power (from Taiwan), MayDay (from Taiwan) and Suzanne Vega (from USA)
Early September, Slot Machine had an opportunity to write and perform a theme song for ‘Hormones 3 The Final Season’, a hit teen series which has been the talk of the town among Thai viewers. The band appeared in the press conference for the series’ brand new season and introduced ‘Yorn (Retrace)’ as the new theme song of the series.
Later in 2015, IOM, the International Organization for Migration has launched a new campaign to prevent human trafficking and exploitation called IOM X . Slot Machine is honored to participate in this campaign, by providing the soundtrack and featuring in IOM X’s Prisana’s video.
Slot Machine embarked on their first UK tour in October 2015. They performed in Bristol, Brighton and London, where they were embraced by both Thai & English audiences.
In 2016 the band were invited to perform at The Dawn Concert, Taipei’s New Years event organized by Taipei City Government, as well
all the major Asian 2016 Rock Music Festivals,( Japan’s Fuji Rocks, Taiwan’s Super Slippa, Korea’s Jisan Valley & Hong Kong’s Clockenflap) to rave reviews.
An exciting live act, Slot Machine have in 2017, already rocked audiences in North America with Live Nation's 'Asia On Tour' trek . 'Asia On Tour' featured Miyavi from Japan, Slot Machine from Thailand and Kiha & The Faces from Korea - 3 renowned artists who represent a new wave of Asian music.
Now, fresh from playing a major concert at Bangkok’s Impact Arena, where the band delivered an exhilarating performance to an ecstatic hometown crowd, they will turn their attention to shows in Japan & Korea. To coincide with their trip to Japan, Nippon Columbia will release a new Slot Machine song called “Ex-Aid”, especially written by the band for the Kamen Rider TV series.
Now, on the back of recording a new theme song for Kamen Rider TV series, which has recently been released in Japan by the Nippon Columbia label, Slot Machine returned to Tokyo for a stand-alone show, with rising Japanese band “I Don’t Like Mondays”, at SHINJUKU ReNY on December 18th.
While touring, Slot Machine won’t let their fans wait long for new music. The band will release “The Land Of Himmaphan” (from their album “Spin The World” ), with an animation visual from “The Mothership” concert. The song tells a story like a folk tale, with a boy as the protagonist, full of imagination and mystery on a journey through Himmaphan, a mythical forest.
Slot Machine Band Members
Speaking of animation, Slot Machine are also featured in the latest animated Thai movie called 'Legend of Muay Thai: Nine Satra'. The band wrote the main theme of the movie called 'Tar' (meaning 'Challenge'). Lyrically, the song is about fighting the challenges in life. The song released on December 7, 2017 and the movie premiered on January 11, 2018
Later, the band released the final track of the album ‘MRT’. The melody of the song evokes the feeling of traveling on a train in Bangkok at night. The music video features footage from the band’s homecoming “The Mothership” concert in Bangkok.
In 2018, Slot Machine then went on to work with two outstanding US-based producers: Brandon Darner (Imagine Dragons and The Envy Corp) and Justin Stanley (Beck, Prince, David Bowie etc.), and released the first new English single 'Know Your Enemy' which was selected as the theme for the ROV World Gaming Championships. The second single, Hummingbird, was released in July 2019 to great critical acclaim.
“Slot Machine - The First Contact” 10 Anniversary Concert
At the end of 2014, Slot Machine celebrated their 10th anniversary by performing a live concert -‘Slot Machine – The First Contact’ at Impact Arena, Thailand’s largest indoor concert venue with a capacity of 15,000.
Slot Machine were again nominated for Best Southeast Act at the MTV EMA’s in 2014– and in the same year released their fifth album, ‘Rainbow’, produced bytalented Australian producer, Daniel Denholm. The album included the hits ‘Rung’ (Rainbow)and ‘Khloem’ which had over 100 million hits on YouTube.
Following on the success of ‘Cell’, 2013 was Slot Machine’s golden year. They werenominated for the ‘Best Southeast Asian Act’ at the MTV Europe MusicAwards, and their ongoing work with MTV on the network’s Human Trafficking Awareness concerts culminated in the band performing on the same stage as Jason Mraz at the MTV EXIT LIVE IN MYANMAR charity concert held to raise awareness about human-trafficking at the People’s Square, Schwedagon, Yangon, before 70,000 people.
AWARDS
2019
2019 Group of the Year
Nine Entertain Awards
2018
Best South East Asian Act
MTV Europe Music Awards
2017
GOLD RECORD - GQ MEN OF THE YEAR
2016
ASIAN PERFORMANCE
CLASSIC ROCK AWARDS
VISUAL & POPULAR CULTURE AWARD
PRUDENTIAL EYES AWARDS
2015
[NOMINATED] 'BEST SOUTHEAST ASIAN ACT'
MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS
2014
[NOMINATED] 'BEST SOUTHEAST ASIAN ACT'
MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS
2013
[NOMINATED] 'BEST SOUTHEAST ASIAN ACT'
MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS
2012
BEST GROUP ARTISTS
9 ENTERTAIN AWARDS
BEST GROUP ARTISTS
SEASON AWARDS
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
‘CELL’ - SEASON AWARDS
2011
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
‘CELL’ - CHANNEL [V] THAILAND AWARDS
BEST STYLE ARTIST
THE GUITAR MAG AWARDS
BEST STYLE ARTIST
THE GUITAR MAG AWARDS
BEST GROUP ARTISTS
KOM CHAD LUK AWARDS
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
‘CELL’ KOM CHAD LUK AWARDS
2010
RECORD OF THE YEAR
‘CHAN CHAO’ (Goodbye) FAT RADIO AWARDS
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY MUSIC VIDEO
‘CHAN CHAO’ (Goodbye) - CHANNEL [V] THAILAND AWARDS
2007
SONG OF THE YEAR
‘PHAN’ (Yesterday) - SEED AWARDS
In 2008, the band released their third studio album, ‘Grey’. It was a more challenging album featuring a more experimental sound on songs like ‘Fan’ (Dream)and ‘Rue Du’ (Grey Sky), but fans embraced the band’s continued musical evolution and their outstanding live performances saw the band continuing to grow.
Slot Machine Band Biography Robert
However, it was their fourth studio album ‘Cell’ in 2011, which really shot Slot Machine into the stratosphere as one of Thailand’s greatest rock bands. The Montonn “Jay” Jira-produced set was named ‘Album of The Year’ and the group was pronounced ‘Best Group Artist’ in numerous media awards. Hit tracks from the album included ‘Chan Chao’ (Goodbye)and ‘Phra Athit Songklot’ (Golden Age)
Thailand’s leading Rock Band Slot Machine, with 6 albums already to their credit, are creating a buzz worldwide with the release of their first all English album ‘Spin The World’, produced by Grammy Award winning producer, Steve Lillywhite.
Slot Machine started off as a group of high school boys competing in national music contests. Since their teenage days, they have gone through stylistic changes and seen the transition from the cassette age to the digital music age. The one thing that has remained constant is their devotion to music.
First Slot Machine
Slot Machine released their self-titled debut album in 2004 featuring a hit single‘Ro’ (I’m Waiting For You).Followed by ‘Mutation’ in 2006, produced by Scott Moffatt,former member of Canadian band The Moffatts.Scott added a new element to their music,and the album produced two megahits: ‘Phan’ (Yesterday) and ‘Kham Sutthai’ (Song for U) .Shortly after the release of their second album, Slot Machine were chosen as the opening act for Linkin Park’sBangkok concert in front of 30,000 fans.