Best Asian Themed Slot Game
| Nominees | |
| Manufacturer | Title |
| Aristocrat | 50 Dragons |
| Aristocrat | 5 Dragons |
| Atronic | Dragonboat |
| Bally | Chinese Kitchen |
| IGT | Red Hot Jackpots / Super Lucky Red Wins |
| Weike Gaming | Kings of Prosperity |
Winner: Atronic – Dragonboat
Atronic’s recently-released Chinese-themed Dragonboat is powered by the successful Tournamania slot tournament concept. Dragonboat has been leading the way in nurturing Asia’s growing love affair with slot tournaments.
The dragon boat is a powerful sporting concept in Asia. The real-life boat, used in races on rivers and in coastal areas, requires a combination of close cooperation between fellow crew members and fierce competition with rival teams.
MGM Grand Macau was one of the first operators to spot the potential of Atronic’s Dragonboat, powered by the Tournamania slot concept. The casino used the equipment in its first slot tournament in mid-May, with a quick follow up in July.
Dragonboat offers the flexibility to run tournaments in a variety of formats at random or preset times for a predefined period. Among the possible structures are:
• The Classic Tournament: During the preset duration, players have to accumulate as many score points as possible by using their own funds. The player ranked first at the conclusion of the tournament wins the prize and a special win animation celebrates the victory.
• The Special Event Tournament: During the preset duration, players play with pre-loaded credits and have to accumulate as many score points as quickly as possible. Multiple heats are played to determine the top-ranking players who will qualify for the finals. The prizes (usually cash prizes) are funded from participation fees.
• ‘All Winners’ Tournament: During the configured period, all players are winners: Either players collect wins through the base game, or they are awarded Dragonboat prizes. Minimum play activity is required. The ranking of the players is continually displayed on the upper TFT-screen of Atronic’s e² cabinet. At the end, the ‘first’ ranked player (with the largest loss during the tournament) wins the consolation prize.
Honourable Mention: Aristocrat Technologies – 50 Dragons and 5 Dragons
Aristocrat is an expert at building on a winning formula in incremental ways. The company’s 50 Dragons video slot game continues in that vein, taking the excitement and game style of the company’s successful 50 Lions, which was first seen on the market in 2003, and enhancing it for an Asian audience.
50 Dragons’ five-reel, 50-line product is a low volatility, high excitement video game mounted on Aristocrat’s MKVI hardware platform. It includes a ‘feature within feature’ element during free game play.
50 Dragons is also related in its medieval Chinese theme to 5 Dragons, a five-reel video slot machine first launched by Aristocrat in 2004.
