As reported by: The Telegraph
The Alton Belle Casino is hitting the jackpot with its new penny slot machines, and more should arrive this week.

Even during the slower morning hours Thursday, nearly all the machines on the barge's third floor had someone parked in front, playing to win. The line of gamblers pressed one button after the other -- similar to a mini-musical keyboard -- to bet up to 20 coins per line in amounts from one cent to $4 per spin.

The gamblers bet up to 20 lines in the flashing machines.

As each spin ended, the running win total popped up on top of the screen. The gambler must remember to divide the total by 100 to determine how much he or she actually could cash out in dollars, because the number is in pennies.

As a contrast, on the gaming boat's lower levels that day, the action was sparse except for nickel machines, which also are popular with gamblers. Nickel machines account for 40 percent of the Belle's gaming business, said Don Retzlaff, director of casino operations for the casino.

On nights and weekends, Retzlaff said the "pennies" are packed.

"People stand waiting for these machines to open up," he said. "Penny slots are the most popular gambling activity in the country. In Australia, 75 percent of all machines are penny slots."

Australians also prefer the video slot machines, he said.

Retzlaff, who had just returned from a gaming convention in Chicago, said he previewed the "next generation" of slot machines.

"They are all geared toward penny slots; they are very, very entertaining," he said.

"I love them; I love the action. They are not the same" over and over, said Mary Costas, 71, of both Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Wood River.

Illinois casinos had to watch gaming boats in other states -- including Harrah's and Ameristar casinos in St. Charles County, Mo. -- bring in the machines by popular demand until two months ago. The machines use paper ticket vouchers, not coins, and they were not allowed in Illinois.

Ameristar was the first in the St. Louis area to install the penny machines, and it has the largest number of offerings so far. In March, the Illinois Gaming Board designated BMN North America as the gaming laboratory responsible for the Alton Belle Casino's ticket vouchering system, or TITO.

On April 8, the board gave approval for Illinois casinos to operate "ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO)" systems, which opened the starting gate for penny slots in Illinois.

Retzlaff said patrons had asked for both the convenient TITO and penny slots.

"They love the concept of TITO. They don't have to carry coins and wait in line" for the payoff, he said.

The machines print out the tickets with winnings, and players can put them in a machine or redeem them for cash.

"Players vote with their pocketbooks," Retzlaff said.

Because TITOs are allowed, casinos throughout the state are scrambling to install the penny machines.

"There seems to be a pretty good demand for them," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association in Springfield.

The Alton Belle installed its first 59 penny machines in mid-April, and another 16 popular, Australian Mr. Cashman slots began running June 10. Twenty-seven more penny machines are supposed to arrive this week, Retzlaff said.

When asked how machines with low-denominator bets can justify their expense of $10,000 to $12,000 each, Retzlaff said they are played more hours per day than higher-denomination machines, so they make up the money over more time.

The casino has 1,067 slot machines and 20 table games; state law restricts each casino to 1,200 gaming locations. About 20 percent of the machines are replaced each year, because they have a useful lifetime of four to five years, Retzlaff said.

"We probably will spend $2 million to $3 million this year on new slot machines," he said.

Other machines are moved around to "freshen" the floors.

The draw to the "pennies" not only is having a variety of bet amounts and number of lines, but also people can play longer if they have limited money to play.

Penny players also are more likely to win extra rounds, also extending their experience, Retzlaff said. Other machines may pay out an extra round after five or six spins, but "pennies" give extra rounds 75 percent of the time, he said.

"Most of our customers want to play a longer time on the device," Retzlaff said. "They want to be able to stay and play as long as they can."

Patron Eunice Whitsell, 70, of Chouteau Township, agreed. "I get more plays. I'm retired, and it is relaxing," she said, before going back to one of the new machines.

Jim Fitzpatrick, director of marketing for the casino, said the casino conducts detailed marketing research to determine what customers want. Among those efforts are holding dinners for gamblers and discussing what is important to them in a casino, focus group meetings and mail and telephone interviews.

"We react real quickly," he said, although obtaining the machines and getting them installed takes months.

The casino has had to combat competition from the larger Missouri casinos, while facing increased income taxes from the state during the past year.

Besides TITOs and penny slots, the men said their research has found that Alton Belle patrons want a friendly atmosphere where they can feel welcome, get good personalized service, make friends and have a chance at winning a variety of smaller prizes, rather than one large one.

"We try to make it fun. Everyone can have the same product, but we want to make it fun and don't want to make it hard" for them to experience gaming, he said.