“Roll to Win Craps” Comes to Puerto Rico
Author:
Scott Lawson
In a recent statement, Casino Metro General Manager Ismael Vega announced that the semi-automated craps game, Roll to Win Craps, will be available at Casino Metro in San Juan, Puerto Rico early next year. This will mark the Latin America debut for Roll to Win Craps.
“Roll to Win Craps” will make its Latin American debut in Puerto Rico early next year. ©Clker-Free-Vector-Images/Pixabay
“Roll To Win Craps”: A Tech Twist on a Casino Classic for the Millennial Crowd
Roll to Win Craps is a recent innovation by Aruze Gaming America, a games and slots distributor known for such machines as the Cube-X, G-series, and the Muso series. On these machines, players can access such games as The Brave Spirit, Rainbow Wheel Blossom, Dream Money, Ancient Wheel Panda, Tower Stack Dragon, and more.
Roll to Win Craps, one of the company’s latest innovations, made quite the buzz at its premiere at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in 2018.
In this new version produced by Aruze Gaming, the traditional green felt table and chips are swapped out for screens, as players place digital bets and roll (real) dice on an LED surface. At the time, spectators of the new game noted that the digitization of the famous casino game would make for more efficient and accurate gameplay, with no lag time for a dealer to collect chips. This new version also adds new special effects to contribute to the excitement: once a bet is placed, an animation whooshes flames towards the center of the table from the seat of the player.
The game will also feature a game history so that players can see previous bets and wins for the game and track payouts. While being useful to the players, this is also intended to help dealers keep an organized and responsible eye on gameplay.
In an intriguing touch, several different animation styles for the game are available, from more classic looking to more out-there — it’ll be up to the operators to choose which animation style their table will use. Those familiar with the graphics of Aruze Gaming may also notice visual similarities between “Roll to Win Craps” and their previous game, “Shoot to Win Craps,” another electronic table game.
According to Aruze executive director Brandon Knowles, this redesign is intended to draw millennial guests at casinos to the craps table, from which they may be otherwise intimidated. To further this aim, “Roll to Win Craps” offers a help menu with instructions for newer players to get a sense of how to get started.
Following the initial reveal of Aruze’s newest game, industry giants like Caesars Entertainment expressed their support for the product. Vice President of Caesars table games Kerry Whitney admired “Roll to Win Craps,” saying:
“I think we have a good opportunity to grow our (table games) business. The one game that keeps growing year over year is craps. It’s a communal game where people can root for one another. When you walk through a casino and you hear the loudest screams, they’re at the craps table.”
Casino Metro: An Eager Host
Casino Metro, which bills itself as “San Juan’s Best Bet,” is located in the bustling Convention District of Puerto Rico’s capital — and biggest — city. Home to over 400 slot machines and 19 table games (including, among them, roulette, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, World Poker Tour, and Mini-Baccarat). In addition to their casino, Casino Metro hosts a variety of entertainment options, from musical performances to viewings of sporting events and comedy shows.
In the statement issued by Casino Metro General Manager Ismael Vega, Vega reiterated the earlier assessments of “Roll To Win Craps” at last year’s G2E: namely, that the game would prevent younger or less-experienced gamers from feeling intimidated by the more classic version of the popular blackjack game. In the statement, Vega also commented on the growing popularity of electronic table gamesat casinos and other gaming establishments, and the desire on the part of Casino Metro to keep pace with the current trend.
Electronic Table Games: Gaming for the Future?
In the last year, much speculation has been made about the possibilities of electronic table gaming in casinos. Aside from Caesars Entertainment’s admiration of the “Roll to Win Craps” rollout at last year’s G2E, Sands Casinohas already gotten in on the trend.
In 2016, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem unveiled the largest collection of electronic table games in the US, what they referred to as a “stadium” of 150 electronic table games. In order to introduce this new innovation to their casino, the Bethlehem-based casino-resort invested $5 million to transform their juice bar into an updated gaming center for tech-savvy gamblers.
“Roll To Win Craps” is an interesting fusion of electronic table games and old-fashioned craps playing, incorporating the classic collaborative excitement and human dealer of traditional craps with updated bells and whistles like bill acceptors and player tracking.
Aruze Gaming Sees the Potential for Growth in Latin America
As this will be the first casino in Latin America to host “Roll to Win Craps,” executives at Aruze Gaming are equally excited about the new arrangement. Aruze Gaming Vice President and General Manager of Latin America and Caribbean Michael Snyder described Latin America as a “very important market” to Aruze. Further, he described this latest deal with Puerto Rico as “the first of many installs” Aruze foresees in the region.
Gaming in Puerto Rico: An Overview
For a small island, Puerto Rico contains a fairly large number of casinos:15 in total, the majority of which are concentrated (like Casino Metro) in the island’s capital, San Juan. According to the government’s law, casinos in Puerto Rico must be located within a hotel or resort. They are open 24 hours a day, and gamblers must be over the age of 18 to participate.
