Scrabble video slot to debut at G2E

Lightning Gaming, Inc. to introduce 20 games

by David Stratton
GamingToday.com
November 03, 2009

A newcomer to the slot manufacturing industry, Lightning Gaming, will debut 20 new games at this month’s Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas.

Based in Philadelphia, Lightning Gaming designs, develops and markets gaming equipment to the casino industry under two divisions, Lightning Poker and Lightning Slots.

Previous to its new slot line, Lightning introduced one of the world’s first automated poker tables in 2006 and successfully installed it in U.S. and Canadian casinos, as well as other jurisdictions around the world.

Topping the list of its new slot offerings is Video Scrabble, based on the popular board game and licensed under an agreement with Hasbro. Also to be unveiled is Scrabble Spin, the next installment in the Scrabble brand series.

Hasbro, a leading toy and game manufacturer, previously licensed its Monopoly board game to WMS Gaming (WMS), and that slot machine has become one of the most successful brands in history.

"This agreement gives Lightning Gaming access (in the U.S. and Canada) to an incredibly popular and iconic game brand," said Brian Haveson, CEO of Lightning Gaming, Inc. "We can now open up our game development and content innovation to bring a new dynamic to traditional product offerings in the casino industry."

Haveson added he expected the video gaming version to appeal to traditional casino customers and casual gamers alike.

"Our first adaptation of Scrabble delivers engaging and entertaining game play, successfully translating the popularity of Scrabble to the casino industry and making it a winning complement to any slot mix," Haveson said.

Lightning’s Video Scrabble is a bonus slot machine that engages players with a simple two-draw system of play. The object of the game is to score the highest possible word using the official Scrabble tournament word list.

The player gets an initial draw of seven letter tiles (just like the board game). The best available word is highlighted and the player then has the option of holding any of the seven letter tiles.

A second draw is then initiated, replacing any tiles not held. The highest value word is calculated and compared to a paytable to calculate the win.

A bonus is initiated when the player uses all seven letters and scores on the paytable.

But you don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to play the game. The game will instantly reassemble drawn letters to form the highest possible word score and will automatically provide word definitions, thereby adding an entertaining educational aspect to the game.

The Scrabble Bonus occurs when a player uses seven letters that score in the paytable. The bonus consists of a partially completed Scrabble board that is displayed on a secondary screen. Players automatically draw seven additional letter tiles that are sorted into the best word score in the board above.

Word scores from the bonus board are calculated into credits. If all seven letter tiles are used, the player wins an additional 50 points.

Lightning Gaming, Inc. was founded in 2004 by Brian Haveson, and is backed by investment from Cross Atlantic Capital Partners of Radnor, Pennsylvania.

In addition to operating Lightning Gaming, Haveson has been a professional poker player for 10 years, cashing in 28 major poker tournaments, including 10 World Series of Poker events.

Prior to forming Lightning Gaming, Haveson was a founder and former CEO of Nutri/Systems, Inc.