AGS – Same Plan, New Era

The big news this year for slot supplier AGS was, of course, its pending acquisition by private equity firm Brightstar Capital Partners.

But as AGS CEO David Lopez said in the statement announcing the $1.1 billion transaction—set to close in late 2025—the return to private ownership after what will be seven years trading on the New York Stock Exchange will not change the still-growing supplier’s product plan.

In fact, he said, the resources of Brightstar, a middle-market private equity firm focused on investing in industrial, manufacturing and services businesses, will help move the product plan forward.

“Joining forces with Brightstar represents an exciting new chapter for AGS and our mission to provide exceptional gaming solutions for our operator partners,” Lopez said in the May 9 announcement of the Brightstar agreement.

“With Brightstar’s resources and strategic guidance, we believe AGS will be well-positioned to make targeted investments in R&D, top talent, operations, and industry-leading innovation, which should accelerate our global footprint.”

The plain fact is that AGS, which has been one of the bright spots over the past year in an otherwise flat slot supplier market, became a target for Brightstar based on the strengths of the company’s products, which have propelled the former Class II supplier into a prominent position in the slot market since Lopez became CEO in 2018.

While the company grew—first to add a table-game division that went from zero to 60 in under a year; then creating an interactive division that is growing at the same speed—the slot division came into its own, launching hit products including the Rakin’ Bacon family, Piñata Pays, Triple Coin Treasures and more.

Most recently, the oldest and newest divisions of AGS came together in pioneering omnichannel game releases. In February, the company executed an exclusive omnichannel launch of Rakin’ Bacon Odyssey, in person at Caesars Atlantic City and online at the Caesars Palace Online Casino site in New Jersey. In July, Rakin’ Bacon Sahara was launched simultaneously at Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Hard Rock Bet online site.

Extending the Brands

The fact those launches featured the company’s most successful game franchise in Rakin’ Bacon was no accident. AGS has spent the past several years building up all the company’s popular game franchises with sequels to the games, each adding a twist to a game that retains the basics of what it made popular.

This year, the focus at AGS has been to take those franchises to the next level, adding the most popular game mechanics of the day to titles that are already well-known to players.

“The idea behind this is, let’s introduce this brand that’s been so powerful, that we know resonates with players, to players who enjoy all different styles, player segments and mechanics,” says Mark DeDeaux, general manager and senior vice president of slots for AGS.

“We’ve got a lot of really great brand extensions of Rakin’ Bacon, and we’re really excited to introduce that brand to new player segments. And so, if you weren’t a player who just happened to like a pseudo-persistent, single-pot, free-games style of game, you may have tried Piñata Pays, but you might not have played it very frequently. Recognizing that, we know that there are a lot of players who are liking this three-pot, pseudo persistence, so we’ve got two different styles of games we’re going to be debuting at G2E with Rakin’ Bacon branding.”

It’s not just the game content that’s going to bring Rakin’ Bacon, Triple Coin Treasures and other AGS titles to a wide range of players. After expanding its hardware lineup, AGS has a cabinet perfect for each new iteration of each game family.

“Last G2E, we talked a lot about positioning, and where we were aspiring to go in the marketplace,” DeDeaux says. “Our theme was ‘Just Believe,’ and that was really a positioning, aspirational statement. This year, we’re pivoting to ‘We’re Delivering.’ And so, in the most meaningful way, we’re delivering, when you think about the fact that this year at G2E, we’re going to be officially launching the Spectra SL49+—that’s our Cadillac, flagship for-sale product—and the Spectra SL49+ Premium, which is our flagship premium portfolio product.

“We’re launching the Spectra SL75+. And then, the official launch of the Revel stepper cabinet is coming at G2E also. It’s four cabinets, and new products in our portfolio, but we did this to make sure we have the games to support the launch of these products.”

DeDeaux says that means delivering proven game themes in formats to appeal to all players. “We know a lot of players that played three-reel, high-denom and mid-denom games like wheel-style games, and they like that board feature we see in the top boxes of some stepper games. We’ve got three-reel video, mid-denom, high-denom games featuring a wheel, pseudo persistence, and a feature board also. We’re excited about that part of the brand extension portfolio.”

Combos, Links and Oinks

Leading the way in brand extensions at G2E will, of course, be five new iterations of the Rakin’ Bacon franchise, each highlighting the strengths of a different cabinet.

Three of the new games made their national debut September 5 at the Peppermill in Reno, which held an elaborate “Rakin’ Bacon Family Reunion” event featuring slot influencers, pig-themed drinks, light bites and an ice sculpture of “Cornsquealius,” the animated golden pig character that serves as the brand’s mascot.

Rakin’ Bacon Link Shamrock and Rakin’ Bacon Link Fiesta, the launch games for the Spectra SL49+ Premium slant-top portrait cabinet, adds a metamorphic feature and a hold-and-spin repeat win feature to the original Rakin’ Bacon’s familiar free-spin feature.

The base game is a five-reel, 243-ways-to-win video slot. The game retains the popular free-spin feature from the original Rakin’ Bacon. When the feature is triggered, the player chooses the volatility of the bonus event—15 free spins on the regular three-by-five array with 243 ways to win on each spin; 10 spins on a four-by-five array, the extra row resulting in 1,024 ways to win; or five free spins on a five-by-five array, the five rows yielding 3,125 ways to win.

The heart of the game, though, is the hold-and-spin bonus, and the Cornsquealius character features prominently in this feature. First, the single collection pot, in the form of the golden pig, provides a second way to trigger the bonus.

The regular way to trigger the bonus is by landing six cash-on-reels coins scattered on the reel array. However, during primary-game play, coins from the reels travel up to fatten the pig until it bursts at random. When that happens, Cornsquealius throws down enough coins to the reels to complete the six required to trigger the hold-and-spin event.

The golden pig also features prominently in the hold-and-spin feature. During the three-spin cycle, the player looks for cash-on-reels coin symbols, a “Jackpot” symbol, and Cornsquealius.

The feature proceeds in the normal manner, locking coins and jackpot symbols in place for three spins, returning the spin meter to three as long as another of those symbols lands.

However, when Cornsquealius lands in the feature, the pig absorbs the values of all cash-on-reel symbols on the screen, becoming one new cash-on-reels symbol. He then sends the Jackpot symbol spinning until it lands on one of the lower-level jackpots—static bonuses of $10 (Mini), $25 (Minor) and $100 (Major), plus the secondary progressive, resetting at $800 (Mega).

The jackpot amount is absorbed into the big cash-on-reels award formed when the pig absorbed the other symbols, and the reel symbol returns to the generic “Jackpot.” All the other cash-on-reels coins remain in place with their original jackpots. If Cornsquealius lands again, the process repeats—another collection of all the cash-on-reels values, and another spin of the Jackpot symbol.

That Jackpot symbol will spin once more when the feature ends, so landing it within the hold-and-spin feature guarantees at least two jackpots.

DeDeaux adds that the fact the other cash-on-reel symbols remain in place means the collections don’t impede the progress of the hold-and-spin sequence toward the ultimate goal of filling all 15 reel spots with cash-on-reels or jackpots, which triggers the top Grand jackpot, resetting at $10,000.

Rakin’ Bacon Cash Combo, on the Spectra SL75+, uses the massive 75-inch monitor to great effect. Three pots above the reels trigger enhancements to the main hold-and-spin feature. As with the Link version, when one or more of the pots bursts, Cornsquealius throws down enough coin symbols to trigger the main feature.

The pots are marked “Grow,” “Extra” and “Collect,” each adding an enhancement to the hold-and-spin bonus. In the metamorphic feature, each will grow until bursting to trigger the main feature, or randomly, two or all three of the pots will trigger the feature with all the enhancements added.

When “Grow” is active, three locked reel arrays appear stacked above the main reels. Each time six coins accumulate on an active reel set, the next reel array is unlocked, up to the maximum four stacked reel sets. Filling any of the four screens with cash-on-reels symbols triggers the top Grand jackpot.

When “Collect” is active, Cornsquealius will appear during the feature to absorb all cash-on-reels symbols into a single symbol, and spin the Jackpot symbol to reveal one of the lower-level jackpots, which is added to the absorbed value.

The “Extra” enhancement extends the spin cycle to four spins, meaning the meter returns to four spins with each coin, and the feature continues until four spins without a coin symbol.

Rakin’ Bacon Triple Oink Soda Fountain Fortunes, on the new Spectra SL49+ for-sale cabinet, is another three-pot game, with a ’50s diner theme. This is a five-of-a-kind cash-on-reels game similar to Triple Coin Treasures, paired with tweaked on-trend enhancements “Add Spin, ” “Reels Grow” and “Multipliers.”

As with Triple Coin Treasures, “Add Spin” adds additional free games to the first reel, “Multiplier” adds in multipliers to the fifth reel, and “Reels Grow” expands the reel array. In Triple Oink, the Collection feature is removed in lieu of guaranteed Cornsquealius symbols that will always turn into cash on reels.

Rakin’ Bacon Jackpots Bonus Wheel and Rakin’ Bacon Jackpots Bonus Board are the final games from the Rakin’ Bacon brand launching at G2E. These nine-line, three-reel games are featured on both the Spectra SL75+ and Spectra UR49. These games include a wheel or board game feature where, if triggered, one to six pointers will activate and award the coinciding credit amount.

The three new game launches join Rakin’ Bacon Odyssey and Rakin’ Bacon Sahara, fresh off their omnichannel debuts.

In addition to Rakin’ Bacon, AGS will show games that employ features of popular current game families. Derivatives of Triple Coin Treasures will include the Triple Coin Treasures Gold game family. “We took the feature elements from the original version of Triple Coin Treasures and added an extra element of surprise with the fourth pot, plus an instant-win bonus,” DeDeaux says.

“We’re really leaning into a lot of the proven math models and mechanics and brands, and iterating off of those.”

New Families

In addition to brand extensions and derivatives, AGS will display some totally new game families at G2E. One highlight of the show will be the debut of the Lion Cash family on the Spectra SL49+ Premium. Games in this series include a metamorphic feature, leading to a hold-and-spin feature with cash-on-reels and jackpot symbols.

Central to the theme is the lion character, which is wearing a medallion that triggers a feature within the feature. When the lion lands during the feature, the medallion triggers a separate hold-and-spin bonus that plays out before returning to the main feature.

“There are different chambers in the medallion, which are jewels,” DeDeaux explains. “When you land that, the symbol expands, and now you’re landing cash on reels within that, which can be progressives or cash-on-reels coins. It adds all those values and drops the total into the original feature.”

When the pot explodes, it drops coins onto the reel array to help trigger the feature.

Another new game family is called Ascendent Jackpots, on the Spectra SL49+. The inaugural game features a free-spin bonus in which certain symbols lock in place and progress to higher-paying symbols to increase jackpot amounts. The hold-and-spin feature includes arrows that each add a row to the reel array, up to a maximum of 10 rows.

Finally, G2E will host the full launch of the first AGS stepper series, on the new Revel mechanical-reel cabinet. “We did the initial test with our first two titles, and we’re in the process of testing two more new titles,” says DeDeaux. “At G2E, we’ll do the full launch, with four game families and eight new titles.”

The series includes mechanical steppers with the popular “nudge” feature, and a game series featuring number symbols that form a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” winning combination.

“When you look at our whole portfolio of products, what you’re going to see at G2E this year is a really strong mix of new creative ideas,” DeDeaux says. “When we say ‘we’re delivering,’ our confidence level just continues to grow in our ability to build high-performing games and match those up with a cabinet portfolio, to where we believe we can service every area of a casino floor today.”