Bally to bring 'Pong' game to slot machine floor

LAS VEGAS - Nevada gambling regulators on Thursday approved the concept behind "Bally Pong," a slot machine that would for the first time allow hand-eye coordination to affect payout.

The game, outfitted with retro lettering and chrome fixtures, is a throwback to the landmark arcade game released by Atari Inc. in 1972 in which thin paddles controlled by a knob bounce a digitized square ball back and forth across a hashed line.

Atari licensed the game for use on the machine.

Bally said it was the first in a series of skill games it planned, including "Breakout," a Pong-like game that awards points for hitting bricks with a ball.

The slot machine, developed by Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies Inc., enters a 45-second game of Pong after three bonus icons line up on the five-reel video slot machine, a one-in-70 occurrence.

The Nevada Gaming Commission approved the game on the condition that the bonus round offer a payout regardless of one's Pong ability.

"No matter how badly you do, you're always going to get a minimum award," said Bally vice president Mark Lerner, who demonstrated the game at the commission meeting.

The difference in payout between the best player and the worst is roughly seven percent of the total amount wagered, the company said.

The minimum payout percentage on slot machines in Nevada is 75 percent, but many casinos run machines above 90 percent.

The game has been approved by regulators in Michigan and Bally plans to roll out the machine at a casino in Detroit "within a month," said David Schultz, the company's director of game development. Bally has also submitted the device to New Jersey regulators.

It will get lab testing and a field trial before getting final approval in Nevada.

Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard suggested future server-based games could feature two players on different slot machines playing Pong head-to-head.

"It does present the possibility for a great deal of excitement on the casino floor," he said.