WMS Gaming
Encyclopedia
WMS Gaming is a manufacturer of slot machines, video lottery terminals and software to help casino
s manage their gaming operations. The company is based in Waukegan, Illinois
.
. In 1991, operating under the name Williams Gaming, the company introduced video lottery terminal
s. Williams subsequently entered the casino gaming business with a video poker game, followed by a line of slot machines. Williams Gaming became WMS Gaming in 1999 and has since focused exclusively on the manufacture, sale, leasing, licensing and management of gaming machines.
In 2001 after WMS Gaming had gained significant market share with video-based slot machines employing multiple reel combinations, a glitch was uncovered in the company's underlying software that allowed players to earn credits without paying for them. WMS Gaming spent the next couple of years developing a new operating platform, which debuted in 2003. CPU-NXT employed a faster, more open architecture that took advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by Intel and other PC component vendors. The slot machine platform is based on the Linux
operating system, initially ran on an Intel Pentium III
processor and was the first to use flash memory
rather than erasable programmable read only memory
.
WMS Industries acquired a second subsidiary, Netherlands
-based gaming company Orion Financement Company B.V., in July 2006. WMS Gaming often exhibits Orion products at international venues.
For UK residents over 18 years old, WMS has launched an online casino www.jackpotparty.com
-themed slots and continuing with themes based on The Wizard of Oz
, Star Trek
and Top Gun
, licensed from Turner Entertainment
, Hasbro
, CBS Studios
and Paramount Pictures
, respectively.
Some of WMS Gaming's product designs reflect the changing demographics of its industry. Younger players raised on video games often seek more challenging experiences, both physical and mental, than do women age 55 to 65–the traditional audience for slot machines. Accordingly, some of the company's machines incorporate surround sound, flat-panel display screens and animated, full-color images.
The company also manufactures the G+ series of video reel slots, the Community Gaming family of interconnected slots, as well as mechanical reels, poker games, and video lottery terminals.
WMS Gaming technologies include:
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s manage their gaming operations. The company is based in Waukegan, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
History
WMS Gaming is one of two subsidiaries of WMS Industries, whose roots date back to the 1943 founding of Williams Manufacturing Company. Williams produced a line of pinball machines and video arcade games, spinning the latter business into a separate company, Midway GamesMidway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
. In 1991, operating under the name Williams Gaming, the company introduced video lottery terminal
Video Lottery Terminal
A Video Lottery Terminal or VLT is a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game.A VLT is similar to a slot machine, in that each terminal is a stand-alone device containing a random-number generator...
s. Williams subsequently entered the casino gaming business with a video poker game, followed by a line of slot machines. Williams Gaming became WMS Gaming in 1999 and has since focused exclusively on the manufacture, sale, leasing, licensing and management of gaming machines.
In 2001 after WMS Gaming had gained significant market share with video-based slot machines employing multiple reel combinations, a glitch was uncovered in the company's underlying software that allowed players to earn credits without paying for them. WMS Gaming spent the next couple of years developing a new operating platform, which debuted in 2003. CPU-NXT employed a faster, more open architecture that took advantage of the economies of scale enjoyed by Intel and other PC component vendors. The slot machine platform is based on the Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
operating system, initially ran on an Intel Pentium III
Pentium III
The Pentium III brand refers to Intel's 32-bit x86 desktop and mobile microprocessors based on the sixth-generation P6 microarchitecture introduced on February 26, 1999. The brand's initial processors were very similar to the earlier Pentium II-branded microprocessors...
processor and was the first to use flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
rather than erasable programmable read only memory
EPROM
An EPROM , or erasable programmable read only memory, is a type of memory chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. In other words, it is non-volatile. It is an array of floating-gate transistors individually programmed by an electronic device that supplies higher voltages...
.
WMS Industries acquired a second subsidiary, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-based gaming company Orion Financement Company B.V., in July 2006. WMS Gaming often exhibits Orion products at international venues.
For UK residents over 18 years old, WMS has launched an online casino www.jackpotparty.com
Products, technology
WMS Gaming's products have reflected, and at times driven the industry trend away from generic, mechanical slot machines and toward games that incorporate familiar intellectual properties and more creative ways to pay off. For more than a century beginning in the late 1800s, mechanical slot machine reels employed limited themes: card suits, horseshoes, bells and stars, varieties of fruit, black bars and the Liberty Bell. WMS Gaming first embellished this model with the 1996 video slot machine Reel ‘em In, which introduced multi-line and multi-coin secondary bonus pay-outs. Later, the company began licensing household brand names, beginning with its MonopolyMonopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
-themed slots and continuing with themes based on The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
and Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
, licensed from Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, CBS Studios
CBS Studios
Can refer to the following : *CBS, Television Network.*CBS Studio Center, a television and motion picture production facility in Studio City, California*CBS Broadcast Center, main New York City studio complex on W...
and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, respectively.
Some of WMS Gaming's product designs reflect the changing demographics of its industry. Younger players raised on video games often seek more challenging experiences, both physical and mental, than do women age 55 to 65–the traditional audience for slot machines. Accordingly, some of the company's machines incorporate surround sound, flat-panel display screens and animated, full-color images.
The company also manufactures the G+ series of video reel slots, the Community Gaming family of interconnected slots, as well as mechanical reels, poker games, and video lottery terminals.
WMS Gaming technologies include:
- Transmissive Reels gaming platform, which employs video animation that is displayed around, over and seemingly interactively with mechanical reels. The technology is based on the CPU-NXT2 operating platform.
- CPU-NXT2 operating platform, which incorporates an Intel Pentium IV class processor, up to 2 gigabytes of random access memory, an ATIAtiAs a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...
3-D graphics chip-set, and a 40 gigabyte hard disk drive.
- Bluebird2 gaming cabinet, which includes a dual 22-inch wide screen, high-definition displaysHigh-definition televisionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, Bose speakers, and an illuminated printer and bill acceptor.