Advertise on podcast: Bonus Round: An Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Podcast

G2E 2026 is in the books, and EKG's annual operator roundtable is back to discuss the highlights. Brendan Moore is joined by Jordan Whitten of MGM Resorts International, Chris Colwell of Boyd Gaming, and Wayne Nelson of Gila River Resorts & Casinos, gathering Las Vegas Strip & locals, regional and tribal perspectives on one panel. They get into core product showcased, premium game trends, which suppliers are impressing year-over-year, and mechanics likely to translate to performance. Plus some discussion on ETGs, Systems, and Cashless.

With G2E at the Venetian Expo, the Venetian and Palazzo casino floors are the first thing attendees walk through, and Rick Luthy's team touches roughly 600 of their 2,300 slots to get them ready. The VP of Slot Operations joins Bonus Round two weeks out from the show to talk about his perspective on what makes operating on the Strip different from a locals or tribal floor, and how his strategy as a buyer has changed over the years. Also in Rick's view, which 2025 releases actually delivered, and what he's watching from the mid-size and smaller suppliers.

Games Global has climbed to a consistent top-five spot by GGR share in EKG's US Online Game Performance Database (OGPD) tracking, with 1,300+ exclusive games across 40+ studios. Joanne Pierce, US Chief Commercial Officer, and Kimber Fargher, Games Strategy Manager, join Brendan Moore and Malyssa Hinds to trace the path since the Super Group DGC acquisition, from building a US team from scratch to earning operator trust partner by partner and state by state. They discuss the ecosystem of independent studios, when to gamble on a new feature versus give a proven brand a sequel, what's working right now in mechanics like Cash Collect, and where branded IP still earns its place. Plus discussing the industry's content volume and helping players find the right game. This episode is Bonus Round's first topic on real-money online gaming.

In this episode of Bonus Round, Brendan Moore and Jennifer Bell, President of Egads, explore the art and science of casino merchandising and experiential design. They cover everything from retail-inspired floor psychology to triggerable signage that turns a single jackpot into a floor-wide event. This is a rare look at how hardware and atmosphere shape the way players experience a casino.

In this episode of Bonus Round, Brendan Moore and Jared Book are joined by Ari Mizrachi of Tangam Systems for a status update on True Persistence games. The discussion explores the spectrum of True Persistence styles from short-cycle to long-cycle and digs into what GPD data reveals about performance and design trends. The conversation also covers impacts that fall outside standard floor KPIs, including what True Persistence means for the retail player experience and what operators can actually do about it.

In this episode of Bonus Round, Brendan Moore and Jared Book speak with Dan Marks, SVP of Gaming at Aristocrat and founder of Gimme Games, following Aristocrat's big night at the 8th Annual EKG Slot Awards. Dan shares the story behind how successful slot games are created, from early hits like Sky Rider to recent award-winning titles like Spooky Link. The conversation explores how modern game development blends creativity, math models, and data-driven testing to identify themes that resonate with players. For operators, suppliers, aspiring game designers, and anyone curious about what happens behind the scenes of the slot machine business, this episode offers a rare inside look at how award-winning games come to life.

In this episode, the EKG Game Performance Database team reviews nominees for the 8th Annual EKG Slot Awards' Most Innovative Land-Based Slot Game category. We also break down our latest Data Insights report on key attributes and mechanics shaping 2025's new Core Video releases. This episode gets technical, diving into the nuts and bolts of the innovations pushing the industry forward.

This episode features a discussion with EKG's Game Performance Database (GPD) analyst team. From game and cabinet innovation to core vs. premium products and supplier highlights, the team shares what caught their eye. The discussion includes - Brendan Moore - Director, Game Performance & Analytics, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Jared Book - Manager, Game Performance & Analytics, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Linden Peterson - Manager, Game Performance & Analytics, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming

This episode features a recording of our annual Post-G2E operator discussion recorded on Thursday, October 23rd 2025. In this episode, EKG moderates a panel discussion with key operators from locals, regional, destination, and tribal markets about what stood out at this year's show. Panelists discuss their main takeaways from G2E including: broad industry trends, game and cabinet innovation, evolution of core and premium products, supplier callouts, as well as technology and systems.  The panel includes - Moderator: Brendan Moore - Director, Game Performance & Analytics, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming Panelists: Jordan Whitten - Executive Director of Slot Strategy, MGM Resorts International Dan Cherry - President, DC Gaming Consulting  Randy Simpson - Slot Manager, Prairie Band Casino & Resort

In this episode airing the week before G2E 2025, Jared Book speaks with Shawn Cassatt, Director of Product Management at Incredible Technologies, for a deep dive into how the company approaches product strategy from start to finish. Shawn shares how IT balances stays tuned into market trends while also continues to innovate and differentiate. Shawn also weighs in on one of the most discussed topics in the industry today: True Persistence, and how Incredible Technologies positions itself within that conversation and how it is reacting to operator concerns.

Cost-to-cover bets in land-based slot games are on the rise, outpacing general price inflation and shaping player behavior. In this episode, we discuss cost-to-cover inflation is all upside for the industry. Featuring insights from seasoned operator veterans, Fred David and Robert Allen, we explore the impact to the industry.

In this episode, Brendan Moore and Jared Book speak with Sega Sammy CEO Naoki Kameda and President & COO Takashi Maekawa about the company's evolution from its roots in pachinko and arcade gaming to becoming an award-winning slot manufacturer in North America. Topics include: The origin story of Sega Sammy Creation The success of Railroad Riches and the Genesis Atmos cabinet What's next for Sega Sammy: from new themes and expansion

In this episode, Brendan Moore and Jared Book meet with Phil Bernard, Managing Director of Gaming Equipment & Technology, to review the Q1-2025 Slot Survey results. We take a look at those results and compare to historical benchmarks and discuss operators' forward looking outlook in an uncertain macro enivornment. We also discuss sales and gaming ops trends.

Today's episode covers product analysis on a few important game series in the industry: Light & Wonder's Huff N Puff and Aristocrat's Dragon Link and the newly debuted Phoenix Link. The Game Performance & Analytics team also discusses some product segment trends with insights from the recent Cabinet Sales & Lease report.

In the premiere episode of Bonus Round, Brendan Moore and Jared Book from the EKG Game Performance team sit down to discuss some insights from recent operator polls and land-based slot trends in 2024.