Slot games Casino

Casinos are also trying to attract a younger crowd. One obstacle may be slot machines. Now, they've advanced way beyond cherries and lemons. For instance, you can try to match up different types of sea creatures, but that hasn't quite done the trick with younger players. So casinos are trying to replace the slots. David Kestenbaum with NPR's Planet Money team spoke with a man who thinks he has the solution.

DAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: If you run a casino, slot machines must seem like one of the greatest inventions of all time. You line them up on your casino floor. They vacuum up money all day long - nickel here, quarter there, dollars. The players, though, tend to be older. As one young guy at a casino told me recently, slots, he said, slot machines are for zombies.

ERIC MEYERHOFER: They have no interest in slot machines whatsoever. They find them kind of boring.

KESTENBAUM: This is Eric Meyerhofer. He used to work in the slot machine business. Young people do go to casinos, he says. They actually go a lot, more than any other age group. But if you look at the people who play slot machines, only 2 percent of them are under the age of 35. Meyehofer thinks they're generally less interested in games that just depend on luck.

Do you really think games of chance are getting less popular? I mean, they've found dice in ancient Greek ruins, you know?

MEYERHOFER: That's what the stats are showing. In fact, it isn't just in casino gaming. It turns out the lotteries, the state lotteries, are having the same problem.

KESTENBAUM: And why now?

MEYERHOFER: Look, I think the answer is probably sitting on the desk right in front of you or in your pocket.

KESTENBAUM: As it happened, mine was on the table - my phone, or as I like to call it, the "Angry Birds" machine. Actually, tower defense games are my weakness. People spend an extraordinary amount of time playing games on their phones. The most popular ones are games of skill - games you can practice at, get better at. By comparison, slot machines can seem truly mindless. Meyerhofer is now CEO of a company called Gamblit. Gamblit is one of several companies trying to develop replacements for slot machines. They're making video games, but with one key difference. If you're good, you can win real money. Remember that old arcade game "Asteroids?" Gamblit has "Cashteroids" - I know.

Could you make a sound from it, please?

MEYERHOFER: (Laughter) How do I make a phaser powering up sound?

KESTENBAUM: Try.

MEYERHOFER: (Laughter, imitating phaser sound).

KESTENBAUM: "Cashteroids" is still under development, but "Police Pooches Versus Zombie Cats" - that one's ready.