Jennifer Fales
5 QUESTIONS
Jennifer Fales
Vice President , Global Licensing and Social Casino , IGT
If there ’ s one brand that has stood alone as the most popular , longest-running and iconic slot game , Wheel of Fortune is the one . Jennifer Fales has spent a decade promoting this brand , and explains how IGT has kept the game fresh with new styles , platforms and hardware . As the TV version of the show has changed , with its host leaving last year , IGT is keeping pace . Fales spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros in the GGB booth at G2E in Las Vegas in October . To hear and view a full GGB Podcast of this interview where Fales talks about other IGT brands , visit GGBMagazine . com .
1
GGB : We recently did a cover story on the most successful slot game in the history of gaming , which of course is Wheel of Fortune . You ’ ve been able to keep it going for all these years and to keep it fresh , with more changes coming . Explain where we ’ re going with that . Jennifer Fales : About a year and a half ago , we announced our new deal with Sony . Starting on January 1 , we have another 10-year agreement with Sony Pictures for the Wheel of Fortune license . And one of the things we did during this negotiation with Sony was really building in the ability to expand into new product lines . So specifically , we ’ ve released a Wheel of Fortune in the video poker space , in the VLT space , and Wheel of Fortune in ETG . So we ’ re really looking to expand on our Class III premium and also some of our specialty games into these three new verticals .
2
How does it work with video poker ? They don ’ t seem to be very compatible , but obviously you figured out a way to do it . The DNA of the game , especially the base game , is traditional video poker . We found ways to bring in the most iconic element of Wheel of Fortune , which is the wheel spin , of course , and solving a puzzle . So the base game plays very traditionally , and winning hands get letters . Letters fill up a puzzle , and if the player solves a puzzle , it triggers a wheel spin .
3
You ’ ve had a lot of different physical setups for Wheel of Fortune — the community game , two-seaters , large formats . What do you have up your sleeve for new versions ? This year at G2E , we launched three new premium form factors . One of them is a community-style game . So thinking back probably 10 years , we had large-format , nine-seater games around the big wheel . Obviously , knowing that footprint and space is a little bit of a different situation now , we ’ ve created a three-seater with a wheel that spans the seats and kind of modernizes that “ Super Spin ” into a community-type game . We ’ re also launching a Wheel of Fortune on our Skyrise cabinet , which we debuted last year with the Whitney Houston brand . And then we are bringing our Diamond RS ( stepper ) into the Wheel of Fortune space as well . So quite a bit of new hardware and more than a dozen new games .
4
Let ’ s talk about your partnership with Sony . They own the brand , so when you develop a new game , do they actually work hand-in-hand with you to do that ? We definitely work hand-in-hand with Sony . They know the brand better than anybody , but we also know gaming . It ’ s a great partnership of strengths and capabilities . So typically two or three times during the game development process , we meet with Sony , we talk about the game at a conceptual phase , and at the midpoint when we do player focus groups . And then we do a final submission . So throughout the process , we are showing them the game , showing them the artwork and talking about the features and the mechanics , and they approve each step of the way . So it ’ s a great partnership and collaboration .
5
This year , Pat Sajak has retired and Ryan Seacrest has been doing the nighttime version of
Wheel of Fortune . Can we expect to see him here at some point promoting the Wheel of Fortune games ? Ryan launched what Wheel of Fortune is calling their new era . He started his co-hosting with Vanna White . We ’ re excited to see where the show goes and what the future holds . We haven ’ t announced any new talent deals , but it ’ s something that we ’ re actively discussing . It could be very interesting . We ’ ve had a great partnership with Vanna , so it could be something that we see in the future .
“ They Said It ”
“ A lot of our customers , who index on millennial and Gen Z , are interested in sports in general . So we ’ re keenly looking into that space . Nothing to announce just yet , but it ’ s so important to our customers and in culture that we ’ re excited about it .”
— Vlad Tenev , CEO of stock trading platform Robinhood , telling the crowd at a recent investor day presentation that the company is now exploring sports betting opportunities after offering election betting in November
CALENDAR
January 20-22 : ICE Barcelona , Fira Barcelona Gran Via , Barcelona , Spain . Produced by Clarion Gaming . For more information , visit icegaming . com .
February 23-25 : SiGMA Eurasia , Dubai Festival City , Dubai , United Arab Emirates . Produced by SiGMA Group . For more information , visit sigma . world / eurasia .
February 25-27 : SBC Summit Rio , Riocentro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . Produced by SBC Events . For more information , visit sbcevents . com / sbc-summit-rio .
March 10-12 : SiGMA Africa , GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World , Cape Town , South Africa . Produced by SiGMA Group . For more information , visit sigma . world / africa .
March 12-13 : NEXT Summit New York 2025 , Convene , New York , New York . Produced by NEXT . io . For more information , visit next . io / summits / newyork .
March 31-April 3 : Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention , San Diego Convention Center , San Diego , California . Produced by the Indian Gaming Association . For more information , visit indiangamingtradeshow . com .
May 7-9 : Global Gaming Expo ( G2E ) Asia , Venetian Macao , Macau , China . Produced by RX . For more information , visit g2easia . com .
8 Global Gaming Business JANUARY 2025