Compare.bet speaks with Light & Wonder’s Chief Commercial Officer Bob Hays on their record-setting figures in North America

Light & Wonder recently reached new heights in North America with the release of Hurricane Horse Coin Combo. Having already dazzled players in key regulated markets across Europe, this Asian-themed game smashed opening-week records in the three US states that the game was made available in at launch.

We received an exclusive insight from Bob Hays, Light & Wonder’s Chief Commercial Officer and acting Managing Director in the Americas to learn more about the core features and mechanics of this standout slot, as well as discovering some of the performance data that make this particular release so impressive.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Bob. Firstly, can you start by telling us a little bit about Hurricane Horse Coin Combo? 

Asian-themed slot Hurricane Horse is the latest in the Coin Combo family of games, proudly following in the footsteps of the hugely popular Marvelous Mouse. 

With five reels and 243 ways to win, it retains all of the classic features and mechanics seen in previous Coin Combo games, with some additional extras to really spice things up such as sticky wilds that move along the reels and added wilds that appear during free spins. 

Players are tasked with filling three coloured elemental Fu-pots with coins that will blow open when full. Doing so kick-starts the Free Spins Bonus Round or the lucrative Jackpot Pick Round that can award a one of four Fu-Babies fixed jackpots.

The Mini, Minor, Major and Grand jackpots pay 25x, 60x, 250x, or 1,250x the player’s stake respectively, meaning there are some really big cash prizes to be won. 

You say that Hurricane Horse Coin Combo is your most successful slot release in North America to-date. Can you elaborate on some the opening week figures? 

In terms of opening-week numbers, Hurricane Horse has eclipsed our previous best performing game on launch, Marvelous Mouse, to become the biggest US launch of all time. During those first seven days it saw $16.7 million wagered in Pennsylvania, $12.9m in Michigan and $1.4m in West Virginia, which is a staggering amount. 

In terms of game rounds, the slot was spun a total of 23.74 million times in the first seven days, putting it ahead of well-established titles such as 88 Fortunes, Hypernova Megaways and Jin Ji Bao Xi: Endless Treasure.

As a company with its roots firmly set in the United States, we know just how great of an opportunity the iGaming industry offers in North America, if we work to achieve our goal of becoming the leading global games company then we need to succeed in these markets. 

So far, it’s been really encouraging to see our headline slots flourish online, it certainly helps us finetune our North American game offering.

Hurricane Horse Coin Combo was released in Europe last year. Why do you think this game type has been so popular in the United States?

Ever since we launched our online offering in the United States it became clear that players have vastly different preferences to those in Europe and other regulated markets. 

You must take into account that the majority of North American players will only be familiar with slot games that were available to them in brick and motor casinos, so the fact that they have gravitated towards games that are recognisable and have a traditional feel to them is no surprise. The success of the Coin Combo family across the region can be seen as a great example of how we leverage our proven, popular casino floor titles within the digital space, thus expanding their appeal to new digital player segments.

We have a varied portfolio of titles at Light & Wonder, so offering a tailored approach to the North American market was never really an issue for us. If in time we find that players are seeking slots with more varied and complex game mechanics, then we’ll certainly be able to offer them.

Considering this slot has been such a commercial success do you now plan on releasing more games in the Coin Combo series to satisfy fans?

I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be releasing two more Coin Combo games in the coming months, Terrific Tiger and Carnival Cow. Both games expand on the hugely successful series that many players will have seen and played online and in casinos across the US.

Like Hurricane Horse, these will both be five-reel, 243 ways to win slots that feature three lucrative red, blue and green elemental Fu-pots that play a huge part in winning players incredible cash prizes. 

We expect these games to be at least as successful as Hurricane Horse upon their release, as North American players have really come to expect multiple title releases from top-performing Light & Wonder game franchises and families. We are anticipating that there will be a continued hunger for new content of this type within this growing market.