Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Sometimes when a nugget or two shakes loose, the next thing you know you've got an avalanche of new info coming in. Thanks to Twitter, Google and some sharp sleuthing from VT super-boss Chuckmonster, some additional details on Andrew Pascal's new social/gaming/tech/entertainment company have come to light.

Meet incuBET (come on guys, spring for the dot-com domain too).

According to the SEC, Pascal, along with former WagerWorks exec Paul Matthews and a third partner, Humam Saknini have raised $5 million for their new venture.

My original thought was that these guys were adding some social elements to existing slot and video-based games - say maybe coming up with new ideas and partnering with an existing device maker like IGT (WagerWorks was sold to IGT and Matthews went on to work there so relationships likely run deep). The sparse incuBET homepage almost makes it sound like they want to inject wagering into 'casual gaming', which is the same code phrase used for games on Facebook, the iPhone and iPad.

Could this be a bigger play than originally thought? Obviously, adding betting to Facebook games wouldn't be legal in the United States under current law... and changing that sounds like a mighty big job... If I was incuBET, I'd at least be thinking about that possibility for the long term, while working under existing law to make slots more appealing to younger gamblers in jurisdictions that allow them.

Will we see something from these guys at G2E? That's only weeks away - time will tell but I'd keep an eye on this group.

The scuttlebutt on Twitter this afternoon is that Andrew Pascal, former COO and President of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, is working on a new startup focused on 'social gaming'. Indeed, a view of his LinkedIn profile indicates perhaps something along those lines. His venture firm's Facebook page includes links to two upcoming products: QRious (I assume some sort of QR code nonsense) and another called MyVegas (as an aside, 'MyVegas' is also the name of the social networking feature on popular travel Web site VegasTripping.com).

The word is that he's started a new company, including former execs from companies like MGM Resorts. That gaming company has reportedly expressed interest in Pascal's new operation and may be the first to roll out any new products they reveal.

Before his stint at Wynn, Pascal ran wagerworks, a startup devoted to online gaming. Pascal is the nephew of Wynn Resorts director Elaine Wynn.

For a long time I've been saying that younger gamblers are pretty bored by slot machines and features like interactions with Facebook, Twitter, etc... seem overdue. Perhaps this is a move in that direction? I've met Pascal a few times but to say I know him would be massively overstating. Still, my impression is that he's a very smart guy and sees the tech blind spot that a lot of these gaming and hospitality companies have.

What is Pascal working on? If you have any info, email us and let us know. Anonymity guaranteed!

Matthew Farley, author of "Good Food, Good Whiskey, and a Good Gamble: Outdated Nostaligia or Still Effective Today?" was kind enough to write up and share his thoughts after attending G2E in Las Vegas.

This dovetails nicely with yesterday's Vegas Gang coverage of the event.

Thanks to Matthew for sharing his insights - I'm sure you'll all enjoy this.

Click through for more...

Vegas Gang Podcast #8 has been posted:

http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com

Comments can be posted here on this site, below.

Our guest is Steve Friess and we cover his book, 'Gay Vegas' as well as Las Vegas marketing, MGM Mirage splitting up, casino cheating and more.

The LV Sun gives us a glimpse into CityCenter Casino's server-based slot floor. Will players be apprehensive about a casino's ability to manage the games, denominations, paybacks and players' comp accounts from a central IT office? Or, in this age when everyone, including seniors, are at ease with computers, will the benefits be welcomed? In my opinion, it will be a huge success as long as players don't believe the casino can manage payback with each spin of the reels. This concern can be easily managed with strict controls from gaming regulators and through effective communication strategies by casinos. What does everyone think?
Server- Based Slot Floor At CityCenter

This is exciting - an original piece from a new guest author, Matthew Farley. This piece focuses on video table games, a growing segment of the manufacturing scene.

Big thanks for Matthew for providing this - we hope there's a lot more to come! Anyone else interested in writing something should feel free to get in touch with me at editor AT ratevegas DOT com.

The feature story starts after the jump.