Coming to a casino near you: Alfred Hitchcock, James Bond and Marcia Brady

It has been 54 years since seagulls, sparrows and crows terrorized California townfolks in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” And it has been 65 years since Gene Kelly splashed through puddles in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

But those movies, and plenty of other classic entertainment, will get a rebirth of sorts this year, in the form of slot machines.

Earlier this month, slot manufacturers displayed their latest attractions at the annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. It’s the time to see what games will be appearing in the coming months at casinos, including those in South Florida.

Because the average slot player is over 50, there’s quite the trend toward familiar names. Also new this year are slots from the “Knight Rider” TV show (1982-86) and the James Bond 007 movie franchise, with images of Bond dating back to 1962’s “Dr. No.” Eventually, 24 machines, one for each movie, will be available, featuring the six different actors who portrayed Ian Fleming’s debonair British agent. Plenty of villains and Bond girls, too.

Everi Games might lay claim to being the nostalgia king, acquiring licenses to “The Brady Bunch,” “Willie Nelson,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Knight Rider” and “Singin’ in the Rain.” (You can’t just slap up photos on a slot machine and market it; like anything else, there are licensing rights to be negotiated.)

The Brady Bunch machine, for example, has a “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” bonus round — based on the famous complaint about inequities in attention made by middle sister Jan.

“We really felt there was something iconic about that ’70s feel,” said Linda V. Trinh, vice president of marketing for Everi. “But younger generations know about ‘The Brady Bunch,’ too.”

Slot maker IGT, which created the Hitchcock game, asks itself questions when evaluating brands, said Kurt Larsen, vice president for premium game studios

“Is the brand recognizable? Is it fun? Is there some nostalgia behind it?” Larsen asks. “And most importantly, does it offer a strong narrative that IGT game designers can play off of to make a compelling game?”

For the Hitchcock game, IGT enhanced the visuals through black-and-white photography, music from the TV spinoff “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and video from the movies “The Birds,” “Vertigo” and “Psycho.”

A big game from 2016’s show, Casablanca, is now at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

But a quick note: Not all the games coming out are based on old TV shows and movies. There’s Steve Aoki’s Neon Dream, based on Aoki’s 2014 album, Neon Future. Naturally, the soundtrack is house and electronic dance music titles from Aoki’s Dim Mak label.

The game, produced by GameCo, is called a skill-based game, meaning that payouts are based less on luck and more on how the player navigates the challenges, which in this case is an “endless runner” video game. (Kind of like playing Donkey Kong for money.)

Video poker and Vegas

I’d like to take a minute to better explain the game of video poker, which has been in the news this month since it was revealed it was the favorite game of the person who shot and killed 58 people in Las Vegas. (I’m not using his name.)

News reports spoke of how the man played high-stakes video poker, wagering as much as $1 million in one night. But that figure is kind of murky. If a person puts $100 in a slot machine, cycles it through and wins $90, then, say $80, is he wagering $100 or the total of $270? If you use the latter figure, then even cheap old me has had nights of wagering $1,000 or more.

It’s also important to note that video poker is not what casino owners like for you to play. First off, the game has the highest return rate of almost everything else on the floor, with some versions paying back 99 percent to those who use the optimum strategy. (And a word about optimum strategy: books have been written and websites have been dedicated to learning what to throw away and what to keep in every single video poker situation. I prefer to play the Jacks or Better version of video poker. If I’m dealt a king, a jack and two fours, for example, the novice player will fold the two fours, and hope to be dealt a king or a jack to make their one pair. But the documented correct play is to keep the fours, in hopes of being dealt three of a kind, or making two pair.)

Reports from Las Vegas show that the gunman, like many video poker players, was quite studious, and they tracked down old purchases he made of Bob Dancer’s Video Poker for Winners tutorial software, The Video Poker Answer Book by John Growchowski and The Slot Expert’s Guide to Playing Slots by John Robison.

Because the machines are not that lucrative to casinos, it is more difficult to build up players’ club points. One casino, for example, rewards one point for every $10 spent on slots, but to get that same one point on video poker, a person must cycle through $20.

I play $1.25 a hand video poker (five lines of the 25 cent bet). Based on what video poker players have told me, the gunman likely wagered $125 per push. That’s still a very healthy amount, but not the same as a true slot high roller or a blackjack whale.

This week

▪ Hialeah Park has moved the starting time up an hour for its poker tournaments to 6 p.m. There’s a $75 event on Mondays (with a free buffet and a $5,000 guarantee) and a $100 buy-in on Wednesdays (with a $10,000 guarantee).

▪ Los Angeles comic Tonio Skits will host a night of comedy at 9 p.m. Friday at Magic City Casino that benefits a man known only as Paul, who gained attention from an internet video after Hurricane Irma (https://www.gofundme.com/help-a-stranger-named-paul). Plus Pierre (Comedy Central), Ramon Garcia (Ultimate Miami Comedian), Jamal Hattar (Deco Drive) and Henessy Williams (HBO) are on the bill. General admission is $20. At 9 p.m. Saturday, Stevie B, Judy Torres and Nayobe host a freestyle show at Magic City Casino. Tickets are $20.

▪ Calder Casino is running a food drive for Feeding South Florida, giving $5 in free slot play to those who bring at least $5 in new, unopened packages, such as hygiene items and canned food. Bring a receipt if your gift total is close.

▪ Seminole Classic will accept donations for its Wall of Hope through October. Guests who donate $1 will have their name featured on the Wall, and those who donate $10 or more will receive a complimentary breast cancer awareness T-shirt. All proceeds benefit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

▪ The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood gives away gift cards worth $25 to $1,000 to those who earn 10 comp dollars from before 4 p.m. on Sunday. Gift card brands include Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and Publix.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Coming to a casino near you: Alfred Hitchcock, James Bond and Marcia Brady."