Las Vegas Weekly

September 4, 2010 · 10:36 AM

Michael Godard creates unique Rockin’ Olives slot machine

By Robin Leach

Michael Godard's Rockin Olives slot machine.

Photo: Courtesy

A new era of gaming is on its way, and forget what you remember of old-fashioned slot machines. The one-armed bandits simply aren’t ever going to be the same again thanks to Las Vegas pop artist Michael Godard.

Michael decided that it was time for the art world to meet the gaming industry and vice versa. His new Godard’s Rockin’ Olives machine is truly a work of art -- he hand-painted every frame of the outrageous new game from gaming giant Aristocrat Technologies.

Michael, whose works hang in worldwide galleries and even in the Pentagon, admits that he loves to play, but he wanted something really extraordinary and totally different. With Aristocrat, they developed a fun game with three lower-level progressive jackpots and the top jackpot linked to an entire bank, with his trademark “olive” being wild and allowing to substitute for any symbol except dice, which are flaming.

There’s a lightning trigger into a sixth reel, which spins off four other bonus games from the pop world. They are the Rock Show, the Risky Rhythms’, the Guitar Battle and a final World Tour. They all combine interactive video on two 22-inch HD widescreen monitors, making it an art gallery on the casino floor.

In all, a 2-cent game can work all the way up to a $3,000 jackpot. Forget three cherries; now it’s five olives!

Michael, who has several art galleries at our Las Vegas hotels, said: “They gave me carte blanche so that if it was in my head, they were dedicated to make it happen. It’s resulted in a game that is more than out of the box -- it’s a game that never knew the box existed. We’ve really put entertainment into gaming.”

There’s an incredible backstory to his work as the “Rock Star of the Art World.” In 2006, his daughter Paige died after a battle with brain cancer, and since then he’s dedicated his artwork in a goal to raise $60 million to fight the war against cancer.

“All the money in the world cannot bring her back,” he said, “But the funds I help raise for a cure will save another child -- many children.”

The first Rockin’ Olive machines have just shipped to select California and Colorado casinos on American Indian reservations and will be landing here in Las Vegas, where Michael has lived his entire life, for this November’s G2E gaming convention.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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