KESTENBAUM: For casinos, the beauty of these games is that, like slot machines, they can adjust the pay out so they always make a profit. Eric says for a $20 wager, if you hit the jackpot, you could get 2,000 bucks. The better you are at the whole zombie cat thing, the better chance you have at winning money. We launched the dogs from a catapult at cats that are holed up in some kind of fortification. KESTENBAUM: It's basically 'Angry Birds' but with police dogs. (SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO GAME, 'POLICE POOCHES VERSUS ZOMBIE CATS') KESTENBAUM: 'Cashteroids' is still under development, but 'Police Pooches Versus Zombie Cats' - that one's ready. MEYERHOFER: (Laughter, imitating phaser sound). MEYERHOFER: (Laughter) How do I make a phaser powering up sound? Remember that old arcade game 'Asteroids?' Gamblit has 'Cashteroids' - I know. They're making video games, but with one key difference.

Gamblit is one of several companies trying to develop replacements for slot machines. Meyerhofer is now CEO of a company called Gamblit. By comparison, slot machines can seem truly mindless. The most popular ones are games of skill - games you can practice at, get better at. People spend an extraordinary amount of time playing games on their phones. Actually, tower defense games are my weakness. KESTENBAUM: As it happened, mine was on the table - my phone, or as I like to call it, the 'Angry Birds' machine. MEYERHOFER: Look, I think the answer is probably sitting on the desk right in front of you or in your pocket. It turns out the lotteries, the state lotteries, are having the same problem. MEYERHOFER: That's what the stats are showing. Meyehofer thinks they're generally less interested in games that just depend on luck.ĭo you really think games of chance are getting less popular? I mean, they've found dice in ancient Greek ruins, you know? But if you look at the people who play slot machines, only 2 percent of them are under the age of 35.

They actually go a lot, more than any other age group. He used to work in the slot machine business. As one young guy at a casino told me recently, slots, he said, slot machines are for zombies.ĮRIC MEYERHOFER: They have no interest in slot machines whatsoever. They vacuum up money all day long - nickel here, quarter there, dollars. David Kestenbaum with NPR's Planet Money team spoke with a man who thinks he has the solution.ĭAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: If you run a casino, slot machines must seem like one of the greatest inventions of all time. So casinos are trying to replace the slots. For instance, you can try to match up different types of sea creatures, but that hasn't quite done the trick with younger players. Now, they've advanced way beyond cherries and lemons.

Casinos are also trying to attract a younger crowd.

Young patrons casino night