"I used to have to wait because there were no empty seats, but now there isn't a single machine I actually want to play."
Although Kangwon Land plans to replace and introduce 260 new slot machines in the second half of this year, the exclusion of globally preferred premium machines has sparked criticism that there is "replacement, but no innovation."
According to Kangwon Land on the 21st, they plan to replace a total of 260 machines, including 50 self-developed 'SAVERI' slot machines and approximately 210 units from overseas manufacturers.
However, most of the overseas equipment is reportedly priced around 50 to 60 million KRW per unit, including installation costs. Premium slot machines that are popular in global casinos, costing between 70 million and over 100 million KRW, are virtually impossible to introduce due to internal purchasing regulations and budget execution standards.
Slot machines in global casinos have rapidly evolved beyond simple gaming devices into entertainment content that combines flashy graphics, immersive sound, cinematic bonus sequences, and storytelling.
Conversely, it has long been pointed out that Kangwon Land's price-centric purchasing method prevents them from securing enough globally popular products that customers prefer.
Currently, Kangwon Land operates 1,360 slot machines, but long-term visitors estimate that only about 350 to 400 of them are consistently popular. While popular machines are hard to find empty throughout the day, less preferred machines often sit idle, suggesting that the problem isn't just a lack of machines, but a lack of content that customers actually want.
Customer complaints include, "There are no games I want to play," "The exciting slots from the past are gone," and "Even if I lose money, I need the satisfaction of having had fun to want to come back."
On the Kangwon Land user community 'Jabsuda,' a post titled "Please introduce popular slot machines" has garnered over 7,000 views, reflecting widespread sentiment. Comments continue to demand the active introduction of popular slots currently operating in overseas casinos and an expansion of customer-preferred products.
Kangwon Land's self-developed SAVERI slot machines currently number 370, accounting for 27.2% of all slots. While 50 more are scheduled for introduction this year, some customers evaluate them as lacking compared to popular overseas products in terms of graphics, game composition, bonus sequences, and immersion.
Meanwhile, some long-beloved machines like 'Wang Seobang' and 'Dragon 88' are gradually disappearing due to aging and discontinued parts, further narrowing the range of choices for customers.
Experts point out that slot machine purchasing criteria need to move beyond simple price or specifications and instead reflect customer satisfaction and actual usage data.
The Korea Gaming Tourism Professionals Association has proposed the introduction of a 'Customer-Participatory Slot Machine Evaluation System.' This would involve trial-operating new machines for a certain period and then analyzing machine utilization rates, customer satisfaction, stay duration, and repeat play rates to decide whether to formally introduce them.
An association official stated, "Rather than judging based on the subjective feelings of a few long-term customers, we need a system that makes purchasing decisions based on objective data such as monthly utilization rates, customer dwell time, and revisit rates. We must create a virtuous cycle of boldly replacing unpopular machines and continuously expanding content that customers prefer."
A Kangwon Land representative stated, "There are realistic constraints to introducing global premium slot machines due to the 2,000 KRW maximum bet limit per spin, which has been in place for over 20 years, and our internal purchasing regulations. To expand products with high customer preference, a review of purchasing standards and related systems is necessary."
