Sigma Derby is an electro-mechanical horse race used for gambling manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Sigma Game Inc. and introduced in 1985. [1] Up to ten players can buy in with quarters and place bets on the five horses; a quinella of two horses in any order pays out according to the odds. The house has roughly a 10-20% advantage, depending on the machine. [2]
After the closing of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, there’s only one remaining Sigma Derby machine in Las Vegas. It is located at The D Las Vegas in Downtown Las Vegas. [3]
Atlantic City is home of one Sigma Derby type machine in the Tropicana hotel and casino, known as Royal Derby.
Two new versions of a racing game similar to Sigma Derby made their debut at the G2E Conference in Las Vegas, NV in 2015. One was a prototype game called "Classic Derby," made by manufacturing company VSR Industries. [4] [5] Another was a game called Royal Derby, made by Slovenian gaming company Alfastreet.
Field trials of additional Sigma Derby games are planned for Las Vegas [6] by Next Gaming, in partnership with Highbrow Gaming LLC and VSR Industries, in 2026, following a re-launch of the game at Pechanga Resort Casino in Southern California. [7] The Vegas trial is expected to take place at either Four Queens or Binion’s, both of which are owned by Next Gaming founder Terry Caudill. [8]