Carnival Cruise Line And IGT Commemorate 20 Years Of Wheel Of Fortune® Slots With Year-Long Celebration

MIAMI, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Cruise Line and International Game Technology PLC ("IGT") (NYSE: IGT) have partnered to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the IGT Wheel of Fortune® slot machines, featured aboard all Carnival ships and in casinos worldwide. 

The World's Most Popular Cruise Line® and the world's leading end-to-end gaming company will reward players with free cruises and a variety of exciting giveaways throughout 2016. The brands are also partnering with the most successful syndicated game show in television history, Wheel of Fortune, on a first-ever Carnival Cruise Line-themed week featuring an exciting viewer sweepstakes.

Carnival Cruise Line and IGT
During 2016, Carnival and IGT's partner casinos will give away hundreds of free cruises on the Carnival Magic.  The winners will participate in the onboard Spin N Sail slot tournament featuring the IGT Wheel of Fortune slot machines exclusively during an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Carnival Magic from Port Canaveral, Fla., in November 2016.  The $200,000 prize pool, provided by IGT, includes a $100,000 grand prize to be taken home by one lucky winner.  IGT customers across the U.S. and Canada will host qualifying events where winning players are awarded a free cruise for two and an entry into the grand finale $200,000 tournament. 

"Wheel of Fortune slots and Carnival cruises are synonymous with fun and excitement, so IGT's partnership with Carnival Cruise Line provides the ideal way to celebrate 20 years of Wheel of Fortune slots," said Victor Duarte, IGT global chief product officer, gaming.  "We appreciate the continued partnership between Carnival Cruise Line and IGT.  Featuring Wheel of Fortune slots on all 24 Carnival cruise ships gives the games great exposure to millions of people, and has played a valuable role in helping IGT's Wheel of Fortune slots become the most popular casino slot brand of all time."

"We're delighted to team up with IGT to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the wildly popular Wheel of Fortune slot machines and provide consumers with a number of fantastic prizes, including the opportunity to win $100,000 in the Spin N Sail tournament," said Mike Hunssinger Turek, vice president of casino commercial operations for Carnival Cruise Line. "We're also excited to offer a variety of special Wheel of Fortune-themed activities on board and be a part of Spin & Sail Week on this iconic show," he added. 

Introduced in 1996, the Wheel of Fortune slot machines have become a player favorite in shipboard casinos, including all 24 Carnival Cruise Line vessels, as well as in casinos on land.  IGT has placed more than 200 versions of Wheel of Fortune slots in casinos around the world, and the game has awarded more than $3 billion in jackpots and minted more than 1,000 millionaires.  Players enjoy how Wheel of Fortune slots capture the spirit and creativity of the popular television game show produced by Sony Pictures. 

Throughout 2016, Carnival will also host a number of Wheel of Fortune-themed events across the fleet that will include special branded items and on-board activities and games every sailing, including the popular Wheel of Fortune scratch-off game where guests can win up to $30,000.  Additionally, each sailing will feature a Wheel of Fortune prize wheel offering a wide range of prizes, everything from Carnival logo items and Casino Cash to entry into the $200,000 Spin N Sail slot tournament.

Wheel of Fortune
The 20^th anniversary Wheel of Fortune slot festivities will also include a "Spin & Sail Week" with five Carnival Cruise Line-themed shows airing this spring on the iconic game show that inspired the slot machine. Spin & Sail Week" airing March 21-25, 2016, will feature a custom, tropical-themed set with high-definition Carnival ship images and footage.  Contestants will be able to win Carnival cruises to a variety of exotic destinations including the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska.

In preparation for the broadcast, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and the Wheel of Fortune crew went on location to shoot customized segments aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship. 

The "Wheel of Fortune Spin & Sail Sweepstakes," will encourage viewers to watch "Spin & Sail Week" on Wheel of Fortune and enter each night's bonus puzzle solution at www.wheeloffortune.com. Twenty winning entries will be selected, and the grand prize will be an eight-day Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival Magic to be taken in November 2016 with a guaranteed spot in the Spin N Sail $200,000 slot tournament.

For additional information and reservations on Carnival's cruise offerings, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit carnival.com.  

Carnival can also be found on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/carnivalcruise
Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/carnival
YouTube: www.youtube.com/carnival
Instagram: www.instagram.com/carnival
Journalists also can visit Carnival's media site, www.carnival-news.com  or follow the line's PR department on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CarnivalPR.

About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 24 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.  The company currently has two new 133,500-ton ships on order -- Carnival Vista, set to debut in 2016, and an as-yet-unnamed vessel scheduled to enter service in 2018.

About IGT
IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Interactive and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has approximately 13,000 employees. For more information, please visit www.IGT.com.

About Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune has been the number one syndicated game show since its inception and has earned seven Emmy Awards, including a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show. With more than 26 million viewers per week, syndication's most successful series continues to attract a larger audience than many primetime television shows.  Wheel of Fortune is produced in High Definition by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company.  It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Studios International, both units of CBS Corp.

MEDIA CONTACTS
For Carnival Cruise Line
Vance Gulliksen
305-406-5464
media@carnival.com

For IGT
Phil O'Shaughnessy (702) 669-2975
Ortal Dahan (702) 669-7662   

For Wheel of Fortune
Krista Ostensen Osche
310-244-6286
Krista_ostensen@spe.sony.com

©2016 Califon Productions, Inc. "Wheel of Fortune" is a registered trademark of Califon Productions, Inc.  All Rights Reserved. 

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SOURCE IGT