Four Queens plans new Sigma Derby game installation in Las Vegas

Four Queens is scheduled to install a newly manufactured Sigma Derby game in downtown Las Vegas next year, according to the Las Vegas Advisor. The installation would be the first new Sigma Derby machine placed into service in decades, the report said.

Three firms collaborated on the updated game: Next Gaming, Highbrow Gaming and VSR Industries. Terry Caudill, who owns the Four Queens property, founded Next Gaming and remains its owner, making his involvement in the revival a natural fit.

Externally the machine looks much as it always did, yet its inner workings have been brought up to date. It now accepts bills and handles payouts through ticket-in/ticket-out technology, and a digital screen shows which horses won earlier races. Wagers run from a quarter up to $5, and venues may choose a theoretical return-to-player rate anywhere from 86% to 94%.

The revamped game was unveiled at last month's Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, where industry reports said the reproduction was so faithful to the original that some observers took it for a restored vintage machine.

Sigma Derby was first introduced in 1985 by Japan's Sigma Game Inc. and became a fixture in Las Vegas casinos through the late 1990s. Maintaining the machines became difficult as replacement parts grew scarce and ageing mechanisms needed constant attention.

The last remaining machine in public use is at Golden Gate. It originally operated at the New Frontier before being removed and stored; Derek Stevens' team located and restored it after he acquired Fitzgeralds in 2011, and it was installed on the second floor when the property reopened as The D in 2012. Stevens moved the game from The D to Golden Gate, which he also owns, and a parade accompanied the machine along Fremont Street on 16 June 2026.

Stevens told Casino.org in 2022 that the vintage feel of the second floor was the aim when Fitzgeralds was bought. "I always had a special place in my heart for Sigma Derby, and it was perfect for the vibe we were going for," he said.