Free Spins Slots

For those unfamiliar with the concept of free spins slots, this refers to slt games where a bonus round can be triggered awarding any number of free spins. These have become increasinly popular with slots players for the main reason that the potential win during a free spin bonus is, if not unlimited, certainly unknown and potentially huge. The slots vary in terms of how the bonus round is triggered, but usually it is by getting 3 or more scatter symbols in view. The bonus can award anything from 5 to 150 free spins depending on the slot, and more often than not each win is multiplied by a factor between 2 and 10x. Very entertaining and once you’ve found one that works for you, there’s no going back to the old “pick ‘em” style bonus round.

Oh. My. God! I saw this slot at the ICE show on the Playtech stand in a kiosk and thought “wow”. Coulda played it for ages. And now…it’s come out online exclusively at Bet365! I don’t know where to start LOL. I’m trying to write this and play the damn thing at the same time and it ain’t easy!

Anyway, as slots go, I’m gonna put my rep on the line and say that you won’t see a better slot game come out in 2009! The graphics are stunning, the gameplay smooth, the music is great…the whole thing oozes class, but it’s the gameplay that will ultimately prove whether the Gladiator slot can fight with the best. And it’s good. It’s very good!

There are two bonus rounds, both trigerred by 3 scatters. One is the “Gladiator Bonus” (original name or what?!) and triggerred when the 3 “Wild” Gladiator symbols on reels 2,3 and 4 appear together, while the other is the “Colisseum Bonus” triggered by 3 Colosseum scatter symbols anywhere in view.

You know what? I’m going to finish this review later…this slot is too damn distracting. If you want to check it out, it’s exclusive to Bet365 Casino (No Americans, sorry!).

Now let’s be frank here, there aren’t going to be many people who can afford to bet $500 a spin on an online slot machine! So when you see a screenshot like the one above with a life-changing win of $240,000, that ain’t gonna happen to most of us, right?  Right. I mean can you imagine the adrenaline rush of betting max and pushing the button, then seeing a win like this come in? It would be enough to send most people over the edge, me included. If not emotionally, certainly financially. So my advice…don’t do it!

Anyway, when Intercasino announced this week that they were releasing their King Kong slot machine, it was too good to ignore. I played the King Kong slot in Vegas so had to check this one out to see if it was the same. It’s More…»

Wagerworks, a subsiduary of IGT UK, have just released a new online slot called “Triple Fortune Dragon“, a 243 payline slot with a Japanese theme based on the Land based casino slot game of the same name. I’ve just been playing it at Virgin Casino and am pleased to say it offers something a little different rather than just being a clone of an existing slot as so many new ones are these days. Actually it reminds me of the popular 50 Lions and 50 Dragons slots that you see in Vegas and even more prominently in Macau, although this one doesn’t have stacked wilds like those two do.

When I say 243 paylines (IGT term this “Multiway”), what this essentially means is that a symbol can appear on any reel of the slot and be in a winning combination. With the exception of 9’s and 10’s, you need 3 of any symbol to get a win. To initiate the free spins bonus, you need 3 bonus symbols (or more) on the first 3 reels (as in the screenshot here). The bonus round gives you 15 free spins where all wins More…»

If you’re a slot player and been to the Meccas of Vegas or Macau, you’ll probably be familar with Davinci Diamonds. I played it first at the Wynn in Vegas and again at the amazing Venetian in Macau and I couldn’t quite make up my mind if I liked it or not but thought I better add a heads up to Online Casinos & Slot Machines [.co.uk] at least as it’s a recognisable game and features “Tumbling Reels”! Ooh-er!

Now, Wagerworks - a wholly-owned subsiduary of slot machine manufacturer IGT - have released the anticipated online version and amazingly, on time too! It is now available to play online at Virgin Casino, Get Minted, Blue Square and Paddy Power Casino, although unfortunately for Americans you can’t play Wagerworks casinos (it’s the law!. Also available now is the Davinci Diamond freeplay slot - but again, no Americans

For those that aren’t familiar with Davinci Diamonds, it’s a slightly new concept More…»

Wagerworks this week released the new version of the popular Cleopatra slot - the originally titled, “Cleopatra 2″ - into their online casino software (Flash based, no-download). Virgin Casino are the first to get it (as usual) and by the time you read this it will also be available at Get Minted, Paddy Power and Blue Square casinos. But there’s bad news for Americans: Wagerwoks casinos do not accept US Players. Blame your “we-know-best” Republicans for that piece of legislation passed in 2006! Or get your own back and play the free version of Cleopatra 2 here.

But for the rest of us. YAY! Any slot fan who has been to Las Vegas or Macau will probably have seen this one on the floor already. It’s an IGT slot and crops up at most places in Vegas along with a few of the more recent casinos over in Macau (I played it at the Venetian on the Cotai Strip - a truly awesome place). If you haven’t seen the Cleopatra II slot in real life yet then More…»

Wagerworks - they who are owned by the world’s largest land-casino based game manufacturer no less - have just added the Las Vegas slot favourite, Wolf Run, to their flash casino software. 

The slot is currently being rolled out to the casinos using Wagerworks software but is already at Virgin Casino (No Americans - read on!) and will no doubt be at my other favourite, Blue Square Casino very soon. For USA players this is a bit of a bummer as US residents are not accepted at Wagerworks powered casinos - sorry, blame your politicians.

That said, if American players want something similar, check out the review of the Cashapilla slot which also has stacked wilds and free spins.

So what’s Wolf Run like?

Well, if you have played the original in Vegas then you shouldn’t be disappointed…the Wolf Run slot online is pretty much identical to the land casino version of Wolfrun, with just a couple of subtle changes to the music. And that’s about it. There was More…»

Microgaming’s most popular “random jackpot” slot, Mega Moolah, is now available on the instant-play Flash casino at 32Red (or King Neptunes for USA players). Mega Moolah combines 4 levels of random jackpot peaking at over £1 million, with a free spins bonus round which features 15 free spins, all wins trebled and since it’s (much delayed) release in 2007 has proved a very popular slot.

The largest of the 4 jackpots starts at £1,000,000 and as I write (July 2007) is currently standing on £2,300,000. Not bad considering it can be won from as little as £1 a spin. The lowest of the 4 jackpots is a measly £10 and there are two levels inbetween and Mega Moolah is a low/medium variance slot.

The jackpot is in itself a bonus round where you get to spin a wheel More…»

The Avalon slot machine from Microgaming is another of my regular stop-offs at [free spins slot with a variable multiplier, following in the footsteps of the “Kathmandu” slot from 2005. It was one of Microgaming’s first “coin display” slots which I personally hated (everything showed in coins rather than credits) but thankfully they have since  added an option to choose which way it displays (go to “Options” and tick the “Show As Credits” box), although this doesn’t affect the “win counts” as shown in the picture below. More…»

Most 5-reel slots are termed “bonus slots“, meaning that they have a feature, normally triggered by a certain combination of symbols appearing. In standard video slots, these tend to be “pick ‘em” style bonus rounds where the player uses the mouse to reveal hidden prizes. However, a more entertaining bonus round comes in the form of “free spins“, where the player is awarded X spins, normally with multiplied payouts.

For example, the most popular online free spins slot is Thunderstruck, a Microgaming slot which is available at [King Neptunes] (USA), [Thunderstruck More…»

The 50,000 Pyramid is a free spins bonus slot with a 95.02% expected return and wild symbol from Wagerworks where you can win up to 40 free spins at 6x multiplier - if you’re lucky! Can’t say I’ve ever had that one but I have had over 30 spins with 4x before now and it can be a rewarding slot. The thing I like most about it is that the bonus round occurs fairly regularly and I’d classify it as a low variance slot, meaning the risk of busting out is lower, but that’s countered by the fact that the wins during normal play are generally quite small. More…»