Online Slots From Vegas

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I came across a number of slot games on the floor at Encore and Wynn that can now also be found online. I knew that there was a crossover because of IGT’s link to Wagerworks, the online casino software provider whom IGT (UK) bought a while back, but it was interesting to see which online slots crossed the divide from land-based - and which probably should!

Pretty much all of the online slots mentioned in this article can be played online although in the majority of instances, not by players living in North America. However the Slot Junkies video site has video demos of all of these slots which not only show the games in action, but also feature the bonus rounds.

The obvious online slots that have their roots in land-based are the very popular “Cleopatra” and “Wolf Run” games, both made by IGT. You can play a free version of both games at Online Casinos Vegas and they are available at several online casinos. It was no surprise to also find “Cleopatra II” in both locations also, a game that I now marginally prefer to the originial, helped by a very decent win I had in the Encore I might add! You are probably already aware that each of these slots has a free spins bonus so I’ll avoid going into detail, but these are three very popular slot games. Cleo and Wolf Run are also common in UK casinos as it happens - i have played them in Rendezvous (Brighton), the recently closed-down Paddington Casino (Ladbrokes, London) and The Empire in Leicester Square.

There are actually several versions of Cleopatra in land-based casinos, as indeed there are two variations of Wolf Run, along with more clones than you can shake a stick at (”Coyote Moon” which I think was actually the original, and “Great Eagle” are the two slots that stand out but neither of these are available as online slots). I noticed in The Wynn hotel that both of these games also come in multi-game 4-play format too, although the bet size was restricted to $5, meaning you are playing $1.25 a game, simultaneously. These were actually good fun - low variance, but the Cleopatra slot also had a progressive jackpot.

Another online slot I was surprised to find in Vegas was “Super Hoot Loot“, which was recently released at several online casinos. I hadn’t realised that this was a port of an offline slot until I saw it in the Wynn one night. It’s a decent little game actually with a unique feature - probably best explained by actually playing it and you can check out the free version of Super Hoot Loot here. Also, clearly  the “Super” indicates it’s a follow up slot as there were also a couple of “Hoot Loot” slot kiosks on the Wynn floor. It looked similar but I din’t have a chance to play it. 

One of the other online slots I visit from time to time is “L’il Lady“, another IGT slot game that I saw in Encore on my trip. This is another Wolf Run clone, with a ladybug/ladybird (take your pick) theme. It’s OK, nothing special IMO but with stacked wilds and free spins seems to fit the bill for what slots players want these days. Just a little lightweight for me and you get to a point where the cloning thing becomes a bit much. I love Wolf Run, but that doesn’t mean every slot should copy it! Talking of which…

One of the more popular online slots is Wolf Run but on a trip to the Venetian in Macau recently, I saw a 50-line version of the game. The ones in Vegas and their online equivalents are all 40-line slots. This is interesting (kinda!) to me because in 2008, Wagerworks released a game called “Elvis A Little More Action” which is a 50 line slot with exactly the same concept as Wolf Run - stacked wilds, 5 free spins triggered by bonus symbols on reels 2, 3 and 4. It is in essence another clone of Wolf Run, but this time the 50 payline version. I have to say that the Elvis slot is one of my favourite online slots - just never realised Wolfie came in the same format.

The final two slots I spotted on the floor of the casino that are also in the Wagerworks online slots armoury are two that I confess I don’t really care for a lot. Well, one is OK: “Triple Fortune Dragon” uses IGT’s patented MultiWay technology meaning that you don’t have paylines as such - any symbol landing in view left-to-right matches up effectively giving you 243 ways to win. It has free spins which have a tendency to retrigger too - it’s not bad but can be very streaky. The other will probably be more familiar - “Davinci Diamonds“. This uses IGT’s “Tumbling Reels” feature and is probably best explained by pointing you at the IGT slot video demos at SlotJunkies to take a look. I find this slot too slow personally, but can see it’s appeal.

There were a number of slot games that we played in Vegas that I would love to see come online. The ones I am about to mention however are not made by IGT, and the other slot game manufacturers don’t yet have a tie in to online gaming so it may be some time before we see them online. Nonetheless, the slots that need porting asap are the excellent “Zeus II” with it’s Super Respin feature - an awesome game which needs to be played to be appreciated, the “Bruce Lee” slot with it’s expanding wilds and the very, very popular “Wizard of Oz” 3D slot which was not only unique, but was difficult to find unoccupied of an evening.

The best slot game for entertainment value we played in Vegas that week was undoubtedly “Star Trek“. However, this is going to be harder to turn into an online slot whilst retaining it’s entertainment value as it had a built in seat that vibrated and with speakers behind your head, totally immersed you in the game. It’s video graphics took you onboard the Enterprise with the original cast of Captain Kirk, Spock and co and it was an awesome new-generation slot.