Slot Machines : Best Online Slots

This past Monday, the largest non-Native American owned electronic bingo establishment in Alabama was shut down.  This establishment, the Victoryland Casino decided to close down in anticipation of a raid that was about to take place.  Governor Bob Riley had recently enforced an anti-gambling task force that is set to shut down any illegal gambling operations including online gambling casinos and illegal slot machines.  Victoryland Casino is usually very busy it but has turned into a ghost town as it closed its doors to the gamblers.

Victoryland was one of the largest employers in Macon County, Alabama.  Victoryland had a total of 600 employees on their payroll and was the largest casino in the state.  Governor Riley, however, saw the casino as an illegal entity that needed to be shut down as soon as possible.  He saw it as the largest illegal operation in the state.  It was the last known non Indian slot machine casino in existence in the state of Alabama.  This means that there are now no more slot machine casinos within the state making it a success for the governor and his task force. 

In anticipation of the raid and future Supreme Court rulings, Victoryland chose to shut down in order to remain in compliance.  The casino will reportedly reopen again after taking down the electronic slot machines. Officials fear that these machines will be disguised or hidden but Victoryland claims they will simply comply with current legislation.  Regardless of which, the governor’s anti-gambling task force has reportedly said that they will keep a close watch on the casino. 

Victoryland has been tussling with the Governor and his task force ever since gambling laws were passed.  Both have achieved minor and major victories in a battle of will and gambling.  The Supreme Court will soon hear cases of online gambling and the results of this remain to be seen. Until that time, Victoryland is working to comply with the law while maintaining the jobs and revenue that they have been able to achieve.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

Slotto slot machines are basically video slot machines running with a lottery theme, which caught on rapidly, and its rise in popularity spawned several versions of the game. Slotto slots come with a bonus game installed that is inspired by the popular lotto games, and revolve around  a ball hopper from which ultimately the amount of the bonus is determined that can be won.

Slotto slots were created by IGT, who now has several versions of the popular slot machine available, which are: Double spin, Popcorn Slotto and Triple Stars Slotto.

Double spin Slotto

Otherwise known as Double Diamond Slotto, this is the original Slotto game carrying a 100,000 coin jackpot, with a maximum of 180 credits per bet, so $1.80 is the highest one can bet playing Double spin Slotto. The slot machine is a 5 reel game with nine pay lines. The bonus is triggered every 47 rounds, and is approximately 27 percent of the pay back.

Popcorn Slotto

This type of Slotto game comes in three variations, all of them 3 reel versions. The first variant is Poppin Hot Slotto and the most simple of all three, followed by Slotto Slots, which is also a three reel simple slot game. But other versions carry a Buy or Pay feature . Things become more advanced with Triple Popped Slotto, which comes with a bonus game revolving around popcorn bags that come in three different sizes. The smallest contains one and the largest three balls. The amount each ball carries as a bonus also varies but has a maximum of 250 coins. To make things interesting there is a red ball, which functions as a multiplier times two. This bonus game can give a jackpot of 2000 coins maximum.

Triple Stars Slotto

This is the latest installment in the Slotto video slots series and is a 3 reel slot carrying five pay lines. The Slotto bonus game is triggered by a set of circled sevens. Each ball can carry up to 1000 coins and ultimately one is selected and determines the bonus the player is rewarded with.
Slotto has become one of the most popular video slot machines at casinos in a very short time, and more versions are expected to come out shortly, with more manufacturers of slot machines stepping on the Slotto Slots gravy train, so it looks that at least for now the Slotto phenomenon is here to stay.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

While playing slots is an entertaining way to pass the time, the real goal is of course winning the jackpot, and hopefully this jackpot will be large enough to change your lifestyle indefinitely.

For this, most players will answer the question of how large a win would accomplish the above, with one million dollars, so let’s have a look at the online slot machines where actually winning one million dollars is a possibility.

Obviously, while playing the slots there are no guarantees, but if we set winning one million dollars as the goal, we should at least pick the proper slot machines that are able to provide us with this kind of cash. For that we will definitely need slots that offer progressive Jackpots as they are generally higher than regular jackpots, and from those slots with progressive jackpots we need popular ones so that the jackpot will be high enough to provide us with a shot at $1 million.

Currently we know of four online slot machines that are capable of providing us with the required conditions which are:

Mega Moola

This particular slot machine starts with a $1 million Jackpot, and is running on software from Microgaming. A player can bet up to $ 6.75 and in order to get a shot at the jackpot a bonus round has to be played, which works similar to a fortune wheel. Besides the mega progressive, players can win 4 other lesser progressive jackpots.

Millionaires Club

There are two types of this popular slot machine one 3 reel and one 5 reel. This slot runs on the Wagerlogic network and winning the progressive is similar to winning the progressive with Mega Moola from Microgaming. Unfortunately, the network does not cater to residents of the United States, due to the gambling regulations that were put in place in 2006.

Major Millions

This popular slot has already turned 6 players into millionaires overnight, within a 24 month time frame, which makes it the slot with the most winners for a single game. The slot comes in the same two versions as the Millionaires Club slot machine, meaning, there is a 3 and a 5 reel version of it. In order to win the jackpot players have to bet $3, which is the maximum bet for this particular slot machine.
Unlike Millionaires Club, US residents are welcome to play.

King Cashalot

This is another Slot Machine from the assortment of Microgaming, it is a five reel slot machine and one of the less expensive ones compared to the other three mentioned above. With a maximum bet of $2.25 a player has a shot at the progressive jackpot. This jackpot starts at $100k, so if this one is approaching $1 million it is very close to falling.

While winning $1 million at slot machines is certainly possible, the odds of it happening to any given player are relatively low. This does by no means imply that it is impossible, but a realistic view on the odds is required to view these slot machine games in the proper perspective.  This being said, one should only bet money that won’t cause you any financial problems if you happen to lose it.
M.A.H.

No Responses »

Take 10 casino players playing the slot machines and you will get 10 different reasons as to why they do, but one of those reasons comes back much more frequently than others: Slots have better chances of winning than any other casino game, online and in the land based casinos.

Unlike the popular casino table games, slots often offer massive (progressive) jackpots, providing a chance to make a considerable win, especially considering the small wager it takes to play a slot machine. Think about it, did you ever read about a player walking away with half a million dollars, from playing a game of black jack? Slot players on the other hand have lots of success stories to share, as wins in the thousands of dollars from playing the slots are fairly common.

Professional players know this, so why aren’t they working the slots?

Let’s brush up a little on our math shall we? Let’s say a slot machine with half a million dollars as a progressive jackpot, that players have a shot at by betting $1, and the slot has a ninety percent return ratio, that means the house advantage is ten percent. Let us also assume that approximately 1% of the return is being added to the jackpot. This would come down to a 500,000 to one ratio at chances of 50 million to one. Now if the machine gets 100 million spins on a yearly basis, the jackpot would fall twice a year.

In comparison to table games that on average have a house advantage of approximately 0.5%, generally a player of for example black jack, would spend a hundred or so dollars to enter the game, and then bet in blocks of $5. Now, if you are really lucky and keep winning consistently, it will take several years, to reach the same amount of the slot machine’s progressive jackpot! The odds of winning consistently for multiple years in a row are zero; you will have better odds on being struck by lightning! With slot machines on the other hands the odds are actually favorable for winning the jackpot when playing as consistently as described in the black jack example.

Another advantage of slots is the speed at which wins occur. It literally takes a spin of the reels and if the right combination falls, you will have hit the jackpot in a fraction of a second! Now translate this to the table games and you would have to play again and again to reach the same result for a long time to come.

In short, the reason for favoring slots is a very logical one: Compared to the low bet, the slots have much higher returns, faster pay offs, and better odds of winning.

Now to come back to our initial question: Why aren’t the pro players working the slots? The only decent answers we can think of is that maybe those pro players aren’t as smart as they think after all, or perhaps they are working the slots, and just not telling us, as winning at a roulette table or blackjack table has so much more charisma with the ladies. Just look at James Bond to see what we mean.
M.A.H.

No Responses »

With the arrival of the Internet and with it the online gambling industry, the two have been developing at an equal pace. The first online casinos were not much more than a collection of java, cgi, or php scripts linked together, whereas today the online casinos look as real as their brick and mortar counterparts.

With the development and maturing of the online casinos, so did the available slot machines advance on those sites. The first available online slots were the standard 3 reels variant, which you can still find in most land based casinos today, but presently we have state of the art video slot machines providing all the fun of modern day real slot machines and often much more.

However, the question I am asking today is, when you compare the two types of slots with each other, which one comes out as the preferred slots to play online? The answer may surprise you, so read on:

The classic online slot machines are simple, hit 3 of the same symbol and win a prize, where every set of symbols has their own specific worth, and on occasion you will find an old style slot machine that will even pay out at specific combinations of several symbols, but that is it as far as the features go. On the up side, winnings from these online slot machines are actually very good, and having played them a lot myself it has not been too many times that I have walked away with less money in my account than I started with. I even would go as far as to state that on average a player will make back at least what they spent when playing classic online slots.

With the new video slots, it is a different story. These slots have many special features offering bonus rounds, free spins, and winning combinations over three lines. Sound great! The reality is that though there are more combinations and ways you can win something, the actual amounts are often only a few measly cents. In fact every video slot I ever played has left me with empty pockets, or just slightly less than I spent on it.

This tells us, that even though those hyped up, state of the art, flashy, graphically perfect video slots machines may look and sound exciting, but to any self respecting gambler they would lose against the classic slot machines that are still available on most online casino sites, simply because any half decent player will look at the odds first, and if there are flashy features that is a plus, but not a requirement, and when it comes to odds, the good old one armed bandit still has those new slots beaten hands down.

Now, do not get me wrong, I am by no means telling you to back away from playing online video slot machines, in fact I know several players that have their occasional big win and obviously to them it is worth it as they continue to play, I am merely making an observation and stating that when it comes to winning the most (Which is why we play, is it not?), classic slots have the better odds out of the two types.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

Some people enjoy simple games, while others require the challenge of a game with some level of complexity. A casino catering to both will therefore always offer to both types. A good example of this would be a casino offering a game of poker which requires skill, strategy, and even acting skills to some extent, while on the other hand that same casino offers blackjack, which is a simple game with only a few simple rules to keep in mind.

There can be many reasons for people to play simple games, some are just lazy by nature and cannot be bothered to make a real effort, while others simply lack the skills required, like having little to no strategic insight, yet they still enjoy playing casino games.

Slot machines make up for an important part of any online and land based casino. In land based brick and mortar casinos you will find the slot machines throughout the entire casino. The machines require a fair amount of space, but no casino can afford to do away with them, for the simple fact that Slot machines work. Slot machines make up for a large chunk of the total income for online and land based casinos every day.

Slot machines are a typical example of a simple casino game. They can almost be played on autopilot, without any conscious actions on the player’s part. Classic slots are equipped with one large handle the player has to pull towards them, the reels start spinning and luck takes over. While there are definitely wins playing the slots, the amount of people that lose their money to the one armed bandits is always greater.

Simple or not, slot machines are fun to play. And compared to the wins they can pay out, the wagers are very low. This in turn provides for better odds on winning than many other games one can play at the casinos. While playing you may lose a few coins, but one win is usually sufficient to put you back in profit.

The above are the main reasons why playing slot machines is a popular activity at most casinos, and even though the game depends entirely on luck, human nature dictates that people will still search for patterns, while others attempt to manipulate luck. Some even have a special way to pull the handle, convinced it will bring them better luck. Superstition is second nature to many gamblers on and offline.

When you are not near a real land based casino there is always the option to play slot machines online. The slot machines that are available today are every bit as good as the real ones at the brick and mortar casinos, the only feature you will miss is the fact that you will not be able to pull a handle. Online slots are identical in every other way. In fact online slots have functionalities that are absent on real slot machines, like automatic spins, stats, and to some extent larger jackpots. Once you play the slots online you may not even want to play a real slot machine again.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

A common question often asked online about slot machines, is whether or not it is possible to win real cash while playing the free slot games. Though the sound of playing a free game in order to win real cash sounds illogical to say the least, the introduction of the Internet has quickly changed this perception, and it is true that there are some web sites online offering free slot games where real money can be won, but one has to ask himself, how free is free?

As the saying goes: There is no such thing as a free lunch, and even in the case of playing a free slot game this saying holds true. In order to play the game, the player is required to register his or her email address which in turn is used for marketing purposes, either by the company behind the site itself or sold to third parties who will in turn attempt to monetize the mailing list.

It is easy to find the sites that offer the free slot games. Simply do searches on Google or other popular search engines and you will find an abundance of sites offering free slot games. However, there are less of them that offer real prizes you can win. What to look for in order to find the ones that do, is design. Find the ones that are professionally designed as those are most likely to provide the service as they usually have sponsors backing up their free slots (Usually an online casino operator). When found, look for a section describing their prizes and the conditions to obtain them.

Reputable online casinos are known to sponsor some sites on the web and some of them will offer the free games. The free games are not limited to slot machines either, usually on sites that offer free slots they also offer a whole range of other casino games you can play for free. Some will offer prizes, others may not.

So to come full circle and arrive back at the initial question: Is it possible to win money or prizes playing free slots online, the answer is a definite yes but keep in mind that nothing “free” is ever really free. Somebody somewhere is picking up the tab for the money that is paid out and in many cases that still means you, it is just cashed in through other means but you still pay.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

Many players in online and land based casinos believe that Slot machines are the bottom of the barrel and provide the worst betting odds in comparison to other casino games. While it may look like slots hold a larger house advantage than the other games, this is actually not the case. There are many games in casinos with lower pay outs and a larger house advantage than slot machines offer.

Generally Slot machines have a house advantage of approximately 8 percent, based on available data provided by the Nevada Gaming Commission. These averages can vary greatly depending on the casino and can range between 2 percent and 15 percent.

To compare these figures with the available data on other games it becomes quite clear that other games hold much higher house advantages than Slot machines. For example, based on the same information from the Nevada Gaming Commission, Baccarat holds on average a 14 percent in house advantage, while craps has an average of 11 percent. The popular Keno game actually holds the largest house advantage ranging between 25 and 30 percent.

The averages as displayed above do not take player errors into account and are examples of natural game advantages which are all higher than those of Slot machines. Next we need to take the player into account as low house advantages can only be utilized with maximum effect if the game in question is played without making mistakes. Therefore new and often inexperienced players can easily increase the house advantage in comparison to experienced players of the game.

Slot machines are among the easiest games to play at any type of casino so the error rate on those games for all players is usually quite low or non-existent. This in turn obviously makes Slot machines one of the safer bets in any casino.

Win ratios on Slot machines are generally higher than most of the other casino games. For example, winning $100,000 by betting $10 in a hand of blackjack is quite unheard of, while it has happened playing slots on many occasions. Therefore, while playing slot machines the chances of winning while investing a relatively small amount of money is much higher than while playing the other casino games.

It is safe to assume that Slot machines are not the worst type of game one can play, they have a relatively low house advantage, offer larger wins than many of the other games, and due to their simple nature it is possible for even new players to play them flawlessly.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

At the end of 2004 slot machines were released that were programmed with a new “Rapid Fire Jackpot ” feature. This type of jackpot works different than regular jackpots from slots. With Rapid Fire Jackpots they are connected to a selection of slots that hit the Jackpot at random without the need for any specific combination. This is not the first time this type of jackpot was introduced to the public, as the so called Marvel slot machines carried a similar jackpot feature.

The prizes from these types of jackpots are small compared to regular jackpots and this type of jackpot is won more frequently than regular ones.

The biggest question about this type of jackpot is how they are won. Unlike regular slot machines jackpots, there is no specific combination to make the win, so how does the system select a winner?

Now we have arrived at the interesting part. Once the jackpot has been won a new jackpot is selected at random by the system for the next one. Let’s assume, after the last jackpot $800 is selected by the system, and then the next winner will have that amount when the next random jackpot is won.

Winners are selected using the following principle: From every wager on the slots a part of the bet is added to the prize fund. Let’s assume in our case it is 1% of the bet. Now the first to place a bet and spin the reels that causes the total of the jackpot to exceed the selected amount, wins.

On the slot machine games 5 coin types are used between 10 cents and 5 dollars, with a maximum of 9 coins for every game played. This means if one wagers $1 per spin of the reels, 10 cents of that bet are added to the jackpot. The more you bet, the more you contribute to the prize money. Contributing more to the jackpot increases the chances to win it considerably, as each contribution from you brings the total closer to the selected amount at a much faster pace, than players that use smaller coin sizes.

In short; the higher the bet, the better the odds will be. Using smaller bets will decrease the chances of winning the jackpot dramatically.

In case you are now thinking that in order to win continuously playing these slots, all you need to do is wait until the jackpot is high, and bet as large as you can, think again. With jackpots that average in the $800 ranges, it would work theoretically, but it does not work out that way in real life.
Let’s assume that in order to win, you would be betting $45 per spin of the reels. For small amounts like Rapid Fire Jackpots offer that would mean risking a lot for low rewards. In case the jackpot is high enough it may be a good idea to do a larger bet every so many spins to double your chances of winning overall. Should you fail in taking the jackpot, at least you increase your chances of winning another prize from the reel combinations.

M.A.H.

No Responses »

Slot Machines of today still look like the trusty one arm bandits they started out as, but on the inside a different story unfolds as modern types operate on a totally different concept in which every action is controlled by a centralized computer predetermining every move. No longer is the outcome controlled by the spinning reels.

Special motors we call “step motors” enable the system to stop and start each reel at the point that was determined by the central computer. Unlike the common electric motor “step motors” use short digital pulses that are computer controlled enabling them to work with much greater precision than the old electrical motors that can be found in the older Slot machine models.

Do not get the wrong idea, even with a centralized computer at the heart of the system the outcome of the spins are still very random as a random number generator is used to determine the points where the reels should stop. If it ever was possible to predict the outcome it is not any longer as it would take years to calculate this and require super human speed to stop the reels at the right time.

When somebody uses the Slot Machine, numbers between one and several billions are spit out by the random number generator. This process repeats hundreds of times per second and by the time the arm is pulled back, or the stop button pushed, already the next set is calculated and pre-determined. A small program is used by the central computer to control the reels making them stop where they are supposed to.

Since Slot Machines switched to using computerized systems to operate a lot more features became possible making life easier for both the players and the casino operators. Using a computer system to control the Slot Machines enables the player to simply deposit money to it straight from his account rather than having to drop in a coin at every turn. The Arm has become nothing more than a novelty as the player does not need it to play any longer. A simple push on a button is enough to get the same results. However, for nostalgic reasons a lot of Slot Machines still come equipped with an arm intended for users who do not respond well to change.

Switching to a computerized system made things easier for manufacturers also, as they now can easily fine-tune the machine ensuring it exactly pays out the percentages that it is supposed to. Last but not least, for operators of Casinos the switch to the digital versions of the Slot Machine has also been a blessing as they can now manage all the machines using one system and keeping track of wins and losses have become easier than ever for both the players and the casino operators.

In conclusion, we can safely say that Slot Machines finally have arrived to the modern age, and once again are part of today’s technology and are set to remain a part of the gambling entertainment industry for years to come.

M.A.H.

No Responses »