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Las Vegas Gambling Tips: Gaming Article |
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Best Casino Slots – Part 1
By: Victor H. Royer
In the October 2008, I wrote an article in which I asked 21 questions about reader’s preferences in slot machines and slot machine play. As promised, in this issue – and the following issues – I will now write a little more about some of the favorite slots that my readers have told me they like to play, and later also show you some of the great new slots that are about to be released. I begin with a well-known favorite: Wizard of Oz video slot machine from WMS.
Wizard of Oz
This is the new Wizard of Oz video slot machine from WMS, presented in the Sensory Immersion Gaming style, recently also adapted for Star Trek and Dirty Harry slots.
Along with Dorothy, and all the characters from the popular MGM Musical from 1939, Starring Judy Garland, in this video slot machine we are also invited to follow the yellow brick road to lots of pays. This game has a high hit frequency and many lines for lots of big pays.
There are 30 line with characters of Dorothy, Toto, and a three pack square with the Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow, and the Tin Man. Also featured are Ruby Slippers, Houses, Tornado’s, Hot Air Balloons, and of course the Wicked Witch of the West. In addition to the base game, there are also 3 different bonus rounds.
The first is a wild bonus. At a random point after the reels spin, the game appears to pause. Then a glowing orb will appear from the right side of the screen. This is the sign of the start of the “Glenda the Good Witch” bonus. Glenda will turn anywhere from one to all 5 reels wild, with all resulting pays being awarded. I actually witnessed a player hitting all 5 reels this way, and winning $1,300 (for a 1-penny bet). Following a big win like this, or any large win, a bubble appears over the reels that says “Big Win” and displays the credit amount won.
The next bonus is a pick a square bonus. When 3 Emerald City Bonus squares appear on line 1, 3, and 5, your are prompted to pick one of the squares. Your choices are either a random credit amount, “Flying Monkey Bonus”, or the Road To The Emerald City Bonus.
The “Flying Monkey Bonus” is where a random amount of the Wicked Witches henchman -- the Flying Monkeys -- will land on the play screen and change icons to wild symbols and those spaces will remain as wild for the duration of the awarded free spins. This bonus can also be won if the Flying Monkey Wild symbol appears at anytime in the third reel of regular game play.
The final bonus is the “Road To The Emerald City”. A screen of green emeralds appear and you are prompted to select an emerald. You will receive either a bonus amount, a card representing one of the Characters, or Go to the Emerald City card. Your goal is to collect as many of the Character Cards as possible. When a Character card is selected, you are taken to the characters homeland where you are prompted to chose one of two new emeralds, one will reveal a credit amount and one will have the character. After this you are returned to your original emerald field to continue selecting emeralds.
Once you find the Go to the Emerald City icon, you are taken down the Yellow Brick Road with any characters you may have found. You are met at the gates and instructed to select another icon. It could be another character or you might be instructed to enter to meet the Wizard. At the end of the bonus you are instructed to look at the top box of the machine where the friends you have collected are now highlight icons with spinning reels. Dorothy awards the highest possible credit amount at a possible 1,500 credits, while the lion and the tin man offer the lowest possible amounts of 100 credits.
The only problem with this game is the chair. It is fixed to the machine, and so close to it I couldn’t fit in and couldn’t get comfortable no matter what I tried. The noise this game makes is also deafening. I noticed that every time this game is played, all of the machines in nearby areas are quickly emptied of players. No one likes this deafening noise. The vibrating chair does nothing for the game, and the constant blaring of the song has made a great song memory into a repeated noisy TV commercial. Get rid of those silly chairs and cut the noise, and you will have a game that will last. As it is, only first-timers will play it, and repeat players will stay away.
I will write about more games in the next issue.
Victor H. Royer is the Author of 22 books on casino gaming. His newest series of 13 books -- including the new release Powerful Profits from Tournament Poker -- are now available in all major book stores, or from The Gambler's Book Shop at 1-800-522-1777, or at Amazon.Com . Visit his Web site at: http://www.GamingAuthor.com
© Copyright 2006 Victor H. Royer. All rights reserved.
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