Slots Adventures

while surfing around the net, i happened upon an announcement of the upcoming events at English Harbour for the month of december.  while they don’t give all of the details, things are looking up if you’re a player there.  and, i am.  so, things are looking up

they have $25,000 earmarked for freeroll events next month.  that’s damned near a grand a day.  nice. 

plans are to run one $10,000 event, along with three $5,000 freerolls.  that’s a lot of action.  oh, they’ll also have a steady supply of what they called “smaller freerolls” as well. 

there wasn’t any posting of what machines these events would be on, but i grabbed the phone and had a chat with the guys at english harbour, and they let me know that the tournament schedule for december is posted at the casino’s website. 

every week there’s a $5k event going on, except the last week, when they’re hosting another $10k freeroll. 

it looks like a lot of fun stuff coming up. i’ve tried to cut and paste the scedule in here a couple of times, but can’t quite get the hang of it, so here’s the highlights . . . .

$5k free slot tournament every single week

$10k free tournament on the Reel Deal slot at the end of the month

a series of 12 tourneys with guaranteed money that mimic the 12 days of christmas

a $1 buy-in tourney with guaranteed money every day of the month of on the Reel Deal slot game

while i was chatting, they suggested i check out superslots, a sister casino to english harbour.  i’m an EH fan, and i think the welcome bonus of up to $275 is super for first timers, but i can see how something titled “Superslots” might be more geared towards slots-enthusiasts. 

i’m pretty sure i’ve already played there.  i recall it was the first online casino that i found where you could play a couple of slots at once.  they split the screen up, and you could have reels constantly in motion.  it was neat.

anyway, that’s the scoop on the upcoming events. 

that’s what the big November slots event at english harbour has turned into.  if you’ve been following my humble blog here at all (and a big thank you if you have !) you’ll realize just how big that is compared to the tournamentw when i first started playing them.  W-O-W.

of course, the even bigger news is that i finally got knocked out of the top 280 or so, which means today is the day i have to do a little more playing on that Reel Deal slot game, and i have to catch a winner or two while i’m at it.  i had been sitting in the money spots for quite some time, but i was more like . . . barely hanging on, and i knew i’d get bumped before it was all over.

well, that didn’t take long.  second or third spin i hit a $50 winner (five in a line of the red headed lady) and blammo!  i’m back up into 279th place.  tourney pays the top 288.  i guess that means i’m back to where i was, just barely hanging on.  but, this time it’s a lot different because before i had less than the starting amount.  so, any new player could just sign up, lose a little, stop and still be ahead of me.

now, i’m at $343, so players would have to at least win a little before they jumped ahead of me.  that’s a pretty big difference in gameplay, even though i’m in roughly the same place in the standings.

they’re running a roulette tourney at the casino as well.  so, i signed up for that.  eeek.  talk about a horrible showing.  i bet the columns a couple of times.  there are three of them, and i took 2 out of the three, along with some numbers.  four times in a row i missed on all the numbers and both of the columns.  phffft.  there went all my chips.

oh well.  at least i’m back in the showing on the slots tourney.

ok, i was prompted by the River Belle promo to have a few spins on this slot.  and, i felt like coming back for a second dose.  that’s probably a good sign if you’re a slots manufacturer (errr, microgaming).

i just think the graphics on this thing are crisp and vibrant, in an area where everyone is shooting for crisp, vibrant images.  and, the game play is very staccato, errrr, sharp.  i don’t know, it just appeals to me.

the slot itself is a fixed coin game, with the coin size set at a nickel.  each spin will set you back $.25 if you’re playing max bet, which you should be considering it’s a progressive jackpot game. 

right now the jackpot is over $52,000 and growing.  it’s more like $52,700. 

there are three reels, and a single payline on the Tunzamunni game, so it fulfills my version of a classic slot machine.  each coin wagered activates a different line in the paytable.  and, those payouts all increase proportionally, except for the top payout with max coins wagered.  that’s the progressive jackpot payout, so unlike the slots i’ve been playing at EH recently, playing the max coins is not a particular drain on your bankroll.

there isn’t a wide varitey of symbols on the reels of this slot.  it’s 7’s and bars, and that’s it.  the winning combo’s include those bar combinations, 7’s combinations, and the “all blanks” winner. 

while playing this morning, i did manage to hit this winner . . .  

 so i’m pretty happy.  actually, i like this machine a lot.  it’s not like the video slots.  you can run dry for quite a while, but when you hit a winner it at least covers the cost of the spin!  lol. 

there are NO WILDs or any other type of sizzle symbol, but, the slot really doesn’t need any.  it’s just a cheap, solid, basic, Fun slot machine. 

i played this slot at All Jackpots, because that’s where i’ve been microgaming it lately, but there’s a 100 free spin offer from River Belle Casino for new players you might want to check out.

i’m thinking that there must be a lot of casino folks that spend their day time surfing the net.  because, i’ve been hearing from them lately.  the truth is, the ineternet is just about littered with sign up offers and promos from nearly every online casino on the planet.  for me, it comes down to what kind of games i like to play.

you can probably tell that i’m a fan of the microgaming stuff.  and, i just got a phone call from one of the fellows at River Belle about a promo they are running (they use microgaming slots at their casino).

i’m already a member there, so i can’t take advantage of it.  i signed up long ago, like two computers ago, hehe.  but, for new players, they’re running a promo that they call “100 Free Spins on the Tunzamunni Machine“, or something like that.

they give you $25 for use at the casino, on the slots.  and, since a spin on the Tunzamunni is only a quarter, the $25 they give you will last for 100 spins.  AND, the Tunzamunni is a progressive, so there’s a shot at a pretty big payoff.

i must be in the holiday shopping spirit because i’m looking at this promotion thinking “where’s the catch?”.  so, i checked out the Tunzamunni game to make sure it’s $.25 per spin, and not $.25 coin size.  and, sure enough, the machine is set at a nickel fixed coin size, and costs 5 coins for a max bet spin.  that really does mean it’s a quarter per spin. so i, uh, tried a few spins.  i could see myself coming back to review this slot, it’s really nice a crisp.

the progressive jackpot is at just about $52,000 right now.  on a nickel machine.  w-o-w.  ok, that’s cool.

then i checked through the terms and conditions of the bonus to see if there as some kind of “max win”, like “you can take our $25, but the most you can cash out if you win is $100″.  i couldn’t find anything like that.  i’ve seen those kinds of phrases in bonuses from some of the RTG casinos (that’s another story in itself).

in the end, i’m not a new player there, so i don’t qualify for the bonus, but it looks like a pretty generous offer.  anyway, here is the link to the:

Special Offer From River Belle to Slot Players
if anyone hits big on it - let me know!

hey guys, a belated happy thanksgiving to all !  well, especially those who are stateside !!

i was happy to see more than a few casino offer in my email box that i could use over the holidays, including offers from some places that i forgot i was signed up to.  in the end, i didn’t do any playing.  instead i watched football.  all three games (we have that nfl network as part of our regular cable package, yay!).

i also ate.  three times.  ugh, that means a bit of running is in order today.  and tomorrow, and sunday, lol.  but, that’s what holidays are for.  and now we’ve unlocked the christmas season as well.  i really plan on enjoying this holiday season. 

no business trips.  when i’m working, i plan on enjoying it.  i’m not going to let the “rush” of the holidays bother me at all.  if i’m not going to enjoy it, why bother.  it’s supposed to be a Holiday! 

hehe, now, with that out of my system, i haven’t hit the slots in a bit, and i’ll check in on the goings on at the Harbour probably some time over the weekend.  i have a few days off in a stretch right now so i’m going to break up the schedule a little bit, and hopefully get some hockey in this afternoon!

sure as rain, there’s another slots tourney going on at english harbour this morning.  this one is on the pinata fiesta machine, with the tournamnet titled “thanksgiving fiesta”.  i’m guessing there is no “pilgrim’s landing” or cranberry sauce gone wild” slot games at the harbour, so the pinata fiesta must be the most appropriate slot for the thanksgiving theme.

here’s a shot of the pilgrim’s landing, erps, pinata fiesta machine . . . 

 you can see that it’s a classic three reel slot, one payline across the middle.  you can wager up to three coins on a spin, but it’s just like the Monte Magic Slot in that regard.  the third coin you wager does not activate a new “three coin payline”, instead, it activates a bonus symbol that may land on the third reel of the slot.

the bonus symbol unlocks a bonus game (as opposed to say, hitting a mini jackpot or something). 

the tournament on this slot has a little less than $400 up for grabs at the moment.  there’s $250 in bonus money, and $127.50 in cash that will go to the top 10 finishers.  right now those guys all have $5,000 or more in tournament credits.

i’m starting out with $400, which is cool.  it’s like getting a “deep stack” to start out a poker tournament with.  i like it better than a $300 starting total, that’s for sure.  but, i’m looking and seeing that there are already well over 4,000 players in the tourney. 

so, if just 10 of them come out betting big and hit, those are the ones with $5,000/$8,000 or $24,000 in credits.  i just couldn’t bring myself to do that.  i wanted to enjoy the new slot a little bit this morning.  so i came out betting $3 a spin.  and i’m glad i did, because this particular slot is running so cold i had to start a fire in the wood stove to keep ME from freezing. 

it’s been paying off about 52% so far.  if i’d have been betting big, i’d be out of the tournament already, for sure.

of course, that can work to my advantage.  at some point i can ramp up the coin size and hope the machine “is due” and finally hits.  ack, i’m just playing mind games with myself.  but, that’s my “strategy” anyway.

woo-hoo!!  cranked the coin size up to $5, and bet 3 on a spin and hit a winner (with the help of the WILD sombrero).  now i’m up to $740, and in 119th place.  not far enough, but on the right track! 

now, i have just enough credits to bump it up to $10 a spin.  that’ll give me 30 spins or so to hit something else worthwhile

well, so much for that theory.  i’ve melted down to nothing. 

i would have included a screenshot of the bonus game, but for the life of me i couldn’t unlock it.

i do appreciate these tournaments at EH.  they give me a chance to try new machines that i usually wouldn’t try on my own in the regular cash money part of the casino.

getting back to the slots tournament on the monte magic machine today, i decided that if i were going to jump up from 200+ place, i’d better bump up the coin size.  either that, ior i’d need an unusually long string of winners

even though i was ahead of where i started, at about $360 in credits, full spins at $5 a coin meant i was down to 70 some credits, and maybe a few dozen spins.  that’s not a lot to work with, imho.

but, i did manage to hit a nice winner (50 credits) early on to give me some breathing room. 

i pushed as high as $560 and 148th place at one point. 

i had been playing 3 coins for each of the spins, and today, after 70 spins, never did land the bonus screen symbol.  that probably took away, hmmm, 70 coins at $5 each = $350 in play from my efforts.  damned rabbit!

at any rate, so much for my attempt in the “keep your eye on the prize” slot tournament on the monte magic machine.  i’m busted.

checking the lobby, i’m still ITM in the Reel Deal tourney.  over 12,000 players in that one.  wow.

now, this was quite the pleasant surprise.  opening up english harbour this morning to check out how things are going with the different tournaments, and more specifically where i stand in them, i noticed this week’s new slot tournament was open.

so, i sign up for the tournament on the Monte Magic slot machine.  the tourney, called “Keep your Eye on the Prize” has over $500 in prizes that are a mix of $330 in cash and $250 in bonus money.  which is fine and dandy, i would have signed up for any amounts really.

the payouts are weighted towards the top ten, so 11th place is worthless.  kindof the new “go big or go home” strategy at the harbour for their tournaments.

the slot machine itself is an old fashioned three reel single line, the “classic” version of a slot machine.

if you look at the payout tables, you’ll notice that the payouts for two coins are double that for a single coin wager.  that sounds about normal.  the payouts for three coins, are the same as the payouts for two woins.  that, is not normal.

i didn’t notice that early on, and was playing my usual max coins on each of my qualifying spins.  But, during those spins i hit the bonus round symbol, twice.  that’s right, this mild-mannered looking classic slot has a video bonus game added to it.

it’s a pick’em game.  actually, it’s a layered pick’em game.  the game starts with a set of probably a dozen cards turned face up.  on each of the cards is a prize package, which probably depends on your coins size.  the cards are flipped face down and scattered around the table in a slight-of-hand manner that resembles someone dealing a game of three card monty.  which, now it sinks in, is part of the name of the slot.

after the shuffle is over, you get to choose three cards.  they are turned face up, so you can see what your final prize might be.  they are then turned face down, and shuffled a la three card monty.  then, you pick the final card, and receive that prize. 

it’s really cool to have that kind of bonus game attached to an old school classic slot.

now, that’s part one of the interesting things about this slot.  part 2 is the fact that playing max coins does not “triple” the pyaouts for most winners.  it only seems to unlock the bonus game.  so, for example, if the wnads winner is worth 10 when betting one coin, and 20 when betting 2 coins, it is NOT worth 30 when betting 3 coins.

see how that works !!

the third coin on the wager unlocks the bonus game if you land the right symbol.  but, that seems to be all it does.

i’m not sure exactly how to play this game to get the best overall expectation, but i do know that during my warmup spin stage, the bonus round appeared enough to make up for the lost in winners vs the extra coin spent in the wager.  on my qualifying spins, i spent 20 coins on that extra wager, and hit 80 coins in winners.  so, for me, it turned out to be a good wager!

went to english harbour this morning and hit a couple of winners on the mermaid’s quest machine.  ran through the bonus game a few times, and was having a generally good time of it.  but, i wasn’t getting anywhere in the tournament.  even after racking up some credits i was still in 100-something-th place.  and that just wasn’t going to do!

so, i bumped up the coin size.  let me tell you, there’s a big difference between $9 a spin and $45 a spin!

so, within moments, i was out of credits.

the good news, i’m still ITM on the big tournament on the Reel Deal slot. although that is certainly subject to change.

intercasino bummed me out with that change in their bonus policy, but i guess it really doesn’t affect me anyway.  i’m not allowed to play there for real money.  but, i couldn’t help but notice their big 10 year anniversary, or birthday party going on.

ten years is a super-long time for an online casino to be in operation.  to celebrate they’re running a $1 million promo on their video pokers.  well, let me rephrase that.  they’ve got some sort of game based on video poker that you can play for a crack at $1 million. 

either way, it’s a shot at a million bucks. so, i thought that’s worth mentioning.

oh, and yes, i got that request for some updates on casino bonuses.  the new $500-to-play-with, spin-away-for-an-hour-on-the-house promo is at Ruby Fortune.  it’s a microgaming, so you’ll see a ton  of the same slots i’ve tested there.

i’m all filled up with microgaming casinos at the moment, so i’m not running after this one.  besides, big weekend coming up with the Ohio State/Michigan game, so i’ll probably be skipping the casino play for a couple of days.  still, you asked for some “heads ups” - and there you go. 

catch you on monday most likely!

checking in today at English Harbour i see that i’m slipping in that big slots tournament, but i figure i’ll just wait until thanksgiving and then take a couple of more spins.  by then i should be out of the money spots, but within one winner of getting back in.  heck, there are over 10,000 players in the tournament, so top 250 is pretty good

english harbour ought to be completely satisfied with the response to the tournament.  i know that there have to be a ton of new players at the casino now that they’re running these tournaments on the slots and different table games.

there’s a new slot tournament starting today, this one is on the mermaid’s quest slot machine.  i thought i had played this before, but now i’m not so sure.  when i clicked on the machine it loaded up like the newer video slots at EH do, and sure enough, it is a new video slot. 

the tournament is one of those where all the prize money sits at the top of the leaderboard.  only the top 10 finishers get anything, but with a buy-in of $0, i don’t think there’s room for compaining   the prize pool is a mix of $250 in bonus money and $277.50 in cash.  the cash part can grow as players rebuy into the tourney.  that’s something i can consider for the big Reel Deal tourney.  hmmph, never gave that much thought before.  

anyway, the slot has 9 paylines, so you’re not paying for 20 or more paylines each spin.  and, it has two features.  there’s a bonus feature, that i haven’t unlocked yet , and a free spins feature. 

the bonus feature is unlocked by the mermaid symbols with the word “bonus” written across the bottom.  that makes her easy enough to see.  and the free spins round is unlocked by the king neptune scatter symbol.  the bonus symbol does have to land on a payline, it’s not like a scatter symbol that can land just anywhere.

oh, oh, oh, i did unlock the bonus round, see . . .

on the bonus screen i was taken through three levels of a pick’em game.  i chose a treasure chest to open, and then the mermaid took me down deeper into the sea to reveal another batch of treasure chests.  i opened one of those, and then she took me deeper into the sea to reveal another batch of treasure chests.  and i opened one of those.  then the game ended. 

it was a pretty interesting set-up, with the character moving from one section of a make believe world to another.  i liked it.  it was neat. 

here’s a shot of the paytables.

well, after hitting the bonus round twice, and the free spins round, i’m at about $200 remaining, and well out of the money.  but, i’ve had my fill for the day.  i’ll probably be back to play tomorrow and use a big coin size, hoping for a quick winner to bolt me up into the running.