today i made it into english harbour without incident.  i’m not sure what was up yesterday, but the casino wasn’t letting me at the games, even though i could log in without any problems.  so be it, that’s a thing of the past now.

a quick look at the tournaments lobby revealed a new tournament that’s going off today on the Fat Cat slot game.  it’s one of the 20 payline video slots at the casino, and i’m sure i’ve played it before.

this tourney wasn’t a freeroll, they were charging $2 for entry into it.  i do have a way to work around that (well, kinda.  as i develop the idea, i’ll let you know).  but let’s be honest $2 is perfectly cheap fun no matter what.  so, i’m off to have a couple of spins and see where things end up. 

since the thing only lasts for the day, there’s not a lot of sense in holding back.  we’re all starting with $500 in credits, and if you can’t turn that into mega-cash and place either first, second, or third, you’re out of luck.

so, i’m just gonna crank it up and hope for something big right out of the gate.  maybe not crank it all the way up, but firing off some decent wagers per spin so that if something does land on the reels it’ll make a difference in where i stand in the tournament!

well, i had taken the starting stack and turned it into well over a grand in credits, so i moved up from the $10 spins to the $100 spins and hoped for the best.  and, i did hit some sinners, but never managed to land the bonus round i was hoping for.  that might have been enough to put me up there with the leaders. 

still, i had a good time, and that’s what these tournaments are all about!

this slick video slot was released just in time to take advantage of the holiday spirit.

the new microgaming slots have little movies that they show before they take you to the game, and the short for this slot shows a Polar Bear playing the role of Santa, and having a bit of a hard time getting down the chimney.  the creatures below watch this poor fellow struggle, but finally make it down with a sack filled with toys in tow.

the whole scene takes place in an igloo, probably wayyyy up North.

the slot itself looks sharp.

not only does it look good, it’s filled with features.  there is the WILD symbol (the polar bear),  and a scatter symbol, and then another symbol that will function as a wild during the free spins session.

add to that a gamble function and you’ve got a lot going on inside this game.

but, the good thing is that you don’t have to keep track of it all to enjoy it.  well, that’s good in my book because a lot of the characters look too much alike for me to keep track of.  i’m just spinning and waiting until the slot shows me what i’ve won, lol.

i do know that the penguin is the big fella on this game, being the scatter and the symbol that unlocks that juicy free spins session.  if you land a penguin, the slot will beep at you, land two and it goes into “suspense mode” with a raising tone to the music and extended spin time on each reel until you either land the last symbol or run out of reels.

i think that suspense mode was a great idea.  i’m glad to see it put to use in this slot!

woo-hoo!  i finally unlocked the free spins sessino, which is what i was playing for.  while it didn’t make me rich, it certainly paid off handsomely!

even with all of the animals wearing the same cap (and making them too hard for me to tell apart) i like the slot!  i like the crisp animation and the fun theme.  to me, Santa Paws is a winner.

next up on the test-drive list is the Lady of the Orient video slot.  it’s a 20 payline slot game that is in the mold of the Age of Discover machine with the animated characters on the reels.  land a winning combo and watch them kind of come to life.

the machine lets you wager up to, get this, 20 coins per payline.  so you can really crank it up if you’re looking for action.

there is a WILD symbol, which is the Lady herself, and a Scatter symbol (the Palace symbol).  landing three scatters unlocks the free spins session on the slot.  and, winning combos that you land during the free spins cycle are worth three times their normal value. 

besides the special symbols, the other symbols on the reels are the traditional card values.  Ace, King, Jack, etc.  these aren’t my favorite symbols (they certainly work, and it’s not like there’s anything wrong with using them), so it takes a bit of the fun out of the game for me.

well, that’s an overstatement.  it’s not like it takes away from the fun, maybe i should say it doesn’t add any more fun to the game.  but, talk about a matter of personal preference. 

hehe, i would think it was fun though if you got credit for racking up things like a straight, or two pair   of course i’m a poker player too, so there’s a certain bias involved.

i did take advantage of the expert mode options to put the machine on “quick-spin”, and i like that better.  the reels seem a bit slow on this game compared to the Jingle Bells machine that i was palying earlier, and the Tunzamunni game too.

if you’re looking for a video slot that gives - 20 paylines, a WILD, and a Free Spin cycle, this is a machine that fits the bill.  for me, personally, the theme and graphics just don’t fit my mood of the day.

this is one of the new games that microgaming released in the middle of December this year.  i wonder if that means there will be no new games come new year’s eve, or if they simply work a little overtime and double the games output for the holiday season?

anyway, it’s a three reel slot game, with 5 different paylines.  this is the same configuration as the Golden Dragon slot and the Jackpot Express, both slots that i really like.

here’s a screenshot:

i just love the graphics and the colors of this game.  the green, red and gold, LOVE it!

as you can see, playing more than one coin activates a payline, so if you want to be able to land winners on all five paylines, you have to play five coins per spin.  the top payout for each line is different as well, so hitting the bells and holly on the diagonal pays better than across. 

i’m currently playing at All Jackpots (since they game me that $15 no deposit bonus for being such a nice customer) and the minimum coin size for this machine at that casino is a quarter.  which, i wish it was lower, but i might just be being a bit of a cheapskate because of the holidays.  i’m not sure.  i know quarter slots are really reasonable. 

i dig this machine a lot.  heh, i do wonder though if i’ll feel odd about playing the Jingle Bells slot at say, Easter time.

in keeping an eye on the jackpot total over at slotland i noticed their cheery disposition with this version of the casino website.  it’s like Christmas came to slotland.

and, it’ll be coming to someone shortly.  i was wrong about tht jackpot going off by the 17th.  today’s the 18th and the thing is still climbing.  it’s up to over $108,000 right now, so maybe it’s poiised to hit right before the holidays (i can hear the chant now “it’s rigged!” - heh, it would be nice public relations though, slot player wins a truckload of cash on Christmas Eve).

i’m not sure that i won’t spend the last of my bonus money i have there chasing this thing, but i am sure it won’t be done today.  i’m just curious on where things stand, but if say, Christmas Eve comes around, and i open that bottle of champagne on the shelf, i’d say that a couple of spins shooting for $110 grand or so might be a fun thing to try  

before turning in for the night, i just had to check and see if the new games were actually going to be released mid-month, on schedule, and right at the stroke of midnight.  so, i opened up All Jackpots for a quick look into the casino, and sure enough, they were already being downloaded!

i had one of those “well, i’ll be . . ” chuckle moments.  so the official word, yep, you can go play them now.  they are definitely up and running.

i took a couple of spins on the Jingle Bells slot, just because i think it looks awesome in the same way that i think the tunzamunni machine looks awesome.  it’s just great colors and crisp artwork and the old fashioned “reels” spinning.  call me goofy, but i like the looks of those slots just like i am drawn to the looks of certain muscle cars.  the lines appeal to me, even if they aren’t the ferrari’s of the scene.

i came out even with my play, so there are no great tales to tell. 

it is late, and i really was just being curious in the same way that old ladies look out the window to see when their neighbor’s teenage kids come home, so i’m shutting it down and heading off to bed.  hopefully i’ll get a chance to play a little over the weekend.

if i do, i’m sure i’ll take these new games for some test runs, and i’ll post up my thoughts on them when i’m finished.

that’s right, instead of the usual beginning of the month release for new slot machines, microgaming is breaking the mold this holiday.  they are planning to release several new slot machines tomorrow!

the new games include several video slots and a holiday themed reels machine, aptly title Jingle Bells. 

the holiday themed video slot is, get this, Santa Paws. 

other slots include the Lady of the Orient 20-line machine, the Inca Gold slot, and the Crazy 80’s 9 payline video slot.

since they’re coming out tomorrow already, i decided to skip the usual upcoming slots overview for each machine, and just tell you all about them as i do my traditional “test drives” on each. 

so, that’s something to look forward to, a couple of holiday tournaments from the folks at English Harbour, and a full-scale release of new games that i can play at the microgaming casinos!

that’s the new offer that 7 Sultan’s Casino just released.  I’ve seen plenty of no deposit offers before, and they usually max out at about $15.  most are ten bucks.  the one from RiverBelle with the $25 for the Tunzamunni machine has been the nicest i’d seen in quite some time.

this offer puts things at the next level.

i’m not sure if i have a player account at 7 Sultan’s to be honest.  i know that it’s a microgaming, so you’ll find all the regular slot machines that you’d find at All Jackpots or Roxy (like Tombraider, Tunzamunni, the new Age of Discovery and Mega-Moolah).

i did see that they have an asterisk on the offer when you look at their website.  there’s a max cash-out of $100.  that means you can’t just plunk the cash into a progressive jackpot machine, and then walk away after hitting the major millions, never having to work again. 

still, it’s hard to complain about something like that when they’re handing over $50 to everyone that signs up.  anyway, that’s the new news on the “hey, where can i get some free money to play the slot machines?” front.

just checking in at slotland, i saw that the jackpot is over $100,000.  i called it last time, that when this thing gets up over $100k, it’s ready to go.

in fact, i had done some posts while i tried to hit the thing.  but, i came up short.  if you want to know what mahcines they have, and how much each jackpot qualifying spin costs, here’s my Slotland Jackpot Review.

i’m not going to make it my week’s mission, but i get curious, so i’ll be checking in from time to time to see how the jackpot is making out.  if i get lucky enough i’ll figure out the total when it goes off.

so let’s see, today is december 13th, about 7 at night.  a little over $100,000 in the pot.  hmmm.  if this thing lasts until christmas i’ll be amazed.  i’d say by the 17th it’ll be gone. 

this morning i decided to open up All Jackpots, and do a little playing with the bonus they sent over.  so, i had a starting bankroll of $15, and a desire to take a couple of spins on the Tunzamunni Machine.

i’m not sure what drew me to this game this morning.  it’s a progressive, and i think the only progressive i really get a kick out of is the new Mega Moolah.  well, at least with microgaming progressives that is.  but, the Tunzamunni is cheap to play at a quarter a spin.

heh, maybe that’s it!  at a quarter for a five coin pull it’s still cheaper than playing some slots at 2 cents a coin.  plus, it’s a progressive that has a jackpot of over $60,000!!!!  well there, put those tow things together and i may have found my answer. 

the Tunzamunni is a good machine that is currently a great deal

so, on to the playing . . .

i set the thing on autopilot for the first 50 or so spins, and nothing came out of it.  i’d hit just enough winners to cover some of the cost of playing, but not all.  so i was down a little bit.  and then, blammo, i hit a line of three mixed 7’s, which turns out to be the big winner for the session.

that took me over where i had started from, money-wise.  and i didn’t look back.  after hitting a few more small winners, i’ve built my bankroll to over double where it was when i started!  yee-haw!

that’s the great part.  the “down to earth” part is that when you start with a $15 bankroll, even when you double it you’re not going anywhere fancy for dinner.  still, it’s fun to win, even when it’s not a life-changing win.  plus, now i have plenty of quarters to take chances on the jackpot with.