Slots Adventures

well, i’m not completely caught up with my chores, but i got caught up enough to take a trip over to english harbour and check out how the $5,000 free slots tourney has been going. 

they’re up to over 4,000 players in the event.  actually, right now they’re at 4,510 players.  yours truly is sitting right nice in 158th place.  it’s not a money spot, and i will have to make a move before the whole thing is over (and i’ve already made moves south, so there’s no expectation of landing ITM [in the money]).  but, 158 out of 4,510 is really good!!  that puts me in the top 96.5%.  but, ahem, not in the money

i’m going to hold off on doing any playing in that tourney for a while.  i don’t think i’ll back into the money, but i’m kindof savoring the event, and not wanting to act too hastily.  especially when they’re running another freeroll on the Cash Grab machine.

so, i decided to settle in a do a bit of playing over there. the tourney starts you off with $300 in credits, and offers these prizes:

Cash: $535

Bonus Money: $250

there are, wow, over 2,000 players in this tournament.  things sure have taken off at EH for these tourneys. 

let me go take my warm up spins . . .

after my first several spins, i hit a couple of winners.  actually, it was nice.  i built my $300 starting bankroll up to $361, which apparently puts me pretty far from the lead.  having so many players makes a difference i guess.

here’s a shot of the machine . . .

 it’s not quite the standard three reel slot, although it looks it.  they’ve added some sound to the game for winning combos.  now, after you land a winner, you can hear the tinkling of coins hitting the metal landing after falling out of the pay chute.  i love that addition.  it doesn’t make me feel “like i’m right inside the casino”, but, it’s fun to hear.  it makes the game better.

the slot itself has a wild symbol on it, and a bonus symbol. 

there’s a bit of a kicker on this game.  the only way to unlock the bonus round is to play max bet.  there are some wild symbols that, according to the payline kick in when playing max bet. but, none of the regular payouts pay any better for three coins instead of two.

 so, if you bet two coins and land a cherry, you get paid 4 credtis.  if you bet 3 coins and land a cherry, you get paid 4 credits.  not six.

the jackpot payout doesn’t increase when playing max coins, as it usually does.  so, the only benefit may be in unlocking those wild symbols.  let me do some more playing and find out how this game really works . . .

well, that answers that.  i’ve been playing 2 coins for a hundred spins, haven’t hit a bonus screen, but i finally hit a winner that used a wild symbol.  here’s a shot of it . . .

you don’t have to play three coins to get credit for the wild symbol.  so, from now on, i’m playing two coins per spin on this machine!

i’m shutting it down for the night.  probably be back tomorrow to finish out this tourney if i can get the time.