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Slots games are not just about hoping to win the jackpot. They are about being entertained. And it is not enough that the regular play be entertaining. The bonus features need to be entertaining too.

The reason behind this is in the nature of the bonus game itself. Online slots players will play and play and play until they have triggered a bonus game. It stands to reason that the bonus game, once triggered, not only needs to be worthy in terms of payout but also in terms of entertainment.

First we will look at the payout worth.

Since bonus games are not triggered on every other spin, they become special. The term ‘bonus’ alone implies that there is something extra to this feature. In online slots games, players have come to associate bonus games with meaning that they are going to receive a greater payout than they have in the regular play.

This could come in terms of a number of free spins with a higher multiplier applied to them. Or this could be a simple as picking from a number of options and the prize revealed is a large amount of coins.

Slots players find it very disappointing when the reward of the bonus game is hardly worth anything.

While we all know that we stand a greater chance of losing money on slots, bonus games are supposed to keep us afloat in our playing. And really, slots game designers should want this to be so.

For one thing, if a bonus game is not all that rewarding players will not be able to play as long since their bankroll has not been recharged. And also if a bonus game does not payout, players will stop playing that online slots game.

As for the entertainment value of an online slots game, this aspect is not as important as payout but it is definitely worth mentioning.

If online casinos expect their slots player s to stay online and playing, they need to offer games with entertaining bonus features. Imagine finally triggering the bonus game and finding out that you do not even get to leave the regular playing screen—you simply choose a bonus symbol and there is your prize.

There is an expectation when we trigger a bonus game—that we are going to get something more than what is regular in the slots game that we are playing, both in terms of payout and in the show of the bonus game. It is not surprising when I hear about slots players who have become bored with a slots game because it does not entertain them.

Playing slots games online is not just about wagering money from home. Online slots players are looking for a source of entertainment, and online casinos and slots game designers need to deliver it.

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If Jimmy Buffet were a parrot and at a beach party it would be this one.

The laid back, beach party feeling can be found in Vegas Technology’s Parrot Party online slots game. But slots players will be partying with parrots on this five reel, twenty five payline slots game.

The graphics in Parrot Party are very bright, but no one would want a beach themed slots game with dull colors. The parrots are cartoon-y which just adds to the overall fun feeling found here. The traditional slots symbols of 9, 10, J, Q, K and A can be found here; but they have been given vibrant colors to suit the party. Other symbols include a Red Parrot and a Blue Parrot, a Guitar and Rum.

But those are just the regular game symbols. The two most in-demand symbols here are the Music Notes and the Hut.

Oddly though both are labeled in the paytable as Wilds but the rules on the Hut and the slots game’s rules mention a Scatter, which by process of elimination must be the Music Notes.

Unfortunately the Music Notes do not trigger any free spins. But they will payout from anywhere on the reels.

Most Wild symbols do not normally appear stacked on reels. But the Hut does– meaning that a reel only shows three symbols at a time, but the Hut could be taking up one or two of those spaces at once. This is a good feature on this online slots game.

The Hut is the symbol that triggers the bonus game. It only appears on feels two and four, but it appears multiple times on top of itself. The Hut is also the Wild and will substitute for all symbols except the Music Notes.

The bonus game is triggered when one or more Huts appear on both reels two and four. Slots players then click on each Hut to reveal a bonus multiplier that is applied to their total bet. As far as bonus games go this is a very basic format for a one, but the multiplier has the potential to seriously payout—the range on the multiplier is 2x-250x.

The 250x multiplier applied to a maximum bet of $250 ($10 per line) would award the slots player $62,500. Not a bad bonus amount. However most online slots players do not wager $250 per spin. But looking at the smallest wager per spin ($0.25) would award the slots player $62.50, which is not too bad when you figure you are only wagering $0.25 per spin in that instance.

The bonus game is a bit on the hard side to trigger, even with the stacked Hut symbols. And while the maximum multiplier to be awarded is 250x, I triggered a 2x and a 5x multiplier; with a total wager of $0.25 I was awarded $2.35.

Unfortunately, it seems that the bonus game is not as rewarding as one would hope considering that the slots player will probably wind up paying out for more spins than he will win back in the bonus feature.

It seems that while this online slots game will pop up from time to time in a slots tournament, it is not the most rewarding to play, both in terms of money and in overall entertainment of the slots game.

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While winning is of course always appealing to a slots player, what else makes the game entertaining?

For one thing the graphics. If a slots player is expected to sit in front of their computer and playing the same game for any length of time, the graphics on the game need to be engaging. On that note, while classic, the traditional 9, 10, J, Q, K and A that have graced slots games for decades are not engaging.

With the extensive number of themes that are on the hundreds of online slots games, seeing those classic symbols, no matter how dressed up they are, just are not fun to look at. And when the rest of the symbols are animated, seeing some letters and numbers sitting still just is not a form of entertainment.

And that is what a slots game is essentially. It is first and foremost a game of chance. But slots are a game of chance with all the razzle, dazzle of a show. A slots game will be more successful if it can catch and keep the attention of slots players.

Slots players find that if all the symbols tie into the theme it is a more entertaining game. It is even more entertaining if they are all animated.

This also applies to the bonus games. It is disappointing to watch the reels spin and spin and spin, then to trigger a bonus game that is as simple as pick-a-prize. Bonus games are seen as the great prize to be awarded. Bonus games are supposed to be entertaining on top of rewarding.

The entertainment of a slots game is not the icing on a cake. It is a key part of attracting and keeping a slots player. And those classic 9, 10, J, Q, K and A symbols do not help a slots game’s appeal at all.

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Some slots players swear that Random Number Generators (RNGs) are programmed to reject a winning combination.

To break it down, players feel that casinos have programmed the computers in slot machines to reject winning combinations. The RNG might be random and be choosing its outcomes in an unbiased way, but these players swear that the computers are programmed to recognize when the RNG has randomly chosen a winning combination and to reject it. They also swear that this happens in moments while the reels are still spinning.

And these slots players would be wrong.

The fact is that Nevada outlawed such programming when computerized slots first started becoming mainstream. And other states have followed suit.

What this means is that the computers inside slot machines, or in slots games for that matter, cannot reject an outcome generated by the RNG. Such actions would undermine the fairness and randomness testing that these machines and games undergo before being released to the public.

So where do these ideas of rigged machines come from?

They seem to come from slots players who tend to lose more often than win. And this goes back to the idea that these slot machines and slots games are somehow beatable. It seems that it is in our nature to try to overcome an obstacle when we really want something.

In the case of slots games, we really want to win. So we start looking to find ways to win or to name the things that are standing in our way. A good many slots players will see that there is not a thing they can do to affect the outcome of a slots machine. The next line of thinking is that there must be something in the game itself that is preventing me from winning.

And that is the truth. But it is not a rigged computer, but the nature of the game of slots—slots are games of chance. It is chance that causes us to lose. Unfortunately there is not a way to overcome chance. All we can do is to keep playing slots and hope we win. In the mean time we can enjoy ourselves while we play and focus on factors we can control.

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Microgaming is giving slots players a chance to party with monsters in their five reel, forty payline online slots game Boogie Monsters.

The graphics here bring to mind the disco…if it were the party home of monsters. Mummies, Werewolves, Witches and more abound here. There are even Platform Shoes with a fish tank inside the platforms. A lot of detail and color here. Slots players will not be afraid of these monsters. In fact, there is such a fun feeling that they will probably wish to do a little dance of their own.

Unfortunately there is no Wild to be found. But there are two bonus games.

The Fat Bat Bonus is triggered by one of two Scatter symbols: the Fat Bat. This little guy, when three, four or five of him is landed on adjacent reels, will trigger the bonus game.

In the Fat Bat Bonus, players are presented with an attic that happens to have lots of places for Fat Bat to hide. Slots players have three picks to find Fat Bats. While entertaining and cute, the Fat Bat Bonus is not as lucrative as the Free Spin Feature.

But he also has a Scatter payout: three equals a 2x multiplier; four is a 10x multiplier to the total bet; and five is worth an incredible 100x multiplier.

There is also a Free Spins Feature triggered by the Lava Lamp. Landing three, four or five Lava Lamps on adjacent reels will award the slots player thirteen free spins with a 5x multiplier. And the Free Spins feature is worth the plays to trigger. In one Free Spins Feature, wagering $0.01 per line, I won 2,297 coins.

But when the Free Spins Feature is in play, the Fat Bat Bonus cannot be triggered. It can only be triggered on a normal spin. So during the free spins, the Fat Bat has a different payout: three awards a 5x multiplier, and four gives a 20x and five means a huge 200x multiplier. But those multipliers are only in effect during the Free Spin Feature.

The Lava Lamp also has a Scatter payout, which is the same as the Fat Bat’s Scatter payout.

On the whole, this slots game is given more to smaller payouts. But they keep your bankroll afloat until you trigger the Free Spins Feature and the Fat Bat Bonus. And the graphics and monsters make this a fun online slots to play.

This game is defiantly worth taking for a few spins, whether for fun or for some mid-stakes playing. Forty paylines means that there are a fair bit of paylines that overlap, which helps build up the smaller payouts from landing only two or three of a kind

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Rather than clash of the titans, Stash of the Titans, a newer online slots game from Microgaming, has slots players asking what are those titans hiding.

This is a five reel with twenty paylines. While the graphics are well-executed, they are cartoony in appearance. Oddly though, Stash of the Titans features symbols, such as Cerberus and Medusa, which belong more to Greek legends involving the gods rather than the Titans, who came before the gods. According to Greek legend, the gods defeated the titans, which began their reign and legends.

But Greek legends aside, other symbols Hercules, a Griffin, a Giant, a Serpent, a Satyr and Centaur.

But the symbols worth paying attention to are the Stash of the Titans Logo and Medusa.

The Logo is the Wild and will substitute for all symbols in this online slots game except for Medusa. The number of Logos that are a part of the winning combination are what determines the Wild Payout. One Logo will mean a 2x payout; two will reward a 4x payout; three gives 6x payout; four is worth an 8x multiplier; and five Wilds on a payline is worth 10x. The multiplier applies to the amount wagered on the payline with the winning combination. When wagering the maximum, five Wilds are worth 50,000 coins.

In this online slots game, players will actually want to set eyes on Medusa. This wily woman is the key to the free spins and is the Scatter.

As the Scatter she pays out 2x for two, 5x for three, 10x for four and 50x for landing five of her. If a slots player lands three or more of her, in addition to the Scatter payout, fifteen free spins with a 4x multiplier is awarded. Medusa can payout as much as 200,000 coins. There will be no turning to a stone statue if you see her!

As for game play, I am sorry to say that this one does not payout as well some other slots. Its larger payouts are incredible—when you can land them. And the most Medusas that I have seen at once on the reels is two. Unfortunately it almost feels like there are too many symbols, and that makes it hard to land multiple Medusas and Logos that give slots players the higher payouts that are not only fun to win, but are necessary to keep our bankrolls alive.

Now, Stash of the Titans is not as lacking in terms of payout abilities as some of the other online slots games that I have played. But it is not up in the top of the ranks. And that is unfortunate because the graphics and their animation are entertaining.

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Payout percentage. Slots players will often here those two words thrown around when slots game and slots strategy are being discussed. But what is it exactly and what does it mean to you?

Payout percentage describes the return of a game or a casino. In terms of a slots game or a slots machine, payout percentage means the return of the total amount wagered on a machine to a slots player.

A payout percentage does not apply of the total amount one player wagers versus what they win. Rather it comes from adding to gather every single wager made on one game or machine for a set period of time, say one month; then all the payouts, large and small, are added together and divided into the total number of wagers. That answer is then multiplied by 100. The resulting number is the payout percentage of that slots game or slot machine.

For example, if in one month a single slots game takes in $100,000 total form every player who played that month, and $97,000 in total is paid out to players during that same month, dividing 97,000 into 100,000 gives you 0.97. By multiplying 0.97 by 100, you are given 97. The payout for this slots game is 97%.

This means that 97% of all money wagered on this slots game will be paid back to players. Only 3% is kept by the casino.

What this means for slots players is that the higher the payout percentage, the more that slots game pays out.

It does not, however, mean that one player is going to receive 97% of all money wagered on that slots game. It just means that 97% of its intake will be paid back out. This could be in the form of lots of small payouts or only a few larger payouts.

The best thing that a slots player can do is to play a slots game or slot machine with the highest payout percentage that they can find. But at the same time remember that there is no way of telling if the machine pays out many small payouts or only a handful of large ones. If the slots game does not seem to be paying out despite the high payout percentage it is probably a game that makes larger payouts less than often. In those instances it is best to walk away from that machine and find another.

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So slots players spend many hours trying to an effective strategy to increase their chances of winning. The truth is that this is not possible. By nature, slots games are games of chance in which the odds are stacked against us. It is true. In slots games, even though we can win a chunk of change through free spins and bonus games, over time you will spin your bankroll away.

Yes, it is possible to win a jackpot or a large payout. And there is no other feeling quite like winning such. But the reality is that this does not happen every day.

Because the outcome of a spin is determined by the Random Number Generator (RNG) and a slots player cannot influence the RNG, players need to look at other ways to influence their slots play.

Since there is not any way to really impact a slots player’s play offensively, slots play needs to be looked at from a more defensive point of view. If slots are a game of chance and the casino is taking more of my money than it is giving me in the long run, what can I do?

First you can choose what slots game or slot machine you play on. There are hundreds of different slots games. The casino does not tell you which one you have to play—you get to choose. So check out what the payout percentages are on the slots games that you are considering playing. The one with the highest payout percentage is the one you want to play.

You can also choose your speed of play—how many spins you make per hour. If you use the Stop Spin feature or are very eager to get those reels spinning again, you are playing more spins per hour, wagering more money per hour, and therefore losing more money per hour. So control your rate of play. Limit your number of spins per hour and do not touch that Stop Spin button!

Know when to walk away from a slots game. While there is no set way to determine this, you can judge for yourself if a slots game is cold or not. If you just are not winning at a game, walk away from it rather than keep feeding it money. And once you have won a large payout—one that puts you over your starting total—call it a win and quit for the night rather than risk losing it.

While you cannot control or influence the outcome of a spin of the reels, you can control how you play. And that has a big effect on your overall slots play.

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Go back in time to the World War II era with Lucky Lady slots from the Vegas Technology arsenal. The bombshell ladies of the 1940’s pin up calendars will join you on your quest to strike it lucky.

The graphics on this online slots game are on the simple side. But then that can be viewed as an homage to the types of slot machines that would have been available in the 1940’s. So naturally the traditional symbols of A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 are all present. But to tie in the 1940’s Army Air Corps is an Officer Hat, a Love Letter, a Bomb, and an Airplane Compass.

There are three symbols to keep your eyes peeled for though.

The first is the Army Star. It is the Scatter and will payout no matter where it lands on the reels. For that reason, the Scatter is the highest paying symbol in Lucky Lady. If a slots player lands five Scatters anywhere on the reels he will be awarded 100 coins times his total bet.

Next up is the Lucky Lady herself. She is the Wild—no surprise there. She can only be found on reels 2, 3 and 4. But she substitutes for every single symbol on the reels except for the Plane.

The Plane is the trigger for the bonus game. A slots player must land at least three Planes flying left to right in order to trigger the bonus game. In the bonus game players are prompted to choose from five planes to discover their bonus prize.

I have to say on this one that this is an online slots game meant more for fun play or low stakes than for serious play. I have seen it listed once as the chosen game for a slots tournament but it was a tournament with a small prize pool.

But for the most part this is one of those slots games that is more inclined towards small payouts with a bonus game that is hard to trigger. And there are not any free spins either. And we all know how much we look forward to bonus games and free spins.

If you are looking for a more nostalgic slots game for fun or for low stakes you might give this one a try. But my time playing it does not show me that it is cut out for serious play.

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Recently VIP Slots Casino changed the way that players accessed slots tournament information. It seems that the was a problem with players entering tournaments more multiple accounts, increasing their chances of winning and making the tournament unfair.

Now the only way a slots player can access information about a slots tournament is to be logged in to their player accounts. Once logged in, they can click on Tournaments and the schedule will pop up on the screen.

But this new way of presenting their tournaments does not only have the benefit of making players only able to enter a tournament with one account, but it also gives more information about a tournament.

Compare what you got in the old set-up as to the new set-up

Old
Name: March Madness
Run Time: March 1st-April 1st
Fees: $10 entry fee, $10 rebuy
Prize Pool: $212,500.00
Game: Magic Monkey

New
Name: March Madness
Participants: 2,336
Run Time: March 1st 12:01 am-April 1st 12:01 am
Registration Ends: March 31st 11:01 pm
Entry fee: $10
Starting Balance: $50
Minimum Number of Bets: 1
Rebuy Available: March 1st 12:01 am-March 31st 11:55pm
Maximum Number of Rebuys: 1,000
Rebuy Balance: $5
Rebuy Fee: $10
Rebuy Additional Number of Bets: 1
Rebuy Additional Balance: $60
Prize1: $150,000
Prize 2: $10,000
Prize 3: $2,500
Prize 4: $1,000

The new set-up also makes the leader board easy to access. And the leader board and number of participants is updated every few minutes so that players in the tournament know who’s ranked where and how many people are after that prize pool.

But the amount of tournament information that is now made available to slots players is much greater. And other online casinos have yet to implement such a set-up for their slots tournaments.

So not only has VIP Slots given slots players more tournament information, but they also have the safety of knowing that VIP is on their side and trying to make tournament play fair with their new set-up.

And on a side note, the March Madness slots tournament is still currently running. And as you can see, you can still join. Stop by VIP Slots to check out the March Madness slots tournament and the other tournaments that VIP has coming up.

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