Playing the Penny Slots

Playing the video slot machines in casinos are the current rage. Forget online play, you gotta have the atmosphere, hear the symphony of bells, whistles and music, and be surrounded by others transfixed by the video screen in front of them. With themes that range from TV classics to food vices and animated animals, video slots are just like video games, but with a chance to win big (or, of course, lose your shirt).

This lens celebrates penny video slot machines. If you haven't tried them - DO IT - you'll get hooked! Here you'll find out the best machines, the best places to play in Las Vegas and where you can find fun information. Remember playing the slots is not brain surgery and you CAN win, even if you don't understand line bets, progressives and bonus rounds!

Vegas Baby

Gambling as fun

When Bugsy Malone opened his Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in the 1950s he probably had no idea that gambling would become one of the biggest single industries today. Las Vegas itself is today a mecca -- where else can you find a life-size replica of Michelangelo's David, a towering Eiffel Tower and L'Arc de Triomphe, the skyline of New York and a monolithic great pyramid?

People from all over the world travel to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno and throughout the U.S. to do what? Gamble. Just one roll of the dice could bring fortune, one pull of a slot machine could place that gigantic check in someone's hands.

Forget the tables, forget the dollar reels and video poker - penny slots are where it's at. No more coin in and coin out. Slide a ten-spot in the bill taker and play on credits. Machine feeling unlucky? Cash out and your credits are printed out right at your machine. Play as much as you want. A game like IGT's Buffet Mania is crazy! Fifteen lines, up to 10 bets per line - you're spending a maximum of $1.50 for the potential to get 1,000,000 coins returned -- sure that's $10,000 in pennies, but you don't have to count them!

When the slot machine companies started to change their cherry and seven reels to video, graphics went the way of video games. Sound effects, celebrity voiceovers and music complement detailed graphics and special effects. Hit a bonus round and you're assured bonus bucks. In the beginning, players bet all nine lines and up to five times per line. Nickels were the standard, and now pennies have taken over. By playing penny progressives at the maximum bet - sometimes 25 lines and 10 coins bet per line - you have the potential to win millions.

Try getting five "eyes" in IGT's Twilight Zone game. Eyes are scatter pay and can come up on a regular play. If you get five eyes in the Twilight Zone free spin bonus round with triple pay, and depending on how much you bet, you can win over 50,000 coins in one spin. Who said pennies didn't pay off?

Find out more about the best slots

The companies listed below develop and manufacture many of the video slot machines you find in casinos. Check it out, there are even descriptions on how some of the games are supposed to be played!

International Gaming Technology: The best and most creative of the video slot machine companies. Best graphics, best payoffs and most fun themed games. Twilight Zone, Buffet Mania, Money Storm, Spam, Jackpot Jungle, TV classics -- so many! And now IGT has come out with the second generation of the games - like SUPER MONEY STORM and Twilight Zone II, I love LION DANCE and all the games that are driven by stacked wilds.
Williams Gaming: WMS Gaming has great games, fairly loose. Their nickel machines are classics - Cash Crop, Money Groove, and pennies are fun: Men In Black, the Apprentice and more. WMS has really invented themselves, aligning with IGT, but best yet, coming up with new and exciting games, such as the Wizard of Oz and everything with HUGE payoffs, well, huge in pennies anyway. It's fun to bet 40 cents and end up with 9,200 credits in just one bonus round. It happens!
Aristocrat: Based in Australia, Aristocrat makes a lot of familiar games such as Mr. Cashman, all of the Hyperlink machines, and lots of themes.
Konami: World-renowned for their computer and video arcade games, their casino gaming machines are also top notch. Konami has the most unusual games too, such as Egypticon and these odd octagonal games that have small payoffs but huge rewards if you get the wilds and bonus rounds just right. Love to get 5,000 credits in one play. Makes it all worthwhile!
Bally's Gaming: Bally's is not just a great casino, but they also develop great games. Their Hot Shots Progressive is the bomb. They've had an amazing history of gaming and you'll be familiar with a lot of them. Check out their site. By the way, you can sign up to get FREE PLAY on three of their games. Very cool! Similar to their Masque software series.
Atronic: I was never a big fan of their games, but these DO pay off. And if you're stuck in an Indian Casino with little choice, these games can give you your penny or nickel fix.

Places to Find the Best Penny Slots in Las Vegas

It's no sense keeping these secret. Millions of people visit Las Vegas every month. It seems the more popular a game is, the longer the casino will keep the game around.

Sam's Town: Locals love this casino. They have all the new games, the machines are loose and lots of bonus rounds come up.
Barbary Coast: This small, unassuming and older casino is not as fancy as the surrounding area. It's a little too smoky but they have a Seattle's Best Coffee. Diverse machines that actually pay off.
Sunset Station: Located in Henderson, this is the best of the Station casinos. Airy, with a great selection of old and new machines.
The Palms: The hippest and coolest of the casino hotels in Vegas. Unlike most of the other large casinos, these slots are quite loose.
Harrahs Casino (the Strip): This Harrah's property is centrally located and is lively and energetic. Extremely crowded but a good mix of machines that unfortunately are pretty tight.
Casino Royale: An older, cramped casino but believe it or not, a good mix of penny slots. Low ceilings make this place a little uncomfortable.
Imperial Palace: This place could use an overhaul since it is surrounded by grandeur and splendor of other properties. It is, however, a good place to play slots because of the diversity of machines.
Paris Las Vegas: The best hotel and casino aesthetically. Lots of slots, but hard to win here. Best buffet!
Flamingo Hotel and Casino: Best place to stay location-wise. Central and convenient to the best places to play on the Strip. Good machines but you have to know what to play.
Bally's Hotel and Casino: Bally's is always on top of the new games, but it is hard to win here but at least you can find new games not seen anywhere else.
Red Rock Casino: I must add Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas to this list -- amazing array of games, great selection and best of all, a real local joint that pays off and doesn't have a smoky feel. Nice and airy, like all of the Station casinos. Free money too if you put your Station card in the machine, you are eligible for free money! I sat down to play, my machine started singing, I looked up and the screen read, claim your free $20 now!

Best Games

In my humble opinion

Do you have a favorite penny video slot game? If you do, it's probably because the machine has been good to you. That's probably the most important criteria to judging a good game. I play primarily IGT games because I love the graphics, the amazing ingenuity it took to create the game, the bonus rounds and the themes. You may look at the odds of winning, the maximum win, or how much fun you have when you're playing.

See the modules below for some very informal descriptions.

Buffet Mania

Penny slot, bonus rounds, high maximum payoff

Buffet Mania (IGT) An oldie but goodie. Fun and modern graphics. Voiceovers are hilarious. Get three random chefs and you get into the bonus rounds, tallying up food plates or free spins with really obnoxious looking characters.

The Twilight Zone

Penny Slot, excellent payoff, progressive

The Twilight Zone (IGT) Five Rod Serlings can be quite lucrative; the Twilight Zone logo is also wild and you can get 2x, 3x, even 4x your bet. Bonus rounds include free spins with potential for up to 4x your bet.

Be sure to check out Twilight Zone II -- very hard to find, but excellent new edition with the multi-line wins, keeps the same theme but way updated.

SPAM

Penny slot, multiple bonus rounds

Spam (IGT) Even though this game had a brief shelf life and could not be found at many casinos, it is probably the funniest game ever made. At maximum line bet you could win from left to right, right to left and every which way. You must pick correctly in the bonus round to proceed to the top dollar, and when you do, it's fun!

Lion Dance

Stacked wilds are crazy

Lion Dance is a aesthetically-pleasing, highly visual game that includes my favorite - stacked wilds, love to fill the board but more importantly, the free games are fun if you can get into the bonus round!

Carnival of Mystery

Multi-way penny slot, one of the new technologies

Carnival of Mystery (IGT) Often known as Carnival of Misery because winning is tough. When you win though and all five columns and four rows are covered with one of the carnival icons, sweeping the board, it can be lucrative. Bet the maximum line bet though, or your bonus round potential goes down.

Along the same vein, try Wild Orchid, such a similar game, but seems so much harder to win. Get into the bonus free spin round however, and all is forgotten!

Super Money Storm

Tornadoes Rule!

Money Storm (IGT) An oldie but goodie. If you get three or more tornados on a pay line, you get free spins depending on line placement. If you get three or more tornadoes during the free spin bonus, you keep getting more spins. Very lucrative and fun!

And now forget the old Money Storm, the new Super Money Storm is exactly the same, but new which means -- LOOSE! I sat down, got four tornadoes, had an original base of 40 free spins and ended up with retriggering like crazy. After 76 free spins and lots of payoff, I was truly exhausted!

Classic TV Themes

Complete with classic clips!

TV themed games (IGT) So creative. I like playing these because IGT uses most of the original voices. Where else can you hear Barbara Eden voicing I Dream of Jeannie "Yes Master," or John Astin voicing Gomez in the Addams Family? IGT has gone overboard in producing games like the Beverly Hillbillies, I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island and Laverne and Shirley. The best nickel is Elvira but can no longer be found.

Movie Themed Games

Oh, the creativity!

They come and go -- and they are fun. The Star Wars series of games are graphically excellent, but hard to win; WMS released the Wizard of Oz in 2007 and get the flying monkey bonus and you won't leave disappointed. Watch out for Glinda, who comes around randomly in her pink bubble to create stacked wilds -- crazy!

Oldies But Goodies

Not that old but some games have brief shelf lives

Some of the video slots that are popular with the penny players were formerly nickel slots. Among the best was the Creature from the Black Lagoon. The best bonus round is the snack bar, don't miss the video clips!

The Slot Machine Bible

Strictly Slots - Best tips, new machines, casino lifestyle, and others

You can get your monthly fix and subscribe to a number of monthly publications that give you updates on what's happening in the gaming industry. Of particular interest are photos of ordinary people that pose with their gigantic checks after hitting the Wheel of Fortune slot!