It's no secret that the most powerful ingredient in slots design is that of the imagination. In most cases, that applies to the creative geniuses who design them, but sometimes, the players themselves may add a twist of their own. Over decades of slots play, both in casinos and now online, strange, weird and curious things have taken place. Join Wheelz as we take a closer look.
Bizarre slots themes
If you have spent time exploring game lobbies of online casinos, some titles have probably raised your eyebrows. If you aren't mildly amused by games like Hells Grannies, Monty Python's Spamalot or the homicidal Machine Gun Unicorn, then what does make you smile? Take a stroll through titles like Sharknado (yes, based on those movies), the now-disabled and racy 40 Shades of Santa, the food-themed Cash 'n Curry or the Bible Slots that literally have an End of Days game to enjoy. Then again, who's to judge? Plenty of slots have zombies, vampires, talking fish and more, so maybe it's all about the entertainment.
Ridiculous but fun
Anything goes in an online slot. Take the murderous game Serial from NoLimits City, for example. The game proclaims '243 Ways', which, it turns out, refers to ways to win rather than die at the hands of the serial killer characters lurking among the reels. NoLimits have a superb way of creating some insane-sounding titles, like their graffiti-festooned games Punk Toilet and Punk Rocker. They're fantastic inner-city anthems that bring to life the seedier side of urban sprawl. If city life gets you into enough trouble, you could be heading to the jail-themed slots, Folsom Prison or San Quentin, where cockroaches roam and hardened cons rule the cell blocks. They're a long way from the happy dolphin inhabitants of Aquatic Treasures.
Gone today, here tomorrow
Perhaps a cautionary tale every now and then is a good reminder to track your casino activities. Take the case of Harry Kakavas, the casino enthusiast who racked up a gambling turnover of $1.5 billion, including a loss of $164 million in six hours after gambling away $300,000 per hand. He also lost $4 million in Vegas in one day. An indication that gaming for fun is much better than reckless, out of control, behaviour.
A more positive story is this: a software engineer decided to try his luck on a Megabuck slot machine at Excalibur, Vegas. Within a few (extremely fortunate) spins, he landed the biggest slots jackpot of all time: $39.7 million. There's the Finnish man (who chose anonymity) who transformed a 25-cent spin on NetEnt's Mega Fortune into 24 million dollars (€17 million) in 2013. The Mega Moolah jackpot games from Microgaming are renowned for producing life-changing wins (occasionally), with a Belgian winning largest online jackpot of $23.6 million dollars in April 2021.
Keep the pizza, thank the dog
A German player keeping himself busy playing the Mega Fortune slot while his pizza was cooking in the oven managed to add a topping of great luck with a winning jackpot of $3.5 million, while a woman playing in Sweden (to pass the time while her new dog kept her awake) wagered just 40 cents on the Divine Fortune slot to scoop a whopping €131,000. Thank the dog!
Online slots can bring incredible opportunities to win, although all players should exercise responsible gaming behaviour, including knowing when to stop, having a pre-determined budget and taking plenty of breaks.