NEW SLOTS

Zorro Power Of Z

At Talking Stick Resort

Unmask excitement with every spin! Looking for double the action? Zorro by Aristocrat Gaming is your man in this game that offers Cash-on-Reels and huge wins. Whether you’re playing for all the extra thrills—from more spins to credit prizes, and jackpots—or bigger Cash-on-Reel values, Zorro Power Of Z—Daybreak Duel leads you on an impressive showing of lucky spins and golden opportunities.

EXTRA SPINS: For each Zorro symbol that lands anywhere on the bottom reels, a gold Zorro symbol is added on the top reels, allowing players to earn extra spins

EXPANDED CASH-ON-REELS: Cash-on-Reel symbols activate on reels during the spin, awarding credit prizes, jackpots, or extra spins

SUPER SPINS: Triggered on the tenth spin unlocking all positions above selected reels with added Cash-on-Reel values

You can play this slot at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, visit AristocratGaming.com and TalkingStickResort.com. $

Gold Fish Feeding Time

At Talking Stick Resort

These gold fish will never go hungry with this newest underwater adventure game. Gold Fish Feeding Time - Castle is a fun and exciting aquatic-themed game on the all-new Kascada Dual Screen cabinet brought to you by Scientific Games; the perfect hardware to highlight the vibrant fish-themed graphics.

Gold, Blue, and Purple Fish Food symbols are Bonus symbols, and Free Spins are triggered by Gold, Blue, or Purple fish food symbols.

The Gold fish will be fed in the best way when 1 or more scattered Bonus Symbols are on the reels that may award the corresponding Bonus awarding 5 - 10 Free Spins!

An entertaining treasure of a game with multiple features, players will be immersed by the three Free Game and Bonus prizes!

You can play this slot at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, visit SGGaming.com and TalkingStickResort.com. $

Triple Fortune Dragon Rising

By IGT

T

he newest addition to IGT’s popular Triple Fortune Dragon family of Asian-themed games, Triple Fortune Dragon Rising offers a dynamic new look complete with a thrilling bonus feature!

The 3x5 reel, 243-payline game incorporates a vibrant art package with ornate Ming vases, fans, an emperor, and dragon symbols, complete with harmonious music. During the base game, when the wild symbol, represented by the golden dragon, lands on reels two or four, the win is multiplied three or nine times respectively.

The bonus is triggered when three or more symbols appear on consecutive reels with the possibility of retriggers. Adding to the gameplay excitement, the Dragon Rising feature is unlocked during the bonus when one or more dragon symbols land, expanding the reel sets up to two times for even more win potential. Triple Fortune Dragon Rising is a 25-credit cost-to-cover game. For more information, visit IGT.com. $

Format: 5 reels, 243 pay lines Payback Percentage Range: 92-97%

Five Treasures Explosion

By Scientific Games (now Light & Wonder)

The slot you remember and love, 5 Treasures has returned in an explosive new way! Like the original hit Duo Fu Duo Cai game, 5 Treasures Explosion features a Free Spins Bonus where players choose from five free game scenarios with added Wilds, as well as the famous Fu Babies Bonus where players pick to match three Fu Babies that correspond to one of four jackpots.

In 5 Treasures Explosion, these bonuses are taken to the next level when triggered by gold symbols. If the Free Spins Bonus is triggered by at least one Gold Door symbol, the number of Wilds that can be added to the reels increases – up to 138 Wilds!

If the Fu Babies Bonus trigger includes a Gold Fu symbol, the jackpots upgrade to Gold Jackpots, and when playing 588 credits or more, the Grand jackpot transforms into the Explosion Jackpot, a life changing Wide Area Progressive jackpot!

A friend of our team recently played this slot at a casino and we wanted to share their experience in the Free Spins Bonus with you. So, to experience the game via an exclusive video of this new slot, just go to our website at AZGamingGuide.com and click on “Videos”. The actual link is: www.azgamingguide.com/index_files/videos.html. You can also find the video on our Facebook (/ArizonaGamingGuide). Or, if you are reading this digitally, just click the slot’s picture to the right! $

THE IMPACT OF PROGRESSIVES

What A Progressive Does To The Playing Strategy And The Casino’s Hold!

As you can see from the picture to the right, I took a photo of a Jacks Or Better (JOB) progressive with an 8/5 pay table (8 times bet for a Full House and 5 times bet for a Flush).

“Why?” you ask! Well, the progressive was high, I had free play to use, and my other video poker game was taken. I figured, a $20 stake from my bankroll, plus $20 in free play will be enough to see if this video poker unit is ready to pay the Royal Flush! Afterall, the base value is $1,000.00 and when I sat down, the jackpot was already past $1,720.00.

Several four of a kinds later, I was well over $100.00. The machine was, in my opinion, “hot.” I kept playing and eventually cashed out $40 when my credit meter took a nose dive from $100 to $50. I had my stake back, and turned the $20 in free play into cash. Not bad!

What is bad is JOB at 8/5! With perfect strategy, the long run return is around 97.29% (a 2.71% hold for the casino). However, with the progressive at the value in the picture, 8/5 JOB now has a long run return of around 98.92% (only a 1.08% hold). Unfortunately, a 9/6 JOB game, with perfect strategy, and this progressive, has a long run return of around 101.19% (there’s no hold at the moment for the casino). The video poker game I wanted, with perfect strategy, no progressive, has a long run return of around 98.50% (a 1.50% hold). So, long story short, the pictured 8/5 JOB with the progressive had a lower house hold than the game I wanted to play without the progressive!

However, you have to be prepared to play the game in the picture differently than you would a game without the progressive! Allow me to explain. The progressive in the picture is so high, it’s significantly increased the payback to almost 99%. This means the Royal Flush is a more valuable hand, by just over a factor of two! Let’s examine how that affects how a player needs to hold cards while playing.

STRATEGY FOR 8/5 JOB WITH NO PROGRESSIVE

1. Hold any Royal Flush, Straight Flush or Full House 2. Hold any Four of a Kind 3. Hold any 4 to a Royal Flush 4. Hold any 3 of a Kind 5. Hold any Straight or Flush 6. Hold any Two Pair 7. Hold any sequential or inside Straight Flush. 8. Hold a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces. 9. Hold any 3 to a Royal Flush. Specifically, 10 Jack Ace, 10 Jack Queen, 10 Jack King, 10 Queen Ace, 10 Queen King, 10 King Ace, Jack Queen Ace, Jack Queen King, Jack King Ace, or Queen King Ace.

STRATEGY FOR 8/5 JOB WITH A $1,723 PROGRESSIVE

1. Hold any Royal Flush, Straight Flush or Full House 2. Hold any 4 to a Royal Flush 3. Hold any Four of a Kind 4. Hold any 3 of a Kind 5. Hold any Straight or Flush 6. Hold any Two Pair 7. Hold any sequential or inside Straight Flush. 8. Hold any 3 to a Royal Flush. Specifically, 10 Jack Ace, 10 Jack Queen, 10 Jack King, 10 Queen Ace, 10 Queen King, 10 King Ace, Jack Queen Ace, Jack Queen King, Jack King Ace, or Queen King Ace. 9. Hold a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces.

Notice how holding 3 to a Royal Flush in the game with the progressive is more important than holding a pair! And that’s just at the beginning of the strategy. For example, 2 to a Royal Flush was not as important as holding for a Straight (Jack Queen King Ace). With the progressive, hold a suited Jack Queen, Jack King, or Queen King before holding for a Straight.

Send us an email if you want to know how to hold a hand! Doesn't matter if it’s holds you are seeing other people make, or if you just want to be sure about your own holds. Ask us if you have any kind of a video poker question, regardless of what it’s about! Write us at Editor@AZGamingGuide.com, or send a letter to: Editor, AZ Gaming Guide, PO BOX 20636, Mesa, AZ, 85277. $