It should be no surprise that Woodbine Racetrack is one of the largest racetrack slot operations clocking in with over 2000 slots. Woodbine is one of the largest and longest running horse racing venues in Canada.

Of most importance to the readers of this forem ... how are the slots?

Woodbine represents is the only slots machine venue right in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The next closest place to play slots would be Casino Rama to the north (about 1.5 hours away), Mohawk to the West (about 30 minutes away), Ajax to the east (about 30 minutes away) and Flamboro or Brantford (40 minutes) to the Southwest. For this reason, Woodbine slots is extremely busy ... especially during the regular "peak" times.

Woodbine long lingered behind the curve with older style traditional reel machines including progressives. In recent times, I am happy to announce, this casino has a selection of machines which rivals other Canadian destinations such as Niagara or Casino Rama. The machines are aggressively turned over to newer technology ... to the point where at least 1/3 of machines are less than one year old. You will get a selection of the latest WMS Gaming and IGT machines. It is throughly paper in/out ... and beverage service was ramped up nicely (even for a busy night).

The clientele plays to all extremes, from the very young (at least 19), to the very old. Like Toronto itself, it is a very multi-cultural experience.

My main reservation is not the machine selection ... but the ability to pick a machine you want to play. It is extremely busy. If you play during non-core hours, this is a great destination with a wide variety of machines.

Another observation is that companies like Konami, Atronic and Aristocrat appear to be "under represented" when compared to other racetrack slots. However, companies like WMS Gaming and IGT have their own versions of the "stacked bonusing" multi-lines(the same symbol appears stacked on one another -- eg. 50 Lions) reals popularized by Aristrocrat. Also ... Woodbine is just starting to get machines with "multi-denominations".

Overall ... it's a busy place, with a good selection of games ... but the average volitility of the machines is rising, often resulting in a shorter total playing experience.

/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\