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 /\/\/\/\

Clocking in with over 2300 slot machines, Woodbine Raceway has to be considered one of the "flagship" slot locations. Woodbine is open 7x24, and located within 10 minutes of the Toronto Airport.

Woodbine is one of the busiest casinos in Ontario. It's clear there are not enough slot locations close to Toronto. As a result, it's very difficult to wrestle down your favourite machines (especially on a weekend).

All major North American slot manufactures are here, with IGT's monopoly of the slot market slipping slightly (think 50% IGT, and 50% Bally, Konami, WMS Gaming, Atronic, Aristocrat.

Don't expect many penny slots. Due to the high demand for machines, Woodbine "gets away" with not offering as many low denomination machines as other casinos (including other racetrack slots).

There are two restaurants, enough space for about 15000 horse racing fans (in the stands). The slot area is a rectangular room ... with no smoking.

There is plenty of machine selection ... and the machines are kept very current (especially for the WMS Gaming products).

As long as you don't mind a busy place, Woodbine is a reasonable destination. If you like a little lower denomination ... or machines with a little less volatility, check out one of the other locations.

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

PS - As always, more information available on the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation site.

Hey Folks:

Just off Canada's busiest highway (401), between Toronto and Guelph is a Racetrack slot operation called Mohawk. In August 2007, I wrote a review about this place -- and I am happy to report about 1/3 of machines have been "turned over". This is a brief update, to bring you up-to-date of the changes. In fact, the changes are so positive, there is a better variety of slots than other area casinos such as Brantford (full charity casino) and Flamborough. I will assume this makeover will make its way into the other OLGC (Ontario Lottery Gaming) run casinos before the end of the year. This is an overview of the site.

The "Wheel of Fortune" (big wheel) 2-cent denomination ($1.60 minimum bet to qualify for the bonus round) proved to be a "bust" for this location. The novelty wore thin quickly ... perhaps it was the additional 80-cent per spin contribution to qualify for a big wheel top prize of $200 (is this good value?). It has been replaced with a collection of classic old IGT games (think Lucky Larry's Lobstermania ... and all the usual suspects) connected to the "Fort Knox" multi-tiered bonusing system. These new low-denom games will find fans.

Lots of old reel-style quarter slots have been removed --- and made way for plenty of 2-cent denom gaming. Aristocrat is one of the big winners here, with a collection of approximately 20 new titles (although almost all of the games are at least a few years old -- you can see Pompeii, 100 Lions, Panda, etc). Although the graphics and sound are inferior to competitors, the games are huge hits with gamers ... and the casino is catching on. Aristocrat and WMS Gaming have been the big winners in this jurisdiction.

WMS gaming has picked up many 2-cent machines as well. There is HOT HOT PENNY (in various flavors) -- and a collection of the impressive G+ gaming machines (Palace of Riches II, Brazilian Beauty and Zeus). WMS Gaming has also picked up floor space for their traditional reel spinners with 9 paylines in the nickel and greater catagory. Add in new (to this casino), the multi-line nickel games like Reels O'Dublin, Double Easy Money. However, I need to question why a minimum 25-cent multi-denom game is necessary for a game like "3 Alarm Fire" ... when a minimum 5-cent version is already available (and the 5-cent version can go up to $1). It's my guess that the payback percentage on the 5-cent minimum is less thanas the 25-cent version (and it's no wonder this happened --- since the Woodbine track has the same overlap in machines).

IGT has a few dozen new 2-cent machines including Wolf Run, Davinci Diamonds (IGT's rip-off of WMS Gamings Cascading tiles games), Stinking Rich, Bombay (different graphics on the Stinking Rich game) and a newer play in the "Frog Prince" series ... entitled appropriately, "Frog Princess". IGT also has some 4-reel 10-cent mechanical reels, involing the number 7 (eg. Butterfly 7's) (which are sure to be an instant bomb -- ho hum). It should ensure the denomination of 10-cents never rally takes flight. Some old 2-cent and 5-cent Star Wars machines will be added. The game was cutting edge 2

More improvements could be made -- for example, one of the two automated payout machines was moved (or removed). There could be more. With all of the new low-denom ... it has actually generated more demand for the machines -- with approximately 100 machines at 2-cents, it is still not enough for the hungry masses.

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