Re: I dislike any slot I lose money all.

Over the long haul you are likely always going to lose money on a given title unless you win and stop playing.

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

PS - Had a nice jackpot on IGT's "Amazing Sea Monkeys" ... the bonus round has real potential.

"Enchanted Unicorn"- My sister loves this game, I guess because she won some money on it once or twice. I never have. For some reason I have an intense dislike for this game. I can sit there and lose a $20 (9-line, nickel per line bet) faster than you can say "Jack Robinson". I know the "wild symbol makes entire reel wild" is the main drawing point of this slot, and I have had success with other "entire reel wild" slots (like Aristocrat's excellent "Gamblin Jack").... but never, ever with Enchanted Unicorn. The wild symbols just refuse to match up with anything. The scatters are not very generous and rarely come up. Maybe this is just my local machines, but everytime I have played it it has refused to give me even chump change. Same with the 20-line penny video version.

"Wheel of Fortune"- I know these are very popular, but I find most of them (in all variations) to have pretty pathetic payouts, unless you win a major jackpot (which is rare). I have never received more than 40 or 50 credits in the "Spin the wheel" bonuses... much less the prized 1000 credit spin. I dislike slots where you have to bet three credits to qualify for a bonus, but the regular pays do not increase from 2x to 3x. Don't get me started on the "Big Wheel" or whatever it is called, with the eight seats around a massive wheel. An impressive sight, sure... visually exciting. But having to bet DOUBLE (40 lines PLUS 40 credits) to qualify for the bonus?!?!?!? I'm sitting there pumping 80 cents a pop into this machine (at a penny denomination) and getting nothing back. Way, way less fun than it looks, trust me.

Any slot with timed bonus incentive- Those linked games with shared bonuses where you only have a certain amount of time to qualify for a bonus, or the multiplier starts to go down every eight seconds or so. Why? The popularity of slot machines arose due to players being able to gamble AT THEIR OWN PACE! Admittedly, I do get sucked into these occasionally, and have made SOME money... but usually end up plonking in 20 or 40 bucks without getting a bonus at all. Some of these are: Indiana Jones, Press Your Luck, Monopoly, Happy Days, E-Bay and other licensed themes.

"Tiki Torch"- I like almost all Aristocrat's.... but why is the bonus trigger only on adjacent reels and not a "true" scatter? And why only 8 free spins for this difficult-to-trigger bonus?

"Hot Shot" progressives- I used to like these. They are exciting and suspenseful and I have had the occasional "big" (for me) win.... but after too many times of getting NOTHING in the bonus, even with three or four chances... I figured, what's the point? A lot of buildup for nothing, and at $1 a spin (I usually prefer to spend between 30 and 60 cents a spin) a $20 or two can evaporate REAL fast if the game is not paying.


Honorable mention: the Cascading Reels games- Although I actually like the innovative cascade feature, I have never seemed to do well on these... never even doubled my money, I don't think. So in consequence I rarely if ever play them. Not "bad" slots per se (actually pretty inventive), just not my cup of tea.

SLOTS I HATE:

TIKI TORCH: I seem to never be able to get the 3 pearls necessary to start the free spins. I have fed these machines like crazy. Also it seems like there are way too many symbols to match up.

WILD GOLD/AMERICAN 7's/muli-level Quick Hit machines: I never get more than 3 quick hits. NEVER get the free games. This game is a true bandit.

RED HOT JACKPOTS MACHINES: Can never accumalate more than 7 RED HOT JACKPOT symbols during the bonus round.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE/REEL: I LOVE THIS MACHINE AND HATE IT AT THE SAME TIME. If you get in a groove it can pay like crazy...if not, i've fed it like crazy.

BLAZING 7's: Have not lined up 3 blazing 7's since 2004. I find myself putting in $1000 when the progressive is around 1200, risking too much to win so little.

TRIPLE STARS/TRIPLE RED HOT 7's themed machines: I see people win on the machines all the time. When I give it a try, NOTHING!!!

BONUS TIMES PAY (the one with a 2x 5x 10x symbol): People land the big mulitpliers all the time...when i play, i get 2x and a cherry. what the hell!?

There are a lot of machines I DESPISE, these are just a few that I can never win at. Hope you guys NEVER feel my pain..hehe.

Hey ... great post. Thanks for your feedback on the games.

On Enchanted Unicorn ... there is a video version and a mechanical version. On the video version ... you have the potential to win very big multiple times. Lion, Unicorn, Unicorn, Unicorn, Lion --- all on the same line, will give you 5-of-a-kind Lions on 3 different lines on a 9-line bet . On the video version, there is also a treasure chest bonus. The mechanical version of the same does not have the treasure chests, so the unicorn appears more frequently. You might enjoy the action on this version of the game. I won over $900 on a 9-coin (nickel) bet this year.

I agree with everything you said about "Wheel of Fortune" ... especially the "Big Wheel". It's a big flop for IGT. They sell the casinos on it because it looks exciting.

For the "Community Bonus" games like Monopoly ... I really like them, but they are just too expensive. Also ... I find they are "buggy". I understand the multiplier needs to drop when you are betting less (to keep the mathematical payout correct) ... but I have been excluded from a game, where I was clearly playing and eligible. I don't think it is fair you lose multiplier while you are in the bonus round. The multiplier should be held while in the bonus round.

I agree that Aristocrat knows how to make an enjoyable game. TIKI TORCH is similar to SUN & MOON. Although the bonus round is difficult, and the number of spins is relatively low, the bonus round is much more generous than most --- as long as the WILDS keep coming up --- you can do very very well.

"Hot Shot" progressives- Welcome to Bally Gaming -- most of their games follow the same model. High risk ... moderate rewards. Bally machines tend to pay out moderate sized jackpots more than any other manufacturer.

As for Cascading Reels ... these were a hit for WMS Gaming ... and the latest titles are fantastic. They pop you into the bonus round after a certain threshold of cascades are hit in a single spin. On the downside, you really have to play all 20 lines to have the best experience. You are correct though -- the game feels like treading water -- unless you can get a bonus round ... and start racking up free spins. "Open the Vault" and "Kaboom" are good for this. The game "All That Glitters" is a little weaker, because the most you can win is pretty much "capped" by the values on the table. Also, it's difficult to complete many of the "settings" before you are out of the bonus.

Hope you keep up the great posts!

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

Great to hear from you ... it's been a while!

Try TIKI TORCH with a smaller bet. Maybe a 15-line bet, 75-cents a spin ... if the think gets stingy, you can hang in the game a while before you get to the bonus round. Of course, there are no promise the bonus round will be huge -- but it pays much more than most bonus rounds .. and the potential is huge!

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