Real Time Gaming in Swing to Slots Tourneys
Written by Mel Dunkin
Many fans of Blackjack have been lamenting the gradual disappearance of blackjack tournaments from their favourite RTG casinos in recent months. Although this must clearly have upset some of their customers, the group seems to be engaged in a big effort to appease them and to attract new punters as well. Recent activity across RTG sites such as Rushmore Casino and Cherry Red Casino have seen them rolling out a brand new series of slots tournaments by way of a replacement.
Until recently, slots tournaments were the province of Odds On Casinos and some of the Rival Gaming outlets but this new move seems to herald a campaign designed to promote RTG to the rank of leader in this increasingly popular genre.
Slots tournaments operate in a manner very similar to a poker or blackjack event but provide the slot machine enthusiast with a rare opportunity to play in player against player mode rather than just competing against the software.
As with Poker and Blackjack, a buy-in is required for entry into the event. In exchange for the flat-rate payment, contestants receive a pre-determined number of game credits that may be thought of as chips. They have no face value as currency and may only be used for spins during the related slots tournament, after which any unused credits would be cancelled. During play all wins are shown cumulatively and each used credit is deducted.
An individual’s score is consolidated once his or her supply of tournament credits is exhausted as winnings may not be accessed. In most cases, re-buys are permitted so a player may continue to compete, adding all new wins to the previous total. The aggregated scores are recorded on a tournament leaderboard and, when the time is up, an agreed number of leaders will share the prize pool on a sliding scale. The size of the prize pool is, of course, determined by the total number of entries including re-buys.
Each tournament event features a particular game or, on occasions, a group of games. The games used are often selected because they are new and the tournament constitutes an attempt to draw players’ attention to them. RTG will, no doubt, be capitalizing heavily on the fact that it offers some of the best 3D and branded slots games in the industry.
Initially the tournaments will be introduced only to the top performing RTG Casinos but, in time, they can be expected to filter through to all of their online venues. It’s still early days so announcements have not yet appeared on the casino’s websites but they can be seen once you log in to their games lobbies.
If you are a slots fan, or even if you aren’t het familiar, both the Cherry Red Casino and the Rushmore Casino, are going to be offering some great action with big money attached. Put these on your “to do” list today!