Casino News
Soccer Featured in June Releases from Microgaming
It’s that time again! The first few day of each month invariably heralds the release of a batch of new games by the online gambling software giant, Microgaming and this month is no exception. What is exceptional, however, is that this June will also mark the opening of the greatest event in soccer history, the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Never one to miss a cue, Microgaming has chosen a soccer theme for one of its three latest new releases. Bearing in mind that the venue is South Africa, the developers decided to combine the soccer theme with a touch of local colour by blending it with a safari element to create, “Soccer Safari”. The game features a symbol set in which local fauna such as elephants, warthogs and lions join together to play soccer. Expect some great bonus features when you play “Soccer Safari”. For example, three or more of the trophy scatter symbols will launch the “Go for Goal” bonus game where you can chose your favourite team and have a crack at scoring a few goals to boost your winnings. You won’t even need to find the net in order to enjoy the benefits of the generous 20 x multiplier.
In the second new release, “Voila”, the scene shifts from Africa to Europe, more specifically to Paris, the city of love and haute cuisine. The visuals feature all of the romantic images of the French capital as well as a selection of the culinary masterpieces for which it is famous. “Voila” is rich with bonus opportunities such as the random wild multipliers that could result in payouts of up to 40 000 credits in the base game and twice as much during the free spins round. For the more daring, the gamble feature could see winnings doubled or even quadrupled.
If you are even vaguely fond of poker, Microgaming’s new table game release should definitely pop your cork. They have christened it “High Speed Poker” and have gone the extra male to combine the lightning-fast poker action with some phenomenal imagery and sound bites that serves to re-create the atmosphere of a live game to perfection. The game has its origins in the popular variant known as 3-card poker. It offers players great multi-hand action in which they can play up to five simultaneous hands against the dealer. A choice of several bet options such as face offs, ante bets, play bets and bonus bets all add spice and the possibility of taking down some really big pots.
As yet, there has been no announcement regarding the proposed launch date for this latest batch of new online entertainments but we do know that they will be available first at All Slots and Platinum Play online casinos.
Battle of the Online Bonuses Heats Up
It is just a couple of days ago that we reported on a record breaking bonus offer from another online casino that put together an incredible multipart offer with the potential to enrich new members by as much as $20 000over the course of their first 20 deposits. Well, if you thought that was a bargain, how about FREE BONUSES ON ALL DEPOSITS?
English Harbour, a prestigious UK Online Casino that has always been well-known for its generosity to both new players and existing clients, is offering everyone the chance to earn a bonus for every single reload and, furthermore, the scheme has been tailored in such a way that, whether you are a modest punter or a high roller, you will always benefit.
The mechanics of their promotion are really quite simple. Anyone that opens a new real-money account at English Harbour will enjoy an automatic 100% matching bonus on their first deposit of up to £100. Thereafter, regardless of whether you are a new or existing player, every subsequent reload will attract a bonus.
The English Harbour reload bonuses are arranged on a sliding scale with the matching percentage varying according to the range of the deposit made.
The scales apply as follows:
• 5% is paid to players making deposits of up to £49.99
• 10% is paid to players making deposits of between £50 and £99.99
• All deposits of £200 or greater will be matched with 20% bonus.
Once you dock at English Harbour Online Casino there is far more to be enjoyed than just the promise of deposit matching bonuses for life. The casino is also well known for its exciting and lucrative tournament action and it offers one of the busiest tournament schedules to be found anywhere on the net. New sign-ups also get a free tournament entry when they make their first deposit as part of the deal.
Those punters who enjoy a bit of peer-to-peer action can take their pick, not only from the various daily slots events, but also form a selection of blackjack, video poker and even Texas Hold’em poker events. Right now, their 2010 “Summer Slots Series” is underway with a total prize pool of $500 000 to compete for.
The theme at English Harbour is definitely one of “spoilt for choice”. Apart from a great range of top quality slots, table games and video pokers, the casino also offers some exclusive speciality games such as Bingo Bucks, a great 5 by 5 bingo game with 12 paylines that operates just like a slot machine.
Words alone are not enough to describe the English Harbour experience, you will really need to see sample it for yourself.
Video Poker Player Strikes it Big at All Slots
There is nothing really new about reports of a big progressive jackpot win at the popular All Slots Online Casino. Most of the time, however, these lucky players are deriving their windfalls from the progressive slots games, despite the fact that the Microgaming network also hosts progressive games from other genres such as roulette, blackjack and video poker.
There is seldom any shortage of hype at All Slots Casino. You may recall the recent launch of two new slots games, the “Magic Multiplier” and “Sugar Mama. To assist with their launch, the casino held a special promotional event that featured the two games.
The latest big win to come from All Slots, though, appears to be the result of a growing interest in the progressive jackpot opportunities that the network provides for its video poker fans.
This weekend it was “Poker Ride”, one of Microgaming’s progressive video poker games that caught everyone’s attention. The game is quite similar to another video poker game known as “Let it Ride”. What sets “Poker Ride” aside from its imitations, however, is the fact that players may receive various fixed percentages of the progressive jackpot prize pool depending upon the hands they manage to land.
Although no more details of the latest win are yet available, we can confirm that the lucky punter succeeded in taking down a juicy $132 917 pot for his or her unidentified hand.
During the last two months alone this increasingly popular game has offered up 5 very substantial wins to its faithful followers and even the smallest of the five amounted to just a fraction under $115 000.
Needless to say a winning streak such as the one described here always results in widespread new interest and the Microgaming network has been experiencing a lot of new punters seeking to take a “Poker Ride”. More players will mean that the prize pool will grow faster and fatter and thus it seems certain we can look forward to more wins and, very likely, these will feature some even bigger ones than those paid to date.
For anyone planning to switch their attention from the regular progressive slot games to video pokers, the obvious game choice right now would definitely appear to be “Poker Ride”. So, if you too are looking for something new by way of progressive jackpot action, those of you who have not yet experienced the thrill of the games lobby at All Slots Casino will find that this could be an excellent time for a change of venue also.
Go Casino Breaks all Records for Bonuses
If you are shopping around for a place to enjoy a bit of a flutter this weekend then I have two pieces of advice. Firstly, stay at home and secondly, take a trip through cyberspace to enjoy some of the fun and thrills of playing at Go Casino.
Apart from just being a great place to play, Go Casino has taken the whole idea of the welcome bonus to brand new level and may have even reset the bar for the entire industry.
When you sign up at this well-established and innovative online casino, you can look forward to not just a single welcome bonus but an entire series of twenty. That’s right, it’s not just your first deposit that will qualify for their generous 100% matching bonus but the next 19 deposits will also attract a load of free boodle as well! Individual matching bonus percentages vary from deposit to deposit and are either 50% or 100%. The lower percentage is compensated by permitting deposits of up to $2 000 to qualify for the bonus as opposed to only $1 000 at the higher percentages.
Almost unbelievably, the total multipart bonus could actually add up to an incredible $20 000 and the good news is that players will qualify for a bonus on all deposits of just $25 or more.
Of course, there is much more to be enjoyed at Go Casino than just their record welcome bonuses. The games lobby opens up a your door to more than 100 exciting games that run on the amazing Vegas Technology software. The company is well-known and admired for its exceptionally realistic 3D graphics that turn online gaming into such an awesome entertainment experience.
If you are looking for some really exciting competitive play and the chance of some fat rewards, you are going to rave over the extensive programme of slots tournaments. Today will see the start of their “Weekend Madness” slot tournament where for just $12.99, you get to play the ever-popular “Love Bugs” slot and compete for a share of a massive guaranteed $70 000 prize pool. The contest continues through until Tuesday June 1st and unlimited rebuys are available also at $12.99.
If 13 bucks is a little too rich for your blood, don’t worry! Go Casino also hosts a one-day tournament every Friday with a buy-in of just $1.99 and, for that, you will earn yourself a shot at a cut of $1 500.
But wait; it gets better! Monday 31st May will put you in a tournament seat for absolutely nothing. It’s the “Memorial Day Bonus Buck Freeroll” when you can play the exciting “Fire Hawk” game with $3 500 in total prize money up for grabs.
So, why are you still hanging around here?
Microgaming Rumoured to be Dropping US Players
The past four years have seen the online gaming industry in the United States in a state of total confusion. The controversial UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was introduced in 2006 and has been the subject of an ongoing battle involving online casino operators, banks, congress, the senate, fans of online gaming and even religious groups.
Throughout the early days, while uncertainty abounded and nobody did much more than voice support or disapproval for UIGEA, Microgaming stood its ground continuing to provide US players with online casino and card room services via its own outlets.
Later, the gaming software giant was seen to make its first concession to the possible enforcement of the act by ceasing to accept new registrations from players in the US although continuing to support its considerable existing membership in that country.
Interventions by influential bodies and individuals such as Senator Barney Frank resulted in breathing space for interested parties to draft and introduce alternative legislation that would lead to a closely regulated online gambling industry rather than banning such activity altogether.
Now, with the June 1st deadline for final enforcement fast approaching, several incidents of online gaming proceeds being confiscated by banks attempts to prosecute casino operators and players, it is widely rumoured that Microgaming intends a strategic withdrawal from its remaining US operations.
Although there has been no public announcement to the effect it has been speculated that new casinos, running on an alternative software platform will replace those closed by Microgaming. Whether the resulting migration of players will require them to re-register or not is unclear.
If true, this will mean that the industry leader will now join its closest competitor Playtech in forsaking US-based gaming business altogether.
Will their move spell the end of online gaming for Americans? Most unlikely! Real Time Gaming and Top Game both continue to operate as significant players in the online gaming arena and will still be offering services to US punters. Although both companies and Top Game in particular are much smaller than Microgaming and Playtech they still have a lot of appeal with their unique and well crafted if smaller portfolios of games.
Americans, however, are unlikely to be deterred by UIGEA in the long run. It is much harder to police players than to keep an eye on the activities of service providers. The punters will continue to spend their dollars offshore until the administration admits to the fact that their country is still in recession and that it should, perhaps, be encouraging its gamblers to buy American!