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The Buffalo have never been bigger and the mummy might need another mo’.
Through a technological partnership with Awager, an Aristocrat company, the Borgata and BetMGM online casino platforms have made land-based slot machines available for players in New Jersey. With just a few clicks on the website or app, you’re topping off a machine, hitting the spin button and watching the buffalo run by.
“At BetMGM, we’re committed to bringing new and innovative gaming experiences to our players. The addition of Awager’s live slots offering creates an exciting new way for our players to engage with slot machines digitally. This is just the beginning of our partnership, and we look forward to continuing to work together to explore new opportunities that further enhance the BetMGM online casino experience,” said Rob Passerino, director of gaming at BetMGM, in an Aug. 13 press release.
I touched on this innovation in my weekly online casino power rankings, comparing the catalog to Caesars Remote Reels. Both features function largely the same, but BetMGM and the Borgata have a bigger menu of games to choose from.
Are the games real? You bet — maybe too real. Are they worth giving a try? Let me tell you what I discovered after a few hours of play.
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100% Deposit Match up to $500
Or Choose up to 200 Bonus Spins on Deposit
First Deposit Unlocks a Chance at up to 1,000 Bonus Spins on the House
Use Bonus Code: PLAYCAS
BetMGM and Borgata put 60 live slots online
Scroll down on your BetMGM or Borgata app or website, and you’ll see the category marked with a Live icon, called “Live Slots.” There are 60 live slot games listed at both online casinos.
When you enter the main live slots lobby, there are five “rooms” to enter where you can see the games. But not every game is available. It either has a green icon showing it’s available or a red icon showing it’s busy. If a game is busy, you can add it to your queue and be notified when it is free. You can also leave the queue if you want.
The games come from the Aristocrat catalog and include Buffalo Ascension, Buffalo Gold, Crazy Chickens and Mo’Mo’Mo’ Mummy Sunlight Riches. There are multiple cabinets for a handful of games. I saw four Crazy Chickens boards and two Shamrock Fortunes. The lowest minimum spin was 50 cents, and the highest was $5.
Load your money and take over a machine
You can’t automatically play with the money in your account. You have to take money from your wallet and insert it into the machine. Make sure the amount you put into the machine is more than the minimum needed for each spin.
When you put your money into the machine, it lights up and beeps just like if you were actually in the room (nice touch). I put $5 into Boo Bucks Fangtastic. On your screen, there are icons for the camera, bet amount, spin, sounds and the hamburger icon that takes you to the game details.
There’s definitely the tiniest bit of lag after you press the spin button. And I didn’t understand the purpose of the magnifying glass icon. I could see the full screen just fine without it.
When I was finished playing, I was asked if I wanted to cash out from the machine and the amount was sent right back into my account.
The technology is impressive, but is it better?
It’s definitely worth checking out. I bounced from Boo Bucks to Crazy Chickens and over to Stack Up Pays. If you scrolled all the way to the left in the Stack Up Pays room, you could see a hardware cabinet probably full of wires and cords. I told you these games are real.
The technology is remarkable, and I can see the appeal to a player who wants a full in-person casino experience. I had some success at Boo Bucks, but that was about it. With spins ranging from 50 cents to $5, this isn’t for small-time players. I tried to find any return-to-player rates listed in the game details with no luck.
Caesars Remote Reels only has eight games in its catalog, but it does have a Huff N’ Puff game, which is missing from BetMGM and the Borgata. You can also mark one of the Remote Reels games as a favorite at Caesars, but I couldn’t see that feature available here.
Caesars also introduces its live slot games with a short video presentation where it looks like you’re walking into a land-based casino.
A big game catalog with plenty of potential
With a big catalog of games and incredible technology, the live slots at BetMGM and the Borgata are an impressive addition to the game catalogs of both franchises. I’m excited to think about how the game selection will grow.
But it’s a double-edged sword in that this is literally like having a slot machine on your phone or computer screen. But we already have so many amazing real-money online slots available with jackpots, features and bonus buy options that it’s hard to beat that experience.
Live slots are something every avid player should sample and add to their repository of games to bounce around, but I wouldn’t make them a priority over a great video slot.
