Why we love to play those low-denom slots
Another top online casino that you can try Penny Lane Slots out in Australia is Joe Fortune. Efficient Penny Lane Slots customer support, player-friendly bonuses, and a great mobile experience make it a great option for Australians. Joe Fortune has been in the casino industry and has proved its mettle and efficiency over the years. Penny slots are slot machines that can be played for low stakes. This way you can play one penny per pay line and you won’t take any big risks. The playing process is virtually the same as if you played any other slot games, only the stakes are different.
by Frank Legato
Young casino-goers may not remember, but it wasn’t that long ago that the lowest buy-in you could generally find on the casino floor was a quarter.
Little more than a decade ago, quarters ruled the floor, mostly in the form of traditional games with three spinning reels. Three developments over the ensuing 10 years, though, would change everything.
Multi-line video begat nickels. Nickels begat tickets. Tickets begat pennies. We haven’t looked back since.
When slot-maker Aristocrat placed the first multi-line video slots on U.S. soil in the mid-1990s, the nickel slot was a dinosaur. Relics of the low-roller “grind joints” of days past, nickel games were simple three-reelers set at the lowest payback permitted by law and placed in low-traffic areas to get something out of otherwise-wasted space. With multiple paylines in the mix, though, the average bet could increase.
By the year 2000, the market was flooded with nickel multi-line video slots, with ever-increasing numbers of paylines and ever-increasing average bets. With people betting 45 coins on the average nine-line nickel game, average bets were easily more than quarters, and often higher than even the venerable dollar slots. Players loved them for their high hit frequency and often-entertaining cartoon or TV-based bonus rounds.
Those same high bets and high jackpots, though, presented an annoying problem with the nickel slots—there were just too many nickels. Cashing out any reasonable amount of money on the credit meter would invariably empty the hopper, forcing a sometimes-long wait for a fill, not to mention lugging heavy buckets of nickels to coin redemption.
The problem, of course, would be solved by the new ticket-in, ticket-out slots, known in the trade as “TITO.” With tickets, cash-out was convenient, regardless of the number of credits.
Consequently, more paylines appeared, along with higher average bets for the casinos, and cash-outs that could be as high as the machine’s programmer desired.
The next natural step was a lower denomination.
The Penny Appears
Penny slots had been 1940s novelties in Reno sawdust joints. After 2000, the copper denomination would gain new life. “Tickets really started the proliferation of pennies,” says Brenda Boudreaux, vice president of product management for leading slot manufacturer International Game Technology. “TITO definitely gave operators the opportunity to offer pennies. We started seeing video reel games where you could increase the number of paylines. Players usually at least cover the paylines when they play a multi-line game, and tickets gave us the ability to increase the number of paylines.”
Penny slots had been 1940s novelties in Reno sawdust joints. After 2000, the copper denomination would gain new life. “Tickets really started the proliferation of pennies,” says Brenda Boudreaux, vice president of product management for leading slot manufacturer International Game Technology. “TITO definitely gave operators the opportunity to offer pennies. We started seeing video reel games where you could increase the number of paylines. Players usually at least cover the paylines when they play a multi-line game, and tickets gave us the ability to increase the number of paylines.”
Boudreaux notes that lowering the denominations made it easier for players to cover all the lines on the multi-line games, and even to play at max-bet. Bottom line—players wagering more were winning more. The low denomination, moreover, allowed those wins to rise to huge proportions, in terms of the number of credits. “Players could wager about the same bet as before, but actually would have the opportunity to win on different pay combinations and stay on the machine longer.”
Along with the move to pennies came a modification of the way many slot-makers design their games. Before pennies, the programs of the nickel multi-line videos invariably relied on so-called “dribble wins”—low-paying winning combinations, often lower than the initial bet, that occurred nearly every spin. Players would usually make up for the small wins by hitting a bonus round that typically was an entertaining, comical animated interlude that replenished the credit meter.
With pennies, that began to change. The typical penny video slot is more volatile—meaning the swings of fortune are greater. There will be spells without a winning combination, but the winning combinations, when they do hit, are often huge, putting the credit bank at a level that will allow a satisfying cash-out or a good, long play session.
The bonus features, meanwhile, have become more simple. There are still the simple “pick-a-tile” games, but at a penny game, you’re not likely to sit watching a funny cartoon or clips from an old TV show. Mostly, what has taken over is the free-spin bonus round. The “retrigger” became a popular feature—a free-spin round can be re-triggered within a free spin, for even more free spins and more pure profit in the bonus round.
Free-spin bonus rounds are popular the same reason the new style of base game is popular—it repeats the volatility, with the same gambler’s adrenaline rush, only often with added features like double or triple jackpots and expanding wild symbols.
Within these new parameters, there is much variety, says Boudreaux—in both video and the new, extremely popular reel-spinning penny games. “Even with reel-spinners, players are getting wins that keep them in their seats, and keep them entertained,” she says. On the video side, you have different bonuses, retriggers, free spins—a lot of variety. Players are getting a lot more as they’re playing, and they can sit at a slot and make their budgets last longer. It all goes back to time on device, and it is entertaining because there are a lot of different ways to win.”
Allon Englman, vice president of game design and strategy for WMS, said there are several reasons why the penny slots are so popular with players, particularly considering that most know they are not “loose?”
“In a penny game the player has the ultimate say in how long they want their money to last. They can bet as little as one cent or in some cases as much as $10. The fact that the games are generally tighter does not make up for the fact that the player is the ultimate decider on how long they can play. In addition, the penny denomination is also a great value proposition to the player.”
As to the difference in penny games as compared to playing nickels, Englman said, “Because the player is generally betting less on penny games, the volatility of the games has generally increased. Just because a player is betting only 20 cents they are still interested in winning—lets say $100.
“This player desire has been the main driver of increasing the volatility in games. In addition to increased volatility there has been also a trend to increase the amount of lines the player can bet on. This increase in lines is designed to increase the amount of action and winning combinations the player is eligible for. Because the base denomination is a penny, the player is more inclined to purchase additional lines. You have also seen a trend to offering additional bets to trigger features and more frequent bonus games.”
Penny Lane Slots
WMS is currently in the process of offering some innovative penny games. “Our Wrap Around Pays series of games is truly designed for the penny player. In this series the player can bet up to 100 lines for a 50-credit bet. The unique concept in this series is that new sets of lines start on each reel and wrap around to the corresponding reel on the left. For example, new lines start on Reel 2 and the end of the lines wrap around and finish on Reel 1. This concept in its initial launch has proved extremely popular with players in the penny denomination.”
It’s Winning, Stupid
Most players—particularly those who read this magazine—know that penny games are not the place to go if you’re looking for “loose” slots. In fact, they have the worst return on the slot floor—usually less than 90 percent.
Most players—particularly those who read this magazine—know that penny games are not the place to go if you’re looking for “loose” slots. In fact, they have the worst return on the slot floor—usually less than 90 percent.
It doesn’t seem to matter. Players are still flocking to these games, for one simple reason: wins.
The low denomination makes large credit wins possible, and the low required buy-in assures that players are in the game when those occasional huge wins occur.
Where clips from movies or TV shows once reigned supreme, “the entertainment is now in the winning itself,” says Boudreaux. “The players have grown to look for the familiar penny features: ‘How do I get the free spins? Does it have a retrigger? I can get free spins up to 10 times my bet.’ They are getting more savvy. These may not be the long, drawn-out bonus rounds of the past, but players are now getting the results they want on the base game themselves, with the bonus as an added feature—like it says, it’s a bonus.”
These days, IGT puts most of its high-profile new games out in the penny denomination—Beverly Hillbillies, the new DaVinci Diamonds, Wild Orchid, even Megabucks, which offers a life-changing jackpot for a max bet of $3. You’ll find a penny decal on Wheel of Fortune Super Spin, which adds a community-play bonus round to the big-money jackpot.
“We also have some good traditional stepper themes we now offer in pennies,” says Boudreaux. “We have pennies in each product category.”
What about the other denominations? According to Boudreaux, there will continue to be new games in all of the styles, including some great new traditional three-reelers to be launched this fall.
However, the pennies will continue, as well as even smaller denominations: Boudreaux says IGT is now also releasing games in the half-penny denomination, as are many other manufacturers. On these games, you activate two paylines for each penny wagered, which raises the capacity for extra paylines, larger wagers… and larger jackpots.
Because in the end, larger jackpots—the ones that give you the rush of joy, the ones that keep you playing for a long time—are what it’s all about with the penny slots.
Remember: A hundred thousand pennies is still a cool grand.
Why we love to play those low-denom slots.
The casino games of chance like slots make up the majority of gaming of all casinos, regardless if they are land based, online or mobile. Slot machines have thousands of different themes and denominations, but some of the hottest games among slot fans have always been the penny slots. These slots have either three or five reels and from one to multiple pay-lines and they may or may not come with additional features like free spin bonus rounds, bonus games, wild and scatter symbols and so on. What they look like and how they are built depends on the software maker.
The biggest reason for the popularly of penny slots is that they have the smallest denominations and they are perfect for slot fans that are on a tight budget. In other words, for as little as once cent, they can spin the reels and try their luck. The best part about the penny slots is that they enable players with small budget to continue playing the game using the smallest bet option there is and if luck is on their side, they might also win some cash. The most impressive jackpot wins come from penny slots and there are a lot of examples of lucky slot players who have hit large payouts just by betting a few cents.
Read the article if you want to learn how you can win big playing penny slots, what you should know before playing these games and head over to the suggested online casinos where you can find a lot of penny slots designed for your enjoyment.
Can You Win Big Playing Only Penny Slots?
It is possible to win big jackpots playing only penny slots. The games are based entirely on luck and use Random Number Generator software that determines the outcome of each spin creating strings of numbers. The number of the strings is indefinite, therefore, it cannot be predicted nor affected in any way. The size of your bet won’t affect it either. So pick your favorite penny slot and cross your fingers.
![Slots Slots](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134207013/981528807.jpg)
Biggest Progressive Jackpot Win on Penny Slots
The highest jackpot winner on an IGT’s penny slot game is a 66 year-old man who collected a whopping $18,799,414. Even though he is not a big fan of penny slots, he decided to give them a try one day. That day his life completely changed. He placed $100 to play the game and after playing only $44 he saw five eagle symbols on the screen. He didn’t realize it until he was the jackpot on top of the machine. The winner hit the life-changing amount at the Pahrump Nugget Casino in Las Vegas and he is definitely the highest jackpot winner for penny slot games.
Tips on How to Win More When Playing Penny Slots
As already mentioned, slots are based on luck and there is no system that will change your odds of winning. However, there are a couple of things you can do to minimize your chances of loosing while playing penny slots. The following tips can help you maintain a good bankroll and have more fun while playing your favorite penny slot.
- Look for penny slots that have higher payouts. Some of them have up to 99% payback.
- Play all pay-lines for higher chances of winning. This won’t cost you much because most 20 pay-line penny slots have a max bet of 0.60 cents.
- Understand the slot game you are playing. Take your time to consider the pay-table and slot features.
- Don’t waste your time on a slot that is not hitting anything. This can be very frustrating so change the game.
The Best Places to Play Penny Slot Machines
There are thousands of online casinos where you can play penny slots but not all of them are legally licensed and have fair games. Therefore, make sure you choose a licensed and reputable online casino that uses the best security measures and that has its games tasted for fair play by third party auditing firms. Such casinos are 32Red Casino, All Slots Casino, Lucky Red Casino, Drake Casino and VideoSlots Casino.
These casinos offer thrilling penny slots that have high winning potential and are created by reputable and well-known software providers like Microgaming, Real Time Gaming, Playtech, Real Time Gaming, Betsoft Gaming and TopGame.
A nice 3D penny slot you can play at Drake Casino powered by Betsoft Gaming is Mr. Vegas. The game has a maximum coin jackpot of 7,500 and its betting rage starts from $0.02. 32Red Casino also offers high quality penny slots like Big Break from Microgaming whose betting range begins at $0.01. All Slots Casino offers many penny slots from Microgaming as well and one popular title is Thunderstuck which is designed for low rollers in mind with bet ranges of $0.09.
US players that wish to play penny slots can also sign up with reputable and trustworthy online casinos that accept players from the USA. Some US-friendly online casinos that offer penny slots are Drake Casino, Grand Macao Casino, High Noon Casino and Lucky Red Casino.
YOU MIGHT BE ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE:
![Penny lane slot machine Penny lane slot machine](/uploads/1/3/4/2/134207013/218984476.jpg)
RELATED NEWS
Divine Fortune™ Megaways™ Now Live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania [...]
Trio of Incredible Progressive Jackpot Games Are Coming to the Microgaming Platform Soon [...]
A New Classic Slot: Joker King Arrives from Pragmatic Play [...]
MORE INTERESTING ARTICLES
Wild Symbols in Slots Explained [...]
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THESE POPULAR PAGES
ONLINE CASINO SLOTS RESOURCES
STRATEGYPenny Lane Slot Machine
Implement these strategy tips that will help you.
HISTORYHow did slots come about? Click to find out.
GAME REVIEWSCheck out our casino game reviews section.
READY TO PLAY NOW? CHECK OUT OUR #1 ONLINE SLOTS CASINO
5
Videoslots
100% up to £200 BonusBACK TO TOPCASINODIRECTORY.COM SUPPORTS MOBILE!
CHECK OUT OUR SITE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET.