4 minute read

REEL REVIEW: WINNER’S WORLD

Aristocrat’s Multi-Game Bar-Top Unit With Video Poker, Keno & Slots

Aristocrat is traditionally recognized as a leader in slot machine games. They have designed some of the most copied math models for video slot machines since their inception in Australia in the 1990s. What we haven't seen from Aristocrat is video poker, video keno, and multi-game units.

Well, all that has changed now that their bar-top game is being installed in some casinos across the country. Of course, the 6,000 pound hippo in this space is IGT. They are the king of multigame units and will be very difficult to dethrone!

I’ve played this bar-top several times over the past year or so, usually with free play, rarely with cash, and then only with $20 less than a handful of times. Honestly, I only play this game for the Buffalo video slot or the Buffalo Keno and only if I can’t find a slot I want to try out or a video poker game without a lot of people on the bank next to me. I like my space.

I’ve played the video poker games, but the pay tables are so bad I really can’t recommend even wasting free play on them. Maybe if the pay tables were better, I’d consider playing, but as the unit doesn't feel like an IGT game, and I suspect the RNG is different from IGT’s as well, I don’t. Neither should you.

The Buffalo Keno is entertaining, I must admit. The minimum wager for the four card version I played is only $0.05. Cover all four cards for a total wager of only $0.20. There is no advantage to betting more as all the pays and bonuses are proportional. So, as you can imagine, when you set the game to “slow” and play at your own pace, $20 can last for a while.

You’ll see all this in the video but, after you’ve marked your spots, you are supposed to place three pairs of coins (each pair is a different color) on any unmarked numbers. Hit a pair of coins and wins are multiplied by X2. If a pair of coins is hit and an additional coin is hit, wins are multiplied by X3. If a pair of coins is hit and one coin from each of the additional colored pairs is hit as well, the win multiplier is X4!

This part’s a bit confusing as 5 free games are awarded when two pairs of those same coins are hit. 10 free games are awarded when two pairs and one additional (5 of the 6 coins) are hit. Players win 20 free games when all pairs (6 coins total) are hit.

Why are the free games fun? Well, it’s Buffalo, right? Players can retrigger, and there are win multipliers just like the video slot!

At the start of the free games, players can place three gold coins on any unmarked spots. Hitting two of the three awards 2 more games, hit all three and you win 5 more free games. Players also have to place three multiplier symbols (the wild symbol from the Buffalo slot) which award a X2 for one hit, X4 for two hits, and X8 for hitting all three!

Sound like fun? It is definitely exciting waiting to see if your win is multiplied and how many extra free games you might get! But wait, there’s more! Randomly, at the end of any free game, 5, 10, 15, or 20 extra balls may be drawn allowing for extra hits on your marked spots, the multipliers, or the coins!

In the video, watch me trigger the bonus with 5 free games, then retrigger a bunch of times, hit the multipliers, and walk away with a big win. So, my Reel Result is to play this game for fun and as a way to stretch small bankrolls for time. Just don’t play the video poker.

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VIDEO ALERT!

Visit our website for an exclusive video of Aristocrat’s Buffalo Video Keno.

http://www.azgamingguide.com/index_files/videos.html

REEL RESULT: