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Archive for August, 2008

Enchanted Unicorn Slot

Friday, August 29th, 2008

Enchanted Unicorn is a slot from Wagerworks, a subsidiary of IGT, and a direct port of the popular land-based slot found in Vegas casinos (and others no doubt!). If I’m honest, I find it a little dull compared to many of IGT’s newer slots that you can find online. Cleopatra for example has a free spins bonus which Unicorn doesn’t, and Wolf Run does a better job with expanding “Wilds”. In Enchanted Unicorn, the Wilds only appear on reels 2,3 and 4 and they expand to cover all 3 symbols when in view – it’s a nice feature, but the “stacked wilds” approach of Wolf Run takes this concept a step further. 

The bonus game is triggered by getting the Treasure Chest symbol on reels 1 and 5. It’s a fairly standard “pic ‘em” style bonus but with 5 levels that you climb – if you are not unlucky enough to hit a “stop” symbol (a fairly evil looking court jester!). If you pick the Unicorn then you are awarded every bonus amount on a given line rather than just one. It can give out some decent wins, but not unlimited. In normal game play, the game is fairly entertaining with Princes, Queens and Kings awarding decent amounts. The other lesser symbols are generally low pay, although if you get the expanding wilds with them, they can add up too. Overall, Enchanted Unicorn is an OK slot – not ground breaking, but entertaining enough and obviously provides an option for Vegas fans that prefer to have a session at home. It’s available at the Wagerworks casinos of Virgin and Paddy Power, although US players cannot play any Wagerworks casino thanks to some of your overly-protective politicians. It’s the law!

Wet and Windy August Musings

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Australian leg spinner Shane Warne was back at his former English county, Hampshire, after he got knocked out of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas last month. 

Warne was at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl ground in Southampton in a bid to inspire his former team-mates in their battle against relegation from division one of the LV County Championship.But his appearance failed to have the desired effect as Hampshire were beaten by six wickets by Lancashire and remain deep in trouble at the foot of the table.

The first race track casinos opened in Florida and Pennsylvania two years ago in an attempt to stem falling attendances and revenues. Now there are eleven states with racinos.

A Californian slots player who claimed he was down to his last 75 cents (about 32p) landed the $1.3 million (£650,000) jackpot at a Lake Tahoe, Nevada casino.Kurt Yoshino Kitajima (more…)

The latest position of the US government, the UIGEA and latest efforts to repeal the Act.

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Oggs.com, a leading online casino reviews website, summarises the latest position of the US government, the UIGEA and latest efforts to repeal the Act.

In late 2006, the US introduced the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (”UIGEA” – HR4411), a watered-down Act based on its predecessor HR4777 designed originally to prohibit online gambling in the USA. The passage of the UIGEA has been well documented, but just how much of an effect has the Act had on online gambling in the USA since its introduction?

As soon as the UIGEA was passed into law, it caused ructions in the online gambling industry. While stopping short of prohibiting online gambling outright, it attempted to pass a responsibility onto banks and online payment processors to ensure that US account holders were prevented from depositing to and receiving funds from online gambling operators. Online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks and bingo sites were faced with a decision to make: did they continue to deal with US punters, or withdraw from the US and play the game?
The Act was shrouded in controversy, even before it was pushed through. Its supporters were championing “family values”, whilst its detractors were keen to point out that the Act excluded State run lotteries and horse racing and was clearly money related. Either way, the law was passed and a timescale was set for the banks to comply by mid 2007. At around the same time, the DOJ

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