Monopoly Slot Machine
Monopoly Slots is the most successful slot machine WMS Gaming has ever produced. The original Monopoly Slot Machine was released as a "participation slot" back in 2001. A whole series of sequel have followed in the 15 years since. The game also founded an entire sub-type of gaming machine for WMS Gaming. On the Internet, WMS Gaming's online division, Williams Interactive, launched Monopoly Online Slots.
Monopoly Slots offers a main bet, a side bet, wild symbols, scatter symbols, a lot of ways to trigger free spins, and several other bonus features. The sheer number of bonuses is one of the reasons players love this video slots game so much. Another reason is the designers made good use of the classic Monopoly board. Many licensed slots give a simple nod to their source material, but are not creative enough at incorporating the theme into the game's structure. That cannot be said of the Williams Interactive version of Monopoly Slots.
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Game Details
The maximum wager on this gaming machine is $75.00. While that might not satisfy some high rollers, most VIP players should find excitement playing for seventy-five dollars a hand.
Monopoly: Once Around Deluxe also has a side bet feature. When you select this option, click "Buy Houses Now!" to decide how many houses you want to place on the game board. This initiates a game-within-a-game in which the values increase, though your risk of losing increases.
The wild symbol on Monopoly Slots is the "Top Hat", which on the video screen appears as the funny-looking man with the white mustache, monocle, and top hat. This symbol substitutes for all other symbols on the game, except the Bonus, Chance, and Community Chest symbols. When the wild appears, it helps complete winning combinations.
The main bonus symbol might be confusing for some players at first. It features the fellow in the top hat, but he is holding a wad of cash. Anytime you see the Monopoly man holding money, it signals a bonus. If 3 or more bonus symbols appear on the screen at once, it triggers the "Once Around" bonus feature. This acts like a free spin bonus mode.
Below is a list of different results you might encounter. Most of these are positive for the player, but a few are neutral or bad for you.
The property bonus happens when you land on any property on the board. You collect a slot machine icon, which can be used to collect more rolls or cash. Over half of the spaces on a Monopoly board are properties, so this is a common reward in the game.
When players receive the utility bonus, they are allowed to roll utility dice. These include unique prizes.
This bonus features provides a special card. Unlike the board game, the Community Chest offers only positive rewards. This allows you to move your game piece around the board to its maximum advantage. It also allows for cash prizes and bonus rolls.
When this icon appears, you'll be pushed to the next railroad. Also, you receive a free roll.
When this appears, you won't be able to claim the GO Bonus. Instead, you must go to the Jail Bonus.
The jail bonus triggers when activate from the "Go to Jail" square or when you roll three double-dice in a row. In either case, you must make three attempts to roll a double. If you're successful, you get out of jail and can continue. If not, the bonus features ends and you return to the main game.
The GO Bonus pays 200x the initial wagers. This is a huge payout--one of the biggest in the game.
This simply unlocks a free spin. While it does not reward the player, it does keep the game going.
With the "Income Tax", "Super Tax", or "Just Visiting" squares appear, no bonuses are collected. These three square do not reward you. Nothing happens at all.
Variants of Monopoly Slots
Several versions of Monopoly Slots exist. Players have the option to select a number of game options: Once Around, Movers & Shakers, Pass Go, Advance to Boardwalk, Monopoly Plus, Here and Now, and Chairman of the Board.
This can be confusing, especially because a half-dozen different Monopoly slot machines exist, licensed by four different companies. These are Williams Interactive, IGT Interactive, Barcrest, and Gamesys. While each occupies a niche, that's of no help when a player goes on the Internet to learn about a slot machine, whether it's a land-based machine or online casino game, a mobile slot or an Internet computer game. Below, we'll sort through the games, to help readers figure out what names they should research and which games they should play.
Super Monopoly from Williams Interactive offers a free spin bonus or the ability to collect Monopoly money in a bonus game. It also has the Wheel Bonus feature, which is one of player's favorites these days. Those familiar with Bally Technologies' wheel games have an idea of what SuperMonopoly contains.
In July 2013, IGT produced a 5-reel, 20-payline slot machine called Monopoly: Dream Life. This game has a wild symbol, bonus round, free spins, and autoplay feature. It is available for mobile gaming, too. While it might be a good game, players should not confuse the IGT Monopoly game with the WSM Gaming version.
Gamesys launched a 5-reel, 20-payline online slots games called "Monopoly Paradise Mansion" in 2015. This gaming machine has nothing in common with the Williams Interactive licensed slots. It does reference the same popular board game. This popular video slot has wild symbol, scatter symbols, and a bonus round. It is available in an instant play version and on mobile casinos which license games from Gamesys.
Also in 2015, Gamesys launched a 5-reel, 25-payline game. Monopoly: Rising Riches is a video slots game with wilds, scatters, and cascading reels. Once again, it comes in a downloadable, instant play, and mobile gaming version. Players are likely to encounter these games and get confused, but they have nothing to do with WMS Gaming slots, as far as I know. Monopoly is a popular board game, so they presumably have several licenses, much like Marvel Comics and DC Comics have gaming machines from two different companies.
This slot machine has a 5x3-reel, 20-line game screen. It has three bonus games accessed by the Big Bet game or the Big Event Bonus feature. The Community Chest provides either guaranteed wins or free spins. The Chance card allows you to enter into the free spin mode or choose which icons are wild. This is not from WMS Gaming, but is from Barcrest.
This machine has a Hot Properties Bonus Game which highly touted. The Hot Properties bonus gives a player the option of playing for bigger cash, though this increases the chance you'll bust. The Roulette Hot Properties feature add the elements of a game of roulette to the game. Like the previous game mentioned, this is produced by Barcrest.
About Williams Interactive
Williams Interactive is the online division of WMS Gaming. WMS Gaming is a subsidiary of WMS Industries, which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. Scientific Games, an American lottery company, bought WMS Industries for $1.5 billion in 2013. WMS Industries began in Chicago as Williams Manufacturing Company in 1943. The company changed its name Williams Electronics in 1974.
The company founded Williams Gaming in 1991 in order to enter the video lottery terminal industry. In 1994, the newly-branded WMS Gaming released its first slot machine, Reel 'Em In. The game proved successful, but IGT sued the company over the electronic reel movements, limiting WMS Gaming's ability to capitalize on their designs. In 2001, WMS Gaming opened had its biggest slots success with Monopoly Slots. This founded the "participation slots" niche.
Participation Slots
"Participation slots" are not sold to a casino. Instead, they are leased to the casino, which pays a revolving fee for their use. WMS Gaming places these in many different casinos, then links them over a large-area network to increase the size of jackpots. The company's participation slots brought it larger revenues than its games-for-sale did.
The list of WSM Gaming's participation slots include licensed EGMs like Monopoly, Clue, Hollywood Squares, Star Trek, Men in Black, The Wizard of Oz, and The Lord of the Rings. These have become the company's most popular releases.
About the Monopoly Board Game
The theme of the game is Monopoly, the popular board game based on finance, real estate speculation, and property development. The brick-and-mortar and online versions of this 5-reel, 15-line video slots game feature a wild symbol, scatter symbol, autoplay feature, bonus round, and free spins. It has a mobile gaming version and an instant play version. The prize symbols are based on the playing pieces on the Monopoly Board.
The board game's inception can be traced back to 1903, when Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips invented a game called "The Landlord's Game". Phillips wanted to explain the single-tax theory of Henry George, as well as illustrate the negative aspects of public monopolies. The game was self-published by Lizzie Phillips in 1906, but she continued to change the rules of the game between that time and the 1930s--changes included the buying and selling of houses. She patented her game in 1924. By 1933, a game called "Monopoly", based on The Landlord's Game, was developed by Parker Brothers. Several others made contribution to the finished product, which first hit store shelves in 1935.
The original version of Monopoly was based on properties in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Park Place, Boardwalk, and Pennsylvania Avenue were parts of Atlantic City then and now. The game has been adapted for many nations over the years, while dozens of versions including other pop culture elements have been produced. Versions include Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and American football programs.
Over the years, the game has had a tremendous influence. In World War II, British intelligence sent Monopoly board game packages to British prisoners of war which contained money, maps, and other tools to help POWs escape. Also, Monopoly has developed its own folklore, such as the myth that Charles Darrow invented the game.