Orange is the New Black Slot Machine

Lionsgate Slot Machines

Lionsgate is making a push alongside Telltale Games to produce slot machines for its biggest franchises, including The Hunger Games and Divergent. All three games are expected to appear on IGT's online casino, mobile casino, and social gaming website: DoubleDown Casino.

Licensed slots are designed to appeal to fans of the show. Netflix viewers can experience their favorite clips, soundtrack music, and sound bites from characters on the show.

Orange Is the New Black Slots reached casinos in a short amount of time, since it was in casinos only 2 years after the franchise first launched on Netflix. It was a breakout hit for the movie rental and streaming giant. While Apple TV, Roku, and other devices on the market, millions of people have seen the show.

Because it's such a new series, gamblers might be unaware of this franchise. Even if they're heard of the show, they might not know a lot about it. Here's a quick refresher.

About Orange Is the New Black

"Orange Is the New Black" is an award-winning series from Netflix. The show depicts a woman, Piper Chapman, who is suddenly taken from her comfortable life in New York City and placed in a minimum-security women's federal prison. She's imprisoned because an ex-lover from 10 years ago, Alex Vause (Laura Prepon), gives evidence against her.

Alex is an international drug smuggler. When Alex dated Piper ten years before, Alex used her girlfriend to smuggle drugs. It is this offense which lands Piper in Lichfield Prison. She receives a 15-month sentence.

Piper's incarceration allows the viewers to see a wide cast of criminal characters from the eyes of someone "like us", an outsider to the world of criminality and conviction. The first season was played for laughs, but it is a serious subject. As time passes, the story takes on more serious aspects.

Like the ABC series "Lost", the show focuses on a character's backstory through flashbacks. This allows the writers to show the lives of inmates and prison guards through their past actions and how they landed in prison. For a show about convicted felons, it's an effective and sobering narrative technique.

Award-Winning TV Show

The show is described as a comedy-drama or a dramedy, and the distinction has caused some controversy. After garnering 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and 3 Primetime Emmy wins as a comedy in its first season, the show was reclassified. Season 2 received four Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. It won in the category.

As the show has progressed, it has become a more serious reflection on the American prison system, as well as the many societal ills which contribute to crime in America.

The show also has focused less on the Piper Chapman as the series progressed. Instead, a full ensemble cast has emerged, which has allowed for an exploration of prisoners from more socio-economic backgrounds. The various levels of dysfunction in the home life of those in the penitentiary have been explored, as well.

My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

The Netflix series is based on the 2010 best-selling book, "Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison". The book was written by Piper Kerman, who spent 13 months in a minimum-security women's prison in Danbury, Connecticut.

Like the TV show, Piper Kerman's conviction came years after her crimes were committed -- 5 years instead of the 10 years portrayed in the series. Like Piper Chapman, Piper Kerman had reformed and gotten engaged to a man during the 5 intervening years. Kerman's book details the awakening she had when she went to prison and met so many underprivileged convicts. Also like the Netflix series ’ main character, Piper Kerman was a child of relative privilege. She was a Boston-bred, Smith College graduate.

Other characters on the Netflix series correspond to real life characters. This includes Larry Bloom (Jason Biggs), who is based on Kerman's real life fiancé, Larry Smith. The character of Alex Vause is based on Catherine Cleary Wolters, a woman whom Kerman met and dated -- and who got her involved in a drug smuggling ring.

Game Features

Besides the wilds, scatters, and free Spins, IGT packed the game with several other key features. Stacking Symbols is offered in addition to the standard wild icons. A Wild Transfer Feature is also included in the game. Also, there is the always-popular Multiplier Wheel, a staple of IGT video slots.

More information on some of the key features follow below.

One feature which is much different than most IGT slot machines is the use of a 5x3 gaming screen. Most video slots offer a 5x5 reel setup or a 5x4 screen. The Colossal Reels bonus feature has a whopping 5x20 screen. IGT wanted to produce the claustrophobic effect of prison life, so they designed the 5x3 layout.

Gamblers shouldn't fear, because the payout, prizes, and wild symbols work just fine on the more limited screen. IGT compensates by packing a lot of scatters and wilds into the grid. Orange Is the New Black slot machines offer a multiplier wheel, scatters, and wilds.

Orange Is the New Black Slots contains the multi-level awards feature. This is similar to the set-up on Sex in the City Slots and Breakfast at Tiffany's Slots. When the bonus game is triggered, decisions you make determine which bonuses you play.

Piper Free Spin symbols on reels 1, 2, and 3 trigger a free spin mode. These are straightforward and pay out 1x your total wager. The free spin determines which of four bonus games you play. Along with the free spins, it also gives the player one spin on the Multiplier Wheel.

The Multiplier Wheel is rolled by the gambler to see how big of a multiplier is offered on the bonus game. Some IGT games allow you to choose your multiplier level (which determines the number of spins). This game randomizes the process with a wheel spin.

The Orange Is the New Black wild symbol substitutes for any other symbol on the machine, except for the Piper Scatter Symbol. This is called the "Wild Transfer", which implies the prisoner has been transferred to a new part of the prison.

The Crazy Eyes Bonus game has one to three of the reels turn completely wild during the bonus game. With one or more reels completely wild, the bonus coin totals rise quickly. The Crazy Eyes icon is worth 30 times the initial bet.

The Alex Vause bonus game features stacked symbols. Stacking symbols happen in the bonus game. Winning symbols stack on the reels. When they stack, all of them turn into the same symbol, which increased your chances of a winning combination.

TThe Alex Vause reel symbol on the main game triggers a maximum 40x multiplier.

The Gloria Mendoza Double Feature is more straightforward. It pays double on all wins. That might not sound as impressive as the other bonuses, but it has more spins and adds up quickly.

Piper's All-In Feature combines all the other characters' bonus rounds into the biggest player rewards among the bonus games. As mentioned earlier, Piper's All Feature combines the Crazy Eyes, Alex Vause, and Mendoza bonuses. This means you get wild reels, stacked symbols, and a double-bonus on the spins.

Piper's icon on the main game triggers a maximum payout of 100x your line bet.