A great number of popular software providers are newer companies that capitalised on the online casino trend. However, there are still some bona-fide gaming industry veterans around making interesting slots.
One of them is International Gaming Technology, better known by their shorthand IGT. Founded in 1975, the company got its start producing slots and other casino games for Las Vegas casino floors.
Now, the company has put its decades of experience into creating engaging progressive jackpot slots. The land of jackpots is not new to them, mind you.
In fact, from 1986 to 2013, IGT has given away almost $6 billion and has made over 1500 millionaires. A number most certainly helped by the Mega Jackpots network, which we will be going in-depth.
The Jackpot
Mega Jackpots is available across a variety of different slots. It has only one jackpot, which is shared between multiple games and casinos. The jackpot’s reset value is set to £500,000. As much as 3.5% of the total amount you wager goes into the progressive jackpot. Each title has a slightly different way of granting the progressive jackpot. However, there are some ground rules that are true across several different titles.
First, the better your initial bet, the greater your odds of winning the progressive jackpot are. This sucks for casual audiences, but is a great way to incentivise high rollers to go all-out with their wagers. Every time you do not win a progressive jackpot, a second chance bonus plays behind the scenes. It secretly gives you one more try to win the jackpot.
Special features cannot multiply or boost the Mega Jackpots prize in any way. Two players also cannot win the progressive jackpot simultaneously. The casino member whose time stamp was second will only receive the jackpot reseed value. Award verification takes 72 hours, after which the prize will become available in your account balance. The jackpot is awarded even if you disconnect.
Wheel of Fortune On Air
Wheel of Fortune needs no introduction. The TV show has been incredibly successful with both American and British audiences. If you ever wondered what it would be like to participate, IGT has you covered. In this slot, you get to admire the set and the familiar lucky wheel up close. If you are lucky enough, those gorgeous visuals will give you big win numbers to admire, as well.
The background image is kept simple, with a simulated starry sky and a large podium holding up the reels. The largest attention-grabber is the large wheel that can grant various bonuses. The game is played on a five-reel, three-row board with twenty fixed paylines. The RTP for this release is 92.55% including the progressive jackpot. The top prize you can win outside of Mega Jackpot is 600x your total stake.
Wheel bonus
Find three or more wheel symbols anywhere on the board to activate the associated special feature.
Three, four or five wheels grant you a spin on the regular, super and ultra wheel, respectively.
The wheel on the left side of the reels spins.
When it stops, the effect picked by the wedge becomes active. Possible effects include cash prizes, mystery transform, Wild reel, re-spin and the progressive jackpot tokens.
Mystery Transform
If the wheel picks the question mark, it triggers the Mystery Transform bonus. All Scatters and a number of randomly selected icons are covered with mystery symbols. Mystery icons will eventually all transform into the same symbol. The number of Scatters and other icons transformed into mystery symbols depends on the type of wheel you unlocked.
- Standard wheels transform up to six Scatters and up to three icon types with mystery symbols
- Super wheels can change up to eleven Scatters and up to seven non-mystery icons
- Finally, the ultra wheel transforms up to fourteen Scatters and up to nine symbol types into mystery icons
Wild Reel
When the wheel arrow lands on the Wild field, the Wild Reel special features activates. Any reel that contains a Scatter will transform into a Wild reel.
Re-spins
If the arrow lands on the re-spin field, the aforementioned bonus triggers. All Scatters turn into sticky Wilds for the duration of this bonus. Any new Wilds that appear will also become sticky. Players get three, four or five re-spins depending if they won the special feature on a regular, super or ultra wheel.
Cash Prizes
If the wheel lands on one of the multiplier wedges, you receive the appropriate cash prize. The reward you get is your total bet multiplied by the multiplier value. How much you can win depends on the triggering wheel.
- Standard wheels can win 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x and 10x
- Super wheels can score 15x, 20x, 25x, 30x, 35x, 40x and 50x
- Ultra wheels can pay 75x, 100x, 125x, 150x, 175x, 200x and 250x
Progressive Jackpot
If an arrow lands on the MegaJackpots field, you get a single spin of the MegaJackpots bonus wheel. The wheel displays twenty-four golden envelopes. Each one has a chance to contain a progressive jackpot win.
Players get one, two or three winning tokens hidden inside depending on the initial wheel used. If you find the token inside the envelope, you win the progressive jackpot. Alternatively, players can find standard cash prizes in the envelope.
Siberian Storm
When we think of tigers and other large cats, we rarely imagine them occupying very cold areas. However, some mighty beasts are able to withstand such harsh climates. The white-furred tiger reigns over Siberian Storm, standing as a gateway between players and the progressive jackpot. The graphics look nice, showing just what sort of freezing cold we can expect to find in Siberia.
That said we do not have much to say about the visuals. The unorthodox playing field catches out eye more. The board follows a 3-4-5-4-3 layout with 720 ways to win. Wins can be formed both left to right and right to left. The RTP for this release is 91.03% with the progressive jackpot included. The largest possible win outside of Mega Jackpots is 1000x your total stake.
Free Spins
Find five Scatters in separate consecutive reels to win the free spins special feature.
Players can unlock up to 96 free spins in a single round by making use of stacked Scatters.
During free spins, wins are more likely to occur and stacked Wilds are more plentiful than they usually are. Find five Scatters in adjacent positions again to win eight more free spins.
A maximum of 240 extra turns can be played from a single activation.
Progressive Jackpot
Find five MegaJackpots Scatters anywhere on the board to win the progressive jackpot. Landing four or less will just award a cash prize. The MegaJackpots Scatter is not the same as the standard Scatter used to activate free spins. However, the progressive jackpot can be won during both normal gameplay and free spins.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra may be one of Egypt’s last rulers, but history remembers her name for many other things. She seduced the most powerful men of history to secure a good position for herself and her offspring. Her fascinating life has led her to star in many movies, TV shows, games and yes, even slots. IGT returns to their popular classic, improving an already incredible experience with a progressive jackpot.
If you played this game before, the visuals will look familiar. The developer did not spend much time touching them up. This release is played on a five-reel, three-row board with twenty fixed paylines. The RTP for Mega Jackpots Cleopatra is 91.01% including the progressive jackpot. Your top prize is 10,000x your total stake, not counting Mega Jackpots.
Wild multipliers
The wild symbol has been swapped for the Mega Jackpots logo.
It can substitute for all icons except for Scatters.
Wild also come with a 2x multiplier that is applied if one or more Wilds are part of a win.
Unfortunately, multiple Wilds do not grant extra win boosts.
Free Spins
Three, four or five Scatters will grant varying cash prizes and fifteen free spins.
During the bonus, almost all winning combinations have their payouts tripled.
The sole exception to this is the five-of-a-kind Wild win, which can trigger the progressive jackpot.
It is possible to win additional free spins.
A maximum of 180 free spins can be played per one bonus activation.
Progressive Jackpot
You win the progressive jackpot by landing a five-of-a-kind Wild win on the centre payline.
The jackpot can be won during both normal gameplay and free spins.
A five-of-a-kind Wild win on any other payline grants a 10,000x cash prize instead.
Wolf Run
Sometimes, the best way to relax is to wander off into the wilderness. Admire the scenery, roam through the forests, and make sure to get back to your cabin in time. As the sun starts to set, wolves start roaming the woods. However, if you want to win big and admire some fierce wolves, IGT has you covered. The visuals are neat, particularly the background image.
The sun setting on a sprawling forest and snowy mountains in the distance was a fantastic background pick. Wolf Run is played on a five-reel, four-row board with forty fixed paylines. The RTP for this slot is 90.99% if the progressive jackpot is included. The best cash prize you can win outside of the Mega Jackpots is 1000x your total stake.
Free Spins
Find three Scatters on reels two, three and four to win the free spins round.
During this bonus, the stacked Wilds special feature appears more frequently.
It creates groups of four or more consecutive Wilds.
It is possible to win more free spins by finding three more Scatters on the middle three reels.
This grants five more free spins, up to a maximum of 255 extra turns per bonus.
Progressive Jackpot
Stacked Wilds occur during free spins and normal gameplay. This is very helpful to activate the progressive jackpot.
In order to win this mouth-watering prize, you need to land twenty Mega Jackpots logo symbols anywhere on the board. The twenty icons can be triggered during both free spins and standard gameplay.
Ocean Belles
Beautiful women, a big ship and a sprawling, blue ocean as far as the eye can see. What more do you need from life? Ocean Belles introduces us to a life of luxury from a time when magazine pinup models were just starting out. It definitely gives this game a unique aesthetic we have not seen anywhere else. Even at a glance, it is obvious that IGT put a lot of effort into this release.
The background image shows the large deck of the ship, and the glimmering ocean. In fact, the ocean waves and the passing clouds are animated, a rare treat from this developer. You play this slot on a five-reel, four-row board with 75 fixed paylines. The RTP for Ocean Belles is 92.5% when including the progressive jackpot. The highest fixed jackpot value is 300x.
Synchronised reels
Before each spin, a reel is selected randomly to appear with stacked symbols. Multiple reels can be chosen for this, making these reels appear synchronised. Any icon may appear stacked except for Scatters or the two kiss symbols.
Wild reels
Red and golden kiss icons can appear on the board at any time.
They do not offer a cash prize by themselves.
Instead, they are collected beneath the reel.
Once you collect two kisses of any type, the reel above will turn Wild for two spins.
You can collect two red kisses, or one red and one gold kiss to get a Wild reel.
Free Spins
Find three or more Scatters anywhere on the playing field to win a free spins round. Players can choose one of three types of free spins.
With three Scatters, you can pick between:
- Five free spins with three random Wild reels
- Fifteen free spins with two random Wild reels
- Thirty free spins with one random Wild reel
The same is true with four and five Scatters. Four Scatters offers ten, thirty and sixty free spins, and five Scatters grants fifteen, forty-five and ninety, respectively.
Progressive Jackpot
Winning the progressive jackpot is done by collecting five golden kisses. That means you need to have one golden kiss beneath all five reels. Accomplishing this is difficult, considering one red kiss will activate Wild reels, which removes both collected kisses.
Biggest Jackpot Wins
Big Win in New Jersey – £669,128
A lucky player in New Jersey started off 2021 right by winning £669,128 on January 27th. This came weeks after BetMGM, the online casino in question, added IGT’s Mega Jackpots games to their platform. He won the game while playing Mega Jackpots Cleopatra. A stroke of good fortune all around.
Londoner snags over £1 million – £1.4m
Jordan from London thought he would have an ordinary day playing Isle O’Plenty at Kerching casino. However, fate had other plans for him. He won the mind-blowing £1,413,800.62 Mega Jackpots progressive. Jordan said he was quite thrilled to score that prize. We would be, too.
https://www.kerching.com/blog/malcom-and-lucky-s-big-jackpot-winner-announcement/
Swede scores big at Rizk Casino – £1 million
You come home from a hard day at work. You get comfy and start spinning some slots. Then, the screen starts flashing with fireworks and big wins. This happened to a Swedish player who was playing at Rizk casino. However, he did not even notice he won the £1 million jackpot. It was not until he got a call from their customer support that he realised he won. Another commoner blessed by Mega Jackpots Cleopatra.
Mega Jackpots unite – £4.2 million awarded in six huge wins
Cleopatra seems to be the game to play if you want to win big. From April 11th to May 24th, 2016, six players manages to snag the progressive jackpot while playing Cleopatra Mega Jackpots. The first player won £1,215,480 on April 11th at Gala Coral. Gala saw another big winner, who scored £681,494 on April 27th.
Sky Vegas took home the third jackpot. Their player won £513,166 just one day later, on April 28th. The fourth win was awarded to a Betfair casino member, who scored £594,978 at the start of May.
On top of these four Cleopatra wins, Siberian Storm also granted two major payouts. A Grosvenor player landed a £691,866 jackpot. NetBet also saw a fantastic jackpot from the same game, worth over £506,000.