The Slot Machine has come a long way since the humble machine in the corner of the bar simply pictured fruits, bells, and numbers. In an attempt to attract more customers to gamble with exciting or alluring themes. Some themes just seem odd or weird. Today we take the time to review some of those real money slot games that raise an eyebrow or two.
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Narcos
Remember that crime drama detailing multiple drug kingpins across the Americas and how their nefarious trade caused multiple deaths and outlandish drug abuse? Yeah, it was quite a good show but not the type of content bettors want to be reminded about when gambling. If they come off a big win and then see the Narcos characters it’s hardly the synergy they want when pondering how to spend their winnings.
Usain Bolt
The Jamaican Olympian established worldwide superstardom after beating world records and winning 23 gold medals during his exceptional athletics career. In the lead-up to his Tokyo 2020 appearance, he licensed his likeness to an online slot machine, making ‘Usain Bolt: The Slot Game’. Some journalists said that it was unwise for him to do so for multiple reasons. One of which is as a professional runner he has almost no connection to slot machines, making for a confusing game.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here
Reality television blurs a lot of lines across genres, so a natural progression is to make an online slot machine game. Well, maybe not. British television makers truly did uncover gold with this relatively simple format, plonking 10-20 celebrities (ranging in levels of fame) into a jungle and making them do unpleasant things (eat kangaroo testicles, retrieve items while being surrounded by snakes and rats, etc.) while the audience at home can choose which people do which activity. While it’s a uniquely British theme, there are now multiple international editions from Australia, Germany, and an upcoming US season giving the brand global appeal.
Now 32Red has the exclusive rights to host the online slot machine based on the TV show. While exciting graphics might be able to put jungle-themed aesthetics in front of users, it still doesn’t change the fact that the original show has nothing to do with gambling or slot machines.
Michael Jackson: King of Pop
There are superstars of music and then there’s Michael Jackson. Arguably, the superstar of all superstars. This online slot is based on themes that made his career and used as the symbols on the slot, meaning that players can hope to get a row of his singular white sparkly glove. Better yet, fans of Michael Jackson will be pleased that the slot plays out with a good range of his music. Michael Jackson however never sang about such gambling and had no previous history of liking slots, making for an unusual theme.
Joe Exotic
What did you do during the lockdown pandemic? The chances are that you watched the Tiger King documentary on Netflix, after all, everyone did. It followed Joe Exotic, an interesting chap who kept exotic animals, especially tigers. While such fascinating creatures have been seen in Las Vegas casinos and related media, it still makes for a tenuous link for an online slot machine named after Joe Exotic, although his popularity is still so high that it does make sense. Although, the graphics of the golden tigers have been praised as being rather appealing, so that’s a plus point.
Crystal Maze: Win Zones
If you watched UK television in the 1990s, there’s a good chance you saw The Crystal Maze with Richard O’Brien and later, Edward Tudor-Pole. Since it was taken off the air, it’s had numerous reboots and special episodes as the series enjoyed a revived cult following. Contestants had to compete in several challenges which tested them mentally and physically.
Given the games and challenges found in the game were all played in a live setting, it bared almost no similarity to slot or casino games. Yet in 2018, The Crystal Maze: Win Zones online slot machine surfaced, as licensed by RDF television.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Another show that enjoyed an exceptionally large viewership in yesteryear was Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The show was taken to the hearts of both British and American audiences when plucky trivia nerds tried to answer a series of questions in a bid to win life-changing sums of money. The show became one of the most important TV contributions to British culture having received critical acclaim and at one point being aired every night of the week.
The problem is that when transferring this to an online slot machine game is that the metric for success is very different between the two games. The TV show was a quiz-based competition where contestants relied on their general knowledge. Slot machines are mostly luck-based meaning that the cross-over skills are almost none existent, making for a very unusual theme for a slot machine.