News and Analysis
Kentucky Sets Sports Betting Launch Date
Kentucky Governor Andry Beshear, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), and state lawmakers have set a date to launch legal sports betting. In-person retail betting will be available from September 7th (just in time for the NFL and college football seasons), and online betting going live three weeks later on September 28th.
Things are moving at break-neck speed in KT compared to other states that have already approved legal sports betting. HB 551, which legalizes retail and online sports betting, was only signed by Governor Beshear in April. In the time since, the KHRC has been preparing and onboarding new staff to deal with the processing of the upcoming license applications, which opened this week on July 11th.
Under the new rules, each of the state's nine racetracks can offer retail betting and partner with up to three online operators, so there are 27 skins available and less than 60 days until the market is scheduled to go live.
NGCB Warning: Evolving Cash Cage Scam
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has warned all state operators regarding an ongoing scam that's seen Circa Casino alone lose $1.17 million. Since it has also been reported that Eureka Casino Resort, Mesquite, and Golden Nugget Casino, Laughlin, have been affected. So what's going on?
According to the NGCB, the racket works by "Criminal subjects use social engineering tactics to pose as casino executives. The subjects direct cage employees to withdraw cash from the casino cage and take the funds offsite for emergency payments on behalf of the casino. The imposters often pose as high-level executives".
In the case of Circa Casino, several withdrawals and off-premises exchanges took place. The NGCB has warned not only all Nevada casinos but also extended caution state-wide, saying the scam is evolving.
4ThePlayer Gets Full Michigan License
There's a new software developer in Michigan, and it's one of our favorite slot creators, 4ThePlayer. The game developer has this week been granted a full license by the MGCB, following their provisional approval issued in October 2022.
If you're unfamiliar with the studio, 4TP is a challenger brand focusing on innovation and creating slot games that stand out by putting player entertainment first. This has led to some of the most exciting slot launches of the year, with the studio's flagship titles' 9k Yeti' and '3 Secret Cities' already live at online casinos in Michigan.
Chris Ash, Business Development Director and co-founder of 4ThePlayer.com shared his enthusiasm; "We are overjoyed to announce this latest achievement in our US market strategy. Michigan's online casino market, one of the most successful in the country, presents an exciting landscape for us to share our unique and innovative games with a passionate audience. We are also actively working on expanding our presence into additional states, underscoring our commitment to regulated markets in general." Want to learn more about 4ThePlayer? We were lucky enough to interview them last year and get their exclusive take on creating slot games that resonate with players - check it out here.
Slot Game of the Week
Da Vinci Deluxe Ways Power Bet Slot: High 5 Games, RTP 96%
If you're a fan of Da Vinci or the iconic Da Vinci slot series (we've lost count of the number of titles, but it's one of the most popular vintage Vegas slot series available) and looking for a title that brings the franchise into the modern age, this is it. Da Vinci Deluxe Ways Power Bet is absolutely packed with innovative features and a brilliant math model that delivers up to 1,000,000 ways to win, up to 10,000x your bet in prizes, free spins, tumbling reels, a jackpot feature, and power bets!
Unlike other Da Vinci slots, this title comes with 6 reels, and a top row sits above the middle four reels (this is actually the seventh reel and is used in winning combos for reels 2-5). The number of ways in play can be seen at the bottom right of the screen and can vary between 729 and 1 million, depending on how many symbols are on the reels.
You'll start making wins in the base game, with combinations paying from 3-18 symbols (like other Da Vinci slots, if a single character shows multiple versions of an artwork, it counts as the same number of symbols as the number of artworks - for example, if the Mona Lisa symbol only has one Mona Lisa is it's counted as one. If the tile contains two Mona Lisa's, it's two symbols in a single space). This means achieving 18 symbol line wins isn't as difficult as it might first seem - there are also wilds to help. The game also comes with tumbling reels, so after every winning combination, those symbols leave the reels, and new ones fall in their place, giving you a second chance to win.
To win a jackpot payout, you only need to land 4, 5, or 6 jackpot symbols on the reels, which payout out 100x, 1,000x, or 10,000x your total bet, respectively. Alongside the instant-win jackpot feature, there's also the free spins bonus round, which comes with an improved paytable and multiplier feature (each time a tumble takes place, the progressive multiplier goes up by 1, and it pays at that level for the remainder of the spins). How do you trigger the round? Simply land 3-6 scatter symbols on the reels for 8-15 spins (you can re-trigger the number the same way during the game).
Unbelievably, that's not it yet; there are still two more power bet features to cover - both are paid. One is the double and triple majors power bet, which removes all single symbols from the reels, leaving only double or triple versions. The second adds an extra top reel increasing the winning capabilities. Plus, if you score free spins with either power bet feature active, they continue in the round!
Ready to take this incredible new slot for a spin? Then it's time to play. Load up the tumbling reels from $0.20-100 and see what you can win at these top-rated High 5 Games Casinos!