Slots in the gambling capital of Las Vegas

Although Macau is currently making headlines by declaring itself as the new home of gaming, Las Vegas will always be the 'real' home for slots and casino games in the gambling world. Vegas' history is steeped in tales of wins, losses and casino folklore. The Las Vegas strip as we know it now started life in 1941, when Thomas Hull opened the El Rancho Vegas resort. In 1960 the resort was gutted by a fire and despite a few attempts at re-establishing it, the site is still a vacant lot in Vegas. However, by the 1960's the Las Vegas Strip was in full-swing, with several different resorts and motels cropping up along the horizon.

Of course, what the Las Vegas Strip is most famous for are its casinos, as opposed to its plush resorts. Anyone who has visited a Vegas casino will know that as soon as you enter, you'll be greeted with the sight of rows upon rows of slots machines, all with different wagering requirements, themes and rules. It used to be that certain slots were only available in Las Vegas and gamers had to make their annual pilgrimage to the area, but the emergence of online casinos in recent years has meant that now gamers can experience the thrill of a Las Vegas casino without even leaving their homes.

Software developers, who create the games for online casinos, were quick to notice the success of Las Vegas themed slots and soon began to place them in their online slot games roster. Microgaming slots, such as Jungle 7's, feature symbols recognisable to Vegas gamers, who tend to prefer their slots to feature icons recognisable to those on 'one armed bandits' like BARS and 7's. Often, its traditional slots like these that reference the style of the Las Vegas Strip, but even video slots sometimes pay homage to Vegas slots. Take for example Chinese Kitchen, which offers similar gameplay to the famous Bally Technologies land-based slot, found in most, if not all Las Vegas Strip casinos and resorts.

One of the main reasons people visit the Las Vegas Strip is to try their hand at the progressive jackpots on offer. A progressive slot features an ever-escalating jackpot, which can be triggered by just one lucky spin .

These slots can sometimes pay out life-changing amounts and can be split into 3 categories; stand alone/individual, in-house and wide area progressives. Stand alone or individual progressive slots aren't linked to any other slots machines in the area, but they do offer an ever-escalating jackpot which comes from a percentage of your wagering. For example, by placing $1 in a stand-alone progressive slots machine, part of your wager will go towards the progressive jackpot, therefore increasing it. In-house progressives pay better than stand alone progressive jackpots and are linked to other slots machines within the casino; however, if you want to win big, wide area progressive slots really are the only option. These slots are usually linked to several different casinos and each person playing the linked slots machines contributes to the jackpot. This means that if 1,000 people were playing a $1 progressive slots machine, the jackpot could easily rise as high as $100,000+.

Progressive jackpots like this used to be only found on the Las Vegas Strip, but now online casinos offer progressive slots that match and often beat the amounts available in land-based casinos. In online casinos, progressives are linked by the software developers, so a progressive slot created by Microgaming will be linked in every single casino powered by them and as several players can play the same game simultaneously, the prizes available really are staggering. Popular progressives like the Major Millions 3-Reel slot often total over $500,000 and at the time of press, the amount on offer was a whopping $863,000!

Online casinos haven't just mimicked the style of Las Vegas though. As well as offering Vegas themed slots and progressive jackpots, software developers have created innovative and bold new games, such as the Marvel slots available in Cryptologic powered casinos. Cryptologic's Marvel themed slots offer gamers the chance to take control of the likes of Blade, Wolverine and Spider-Man and guide them through bonus games, free spins rounds and of course, reel spins. Each Marvel slot comes with 3 progressive jackpots, each one dropping prizes ranging between $50.00 - $5,000+. Online casinos, like those powered by Cryptologic, have really led the way when it comes to branded and video-game like slots machines and for once, Vegas have to pick up the pace and catch up with these gaming innovations.

Since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 came into force though, it has been harder for US players, to experience the bright lights of Las Vegas online. Thankfully, help is at hand with the likes of Rushmore Casino, who allow US play and feature unrivalled games, a stylish lobby and more importantly, offer an experience akin to Las Vegas. For American citizens who can't afford to travel to Las Vegas, or for those who simply wish to game online, Rushmore Casino offers a unique and rich gaming experience and one that won't disappoint die-hard Las Vegas Strip pilgrims.