Lucky Leprechaun Slot
Lucky Leprechaun is a 3 reel, single pay line slot machine that’s designed by Video Gaming Technology, also known as VGT.
Judging by the theme, Lucky Leprechaun is already in danger of being cliché because so many slots use the leprechaun angle. It also doesn’t help that this game is rife with 7s, cherries, and BARsymbols.
Find out as we cover this game’s Class II status, bonus features, betting options, and offer comparisons to a spin off game.
Lucky Leprechaun Overview
Lucky Leprechaun makes no attempt to hide its theme since you’ll see a leprechaun holding his tobacco pipe while sprawled out across a giant mushroom. The top screen also shows a pot of gold anda grassy field in the background.
You’ll see more artwork surrounding the reels, with rainbows and trees everywhere. Including the reels artwork, this is more detail than we’ve seen on most other VGT slot cabinets.
Symbols include:
- A Lucky Leprechaun
- 7
- Cherries
- Single BAR
- Double BAR
- Triple BAR
As mentioned before, these are some of the most cliché symbols that you’ll find in slots.
On the other hand, Lucky Leprechaun’s symbols do have extra detail, such as 4 leaf clovers on the 7s and rainbows on the BAR symbols.
The top fixed payout is worth 2,500 credits, and this occurs when you get 3 Lucky Leprechaun icons on a single pay line.
Unfortunately, this game is not linked to the progressive jackpot that VGT seeds with $250,000. If you want to play for the big jackpot, you’ll have to do it through include 777 Bourbon Street,Crazy Cherry, Hot Red Ruby, King of Coin, Lucky Ducky, Mr. Money Bags, Reel Fever, and Smooth as Silk.
Lucky Leprechaun is found in Native American casinos throughout Oklahoma. A few of the locations where you can play this game include Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Creek Nation Casino inEufaula, Native Lights Casino in Tonkawa, Glacier Peaks Casino in Blackfeet Nation, Osage Casino in Tulsa, and Apache Casino, and Hotel in Lawton.
Lucky Leprechaun Is a Bingo Slot Machine
Despite tribal casinos being on sovereign Indian grounds, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act states that their gaming machines must still be related to bingo, which means they must hold Class IIstatus.
Lucky Leprechaun and other Class II games may give off the appearance of slot machines, but they award payouts like a bingo game would. This is an important distinction in ensuring that tribalcasinos don’t violate federal or state laws.
Class II machines are linked to a computerized system operator, which controls every payout for the linked games.
Much like bingo or scratch cards, there’s only so many of each prize available. This means that you’re actually playing for payouts against other players, rather than the house. When LuckyLeprechaun’s top payout of 2,500 credits is won, the game starts over with a new set of prizes.
You can clearly see the bingo influence on this game through the card in the top screen. You’ll also see random numbers beneath the card that may be confusing at first.
But these numbers are being generated by the system operator to determine winning payouts. If the numbers that you generate through your slots spins match these numbers, you win prizes.
Class II bingo slot machines look very similar to Class III slots, which are found in traditional casino hubs like Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The key difference is that each Class III slotmachine determines its own results through a random number generator, or RNG.
The RNG determines how often certain payouts are made in the long run, but they don’t predetermine how many payouts will be made like a Class II machine’s system operator. In theory, you couldwin the jackpot over and over again in a Class III slot machine.
It really doesn’t matter which type of game you play, though, because they’re both exciting and award prizes randomly.
Lucky Leprechaun Bonus
One thing that separates Lucky Leprechaun from other 3 reel slots is that it has two different bonus features. You can see more on each bonus below:
Red Screen Re Spin
The first bonus is the red screen re spin, which is common in many VGT slot machines. The screen will randomly turn red after a win, and you’ll get one or more free re spins.
The size of your bonus payout depends upon your prize that triggered the re spin. If you win 500 credits before the screen flashes red, then you can expect a large payout on your re spin.
VGT offers no explanation for the red screen re spins on the cabinet. But players on forums suggest that the red screen will flash after one out of every five wins.
Given the frequency of the red screen re spins and how you’ll sometimes get more than one re spin at a time, these payouts add a significant amount to your bankroll.
Pick a Pot
The other bonus feature is even more exciting than the re spins because it involves a second screen.
Following some wins, you’ll randomly see the top screen open up and reveal a black screen with three pots. You’ll also see a bingo card in the lower right hand corner, which determines what kindof prize you’ll get.
You’re instructed to choose one of these pots using the Bet 1 and Bet 3 buttons. Once the cursor is on the pot that you want to select, you push the Spin button.
A rainbow will shoot out of the selected pot, and you’ll receive the amount of credits shown. In our case, we earned 60 credits the first time playing this bonus and 30 credits the second time.
While this second screen bonus round is nothing special when compared to the entire slots industry, it’s still good for a classic 3 reel game.
Betting Options
Despite the fact that Lucky Leprechaun lists the coin denomination as $1 on the front of the machine, you can actually change this amount from $0.25 to $25. The $25 max is much larger than theaverage VGT slot machine, which should interest high rollers.
You can also play from 1 to 3 coins per spin, and you should use 3 coins if you want to be eligible for the 2,500 credit top payout. This is only $0.75 per spin if you play $0.25 coins, which islow when compared to other land based slots.
We put $100 into the machine and played three $0.25 coins per spin. Sometimes our bankroll dropped, but the red screen re spins always helped boost it.
After playing for half an hour, we were only down $4. Based on the re spins and second screen bonus round, we can easily see people winning money through this slot machine.
Other Lucky Leprechaun Games
VGT makes another game involving this same character called Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot, and you’ll also find the same titled slot at many Microgaming casinos. Let’s take a closer look at both ofthese games below.
VGT’s Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot
The first thing you’ll notice about this game is that its cabinet is really colorful. The original Lucky Leprechaun also has detailed designs, but this version takes things to a new level withbrighter rainbows and a blue background.
Another noticeable change is that Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot runs on a 3 x 3 grid, instead of the 3 x 1 grid in Lucky Leprechaun. This 3 x 3 grid is nice considering that you can play multiple paylines in Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot.
You can also expect to play for a larger top payout because this game offers 10,000 credits when you land three Lucky Leprechauns across a pay line.
The smallest coin denomination in this slot is $0.05, which lets you play for next to nothing.
Overall, we’d say that Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot is a step up from the original because it has multiple pay lines, a larger grid, bigger jackpot, and a more colorful grid.
Microgaming’s Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot
The problem with Lucky Leprechaun and the Loot version is that you can only play these games in certain tribal casinos. This is where Microgaming’s Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot is nice because it’savailable at online casinos.
This 5 reel, 50 pay line game takes a realistic approach to the genre, with an Irish countryside in the background and lifelike leprechauns on the reels. We wouldn’t say that the graphicsscream excitement, but they do look nice.
We’d really like it if there was some music playing during the game. Unfortunately, the only time that you hear music is after a winning payout and during free spins.
Speaking of which, free spins happen when you land 3 or more leprechaun scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. The sun goes down, Irish flute music starts playing, and you get 15 free spins.
Once your 15 free spins are up, you’re taken to a second screen where three scrolls roll down and offer you three different options: collect your winnings, gamble your win for a mystery prize,or replay your 15 free spins.
This brings a skill element into the equation because it’s up to you to make good choices and avoid being greedy.
We wouldn’t say that Microgaming’s Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot is great for a 5 reel online slot. In fact, you’ll probably have a better time playing either of VGT’s Lucky Leprechaun games in landbased casinos.
But we do like the feature at the end of the free spins, where you’re given three different choices.
Conclusion
Most 3 reel, single pay line slot machines are relics in an age where 3D video slots rule. But Lucky Leprechaun avoids the relic distinction by offering enough extra frills to make it worthtrying.
What We Like
- We find the bingo element interesting since you’re competing against other players for prizes. It’s fun to watch your bingo card fill up at the top while paying.
- We also like the fact that Lucky Leprechaun offers two different bonus features. You’ll see the red screen re spins the most because they happen on approximately 20 percent of your wins.
- The Pick a Pot bonus round is a treat to unlock because you’re taken to a second screen. This isn’t the most sophisticated second screen bonus game, but you’ll still appreciate seeing it andthe extra credits that you win.
- One more thing to like about Lucky Leprechaun is that you can play cheaply in comparison to most land based slot machines. You can spin the reels for a little as $0.25, or play all threecoins, $0.75, to have a chance at the largest payout.
What We Don’t Like
- One downside to this game is that you can’t play for the progressive jackpot that’s seeded at $250,000. This is a disappointment when considering that you can play for the jackpot on severalsimilar VGT 3 reel slot machine variations.
- The other drawback to Lucky Leprechaun is that even with its bonus features and detailed cabinet artwork, it doesn’t measure up to the more modern, 5 reel video slots that are popular today.
But if you’re just looking for a simple slots experience with a few extras, then Lucky Leprechaun is better than most 3 reel games.