Video Gaming Technologies ( VGT) is one of the largest, most successful casino game design companies based in the United States. Founded in Tennessee, the company specializes in designing Class II gambling games and serviced the Native American casino market exclusively for many years. VGT isn’t as prominent in Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, or Tunica, where IGT and a few other companies dominate the class III pokie machine market.
So Video Gaming Technologies, Inc. is in the Native-American casino niche. VGT supplies class II gaming machines to a few casinos and other gaming venues in the less frequented parts of the US. Again, you might not know the distinction between these two types of casino devices. In recent years their games have appeared in commercial casinos across the US states.
Class II Pokies
Before you know what are VGT pokies and how they work you should know what actually are class II pokies.
Class II pokies machines are known as “video lottery terminals” (VLT), while class III machines are called “Vegas-style” pokies. VLTs are connected to a centralized computer. This computer determines the result of each wager. Each machine linked to the system receives an equal chance of winning. VLT payouts come from a limited prize pool, much like the scratch-off lottery tickets you would buy at a convenience store or other vendor. Unlike common perception, Class II games may or may not have a skill element.
Some gaming machines have characteristics of both class II and class III devices. In these cases, they are all considered class II machines. By law, if even one character is in the class II designation, it’s considered in that classification. This is an important distinction because US states only allow a certain number of classification III licenses. Those in the II classification aren’t regulated as closely.
Characteristics to note are whether you’re playing against the house (III) or against other players who’re competing for the same prize (II) any result is possible in a game with a payout schedule only, in the Class II games, a win doesn’t occur every spin, but the game continues until someone wins. Also, the player must be active, recognizing when they win and announcing the result, like in bingo. Finally, all players play from the same set of numbers.
VGT Bonus Blast logo
During the early 2000s when the pokies gaming industry became more popular and successful game designers found themselves competing for player loyalty by adding new features to their games. VGT developed their famous Red Screen-free spins bonus.
Because Class II games are not real pokies machine games, VGT’s Red Screen offered a way for the company to offer random spin awards. However, the bonus games are more random and add an extra layer of excitement to the gaming experience. The Red Screen is thus a popular feature among players and many gamers report winning substantial prize amounts from the Red Screen-free spins. VGT has offered a few enhancements to the Red Screen experience over the years.
But despite its popularity, the Red Screen bonus quickly became outdated as other pokies games introduced more interactive bonus rounds. VGT responded by developing its optional Bonus Blast package. Casinos, when ordering VGT games, can request that the Bonus Blast package be installed which they do.
The Bonus Blast package has been expanded over the years, thus adding variation and excitement to many of VGT’s games and making the player experience more random. Games can be customized to use some or all of the Bonus Blast games. At the present time, there are eight Bonus Blast games in the package.
Features
These are Lucky Pluck is a pick game. Pick a Duck is another picking game. The player chooses from three rubber duckies in an amusement park theme. Pick a Pot is an Irish-themed pick game featuring a leprechaun. Pick a Safe is a crime-themed pick game. Rainin’ Rubies allows the player to “catch” the cash fever. The Red Screen is the classic free spins bonus game most VGT enthusiasts know and love. Victory Lap is a race-themed bonus game. The player chooses one of four race cars to determine what their prize will be.
Winning Wheel is based on the traditional wheel game which has inspired a television show and many pokies games and bonuses. This bonus game has been customized for some of the VGT games, such as Camelot where Merlin spins the wheel for the player.
Games from VGT
The company offers 3-reel mechanical games, 5-reel mechanical games, 5-reel video games, bonus blasts, charity gaming machines, “Mexico games”, and multi-games. Each of these provides a different gaming experience.
1. 3-Reel Mechanical Games
The largest list of gaming choices from VGT is the 3-reel games. Many of these play like classic machines, though the graphics and sound quality are 21st centuries. Some of these games include Lucky Ducky, 777 Bourbon Street, Caribbean Cash, Star-Spangled Sevens, Quarterback Cash, Red Zone Cash Rush, Squirrels Gone Nuts!, Tito Puente: King of Mambo, Mr. Millionaire, Red Hot Rubies x2, Celia Cruz: The Queen of Salsa, Double Freedom Wheels, and Greenback Jack.
2. 5-Reel Video and Mechanical Games
The company offers four 5-reel mechanical games: Free Spins of Fortune, Gemstone Falls, Land of Free Spins, and Pirate’s Paradise. If you prefer 5-reel video pokies games, you have three options: Silver Dollar Shootout, The Hunt for Neptune’s Gold, and Camelot. The top award on the first of these three games is 25,000 credits, while the top fixed jackpot on the second and third video pokies listed is 50,000.
3. Bonus Blast Features
As said above “The Bonus Blast” features are customizable bonus games offered on various gaming machines or types of games for Video Gaming Technologies. These offer a different gambling experience for players. These games have intriguing titles like Rainin’ Rubies, Winning Wheel, Victory Lap, Lucky Pluck, Red Screen Free-Spin, Pick a Safe, Pick a Duck, and Pick a Pot. You’ll find these one live-call bingo mechanical or video pokies games.
4. Charity Games
Under the charity games, you’ll find titles like Red Ball Roundup. This series of games has four iterations: Red, Blue, Golden Fan, and Jade Dragon 8’s. Games like Mr. Millionaire, Esmerelda’s Dream, and Crazy Bill’s Gold Strike are also available. A couple of these titles are also multi-game platforms, meaning you can enjoy several games on each box. For instance, Red Ball Roundup, Lucky Leprechaun’s Loot, Jewels & Gems, and Red Hot Rubies all offer 10 games. This is where you’ll find video keno for the VGT company.
5. Mexico and Spanish Games
Some of the Mexico Games also have multi-game features. Eighteen different Mexican pokies have been designed by Video Gaming Technologies. Also some Spanish-language games include Carerra de oro, Celia Crus: La Reina de la Salsa, Gol de Oro, Diana Cazadora, Pancho Pesos, Locura Por Los Diamantes, Joyas Y Gemas, and La Fortuna Del Gambusino.
Finally, the presence or absence of a bonus game on any machine is not necessarily an indication of how old the game is. Players should be careful not to assume that every machine is configured the same as others. Casinos will configure their games to be competitive and entertaining but may opt for some variation among their many different consoles.
The Bonus Blast package is distributed on both mechanical reel and video pokies game cabinets. Top prize amounts vary based on the game, coin denomination, the number of coins played, and other criteria. You can enjoy these games at a few online casinos or US land-based casinos.
