Betsoft Gaming’s legendary grandiose open-shirt Las Vegas plunger is back with a beautiful woman on each arm in Mr. Vegas 2: Big Money Tower. The new game is live now and was released nearly 11 years after the enduring inaugural release of Mr. Vegas on May 17, 2012.
One big difference between this game and the earliest version is that the progressive jackpot has been removed. In exchange, the default return to player percentage (RTP) has been increased from 93.60% to a much better 96.06%. The volatility has also been ratcheted up significantly from medium to very high.
Keep reading to learn more about other improvements and changes as well as a way to determine the highest-paying awards when you trigger the bonus round and pick a card for one of three possible free spins enhancements.
Multiple Licenses, Games Available in USA
Betsoft is one of the most prolific suppliers of online casino games out there but the company is not without some controversy in its past. The official company website currently claims RNG (random number generator) certification by leading testing houses and audit labs QUINEL and GLI as well as license seals from the Malta Gaming Authority, Romania’s ONJN, and Italy’s Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM).
Controversies include the developer claiming an unwritten term when a progressive jackpot was won (GlamLife 2016), a sudden abandonment of its previous license in another jurisdiction with no transparency as to the reason why (Alderney 2014), a lack of easily found public records of anyone actually collecting one of its progressive jackpots, and finally, a glitchy keno game giving non-random results (2010).
The company’s QUINEL certificate is only for the RNG as tested without any games plugged in. The company displays the GLI seal with a link to a generic page rather than to the actual certification document as required by Gambling Labs International.
Sixty Paylines, 5×4 Reels, Buy Bonus, Free Spins, Big Money Tower, More
Whereas the original Mr. Vegas was a 5-reel game with 3 positions each the new game adds one more visible reel position and doubles the paylines to 60. The bet levels are still “Betsoft strange” ranging from $0.30 to $150 per spin at intervals of $1.50, $3, $9, $18, $24, $39, $54, $75, and $105.
The max win is 2601X your bet with every spin and the Big Money Tower can award 1,000x your total stake if you make it to the top of the right one.
High Hit Frequency
Another big difference players will find with this game is a much higher “hit frequency”. The first version may have “felt” more like a highly volatile game than it really was because it produced a win only 8.25 times in every 100 spins on average for a hit rate of 8.25%. Roughly one in every 12 spins produced a win of some sort, whether it returned the value of your bet, less or more, is not accounted for in that aspect of the maths.
The hit rate for Mr. Vegas 2: Big Money Tower is 18.22% so nearly one in every five spins (5.48) will return something. Since this game is more volatile by amplitude (Very high vs medium) and the hit frequency is more than doubled, we can jump to a weak assumption that the base game returns are each smaller on average and the greater volatility resides in the bonus mechanics.
It’s really a quite brilliant re-engineering of a time-honored favorite. The game should feel brand new while still warming the cockles of Mr. Vegas fans.
Look for Stacked Mystery Symbols on all five reels – they can turn into anything but scatters or bonus symbols, even wild symbols before the spin.
Three scatters appear on reels two, three, and four will bring up two face-down playing cards. Choose one to get one of three bonus mechanics.
- Sticky Wilds offer 10 Free Spins and the wild symbols stay in place throughout the round when they are part of a win.
- Expanding Wilds and 12 Free Spins cover the reel and stay in place for a re-spin. Landing another wild adds another respin.
- Random Wilds come with 15 Free Spins and two to six Wilds will appear in each free game.
Buy Bonus
While you can’t choose which bonus you will get when you trigger the bonus with random scatter symbols, you can buy the bonus you want to play!
When betting $0.30 per spin you can the following bonuses:
- 10 free spins with sticky wilds will cost $23.40
- 15 free spins with random wilds will cost $31.20
- 12 free spins with expanding wilds can be bought for 36.90
Big Money Tower
There are three Big Money Towers and landing the proper symbols on reels one, three, and five will take you to one at random. The towers are Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Flip a coin to move one rung up the ladder or collect your winnings up to that point. You will always win something and you won’t need to risk what you’ve already won in order to progress. Just flip a coin and build your fortune until you collect your winnings.
If you reach the top rung of the Golden Tower you will win 1,000x your stake for the triggering spin.
You can learn more about Betsoft Gaming software and games here.
Source: Betsoft Gaming Delivers The Ultimate V.I.P. Gaming Experience in Mr. Vegas 2: Big Money Tower™, Betsoft Gaming, March 30, 2023