777 Deluxe Slot Review: a new twist on an old formula

Fans and wannabees of the good old slot machines (or “fruit”/“pokie” machines depending on where you live), get ready for a spin on a modern take of the slot type that marked the beginning of an unprecedented success story in the gambling world. Designed by Bodog’s proprietary studio Bovada Gaming, 777 Deluxe is bringing the fruit theme into the 21st century with crisp graphics featuring traditional symbols such as cherries, melons, bells, and 7s that seem to hover over a deep-space background. They've also added two contemporary twists with a pay-anywhere mechanic and a bonus game where a progressive jackpot can be won.

Hearkening Back in Time

To find the origins of slots we have to travel back in time to around the turn of the 19th century. The first immensely successful slot machine was the Liberty Bell designed and produced by a gentleman called Charles Fey from San Francisco, California.

Liberty Bell, the Original Slot Machine

Whilst gambling halls were prohibited in most states at the time, the machines could be found in countless barber shops, tobacco stores, saloons, and even brothels. The success soon found other manufacturers copying the design, facilitating the rapid ascent of slots to become the most popular game of chance in today’s casinos and other gambling establishments, be they land-based or online.

The name fruit machine hails from the early designs which paid out tokens instead of real money that could be exchanged for chewing gum with cherry or lemon flavors. The bell itself was part of the symbol set on the Liberty Bell and to this day has remained as a widely used pay symbol.

Many of these same images appear on the 777 Deluxe reels (though in updated form). Thus, this relatively recent title really pays homage to the genre originators.

Design and Overview

777 Deluxe is a good example how designers can combine a traditional fruit machine with a contemporary touch. The slot has five reels, three rows and 10 fixed win lines. It comes with a pay-anywhere mechanic (see below) and a bonus game that is the only the path to winning the progressive jackpot. Available on desktop and mobile devices across all OS platforms, it allows bet sizes from $0.20 to $100 per spin.

The creative team chose a modern design for 777 Deluxe that still conveys the charm of the traditional fruit machines yet gives it a timeless appearance. A blurry deep-space background contrasts with extremely crisp hologram-style pay symbols in neon colors. The game window is completely frameless with slim top and bottom bars lighting up at the start of a spin. An electronic soundtrack goes well with the fast pace of the game.

777 Deluxe Has Modern Graphics But an Old-School Feel

All pay symbols except the mystery symbol can appear stacked on all reels. They start at the low end with cherries, lemons, oranges, grapes and melons, awarding wins from 10 to 20 your stake for a single five of a kind. The premium symbols are bells, horseshoes, bars and triple 7s. Hit five on a line to win 30 to 100 times your bet.

An icon with a question mark acts as the mystery and scatter symbol. The mystery symbol changes into any other symbol if fewer than three of them appear simultaneously. If three mystery icons turn up at once, then the bonus round (see below) begins.

Pay-Anywhere Mechanic Explained

The usual standard for slots is to pay wins for three or more matching symbols starting from the left reel. The next level is to have pays awarded both ways from left to right and from right to left.

777 Deluxe takes that a step further with a pay-anywhere mechanic. In addition to paying both ways, it will also award wins for a three of a kind starting from the second and fourth reel as can be seen in the screenshot below. In this example, we scored a three of a kind grapes on the three center reels which is then paid both ways, $1 from the left and $1 from the right.

Winning Combination in the Center Reels

In essence, the game will pay for any combination starting on any reel as long as there are a minimum of three matching symbols adjacent on a line.

777 Deluxe Bonus Game

Theoretically, you could hit a full screen of triple 7s in the main game which would result in a payout of 1,000x your stake, something any avid slotting enthusiast will happily take any day of the year. However, the main attraction on this slot is the progressive jackpot which can only be won in the bonus game. To trigger it, you will need to hit three mystery symbols anywhere on the reels in one spin.

The game will lead to a second screen with a mini slot machine that has only three reels and one row. The current balance of the progressive jackpot is displayed on top of the screen. On the reels are pink, purple, green, blue, silver, red, and golden 7s and a red diamond-shaped icon.

In the Bonus Game, You Win More for Matching Colored 7s

You can spin indefinitely on the mini slot as long as you land either three matching 7s or a combination of them. A payout of 1x to 250x your total bet is awarded for each winning spin. The bonus game will end once the diamond-shaped icon lands on a reel.

To win the progressive jackpot you will need to hit three golden 7s in one spin. As of August 2019, the highest payout recorded since the release of the game in August 2018 was well over $800,000: a truly life changing amount.

777 Deluxe Mobile Play

From its early days, Bovada Gaming focused on developing games that can be played on virtually all devices, including desktop PC, Mac, iPad, or other mobile devices. This is something developers actually pushed heavily since the introduction of the HTML5 format as it allows an easy integration on mobile that lets players enjoy the game wherever they are as long as they have an internet connection.

Accordingly, 777 Deluxe can be played on smartphones and tablets that run on Android or iOS. The appearance of the game on smartphones and tablets is almost identical to how it looks on a desktop machine.

777 Deluxe Conclusion

For existing and soon-to-be fans of fruit machines, it doesn’t get much better than 777 Deluxe from Bovada Gaming. It combines the traditional design and adds not only a modern twist but also suspenseful moments in the bonus game where the progressive jackpot is in play.

Where to Play 777 Deluxe

Because this is an in-house production of Bodog, it was formerly only available at certain internet casinos that are a part of its association of related sites. However, after an initial period of exclusivity, the game began to proliferate to other casinos as well. They each cater to different parts of the world and have differing gambling lineups. Fortunately, you can play for practice chips below to get a feel for what this game is about before you risk any of your own funds:

Then when you're ready to play for real, create your gaming account at any site that carries the game. Check out our reviews below of the best places to enjoy 777 Deluxe:

• Ignition Casino | USA, Australia | poker, casino |
• Bovada | USA | poker, casino, sportsbook |
• Bodog | Latin America, Canada | poker, casino, sportsbook |
• Sportsbetting.ag | USA, most other countries except Australia | poker, casino, sportsbook |
• BetOnline | USA, most other countries except Australia | poker, casino, sportsbook |
• Slots.lv | USA, Canada | casino |
• Cafe Casino | USA | casino |
• Joe Fortune | Australia | casino |
• Wild Casino | USA, most other countries except Australia | casino |