Barb’s Best Bet: Play Divine Fortune–The Slot That Keeps Paying Jackpots
Do you know which progressive jackpot has been hit on PA and NJ gambling websites more times than any other? In fact, this year alone, it hit three times in March and again in April and May. It’s a Divine Fortune Jackpot!
Especially now, in these uncertain times, a little Divine intervention would be a most welcome change in anyone’s life, just as it was for these winners.
And the way this out of this world slot game has been gushing out mega-sized jackpots, not only recently, but frequently over the course of its online history, suggests the next time could be right around the corner. So what better time than right now, when online slot play is more popular than ever, to highlight Divine Fortune as this month’s Barb’s Best Bet!
Incredible but true: the Divine Fortune Progressive Jackpot was hit three times in March–and again in April and May
The first of the three progressive jackpots that were hit in March 2020 took place on March 15 when a NJ woman named Netty won $278,802.58 on a $2 bet on the NJ gambling website PlaySugarHouse.
The other two progressive jackpots were won by Pennsylvania players and, interestingly, both of those also occurred on SugarHouse Online Casino at PlaySugarHouse.com but at its PA online casino.
On March 20, the slot made a $1 bettor $278,430.23 richer, and on March 29, another Pennsylvania man won $159,052.43 on the same slot game at the same online casino.
But lest you think that all of the Divine Fortune progressive jackpot wins have taken place at PlaySugarHouse, that’s not true. As long as you’re in the right place at the right time, a mega-size win on this online slot can happen anywhere. In April, good fortune was smiling down in a big way on two more NJ players at different online casinos.
A furloughed worker named Gary hit the progressive jackpot for $230,552.71 on a $5 bet at Hard Rock Online Casino. Then a Rotogrinders contributor named Yisman won over $219,000 on a $3 bet while playing Divine Fortune on his mobile device at Betfair Casino.
The biggest Divine Fortune progressive jackpot ever
But wait–the best was still to come. On May 26, 2020, an Audubon, PA woman who was playing Divine Fortune at PlaySugarHouse on her mobile device hit the progressive jackpot for $533,239.70. It’s the largest jackpot paid to date on this game in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey, the only two states where Divine Fortune is currently available.
By the way, the surge of progressive jackpot payouts reported lately is no fluke. PlaySugarHouse.com has only existed in Pennsylvania since the summer of 2019. Yet the Divine Fortune progressive jackpot has already been hit there 15 times.
In New Jersey, where Divine Fortune was launched in 2017, the game’s progressive jackpot has paid out more than $3 million.
It’s definitely not too late to get on the bandwagon.
Divine Fortune Basics
Divine Fortune is a video slot by the world-renowned online casino games manufacturer NetEnt. It consists of five reels, three rows, and 20 fixed paylines. So upon first glance, it might look quite ordinary. But as soon as you start playing, you will quickly discover that it is anything but.
Here’s what this unique but justifiably very popular slot has to offer that elevates it from the ordinary to the extraordinary:
- Wide range of bet sizes appealing to all types of players
- Intriguing Greek mythology theme
- Falling Wilds with free re-spins
- Wild on Wild feature where one or more reels turn completely wild!
- Free Spins bonus round
- Three jackpots, including a potentially life-changing progressive jackpot that hits frequently!
- An exceptionally high RTP (especially for a progressive jackpot slot) along with medium volatility to keep the game affordable
The instantly recognizable Greek mythology theme is reflected in every aspect of the game, including the setting and soundtrack. An imposing statue stands on each side of the reels, and a Grecian urn has been placed just below the statue on the right side. The music complements the mood without being overpowering.
You don’t have to be a mythology buff to enjoy this game. But if you are, you will recognize that all of the higher paying symbols on the reels, starting with the snake-haired Medusa, are associated with Greek mythology as well. And the wild symbol, which plays a prominent role throughout, is the winged white horse, Pegasus. The scatter symbol (three or more of which activate the Free Spins bonus feature) is a fist holding a lightning bolt while the bonus symbol (three or more of which activate the Jackpot Bonus Game) is a golden coin.
A product of NetEnt one of the most trusted names in the business
As you can see, Divine Fortune is in many ways unique. That’s a quality that any frequent slot player looks for because let’s face it, even the most entertaining slots can grow tiresome if you keep playing them every day. Slot players crave variety and excitement, and Divine Fortune, especially with the added lure of a huge progressive jackpot waiting to be won, fulfills that craving in a big way.
But at the same time, Divine Fortune shares the same important qualities that characterize all NetEnt slots. The ability to combine the latest techniques in advanced, cutting edge online and mobile gaming technology to make every playing session highly entertaining is only one part of the formula.
NetEnt considers it no less important to create slots that will appeal to a very wide range of online casino players regardless of bankroll or playing style and give every player a more than fair chance to win.
Every slot game in NetEnt’s vast catalog has a return to player (RTP) of at least 96.0 percent, and some such as Divine Fortune has an RTP approaching 97.0 percent. These stats put NetEnt slots in the top echelon of NJ online slots.
NetEnt also manufactures top-quality table games for online and mobile casinos. It is no surprise that NetEnt has built a reputation as one of the leading providers for online casinos worldwide. It is no surprise either that many of the slots I single out as Barb’s Best Bets are NetEnt slots.
Exceptional RTP combined with a shot at a progressive jackpot–online slots don’t get better than this!
It’s highly unlikely you’ll go wrong playing any NetEnt slot. But what puts Divine Fortune in a class all by itself is not only its extraordinarily high RTP of 96.60 percent but also that a return to player of that magnitude exists for a progressive jackpot slot.
The RTP indicates the theoretically expected rate of return over many thousands of spins over a long stretch of time. So don’t be surprised if your results for a single playing session are quite different. Early on, you could be either a lot luckier or a lot unluckier than the RTP suggests.
Because everyone’s bankroll is to some extent limited, just in case you don’t get off to a good start, it’s always reassuring, especially if you’re a small stakes player, to know that the game has a high RTP. Frequent payouts, even if they are mostly small ones, can help you recoup or at the very least, minimize your losses.
Most progressive jackpot slots come with a below-average RTP and high volatility
The overwhelming majority of progressive jackpot slots only offer a mediocre RTP combined with high volatility. In exchange for the possibility of the elusive mega-size jackpot you’re chasing, the payouts in the base game will probably be quite a bit smaller and less frequent than you need them to be to stay ahead. In fact, huge negative swings are common, so if you’re not careful, you could deplete a big chunk or even all of your bankroll long before the slot has a chance to turn in your favor.
Divine Fortune offers way above average RTP and medium volatility
Divine Fortune is the exception because this progressive jackpot slot combines an unusually high RTP (even for non-progressive jackpot slots) with medium volatility. You will experience enough variation in results to keep you in suspense and maintain interest but not so much that relative to your bet size, you risk losing a fortune.
As long as you bet within your means, even if you don’t win, you shouldn’t have a problem. You can stay in the game for a reasonable length of time and have enough funds left over to try again.
Moreover, even though the manufacturer states that the likelihood of hitting the progressive jackpot increases if you make big bets, betting big is not a requirement, as some of the most recent $200K+ winners have proven.
Could the extremely high RTP and medium volatility combination help explain why players keep hitting the Divine Fortune progressive jackpot so frequently? Probably. It also explains why, even if you don’t win the jackpot, you can still be a big winner in this game.
Which NJ online casinos offer Divine Fortune?
All of the following NJ online casinos offer Divine Fortune for both online and mobile device play.
- Bet365
- Betfair
- BetMGM
- Borgata
- Caesars
- Golden Nugget
- Hard Rock
- Mohegan Sun
- Parx
- OceanOnline
- Pala
- PlaySugarHouse
- PokerStars
- Resorts
- Scores
- Unibet
Divine Fortune bet size
Divine Fortune can be played either in demo mode or for real money. The game offers a wide enough range of bet sizes to satisfy most players. You can’t alter the number of paylines, which remains fixed at 20. But you can adjust the bet level anywhere from 1 to 10 and the coin size to different denominations ranging from 1 cent to 50 cents.
Your bet size per spin is simply the coin size x the bet level x 20. The minimum bet per spin is a mere 20 cents, and the maximum is .50 x 10 x 20 or $100.
Divine Fortune symbols
Divine Fortune contains a total of 11 symbols. Eight of these are regular symbols. The remaining three special symbols include a wild symbol, scatter symbol, and Jackpot Bonus symbol.
Regular symbols
The four higher-paying regular symbols are recurring creatures in Greek mythology. In descending order of payout, they are Medusa, a Nemean lion, a Minotaur, and a Phoenix.
The lower paying regular symbols are the playing cards J-A depicted with Greek lettering.
Winning combinations are formed in the usual manner. Three or more like symbols need to line up on consecutive reels horizontally or diagonally starting with the reel farthest to the left.
The following paytable shows the payouts for three, four, or five of a kind for each of the eight symbols.
Divine Fortune Symbol Payout Values
|
Symbol |
5 symbols |
4 symbols |
3 symbols |
|
Medusa |
600 |
80 |
20 |
|
Lion |
400 |
60 |
18 |
|
Minotaur |
300 |
50 |
15 |
|
Phoenix |
200 |
40 |
14 |
|
A |
80 |
18 |
7 |
|
K |
80 |
18 |
7 |
|
Q |
60 |
15 |
6 |
|
J |
60 |
15 |
6 |
To determine the applicable payout for a given winning combination, simply multiply the number of coins displayed in the table by the product of your bet level and coin size.
Special symbols
Wild symbol
The wild symbol is the mythical winged horse, Pegasus. By itself, it has no payout value. However, it can substitute for any other symbol except the free spins and bonus symbols to help form or add to winning combinations. It can also do a lot more.
At the very least, every wild symbol turns into a Falling Wild that moves down the reel one position where it remains for a free re-spin!
The Falling Wilds and associated re-spins continue until the last such wild symbol has dropped out of view.
However, before that happens, anytime another wild symbol lands directly over a Falling Wild on a re-spin, you trigger the Wild on Wild feature in which the whole reel turns wild!
Also, during the Free Spins bonus feature, all wild symbols automatically turn the entire reel wild!
Scatter symbol
The scatter symbol is a clenched fist holding a lightning rod. Three or more scatter symbols anywhere on the reels will trigger the Free Spins bonus feature.
Jackpot Bonus symbol
The Divine Fortune Jackpot Bonus symbol is a gold coin. As with the scatter symbol, one or two gold coins won’t help you at all. But if three or more land simultaneously, the screen will switch to the Jackpot Bonus game for a chance to win a Mini, Major, or Mega Progressive Jackpot!
Divine Fortune Jackpot – Special Features
Falling Wilds Re-Spins feature
As mentioned, this feature occurs automatically anytime at least one wild symbol shows up on the reels. First, any payments due you on that spin, with or without the help of the wild symbol, are awarded. Then the wild symbol moves down one place on the reel, where it remains for the ensuing free re-spin.
The higher the row on which the wild symbol first lands, the better, because the Falling Wilds feature continues until the Falling Wild symbol drops off the reels completely. Of course, new wild symbols can show up during the re-spins to become Falling Wilds as well. Therefore, the Falling Wilds Re-Spins feature can continue for quite a while.
Wild on Wild feature
Any Falling Wild can potentially lead to the even more lucrative Wild on Wild feature. During the base game, you will activate the Wild on Wild feature anytime a new wild symbol appears during a re-spin directly over an already existing Falling Wild. This is where a giant size white-winged horse will magically cover an entire reel!
But during the Free Spins bonus feature (unlike in the Falling Wilds Re-Spins feature), any wild symbol anywhere on the reels will activate the Wild on Wild feature immediately!
Free Spins feature
To activate the Free Spins feature and receive 5, 8, or 12 free spins, respectively, 3, 4, or 5 free spins scatter symbols must land simultaneously anywhere on the reels. This can happen either during the base game or during the Falling Wilds Re-spins feature.
Once the Free Spins feature is in progress, it can’t be retriggered. But that one drawback is more than offset by the fact that exclusively during the Free Spins, any wild symbol at all instantly becomes a Wild on Wild, rendering the entire reel wild!
So, in effect, you could wind up with many more free spins than the number initially awarded. During that time, ginormous winnings are possible.
Jackpot Bonus Game
The Free Spins feature is hard to top, but Divine Fortune offers one more feature that has that capability. It’s the Jackpot Bonus Game!
There is only one way to activate the Jackpot Bonus Game. Three or more gold coin Jackpot Bonus symbols need to land anywhere on the reels simultaneously.
Each bonus symbol you just collected gets a random coin win value of 10-200x your bet size before it is randomly placed on the reels.
You get three free spins to start. However, each time a Jackpot Bonus symbol lands, the multiplier is applied, and you receive three additional spins.
The Jackpot Bonus Game continues until either you win one of the three jackpots or have no more free spins remaining, whichever comes first.
- If you fill one entire row with Bonus symbols, you win the Minor Jackpot: 20x your bet.
- Or If you fill two entire rows with Bonus symbols, you win the Major Jackpot: 100x your bet.
- If you fill all three rows with Bonus symbols, you can add your name to the growing list of players who have won the Divine Fortune Mega Progressive Jackpot!
How I fared playing Divine Fortune four times in demo mode
Betting $10 and $20 per spin during the first two sessions and then $50 per spin during the last two sessions, I finished way ahead all four times. As expected, the bigger bets produced bigger wins, but even betting just $10 a spin, I finished over $200 ahead.
In my third session, betting $50 per spin, I was down nearly $400 in the base game. But then I triggered the Free Spins bonus. What started out as five free spins multiplied into many more, and on one occasion, three reels turned completely wild simultaneously, culminating in a “super mega win” of $10,430!
During session 2, I triggered the Jackpot Bonus Game rather than the Free Spins but did not win a jackpot. (A jackpot is not guaranteed when you trigger this bonus, just the opportunity to try for one).
However, in session 4, though not until I had lost more than $2,000 of my hypothetical $5K starting stake, I triggered the Jackpot Bonus Game and won the Major Jackpot! If I had been making real $50 bets (which I can’t afford) instead of using play money, on top of the $10,000+ I would have collected in session 3, I would have won another $5,000!
The bottom line
Even with this game’s exceptionally high RTP and medium volatility, substantial negative swings are possible, as my playing sessions in demo mode illustrated. So it is important to go into this game adequately capitalized.
As long as you play responsibly, at a level you can afford, even if you don’t win, the chances are very slim that you will deplete your bankroll. But you might fare so much better. You might even win a Divine Fortune progressive jackpot!
DIVINE FORTUNE STATS
- Five reels, 20 fixed paylines
- Bets: 20 cents to $100
- RTP: 96.60 percent
MORE INFO
- Greek mythology theme
- Falling Wilds with Re-Spins and Wild on Wild feature turning one or more reels completely wild!
- Free Spins feature where every wild symbol turns the entire reel wild!
- Three jackpots that are hit surprisingly frequently, including a mega-size progressive jackpot capable of paying well over $100,000!