Sleeping Giant 888 Casino In New Jersey Roars To Life With 43 New Slot Games
888 Casino still has a long way to go to catch up with New Jersey’s biggest online casinos. However, the days when regular players might have been bored or deterred because of way too few options, at least in slots, are definitely over.
In fact, since December 2017, 888 Casino has more than doubled the number of new slot games, which now include some of the top names in the business. For that, this NJ gambling website deserves special kudos. Most importantly, the increase in game quantity has not occurred at the expense of game quality.
Offering high return, highly entertaining slots has always been and remains a hallmark of the 888 brand.
Early history of 888 Casino in New Jersey
One impressive stat that 888 NJ Online Casino can boast about is its longevity. It is one of the handful of NJ online casinos that has been continually up and running since day 1 of legalized gambling in this state — November 26, 2013.
Another important factor that 888 Casino had going for it in New Jersey was its already well-established reputation in the gambling industry. 888 was not some unknown entity trying to penetrate the American market that few people here had heard of before.
On the contrary, the presence of 888 in the international online gambling industry dates all the way back to 1997. And since that time, the company 888 Holdings has developed a long-standing reputation for excellence, as demonstrated by multiple Casino of the Year awards.
In addition, prior to becoming a New Jersey-based casino, legalized 888 online gambling websites were already successfully operating in both Nevada and Delaware. Clearly, 888 was a trustworthy company that was bringing many years of relevant experience to the table.
Another feather in 888’s cap was its affiliation with Caesars Entertainment, along with Bally’s, Caesars, and Harrah’s in Atlantic City, and the four other Caesars-affiliated NJ gambling websites:
A change for the better at 888 Casino NJ
However, even with all these built-in advantages, 888 Casino found itself lagging far behind some of its competitors.
When the US version of 888 Casino (not to be confused with the international 888 gambling site, where residents of the US cannot play) opened to NJ players in November 2013, it was very small, even by NJ standards. Furthermore, the casino consisted almost entirely of proprietary games developed in-house.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, but slot players who preferred game titles and manufacturers that were already familiar to them were more attracted to other sites.
So while other NJ online casinos such as GoldenNuggetCasino.com and BetfairCasino.com were adding hundreds of games to their repertoire, including some of the most highly publicized, high-tech online slots, 888 Casino seemed inexplicably stuck in a time warp.
During the span of four years (November 2013 – November 2017), little had changed at 888. But now the company seems to have had an epiphany, realizing it would take more than a lucky number in Chinese culture to increase traffic to this casino.
The result is an explosion of new slot games.
NYX and NextGen partner with 888 Casino
If you used to play on us.888casino.com, but haven’t visited the site in a long time, you are in for such a surprise that you won’t believe it’s the same casino. For starters, through its partnership with NYX Gaming Group, 888 Casino has been adding and will continue to add exciting new slot games from that global provider and its subsidiary, NextGen Gaming, as well as other leading slot makers.
Because these are relatively new slots, the graphics and sound effects are state of the art. The games are also loaded with extra features like wild and scatter symbols that make them very entertaining to play while giving you additional ways to win. The varied themes also give you a wide choice, so regardless of your tastes in slots, finding a game that appeals to you shouldn’t be difficult.
But if you’re undecided, here are three possibilities you might consider:
- One Can Two Can
- Mad Mad Monkey
- Medusa
1 Can 2 Can and Medusa both have five reels and 25 paylines, while Mad Mad Monkey has five reels and 50 paylines. All three games offer a wide enough bet range to accommodate most low and mid-stakes players, but not high stakes players. That is probably just as well. While their return to player (RTP) is a respectable, slightly over 95 percent, anyone betting heavily on slots should play slots with a 96 percent or better return only.
1 Can 2 Can
1 Can 2 Can features two toucans in a tropical forest, one perched on a branch on the left side and the other perched on a branch on the right side. But these birds are much too ravenous to stay still for long.
Instead, with no provocation other than a lucky random spin, they frequently go flying across the reels, and in a wild or scatterbrained frenzy, pounce on other symbols and turn them to wild or scatter symbols. Whenever they do, rest assured they won’t eat up your bankroll. They will be adding to it!
Mad Mad Monkey
Mad Mad Monkey takes place in a jungle. The game’s symbols include bananas, nuts, coconuts, snakes, and playing cards, along with wild and scatter symbols. The wild symbol is an animated Mad Mad Monkey, and the scatter symbol is the Mad Monkey logo.
Three wild symbols on reels two, three, and four double your winnings, with stacked wilds further increasing your win rate, while three scatter symbols anywhere trigger the Super Stack Free Games Feature.
Medusa
If you are into Greek mythology, you will probably recall that Medusa was a hideous monster with snakes instead of hair. She also had the capability of making anyone who looked at her turn into stone. So it makes sense that this is a very scary-looking slot with sinister symbols and spooky background music to match.
In fact, the wild symbol is none other than Medusa’s head. But the last thing you should do when three of them show up and turn one of the reels to stone is run in fright. For the next three spins, the reel will undergo another transformation into an expanding wild with a 3x multiplier. Or, any time three Medusa logo scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels, they trigger 10 free spins with a 2x multiplier.
New slots from NetEnt
The latest new additions to the 888 slots repertoire also include 43 slot games from NetEnt.
Planet of the Apes and Emoji Planet
You won’t go wrong playing any of the NetEnt slots at 888 Casino. However, among them are the two movie-themed slots I rated best bets: Planet of the Apes and Emoji Planet. Both of these games are not only highly entertaining but have an RTP well over 96 percent. While all of the NJ slots offer an RTP over 90 percent, every percentage point above that number can significantly impact your longtime results, and these slots are among the very best.
Steam Tower
Steam Tower is another outstanding offer from NetEnt. Special features such as stacked wilds and multipliers not only make this game a ton of fun, but this is an online slot you can play as long as you like with no worries. You can bet as little as 15 cents per spin or as much as $150 per spin, and the RTP is 97.4 percent.
Other top new slots you can play at 888 Casino
If you prefer to go “old school” with a relatively simple classic slot, the low volatility game Starburst, with an RTP of 96.10 percent, is an excellent choice.
Of if you’re a rock n’ roll or heavy metal fan, slots such as Guns N’ Roses, Jimi Hendrix, and Motorhead will make you feel like your actually attending a live concert by one of these iconic bands. Even better, all three of these slots have an RTP over 96 percent. You can learn more about these exciting, high-return slot games in one of my previous Best Bets articles.
A win for 888 Casino and slot players alike
Granted, 888 Casino has yet to expand its table games and add video poker to its arsenal of gameplay. But all of you who are slot players are encouraged to check out what this still somewhat overlooked but much improved NJ online casino now has to offer. Head over to 888 Casino NJ now using our exclusive link and get $25 bonus cash free just for signing up.
New and inactive players will be very pleasantly surprised to see so many new slot games.