Chicago Gangsters Slots
Al Capone, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, John Dillinger and George "Baby Face" Nelson are all famous names of mobsters from the 1930s who made their dubious fortunes when the US government introduced the Prohibition laws. During this period, gangs abounded in the big cities, operating large syndicates that were peddling illegal liquor, extorting protection money from business patrons, and executing big heists. But this also led to something of a parallel society. People would attend lavish parties where they enjoyed that illegal liquor in dark, smoky basement establishments, mostly well hidden from the ever-chasing police.
Playson took on the challenge and transferred those times onto the reels of the Chicago Gangsters slot. The game provider was founded in 2012 to produce high-quality and entertaining slots for land-based and online casinos. From its headquarters on the island of Malta, the heart of iGaming, the team have released great slots such as Down the Pub, Alice in Wonderslots, Legend of Cleopatra and Thunder Reels.
The Gangster Reels
A dimly lit street typical of the 1930s era, with cars parked on the side of the street and three policemen looking for gangsters, provides the perfect background for the Playson game. A contemporary, jazzy soundtrack conveys the atmosphere of the smoke-filled backroom clubs where money was power. A game window with characters from the era, sharp graphics, and short but crisp animations round off a well-designed video slot. The three displays on top of the window show the value of the fixed jackpots: Mini, Major and Grand.
Chicago Gangsters has nine pay symbols which do not appear stacked unless revealed by the Mystery Symbol feature. At the low-paying level, they are the usual Js to As suits. These award 3.5x the bet when five land on a payline. The premium symbols in ascending order of value are a whiskey glass with a cigar, a 1930s limousine, a bar lady, a policeman with a Tommy gun, and the wild symbol. The latter substitutes for all symbols except bonus symbols. Pays for five of a kind range from 5x to 10x the bet. The bonus symbols are represented by a red casino chip in the base game. They will also appear in green- and blue-colored versions during the bonus game to award one of the two smaller jackpots.
The Mobster Stats and Numbers
The Chicago Gangster video slot contains five reels, three rows and 20 fixed paylines. It features wild substitutions, mystery symbols, and a bonus game with the potential to win three fixed jackpots. The RTP of this medium-variance game is set at a slightly-below-average 95.35%. Bet sizes range from 0.20 to 100 coins, covering low and high rollers alike. You can play the slot on any device across all OS platforms, courtesy of the design in HTML5 format. Auto play will allow you to select from 10 to 999 consecutive spins.
The Chicago Mystery Symbol
On any spin in the base game, mystery symbols can appear on the reels and cover from one to all reel positions with a playing card. Once all reels have stopped spinning, the mystery symbols will flip to reveal one common pay symbol, but not wild symbols. A full screen of one paying symbol will award base game wins from 70x to 200x the initial stake.
The Jackpot Bonus Game
Hit a minimum of six bonus symbols in one spin to trigger the bonus game. Three respins are awarded with only bonus symbols on the reels. The triggering bonus symbols will stick throughout the feature. Any further bonus symbols will also remain on the reels, and they will reset the counter to three respins. The game continues until there are no respins left, or once all reel positions are covered with bonus symbols. Each bonus symbol will award coin wins from 1x to 48x the total stake.
A single Mini or Major symbol landing during the feature will pay the respective jackpot, worth 30x and 150x the bet. The Grand Jackpot at 1,000x bet will be awarded when the entire game grid is filled with bonus symbols in one round. All three jackpots can be won in a single bonus game. Together with the coin wins, it would pay a maximum of 1,353x the total bet.
Other Gangster Reels
Although the mobs committed crimes during the Prohibition period, they were actually liked by the partying public as they provided much of the entertainment during that era. Backstreet clubs, the liquor, gambling and music were all part of life under prohibition.
This hedonistic lifestyle hasn’t lost much of its strange attraction in the last century, as a large number of mobster-themed slots show. Some of the best examples are Golden Era from Microgaming, the quirky The Slotfather Part II from Betsoft, and Chicago Streets from Playtech.
The Final Verdict
Is Chicago Gangster the slot for the big heist, the huge loot, the coup of the century? Well, not quite, since 1,353x the total bet as a maximum win won’t be enough let us retire early to a sunny, exotic beach and enjoy the spoils. But the theme is fittingly executed with high-quality design and a likable soundtrack.
The slot trends towards low volatility, which brings about smaller but more frequent wins. I regularly scored wins of 30x to 60x my bet in the bonus game, with the mystery symbol feature adding some medium-value wins to the mix. Hitting a higher payout will be rather rare here, although scoring the Grand Jackpot at 1,000x the stake should please all players. Got your Tommy gun ready to chase the mobsters?
