One thing that is always changing when it comes to slot machines is technology. I don’t think there has been an extended period of time that slot machines haven’t been affected by technology. You don’t need to go to Google News to know that one thing that is huge right now is applications. Since everyone wants the best applications, it is no surprise that everyone wants the best slot application for their phone or tablet computer. I decided I needed to find the best slot applications on the market for every budget; here is what I came up with:

If you are one of those people who refuse to spend any money on applications then I have the perfect app for you: ‘Slot Machine’. This game is perfect, especially for your wallet. It offers 20 different varieties of games and also a $100 welcome bonus.  If you can afford to spend a buck then ‘Monkey Money Slots’ and ‘Lucky 7 Slots’ are for you. These two games are tons of fun, and offer many different styles of play.

Now if you fancy yourself a high roller than ‘Vegas Slots’ is for you. This game literally makes you feel like you are in Vegas. I like playing on the plane to Vegas, or in the car on my way to Atlantic City. This is the perfect game for the avid slot player.

Try it out. I guarantee that your extra practice with online slots will help you out at the casino, brick and mortar and online.

There are so many questions that come to mind when you think about online gambling in the US. The biggest question though is: When? When will online gambling be regulated in the US? One of the largest digital entertainment groups Bwin.Party based out of London is wondering the same thing. They are actually in communication with two American companies to try to set up an online gambling venture, possibly with one of the three major poker sites that were indicted last spring.

According to an article I read at http://online.wsj.com/, CEO Jim Ryan claims that the company will proceed with the negotiation, and hope for the best, although they know there is a certain amount of risk involved.

He knows that it is going to be difficult to secure a direct license to operate through the US companies. And he doesn’t know how long that may take.

He is aware that there is a chance that this may never happen, and he is quite literally gambling on the US regulating online gambling.

Bwin.Party became the world’s largest gambling firm online when they formed by merging together Party Poker and bwin. If you are not familiar, bwin was the premier sports betting giant of the UK. Party Poker once was the largest online poker site in the US. One thing that will keep Bwin.Party from thriving is apprehension from players thinking that the same thing that happened last spring will happen once again.

Hopefully they will thrive and players will be able to experience an online casino bonus here and there from their site.

Sometimes I like to do reviews of different online casinos when I play them, because I also like reading reviews of online casinos. One of my favorites is Casino Bodog. Bodog operates under a license from the Morris Mohawk Gambling, but will soon be affiliated with the UK Gambling Commission when their license expires at the end of the year.

Bodog is a very strong brand, and is ranked 13^th out of all online casinos. They have branched out in the recent years, and are building a brand “not unlike Virgin.”

Now that you know a little bit of history about the casino, allow me to get a little more specific. The software they use is Realtime Gaming, and they are regularly audited by the TST for complete randomization and fair play.

With over 150 online games, Bodog has a great variety of slots, table games and poker rooms. You can choose from 20 line slots, progressives, and video. I like 20 lines, so I went with those options, and then had to choose between Real-Series, 3-Reel, or 5-Reel.

If at any time you do not know how to play a game, or you need help there is always a help button on screen, along with a tip of the day. The casino is very player-friendly, and you can tell they value your business.

I played their free online slots for a while. I love casinos that offer you “funny money.”

Playing slots at Bodog was definitely a success, it’s no wonder I always go back to play.

Let’s face it. Despite words from the government that the economy is looking up most of us are not feeling it. This means that most online slots players are not looking to invest big bucks in online slots tournaments. So the option is to either not play in tournaments or to put more money than desire on the line.

Or you can look for some cheap online slots tournaments to play in. Thankfully I have a couple here from Online Vegas for you to check out if they catch your eye, and both are under $2 and both are on the weekends.

First up is the Bonus Bucks weekend tournament series. This particular tournament series is the cheapest online that I have found bar freeroll tournaments, but those are a whole other ball game. Players can play in the Bonus Bucks weekend tournaments for only $0.99 per tournament. The less-than-a-dollar entry fee gets players 225 tournament credits to start out with on whichever Vegas Technology online slots game was chosen for that weekend’s Bonus Bucks tournament.

Each Bonus Bucks tournament begins at 9 am each Saturday and play continues until 10 pm on Sunday. So essentially a 37 hour tournament that gives players the opportunity to win a portion of the $2,500 Bonus Bucks prize pool.

If Bonus Bucks is not your cup of coffee but you still want to keep the tournament investment to a minimum check out Online Vegas’ Frugal Friday tournaments. As you might have guessed this tournament series takes place on Fridays. Every Friday. This is a twelve hour online slots tournament that begins at 9 am on Friday and ends at 9 pm the same day.

This cheap online slots tournament only requires a $1.99 entry fee, which gives you 150 tournament credits, but has you competing for a portion of the $1,500 cash prize.

So there you go. Two cheap online slots tournaments to check out at Online Vegas to give you your tournament fix without breaking your bankroll.

Finally we are in a new month and online casinos have finally posted their online slots tournament schedule for the month of April. It seems that online casinos have begun to celebrate a new holiday.

For the most part online casinos will leave Easter alone. It is a highly religious holiday after all. Yes, I know Christmas is also a religious holiday, but its commercialism often overpowers the religious side. Just ask Linus. Now online casinos are finally tapping into the Easter holiday. While I have not seen any slots games with an Easter theme, there are online casinos out there who are adding Easter themed online slots tournaments to their holiday tournaments.

One such online slots tournament is being hosted by Slots Galore and it is called the Great Egg Hunt.

The Great Egg Hunt began on April 1st, but this is a month-long online slots tournament so there is plenty of time to still get in on the action. The tournament itself will end at 12:01 am on May 1st. As I said, plenty of time still.

The prize pool is totaled at $50,000 but only part of it is cash while the other part is in bonus money: $37,750 and $14,250 with the larger figure being the cash portion of the prize pool. The break down looks like this (remember that some places are awarded to multiple players):

1st place: $25,000
2nd place: $5,000
3rd place: $1,500
4th place: $750
5th place: $250
6th place: $100
7th place: $25
8th place: $10 in bonus money
9th place: $5 in bonus money

As I said earlier, there are no Easter themed online slots games…yet. So Slots Galore is using the Vegas Technology slots game Funky Chicken. This five reel, twenty five payline slots game has plenty of eggs, but the theme is more about chickens on a farm with a crazy farmer.

Entry into the Great Egg Hunt is only $10 which will provide players with a $200 tournament balance. Yes, there are rebuys, each $10 for another $200. There is still lots of time to bounce over to Slots Galore to get in on the Easter tournament action.

Yes, it is possible to play online slots for free. Understand though that this is not a lucrative way to go about online slots, but then it is well-known that it is likely that online casinos use slots games to slowly siphon off a player’s bankroll. On that thought, if you really want to hang onto your bankroll but still want to play online slots, free is definitely the way to go.

There are two main ways that you can go about playing online slots for free.

The first is to play in a freeroll online slots tournament. Online casinos will often offer these kinds of tournaments to coincide with holidays. But be forewarned—online casinos will usually only give a small tournament balance to go along with a lack of entry fee; for players who do not mind spending the money, rebuys are available for continued play. But that would undermine the concept of free online slots.

Another way to play online slots for free is to play in an online casino in its free play or practice mode. It is still required that players create a player account. Player accounts are free; player accounts do not cost a penny until players deposit money, only then do players have money invested.

But a deposit is only required to play for real money. Free play or practice modes only require a player account. This allows customer support to better assist players should they encounter a problem.

While playing online slots for free can be fun and can even let off some stress, understand that playing for nothing means nothing is gained in terms of money. But it is entirely possible to play online slots for free.

Rather than give more talks on online slots tournaments, this week I am going to tell you about the exciting roll out of the new player rewards program at Slots Galore. Their new High Roller Club, which you do not have to be a high roller to be a member of, is modeled loosely on Slots Galore’s sister online casinos, VIP Slots; both player rewards programs have six levels with the same names, but the bonuses are a bit different.

Each of the six levels offer a special bonus on every deposit, just like the player rewards program at VIP Slots. The difference comes with the other side benefits and bonuses. VIP Slots’ program has set benefits and bonuses that do not change; but Slots Galore’s side bonuses change monthly in the form of a virtual coupon book.

For example, during March members of all levels have access to up ten extra deposit match bonuses. High Roller Club members can add a 100% deposit match bonus to any five of their deposits using the MAR100SG code. The other monthly coupon bonus is to add a 50% deposit match bonus to any five deposits with the MAR50SG coupon code.

As for the six levels of the High Roller Club they are as follows:

Amber: All players who make at least one successful deposit will be enrolled in the High Roller Club at the Amber level. At this level players receive a 10% bonus on all deposits.

Bronze: The Bronze level is attained once a player earns 10,000 VIPPLAN reward points. The deposit bonus increases to a 15% bonus on all deposits.

Silver: Players are welcomed to the Silver level at 50,000 points, where their deposit bonus on all deposits is increased to 20%.

Gold: At the Gold level, which is at the 100,000 point mark, means that players have a 25% deposit bonus.

Platinum: At 500,000 points players reach the Platinum level, which offers players a 30% bonus on all deposits.

Diamond: The highest level in the High Roller Club is the Diamond level. This level is reached when a player earns 1,000,000. The deposit bonus increases to 35%.

Points in the High Roller Club at Slots Galore are based on bets made on the casino games, such as online slots. Unfortunately bets in online slots tournaments do not count because players are wagering with tournament money and not money from their play accounts. But that aside, player rewards clubs can be highly beneficial to online slots players for the simple reason that it gives them extra money to wager with.

Slots tournaments are played out both in brick and mortar casinos on slot machines and in online casinos using online slots games. And while the differences between the two styles of tournaments differ, the means with which slots tournaments are conducted—the slots games—are a bit different.

Online slots allow players more control over their bankroll. By that I mean that when a player is done playing, there simply sign out of the online casino. When playing on slot machines, players have to remember to retrieve their player card from the machine, otherwise their player card—and therefore their bankroll and winnings—could be picked up by whoever plays next. And while this is against the policy of casinos, it does not always stop players from taking another player’s card. In this aspect online slots are more secure.

But furthermore, there is more variety in slots games to choose from. While there is no shortage of choices in a casino, slot machines are more expensive to produce and maintain; whereas with online slots, the games are in an electronic form and do not require near the cost to produce and maintain. This leaves the developers of online slots game more time and more money to spend on developing new games.

As a result there are new online slots games every month from the most well-known software developers, such as Microgaming, Vegas Technology, Real Time Gaming and Rival Gaming. This means more slots for players to choose from, as well as more choices for their online slots tournaments.

So what online slots mean for slots tournaments is more variety for a fresher tournament offering and well as more regular tournament offerings.

Often times players will play in online slots tournaments at the online casino where they already have an account. It is just easier that way. After all, they already have their player account set up and money deposited there.

But sometimes players want to see what is being offered at other online casinos. Often times they are looking for either a freeroll online slots tournament or a tournament with a large prize pool to play in.

And then there are online slots players who are new to the online casino world and who are still settling in. Perhaps they have not found an online casino to call home yet.

The point is that online casinos often use their tournaments—especially their freeroll online slots tournaments and big prize pool tournaments—to bring in new members to their casino. After all, nowhere is it written that players are only allowed to play at one online casino.

All that being said, it is important for online casinos to have their tournament schedules easily accessible. And the majority of online casinos do so. They will at least have the start and end times, the prize pool, entry fee, rebuys and game played posted. Some online casinos offer more about their tournaments than just those details, but it is accessible only after logging in.

But at least the basic information is there.

Unfortunately, Rushmore’s tournament schedule is only accessible when logged in to a real money account. This means that if a potential player does not have a real money account, he or she cannot view any information about the tournaments.

Granted, Rushmore just switched their tournament provider earlier this year so that online slots tournaments are new. I am hoping that they will make their schedule more easily accessible because it is a fine online casino to play at and is supported by Real Time Gaming.

Rushmore is offering their usual three online slots tournaments throughout the next week every day: Crystal Waters, Loose Caboose and Texan Tycoon. These three online slots tournaments have not changed in format since I wrote about them a few weeks ago. They are decent online slots tournaments and meet the needs of a range of players, from novices to high rollers.

Do you find yourself awake late at night? Perhaps you just cannot sleep. Maybe a little action will be enough to make you sleepy. If that is the case there is action to be had seven nights a week at Online Vegas. Online slots tournament action I mean.

One of the online slots tournament series that is hosted at Online Vegas is called the Red Eye Pot Percentage. And as the name suggests, these online slots tournaments go in to the wee hours of the morning.

Each one of these Red Eye online slots tournaments begins at 12:30 am and ends at 8:30 am the same day. And there is one every night. Or every morning depending upon how you look at it.

As also suggested by the name, players are playing for a percentage of the pot. So the more night owls that are up playing, the larger the post. Of course, the less there are the better your chances are of winning that pot. This might be an easy online slots tournament in which to pick up a bit of real money winnings.

To get in on the late night action players need to register for whichever Red Eye they want to play in and pay the $2.99 entry fee. That $2.99 gives players 250 tournament credits to play with. Rebuys are available for $2.99.

Online Vegas as selected seven of its Vegas Technology online slots games for this online slots tournament series, one for each night of the week:

Sunday: Eastern Dragon
Monday: Winter Wonderland
Tuesday: Parrot Party
Wednesday: Tiki Lounge
Thursday: Northern Lights
Friday: Butterflies
Saturday: Fire Hawk

Really it is clever of Online Vegas to offer such an online slots tournament series. Night owls will like what is most likely a diminished competition. And it does give you the chance of winning some real money when you happen to be up late.