Video Poker Forum

88 Fortunes is a popular slot machine at my local casino. The game features a bowl at the top of the screen. When you catch a wild symbol, coins flow into the bowl. As more coins go into the bowl, the bowl visually fills up. At some point, the bowl starts rumbling and the bonus round starts. From the bonus, you are guaranteed at least the mini jackpot - usually $10-12.

Is fullness of the bowl a reliable indicator of an impending bonus? I remember the old Diamond Mine, where you could often find a shaft nearly full from previous players. Sort of a "vulture" play.

Or is the fullness of the bowl just window dressing?

I don't know the answer to that, but it dos seem to pay out at a fantastic rate.

Bowls in this game are very deceiving ....can trigger half full or after 500 plus plays past full.

Ahh, thanks.

The first few times I played full bowls, the bonus triggered after just a few coins went into it.

The other day I saw a bowl that looked to be bursting at the seams. It took me for $140 before finally entering the bonus. I won the mini (of course).

A few weeks ago I hit the major bonus for $875 and nearly fell out of my chair

I agree with Musicmeyer, they're deceiving. I go for the fullest ones, while people around be are hitting with half full bowls...Same with the fire cracker machines.

Full bowls in 88 Fortunes are meaningless.  I have hit a couple in a row before.  The firecracker machines seem to have a little less variance.  In our casinos there are two different models. The better game lets you choose the number of games vs wilds when you hit three gold tokens.  Which one you choose can make a big difference depending upon the level of your bet.  Firecrackers (Aristicrat's Gold Pays) are our favorite slot by far.

Why do you think so? But the casino is interesting actually)

I saw a lady win the major for $2971 on an $.08 bet on Gold Pays. There are many stories of low bets hitting jackpots, but are any bets worth betting I guess not.

There is, of course, absolutely nothing predictable about a slot machine other than it is designed to make money for the casino. How often have you seen a Buffalo game keep retriggering in the bonus and you end up with 30 free spins and a grand total of $2.00 won (a slight exaggeration but not far off sometimes)? The only other thing slot machines are predictable about is self-promotion. They'll make every minor win look major and every loss still look like a win (oftentimes with unnecessary and annoying lights, sirens, dancing babies, and panda bears that always seem to come up a step short of reaching the target).