Will lightning strike twice? Or maybe even four or five times? In Lightning Roulette by Evolution, which went live in Pennsylvania on May 31, the traditional rules of roulette have been given an extra jolt of excitement.
The first-person online casino game, which is available at several PA online casinos, offers enhanced payouts if lightning strikes in your favor.
Players begin with a typical roulette interface and six different wagering increments, starting with as little as 20 and 50 cents. Others include $1, $5, $25, and $100. Then, players must decide where to place their roulette wagers with a simple drag and drop.
The most fun in the game by Evolution arrives when you chase the lightning by risking your wager on a single number. In traditional roulette games, when a single number hits, it pays 35:1.
In Lightning Roulette, the default payout for a single number drops to 30:1, but that number can increase substantially when the game’s lightning strikes.
Lightning Roulette multiplies number payouts up to 500x
The game features the usual ways to wager on roulette titles. Betting options include:
- 1-18/19-36
- Odd/Even
- Red/Black
- 1st 12/2nd 12/3rd 12
The above wagers pay the same as any standard roulette game. However, players can also choose to bet on a single number with substantially varied payouts.
After all bets are made, players hit the spin button to send the roulette wheel in motion. But before the ball drops into the roulette wheel, lightning flashes across the board.
At that point, between one and five lucky numbers are struck by lightning, multiplying their payouts between 50 and 500 times. The multipliers used are 50x, 100x, 200x, 300x, 400x, and 500x.
Lower odds or a chance for lightning? You make the call!
The lightning element of the Evolution game fundamentally changes a player’s approach – or at least it did for me. Whereas in a traditional game of roulette, I might be inclined to play it safer and try to build a bankroll with less risky, lower-margin bets (odd/even, red/black).
In Lightning Roulette, I kept throwing caution to the wind (or perhaps the lightning) by betting on single numbers and chasing those massive multiplied payouts. On a few occasions when my number was struck by lightning, it certainly created extra jolts of excitement while the ball was rolling.
Going after the single numbers in Lightning Roulette is much like aiming for the pin on the golf course. The reward is much greater with the potential for multiplied returns, but so is the risk, with 37 different numbers (0-36) that could hit on any given spin.
Lightning Roulette and Evolution are racking up the gaming awards
The thrill, of course, is obvious. Lightning Roulette was named a Product Innovation of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards. It also won Game of the Year at the EGR Operator Awards in 2018.
Evolution continues to expand its online presence and offerings, playing a prominent role in the casinos of Pennsylvania and beyond. In April, Evolution received the Online Casino Supplier of the Year Award at the Global Gaming Awards in London.
In addition to the First-Person Lightning Roulette, Evolution offers a number of titles and live dealer games at DraftKings Casino PA, BetMGM, Caesars, and others. Those games include:
- Blackjack
- Infinite Blackjack
- Baccarat
- Utimate Texas Hold ‘Em
- Three Card Poker
- Dream Catcher (Money Wheel)
Evolution has become a dominant force in the US gaming industry
Evolution launched its live dealer games in New Jersey in 2016 and brought them to Pennsylvania in 2020. The demand for those games continues to grow, prompting Evolution to expand its live dealer studio in Philadelphia multiple times.
Pennsylvania’s gaming law requires the studio to be located within the state’s borders in order to offer live dealer games.
Last week, Evolution’s Lightning Roulette and other live dealer games launched in West Virginia via Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers Casino. Earlier this month, it reached an agreement with Soaring Eagle Gaming to provide online casino content in Michigan.
And so the Evolution footprint continues to expand, with more states, more games, and new innovations never far away.
Another version of Lightning Roulette could be arriving soon
Just last month, Evolution launched another edition of roulette, XXXtreme Lightning Roulette, which should be available in the near future. In that game, there is a second round of lightning strikes, Chain Lightning, with even more roulette numbers hit by lightning, up to ten in all.
The XXXtreme lightning storm then continues even further with potential for Double Strikes, which can increase multipliers up to 2,000 times.
Given the popularity of the original Lightning Roulette game, it is likely the XXXtreme version will captivate audiences, as well.
“The original Lightning Roulette game is the most successful table game in the last 20 years of online gaming and it has already led to a series of Lightning games such as Lightning Dice, Lightning Blackjack, and Lightning Baccarat,” said Todd Haushalter, Chief Product Officer at Evolution. ”Now we are giving players exactly what they have been asking for: more and bigger multipliers.”
Soon, there may be multiple Lightning Roulette games for players to pick from. But for now, the original version provides plenty of fun.
It brings a jolt of excitement with every bolt of lightning. And if you’re lucky, it might strike five times.
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