[toc]”Wild” may be the most fitting word to describe what happened to one lucky Pala Casino patron earlier this month.
A big payday
On October 6, it was announced that a Union County resident and regular at the New Jersey online gambling site won a staggering $195,880 jackpot on one virtual spin of the Gorilla Go Wild slot.
It was the biggest payday ever awarded by the online casino, which has been successfully operating in New Jersey’s regulated marketplace for nearly two years.
A strategy of success
The winner, who has chosen not to reveal her identity, was able to achieve her big score utilizing a high-octane go-for-broke strategy. Instead of spreading her bankroll across many spins, she opted for fewer spins at the highest denomination:
I always play the max bet on the game. I prefer 10 spins at the max per spin versus 40 spins at a lower amount per spin. I have been pretty good with this strategy. This year it seems to have worked for me.
By playing what’s known as a high-volatility style, players experience much bigger swings, but also position themselves for a massive score. Gorilla Go Wild is already a highly volatile game, so by max betting, players are truly swinging for the fences.
It wasn’t the first time that this strategy paid off for the winner, she said:
The Gorilla Go Wild game has been really good to me. Earlier this year this game gave me another payout of around $40,000. This one was the best payout yet.
Gorilla Go Wild is unique in that the game offers better odds to loyal players. To clarify, the more gamblers play, the more “free games” features they unlock. According to information listed at Golden Nugget Casino, the return-to-player starts out at 92.06 percent, but can escalate all the way to 96.51 percent with continued gameplay.
The latter figure, which may vary slightly from online casino to online casino, is several percentage points better than what slot players will find at land-based casinos in Atlantic City.
Why Pala Casino?
The jackpot winner said she has long been a fan of Pala Casino, having now played on the site for over a year. She cites the customer service, game selection and speedy payouts as the primary reasons why Pala has gained her business:
One thing I really, really love about Pala is the fast processing of payouts. I will cash out today and the money will be in my bank tomorrow. Everywhere else I play online in New Jersey, when I get a payout it usually takes from 3 days to a week. To have the money that fast gives you a great deal of security. Also, there are a lot of games to choose from and he customer service has just been amazing.
When the online casino first launched in November 2014, the general feeling was that Pala Interactive was using the NJ market as a fertile testing ground for an eventual roll-out in California. That reasoning made sense, as the Pala Band of Mission Indians‘ land-based casino is about an hour’s drive from San Diego.
But in the past year or so, Pala Casino, which operates under the Borgata AC license, has become a true player in what has become an ultra-competitive market. At least a portion of its success can be attributed to its aggressive expansion.
The site now boasts over 150 slots, nine video poker variants, four blackjack games, and five other table games. That’s a far cry from the 90 or so games it launched with, and ranks it ahead of prominent NJ online casinos like Tropicana Casino.
As pointed out by the winner, Pala excels in payout turnaround times and customer service. What isn’t mentioned is the Free Daily Spin, which in our experience, actually pays out on a somewhat consistent basis. The prospect of winning bonus funds on a daily basis undoubtedly attracts players to the site.
The site’s daily and one-off promotions are also above average for the market, offering added value to what is already a remarkably fair gambling site.