Update: A fully operational Sigma Derby machine is now up for sale on eBay.
And then there was one. The beloved Sigma Derby game is now in only one US casino after MGM Grand removed their installation from the casino floor.
Now, the single remaining Sigma Derby game is at The D, the Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel located along downtown’s Fremont Street.
What is Sigma Derby?
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The Bellagio - CityCenter - Park MGM tram runs daily from 8 a.m. 4 a.m., every seven minutes. The Main Station is convenient to a free pull on a slot machine with a $5,000 payoff (though it gives out many more free show tickets), and the Luxor's is the only monorail. The innovative CityCenter Tram operates a high efficient tram on an elevated electric track, which is 100% electric and is cable-propelled. The cable on each train is driven by two 460 kW AC motors.
Sigma Derby is a mechanical horse race game that was introduced in 1985.
The game has had ups and downs in popularity. The horse racing game was initially embraced, but that changed as gambling preferences evolved to newer games.
However, in the past 10 years or so, Sigma Derby saw a resurgence in popularity with a near cultlike audience.
Sigma Derby hit a special place in the hearts of casino guests. Unlike most games in casinos today, Sigma Derby is a coin-operated machine that’s a throwback to a different era of casino gambling.
The minimum wager for Sigma Derby is a quarter. Even more nostalgic, the machines haven’t been modified to accept dollars like many older games.
The mechanical toy horses in Sigma Derby don’t run smoothly. They bounce around the racetrack like they were born in the mid-1980s. Each game has 10 betting stations.
The low price to play in combination with the vintage feel, slow pace (90 seconds between races) and social environment made this game popular for gamblers looking for an inexpensive and fun time at the casino.
Why Did MGM Grand remove Sigma Derby?
Las Vegas was home to the last two Sigma Derby games in casinos. They’ve been a special attraction for years, and visitors would visit MGM Grand and The D specifically to play these games. Sadly, the end has been near for a while.
Sigma Derby, at MGM Grand, had been closed for repairs almost as much as it’s been operational over the past few years. MGM Grand has some dedicated technicians who tried to keep their Sigma Derby game working. Unfortunately, it was time to pull the plug.
Sigma Derby is more than 30 years old and no longer manufactured. Finding replacement parts to fix the game becomes more difficult every year. The game was breaking down so frequently and its parts are nearly impossible to find, thus keeping the game on the floor was a labor of love.
An unnamed source told Vital Vegas that MGM Grand has “done everything possible to prolong its active lifespan, but that’s simply no longer possible.”
Depending on the resource, Sigma Derby has a house edge for the casino of between 10 to 20 percent. Regardless of the house edge, the low limits can’t make Sigma Derby a very profitable game for MGM Grand.
The popular casino game lives on at The D
There’s only one Sigma Derby game remaining in a casino. The D Las Vegas has the game in the “Vintage Vegas” section of the casino along with numerous older slot machines.
“We’re proud to share that the D Las Vegas is now officially home to the only Sigma Derby horse-racing slot machine in Las Vegas, and one of the very few left in the world,” said Derek Stevens, owner of The D. “We look forward to welcoming even more guests from around the world to stop by and place a bet on their favorite horse.”
Located next to Sigma Derby on the second floor is the Fortune Cup horse racing game. This isn’t a vintage game like most of the other games in this section of the casino. Fortune Cup is the latest horse racing game to hit casinos and offers an alternative to those looking to bet on plastic ponies.
Fortune Cup is a bit too slick for the most diehard Sigma Derby fans. The horses run smoothly, the video betting stations can seem complicated and there’s just a lack of kitsch found with the older horse racing game.
However, Fortune Cup offers the amenities that many casino customers are looking for an electronic game today. Best of all, like Sigma Derby, it’s located close to the Vue Bar at The D.
Fortune Cup can be found in many casinos around the country, but its popularity is hit and miss.
While it outperforms slot machines in some casinos, it remains empty in others. The experience isn’t the same as Sigma Derby, but it’s sufficient for some gamblers looking for a change.
Almost all developers that weigh in the world of gaming do have a classic slot machine with a royal theme. It’s logical to think that Brits would lead that movement, and the truth is that they do. SG Gaming, a maker with almost 50 years of experience, didn’t want to fall out of the trend, so they released Grand Casino slot machine game back in the days. This slot is similar to Montys Millions.
It started as a classic pokie in your everyday casinos and clubs, but recently, with upcoming digital age, it was ported to the server. It allows users from all over the world to access it via a stable internet connection, from their personal devices, such as tablets, smartphones or PCs, and enjoy it in their comfortable home environment, for free or as paid.
They’ll be able to play the ageless 5×3 setup, which any serious bettor is familiar with, seasoned with few attractive bonuses.
Grand Casino Slot’s Main Prize
- This one is for those that do like to know what are they messing up at any moment, so those that choose to play Grand Casino free slot will always know the amount of possible jackpot win, as it is a regular one.
- Want to win big? Chase the jackpot award as here it multiplies your bet massively for 10 000 times.
- Place the maximum bet of £500 and hope for the colossal win of £5 000 000. Though, it should be admitted that such a big win is pretty rare, as it requires a combination of 5x Wild tokens.
- But users will be happy as other smaller available rewards can give them even x200 – x500 sums.
Look & Feel
Royal theme dominates to make you feel like in the room full of richness and wealth. Feel is boosted by background consisting of red textile. The logo is shiny, and all the elements are in the golden frame with colorful gems representing the placement of the paylines when pressed. Unfortunately, the quite rushed design is present on the symbols, giving an overall average look. Same can be said about controls at the bottom, with flashing “Spin” button, not helping to improve overall image.
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Should You Play It?
- At least give it a try, like a lot of the players from the UK, Europe and USA are doing.
- With the theme put to the side, main reason attracting the gamers is the vast quantity of the big rewards.
- A wide range of the bets allows freedom for any user, to bet high or small amounts.
- RTP rate as calculated by the company is at %95.02, which combined with whopping prizes offers a nice reason to be your game of choice.
Extras to Make Gameplay Even More Appealing
In addition to the jackpot, free online Grand Casino slot machine has 2 extra functions that can increase your reward and make the gameplay more amusing.
- Roulette Wheel Bonus. It is activated once when 3 or more Roulette cards appear anywhere in the view and opens small roulette game. Wheel spins and can stop on the value or symbol. When it stops on the value, the user is awarded the sum of that value and total stake used. Otherwise, a reward value is upgraded and a respin is initiated.
- Free Spins Bonus.3 dice signs activate it, but they need to be placed in the middle 3 columns. Once started, it rewards you with a 2x wager and 10 gratis rounds. During all the rounds, setup is spun by itself, with the configuration of winlines and stake as in turn that initiated the game. Playing rules are the same as in base mode, but the feature can be reactivated, and reactivation of another set of gratis rounds awards 2x the wager. The feature can be repeated to a total of 999 gratis turns or stops when there are 0 turns left.
No new cards are introduced during both games. Roulette function is similar to other offers on the market that may give you kind of wheel-of-fortune but is unique to itself with its appearance.
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Royal Symbols
Grand Casino slot game contains 9 different icons, of which:
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- 5 regular, letters and numbers “A”, “K”, “Q”, “J”, “10” that pays the least;
- 4 specials, including 1 Wild and 1 Scatter that pay 2x when only 2 of them show on single winline.
- No special attention has assigned to the design of the icons, they are simplistic.
- Their value in the paytable is shown as the wager multiplier and do not change with alteration of the stake.
- Only Dice Scatter doesn’t appear on all columns, but only on the middle 3.
Small Configurations
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AutoPlay feature exists but is limited to only 25 turns. After clicking the key, a little pop-up allows choosing 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 turns. The stake per line and a number of winlines are changed with small “+” and “-“ keys.