Aria Slot Tournament 2020
The Aria Resort & Casino will be holding its Aria Taste Slot Tournament between April 16th and April 18th, 2020. This year’s tournament features a $5,000 buy-in and is comprised of two main days of tournament play for a whopping cash prize of $125,000. Participators will arrive on Thursday, April 16th, where they must check-in and register for the tournament. The real competition begins on April 17th where players can win the first $125,000 prize pot. On April 18th, players are given a second chance to win the $125,000 prize pot. The prizes offered on both Friday and Saturday include:
- 1st: $125,000 in cash
- 2nd: $62,500 in cash
- 3rd: $37,500 in cash
- 4th: $25,000 in cash
- 5th: $12,500 in cash
- 6th – 10th: $10,000 in freeplay money
- 11th – 25th: $7,500 in freeplay money
- 26th – 50th: $5,000 in freeplay money
- 51st – 100th: $3,750 in freeplay money
- 101st – 150th: $1,250 in freeplay money
Slot Tournaments – An Overview
Slot tournaments are competitions in which people compete against each other to land the highest score on one slot. Slot tournaments can be found at both online casinos and in brick-and-mortar venues. One of the reasons slot tournaments are so popular is because they’re incredibly easy to play, following the traditional slot rules and gameplay.
Playing At Brick-And-Mortar Casinos
When you enter a slot tournament at brick-and-mortar venues, you’ll be assigned a slot machine number and will be given a session time to play. When it’s your turn to play, you’ll need to sit at your assigned seat and play the specified game from the minute the casino employee tells you to the second the machine locks up. All players are given a set amount of credit to play with. When playing, you’ll need to hit the ‘Max Spin’ button repeatedly with each spin deducting credits from your balance and earning you wins.
When you’ve used up all credit, the machine will lock up and total your points. As the machine totals your points, you’ll need to remain in your seat and can only leave once the casino employee has marked your points. You’ll then need to wait for other players to take their rounds due to the limited number of machines at brick-and-mortar casinos. You can use this time to play other games and watch the leaderboard as it displays the overall winner and each players’ position.
Depending on the tournament and where you place in the competition, you’ll need to play again in another round along with any other players who have passed the first round. Any subsequent rounds will follow the same rules laid out above and you can keep track of the winners by following the leaderboard. When you’ve completed all rounds, your points will be totalled and the player with the highest score wins the top prize while all other players are rewarded depending on the prize structure of the slot tournament.
Generally speaking, most casino venues run slot tournaments, particularly those in the United States which means you can enjoy these exciting competitions in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and throughout the rest of the USA too. There are even some casinos in the UK which offer these promotions, just remember to keep your eye out for them!
Special Features
Depending on the slot machine you’re playing at, some games will incorporate special features into the game to make it more exciting and fun. For example, several machines at the San Manuel Casino in San Bernardino, California, United States, host slot machines which use touch screens. During tournaments and regular play, these machines will display icons which provide you with more points if you touch them in time.
While most slot machines offering this neat little feature only display one icon, the machines in San Manuel Casino can display multiple icons and you’ll be required to either select the highest-paying icon or all of them to rack up points. Most machines display your position in the tournament as you play, giving you a rough idea of where you are in the game at that point. However, some machines will stop you from seeing your position for the final ten seconds of the game. This can make it all the more exciting as you’re unaware of where you place when the game ends.
How To Win A Slot Tournament
The secret to winning a slot tournament is to keep hitting that spin button. When playing in a tournament you can’t lose focus or forget to spin because you’re celebrating your big win. You need to keep hitting that button as fast as you can while concentrating on the screen to make sure you hit any icons for extra points. We also suggest that you try and remain calm when participating in a slot tournament even though the event can be exciting, fun and incredibly stressful.
The Different Slot Tournaments
Now that you know how slot tournaments work, it’s time to discuss the different types of tournaments you can play. There are four main types of slot tournaments available to players; free tournaments, invitational tournaments, buy-in tournaments, and package tournaments.
Free Tournaments
Casinos will sometimes hold free tournaments as a way of bringing in more customers. These tournaments do not require you to pay for a buy-in (Entry fee) and are hugely popular as players can walk home with a special prize after winning the tournament. Even if you don’t win, you don’t lose anything because there was no entry fee! Free tournaments are also a great way of practising pressing that spin button.
Invitational Tournaments
Invitational tournaments are not open to the public and are usually only offered to the casino’s loyal customers or, if the casinos is located at a hotel, to current hotel customers. They also offer prizes which tend to be somewhat better than the prizes offered at free tournaments and sometimes require a buy-in. For example, a user named Indy4192 from TripAdvisor spoke on how they received an invitation to a slot tournament with a $99 at the Las Vegas casino in his hotel which offered three free nights at the hotel as well as a jackpot prize if they place first.
Buy-In Tournaments
Lastly, buy-in tournaments are what we explained above. They are open to the public but require participators to pay a buy-in which can range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Generally, the higher the buy-in the better the prize will be for the top five placing players, but that completely depends on the casino running the tournament.
Package Tournaments
Some casinos will also offer package tournaments where players benefit from cheaper room rates, free food or a combination of both if they decide to play. This is often only offered for high buy-in tournaments or invitational tournaments. Do not accept these added benefits when playing a free slot tournament. Other casinos may even run special awards parties or banquets to celebrate the winners.
Online Slot Tournaments
Slot tournaments are also available at online casinos. Online slot tournaments function just like those at brick-and-mortar venues, the only difference is that everything is done online and from the comfort of your own home. In online slot tournaments, you’ll have to play a particular slot for a specific set of spins at an online casino when participating. You’ll need to land winning combinations in order to accumulate points and once the round ends, you’ll then earn a position on the leaderboard depending on how many points you collected.
However, not all online casinos offer tournaments and those that do usually only run them for a limited time as part of a promotional event. These tournaments, while only available for a short while, tend to offer some big prizes including the latest gadgets, free spins on select slots, and sometimes even luxury holidays. These slot tournaments generally require players to earn tickets to enter the main tournament by wagering on other slots. Players can earn unlimited tickets during the promotional tournament period and can enter the tournament multiple times, but only their highest score is added to the tournament leaderboard.
Online slot tournaments can be quite hard to find but after doing our research and reviewing dozens of online casinos, we’ve found that there are several online casinos which offer regular promotions. Take a look below to find out more.
BGO Casino
BGO Casino currently offers a selection of different slot tournaments which you can only enter if you’re registered and have made a deposit within the last 24 hours. According to BGO, there is no limit to the number of different tournaments you enter though you can only enter a tournament once. The slot tournaments at BGO Casino are scheduled to last for around 12 hours, giving all players a chance to enter but it’s important to remember that players have a limited number of spins they must play through for each tournament. Prizes from BGO’s slot tournaments can include free spins or cash prizes are and credited to player accounts within 24 hours of the tournament ending.
PlayOJO Casino
PlayOJO Casino also offers slot tournaments, but they’re referred to as spinoffs. Unlike with BGO Casino, there are no limitations on who can enter. All registered users can enter PlayOJO Casino spinoffs as long as they have enough credit or deposit for the buy-in. Each tournament is timed and lasts several hours, giving all users time to participate. When entering PlayOJO spinoffs, players are given a select number of Tournament Spins and must use them to determine their player rank. These ranks are used to determine prizes once the tournament has ended.
The Aria Slot Tournament 2019
The Aria Slot Tournament took place at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, United States, between April 26th and 27th, 2019. Entrance into the tournament cost $5,000 and it each participator entered two separate tournaments that consisted of three rounds of play on Friday, 26 April, and Saturday, 27 April. The lowest score made across the two tournaments per player was dropped to determine rankings and on both days, the grand prize was a whopping $125,000 for the player with the highest combined score of their best two rounds. The top five players with the highest score were rewarded with the following cash prizes dependent on their position:
- 1st: $125,000
- 2nd: $62,500
- 3rd: $37,500
- 4th: $25,000
- 5th: $12,500
Users who placed between 6th and 100th received freeplay mone where they were given a 90% chance to win their buy-in (Entrance fee) back via other slots. Similarly to the cash prizes, the amount players received in freeplay money depended on their finishing position:
- 6th-10th: $10,000 each in freeplay
- 11th-25th: $7,500 each in freeplay
- 26th-50th: $5,000 each in freeplay
- 51st-100th: $3,750 each in freeplay
- 101st-150th: $1,250 each in freeplay
The Smaller Details
It’s important to understand that participation in the tournament is not guaranteed until the entire buy-in has been paid. In addition, participation is limited to the number of players in each tournament who pay their buy-in in full. Players have until April 12, 2019, to pay the $5,000 buy-in to enter the tournament. If you change your mind, you’ll receive a full refund of $5,000 by 5 PM on April 19, 2019. Lastly, the tournament prizes will be paid out on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27, 2019.
Questions & Answers (FAQ)
Is there an Aria Slot Tournament in 2020?
Yes! Aria Hotel & Resort will be holding another slot tournament in April this year and all details can be found on our page right here including the prize table and dates.
Which online casinos offer slot tournaments?
We’ve found that there are two main online casinos offering slot tournaments; BGO and PlayOJO. Both offer unique tournaments as well as a great selection of games and promotions. We suggest you check out our reviews for more information on both websites.
What do you win on slot tournaments?
That varies depending on the casino. Most slot tournaments at brick-and-mortar casinos will reward you with cash prizes. At online casinos, you’ll likely win cash prizes and free spins, but some special promotions will also offer tech gadgets and luxury holidays!
Should I play tournaments online?
That’s up to you, really. You may find that it’s easier to participate in online slot tournaments than those at brick-and-mortar venues, and that online tournaments tend to offer better and more prizes. Take a look through our detailed page here for more information.
Are slot tournaments worth the entry?
They can be! It all depends on the prizes available, how many users are participating, and how much the entry is. This varies between casino sites and venues, so it’s a good idea to do your research before committing to anything!