Gaming

To most people, the word casino conjures up images of massive rooms filled with casino tables and slot machines. There is a constant buzz of people talking, bells ringing, shouts of excitement, and groans of disappointment. Crowds form around hot games to see how they unfold, watching without even participating. Security staff is in a constant state of high alert, and CCTV cameras cover every inch of the casino’s floor.

Until recently, this is how most people imagined a casino. However, the new online casino concept has revolutionized it. If you plan to explore online casino table games, here are some important tips:

Know your options

It seems that there is no end to what talented software engineers and graphic designers can come up with online, and casino games are no exception. Casino games are split into two categories: slots and table games. Slots games are familiar to most people. Many gamblers play slots games because they are relaxing.

Table games include roulette and dice games like craps. They also feature card games, such as blackjack and poker. Poker players will know that the game comes in various forms and can present different rules. Roulette and craps are among the most exciting casino table games to play as they involve multiple players, and massive amounts of money might be on the line.

Know the rules

Before attempting any casino table games, ensure you understand the rules. Whether you are playing online or at a brick-and-mortar facility, your money is at stake. Therefore, a quick course in table game rules should precede your first attempt.

While many people see slots as games of pure chance, they perceive table games to require less luck and more strategic thinking. This is not necessarily the case. While games like blackjack and poker can turn on a player’s critical thinking skills, an element of luck remains. Online research reveals the winning odds of each game, with some being more favorable than others.

Get up from the table

If the idea of casino table games appeals to you, sports betting might become an activity you enjoy. Like poker and blackjack, sports betting requires analysis and forethought before making a move. This includes studying a team’s history, current betting odds, and opponents. Betting on European sporting events, such as England’s Premier League and Italy’s La Liga soccer leagues, is a growing trend around America.

Sports betting is one of the activities for sports lovers when they cannot be on the pitch themselves. Much of it is done out of sentimentality and perceived loyalty to one team. While this may pay off eventually, taking emotion off the table when it comes to placing sports bets tends to yield better results.

 

 

You’ll often hear it said that the children of the 21^st century lack the imagination of the children of the 20^th. We don’t know how true that statement is, but those who believe in its veracity put it down to the fact that the children of last century didn’t have immersive video games to entertain themselves with. There were no digital worlds for them to go and explore. They had to create their own using action figures, dolls, or in some cases, nothing at all. Because today’s children are more interested in video games than physical toys, the toys our parents and grandparents played with are going out of fashion. There’s an exception to that statement, though, and the exception is LEGO.

LEGO saw the way the wind was blowing a very long time ago. Rather than fighting against the tide, they decided to jump in with both feet and started making official LEGO video games. It seemed like a niche idea at first, but the idea quickly caught on. In some cases, LEGO video games based on popular franchises have turned out to be better than the official ‘traditional’ video games made by the same franchises. As an example, you’d be hard-pressed to find an official “Star Wars” video game that’s enjoyed more than “LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game.” We’d also argue that “LEGO Harry Potter” is a far better “Harry Potter” game than anything that’s come through more traditional channels. Even “LEGO Marvel’s Avengers” is a cut above the “Marvel’s Avengers” video game that came out in August 2020, but that’s probably a low benchmark.

Anyone who doesn’t understand this phenomenon fails to appreciate the lure of ‘cuteness’ when it comes to motivating people to buy video games or anything else for that matter. The ‘cute’ factor unquestionably draws in children, but it also draws in adults. The staggering success of the range of “Fluffy Favourites” online slots is proof of that. The average person in the street wouldn’t think that adult gamblers would be attracted to an online slots website by a game that features cuddly toys, and yet it’s one of the highest-earning online slots attractions in the world. If the ‘cute factor’ can attract millions of dollars worth of revenue for a comparatively niche entertainment option like online slots, we shouldn’t be surprised that it can rake in billions in the more conventional end of the video gaming market.

If you want to play a LEGO video game, you’re not exactly short on options. We’ve already mentioned the “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” variants on the market. They’re just the tip of the iceberg. There are several “LEGO Batman” games you might wish to consider. If one superhero or super-villain isn’t enough for you, you could go toe to (plastic) toe with a whole range of them in “LEGO DC Super-Villains.” See the world created by J.R. R. Tolkien as you’ve never seen it before in “LEGO Lord of the Rings.” Relive some of the best action movie moments of the 1980s in “LEGO Indiana Jones.” There’s also “LEGO Jurassic World,” “LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “LEGO The Incredibles.” You could play a LEGO video game every month and have plenty of content to last you well over a year. For some people, that still wouldn’t be enough, and we have good news for those people. If you have a creative mind and a few production skills, you can now design a LEGO game of your own – and it might even get published.

This new idea comes courtesy of “LEGO Ideas,” who opened a competition on January 28^th inviting creators to make new LEGO games in Unity and submit them for consideration. A wide variety of prizes are on offer, including a range of Unity goods and the possibility that the company will explore your idea further and work on developing it into a full entry into the already-crowded LEGO video game universe. Right now, the best listed prizes on offer are a personalized LEGO Nintendo console, a ‘Robot Inventor” set, a free one-year Unity Pro subscription, and a Unity Microgames Premium asset pack. Everyone who enters the competition will automatically receive one free Unity Lego action figure in the mail. The competition is a collaboration between LEGO and Unity, for which Unity has made all of its development tools available to would-be game designers. The wording about the potential to have your creation turned into a full game is a little vague, but the company specifically reserves the right to take your idea under consideration for “publication as an official LEGO title,” so it’s on the table if your idea is good enough.

You shouldn’t be put off the idea of entering the competition if you’ve never used Unity before – that’s the whole point of the existing LEGO mini-game that exists on the platform. It teaches newcomers how the basics of the engine work by allowing them to make short, simple games using LEGO characters. As users become more familiar with the engine, they can develop their ideas further into longer-form games. Unity says that their end goal is to open up video game development to people who have no coding experience and no game design background. They think that anybody who has a great idea for a video game should be able to make one, and they’ve provided a method for people to do so. LEGO is the vehicle they’ve chosen for their purpose.

It’s possible to ‘complete’ the basic Unity LEGO mini-game in around half an hour, which will give you a very basic understanding of how the different development tools work. You’ll have to invest a lot more time than that if you want to make something that’s likely to win a competition of this magnitude. Perhaps more importantly than that, though, it’s fun, and it’s a way into game design for people who’ve always loved the idea but never had the time to acquire the necessary skills. Could LEGO be your ticket to the video gaming big time? Why not try your hand at it and find out!

 

The world of video games was already quietly becoming one of the fastest growing and lucrative communities in the entertainment industry in the years prior to 2020, but saw its stock completely boom throughout 2020 thanks in part to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the world leaving millions of people stuck at home with much more time on their hands than usual. The video game industry is now worth more than music and films put together, and one of the most blossoming communities within this industry is its professional strang, Esports.

Here’s everything you need to know about Esports.

What Are Esports? 

Put simply, ‘Esports’ is the industry term used to describe the communities involved with playing specific video games professionally. Essentially the goal of every gamer out there, Esports has established itself as a way for players to get paid to play games and carve out successful careers for themselves.

It’s important to remember that Esports is much closer to being an umbrella term for an industry, rather than a single entity. Just like how someone can’t really call themselves an expert or professional in every single real world sport, the same is very much the case for those in the Esports community. Each and every game within the industry its own style and its own scene, and enough diversity to really stand out from one another.

The popularity of video games has of course always existed, however the explosion in its standing as a hyper-competitive industry has largely come from the influx of investment from huge multinational companies. From teams and players being sponsored to the likes of Coca-Cola, Intel, Monster, DHL and Mercedes all hosting their own partnerships and events in either one game specifically, or an entire plethora of titles.

What Does A Game Need To Be A Successful Esport? 

The absolute key to success for an Esport is longevity, i.e. creating a game that people can play for years and years. Most of the biggest titles in the industry have been around for well over a decade, which is certainly a unique timeframe for a community as volatile as the world of video games.

The secret to this is blending together a simple premise and addictive gameplay features with a skill ceiling that allows players to sink hundreds of hours into and truly master. When you watch professional players play games like CS:GO or League of Legends, it’s almost like watching them play a different game to the mainstream, more casual types of players. That additional 1% is the difference between those who make money playing video games and those who only play games for the fun of it.

As a side note to the point above, it’s important to remember that the pros who play games as professionals do it literally as a living. Whilst gaming is so often seen as a recreational activity that players can dip in and out of and switch around if they don’t like their chosen title, Esports professionals have to grind their chosen titles for literally thousands upon thousands of hours playing almost every single day.

What Are The Most Popular Esports Games? 

As mentioned above, the Esports industry is heavily saturated by games that have been around for years, and who have been able to cultivate their own armies of fans and followers. Because most of the leading Esports games have been built alongside the growth of the industry as a whole and been around for years and years, their fans and followers are some of the most devout and passionate in the entire video game sphere.

In terms of overall player base and global recognition, it’s hard to argue against League of Legends still being the world’s most popular Esport title. The game boasts an active player count of over 250 million users, with an epicentre of popularity in China and South Korea especially, and its annual Worlds Championship is one of the most hyped up events in the Esports calendar.

In terms of first person shooters, there’s no debating the status of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as the biggest Esport out there and still arguably the second biggest game in the industry. The game places so much emphasis on playing angles, holding positions and reading strategies in a much more enthralling way than the likes of Call of Duty, Apex Legends or Overwatch. High profile CS:GO matches regularly pull in over 100,000 viewers at a time on online streaming platforms such as Twitch.tv and the game houses possibly the most stacked events calendar out of any game available to pick and play.

The industry has also opened up the possibility of new titles emerging onto the scene and carving out a home for themselves though, and the likes of Fortnite, Valorant, Rocket League and Call of Duty: Warzone to come in and establish lucrative competitive scenes of their own.

 

GTA 5 Rockstar Games is a famous game publisher and its game, GTA 5, is currently one of the most popular games across the globe. Players are able to gamble at the Diamond Casino and Resort and have the option of playing in story mode or online mode.

One of the questions players ask is what casino games are best for making chips in GTA 5. The games inside the casino are all different so the winnings depend on the players. GTA online casino roulette, GTA online three-card Poker, or GTA online blackjack are all popular.

Laws restrict gambling features

The Diamond Casino and Resort is a playground for the ultra-wealthy to gamble, drink and commit a crime. However, players worldwide are discovering that they do not have access to the gambling feature. This is because over 50 countries have gambling laws that restrict these features of GTA Online. Governments around the world are looking at what constitutes gambling inside a game.

The laws do not apply in some of the biggest gambling markets, such as the U.S., Western Europe and Japan so it is not a disaster for Rockstar Games. It is possible to gamble legally in a number of states in the U.S. and more have voted to legalize online gambling during the recent election. Players can play games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette legally at an online casino such as Parx Casino in Philadelphia.

Debate in the gaming world about legality and monetization

There is also much debate going on in the video gaming world about legality and monetization. In GTA Online, players buy fake money but it is close to actual gambling because a real money value is assigned to the fake money. It will be interesting to see how governments are going to treat virtual economies in the future.

Streaming games to viewers is becoming very popular, with gamers presenting their thoughts and emotions constantly to viewers. Therefore, it is best to stream a game with high demand but not too much saturation if the goal is some real channel growth.

The GTA Diamond Heist

Since December, players have been able to take part in a GTA diamond heist, which is a complex criminal operation. Players work with the Cheng family to infiltrate the most secure building in Los Santos. This is a heist that is expensive in terms of time and resources. Players need to buy a retro arcade before they even start planning the mission. They have three approaches to choose from with multiple ways to execute them. A recent update adds five new heist vehicles, from a luxury sports car to a maxed-out hatchback.

Video games are a wonderful source of entertainment, and so are slot machines. However, there are disparities between the two, and these are the things we want to tackle today. Video slots vs video games: which games are more beneficial to you?

Entertainment Value

Slot machines today are not like the ones back in the 1980s. If you think about it, new online slots at GGbet offer a lot of entertainment value. They have storylines, different game modes and different betting modes.

What you get from video games is a storyline—you are in control of the game, and what happens to the player is based on your decisions. In video slots, the god of chance is the one in control. The result of each spin is random, and you can never predict what the outcome is going to be.

Both kinds of games offer entertainment value. In a video game, you get to kill monsters, collect coins, and then use these coins to grow your character. In video slots, you get the value of thrill—a reward if luck is on your side.

Both video slots and video games offer something—the unknown. In video games, you will never know when you would see a boss character, or what is going to happen should you decide to take on a mission. The same thing goes with slots today, you can activate some features, and you will never know what the results will be.

Financial Value

In terms of financial value, you can look at it in two ways. You can buy video games at a premium price, and this is going to unlock the entire game for you to play and finish. The problem is that once the game is over, there is nothing really interesting to keep you going. Furthermore, there is no financial reward for it.

One way to work around this problem is that you can play MMORPGs like DOTA 2. In games like this, you can collect stuff and then sell it in the market. The financial reward you get is in proportion to your effort or your luck.

Slot machines, on the other hand, require upfront payment on each round. The cost to play the game is significantly cheaper, as you can play at a cost of $0.20 per round. What makes video slots wonderful is that they award real cash.

On top of the winning spin, you also get the chance to win a jackpot, provided that you bet enough to qualify and that the game has a jackpot. If you choose video slots that have a progressive jackpot, there is more financial reward or value that you could look forward to.

Socialization Value

One thing that players love in the game is social value. In many games today, players have the ability to chat with each other. In games like Call of Duty, players can even use headsets to talk to each other.

While you cannot do this in video slots, you can chat in many other games like online live dealer games and poker. The socialization in slots happens in tournaments. In video slot tournaments, your goal is to climb the leaderboard. While you cannot speak to other players in online slot machines, you are still part of a community of players. If you manage to climb the leaderboards, you will be able to see your name at the top, and this gives you a sense of accomplishment.

Video slot tournaments are real-life events. People who find themselves at the top of the leaderboards are those who invested a lot of time and money, who also happened to get a good dose of luck.

Another socialization value you get from slots is that you can use your coins to earn VIP points. Like a VIP in an online casino, the money you deposit or play with earns you points. You belong to a special group of people, and you will get rewarded as you play longer.

Summary

Video slots or video games: what is better? Both are games that are meant to entertain. Both have entertainment value and socialization value. If you look closer, the slot offers more financial value than video games.

In terms of entertainment, we can say that it is a tie. From a socialization perspective, video games win over slots as they offer more direct ways to get to meet players.  You need to decide what matters to you. If money is something that motivates you, then you should certainly choose slot machines because they reward your bets directly.