How the Jackpot System Works, and What Does the 96.2% RTP Really Mean?

• Why Volatility Feels Harsher Than the Numbers Suggest
• Whether the Max Win of £72,100 Is Realistic
• Where to Play It and How to Try Out the Free Demo First
• Get yourself a cup of coffee, as there is plenty crammed into this tiny slot.

Who Built This Slot Machine, and Why Does It Look So Familiar?

Oros Gaming is a relatively new developer that publishes games via Games Global. As well as publishing their own games, Games Global also hosts much of Microgaming’s legacy content library. The relationship with Games Global is important to you as a player. Games Global titles are audited by third-party labs like eCOGRA and GLI and are available at hundreds of online casinos around the globe, so finding a place to play should never be an issue except in highly regulated jurisdictions.

Okay, confession time. If you’ve played Joker Bonanza Cash Spree or Lucky Bonanza Cash Spree, you’re likely to experience Deja Vu very quickly. Both of those titles run on the exact same Cash Spree engine with a fresh layer of mythology-themed graphics applied. While I wouldn’t call that a sin, plenty of excellent slots are simply reskinned versions of existing math models. The only difference is the atmosphere. The joker titles have a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic fruit machines. Pegasus Cash Spree replaces cherries and jokers with sapphires, emeralds and a winged horse that looks as if it has leapt directly from a Greek vase.

A Quick Mythology Lesson Before Getting to the Math

In ancient Greece, Pegasus has an unusual history. After Perseus cut off Medusa’s head, she died giving birth to the winged horse. Bellerophon eventually tamed him using a golden bridle given by the goddess Athena. The duo went on to defeat the fire-breathing Chimera. Bellerophon, however, became too arrogant and attempted to fly all the way to Mount Olympus. Zeus did not take kindly to his arrogance. Bellerophon fell from his mount. Pegasus continued on and was placed among the stars as a constellation. Why reference this story in a slot review? Because it fits perfectly with the idea of reaching for higher heights and the design choice of creating a progressive jackpot ladder. Whether or not the developers intended to create this connection is irrelevant; it still exists. However, I wish the developers had done more with the theme. The winged horse appears only as a wild symbol and as the logo on the home screen; other than that, the theme relies almost solely on sky-and-gem images.

Screenshots

Low-paying Royalty Cards

As expected, low-paying royalty cards (10-J-Q-K-A) make up most of the reels. For example, full lines of 5 royal cards 10/J/Q will give you approximately .4x your total bet. Kings and Aces provide slightly better returns at about .9x. Thin returns are understandable considering that hit frequencies of approximately 34% indicate that players will win approximately once every 3-4 spins but that many of those wins will be less than your original wager.

Gemstones

Four colored gemstone symbols (blue, green, purple and red) represent premium symbols which pay between approximately 1.5x and 4x your total bet for a full line of 5. Red represents the highest paying symbol.

Special Symbols

Wild Pegasus

He is used as a substitute for standard symbols, gives approximately 5x your total bet for a line of 5, and may stretch across one, two or three positions on any reel depending upon where he lands.

Free Spins Scatter

Three scatter symbols appearing on any of reels #2, #3 or #4 activate the free-spins bonus.

Feature Tokens Mystery Symbols

These symbols show up as blanks on any reel and then transform into any random symbol; cannot be transformed into Scatters or Feature Token symbols.

Cash Spree Symbols

• Golden symbols carrying either multipliers or jackpot labels.
• More information regarding these can be found in the section explaining how to play.

Multiplier Coins

Used to increase your winnings in free spins.

How to Play Pegasus Cash Spree

For players who are unfamiliar with video slots, here is what you need to do from beginning to end:

• Choose a reputable casino (or use our links to try the demo version)
• Determine your bankroll per spin (€0.20 – €35).
• Spin manually or enable auto-play.

Wins occur when winning combinations land left-to-right across the twenty fixed lines. Look for golden Cash Spree symbols and wheel triggers – these are your best paths to larger rewards. Keep track of your current multiplier – once free spins begin, it is more important than anything else. One key piece of advice: The jackpots are multiplied based on your bet size. Winning a Grand at €0.20/line is fun for an afternoon; winning one at €5/line could buy a vacation. Keep that in mind when setting your stake size.

Bonus Features – Where This Slot Lives Up

The Cash Spree Feature

Below is how this primary mechanism functions:

During normal gameplay Golden Cash Spree symbols can land on any reel displaying either a multiplier (up to 8X) or one of the five jackpot names. On their own they are just there to decorate. When trigger symbols appear on reels #1 and #2, they serve as collectors and award whatever value(s) exist beyond them on the remaining reels.

Because of this unique mechanism, Pegasus Cash Spree creates an environment where you continually watch what happens on the far-left side of your reels. Seeing glowing gold symbols on reels #4 and #5 means nothing unless activity occurs on reels #1 and/or #2. That anticipation is what keeps normal gameplay interesting instead of dull.

Wheel Bonus

The Wheel Bonus is secondary method to access jackpots. Available only in normal gameplay; land either of the two special trigger symbols and a large colored wheel will pop-up. Each color corresponds to one of five different jackpot levels. Stop the wheel pointer wherever it ends up; that is what you earn!

Free spins and increasing multipliers

Scatters on the middle reels trigger the free spins, but you won’t know how many you will get until a second wheel is spun. The wheel gives you 8, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 free spins. It would be nice to get 8 because you don’t want to wait too long, but getting 30 makes you think that santa came early. When you are playing free spins, each Spin has increasing multipliers based upon 0.5x and capped at 10x. These multipliers increase your cash spree payouts. Therefore, winning a Major jackpot toward the end of a streak of spins, and having the multiplier as close to the highest possible amount as possible, increases a 50x payout to significantly more than that.

Do they allow bonus buys?

No. There is no way to purchase your way into the free spins. For some players, this could potentially be a deciding factor. However, I believe that in a slot machine where it can take hundreds of spins for free spins to occur, at least the absence of a bonus buy option prevents you from wasting your money through five costly clicks.

RTP, Volatility, and how they can impact your bankroll

The RTP and the catch

Return to player (RTP), or return-to-player, is the percentage of total wagers made that a slot machine returns to players over thousands or millions of spins. The RTP of Pegasus Cash Spree is 96.20 percent, which places it squarely in the middle of the RTP range of most modern games. Alternatively stated, the theoretical house edge is approximately 3.8 percent. Keep in mind that this represents a theoretical average over millions of plays. It is entirely feasible that you could double your bankroll in twenty spins, or lose it all within fifty. Here’s the catch that far too many players fail to recognize: this game exists in three RTP options: 96.20 percent, 94.20 percent and 92.20 percent. The casino selects which RTP to use. While a four-point difference may seem Minor over short periods of time, over multiple hundreds of spins it can result in a considerable difference in profitability.

High Volatility, or Medium-high Volatility?

There is disagreement among reviewers as to how volatile this game truly is. Some classify this as a high Volatility game, while others call it a Medium-high Volatility game (a rating of four out of five). Based upon my experience playing this game for extended periods of time, I personally believe that this falls into the category of high Volatility. In my opinion, this is largely due to how infrequent large feature wins occur during base game play, while features such as free spins, which provide the largest potential values in this game, appear with great frequency. Volatility refers to the distribution of winnings during gameplay and in this case most of the game’s value lies in these relatively infrequent large bonus round features.

Can you actually win 7,210 times your bet?

While technically yes, it takes multiple combinations of events occurring together – namely a combination of eight or ten free spins, a high enough multiplier (i.e., near the top of its 0.5x step progression), and finally a Grand jackpot appearing toward the end of your free spins round – for you to achieve the maximum possible win of 7,210 times your bet. As with all games that boast such large possible payouts, consider the max win to be equivalent to reading headlines regarding lottery winners. It can happen but it should not be your primary motivation for selecting a game.

Using your mobile phone to play

As previously mentioned few reviewers have discussed playing this game via mobile device; therefore let me give you my observations. Pegasus Cash Spree operates effectively on mobile devices. Like all other Oros Gaming titles it was designed utilizing HTML5 and is relatively lightweight (approximately 9mb) therefore load times are minimal even when using a poor internet signal. Pegasus Cash Spree can be accessed directly from your mobile device’s web browser on either iOS or Android operating systems and requires absolutely no additional software downloads. Playing portrait mode shrinks the grid slightly but the symbol clarity remains adequate due to the simplicity of the artwork utilized in this title. Finally the Spin button rests comfortably below your thumb when accessing it from a mobile device and reaching the bet menu is quite straightforward.

First try the free version

Pegasus Cash Spree is playable via a completely free demo version without creating an account and/or depositing funds into your gaming account. I highly recommend attempting this prior to committing to actual real-money betting. A demo allows you to gain knowledge as to how a high variance slot performs over time. By testing a few hundred spins with fake money determine how frequently the wheel lands on free spins, how long it typically takes for free spins to arrive and determine whether or not this frequency aligns with your personality type and bankroll.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Two separate routes to the Grand jackpot
• Free spins multiplier up to 10x
• A sensible bet range for all budgets
• Fixed jackpots you can actually see

Cons

• It’s a reskin of Joker Bonanza Cash Spree
• The graphics feel old-fashioned
• RTP can drop as low as 92.20%

Best casinos where you can bet using real money

Due to Games Global distributing this title, this slot is offered in abundance at various online casinos. It is particularly prevalent throughout much of europe including Canada, Finland, Norway and New Zealand. Currently, Pegasus Cash Spree is unavailable at most regulated u.s. states, excluding New Jersey.

When evaluating where to gamble on Pegasus Cash Spree, I evaluate four key aspects:

• Proper licensing authority: Verify if your desired casino holds proper licensure issued by regulatory agencies, including UKGC (United Kingdom), MGA (Malta), and IGO (Ontario).
• Which RTP variant is offered: Ensure that your casino offers the 96.20% RTP variant; if they do not, I suggest considering alternative options.
• Reasonable bonus terms: Review bonus terms for reasonable wagering requirements.
• Quick and recognizable banking options: Determine which payment methods are supported including Interac and CAD accounts for Canadian players and PayPal/card/ewallets for European players.

Comparison to other slot machines with similar themes

If you enjoyed playing Pegasus Cash Spree there are several logical next choices that include its fellow Cash Spree-branded titles Joker Bonanza Cash Spree and Lucky Bonanza Cash Spree. Both of these titles utilize identical mechanics in unique packaging. For those interested in obtaining a similar Greek mythological theme experience consider Forge of Olympus from Pragmatic Play or Pandora’s Box of evil from Play’n GO; both titles contain more visually appealing graphics than Pegasus Cash Spree. Lastly, for those desiring a similar lost legends theme experience, consider rise of Atlantis II by Blueprint Gaming; although it contains a vastly different bonus structure.

Will you be safe and treated fairly?

Yes, provided you gamble responsibly at a properly licensed casino. Games Global’s proprietary content undergoes independent audits and evaluations by recognized third-party testing firms such as eCOGRA, GLI, iTech Labs and BMM Testlabs for fairness and randomness relative to their random number generation (RNG); thus ensuring that each Spin will yield unpredictable results based solely on chance.

Final verdict: Is Pegasus Cash Spree worth a try?

So what conclusions can we draw? Essentially, Pegasus Cash Spree is very much like the mythical winged horse it was named after; initially unassuming yet potentially able to transport you farther than you had anticipated. Notably, it lacks eye appeal compared to virtually all other slot machines released in 2024; nor does it introduce anything radically new in regard to gameplay. However Pegasus Cash Spree delivers true-to-form predictable jackpot action: five distinct levels of jackpots with two distinct paths to obtain the greatest jackpot, along with an increasing multiplier system in regards to free-spins that can transform an acceptable round into an unforgettable experience. Provided you appreciate fixed-jackpot slot machines and aren’t overly concerned with frequent occurrence of bonus elements or cinematic visual displays, then it certainly warrants inclusion into your regular gaming rotation. On the flip side provided you desire constant bonuses and cinematic graphics, then you’ll likely grow tired quickly. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Pegasus Cash Spree created by Oros Gaming?

Yes. They built it. It is now in the Microgaming content library (Games Global).

When did Pegasus Cash Spree go live?

July 4th, 2024.

What is the RTP of Pegasus Cash Spree?

The default RTP is 96.20%. The RTP can be set to 94.20% and/or 92.20% by Casinos. Please refer to the Info Screen prior to playing.

How do you get into Free Spin mode?

You need to land three Scatter Symbols on reels #2 through #4. Then a wheel will award you either 8 – 30 Free Spins.

How much can you possibly win?

Maximum possible win is 7,210 times your bet, equating to a maximum possible win of $252,350 with a maximum $35 wager per game.

Is this a progressive jackpot slot machine?

No. There are five fixed multipliers of your bet that make up the Jackpot (Grand – Mini).