My First Impression of Bonanza Slot
Written By Stephen Abiola | Updated On: April 18, 2025
✅ Megaways mechanic can unlock massive winning potential
✅ Free spins feature with unlimited win multipliers
✅ High volatility rating for some decent wins
✅ Above-average RTP (return to player) percentage
Canada has a rich gold rush history that reshaped the North American trajectory back in the 19th century. Provinces like British Columbia, Alberta, and Yukon played a key role in the gold rush era, helping to shape the western frontier of the region.
Though Big Time Gaming may not have intended to capture the Canadian gold rush specifically, this game still carries plenty of Wild West and Gold Mine personality. It’s a fast-paced game with a mountain backdrop that captures the unforgiving Wild West theme. The 3D graphics, cascading reels, and Megaways mechanic make it a must-play for any ambitious player.
At first glance, Bonanza’s design and theme may seem pretty basic, but it’s still one of the sharpest and most attractive visuals back in the day. As shown in our demo video, the 3D graphics look sharp and immersive, creating a fun atmosphere. The animations don’t look dated.
The game takes place in an old mountain mine filled with gems and gold. The reels are surrounded by rocky cliffs and a distant waterfall, creating a sense of exploration and adventure. As expected, the reels feature precious mining gems like diamonds and emeralds.
Bonanza uses a Megaways engine, which is visible in the top-right corner of the grid. Like other Megaways slots, it uses six reels, each able to accommodate 2-7 symbols. This means the number of winning ways continues to change with every spin. You can unlock the 117,649 winning ways if you land seven mining symbols on each reel.
To create a winning combination, at least three matching symbols need to land on adjacent reels. The low-paying symbols are the 9-A card letters, which can reward you with 0.1 to 1.75x your bet when at least three land on other reels. The gemstones, on the other hand, are the high-value symbols and can significantly boost your winnings.
RTP (return to player) and volatility are critical because they determine how often you can win a payout. That said, the RTP of the Bonanza is 96%, which is on par with the industry standard. This can increase to 96.11% when using the Bonus Buy option.
Its volatility is very high. This means you shouldn’t expect to strike luck in the mining field with every spin. Remember, all these are just theoretical numbers. So, anything can happen during gameplay.
This is probably the part you’ve been waiting for. Playing Bonanza slot felt like diving headfirst into the exciting atmosphere of a gold rush. I felt a rush of anticipation right from the first spin, while the unpredictable Megaways mechanic kept me guessing throughout the session.
I started by choosing my preferred stake using the back and forward arrows before spinning the reels. The mining cart on top of the reels kept moving in and out of the drift, creating anticipation and suspense about what it would bring next.
As advertised, the slot volatility can be high, so I advise managing your budget by starting with low stakes, and gambling responsibly. It took me a couple of spins before hitting my first win. The mining cart dropped a wild dynamite, which exploded on the reels to help me complete winning combos.
After forming a winning combination, the Reactions feature helped me create even more wins. This feature is called Cascading Reels or Tumbling Reels in modern video slots. So, expect the winning symbols to explode, with new ones falling to replace them. This happens as long as you keep winning.
I was also lucky to land four gold symbols to enter the lucrative Free Spins mode. Here, the action moved inside the dark mines, where the multipliers keep increasing by 1x every time you win. Note that the multipliers can increase infinitely during the free spin rounds. Even better, you can get 12 respins when you land five GOLD scatters during a spin.
I was impressed with the bonus features in this entertaining video slot. Let’s break them down one by one:
This feature allows each real to hold up to seven symbols, meaning each spin can have up to 117,649 winning ways.
The wild symbols are the dynamites, which can explode when they appear to help you complete a winning combination. This symbol can replace any standard symbol on the reels when it appears.
This feature will activate when you match symbols on adjacent reels. The winning blocks will explode and disappear, and new ones will fall to replace them.
The mining cart will pass on top of the reels during each spin to add random symbols to reels 2, 3, 4, and 5. This can help you complete more winning combinations.
Find four gold scatters on the reels to get 12 free spins. Plus, get 5 and 10 extra free spins for landing 3-4 scatters. The win multiplier also increases by 1x after every explosion.
Big Time Gaming slots are some of the most popular, so I didn’t break a sweat to find a casino to play this game. I played this slot at Wildz Casino, a secure gaming site with licenses in Malta and Ontario. Besides Bonanza, there are other top BTG titles available, such as Apollo Pays, Big Bad Bison, and Bonanza Falls.
Additionally, Wildz Casino offers a generous welcome bonus of $2,000 + 99 free spins to give you a headstart with slot gaming. Read my in-depth Wildz Casino review for more details.
Follow these steps to play Bonanza at Wildz or your preferred online casino in Canada:
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I hope you enjoyed reading this Bonanza slot review. Engineers at Big Time Gaming did their homework to provide an action-packed game with plenty of exciting features. The free spin mode can be especially rewarding as the multiplier increases with every reaction. However, play responsibly and with a budget because this slot can be highly volatile. Good luck with the mining!
🏆 Best for: Fans of Wild West mining-themed slots with unlimited winning ways.
💰 Payout potential: Win up to 26,000x the stake
🎮 Play it if: You like high volatility games with free spin multipliers and Bonus Buys
Below are more titles to play if you enjoyed the mining adventure of Bonanza:
You can play Big Time Gaming’s Bonanza at our recommended Canadian casinos such as Wildz.
Yes, you can play this BTG slot using free spins and bonus money. However, always read the bonus T&Cs to confirm the qualifying slots before playing with your free spins.
This slot used to have four progressive jackpots. However, the jackpot is unavailable on the newer Megaaways version. Still, the 26,000x top reward is as good as any jackpot reward.
Yes, it’s a high volatility slot, meaning payouts may be less frequent but potentially much larger.
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