Could you imagine the paranoia involved if you ran a cartel in the criminal underworld? You wouldn’t trust anyone, would you? You have enemy gangs, the law, and probably people working for you that are all trying to take you down for one reason or another. Take the main character in the Grand Patron, BGaming’s latest slot release – he doesn’t look like he’s enjoying life all too much, what with the law on his tail at every turn; I guess the money must be worth it! Anyway, aside from having a theme that offers a nice change from what most slots have delivered recently, the Grand Patron game has a 5×3 reel configuration, a 96.67% RTP, and a 10,000x maximum win.
It also boasts quite a few exciting reel modifiers, which trigger via two horizontal reels located above and below the reels. When certain symbol combinations land in specific positions on those reels, modifiers such as wild transformations, re-spins, symbol removals, win multipliers, and even 20-position symbol reveals can trigger. Those reels can also deliver a free spins bonus that allows you to unlock additional positions on the horizontal reels – meaning the potential for multiple modifiers to trigger on future spins.
This slot sounds right up my street so far; if you share that view, you’ll no doubt be keen to try our Grand Patron slot below!
| Provider | BGaming |
| Reels | 5 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Paylines | 20 |
| Bonus Rounds | 1 |
| Bet Range | 0.20 - 20 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Yes |
| RTP | 96.67% |
| Our Rating | 7.8 |
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Grand Patron Demo Slot
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Grand Patron Slot Theme, Stakes, Pays & Symbols
I’m not sure what the differences are between a cartel and something like the mafia, but I’m fairly certain they share more similarities than differences, to be honest. For some reason, though, there are more mafia-themed slots than those with a cartel theme. Narcos from NetEnt is an exception, but it seems slot developers prefer a mafia-style execution for their releases. If you feel the same way, we have a few slot reviews you might want to check out, though don’t blame me if you go sleeping with the fishes while playing the likes of Mafia Clash from Bullshark Games and PG Soft’s Mafia Mayhem.
Back to Grand Patron, and I can safely say you wouldn’t want to mess with the premium symbols listed in the paytable. There are five characters that hardly look like they’re the best-behaved individuals around, starting with the Red Character, who is worth 25x the stake for a line of five, while the Orange Character returns 20x. The Yellow, Blue, and Green Characters complete the top half of the pays section and offer up to 12.5x, 7.5x, and 5x, respectively, for winning combos of five. Kicking off the low pays is what looks like Bricks of Illegal Drugs, and these are worth up to 3x the stake, while the Cigars return 2.5x, the Gun is worth up to 2x, the Mobile Phone will pay a maximum of 1.5x, and the Marijuana Leaf returns 1x.
Disappointingly, the betting range on the Grand Patron is smaller than I’d like to see. You can bet from a minimum of €0.20 per spin, which is fine, but the maximum bet you can place is €20.00 per spin, which, whilst fine for the vast majority, may slightly deter the mega high rollers out there.
Grand Patron Slot Base Game & Modifiers
At first glance, the Grand Patron slot looks like it has a 5×5 reel configuration, and it’s not until a closer inspection reveals that it’s actually just 5×3. There are two horizontal reels, one above and one below the main reels, and I’ll explain what these do shortly.
The regular 5×3 reel format between those reels is where the main action likes, and these offer 20 fixed paylines for you to try and land your winning combos. Forming those winning lines requires three matching symbols to land on adjacent reels across a payline starting from the leftmost reel.
Horizontal Reels
The two horizontal reels are the USP for the Grand Patron slot, and during the base game just the central position on both is unlocked. Symbols land in those positions, and when certain combinations appear, modifiers will trigger:
- Wild Symbols: When a wild symbol appears on the middle position of one of the horizontal reels and a regular symbol lands on another, the latter transforms into a wild for that spin.
- Spawner Modifier: If two of the same symbols land on both horizontal reels, three instances of that symbol are added to the reels. The same thing goes for two wild symbols landing.
- Prison Re-Spins: When a Prison occupies one of the positions and a regular symbol the other, all instances of the latter are locked in place for a re-spin of all remaining positions. If the Prison appears in both positions, all symbols are arrested, and one random symbol is chosen to fill all positions on the reels, resulting in a full reel symbol win.
- Bombastic Modifier: If the horizontal reels reveal a Bomb and Regular symbol combination, all instances of the latter explode at the end of the spin. New symbols fall onto the reels to potentially create more winning combos. Bombs in both positions remove all symbols to allow a full set of new symbols to fall into place.
- Win Multiplier Modifier: Multiplier symbols can also land in those positions, and when they do alongside a regular symbol, all winning combinations of the latter have that multiplier value applied to their payouts. A double multiplier combo results in the two values being added up and applied to all wins on that spin.
X2 Chance
To enhance your chances of triggering the above free spins bonus, you can use the 2x Chance features. For 1.3x your current bet, you can spin with double the chance of landing the required scatter symbols to trigger the bonus.
Grand Patron Slot Bonus Features
I purposely left off one of the modifiers that can occur via the two horizontal reels as it triggers the main free spins bonus. You’ll see what I mean next as I go into more detail.
Free Spins Feature
When the scatter symbol appears in both positions on the horizontal reels, you’re given 12 free spins. If the first spin reveals the Prison symbol on the horizontal reels, you receive a further 2 spins, while double scatters lock the reels with one regular symbol chosen for a full 20-payline win.
At the start of the free spins bonus, only the first position on each of the horizontal reels is unlocked. Landing a symbol combination to trigger one of the aforementioned modifiers will unlock the next position but also lock that combination in place. The modifier of those combinations will activate on each future spin.
Bonus Buy
You can also bypass the base game altogether via the bonus buy feature. There are three options:
- 12 Free Spins: This will cost 100x your current spin bet.
- 15 Free Spins and a Prison + Symbol Combo on the First Spin: Costs 250x the current bet.
- 15 Free Spins with the Prison + Prison Combo on the First Spin: This will cost you 1,000x the current spin bet.
Pros
- The horizontal reel modifiers have the potential to create some monster wins - especially in the free spins bonus.
Cons
- A higher max bet would suit those with deeper pockets.
Grand Patron Slot Review Final Thoughts
I’ve always had a soft spot for BGaming, mainly because the developer is capable of creating a wide variety of different types of slot games. You’ll get a simple, unspectacular, but relaxing slot one week and then a slot like Grand Patron the next with a 10,000x max win and some lucrative features. For me, this is the provider's best release of 2024 to date.
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