Casino Night by NetEnt is a slot that perfectly replicates the atmosphere of a night at a casino. A land-based venue, mind you – not the online kind. Playing at land-based casinos offers a thrilling and distinct experience, although, to be fair, NetEnt has perfectly replicated it in an online form.

The slot has a fantastic atmosphere and will make you feel like you’re at a classy Vegas joint. It plays on a regular 5x3 grid with no paylines. You read the right – the slot works with no paylines or special mechanics, but I’ll get to that later. The slot’s high variance means there will be varied wins across the board – an actual board this time, not just a phrase.

If you love the casino atmosphere and the deluxe look and feel of Vegas venues, this is the slot to pick. Its aesthetics aren’t just for kicks. Casino Night has decent winning potential and plays like a charm on any device. Read my Casino Night review below to learn more about it.

If you’ve ever been to a land-based casino, you're likely familiar with the scene. All venues try to win the war of looks, so most offer classy establishments. The tables are squeaky clean and full of chips – at least they were back in the day. NetEnt is trying to replicate the golden era of gambling in Casino Night, and it succeeds.

The slot is played on a casino table with chips and characters on the grid. There’s a lucky lady, the casino’s manager, and a thug looking to defeat the casino at its own game. A few bottles of champagne and a cigar on the left side complete the casino aesthetic. The studio is known for its sharp visuals and animations, which are fully on display in Casino Night. On top of that, the audio and soundtrack are top-notch, too, complementing the atmosphere perfectly.

Before trying your luck at the table, you must place a bet. Choose from 10c to $200 per spin and click the spin button to start. Now, for the real surprise, there is a lack of paylines. On each spin, one of the reels will turn golden. Any regular and multiplier chips that land on it can form winning combinations, but not in the usual way. You don’t need three or more matching symbols to hit a win. All symbols with a prize will pay the value they display.

That might look complicated, but it’s easier than you think. I had no trouble playing the slot, although I admit it’s unorthodox. Of course, regular symbols are not the only ones that land on the grid. You also have a few specials, including blue, green, purple, and gold chips.

• The blue chips collect a random chip in view and award that value.
• A green chip does the same, but with three chips.
• The purple chip collects all visible chips and awards their value.
• As for the gold chip, it collects all chips and doubles and awards their values.

These special symbols land more often than you think. Remember, it belongs to a group of slots with high volatility, so you can expect varied returns. And just because the game is unorthodox doesn’t mean there’s no bonus round feature – there is.

Land a single scatter on a golden reel to receive three free spins. After revealing their prize, all special symbols will turn into deluxe black symbols. All new chips and special symbols reset the free spins tally back to three while also sticking to the reels. This feature works similarly to a Hold & Spin (or Win) bonus.

Filling all reels with chips doubles all prizes. The feature ends when you run out of spins. Like other NetEnt titles, there’s no way to buy the bonus round. You’re stuck with landing a scatter on the golden highlighted reel.

Playing Casino Night in an online real money casino was as refreshing of a slot experience as I expected. Studios are rarely innovative with their mechanics and gameplay features. This one works without any paylines, which many players find shocking. But I say if it works, it shouldn’t be blasted. In Casino Night’s case, it definitely works.

This fresh approach makes playing slots much easier and simpler to grasp. During my review, I landed a couple of 10x wins thanks to chips on the golden reel. I also got a few nice collects with blue and green chips, although I wasn’t lucky to land purple or golden chips.

The free spins round played out nicely, with a total booty of 73x. It took a while to get to it, but once I did, it paid well.

Casino Night is a high variance slot with an RTP of 96.08%. That aligns with most of NetEnt’s recent titles and slots with high volatility. The maximum win is 10,000x the bet.

Don’t be so quick to judge slots without paylines. Yes, it’s a bit strange to see one, but Casino Night definitely makes up for it with innovative gameplay mechanics. It’s a straightforward slot to play – cross your fingers for chips with values on the golden grid and keep them crossed for the special chip boosters.

A free spin round plays like another familiar feature, giving you all the elements to have fun. If casino themes or slots without paylines aren’t your thing, NetEnt has plenty of alternatives. You can try Divine Fortune if you like progressive jackpots or Jack and the Beanstalk if you’re into fairy tales.