San Quentin Slot Review
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San Quentin Demo
Recommended Casino
5,500+
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United Kingdom (UKGC)
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- 1,000+
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- United Kingdom (UKGC)
San Quentin Slot RTP, Details and Wager Limits
The San Quentin slot is played on 5 reels, 3 rows and 243 ways to win. A winning combination comprises of landing 3, 4 or 5 of the same symbol from left to right on adjacent reels (i.e. on reels 1, 2 and 3 in any position).
You can spin away in this prison inspired game from 20p to £32 per spin. There’s an Autoplay function where up to 100 autospins can be chosen. There are single win and balance limits too.
The San Quentin RTP is 96.03% which is slightly above the 96% slots average. 58.74% of the RTP comes from the base game whilst the bonus features provide 37.29%. Variance wise, this is considered extreme and rates as 10/10 by creator Nolimit City.
With a hit frequency of 34.25%, over a third of spins will result in a winning outcome. Now, the max win is 150,000 x your total stake per spin. Yes, you read that right. This can be won with the potential 512x multiplier in the free spins.
Theme – head to the maximum-security prison
The San Quentin slot is based on the oldest prison in California, the San Quentin State Prison, which is the state’s only death row for male inmates. It’s arguably 1 of the world’s most famous prisons that featured in films like Get Hard. San Quentin has also hosted concerts and housed many notorious inmates.
With a prison theme, the background are the prison walls which have barb wire along the top. Graphically quite gritty, you’ll notice a Latin style hip hop soundtrack with sounds a little like the Cuban hip hop group Orishas. With clear and high definition visuals, you’ll see security cameras either side of the reel set which adds to the theme.
Symbols on the reels include elements you’ll fill within prison including toilet rolls, handcuffs, shivs (knife/razor used as a weapon), Zippo lighters and bars of soap. The 5 higher value symbols are represented by convicts. They include Crazy Joe Labrador, Biker Bill, Loco Luis, Heinrich the 3rd and Beefy Dick. There’s also a Split Wild symbol which I will look at in more detail below. Firstly, here’s what each symbol pays:
| Symbol(s) | Payouts |
|---|---|
 Toilet Roll | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x stake |
 Handcuffs | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x stake |
 Shiv | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x stake |
 Zippo Lighter | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 0.75 or 2 x stake |
 Soap | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 0.75 or 2 x stake |
 Crazy Joe Labrador | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.25, 0.9 or 2.5 x stake |
 Biker Bill | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.3, 1 or 3 x stake |
 Loco Luis | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.35, 1.1 or 3.5 x stake |
 Heinrich the 3rd | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.4, 1.25 or 4 x stake |
 Beefy Dick | 3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 1.5 or 5 x stake |
San Quentin Mobile
Created using HTML5 technology, the San Quentin slot game is available to play on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. The high definition quality of the graphics and animations work well even on smartphone devices.
San Quentin Bonus Features
You’ll find some unusual extras in this archaeological dig, starting with the Sticky Win Respins that expand the reels. They in turn can deliver pyramid wilds which can turn whole reels wild. There’s also a free spins feature with an expanding multiplier.
Enhancer Cells feature
At the top and bottom of each reel, there are locked enhancer cell positions. Landing 1 or 2 bonus symbols will trigger the Enhancer Cells feature. When triggered to open, they may reveal 1 of the top 5 paying symbols, Wild, Razor Split or xWays symbol. Here’s what they do:
- Razor Split symbol: will split all symbols on regular positions in that reel to double positions. This increases the number of ways to win. If it lands at the top and bottom on the same reel, it will split symbols twice. You can play with up to 13,189,257,216 ways to win if all positions are open.
- xWays symbol: this will reveal the same regular paying symbols that are stacked 4-high.
Split Wild feature
In the base game, Split Wilds can land on any reel. When it does, the Split Wild feature is activated. The Split Wild then splits all the regular symbols on the same reel except for itself. This gives you more ways to win with up to 46,656 ways to win possible.
Lockdown Spins feature
To play the Lockdown Spins feature, you need to land 3, 4 or 5 prison tower bonus symbols. This will reward you with 1, 2 or 3 starting Jumping Wilds respectively. The Enhancer Cells open when triggering the feature will be in play for all free spins.
Before the Lockdown Spins begin, a number of free spins and a special symbol multiplier will be decided randomly on a convict symbol. Look out for bonus symbols as this will add another Jumping Wild as well as extra free spins.
San Quentin also benefits from a Jumping Wilds feature. Represented by a police badge, the Jumping Wilds symbol jumps to a random position on each free spin. When a Jumping Wild lands on a reel with a Razor Split enhancer, the multiplier is doubled. The maximum multiplier can reach up to 512x.
Nolimit Bonus feature
Like with other Nolimit City slots, there’s a Nolimit Bonus feature. This allows you to buy your way into the Lockdown Spins feature. You can enter it with 3, 4 or 5 bonus symbols and a different RTP for each option:
| 3 Bonus symbols | 100 x stake | 96.26% RTP |
| 4 Bonus symbols | 400 x stake | 96.26% RTP |
| 5 Bonus symbols | 2,000 x stake | 96.95% RTP |
This feature isn’t available to UK players though due to regulations from the UK Gambling Commission.
San Quentin Review Summary – 150,000 x bet max wins
The San Quentin slot isn’t for the faint-hearted, much like the prison. Nolimit City are known for pushing the boundaries with their slot games but this release is proof they are willing to push things a lot further.
Extremely volatile, San Quentin will appeal to those who chase that huge win. From the documents provided, it takes approximately 974 spins to win 100 x your total stake or more and will require 230 spins on average to activate the Lockdown Spins feature. It has a Dead or Alive 2 feel to it when it comes to payouts.
The key to winning big is from the Jumping Wild multiplier which can reach 512x in the free spins. Coupled with triggering the feature with 5 bonus symbols and a high number of open Enhancer Cells, this is where the potential 150,000 x stake wins will surely come from.
Theoretically, you can hit the max win when trigger the Lockdown Spins feature with 3 bonus symbols but it’s more like when triggering with 4 or 5. Saying that, it will take 1.8 million spins on average to win the max payout.
However, San Quentin is as brutal as the prison though and is as high variance as they come. Nolimit City has created a superb looking game with a theme that is sure to cause offence and controversy. In terms of the gameplay, this is for big win chasers and to be treated with respect.
If you want a gentler prison ride, Folsom Prison may be the game for you. With 75,000 x bet max wins, the max win frequency is just 1 in 6.5 million spins. It has a different feel graphically too.
Are you ready to sharpen your shivs and join convicted felons on a quest for huge payouts? Just make sure you don’t drop the soap. If you like the xWays mechanic used here, Punk Rocker also uses it.
Other High Payout Slots
Seeing that San Quentin can pay up to 150,000 x your total bet per spin, here are 4 slots that also offer high payouts per spin:
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Chris is a slots expert that has reviewed and played over 10,000 slots online. Having being in the iGaming industry since 2004, he loves digging into the mechanics behind the slot games, playing the various bonus features and giving an honest verdict from a player’s perspective.
