This game feels more realistic to a real brick and mortar casino than other games, because of the stakes. On most casino games, if you lose your money, the game just gives you more and you start over. There’s no risk. Any gambler knows the thrill is in the risk and reward. On this game, if you run out of money, starting over would mean losing your experience points and levels gained. The alternative is a loan from the casino during which your exp earned is reduced. Because of the risk involved, you are more likely to consider your bet amounts and experience more of the highs and lows that are so thrilling in a real casino. And by the way, odds on this game are consistent with real casino odds. There is one exception, which is a "dream world cash" option on slots only where the player has a lot of advantage over the house. Real world odds are also available on all slots.

The sound effects on the game are good, and make you really feel like you’re in a real casino environment. Sound effects on slot machines are especially well done. The music isn’t even elevator-worthy, but thankfully the option to turn it off is available. There’s an mp3 player function where you can add your own music files into the actual game, but it’s more complicated than it’s worth.

Tournaments are available on the online game for almost everything - poker, table games, and slots. You can win in-game prizes in these tournaments.

There is a chat window in the lobby, a lounge exclusively for chat, and each game has its own chat. I prefer to turn on "stats" instead of chat on table games and slots so I can see how the machine or table is paying out, how much I’ve spent, how long I’ve been on the machine, etc. Some of the chat can be insipid chatter and annoying, but it’s easy to ignore the chat window at those times. When your friends are on, chat is a welcome feature.

Fake Sports Betting Has Never Felt So Real

The staff at Phantom Efx spoils their customers. Instead of most games, where a customer will never have any contact with the company, the Phantom team regularly visits the forum to give updates, answer questions, and extend good will to their customers. They even appear on the chat window in the game on occasion socializing with the players. Once when I reported a glitch the owner of the company initiated a private chat with me to discuss the problem. It’s clear that the Phantom team cares about their customers.

There are some issues that mar the experience. The interface is somewhat unpolished and navigation is not ideal, especially when you are using several of the games. There are also some bugs, and while most of them are fixed promptly others can take months for them to resolve. The biggest problem is the flawed in-game economy. There is a huge discrepancy between the richest players, who have billions of dollars, and the poorest players, who have, well dollars… This has caused huge inflation at the mall and a lot of the goods available are outrageously expensive and will be impossible to ever own for the majority of players. Phantom Efx promises to resolve this problem when the next installment comes out, but for now it’s something we have to tolerate.

Not only do I recommend this game to anyone interested in casino gambling, I recommend the other games that represent the other floors of the online casino as well. These include Ghost Town, High Roller, Mystic Forest, Vegas Experience, and Bonus Mania. Each game costs a measly $19.99, and for a game with unlimited replay value and frequent new content that is truly amazing. This is just the game every gambling aficionado needs in between trips to Vegas.