Original Release: Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, 2017, Web Browser
Other Releases: iOS / Android (2017)
The Foxwoods casino-resort in Connecticut is in the “social casino” game, and offers the chance to win funds to spend at the brick-and-mortar location
FoxwoodsONLINE (Web Browser, Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, 2017)
Where to Buy: Free-to-play via web browser here , also available through Google Play and Apple App Store
Review by: C. M0use
The social casino for Connecticut’s Foxwoods, the big gambling destination for New England and the general Acela corridor (at least among those that prefer not to get shanked with a rusty knife in Atlantic City), makes a very good immediate impression. A lot of these seem to go for a “budget casino” type feel for some reason, Foxwoods instead goes for the upscale and classy vibe complete with ambient casino sounds and little jazz music loops. It also has a fast and sensible interface, and the nice feature of an omnipresent “favorites” bar that lets you save up to 10 of your preferred games for quick access.
But the real reason we’re here is that this is one of the social casinos that allows you to turn “fun money” play into real rewards, specifically casino credit and free play at the southeastern Connecticut location. You can even get property gift cards, which I assume can be used at the retailers and restaurants and such that are just renting space there and aren’t owned by the casino group.
If you want to play slots, some grinding will be required. You only get like five to start out, with level-ups required to unlock more. You don’t get the majority of the roster unlocked until around level 500, and you need to get to around level 2200 (!) to unlock absolutely everything. It was tough to evaluate the initial slots as most of them choked while loading and had to be refreshed a couple times to actually boot up.
The casino is basically divided into “slots” and “other,” and fortunately the “other” section has lots of options with no grinding required to unlock games. You got some limited blackjack and roulette, one baccarat, a bunch of video poker, “dice poker”, a few types of keno, and a whole bunch of bingo (not something you see often at social casinos).
The most interesting of these is dice poker, which is actually somewhat skill-based and involves direct competition with other players (meaning a sharp player can get a consistent edge). It is a bit nerfed with a 20% rake to the winner but nevertheless I logged a bunch of time playing this and was definitely winning much more than I was losing just applying basic strategy.
So is the app exploitable, at least until a ton of sharps pile into dice poker? Well, maybe yes, but it’s also capped by a few factors. The biggest one being that the points you use to purchase casino free play and gift cards and etc. only come from level-ups, and the occasional low-percentage win on your daily bonus spin; earning isn’t tied to your wagers as it is with MyVegas. I don’t know how it is at the higher levels but you’re only getting about 50 of these points per level up, with around 4,000 required to get $10 of free play.
And of course, the value hinges on being near Foxwoods to actually make use of stuff in the real world. For our non-US friends that’s tucked all the way on one side of this long-ass country, and then kinda farther up towards one corner than the other to boot. Not really a place to casually jaunt to unless you’re already close to it.
So I don’t think this offers tremendous opportunity for locals to regularly use, but it does offer enough that you might try it out if you were planning on taking a vacation to Foxwoods anyway, it looks like you could probably pick up $100 or so just playing casually over a few weeks ahead of your trip.
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