Original Release: Bally, mid-2000s?
Among the early progressive jackpot titles that developed a popular and long-term following, this title also helped to popularize the “blazing 7s” concept
Hot Shot Progressive (Bally, mid-2000s)
So digging around for release information for pre-2020s slots on the internet is always dicey and difficult, but as best I can tell this was the original entry in Bally’s “Hot Shot” series and released somewhere in the early-mid 2000s. It’s on the Bally Alpha S9000 cabinet which was released in 2006 (even has the date stamped in tiny print on the marquee on some models if you look closely), but I also see a “just for fun” Windows version released by Masque Publishing in 2005, and I’ve seen some references indicating this goes back to 2003. So I’m settling on “around 2005” lacking better information.
Anyway. It’s a fairly low-volatility and low-roller-friendly title if you’re looking for such things, and still commonly on casino floors (even found some in the modern Vegas Strip in a few different places circa 2025). It’s popular because small wins are very frequent, but the meaningful win you’re shooting for is one of the progressives that are accessible via the bonus game. It’s also a “true penny” in that you’re able to adjust your wager as low as one cent on just the center line, at least in the original cabinets.
You get to the bonus games by landing three symbols of any kind in any position on the reels, with each of these giving you one spin on a different video reel on the top screen (a smaller 3×3 one that has a bit better odds of landing a meaningful win than the main reel). So those bonus games land pretty often too, the thing is they can also leave you with only a small win or absolutely nothing at all. Each one has its own little gimmick, such as “diamond line” paylines being added or just boosting all regular payouts by double or triple, but they all share the quality of shooting for triple 7s of some manner to get the largest wins. The “Blazing 7s” bonus game is the one where you can win the top jackpot, if you land three special symbols on the center line.
Overall, it’s one of the closest to a “break-even” slot you’re going to find in the wild. It’s highly unlikely you’ll suffer big losses in a short time span (and you’ll almost certainly get at least close to even if you play long enough), but meaningful wins are also rare; the main point is grinding comps, or just hanging out and enjoying a drink for a while. It’s definitely a bad choice if you just want to quickly throw some money away! It does also give you the tiny chance of hitting a substantial progressive jackpot on any bet amount and spin, however. And while it’s aesthetically pretty basic the little samba music clips are fun, as are the gals yelling the names of your bonus games (as well as “Hot Shot” though amusingly it sounds more like “Buckshot” or “Buttshot”).
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