The Shark Progressive Jackpot Review

General Info:
Software: Real Time Gaming (RTG)
Reels: 5
Paylines: 9
Top Jackpot: 1800 *
2nd High Jackpot: 1350 *
Bonus Games: Yes
Wilds: No
Scatters: Yes
Multipliers: No

* Outside of the progressive jackpot


The Shark is one of the more colorful offerings from RealTime Gaming, one of the industry leaders in online casino software. It is a five-reel, five-coin, nine-payline slot with a scatter, a bonus game, and a progressive jackpot. It also has tremendous graphics, which are par for the course with RTG, and an aquatic theme.

This game is a little more complicated than some of the other online slots and some of the progressives, but there's a user-friendly layout that de-mystifies things to a considerable degree. The buttons at the bottom of the interface are arranged nicely and tell you exactly what to do, in terms of selecting the number of paylines you are going to enable (Select Lines), making a one-unit bet (Bet One) or going right to the maximum (Bet Max). Of course, when you click "Spin," you jump right into the drink!

Getting five starfish on any enabled payline that is supported by a maximum bet of five coins will win something called the "Shark Power Super Jackpot." That's the progressive jackpot, and there is a running tabulation of the available jackpot right at the bottom of the game screen. The highest regular jackpot is 1800 coins when you have four starfish on a payline with five coins out. You have to have a five-coin bet, obviously, to qualify for the progressive jackpot.

At five (coins) times nine (lines), the maximum amount of coins you can play on any one spin is 45 coins.

When you spin the reels, you get the sound effect of water bubbling (if you want to shut these sounds off, there are controls in the "Options" panel). There's another effect - a scream of sorts - when the shark symbol shows up. I guess when a bunch of them show up you get a LOT of noise. What also happens is that you get in on a bonus game. Regardless of how many coins or paylines you've chalked up, if you get three Shark symbols, anywhere on the screen, you get the "Shark Bonus Round." Here you get to guess whether the next card is higher or lower than the last one. You can win up to 2700 in this bonus game if you have a five-coin bet with nine paylines enabled.

Here's a rundown on the maximum jackpot available for five on an enabled payline, with the maximum five-coin bet entered into the game:

Seahorse - 1225
Sand Dollar - 900
Octopus - 450
Rainbow Fish - 270
Clam - 135

The scatter in this game is the "Treasure Chest" symbol. Scatters are symbols that are able to benefit you, no matter where they show up on the five reels. In this case, if you are able to get at least three Treasure Chest symbols on the screen, one of them is going to open up to award you a "Treasure Chest Bonus." The best thing is that you don't have to have the maximum bet out, or any minimum number of paylines enabled. You can win up to 495 credits if you have the maximum number of coins and the maximum number of lines bet.

What's nice about this game available at most RTG online casinos is that even though there is a lot going on, it takes the effort to explain what is going on. If you're in doubt about any payout, it's all right there in a rather comprehensive "Pay Table," which can be accessed with the corresponding button. You may be underwater, but you'll never be in the dark with "The Shark"!