March 17, 2022
Slot of the Week: Irish Eyes
Get your fill of everything Irish this St. Paddy's Day with a spin or three on one of the original Irish luck-themed slots, Irish Eyes, which promises a brimming pot of gold if you can catch that mischievous leprechaun!
Now 10 years old and still going strong, Irish Eyes is a popular slot at any time of the year, but much more so around St. Patrick's Day when players are tempted to try their luck on these five reels for a pretty penny or two.
Learn how to chase down the leprechaun and line up those alluring Irish lassies for a shot at fortuitous payouts in our review of Irish Eyes.
In Short:
- Irish Eyes is a 5-reel, 25-payline online slot by NextGen Gaming.
- It is available to play at 8 New Jersey online casinos including Golden Nugget, SugarHouse, Unibet Casino, and Pala Casino.
- The main features of this slot are a Pick Me bonus and free games with tripled wins.
- The maximum payout of a single line in Irish Eyes is $5,000.
The Basics
Irish Eyes is a lucky Irish themed slot that was launched by NextGen Gaming almost exactly 10 years ago in 2012. Though the slot is pretty basic compared to a lot of more modern releases, it's such a firm favorite with players that it holds a stable position in the lobbies of many online casinos on the internet.
Playing heavily on the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" Irish leprechaun stereotype, Irish Eyes offers 25 paylines of colorful fun across 5 reels, with two features waiting to dish out plenty of riches.
First Impressions
When you first open the game, you'll notice it is awash with color — all the colors of the rainbow, in fact! — which is no coincidence, since the vibrant arcing rainbow in the background hints at the main theme of this slot. A clear blue sky provides contrast for the split light effect, which is further highlighted by the lush green of the clover-filled meadow in the background. Clover leaves are also floating through the air, another sign of this slot's focus on elements of Irish luck.
The game's 5 reels are set in a gold frame, with each of the 25 paylines highlighted to the left and right of the reel set. The celtic design of the Irish Eyes logo at the top adds a touch of heritage to the game.
In terms of sounds, don't expect to toe-tap to an elaborate soundtrack here. Instead, audio output is kept simple, with each spin of the reels marked by a cacophony of tubular bell sounds and wins announced by an upward celebratory trill of a stringed instrument. Trigger the game's main feature, however, and you'll be greeted by an upbeat Irish jig!
Symbols
Wins in Irish Eyes are triggered by landing three or more matching symbols along any of the game's 25 paylines, though for some symbols you only need two matches. The symbols can be split into three groups: high-paying, lower-paying, and feature-triggering. There are three high-paying symbols, namely, the rainbow meadow, the pot of gold, and the four-leaf clover. You only need to match two of these on a payline to trigger a win.
The lower-paying symbols are the familiar card values of 9 to A, each sporting their own specific color of the rainbow. These symbols pay out for three or more matches on a payline.
One of the two most important symbols in the game is the wild, which is represented, unsurprisingly, by the standard Irish leprechaun, complete with gold coin, pointy shoes, and large black-buckled, green top hat. This particular wild is a bit special: not only does it stand in for all other symbols except the next one to help you make up those winning lines, it also has its own payouts, with wins triggered even for landing just a single one on the reels! Plus, the lucky green man triggers a feature of his own.
Last, we have the iconic Irish Eyes Lady symbol, represented by the alluring green-eyed gaze of the red-haired Irish maiden. This symbol is the game's scatter, granting access to the main feature, which we'll check out next.
Irish Eyes Features
Irish Eyes has two special features that together create a more thrilling experience: the Pick and Win feature and the Free Games feature. Let's take a look at each of these in turn.
Pick and Win Feature
The Pick and Win feature is the leprechaun's time to shine! Find the little green guy on reels 1 and 5 at the same time and you'll trigger this feature. A scroll will open in front of each leprechaun symbol saying Pick Me. Simply click the one you want and you'll be rewarded with a prize of up to 100x your bet or a Pick Again may be revealed, in which case you can have another go. This feature can be triggered during the base game and the free games feature, so there's always a possibility it'll appear to boost your winnings.
Free Games Feature
The Free Games feature is triggered by landing three or more Irish Eyes Lady symbols in a row. When that happens, the background will change from day to night, with the falling clovers replaced by falling golden coins. You'll also be treated to a little jig to spin to!
You'll be awarded 12 free games during which all wins will be tripled. Even better, you can retrigger the feature while you're playing it by landing another three or more Irish Eyes symbols in a row.
Irish Eyes Payouts
Irish Eyes allows you to decide how many paylines you want to play, from a single payline as the minimum to the maximum of 25 paylines. As such, the payouts work a little differently to those of other slots, with payline wins multiplied by the bet per line, rather than the total bet. Scatter wins (i.e. those with the Irish Eyes Lady symbol), on the other hand, are multiplied by your total bet per spin.
Your payouts in this game will depend on how much you bet per line and in total per spin, how many symbols you've lined up along one of the game's paylines, and the value of those symbols.
Here's breakdown of the Irish Eyes payouts:
| Symbol | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 |
| Leprechaun | 2x bet per line | 10x bet per line | 150x bet per line | 1,000x bet per line | 10,000x bet per line |
| Rainbow meadow | - | 6x bet per line | 50x bet per line | 500x bet per line | 1,250x bet per line |
| Pot of gold/Clover | - | 3x bet per line | 25x bet per line | 175x bet per line | 500x bet per line |
| A/K | - | - | 20x bet per line | 50x bet per line | 150x bet per line |
| Q/J | - | - | 10x bet per line | 30x bet per line | 125x bet per line |
| 10/9 | - | - | 5x bet per line | 20x bet per line | 100x bet per line |
| Irish Eyes Lady | - | 2x total bet | 5x total bet | 20x total bet | 100x total bet |
As you can see, the most you can win from a single line in this game is 10,000 your bet per line. With the line bet values ranging from $0.01 to $0.50, that gives you a maximum potential single line payout of $5,000, which is not too shabby!
The maximum you can win from the Irish Eyes Lady scatter symbol is 100x your total bet, resulting in a potential payout of $1,250.
Remember that your payouts will also be determined by how many matching lines you make. Plus, bear in mind that the free games feature gives you 12 additional spins for free with all wins tripled, pumping up the maximum win per line to $15,000!
Irish Eyes RTP and Volatility
So how do the payouts of Irish Eyes compare to those of other games? In order to make this comparison, we'll take a look at two industry standard metrics: Return To Player (RTP) and Volatility (or Variance).
The RTP of a slot is the percentage of played funds that is paid out to players over the long run (e.g. millions of spins), as opposed to the percentage that the casino gets to keep, i.e. the house edge. Irish Eyes has an RTP of 95.1%, which is a touch below the industry average of 96%.
The volatility of a game is the balance of small, frequent wins versus larger, less frequent wins and where on that scale the payouts of the game lie. The payouts of low volatility slots tend to be small and stable, whereas those of high volatility slots are much more variable in both size and frequency. Irish Eyes is a medium volatility slot, which means you can expect a pretty fair balance in terms of both the size and frequency of payouts.
Find Your Fortune In Those Irish Eyes!
Irish Eyes is a fairly simple, very stereotypical Irish luck themed slot and that's what everyone loves about it! Its longevity is a result of combining simple yet rewarding gameplay with an eternally popular theme and its proven so successful that you'd be hard-pressed to find a site that doesn't offer the slot.
Amidst the vibrant colors you'll find two features worth chasing, led by the world-famous leprechaun in one and the attractive gaze of the Irish maiden in the other, with both offering good potential to Irish up your bankroll!
You'll find Irish Eyes at several New Jersey online casinos including Golden Nugget, SugarHouse, Unibet Casino, and Pala Casino.
Ready to go a bit Irish for a shot at big wins? Check out our in-depth reviews of the casinos linked above and sign up at the one you like best. Claim the site's welcome offer, if it suits, then open Irish Eyes and grab some green!
