Big Panda

How to play Big Panda

In March, William Hill told staff it plans to permanently close approximately 200 of its retail shops in the UK, around 15% of Evoke’s retail estate.

Last month, meanwhile, Betfred announced plans to shutter 132 of its UK betting shops, reducing its workforce by over 600 employees.

Betfred CEO Jo Whittaker said: “We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice.”

How to play Big Panda

Play’n GO has gone live with Lawn n’ Complete Disorder, a 243-ways video slot whose defining feature is structural rather than thematic. The studio has routed its entire feature set through a single Coin symbol.

The design decision matters more than the garden-war premise. Coins can award an Instant Bonus, open Hold & Spin, or launch one of the wheel-driven Bonus Spins modes. That gives the whole feature set one consistent trigger.

That consolidation is the news hook. Rather than spreading activation across scatters, dedicated bonus symbols, and separate triggers, Play’n GO has made one symbol responsible for every route into a feature.

What is Big Panda?

As ever, I am indebted to too many people to mention, but Derek, Bill, Jasmine and every one of the Calvin Ayre team, as well as Calvin himself of course, have all shown a lot of faith in me to carry the torch and I hope I’ve done them all credit.  

Finally, I really want to thank you, the reader who has kept coming back to find out what else I’m writing about each day, week, month and year. It is you to whom I write, constant reader, and if you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read, then feel free to follow me on Twitter, where a new destination will shortly be announced. 

I’m as excited about my own future as the future of poker itself and while I’m changing seats, I’ll be staying at the table.