I wanted to find out and did a little investigating.
Recently, I went to Gateway Casinos Innisfil – Yup! I made good on another of my 2024 gambling goals! I had a great time and was up just over $66 when I left.
This was the first time I’d been to a land-based casino since I started gambling online. I know that certain slot providers like IGT have slot games at both brick-and-mortar establishments and on the internet. So, I was curious to see if I’d find a game I could play at Gateway Casinos Innisfil and then compare this experience to playing the same game online later.
After perusing aisles upon aisles of machines (pretty much none of them recognizable to me) I came across IGT’s Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play. The name “Da Vinci Diamonds” sounded familiar, and I was pretty sure there was an online version I’d be able to compare it to. I was right. I found the same game at Betty Casino and took it for a spin.
Which experience did I like better? Keep reading, and I’ll tell you all about how my land-based experience differed from my online experience, and which one I’d recommend.
Offline Da Vinci Diamonds Vs. Online Da Vinci Diamonds
Before I get into my experiences, I’ll give you a bit of a background on the Da Vinci Diamond slots series, IGT, and info about Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play.
What is Da Vinci Diamonds?
Da Vinci Diamonds is a slot game series originally developed by IGT for land-based casinos. It is also the name of the series’ first slot, which was released back in 2012. The original Da Vinci Diamonds slot is a 5-reel, 3-row, 20-payline game. It has an Italian renaissance theme, with images on the reels inspired by the paintings of famed artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci.
Da Vinci Diamonds is a medium volatility slot that introduced the “Tumbling Reels” mechanic to Vegas casinos. If you’re unfamiliar with this mechanic, instead of spinning reels, the symbols drop down (tumble) from the top of the screen. If a winning combination results, the symbols a part of the win explode and new symbols above drop into place, potentially creating new wins. At the time, this was a unique and exciting feature for players, as it meant there was potential for multiple wins from only one bet.
Due to its popularity, more games were added to the Da Vinci Diamonds slots series. The slot machines I know that are linked to the series (there may be more) are Double Da Vinci Diamonds and Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play. There are both land-based and online versions of these games (although, their availability depends on the casino).
Who makes Da Vinci Diamonds slots?
Da Vinci Diamonds was developed by International Game Technology Plc. (IGT). IGT is a multinational gambling company that produces a variety of gambling machines and technology for (legal and reputable) commercial gaming operators (offline and online) across 100 countries throughout the world.
Originally launching in America in 1975, IGT was based out of Las Vegas until it was acquired by GTECH in 2015. Though the name remains the same, the company is now based out of the UK. Today, IGT continues to be renowned for its world-class games both in land-based and online casinos.
Other popular IGT slots include Cleopatra, Wolf Run, and Siberian Storm.
Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play
Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play is pretty much the same game as the original Da Vinci Diamonds slot in terms of audio, theme, and mechanics. It has the same paintings (e.g. Mona Lisa) and gem symbols as the original game as well as tumble reels.
The most obvious difference between the two games is that Dual Play has 40 paylines across two sets of reels that are laid out one on top of the other (five reels on top and five reels on the bottom). Whereas the original has 20 lines and a single reel set.
The next main difference is that Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play has a “Tumble Thru” feature. This means that symbols from the top reel set can tumble down as replacement symbols. Because symbols can tumble down from the top reel to the bottom, this increases winning possibilities during tumbles. The Tumbling Reels and Tumble Thru feature are easily my favourites of this game and are a huge reason behind the enjoyment factor for me.
In addition to these features, it’s also possible to trigger an Extra Paylines Free Spins Bonus in this game. The bonus round starts with 6 free spins and opens up 20 additional paylines. These extra paylines remain in play throughout the bonus round, giving 60 ways to win on each free spin. To trigger the feature, you’ll need to land three Bonus symbols on a payline. Doing this again during the bonus round will get you more free spins, too.
Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play Game Quick Game Facts
- Software provider: IGT
- Release date: 2013
- Theme: Leonardo da Vinci paintings, Italian renaissance, gems
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 40
- Volatility: Medium
- Max Win: 300,000 coins
- Features: Tumbling Reels, Tumble Thru, Wilds, Free Spins
- RTP: 93.35%*
- Free Demo: If you’d like to try it risk-free, you can play a free demo here.
* 👩💻 Mia’s Note: 93.35% is the long-term theoretical expected payback (RTP return to player) that applied to the game I played at Betty. The Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play RTP may be different if you play at another online casino or at a land-based casino. If knowing a game’s RTP is important to you, be sure to check what theoretical payback percentage applies prior to playing for real money.
My Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play Experience at Gateway Casinos Innisfil
For those who are unfamiliar with Gateway Casinos Innisfil, it’s located in Innisfil, Ontario. Like many of the brick-and-mortar casinos in Ontario (Casino Rama for instance), this casino is owned by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited.
Gateway Casinos Innisfil shares the same location as Georgian Downs. Georgian Downs is a harness racing track owned by Great Canadian Entertainment. You can easily see the track from the 400 (one of the 400 series highways in Ontario) if you’re making your way up north from Toronto.
As for the casino, it features three different types of gaming:
- Slots – Classic 3-reels and Video Slots
- Table Games – Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker
- E-Tables – Roulette, Blackjack, and Baccarat
👩💻Mia’s Note: If you’ve never heard of “E-Tables”, they combine electronic table games, live dealers, and interconnected personal play stations with multi-game compatibility. The E-Tables area has an arena-like atmosphere. In addition to the game stations, a huge video game wall (behind the live dealers) broadcasts each game’s progress and statistics. E-Tables is sort of like playing live dealer games, except in a brick-and-mortar establishment.
As for my Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play offline experience at Gateway Casinos Innisfil, Justin (my husband) and I decided to drop in on our way up to visit some friends at their cottage. With the idea of finding a slot offline that I could later play online – and knowing IGT slots were available at both – I began my search. Eventually, I came across Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play.
I fed a $10 bill into the machine and played the minimum bet of $0.01 a line – $0.40 a spin (apologies, I forgot to check what the max bet is for the land-based machine). After just over 10 minutes of play, I was up $11.80 and decided to call it quits. Justin had decided to put $10 in the Da Vinci Diamond Dual Play game beside me and was down to just over $5, so I figured we were still up $1.80 if he lost it all.
More of a video poker and video blackjack fan, Justin decided to try his luck at Jacks or Better with his remaining $5+. He fed the ticket into the machine, played one hand and scored three-of-a-kind, winning $65 bucks! Neither one of us being major risk-takers, we cashed out (up $76.80)
Bottom line, we went in with $20 and came out with just slightly over $87 (we tipped the cashier). All in all, an excellent first Gateway Casinos Innisfil experience. 😁
My Da Vinci Diamonds Experience Online at Betty
I chose Betty Casino for my Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play online experience. If you don’t know about Betty or have never played there yourself, I wrote about it and my first experiences in a previous post on my blog. You can read it here.
I found the game by doing a quick search on the site. This reveled that Betty has three Da Vinci game options including: Da Vinci Diamonds (IGT), Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play (IGT), and Da Vinci Diamonds Slingo (Gaming Realms).
I loaded Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play and found that visually and audio-wise, it was identical to the one I played at the land-based casino.
The minimum bet for the online game is $0.01 per line ($0.40 per spin) and the max bet is $30 per line ($1,200 per spin).
When I started, my bankroll was at $44.00. My plan was to play either until my bankroll dropped by $10 (leaving my bankroll at $34) or it hit $50. I played for about 5 minutes at the minimum bet ($0.40), and then decided to increase my bet to $0.02 a line ($0.80 a spin). Not even 4 minutes later, I landed a big win – $11.76. This increased my bankroll to $50.76, so I stopped playing. All in all, I was up $6.76 when I called it quits.
Overall, this experience – while an entirely different setting and atmosphere – was identical in gameplay and fun too (even though it lacked Justin’s video poker luck 🤣).
The playing experience I Liked Better
While both experiences were identical in terms of gameplay and were equally fun. I enjoyed my experience playing Da Vinci Diamonds Dual Play at Gateway Casinos Innisfil more. My reasons for this are:
- The atmosphere was exciting
- It was fun to physically interact with the machine
- It was fun to play with another person
- I liked hearing the sounds of all the machines
- I liked my complimentary pop!
- Justin and I scored a combined nice win
I genuinely was not expecting to enjoy the land-based experience as much as I did. It was the first time I’d been to a physical casino in years and the first time I played a slot at a land-based establishment with tumbling reels (something I didn’t know existed until I began playing online).
The online experience, though fun, was a much more solitary and low-key experience, making it hard to complete with the thrill I had the first time playing it in a brick-and-mortar setting.
Mia’s Final Thought – There Will Be Times When You Prefer One Experience Over Another
While some might argue that the land-based gaming experience is always superior to an online one, I disagree. Due to a casino’s noisy atmosphere and limited number of games (and possibly having to wait to play the machine I like), I can see there being certain times when I wouldn’t find playing at a physical casino to be enjoyable.
Also, I don’t think that I would enjoy every online slot I play more if I played it at a brick-and-mortar establishment. For instance, I don’t think I’d enjoy playing Sweet Alchemy more at Gateway Casinos Innisfil if it were offered. I might like it equally, but I don’t believe that an offline physical atmosphere would do much to improve the overall gameplay experience for that slot. At least not for me.
This has me wondering if preferring one experience over the other has to do with…
- Where we experience it first
- If it was originally made as a land-based or online slot machine
- Our overall mood
- If one experience resulted in more wins than the other one
Maybe all the above is a factor. I suppose, next I’ll have to test my theory by finding a game at a land-based casino that I’ve played online first to test one of my theories.
What do you think? Have you played the same slot game online and offline? Which experience did you prefer and why?
Until next time, good luck and have fun.
Mia 👩💻
**I’m not affiliated with anyone.
***All links and images in this post are for informational purposes only.
