Pop culture is a big part of branded slots. What’s popular in the media resonates well with audiences due to its familiarity and trendiness.
In gaming, trends come and go, with certain gameplay styles becoming popular and then moving on to something else. For example, in the mid-2010s, the gaming industry saw a surge in best-selling story games hitting the video game market. Think The Walking Dead Game, The Last Of Us, and Until Dawn.
This is no different in gambling and specifically, slots. However, the life cycle of slot games is much shorter because developers usually release them more frequently than video game developers.
With that being said, many iconic celebrities are immortalised in branded slots. Sometimes their longevity goes beyond the silver screen and makes it onto the reels.
But who are the most iconic celebrities who have joined the world of slots?
1: Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay is iconic for his angry chef rants in memes and his hit show Hell’s Kitchen. The 58-year-old chef is known for more than his Michelin stars.
In 2005, his cooking competition show, Hell’s Kitchen, premiered and was a great success. The series, which has spanned over 20 seasons, sees aspiring chefs join Ramsay in his kitchen for a series of difficult challenges to determine who is the best chef.
Two teams compete against each other for the opportunity for a prestigious head chef job, while also working in Ramsay’s kitchen.
Because of the show’s long run on TV and the legendary clips from it, the chef has been immortalised in the Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen slot by NetEnt.
The slot has a rating of 7.4 out of 10 sees chaos erupt, with the symbols being Ramsay’s signature dishes, and a scary chef threateningly telling the player, “Welcome to Hell’s Kitchen”.
Yeah, nothing scary about that.
2: Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg is known for more than his rhymes; he is one of those celebrities who has done every brand deal under the sun. However, his marketability goes beyond selling a strain.
In his own legendary career, he has acquired his slot game, Snoop Dogg Dollars, developed by BGaming.
While this is not Snoop’s first rodeo in the media world, it may be one of his best. We here at Fruity Slots thought so, as we rated it an 8 out of 10.
In this slot, the rapper is interested in smoking and money-making. The slot is highly volatile, with symbols that scream Snopp, such as one of the D.O.G. himself, and various types of scary-looking dogs.
The Snoop Spin even gives players the chance to win more if they’re lucky.
3: Bruce Lee
Anyone who has watched an old martial arts movie knows Bruce Lee, the martial arts and acting legend. He was best known for films like Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon.
Sadly, Lee passed away at age 32 in 1973, but he will forever be immortalised in the media and the slots.
Light & Wonder brought Lee’s ability to life in Bruce Lee Kung Fu Wilds. The setting is a martial arts training area, where the player releases their inner warrior.
On the screen, an intense-looking Bruce Lee watches you, as Dragon Mystery and various other symbols, including some wilds, fill this 6-reel video slot.
4: Various WWE Icons
Now, while we may have covered individual celebrities so far, we can’t miss out on this iconic wrestling crew. WWE, or WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, is a company and brand that hosts professional wrestling tournaments, with wrestlers playing characters.
Yes, shocker horror, none of the wrestling was real.
This franchise is the most popular in wrestling, with countless TV shows and video games centered around the legends from the arena.
WWE Legends: Link & Win includes only the best of the best in the world of wrestling.
All41 Studios brought the wrestling to the reels with the ring, the commentator and wrestling legends like Macho Man and Randy Savage being symbols you can land.
If only we’d hear the John Cena scream.
5: Alice Cooper
If you’re not into rock music, you won’t be very familiar with singer and songwriter Alice Cooper. Cooper was the frontman of his American rock band of the same name. Cooper, real name Vincent Damien Furnier, also went on to have a successful solo career, with hits like School’s Out and Poison.
You know, the one that goes, ‘school’s out for summer’, with the most memorable guitar ever?
Nicknamed the Godfather of Shock Rock, Cooper has released over 30 studio albums, solidifying him as a rock icon.
In this rather bizarre slot by Play’n Go, Alice Cooper and the Tomb of Madness, players join Alice Cooper on tour in a dark place. Cooper discovers a cursed book of stories of other versions of himself, and he must write stories to keep himself alive.
A weird one, but considering Cooper’s music background, it makes sense that he is the star of a horror slot.
