You don’t have to be famous to have an online slots game made about yourself – but it helps. Ever since online slots started to develop increasingly specific themes and genres around fifteen years ago, celebrities have been queuing up to associate themselves with them. By licensing their image – and in some cases, their music – to an officially-endorsed online slots game, some of the world’s biggest stars have found yet another income stream to supplement the millions of dollars they already make through their chosen careers. In the process, they’ve given millions of online slots players all over the world plenty of entertainment as they attempt to spin and win themselves a small fortune.
These days, landing an online slots endorsement is all part and parcel of being a big-name star. We’ve seen celebrities from the worlds of music, movies, and sports appear on the reels of online slots websites in recent years, and some of them have done a better job of it than others. Landing a celebrity endorsement is no guarantee that an online slots game is going to be well-received, but a well-made, fun-to-play online slots game with a celebrity endorsement is more likely to attract a large audience than a similar slot that isn’t lucky enough to have an endorsement.
We’ve had the chance to play several of the most popular celebrity-themed online slots, and from our experience, we’ve been able to put together this list of our top five favorites. You’re welcome to disagree if you wish – it’s only our opinion! If you like what you see here, though, remember to check your usual online slots website. If you’re lucky, you might find that they have one or even all of these online slots available for you to play.
Dolly Parton
Best known for her country music anthems ‘Jolene’ and ‘9 To 5,’ Dolly Parton has spent sixty years in showbusiness and gone from a young girl singing love laments with her acoustic star to a bonafide worldwide brand. She’s even got her own theme park, opened in 1985 at the height of her fame. Most experts predicted that it would close down as soon as Dolly’s music stopped appearing in the upper reaches of the charts. Instead it remains open, and it continued to go from strength to strength with a $37m expansion last year. $37m is a touch higher than the maximum jackpot of the “Dolly” slot by Leander Games, but that doesn’t take any of the shine off it. The classic-feeling slot features a full jukebox full of Dolly’s songs, 40 paying lines, a free spins feature, and separate themed bonus game, and 94.59% RTP.
Elvis Lives
The history books say that Elvis Presley passed away on August 16th, 1977. As every true and loyal fan of the King knows, though, the history books lie. Elvis isn’t dead at all. There have been sightings of a still-alive (albeit very old) Elvis as recently as August 2020, and we suspect they won’t stop any time soon. WMS Gaming clearly still believe that Elvis is alive, or they wouldn’t have released an online slots game called ‘Elvis Lives’ in May 2019. We can’t confirm whether or not Elvis is really dead, but we can confirm that he’s never looked better than he does on the reels of this slot. It comes with 95.72% RTP, 60 paying lines, and an enormous 6×12 layout of reels and rows that might take some time to get used to if you’re a newcomer to online slots. As you might expect from a complicated layout, this slot is full of extra features and bonuses, including massive symbols, free spins, prize-picker rounds, and multipliers. Three different versions of Elvis appear on the reels, and the song selection is extensive.
Mike Tyson
Many boxing writers believe that Mike Tyson was the greatest heavyweight boxer in the history of the sport in his prime. He certainly had the most intimidating aura and the most astonishing punching power. We’re about to find out if he’s still got anything in the tank, because he’s making a comeback in a few months despite the fact that ‘Iron Mike’ is now in his fifties. Maybe his comeback will spark even more interest in “Mike Tyson Knockout Slot” by Inspired Gaming. It was released in July 2016 as one of a range of casino attractions using Tyson’s name, and offers 94.7% RTP with 20 paying lines. With free spins to play for as long as a prize-picker feature and some generous multipliers, we don’t think we’re being too cliched when we say that this slot is a big hitter.
Marilyn Monroe
As the most iconic star of the Golden Age of Hollywood, it’s no surprise that the enduring appeal of Marilyn Monroe has lasted to this day. It’s also not surprising that there’s more than one online slots game connected to her name. The first of them came out in 2012, and despite its qualities, it’s looking a little dated now. That’s why we’ve gone with “Marilyn Monroe Gem Splash,” which was released by Rarestone in August 2020. This is a slick, great-looking, ultra-modern online slots game with 96.47% RTP, 30 ways to win, and a whole stack of bonus features including a linked re-spin feature and a hold feature; a classic element of gaming that’s all-too-often missing from modern online slots. The 5×4 layout is large enough to give the game’s stunning realizations of Marilyn the space they need, and while the maximum jackpot of x100 against your stake isn’t the biggest online slots prize you’ll ever play for, you can at least rest assured of smaller wins arriving semi-regularly.
Hoffmeister
We think it would be more surprising to find out that David Hasselhoff didn’t have an online slots game named in his honor than to find out that this one exists. “Hoffmeister” by Greentube is actually the second online slots game that bears the former “Baywatch” star’s likeness and is arguably the best of the two. That’s not because it has a range of extravagant bonus features; it doesn’t even have a free spins bonus. It’s not because it’s unusual in its presentation or design either; it’s cartoonish, and it’s played on a 5×3 layout with only ten ways to win. The big attraction of ‘Hoffmeister’ is the gigantic jackpot, which comes in at fifty thousand times your line bet. You may not be especially likely to land it on any particular spin, but hey – you can dream, and you can look at the happy, smiling face of David Hasselhoff while you’re dreaming!