Lucky Nugget Casino Instant Play
The very first phrase you see written on the site prominently in the top
left-hand corner is “Established 1998.” Immediately, this gets a site a ton of
brownie points in our book because longevity in this industry is only achieved
through offering a great product with great customer service. Without happy and
long-term customers, an online casino will crumble within a few years or a few
months and slowly fade from view.
Seeing that the Lucky Nugget Casino had been in business for almost 20 years
had us excited to continue the review. The initial issue, though, was that we
could have guessed the site had been around for 20 years just by looking at the
homepage. The site’s homepage was a menacing wall of text with an aesthetic
design straight out of 1998.
Now, if this is the first site you’ve ever visited, you’re probably going to
leave and look for somewhere else to play immediately. It’s easy for a new
player to gauge the site based solely on the first impression which is totally
understandable. The reasons we are not so quick to dismiss the Lucky Nugget
Casino are two-fold. One, it’s extremely rare to find sites that have been
successfully in business for this long and that carries a ton of weight with us.
Two, we’ve seen A LOT of sites with awful homepages that still provide a
phenomenal product.
Welcome to the start of the rest of your gaming life. Welcome to Lucky Nugget, Canada’s first choice in quality online casino action! Play top-rated games, enjoy the peace of mind that comes from using secure banking and other services, and claim a casino bonus to add even more value to the experience with us.
The old adage of “Don’t judge a book by its cover” continues to hold true in
this regard to online gaming sites. To get to the bottom of everything, we began
our intensive “vetting” and review process. As you may already be able to tell,
we do not just give you the positives about a site. We give you the honest
scoop, period. Frankly, we have zero problems bashing a site into oblivion if we
have to and zero problems giving a site credit where credit is due.
The point is that with our reviews you’re going to get information and
analysis that you can ACTUALLY use. Too many review sites allow companies to pay
for glowing reviews which just means you’re getting false information and are
stuck holding the bag after a terrible experience with an online casino. This is
NEVER the case with our reviews. We’re going to give it to you straight,
regardless of if that is good, bad, or even sometimes ugly.
Ratings Breakdown
Overall
The Lucky Nugget Casino instantly got brownie points from us because they’ve
been successfully in business for almost 20 years which is impossible to do in
this industry unless you are treating your customers well and taking care of
them. On top of that, game selection at the casino is strong including a lot of
the expensive (for them to buy) branded games from Microgaming.
While all of these are big positives and definite cause for you to check out
the site, there were a lot of things we’d like to see improvements on. First,
we’d like to see the user interface for the site upgraded to be more current and
easily to navigate. When you actually get where the games are, though, this is
light years better, but we need to see congruence throughout the site. We’d also
like to see some minor improvements with customer service options (they’re good,
not great) and some expansion in the bonus department.
Overall, the site was “O.K.” and is one of those sites that may be a perfect
fit for some due to the immense about of games offered but might be a miss for
others due to the initial issues with the user interface. At the end of the day,
it’s hard to ignore the fact that the site has been operational successfully for
almost 20 years and with 4 million + players online at the time we were writing
this review.
Game Variety
Though it took us a while to find them, it’s hard to deny that the game
variety at Lucky Nugget Casino was strong. With over 300 different slot
offerings (and possibly more on the download client), 20+ video poker offerings,
9 roulette offerings, 30 blackjack offerings, and live dealer options, you’d
have to be crazy if you couldn’t find a game you liked at the casino. The games
were all of high quality, and several of the slot games were branded.
The reason we docked a point was that they did not have a lot of popular
table games that we would like to see like craps or any other table games
outside of blackjack and roulette for that matter. A few additional table games
were offered in the live casino but were not available as a non-live dealer
game. We’d really like to see them expand this out before we can give them a
full five-star rating.
Banking
Lucky Nugget Casino had a ton of different options available for deposits and
withdrawals which are always great to see. The issue we had was that they did
not list the fees or limits associated with each of these options. While we
don’t think they are trying to hide anything, this is information that is
extremely important when judging whether or not a website has great banking
options or not. The majority of the industry has free deposits and some sort of
fees on withdrawals, but there’s a growing trend of sites that are waiving all
fees across the board. We’d love to know whether or not Lucky Nugget is part of
the majority or the minority. Due to the lack of readily posted information, we
had to dock some points from their banking rating.
Bonuses
The casino had several different promotions including welcome deposit bonuses
and a few game specific promotions for you to take advantage of. We were a
little confused/off-put that they had several promotions that were listed that
looked to just be ads for the bonuses already offered in the games. We also
would have liked to see a bit more creativity in the bonuses, but as always,
we’re happy to see some healthy deposit bonuses and any forms of free stuff.
Customer Service
The site offers 24/7 live chat and email support to its customers and
visitors. Usually, this would score at least a 4 on our scale; however, we
weren’t completely satisfied when we tried out the live chat. The agent was
friendly and prompt, but we didn’t get the answers we were hoping for or offers
of additional help from an elevated agent or supervisor. That being said, we
would imagine that most requests would be handled well by their customer support
based on our interactions, so we only docked a half point for that. The
additional point off is because we would like to see phone support added as that
is becoming much more of a standard across the industry.
User Interface
This was a tough one to score for the site because it felt as if there were
two different sites rolled into one. When we first visited the main landing page
of the site, the user interface was awful. It was hard to navigate, contained
just a wall of text, and was not visually appealing at all. However, once we got
to the instant play section of the site (which took a while to find), the
interface was significantly better and felt like a totally different site. There
were still a few issues with that site (scroll bar way too small to click,
multiple lists of games in one), but overall it was much better than the
initial. We probably would score the first part of the site a 2/5 and the second
part a 3.75 or 4/5. We averaged them to get the 3 out of 5.
Lucky Nugget Casino Flash
Slots
While getting ready to review the slots portion of the website something
became painfully clear. The poor layout of the homepage continues throughout
more of the internal pages as we searched for the slot games. That being said,
the casino has a downloadable client that we’re going to focus on for the rest
of this review. This is mainly because they say that not all of their offerings
are available via the instant play option and also because navigating the site
is making our eyes bleed.
While downloading the Lucky Nugget Casino client, we had some more bad news.
The download client did not work correctly and would never load. We tried
downloading it multiple times, and it would fail to open several times and kick
some scary looking error messages our way. Because of this, we were forced to go
back to the instant play option which they say does not have all of the options
mentioned.
Once we got to the instant play section, the layout and graphics did get
considerable better. Frankly, it looked like a new site within a site. The slot
games were organized into a Popular section, Jackpots section, and a general
Slots section. The games were alphabetized and searchable which are both
positives and making us potentially start warming back up to the site.
The one interesting thing about the slots list was that it was alphabetical,
but there were two sets of games on the same list, so it ran from A to Z once
and then A to Z once again. If you’re looking for a game, be aware of this and
keep scrolling.
One other side thing that we weren’t huge fans of was the scroll bar on the
right side of the screen to get through the games was about a millimeter thick.
You had to have expert aim to be able to grab the bar and scroll through the
games. If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, that will work and fix this
problem, but if you have a cheaper mouse or your scroll wheel is broken like
ours is from years of online poker slamming, you’re going to struggle to scroll.
Regarding game quality, things were great for the site. They had a ton of
options which included newer, high-quality games as well as several branded
games (games designed after TV and Movies). We’ve included the complete list of
games available on the instant play side of Lucky Nugget Casino here. Remember,
the site claims they have more offerings in the downloadable client, but we
could not get it to work properly on multiple tries.
- 5 Reel Drive
- Adventure Palace
- Age of Discovery
- Agent Jane Blonde
- Alaskan Fishing
- Ariana
- Asian Beauty
- Avalon
- Bar Bar Black Sheep 5Reel
- Bars & Stripes
- Basketball Star
- Beautiful Bones
- Big Kahuna
- Big Top
- Bikini Party
- Break Away
- Break da Bank
- Break da Bank Again
- Bridesmaids
- Bulls Eye – 5 Reel
- Burning Desire
- Bush Telegraph
- Candy Dreams
- Carnaval
- Cash Crazy
- Cashapillar
- CashVille
- Centre Court
- Classic 243
- Cool Buck 5 Reel
- Cool Wolf
- Couch Potato
- Crazy Chameleons
- Cricket Star
- Deck the Halls
- Double Wammy
- Dragon Dance
- Dragons Myth
- Dragonz
- Eagles Wings
- Emperor Of The Sea
- Extreme Heat
- Fish Party
- Football Star
- Forbidden Throne
- Fortune Girl
- Frozen Diamonds
- Fruit vs Candy
- Game of Thrones – Lines
- Game of Thrones – Ways
- Golden Era
- Golden Princess
- Goldwyn’s Fairies
- Halloweenies
- Happy Holidays
- Harveys
- Hellboy
- High Society
- Hitman
- Huangdi – The Yellow Emperor
- Immortal Romance
- Isis
- Jungle Jim El Dorado
- Karaoke Party
- Kathmandu
- Kings of Cash
- Ladies Nite
- Life of Riches
- Loaded
- Lost Vegas
- Lucky Koi
- Lucky Leprechaun
- Lucky Twins
- Mad Hatters
- Mayan Princess
- Mega Money Multiplier
- Mermaids Millions
- Mystic Dreams 96
- Pollen Party
- Pretty Kitty
- Pure Platinum
- Reel Gems
- Reel Spinner
- Reel Thunder
- Retro Reels
- Retro Reels – Diamond Glitz
- Rhyming Reels Georgie Porgie
- Rhyming Reels Hearts and Tarts
- Riviera Riches
- Rugby Star
- Santa Paws
- Secret Admirer
- Secret Romance
- Shoot
- Silver Fang
- So Many Monsters
- So Much Candy
- So Much Sushi
- Spring Break
- Starlight Kiss
- Stash of the Titans
- Summertime
- SunTide
- Supe it up
- Sure Win
- Tally Ho
- Tarzan
- The Heat Is On
- Thunderstruck
- Thunderstruck II
- Tomb Raider
- Twisted Circus
- Untamed – Giant Panda
- What a Hoot
- Wild Orient
- Win Sum Dim Sum
- Start of the second list you only see from scrolling further down
- 1000 Islands
Normally, a site will have their Jackpot slots listed in the main slots list
as well so that you can find the games in both places. The Lucky Nugget Casino
for some reason had the Jackpot slots ONLY in the Jackpot slots section. This
isn’t really that big of a deal, but we have listed those here as well as
they’re omitted from the list above.
- Cash Splash Progressive – 5 Reel
- Major Millions Progressive – 5 Reel
- Mega Moolah Progressive
- Treasure Nile Progressive
- Cash Splash Progressive
- Cyberstud Progressive
- Fruit Fiesta – 5 Reel
- Fruit Fiesta Progressive
- Jackpot Deuces Progressive
- King Cashalot
- Lots of Loot Progressive
- Lotsaloot – 5 Reel
- Major Millions Progressive
- Mega Moolah – Isis
- Tunzamunni
- Wow Pot Progressive
Casino Games
The casino game offerings at Lucky Nugget Casino were equally as vast as the
slot offerings. They’re definitely toward the higher end of variations offered
for roulette and for blackjack. We would have liked to see a few more popular
table games outside of roulette and blackjack, but the selection in those
categories was still strong.
The casino games were broken up into Video Poker, Roulette, Blackjack, and a
separate Live Casino tab. The Live Casino tab housed all of the live dealer
games offered by the Lucky Nugget Casino. If you’re unfamiliar with live dealer
games, you’re definitely going to want to check them out. Through the use of
streaming technology, you’re able to take a seat at a real live table from the
comfort of your own home. All of your decisions are made from your computer or
mobile device, and then the action all takes place at a real table set up with a
real dealer somewhere in the world. This option is great for anyone still
skeptical about online gaming who wants to see the action take place with real
cards and real roulette wheels.
The game options available in each category on the instant play platform were
as follows:
Video Poker
- Aces & Eights Video Poker
- Aces and Faces
- Deuces Wild
- Deuces Wild Bonus Video Poker
- Double Double Bonus Poker
- Jacks or Better
- All Aces Video Poker
- All American Video Poker
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Deuces and Joker
- Double Bonus Poker
- Double Joker
- Hold’Em High Gold
- Joker Poker
- Louisiana
- PowerPoker – Aces and Faces
- PowerPoker – Deuces and Joker
- PowerPoker – Deuces Wild
- PowerPoker – Double Joker
- PowerPoker – Jacks or Better
- PowerPoker – Joker Poker
- PowerPoker – Tens Or Better
- Tens Or Better
Roulette
- American Roulette
- European Roulette Gold
- French Roulette
- Roulette
- Multi Wheel European Roulette Gold
- Premier Roulette
- Premier Roulette Diamond Edition
- Spingo
- Wheel of Riches
Blackjack Games
- Atlantic City Blackjack Gold
- Classic Blackjack
- Classic Blackjack Gold
- European Blackjack Gold
- Vegas Single Deck Blackjack Gold
- Vegas Strip Blackjack Gold
- Atlantic City Blackjack
- Atlantic City Multi-Hand Blackjack
- Big 5 Blackjack Gold
- Blackjack – Multihand
- Bonus Blackjack Multi Hand Gold
- Double Exposure BlackJack
- Double Exposure BlackJack Gold
- European BlackJack
- European Blackjack Redeal Gold
- Hi Lo 13 European Blackjack Gold
- High Limit European BlackJack
- High Streak Blackjack Gold
- Multi Hand – Atlantic City Blackjack Gold
- Multi Hand Perfect Pairs European Blackjack Gold
- Multi-hand Black Jack Gold Series
- Multi-hand European Black Jack Gold Series
- Multi-hand Vegas Downtown Black Jack Gold Series
- Premier Hi Lo 13 Euro Blackjack Gold
- Premier High Streak Euro Blackjack Gold
- Spanish 21 BlackJack Gold
- Spanish BlackJack
- Super Fun 21
- Vegas Downtown Blackjack
Live Dealer Games
- Blackjack
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Baccarat
- Blackjack
- Casino-Hold-em
- 3-Card-Poker
- Stud-Poker
Banking Options
The Lucky Nugget Casino has a lot of different banking options available, and
they vary by which country you are in. The site did not have limits and fees
posted for each method, and we were unable to get that information from anywhere
on the site. We would highly recommend contacting support to get things
clarified before you get set up to make a withdrawal so that you use the best
method available.
Options Available
Fast Bank Transfer
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Latvia
Withdrawal: Not available
MasterCard
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global
Withdrawal: 2-6 Days (Only available in the UK)
Neteller
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: 180 countries but not available in USA and Canada
Withdrawal: 24-48 hours
MoneyBookers
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: 200 countries but not available in USA, Turkey, Israel, or China
Withdrawal: 24-48 hours
EntroPay
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global but not available in the USA
Withdrawal: 2-6 Business Days
Maestro
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global
Withdrawal: Not available
Visa Debit
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in the UK and Ireland
Withdrawal: 2-6 Business Days
Visa Electron
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global
Withdrawal: 2-6 Business Days
BankLink Swedbank
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Estonia
Withdrawal: Not available
Cheque
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global but not available in the USA
Withdrawal: Courier cheques in 5-7 business days and normal mail cheques in 14-21 business days
Giropay
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Germany
Withdrawal: Not available
Lobanet
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay
Withdrawal: Not available
Neosurf
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in France and Belgium
Withdrawal: Not available
PaySafeCard
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in 28 different countries
Withdrawal: Not available
eCheck
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Canada
Withdrawal: 3-8 business days
EcoCard
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Global but not available in the USA
Lucky Nugget Casino Download
Withdrawal: 24-48 hours
InstaDebit
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in 28 different countries but not the USA
Withdrawal: 24-48 hours
PostePay
Lucky Nugget Casino Free Slots
Limits: Unknown
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Italy
Withdrawal: Not available
Bank Transfer
Limits: Unknown
Lucky Nugget Casino Nz
Fees: Unknown
Countries: Available in the UK, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, China, Austria,
Belgium, Australia, and more
Withdrawal: Not available
Bonus Promotions
The site had several promotions including specific game promotions and
deposit bonus promotions.
Deposit Welcome Bonuses
The site gave you the option of choosing between two different deposit
bonuses. It looks like you have to make your selection at the beginning of the
process as there are two big Claim Now buttons when you first come to the site.
- 100% Deposit Match up to $1000
- 150% Deposit Match up to $200
Life of Riches
For every £50 you wager, you get one entry into a drawing to win a piece of
1,000 free credits. This is a monthly promotion.
Lucky Draw
Players will earn drawing tickets for depositing and playing on the site. 10
players will win a share of 200,000 loyalty points from the site.
The site listed several other “promotions” that looked to be nothing more
than the bonuses already available on the games. It’s possible we are misreading
this, but it was a little deceiving.
Lucky Nugget Casino Canada
Customer Service
For customer service, the Lucky Nugget Casino offers email support and 24/7
live chat support. We tested out the live chat, and we drew some positives and
negatives from it. The positives were that we were able to get a real agent on
the line fairly quickly. They were friendly and prompt to try and assist us with
our question. The problem was that we didn’t get much help with our question and
they didn’t offer any other options afterward besides “Have a great day.”
Our request was a bit strange, so maybe we’re being a little hard on them,
but it would have been nice to see them elevate our request to a supervisor or
someone that might have been able to help us. Our guess is that with more
“normal” requests you will get better service, but anything that confuses your
agent doesn’t look like it’s going to be elevated to the right level properly.
The site also had no phone support which isn’t a huge deal, but phone support
is becoming more and more standard in the industry, so this dinosaur in the
industry is probably going to have to get with the program sometime in the near
future if they want to continue competing.
Conclusion
The Lucky Nugget Casino was an interesting one that almost warranted a
complete rewrite once we found our way into the actual game section of the site.
The home page of the site is a nightmare to look at, and the navigation of the
site is rough. Getting to the actual games was a challenge as we couldn’t get
the download client to work and finding the instant play client took way too
long.
However, once we got to the instant play client, the game selection was great
and of high quality. Not to mention, the site has been around successfully for
almost 20 years, so it’s hard to neglect the trust that comes with that. No site
could operate that long unless they were doing right by their clients. Bonuses
offered were ok (not bad, but not great) and customer service was also ok.
Banking had a lot of different options, but without access to the possible fees
or limits, it’s hard to say whether this is good or not.
Overall, the Lucky Nugget Casino is best described in one word – O.K. The
site was not something we’re ranting and raving to our friends about, but it’s
certainly not terrible and the fact they’ve been in business for almost 20 years
says a lot about how they operate. This is one that is going to be up to your
personal tastes and preferences. We’d recommend checking it out if you were
recommended by a friend, have limited options in your area, or if you’re just
curious. Most countries probably have some better options that exist, although
if this site has the games you like, it may be a win for you.