San Quentin xWays Slot Review (Nolimit City)

The San Quentin slot begins with 5 reels, 3 rows and 243 ways to win. 3, 4 or 5 matching/identical symbols from left to right, in any position, on consecutive reels and beginning from the leftmost reel will award you a winning combination.

You can play San Quentin xWays from as little as 20p to as much as £32 a spin. With such high win potential, the maximum bet may be limited at some casinos. To change your bet, use the Coins icon which will bring up a screen with all stake options. Non-UK players can use Turbo Mode (use the lightning bolt icon) and Autoplay (up to 1,000 auto spins with optional balance and single win limits).

In terms of returns, the San Quentin RTP rate is 96.03%. 58.74% is for the base game with 37.29% for the free spins. Nolimit City has also created a 94.11% RTP version which will be used by most casino sites unfortunately.

Winning combinations will land every 2.92 spins approximately as the hit frequency rate is 34.25%. Extremely volatile (10/10 rating by NLC), you’ll trigger the game’s main attraction, the Lockdown Spins feature, every 230 spins on average.

As for win potential, the San Quentin online slot can deliver maximum wins of 150,000 times your total bet. Offering the highest win potential of any non-progressive jackpot slot at the time of release, the max win is known as Psycho Manhunt.

The max win probability is 1 in 91 million spins from the base game! Winning 100 times your total bet or more will occur every 974 spins on average. As a result, many online casinos or slot sites won’t even have the game due to the risk it poses!

Chris Taylor

The King of Slots

Chris Taylor is an industry veteran originally from Gibraltar. Having worked in the online gambling industry since 2004, Chris loves slots and has reviewed over 10,000 online slot games. Running a slots-focused website for 13 years, Chris is the go-to guy for everything slots-related.

Released on the 12^th of January 2021, the San Quentin slot has a prison theme. Inspired by the oldest prison in California, it’s the state’s only death row for male inmates and has featured in various films and series. It has also been home to many notorious inmates including Charles Manson and actor Danny Trejo.

Set within the prison walls with barbed wire, guarded towers and security cameras ensuring inmates don’t escape, it comes with a hip-hop soundtrack which has a Latin flavour. You’ll notice that the top and bottom rows are caged in initially which open up as you play the game and unlock bonus features.

On the reels, low-value symbols include toilet/loo roll, handcuffs, shivs (a razor or knife used as a weapon by inmates), Zippo lights and bars of soap. Then you have 5 high-value symbols which are all inmates called Crazy Joe Labrador, Biker Bill, Loco Louis, Heinrich the 3^rd and Beefy Dick. Beefy Dick pays the most awarding 5 times your total bet for 5 across successive reels. Here is a list of symbol payouts:

• Toilet Roll: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x bet
• Handcuffs: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x bet
• Knife/Razor: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.15, 0.6 or 1.5 x bet
• Zippo Lighter: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 0.75 or 2 x bet
• Soap: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 0.75 or 2 x bet
• Crazy Joe Labrador: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.25, 0.9 or 2.5 x bet
• Biker Bill: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.3, 1 or 3 x bet
• Loco Luis: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.35, 1.1 or 3.5 x bet
• Heinrich the 3^rd: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.4, 1.25 or 4 x bet
• Beefy Dick: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 1.5 or 5 x bet

San Quentin also comes with a range of special symbols. First up is a standard Wild which substitutes for all paying symbols. Then you have a Split Wild, xWays, Razor Split, Jumping Wilds and Tower Bonus: their functions will be looked at in more detail in the Bonus Features section.

San Quentin Mobile

Created using HTML5 technology, San Quentin can be enjoyed on mobile, tablet and desktop devices. Optimised for iOS and Android smartphones, I recommend a larger screen (laptop or PC) for the best visual experience. This is certainly the case when you can play with over 13 billion ways to win.

The San Quentin slot game comes with 5 bonus features. Enhancer Cells can reveal various symbols including xWays and Razor Split which give you more ways to win (up to 13 billion). With Split Wilds also offering more ways to win, the action heats up in the Lockdown Spins. Here, up to Jumping Wilds appear on each free spin. These contain multipliers that can double up to 512x. There’s also some big Bonus Buy options for non-UK players.

Enhancer Cells  

As alluded to in the theme section, there are locked Enhancer Cell rows at the bottom and top of every reel. These can be unlocked when you see 1 or 2 Tower Bonus symbols.

Transforming into a Wild symbol, only certain symbols can appear in Enhancer Cell positions. These include the 5 high-value inmate characters, Wilds, a Razor Split or xWays. Here is what the latter two symbols do:

• Razor Split: It splits all symbols on the reel in 2 which doubles the number of ways to win. If the Razor Split symbol lands at the top and bottom on the same reel, symbols are split twice. This can lead to 13,189,257,216 ways to win (yes, over 13 billion).
• xWays: The xWays symbol landing the Enhancer Cells produces 4-high symbol stacks. If you land an xWays in both Enhancer Ceels, symbols are 8-high.

Split Wilds

Look out for Split Wild symbols which can appear on all 5 reels. When they land, the Split Wild feature is triggered which then splits all regular symbols on the same reel. This results in more ways to win with 46,656 ways to win possible.

Lockdown Spins

San Quentin’s focus is the Lockdown Spins feature which is triggered by landing 3, 4 or 5 Tower Bonus symbols anywhere in view. Taking 230 spins to activate (on average), you head to a new screen where the number of free spins and the multiplier is randomly determined.

With all Enhancer Cells unlocked/active, you’ll benefit from 1, 2 or 3 Jumping Wilds (for 3, 4 or 5 scatters). When you land a Bonus symbol, more free spins are won as well as an additional Jumping Wild.

Jumping Wilds jump to a random position with every free spin. If it lands on a reel with a Razor Split, the multiplier value doubles. Remaining in play throughout the feature, the multiplier value can get as high as 512x!

Nolimit Bonus

Players outside the UK have the added option of the Nolimit Bonus feature. Otherwise known as a Bonus Buy element, there are 3 options to buy your way directly into the Lockdown Spins feature. Below is a table highlighting all the key details:

With the Jumping Wilds, your chances of winning big increase. If you’re fortunate enough to be located outside the UK and purchase the 2,000 times bet option, below are the payout stats for winning:

• 0 to 1,000 x bet win: 28%
• 1,000 to 2,000 x bet win: 43%
• 2,000 to 4,000 x bet win: 21%
• 4,000 to 10,000 x bet win: 7%
• 10,000 x bet or higher win: 1%
• 150,000 x bet win: 1 in 91,000 spins

When released in early 2021, the San Quentin slot caused quite a stir as it was offering the highest win potential for a non-jackpot game. Inspired by a famous prison, Nolimit City adds a touch of humour to proceedings with memorable characters, a banging hip-hop/Latin soundtrack and bonus features to match.

Whilst the base game with 243 ways to win is pretty ordinary, Tower Bonus symbols landing in the locked Enhancer Cells opens them up to give you high-value inmates, wilds, a Razor Split or xWays. xWays gives you 4-high symbol stacks for more ways to win but it’s the Razor Split which does the most damage. Splitting symbols and double the number of ways to win, symbols can be split twice with over 13 billion ways to win possible! Split Wilds also splits regular symbols as well as substituting.

It's in the Lockdown Spins feature where things get interesting. All Enhancer Cells are unlocked and up to 3 Jumping Wilds will appear on each free spin. When they land on a reel with a Razor Split, its multiplier can double all the way up to 512x.

With 150,000 times bet max wins in offer in San Quentin, you have a 1 in 1.8 million spins chance of winning the Psycho Manhunt (the max win name) if you manage to trigger the Lockdown Spins with 4 or more Tower Bonus symbols.

In summary, the San Quentin slot took Nolimit City to new heights due to the huge win potential. Yes, it’s brutal volatility wise but the creative flair, combination of mechanics and controversial nature has made this game a cult favourite.

Nolimit City followed up this release with Folsom Prison in June 2022. Offering a similar prison experience but with a smaller sentence, it comes with 75,000 times bet max wins but with a more achievable max win probability of 1 in 6.5 million spins.

San Quentin has also inspired other slot games:

• Beefy Dick appears as a wild symbol in Kenneth Must Die (May 2024)
• Joe Labrador is in The Rave (July 2022).
• Loco Luis is one of the characters in The Border (September 2022)
• Enhancer Cells are used in East Coast vs West Coast (February 2021) and Disturbed (May 2023)

Finally, if it’s big wins you’re after, Nolimit City released Tombstone RIP a year later (January 2022). With a Wild West theme and featuring amputations, hangings and murder, it comes with 300,000 times bet max wins. This makes it the highest max win slot game in the world. For even bigger wins, our list of jackpot slots should be considered.

The San Quentin slot review was written by Chris Taylor from our OLBG Expert team who who written over 10,000 slot game reviews in an iGaming career spanning over 2 decades. It was then verified/checked by Jenny Mason, our prime Slot reviewer who has 17+ years working in online gambling, top UK brands. 

Jenny Mason

Queen of Bingo

Jenny Mason has more than 17 years of experience in the online gambling industry and has worked for some of the UK’s top betting brands. She started at OLBG in 2014, and her role involved creating great content and looking after marketing activities. Jenny is knowledgeable in all areas with specialisation in Bingo and Online Slots.