The one-time Rio Grande Railroad inspired the developer Ainsworth’s August 2021 video slot Rio Express. The game’s subtitle “Rio Grande Rapids” is a gaming line, also including: Rio Sunset (2011) and Rio Gold (2011). The developer’s suchlike games include Rio Grande Los Toritos, Rio Fiesta (2018), Rio Fortune, and Rio Treasure.

Rio Express—thematizes rail transport, Wild West, desert, vintage, and gold—has: 30 fixed and rightward winning lines, four non-progressive jackpots, fourteen symbols, eight total bets, and five sets of pickable wins-multiplying free spins.

Regular games: two symbols (wild and bull) pay $0.16̅ to X100 for two to five-of-a-kind; and eleven symbols (“$”, bell, cart, locomotive, pouch, A, K, Q, J, 9, and 10) pay X0.16̅ to X10 for three to five-of-a-kind.

Free games: one symbol (bull) pays X2 to X100 for two to five-of-a-kind; and twelve symbols (“$”, bell, cart, locomotive, pouch, gold bars, A, K, Q, J, 9, and 10) pay $0.16̅ to X10 for three to five-of-a-kind.

Rio Express Game Characteristics

The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad—from 1870s to 1990s; motivation: mining—served the Rio Grande region of the U.S., as portrayed by the golden railroad passing through buttes in the arid stretch backgrounding the Rio Express’ partitioned and golden-framed 5X3 grid. The fancy margined grid contains parchment yellow reels.

The Rio Express’ total bets: $1.50 (minimum), $3.00, $4.50, $6.00, $7.50, $12.00, $15.00, and $22.50 (maximum).

Rio Express has two special and twelve symbols. Special: substituting blue-and-golden “Rio Grande Wild” sheriff badge; and a free spins-prompting bull. Ordinaries: golden-and-purple “$”; golden bell; nugget-filled gray-and-golden “Rio Express” minecart; vintage blue-and-golden locomotive; golden “$” pouch with bills and gold coins; three stacked “$” gold bars; purple A; orange K; golden Q; blue J; green 9; and red 10.

The Rio Express’ free and regular games have these payouts.
The $1.50 bet: 9/10/J pay $0.25, $0.50, and $2.50; K/Q pay $0.25, $1.00, and $5.00; A pay $0.25, $2.00, and $5.00; pouches pay $0.25, $2.50, and $7.50; carts/bells/locomotives pay $0.25, $5.00, and $10.00; “$” pay $0.25, $5.00, and $15.00; wilds pay $0.25, $5.00, $25.00, and $100.00; and bulls pay $3.00, $7.50, $30.00, and $150.00.

The $3.00 bet: 9/10/J pay $0.50, $1.00, and $5.00; K/Q pay $0.50, $2.00, and $10.00; A pay $0.50, $4.00, and $10.00; pouches pay $0.50, $5.00, and $15.00; carts/bells/locomotives pay $0.50, $10.00, and $20.00; “$” pay $0.50, $10.00, and $30.00; wilds pay $0.50, $10.00, $50.00, and $200.00; and bulls pay $6.00, $15.00, $60.00, and $300.00.

The $4.50 bet: 9/10/J pay $0.75, $1.50, and $7.50; K/Q pay $0.75, $3.00, and $15.00; A pay $0.75, $6.00, and $15.00; pouches pay $0.75, $7.50, and $22.50; carts/bells/locomotives pay $0.75, $15.00, and $30.00; “$” pay $0.75, $15.00, and $45.00; wilds pay $0.75, $15.00, $75.00, and $300.00; and bulls pay $9.00, $22.50, $90.00, and $450.00.

The $6.00 bet: 9/10/J pay $1.00, $2.00, and $10.00; K/Q pay $1.00, $4.00, and $20.00; A pay $1.00, $8.00, and $20.00; pouches pay $1.00, $10.00, and $30.00; carts/bells/locomotives pay $1.00, $20.00, and $40.00; “$” pay $1.00, $20.00, and $60.00; wilds pay $1.00, $20.00, $100.00, and $400.00; and bulls pay $12.00, $30.00, $120.00, and $600.00.

The $7.50 bet: 9/10/J pay $1.25, $2.50, and $12.50; K/Q pay $1.25, $5.00, and $25.00; A pay $1.25, $10.00, and $25.00; pouches pay $1.25, $12.50, and $37.50; carts/bells/locomotives pay $1.25, $25.00, and $50.00; “$” pay $1.25, $25.00, and $75.00; wilds pay $1.25, $25.00, $125.00, and $500.00; and bulls pay $15.00, $37.50, $150.00, and $750.00.

The $12.00 bet: 9/10/J pay $2.00, $4.00, and $20.00; K/Q pay $2.00, $8.00, and $40.00; A pay $2.00, $16.00, and $40.00; pouches pay $2.00, $20.00, and $60.00; carts/bells/locomotives pay $2.00, $40.00, and $80.00; “$” pay $2.00, $40.00, and $120.00; wilds pay $2.00, $40.00, $200.00, and $800.00; and bulls pay $24.00, $60.00, $240.00, and $1200.00.

The $15.00 bet: 9/10/J pay $2.50, $5.00, and $25.00; K/Q pay $2.50, $10.00, and $50.00; A pay $2.50, $20.00, and $50.00; pouches pay $2.50, $25.00, and $75.00; carts/bells/locomotives pay $2.50, $50.00, and $100.00; “$” pay $2.50, $50.00, and $150.00; wilds pay $2.50, $50.00, $250.00, and $1000.00; and bulls pay $30.00, $75.00, $300.00, and $1500.00.

The $22.50 bet: 9/10/J pay $3.75, $7.50, and $37.50; K/Q pay $3.75, $15.00, and $75.00; A pay $3.75, $30.00, and $75.00; pouches pay $3.75, $37.50, and $112.50; carts/bells/locomotives pay $3.75, $75.00, and $150.00; “$” pay $3.75, $75.00, and $225.00; wilds pay $3.75, $75.00, $375.00, and $1500.00; and bulls pay $45.00, $112.50, $450.00, and $2250.00.

The wild do not pay in the blue-reeled free games, where the often-stacked gold bars pay as follows.
The $1.50 bet: $0.10, $0.50, $2.50, and $5.00.
The $3.00 bet: $0.20, $1.00, $5.00, and $10.00. The $4.50 bet: $0.30, $1.50, $7.50, and $15.00.
The $6.00 bet: $0.40, $2.00, $10.00, and $20.00.
The $7.50 bet: $0.50, $2.50, $12.50, and $25.00.
The $12.00 bet: $0.80, $4.00, $20.00, and $40.00.
The $15.00 bet: $1.00, $5.00, $25.00, and $50.00. The $22.50 bet: $1.50, $7.50, $37.50, and $75.00.

3+ bulls yield these selectable (on a blue background) free spins: five free spins, with X10 win-multiplying substitutes; 10 free spins, with X5 win-multiplying substitutes; 12 free spins, with X4 win-multiplying substitutes; 15 free spins with win-tripling substitutes; and 20 free spins, with wins-doubling substitutes.

In a regular game, the fifth reel’s golden cell may coincide with a five-of-a-kind of: substituted A/K/Q/J/10/9, offering a $50.00 mini jackpot; unsubstituted A/K/Q/J/10/9, offering a $1000.00 major jackpot; substituted “$”/minecart/locomotive/bell/pouch, offering a $25.00 minor jackpot; or unsubstituted “$”/minecart/locomotive/bell/pouch, offering a $10000.00 grand jackpot.

Rio Express has good software: HTML5 technology, mobile/desktop versions, and 10/25/50/75/100 auto spins. Sounds: ambient Western saloon music; and retro, clinking, clanging, ringing, harmonica, and fuming bull effects.

The animated 3D graphics: dolly zooming, glowing, shaky grid, whooshing, gushing coins, spinning combinations, gunshot pockmarks, fuming and charging bull.

Luck in the Rio Express

Rio Express is a game of chance whose RTP rate is 94.88%, while the house edge is 5.12%.