lab studies / le pharaoh
lab study, simulation-based

181 million spins on le pharaoh: an 8-point RTP ladder, and the floor version added up to 16 points to the bust rate

exp · 052 · 2026-06-27 · simulation-based

provider Hacksaw GamingRTP 96.18% (versions: 96.18*;94.33;92.26;88.24)volatility medium
at 50c a spin
€7,500
biggest win
15,000x top win
~201
spins to the bonus
about 40 min at 5/min
€55
average bonus
when it hits (110x)
€0.48
avg back per spin
of your 50c
win hit frequency 29.2% (~1 in 3.4 spins)max win 15,000x = €7,500 (a feature event)
le pharaoh is one of Hacksaw's biggest 2024 hits, and it ships on a four-step RTP ladder, 96.18%, 94.33%, 92.26% and 88.24%, a 7.94-point spread the casino chooses. we simulated 181,115,583 spins (90,000 sessions per version) at the 96.18% default and the 88.24% floor. at $0.50 a spin against a $100 bankroll, 77.1% of sessions busted on the default and 85.3% on the floor. at $0.20/$100 the gap is brutal: 39.0% rising to 54.7%, a 15.7-point swing from nothing but the version setting. the dot under "medium volatility" is doing a lot of work.

Run it yourself in the live simulator. All figures are simulation-based observations, not predictions. See our methodology.

what we measured

parametervalue
provider / engineHacksaw Gaming · coin-collect feature, feature spins
configs simulated96.18% (provider default) · 88.24% (published floor of the ladder)
published rtp ladder96.18% / 94.33% / 92.26% / 88.24%, a verified 7.94pp spread
volatilitymedium (3/5)
hit frequency29.21% (~1 in 3.4 spins)
stakes$0.20 / $0.50 / $1.00 per spin
bankrolls$50 / $100 / $200
sessions10,000 per stake/bankroll cell, 90,000 per version
spin cap2,000 spins per session
max win15,000x stake (a feature event)
feature buys3x, 60x, 100x, 250x (non-UK)

model inputs worth flagging: the four-step RTP ladder, hit frequency (29.21%, two sources) and the 15,000x max are sourced. but Hacksaw does not publish a bonus trigger frequency for this game, so we modelled it (about one feature every ~200 spins) as a documented assumption; the bonus payout distribution and base-versus-feature split are model assumptions calibrated to the published RTP and the 15,000x cap. the cross-version comparison holds all of those constant, so it is robust; absolute bonus figures are estimates.

how long bankrolls survived

survival curves, share of sessions still alive vs spins played

the stake sets the clock. at the $100 bankroll the default-version median ran 621 spins at $0.50. le pharaoh's coin-collect base feels active, but the feature spins are where the return is concentrated, and most sessions run out before a paying one arrives.

bust rates

bust-rate grid, share of sessions that busted before the spin cap

bust rates within the 2,000-spin cap, 96.18% default version, 95% confidence intervals:

$50 bankroll$100$200
$0.20/spin71.0% ±0.939.0% ±1.01.6% ±0.2
$0.50/spin89.6% ±0.677.1% ±0.852.0% ±1.0
$1.00/spin95.3% ±0.489.4% ±0.677.8% ±0.8

plain reading: hold the bankroll at $100 and move the stake from $0.20 to $0.50, and the bust rate doubles from 39.0% to 77.1%. the only safe cell is $0.20 against $200 (1.6%).

the bonus wait, and what it pays

on our modelled trigger rate (about 1 in 200 spins, an assumption), the feature is where about 57% of the total return is concentrated. the payout side (model-based estimates): the average feature paid 110x stake but the median was 60x, and 43% paid under 50x. the 15,000x ceiling is the tail that drags the average up; a typical feature pays a fraction of it.

what a finished session looks like

final bankroll by percentile

the final-bankroll distribution at $0.50/$100 has almost no middle. seven sessions in ten ended with under $0.50 of the original $100, busted, in effect, with the median finish near $0.46. then it leaps: the 90th percentile kept $320. medium volatility on the label, but the finished-session shape is the same die-or-detonate pattern.

the rtp version lottery

le pharaoh has one of the widest spreads we have measured: a published ladder from 96.18% down to 88.24%, a 7.94-point gap, and the casino picks the rung. we ran the full grid at the default and the floor; same model, same inputs, only the RTP changed:

cell96.18% default88.24% floordelta
$0.20/$100 bust39.0% ±1.054.7% ±1.0+15.7pp
$0.50/$100 bust77.1% ±0.885.3% ±0.7+8.2pp
$0.50/$200 bust52.0% ±1.064.7% ±0.9+12.7pp
$1.00/$200 bust77.8% ±0.885.5% ±0.7+7.7pp

the floor version raised the bust rate by 8 to 16 points depending on the cell, second only to Fire in the Hole 2 in our library, because the spread is nearly eight points wide. same game, same coins. the only difference is the RTP the operator chose to run. the version is the one variable a player can actually pick, so play it where the published RTP is highest. our casino hub ranks operators by exactly that.

methodology note

we simulate models calibrated to published math, RTP, hit frequency, volatility profile, bonus behaviour, not the provider's game engine. results are sample-based observations from 181,115,583 simulated spins (180,000 sessions across two RTP versions), with 95% confidence intervals shown. hit frequency (29.21%) is sourced; the bonus trigger frequency is not published and was modelled (~1 in 200) as a documented assumption; the bonus payout distribution and base-versus-feature split are modelled. the base-game ceiling (400x) is a reasoned estimate; the 15,000x max is a feature event. casino-by-casino RTP figures are the published ladder, not statements about any operator's current configuration. model validation: le-pharaoh v1, analytic calibration exact at 96.18% and 88.24%, 10M-spin checks within tolerance. slots are negative-expectation games; nothing here predicts outcomes or improves odds. corrections policy: methodology.html.

Where the max win actually comes from

base 41%
feature 55%

57% of this game's RTP is locked inside the bonus you rarely trigger; the base game on its own returns just 41%.

A normal spin in our simulation never returned more than ~400x (€200). The 15,000x top win is a feature event, it only came out of the bonus. (base-game ceiling: model estimate)

Play the Le Pharaoh demo, or stress-test it

Looking for the Le Pharaoh demo or free play? A demo shows you a handful of spins. Our free simulator runs Le Pharaoh across thousands of sessions and shows what actually happens to a bankroll over time: the bust rate, how long the money lasts, and the wait for the bonus. It is the demo with the math switched on.

stress-test Le Pharaoh free

FAQ

Is there a Le Pharaoh demo or free play?

Yes. You can play Le Pharaoh in demo mode at most casinos, and you can stress-test it free in our simulator, which runs thousands of sessions and reports the bust rate and session length, the demo with the math switched on.

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