1000 Editions vs the Originals: Five Pragmatic Pairs, Measured

What a 1000 edition changes on the rules screen

A 1000 edition keeps the game. The grid is the same, the paytable is the same, the scatters open the same number of free spins, and the declared RTP is the same figure or a few hundredths away from it. What changes is the top of the multiplier list. In Gates of Olympus and Starlight Princess the orbs run to 1,000x instead of 500x; in Sweet Bonanza the bombs run to 1,000x instead of 100x; in Sugar Rush the multiplier cells double up to x1024 instead of x128; in Wisdom of Athena the gems reach 1,000x instead of 500x. Alongside the longer list comes a higher ceiling, 10,000x to 25,000x against 5,000x, and in two cases a second, 500x purchase that pre-loads the feature. In 5 of 7 tested pairs the studio moved the volatility label up a step as well.

Nothing in that table says a 1000 edition should hit more often, trigger more often or return a different share of the stake over a long run. The declared figures are almost identical because the extra multiplier weight is paid for by making those large values rarer. What the table does say is where the two builds should differ: in the size of the rare round. The rest of this article checks both halves of that claim against the logs.

The five pairs, side by side

The ten tests in the lab’s register, original above its 1000 edition: measured return next to the declared figure, hit rate, the largest ordinary round, purchase value, natural bonuses per thousand rounds and the longest dry stretch, each with its meter. Any column heading sorts the list, each row opens the review with its logs, and a new pair appears here the day both of its tests are published.

The second table carries what the register does not: the volatility label of each build, the median purchase next to the mean, the largest round with the feature included, and the cap. The bonus interval is one natural feature per that many rounds. Together the originals hold 240,000 logged rounds and the 1000 editions 160,000, over 40 runs, and the originals have been re-tested more often, so their numbers rest on more evidence than their counterparts.

Same rhythm: hit rate and bonus frequency barely move

The first two columns of the difference table are the quiet ones. Across the tested pairs the hit rate of a 1000 edition sits within 0.6 points of its original, and the interval between natural features within 131 rounds, which is inside what two runs of the same build produce on their own. This is what the rules table predicts: the reels, the symbol weights and the scatter counts are unchanged, so the base game pays on the same share of spins, at the same median size, with the same length of dry stretch, and the feature opens at the same rate. A player who sits down at Gates of Olympus 1000 gets the base game of Gates of Olympus.

The columns to the right are where the editions part company, though not all in one direction. The largest logged round is bigger in the 1000 edition in 4 of 7 pairs, by up to 2.9 times, while the cap printed on the rules page is 2 to 5 times higher. The median purchase, the ticket in the middle of a buy series, is lower in the 1000 edition in 4 of 6 pairs with a buy on both sides. Where the 1000 edition holds the larger round, the money did not appear or disappear; it moved from the middle of the distribution to its far end.

Where the difference lives: the largest rounds

The tail is the whole point of a 1000 edition, and in 4 of the 7 pairs the logs show it, though in ordinary play not through the 1,000x symbol itself. The largest round in the pairs so far is 2,525x, on a 1000 edition, against 2,218x on the best original. In the run of Starlight Princess 1000 published on 6 September 2026, round 5881 tumbled five times for 10.10 in symbol wins under a single 500x heart and settled at 2,525x, more than five times the 430x best round of the original’s first run; the original’s record has since risen to 858x, in its third run on 29 September 2026. Before the original was retested on 6 October 2026, Gates of Olympus 1000 had a best base-game round across four runs that reached 799x on round 7311, seven small tumbles finished by a large orb, against 401.5x in five runs of Gates of Olympus; the largest round of the 1000 build, 1,851x, came from free spins in its second run with a running total of 131x.

The 1,000x value has not been seen where the reviews track it. As of 26 September 2026 the 1,000x orb had not landed in 40,000 rounds and 200 purchases of Gates of Olympus 1000, where the largest was 500x, once; as of 27 September the 1,000x heart had not landed in 20,000 rounds and 100 purchases of Starlight Princess 1000. The record rounds above were made by a 500x symbol, a value the originals also carry. What the 1000 edition adds in practice is a longer list above 100x, which makes a 250x or 500x landing on a tumbling sequence somewhat more likely, and a ceiling that no run has approached.

Does a 1000 edition pay more?

Measured return favours the 1000 editions in 3 of 7 pairs: 93.1% on average against 94.9% for the originals, with declared figures of 96.44% and 96.50%. That gap is not evidence of a looser build. It is what a longer tail does to a short sample: one round decides the run. Starlight Princess 1000 returned 111.33% in its first run and about 86% without round 5881. Sugar Rush 1000 returned 100.05% in its first run, with a 742.6x base round and a 546.6x feature contributing almost thirteen points between them, and 85.95% in its second. Gates of Olympus 1000 ran at 115.94% in its first session and 77.91% in its fourth, where ten natural features arrived in 10,000 rounds; over four runs it settled at 100.34% with a band of 86.4 to 114.3%.

The exceptions make the same point from the other side. As of 6 October 2026 Sweet Bonanza 1000 measured 92.33% over three runs against 94.11% for Sweet Bonanza over five, and Sugar Rush 1000 93.00% over two against 101.62% for Sugar Rush over four, after the original’s fourth run added a 1,075.5x feature. The declared figures of every pair are equal to within a few hundredths, and the measured ones should be read as noisier estimates of the same value, with the 1000 edition always the noisier of the two.

Is buying the bonus different in a 1000 edition?

The purchase price is the same, 100x, and the thing bought is the same feature with a longer multiplier list. What that does to a series of tickets is visible in the medians. Across the pairs with a buy on both sides, the median ticket of the 1000 editions averages 0.47x of its price against 0.48x for the originals, while the means sit at 0.91x and 0.83x, and 72% of 1000-edition tickets lost money against 72% in the originals. A lower median with a similar mean is the signature of a fatter tail: more tickets return little, and the average is carried by fewer, larger ones.

The clearest case is Sweet Bonanza 1000, where a hundred tickets logged by 21 September 2026 returned 1.05x of their price only because ticket 32 of the first run landed a 1,000x bomb on a paying screen, part of 1,299x in bombs over 25 spins, and paid 22.56x; the other 99 averaged 0.84x. In the first hundred tickets of each, logged by 27 September 2026, Starlight Princess 1000 turned the original’s 1.08x series with a 0.81x median into 0.90x with a 0.49x median and 71 losing tickets. In its first run Sugar Rush 1000 had the lowest median ticket of the set, 0.25x, with 39 of 50 below price, against 0.30x for Sugar Rush over 150 tickets; after its second run on 29 September and the original’s fourth on 6 October 2026 the order reversed, USD 64.55 (0.32x) over 100 tickets against USD 57.50 (0.29x) over 200. The 500x super purchases of Sweet Bonanza 1000 and Sugar Rush 1000 were not part of the series and are not measured here.

Pair by pair

Figures in this section come from the runs as logged up to 27 September 2026, except where a later run is named with its date; they do not update, the tables above do.

Gates of Olympus 1000 vs Gates of Olympus

As of 21 September 2026, before the sixth run of the original: orbs to 1,000x in fifteen steps instead of 500x, a 15,000x cap instead of 5,000x, the same 96.50% on the rules page and the same 100x purchase. Five runs of Gates of Olympus returned between 80.16% and 106.53% and 94.37% together; four runs of Gates of Olympus 1000 returned 100.34%, with a first run at 115.94% and a fourth at 77.91%. The hit rate was 29.0% against 28.3%, a natural feature came once per 442 rounds against once per 440. The original’s best round was 1,117x, free spins whose running multiplier reached 103x on the decisive spin and finished at 106x; the 1000 edition’s was 1,851x, with a running total of 131x. Two hundred and fifty purchases of the original returned 0.98x with a 0.56x median, two hundred of the 1000 edition 0.94x with a 0.55x median.

On 6 October the original added its sixth run. Ordinary play now totals 60,000 rounds at 96.59% measured RTP; 300 purchases returned 0.972x of their price. The new ordinary-round record, 2,217.6x on round 1902, came from four winning tumbles under a combined 504x orb multiplier. That exceeds both the 799x base-game record and the 1,851x full-round record in the four tested runs of Gates of Olympus 1000.

Sweet Bonanza 1000 vs Sweet Bonanza

As of 27 September 2026, before the third Sweet Bonanza 1000 run on 29 September and the original’s fifth on 6 October: bombs to 1,000x instead of 100x, a stated 25,000x cap while the original’s opening screen advertises wins over 21,100x, a 500x super purchase that makes every bomb worth at least 20x, and 96.53% against 96.49%. Bombs appear only in free spins in both builds. The largest rounds without free spins in the earlier samples paid 34.1x in 40,000 rounds of Sweet Bonanza and 28.85x in 20,000 of Sweet Bonanza 1000. Hits landed on 42.6% and 43.0% of rounds; features arrived once per 513 and once per 465. At that date this was the one pair where the 1000 edition measured lower, 89.81% against 91.56%, and the pair where a single ticket, 22.56x, decided the purchase series.

The original’s fifth run brings Sweet Bonanza to 50,000 ordinary rounds at 94.11% measured RTP, with 96 natural features, and Sweet Bonanza 1000’s third run, on 29 September 2026, brought it to 30,000 rounds at 92.33%. The 250 purchases of the original returned 0.859x of their USD 200 price, with a median payout of USD 127.20. Its largest round without free spins is still 34.1x; the review now includes all five sessions.

Sugar Rush 1000 vs Sugar Rush

Before the original’s fourth run on 6 October 2026: cell multipliers to x1024 instead of x128, a 25,000x cap instead of 5,000x, a 500x super purchase that starts with x2 on every cell. Three runs of Sugar Rush returned 90.80%, 93.15% and 107.01%, 96.99% together; two runs of Sugar Rush 1000, the second logged on 29 September 2026, returned 100.05% and 85.95%, 93.0% together. Hit rates were 34.2% and 34.4%, feature intervals 291 and 299 rounds. The largest rounds were close, 727x in the original from a thirty-spin feature and 743x in the 1000 edition from a six-tumble base round in its first run, and the purchase medians were the lowest of any pair: 0.30x for the original over 150 tickets, 0.32x for the 1000 edition over 100.

Sugar Rush now has four runs: 40,000 ordinary rounds at 101.62% measured RTP, a 34.09% hit rate and 129 natural features, about one every 310.1 rounds. Its fourth run added a 1,075.5x feature on round 4339, above the 742.6x best round of Sugar Rush 1000, and the original now measures higher, 101.62% against 93.00%. The 200 purchases returned 0.878x of their price; their median payout was USD 57.50 against a USD 200 price. The 1000 edition still has the two sessions described above; the original’s review includes the additional test.

Starlight Princess 1000 vs Starlight Princess

Multipliers to 1,000x instead of 500x, a 15,000x cap instead of 5,000x, 96.50% on both rules pages. Two runs each: 88.17% and 101.78% for Starlight Princess, 111.33% and 110.24% for Starlight Princess 1000. Hits on 28.7% and 28.3% of rounds, features once per 426 and once per 488. The originals’ record, 430x, came from a four-tumble base round; the 1000 edition’s, 2,525x, from a five-tumble base round under a 500x heart, and the same run’s second session added an 814.8x base round. A hundred purchases returned 1.08x with a 0.81x median in the original and 0.90x with a 0.49x median in the 1000 edition. On 29 September 2026 both builds added a third run: Starlight Princess returned 109.90% with an 858x base round, and Starlight Princess 1000 returned 94.11%.

Wisdom of Athena 1000 vs Wisdom of Athena

Gems to 1,000x instead of 500x, a 10,000x cap instead of 5,000x, 96.00% against 96.07%, and the low-volatility label on both. In the first run of each, Wisdom of Athena published on 7 September 2026 and Wisdom of Athena 1000 on 15 September: 95.22% against 98.41%, hits on 26.9% and 26.7% of rounds, features once per 476 and once per 385. The largest rounds were 244.8x, a ten-tumble base round, and 312x. The feature carried 13% of the original’s return and 22% of the 1000 edition’s; purchases returned 0.61x with a 0.45x median against 0.78x with a 0.40x median. The 1000 edition’s own finding is a quiet one: the locked row above the grid can open cell after cell without a single gem landing, and round 1179 paid USD 17.10 from symbols alone that way.

Big Bass Bonanza 1000 vs Big Bass Bonanza

The pair added on 22 October 2026, one run of the 1000 edition against three of the original. The reels, paylines and the fisherman ladder are the same; the money values change from 2x to 2,000x in Big Bass Bonanza to 2x to 50x plus a 1000x fish in Big Bass Bonanza 1000, the cap from 2,100x to 20,000x, and the demo build of the 1000 edition sells the feature at 100x and 450x and offers an Ante Bet where the original’s sells nothing; the rules pages print 96.71% and 96.51%. Hits landed on 12.8 to 13.1% of the original’s rounds and on 13.45% of the 1000 edition’s, features came once per 120 and once per 145. The original’s three runs pooled 86.41%; the 1000 edition’s run returned 72.76%, with a 405x best round against 316x and the 1000x fish caught once in 56 sightings, on a bought ticket, for USD 2,024.

Big Bass Splash 1000 vs Big Bass Splash

The pair added on 5 November 2026, one run of the 1000 edition against two of the original. The reels, the ten paylines, the pre-round modifiers and the fisherman ladder are the same; the top fish changes from 5,000x in Big Bass Splash to a 1000x value over a 2x to 100x range in Big Bass Splash 1000, the cap from 5,000x to 25,000x, and the rules pages print 96.71% and 96.52%. Hits landed on 13.69% of the original’s 20,000 rounds and on 13.45% of the 1000 edition’s 10,000, features came once per 118 and once per 122 rounds, and the average natural feature paid 66.73x against 66.95x. The original’s two runs pooled 90.18% with a 522.6x best round; the 1000 edition’s run returned 87.72% with 444.2x, and its fifty 100x purchases returned 0.82x of their price against 0.64x for the original’s hundred.

Purchase medians, pair by pair

In 4 of 6 pairs the 1000 edition’s median ticket is lower; as of 6 October 2026 Sugar Rush is the exception. Sweet Bonanza’s original paid a median USD 127.20 over 250 purchases, against USD 102.35 over 150 for Sweet Bonanza 1000. Sugar Rush went the other way: USD 57.50 over 200 purchases for the original, USD 64.55 over 100 for Sugar Rush 1000, all at a USD 200 purchase price. The larger maximum multipliers therefore do not, by themselves, describe the middle result in a purchase sample.

Original or 1000: which to play?

The measured purchase results support a comparison by pair rather than a blanket preference for an original. The current median favours original Sweet Bonanza, while Sugar Rush 1000 has the higher median in its smaller purchase sample. Total returns and medians answer different questions, so both remain in the tables above. The largest round of the Gates of Olympus pair, 2,217.6x, came from the build with the 5,000x cap, not from the 15,000x one.

Pairs the lab has not completed yet

Every 1000 edition on Pragmatic Play’s demo catalogue, as read by the rig on 29 September 2026, has a published test; seven of them have a tested original and appear above. Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is a seasonal reskin of Gates of Olympus 1000 with no plain Xmas original to pair with, so its runs sit in its own review rather than in the tables: the first, published on 16 September 2026, returned 105.98% with an 845x base round and purchases at 1.38x on the mean and 0.48x on the median, and after runs on 14 and 15 October 2026 the game stands at 104.04% over 30,000 rounds, its 150 purchases at 0.97x on the mean. Big Bass Bonanza 1000 was missing from the catalogue the rig reads until it was added by hand and tested on 22 October 2026, and its pair is now above, as is that of Big Bass Splash 1000, added to the catalogue the same way on 28 October and tested on 5 November 2026; the Super Scatter editions reached the catalogue in October, and Gates of Olympus Super Scatter has had its own review since 16 October 2026. When a 1000 edition and its original both have a published test, the pair joins every table and figure on this page the same day; the paragraphs about individual pairs are extended by hand and dated when that happens.

Two numbers are worth watching as the pairs accumulate rounds. The hit-rate and interval differences should stay near zero, because nothing in the design moves them; if a pair drifts apart there, the build has changed, not the sample. The measured-return difference should shrink towards zero as the 1000 editions collect more runs, because the tails average out; if it does not, that is the next re-test.