Pelican Pete — Aussie Fishing Pokie with Stacked Pelican Wilds
Pelican Pete is the pokie Aristocrat built around a laconic Aussie fisherman and the pelican that keeps stealing his bait. Released in 2007, it sits firmly in the studio's classic 5-reel, 25-line mould, with a single distinguishing feature: during free spins, the Pelican Pete symbol stacks across reels 2, 3 and 4 and acts as a substituting wild, producing the kind of full-screen feature totals that players still talk about.
The theme is relaxed, a little whimsical — pelicans, bait buckets, tinnies, a straw hat and the Old Man from the paytable who is presumably Pete himself. It's not chasing drama or cinematic spectacle. Pelican Pete is the kind of pokie you put on when you want 40 minutes of easy base-game play with an occasional feature pop. That's its appeal and it's why the title still shows up in venue rotations decades after release.
At a glance
Medium-volatility classic with a stacked-wild free spin feature. Modest ceiling compared with jackpot-tier pokies, but consistent pacing, a warm theme, and a feature that reliably returns something when it triggers. Ideal background pokie for a longer session.
How Pelican Pete plays
Five reels, 25 fixed paylines, left-to-right wins. Pelican Pete himself sits at the top of the paytable, followed by the Old Man (Aussie fisherman), the Pelican Bird, the Fishing Rod, the Bait Bucket and the Tinnie; 9-to-A royals round out the bottom. The Pelican Pete symbol is the wild — substituting for all regular symbols except the Sun scatter — and appears on reels 2, 3 and 4 on the base game and in stacked form during free spins.
Bet range is the standard Aristocrat mid-era pattern: A$0.01 per line minimum, up to A$5 per line, giving A$0.25 – A$125 across 25 lines. No ways-to-win, no hold-and-spin, no bonus selection screen. Traditional line-pay maths with one nice feature mechanic.
Bonus features
- Sun scatter — triggers free spins when three or more land anywhere on the reels. Pays scattered regardless of line position.
- Free spin feature (10 spins) — the core bonus. During the feature, Pelican Pete wilds land stacked on reels 2, 3 and 4, and a full stack across all three middle reels is what drives the session's bigger wins.
- Pelican Pete stacked wild — the distinguishing mechanic. On the base game Pelican Pete appears singly; during free spins he stacks up to full-reel height.
- Retriggers — three more Sun scatters during the feature add 10 more free spins on top of the remaining count. Retriggers can stack.
- Gamble feature — red/black or suit-guess after any base-game win. Standard Aristocrat gamble.
Theme, graphics and sound
Bright coastal palette — sky blues, sandy yellows, weathered wood reel frame. The pelican animation when the wild lands is one of the pokie's standout touches: the bird flaps its wings and emits a bemused squawk. Sound design leans on a casual beach-folk motif for the base game with a lighter mariachi-style feature sting. It's a warm, easygoing audio package — nothing like the heavy drums-and-horns of Buffalo or the gongs of 5 Dragons.
Mobile play
The HTML5 port runs cleanly on mobile. Sun scatter and Pelican Pete stack animations translate well to touch-sized reels. Portrait mode slides the paytable into a drawer; landscape gives the full cabinet-style view. Autoplay is standard.
Where to play Pelican Pete with PayID
Pelican Pete has moderate distribution — the title appears at most operators that carry classic Aristocrat content. Current PayID-friendly picks:
- SkyCrownUp to A$8,000 + 400 free spinsPlay
- SpinjoUp to A$5,000 + 300 FSPlay
- Boho CasinoUp to A$9,750 + 225 FSPlay
- LamaBet100% up to A$1,700 + 300 FSPlay
- Roostino100% up to A$750 + 200 FSPlay
Search the lobby by title rather than provider — Pelican Pete often lives in a classic-pokies category rather than under the Aristocrat brand tag.
Similar pokies worth trying
Pelican Pete sits alongside other Aussie-themed mid-era Aristocrat classics with similar pacing. Natural companions:
FAQ
What is the RTP of Pelican Pete?
How often does the Pelican Pete wild stack fully?
Is there a bonus beyond the free spins?
Can I retrigger free spins?
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