Merry Xmas

What is Merry Xmas?

Hip‑hop producer Jamal “Mally Mall” Rashid was ordered back to federal prison Thursday (Sept. 17), after a Las Vegas judge found he repeatedly violated the conditions of his supervised release.

Rashid received a 17‑month sentence following a hearing in U.S. District Court, where he admitted to a series of breaches that prosecutors said showed he had not reformed.

In 2021, Judge Gloria Navarro sentenced Rashid to 33 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Ore., followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count of using an interstate facility in aid of unlawful activity—specifically, a prostitution service.

What is Merry Xmas?

For the gaming industry, the marked economic shift over the course of 2026 and a return to an elevated interest-rate environment after years of post-Covid easing could dissipate some of the optimism that prevailed at the onset of this year.

Many top gaming stocks have underperformed relative to the broader market in recent years, and most of the M&A activity has been facilitated by private equity and other institutions that can more readily capitalise on depressed valuations. There had been hope that rates would start to fall and help alleviate those pressures.

“Publicly traded valuations are a reflection of the current interest rate environment,” Chad Beynon, lead gaming analyst for Macquarie, told iGB. “Whether it’s a long-term financial model on a growth company, you’re going to discount that back at a higher rate, or if it’s just a standard four-wall business, the cash flows in a higher interest rate environment are worth less.”

How to play Merry Xmas

The central hook is the return of the pots mechanic, tied here to multi-colored fireballs. The feature first appeared in Triple Action Cash Strike, where it earned its place off the back of that title’s success.

In practice, the colored fireballs feed matching pots that shape how the Power Spins bonus plays out. Trigger the bonus game via the green fireball and the feature runs with the Expand enhancement; any green scatters that land can unlock up to three additional rows. The Collect and Multiplier variants offer alternative routes into the same bonus framework.

The significance here isn’t the individual modifiers. It’s the reuse pattern. Blueprint is carrying a differentiator across the franchise, reinforcing a recognizable identity rather than asking returning players to learn a new core engine.