Here is a list of potential restrictions and regulations on private ownership of slot machines in the United States on a state by state basis. Note that these regulations are subject to change without notice and are not fully guaranteed to be completely accurate.
Skill With Prizes (SWP) machines are a subset of slot machines, in which the payout a player receives is dependent on a game of skill rather than just luck.One common type of SWP game is the Quiz machine – where a player has to answer a number of trivia questions to win money.
There are other types, where a video game of some sort is played. Titles in this category include The Crystal Maze and Word Up.
A quiz machine is a type of slot machine in which the player must answer questions in addition to, or instead of, matching symbols. See also itbox. They are common in UK pubs, where they are often based on board games or game shows. In the UK these are “technically” termed “Skill with prizes” (SWP) as opposed to normal slot machines which are termed “Amusement with prizes” (AWP).In the UK the history of the quiz machine can be divided into three phases. In the first phase (1980s to 1995) the machines were dedicated to a single game, often based on a TV show, with the maximum prize being £5 for a 50p stake.
Between 1995 and 1999 the number of formats expanded greatly and most public houses hosted a unit.
From 1999 to the present day the trend has been to develop the ‘multi-quiz machine’, a single unit in which a wide range of games is available. Many machines now offer in excess of thirty games and the earlier six-game multi-quizzes have become obsolete.
A source of great frustration for quiz machine players is the programming of anti-payout scripts within the machine code. Thus in the Cluedo game, for example, the machine will ensure that the player never throws the requisite number on the automated (fixed) die. This legally dubious practice has proliferated to counter the success of professional quiz machine players who are adept at learning the majority of questions in the bank. Nonetheless, good players can gain a slight advantage over the machine using this method until a new question module is installed.
Well received quiz games such as ‘Big Break’, ‘Guinness Book of Records’ and ‘London Underground’, have been taken out of circulation in favour of other games like ‘Matrix’, ‘Eyes Down’, ‘Goldenballs’, and ‘Total Film Quiz’.
There is currently a trend towards the hosting of non-quiz games alongside traditional quiz favourites. Such games include Word Up, Sum Up, Bookworm and Spot The Difference.
A progressive jackpot is a jackpot (highest payoff) for a gaming machine (usually a slot machine or video poker machine) where the value of the jackpot increases a small amount for every game played. Normally multiple machines are “linked” together to form one large progressive jackpot that grows more quickly because multiple players are contributing to the jackpot at the same time.
The progressive jackpot meter
The amount of the jackpot is shown on a meter as a money value. Usually the jackpot can only be won by winning the combination with the highest payoff, e.g. a royal flush at a video poker game, or five of the most valuable symbols (lemons, cherries, alligators, etc) on a slot machine. Once a player wins the jackpot, the jackpot resets to a preset minimum level.
The amount on the jackpot progresses (increases) a small amount for every play on a connected machine. The amount that the jackpot advances by is set by the casino (“the house”). For example, on a machine whose house edge is 5%, a generous jackpot contribution might be 1% (one fifth of the expected profit). The house is prepared to contribute some of the profit of a jackpot linked machine because players are attracted by the:
relative novelty of progressive jackpots (generally, only a small fraction of the house’s gaming machines will be connected to a progressive jackpot)
constantly changing meter, often displayed on large, fancy LED displays
large amount of the jackpot, which eventually motivates more players to play the game.
Qualifying
Usually only players who wager the maximum number of credits per play qualify to win the jackpot. All wagers, whether or not they’re max credit bets, contribute to the jackpot though. As a result, a game which requires a 10 credit wager to qualify for the progressive jackpot will tend to have the progressive jackpot rise to higher levels (relative to its break-even level) than a game that requires only a 5 credit wager to qualify.
The break-even point
In some games such as video poker, it is possible to compute an optimal playing strategy based on the frequency for each payoff versus the odds of hitting that payoff. Since the jackpot of a progressive video poker game is constantly growing, it eventually can reach a break-even point where the machine becomes a positive expectation bet for the player.
When the progressive jackpot is less than the break-even point, there is a negative expected value (house edge) for all players.
In the long run, with optimal strategy, a video poker player can make a profit, although the “long run” is generally longer than most people think. (Several tens of thousands of plays.)
It’s worthwhile to note that a break-even point cannot normally be calculated on a slot machine game, because the payback percentage for the game is unknown to the player. The break-even point in video poker can be calculated because the payback percentage for the game is a function of the paybacks and odds of the poker hands, which is based on a 52 card deck.
Advantage play
Advantage players who only play when the progressive jackpot provides them with a positive expectation situation still generate revenue for the casino. This is a unique situation where the player has an advantage over the house, yet the casino is still making a profit from the player. This situation occurs because the bulk of the progressive jackpot has been bought and paid for by the other players’ contributions to the jackpot.
Savvy gamblers sometimes organize teams of players to play machines where the progressive jackpots generate a positive expectation situation. Such teams often displace ordinary players, making the machines unavailable just when they are at their most interesting. Team members will often have cell phones and work in shifts, calling another teammate to replace them when they’re ready for a break. Some casinos have a policy of “no team play”, and will eject players suspected of playing in such teams.
Player’s clubs
Most casinos offer slot clubs, which pay back a percentage of a gambler’s wagers on their games in the form of cash rebates and other perks with a monetary value. Participating in a slot club can reduce the break-even point of a progressive jackpot game because of the value of the rebate on each wager.
Other jackpot games
Progressive jackpots are not limited to slot machines and video poker. Poker games sometimes include a progressive bad beat jackpot. Caribbean stud poker is another casino game which often has a progressive jackpot available, and some online casinos offer progressive versions of blackjack, roulette, and other casino games.
List of popular progressive games
MegaJackpots
Wheel of Fortune
Megabucks
Regis’ Cash Club
Links
Megajackpots – ticker and records for MegaJackpots from IGT
Pachinko (パチンコ) is a device used for amusment and prizes and is related to pinball machines. Although originally strictly mechanical, modern pachinko machines are a cross between a pinball machine and a video slot machine. Pachinko is said to have been invented sometime after World War II in Nagoya, though the date is sometimes questioned. The machines are widespread in Japan in establishments called “pachinko parlors”, which also often feature a small number of slot machines.
Fist of the North Star pachinko machine, with slot machine component in the middle
The player purchases a large number of small steel balls which are inserted, in bulk, into the machine. Originally, machines had a spring-loaded lever for shooting the balls individually, but modern machines use a round “throttle” that merely controls how quickly an electrically fired plunger shoots the balls onto the playfield. The balls then drop through an array of pins, and usually simply fall through to the bottom, but occasionally fall into certain gates which make the machine pay out more balls.
Classic pachinko machine
Most current machines include a slot machine (these are called “pachi-slo”), and the big winnings are ultimately paid not from the balls falling into gates, but from the slot machine matches that follow. In fact, in many modern machines the balls have nothing to do with determining winnings, which are based strictly on electronic random number generators.
The winnings are in the form of more balls, which the player may either use to keep playing, or exchange for tokens or prizes such as pens or cigarette lighters. Under Japanese law, cash cannot be paid out, but there is virtually always a small exchange centre located nearby (or sometimes in a separate room from the game parlor itself) where players can conveniently exchange tokens or prizes for cash. Such pseudo-cash gambling is theoretically illegal, but from the sheer number of pachinko parlors in Japan, it is clear that the activity is at least tacitly tolerated by the authorities. (In fact, no pachinko parlor without a cash payout window has ever been documented.)
Pachinko parlor at night
As a quasi-gambling activity, pachinko is widely held to have links to organized crime (specifically the yakuza). (There have also been rumors of links to the government of North Korea, which is thereby allegedly able to siphon funds from the sizeable population of Pyongyang-aligned ethnic Korean residents of Japan, but this seems an implausible and potentially racially motivated myth.)
Pachinko parlors share the reputation of slot machine dens and casinos the world over—garish decoration, over-the-top architecture, the smell of tobacco, the constant din of the machines, and players entranced for hours in their games.
Entrance to pachinko parlor in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Standard slot machines do not get “hot” or “cold”. The odds of hitting a winning combination are determined by a random number generator contained in the machine’s software and is exactly the same with every spin. Such slot machines are never “due to be hit” if they haven’t paid out a jackpot in a while. (Exception: UK-style AWP machines are progressive which means chances of winning will increase over time if the machine has not paid any wins out. Many also “force” wins on players in order to meet the payout percentage).
Placement
There is a science to the placement of slot machines on the gaming floor, but the highest paying machines are not necessarily placed in high-traffic areas. Typically, machines of similar payback percentages are grouped together, with 1% or less difference from machine to machine in the group.
Payout changes
In most jurisdictions, casinos cannot alter the machine’s payout percentage by time of day, day of week, or remotely via a computer.
Using a slot club card does not affect the machine’s payout percentage. The card just allows the casino to keep track of the amount wagered by a player and issue complimentaries accordingly.
Missed opportunities
You leave a machine. Another player comes up and immediately hits a jackpot. You think, “If I had played just one more time, I would have won that jackpot.”
A machine returns a higher jackpot for playing more coins. You play fewer coins, and a winning combination appears. You think, “If I had played more coins, I would have won more money.”
In both cases, you did not “miss” an opportunity to win. The results of modern slot machines depend on exactly when you play them. It is very unlikely in either case that you would have received the same result if you had played just one more time or just one more coin.
In the United States, the public and private availability of slot machines is highly regulated by state governments. Many states have established gaming control boards to regulate the possession and use of slot machines. Nevada is the only state that has no significant restrictions against slot machines both for public and private use. In New Jersey, slot machines are only allowed in hotel-casinos operated in Atlantic City. Several states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri) allow slot machines (as well as any casino-style gambling) only on licensed riverboats or permanently anchored barges. For a list of state by state regulations on private slot machine ownership, see U.S. state slot machine ownership regulations.
Native American casinos
Native American casinos located in reservations are not permitted to have slot machines unless the tribe first reaches a pact with the state in which it is located (per Indian Gaming Regulatory Act). Typically, a pact entitles the state to receive a percentage of the gross revenue from slot machines.
Slot machine classes
Some states have restrictions on the type (called “class”) of slot machines that can be used in a casino or other gaming area. “Class III” (or “traditional”) slot machines operate independently from a centralized computer system and a player’s chance of winning any payout is the same with every play. Class III slots are most often seen in Nevada or Atlantic City and are sometimes referred to as “Vegas-style slots”.
“Class II” slot machines (also known as “Video Lottery Terminals” or “VLTs”) are connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager. In this way, Class II slot machines mimic scratch-off lottery tickets in that each machine has an equal chance of winning a series of limited prizes. Either class of slot machines may or may not have a player skill element.
Some Class II game characteristics 1) The player is playing against other players and competing for a common prize. 2) There is certain to be a winner in each game. The game continues until there is a winner. 3) In a given set there are a certain number of wins and loses. Once a certain combination has happened it cannot happen again until a new batch is initiated. This is most obvious in scratch card games that come in a pack. Once a card has been pulled those winning combinations cannot occur again until a new pack of cards is installed. One game is dependent on previous games. 4) The player must be an active participant. They must recognize events as they occur and must recognize when they have won and announce their winning. Bingo is an excellent example here. 5) All players play from the same set of numbers as they are announced.
Some Class III game characteristics 1) The player is playing against the house. 2) There is a very real possibility that the player may lose the game. 3) Each game is independent of previous games. Any possible outcome can occur in any game. 4) Wins are announced automatically.
In general a game must have all characteristics of a Class II game to be a Class II game. Any characteristic of a Class III game makes it a Class III game. The casino pays a fee to the state for each Class III game and can only purchase so many Class III licenses. There is no such restriction for Class II games. Class II games are not so nearly regulated by the state.
Slot clubs
Many American casinos offer free memberships in “slot clubs”, which return a small percentage of the amount of money that is bet in the form of “comps” (complimentary food, drinks, hotel rooms, or merchandise), or sometimes as cash back (sometimes with a restriction that the cash be redeemed at a later date). These clubs require that players use a card that is inserted into the slot machine, to allow the casino to track the player’s “action” (how much the player bets and for how long), which is often used to establish a level of play that may make a player eligible for additional comps. Comps or cash back from these clubs can make a significant difference in the maximum theoretical return when playing slot machines over a long period of time.
Row of slot machines inside Las Vegas airport.
Australia
Generally referred to as poker machines or pokies, but officially known as ‘Gaming Machines’, Australia has one of the highest concentration of poker machines per head of population in the world, with changes in regulations leading to a profusion of poker machine venues across the country. Various objectors, including many branches of the clergy and also charities for the poor, have criticized the spread of the machines, as they claim that it has led to a huge rise in the levels of “problem gambling” – gambling to a level that causes financial and social stress to the gambler and their families, as well as the general levels of gambling.
Australian-style poker machines use video displays to simulate (usually) five physical reels. These machines also have additional bonusing and second-screen features such as free games and bonus levels. They also allow for multiple lines (up to 50) or multiple ways (up to 243 ways) to be played. This higher level of complexity has meant that greater revenues can be obtained by operators, but also that the potential for problem gambling to develop is increased.
Poker machines are found in casinos (approximately one in each major city) as well as pubs and clubs (usually sports, social, or RSL clubs). This greater accessibility is also seen as a potential contributor to problem gambling.
The first Australian state to legalize this style of gambling was New South Wales in 1956 when they were made legal in all registered clubs in the state.
Laws governing gambling in Australia are controlled at the state level and as such, they vary from state to state. In the state of Queensland gaming machines in pubs and clubs must provide a return rate of 60% while machines located in casinos must provide a return rate of 90%.
Queen of the Nile (manufactured by Aristocrat), one of the most popular Australian poker machine games, also very popular in some American casinos
United Kingdom
Slot machines are usually known as fruit machines and AWP (Amusement with Prizes) in Britain. Fruit machines are commonly found in pubs, clubs, arcades, and some take-away food shops. These machines commonly have 3 or 6 reels with around 16 or 24 fruit symbols printed around them. These reels are spun, and if certain combinations of fruit appear, winnings are paid from the machine, or subgames are played. These are very similar to slot machines seen in casinos and elsewhere around the world, but the term “fruit machine” is usually applied to a type of machine more commonly found in pubs and arcades. These games have lots of extra features, trails and subgames with opportunities to win money, usually more than can be won from just the reels. However, the jackpots from these fruit machines are strictly limited.
Currently in the UK, the cost of an individual game may not exceed 50p. The maximum payout for a individual game depends on the type and the location of the machine, but is typically £25 in pubs where people under the age of 18 are not allowed entry. It is known for machines to payout multiple jackpots, one after the other (this is known as a streak) but each jackpot requires a new game to be played so as not to circumvent the maximum payout. The minimum payout percentage is 70% in Britain, with pubs often setting the payout at around 78%. Private members clubs are allowed “club machines”, which have higher jackpots and are allowed to charge more per game.
These machines also operate in a different fashion to American slot machines; whereas slots are programmed to pay a percentage over the long-run, there is no reason why a jackpot cannot be paid straight after one has already been won – this is because over the long-run the percentage payout will be the same. However, in the UK, a fruit machine takes on an amount above its payout percentage before winning, so if a payout is 95%, a machine will make the player lose £10 before paying out £9.50. As such, it is sensible to watch for people playing these machines but not winning as the likelihood of a win increases. This, however, is called Sharking.
This type of fruit machine is popular across Europe (in the countries where they are legal), and very popular in countries such as the Czech Republic, Russia, and Ukraine.
It has been alleged by the Fairplay campaign that UK fruit machines employ fraudulent techniques in which gambles and chances which appear to be random are in fact pre-determined and cannot be affected by player choices. 1
…at this point, you’ll have gambled the win up to £25. However, the machine doesn’t want you to gamble any further. If from the 5 you select “High”, the machine will spin in a 3 and you’ll lose. If, on the other hand, you select “Low”, the machine will spin in a 9 and you’ll lose…
The claims centre around the emulation of fruit machine hardware on computers, which allow for the machines RAM state to be saved at a particular point and replayed making a different choice. The fruit machine industry has hit back at the allegations. Currently the issue has supposedly been considered by the UK Gaming Board (now the Gambling Commission) and warning notices and possibly modifications are to be put in place, though it is unclear as to whether this has happened. This is infact the law now in the UK and all machines carry a warning notice informing the user that the machine may at times offer the player a choice in which they have no possible chance to win.
Japan
Japan has a relatively new involvement in slot machines, roughly since after the American occupation during the World War II era. Most machines can be found in Pachinko parlors and the adult sections of amusement arcades, known as game centers.
The machines are regulated with IC chips, and has six different levels changing the odds of a “777″. The levels provide a rough outcome of between 90% to an astonishing 160% (200% if using skills). Indeed, the Japanese slot machines are “beatable”.
Despite the many varieties of the machines, there are certain rules and regulations put forward by a commission. For example, there must be three reels. Also, all reels must be accompanied by buttons which stop these reels, etc.
Common misunderstandings
“Hot” and “Cold” machines
Standard slot machines do not get “hot” or “cold”. The odds of hitting a winning combination are determined by a random number generator contained in the machine’s software and is exactly the same with every spin. Such slot machines are never “due to be hit” if they haven’t paid out a jackpot in a while. (Exception: UK-style AWP machines are progressive which means chances of winning will increase over time if the machine has not paid any wins out. Many also “force” wins on players in order to meet the payout percentage).
Placement
There is a science to the placement of slot machines on the gaming floor, but the highest paying machines are not necessarily placed in high-traffic areas. Typically, machines of similar payback percentages are grouped together, with 1% or less difference from machine to machine in the group.
Payout changes
In most jurisdictions, casinos cannot alter the machine’s payout percentage by time of day, day of week, or remotely via a computer.
Using a slot club card does not affect the machine’s payout percentage. The card just allows the casino to keep track of the amount wagered by a player and issue complimentaries accordingly.
Missed opportunities
You leave a machine. Another player comes up and immediately hits a jackpot. You think, “If I had played just one more time, I would have won that jackpot.”
A machine returns a higher jackpot for playing more coins. You play fewer coins, and a winning combination appears. You think, “If I had played more coins, I would have won more money.”
In both cases, you did not “miss” an opportunity to win. The results of modern slot machines depend on exactly when you play them. It is very unlikely in either case that you would have received the same result if you had played just one more time or just one more coin.
It is a common belief that the odds on a machine have something to do with the number of each kind of symbol on each reel, but in modern slot machines this is no longer the case. Modern slot machines are computerized, so that the odds are whatever they are programmed to be. In modern slot machines, the reels and lever are present for historical and entertainment reasons only. The positions the reels will come to rest on are chosen by a Random Number Generator (RNG) contained in the machine’s software. This is called “virtual reel” technology.
The RNG is constantly generating random numbers, at a rate of thousands to millions per second. As soon as the lever is pulled or the “Play” button is pressed, the most recent random number is used to determine the result. This means that the result varies depending on exactly when the game is played. A fraction of a second earlier or later, and the result would be different.
Payout precentage
Slot machines are typically programmed to pay out as winnings between 82 to 98 percent of the money that is wagered by players. This is known as the “theoretical payout percentage”. The minimum theoretical payout percentage varies among jurisdictions and is typically established by law or regulation. For example, the minimum payout percentage in Nevada is 75 percent and in New Jersey is 83 percent. The winning patterns on slot machines, the amounts they pay, and the frequency at which they appear are carefully selected to yield a certain percentage of the cost of play to the “house” (the operator of the slot machine), while returning the rest to the player during play. Suppose that a certain slot machine costs $1 per spin. It can be calculated that over a sufficiently long period, such as 1,000,000 spins, that the machine will return an average of $950,000 to its players, who have inserted $1,000,000 during that time. In this (simplified) example, the slot machine is said to pay out 95%. The operator keeps the remaining $50,000.
A slot machine’s theoretical payout percentage is set at the factory when the software is written. Changing the payout percentages after a slot machine has been placed on the gaming floor requires a physical swap of the software, which is usually stored on an EPROM but may be downloaded to Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) or even stored on CD-ROM or DVD depending on the technological capabilities of the machine and the regulations of the jurisdiction. Based on current technology, this is a time consuming process and as such is done infrequently. In certain jurisdictions, such as New Jersey, the EPROM is sealed with a tamper-evident seal and can only be changed in the presence of Gaming Control Board officials. Other jurisdictions, including Nevada, randomly audit slot machines to ensure that they contain only approved software.
In many markets where central monitoring and control systems are used to link machines for auditing and security purposes, usually in wide area networks of multiple venues and thousands of machines, player return must usually be changed from a central computer rather than at each individual machine. A range of percentages are preprogrammed into the game software and selected by configuring the machine remotely.)
In 2006, the Nevada Gaming Commission began working with Las Vegas casinos on technology that would allow the casino’s slot manager to change the game, the odds, and the payouts remotely via a computer. The change cannot be done instantaneously, but only after the selected machine has been idle for at least four minutes. After the change is made, the machine must be locked to new players for four minutes and display an on-screen message informing potential players that a change is being made. ref)
Linked machines
Often machines are linked together in a way that allows a group of machines to offer a particularly large prize, or “jackpot”. Each slot machine in the group contributes a small amount to this progressive jackpot, which is awarded to a player who gets (for example) a royal flush on a video poker machine, or a specific combination of symbols on a regular or 9 line slot machine. The amount paid for the progressive jackpot is usually far higher than any single slot machine could pay on its own.
In some cases multiple machines are linked across multiple casinos. In these cases, the machines may be owned by the machine maker who is responsible for paying the jackpot. The casinos lease the machines rather than owning them outright. Megabucks may be the best known example of this type of machine. Megabucks Nevada starts at $7,000,000 after a jackpot. The new penny Megabucks video game has a jackpot that starts at $10,000,000.
Slot machines that are not linked to a large regional jackpot such as Megabucks usually have higher payout percentages, as linked machines have to take into consideration the large jackpot amount into their payout percentage calculations.
Near-miss programming
Because the reel display of modern slot machines is controlled by computer software, it is possible to make the slot machine frequently display combinataions that are close to winning combinations. For instance, if the jackpot combination is “7-7-7″, a slot machine could be programmed to frequently display “7-7-(non-7)”. This can fool the player into thinking they “almost won”, teasing them into playing more often.
This practice of showing combinations that are similar to winning combinations more frequently than would occur randomly is called “near-miss” programming. It has been ruled illegal in the U.S. states of Nevada and New Jersey. The Nevada Gaming Commission did review some machines with this type of programming and refused to authorize them.
There is a related phenomenon that is also sometimes called “near-miss”. The chance of a winning combination appearing on a payline is controlled by the winning percentages programmed into the slot machine. However, the combinations appearing above and below the payline are all roughly equally randomly distributed. This means it is much more likely that a “winning combination” will appear above or below a payline than on the payline. Using the same example above, it is much more likely that a “winning combination” of “7-7-7″ would appear on a line above or below the payline than the chance that it would appear on the payline.
The issue of a near-miss above or below the payline was also investigated by the Nevada Gaming Commission. They ruled that this was legal, so long as the “near-miss” above or below the payline was not specially programmed. In other words, the “near-miss” must be just as likely to occur as any other combination. The machine cannot be specially programmed to show “winning combinations” more frequently than other combinations above or below the payline. [2]
Bonus is a special feature of the particular game theme, which is activated when certain symbols appear in a winning combination. In the bonus, the player is presented with several items on a screen from which to choose. As the player chooses items, a number of credits is revealed and awarded. Some bonuses use a mechanical device, such as a spinning wheel, that works in conjunction with the bonus to display the amount won.
Candle is a light on top of the slot machine. It flashes to alert the operator that a hand pay is requested or that there is a problem with the machine.
Carousel refers to a grouping of slot machines.
Coin hopper is a container where the coins that are immediately available for payouts are held. The hopper is a mechanical device that rotates coins into the coin tray when a player collects his credits/coins (by pressing a “Cash Out” button). When a certain preset coin capacity is reached, a coin diverter automatically redirects, or “drops”, excess coin into a “drop bucket” or “drop box”.
Credit meter is a visual display of the amount of money or credits on the machine.
Drop bucket or drop box is a container located in a slot machine’s base where excess coins are diverted from the hopper. Typically, a drop bucket is used for low denomination slot machines and a drop box is used for high denomination slot machines. A drop box contains a hinged lid with one or more locks whereas a drop bucket does not contain a lid. The contents of drop buckets and drop boxes are collected and counted by the casino on a scheduled basis.
Hand pay refers to a payout made by a slot attendant or cage, rather than the slot machine. A hand pay occurs when the amount of the payout exceeds the maximum amount that was preset by the slot machine’s operator. Usually, the maximum amount is set at the level where the operator must begin to deduct taxes. A hand pay could also be necessary as a result of a short pay.
Hopper fill slip is a document used to record the replenishments of the coin in the coin hopper after it becomes depleted as a result of making payouts to players. The slip indicates the amount of coin placed into the hoppers, as well as the signatures of the employees involved in the transaction, the slot machine number and the location and the date.
Low Level or Slant Top slot machines include a stool so you can sit and play. Stand Up or Upright slot machines are played while standing.
Optimal play is a payback percentage based on a gambler using the optimal strategy in a skill-based slot machine game.
Payline is a straight or zig-zagged line that crosses through one symbol on each reel, along which a winning combination is evaluated. Classic spinning reel machines usually have up to nine paylines, while video slot machines may have as many as fifty.
Rollup is the process of dramatizing a win by playing sounds while the meters count up to the amount that has been won.
Short pay refers to a partial payout made by a slot machine, which is less than the amount due to the player. This occurs if the coin hopper has been depleted as a result of making earlier payouts to players. The remaining amount due to the player is paid as a hand pay.
Tilt In the old mechanical days, slot machines had tilt switches. Any kind of mechanical failure (door switch in the wrong state, reel motor failure, etc) is still called a “tilt”. Just a historical thing.
Theoretical Hold Worksheet is a document provided by the manufacturer for all slot machines, which indicates the theoretical percentage that the slot machine should hold based on adequate levels of coin-in. The worksheet also indicates the reel strip settings, number of coins that may be played, the payout schedule, the number of reels and other information descriptive of the particular type of slot machine.
Weight count is an American term, referring to the dollar amount of coins or tokens removed from a slot machine’s drop bucket or drop box and counted by the casino’s hard count team through the use of a weigh scale.
Pay Table
Each machine has a table that lists the number of credits the player will receive if the symbols listed on the pay table line up on the pay line of the machine. Some symbols are wild and will pay if they are visible in any position, even if they are not on the pay line. Especially on older machines, the pay table is listed on the face of the machine, usually above and below the area containing the wheels. Most video machines display the pay table when the player presses a “pay table” button or touches “pay table” on the screen; some have the pay table listed on the cabinet as well.
A person playing a slot machine purchases the right to play by inserting coins, cash, or in newer machines, a bar-coded paper ticket (known as “ticket in/ticket out” machines), into a designated slot on the machine. The machine is then activated by means of a lever or button, or on newer machines, by pressing a touchscreen on its face. The game itself may or may not involve skill on the player’s part — or it may create the illusion of involving skill without actually being anything else than a game of chance. The object of the game is to win money from the machine. The game usually involves matching symbols, either on mechanical reels that spin and stop to reveal one or several symbols, or on a video screen. The symbols are usually brightly colored and easily recognizable, such as images of fruits, and simple shapes such as bells, diamonds, or hearts.
Most games have a variety of winning combinations of symbols, often posted on the face of the machine. If a player matches a combination according to the rules of the game, the slot machine pays the player cash or some other sort of value, such as extra games.
There are many different kinds of gambling slot machines in places such as Las Vegas. Some of the most popular are the video poker machines, in which players hope to obtain a set of symbols corresponding to a winning poker hand. There are standard 5-card draw machines, all the way up to 100-play machines, where you can play 100 hands at a time.
Becoming more popular now are the 9 line slots. Usually these are themed slots, with graphics and music based on popular entertainers or TV programs (Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, etc.) with a bonus round. Most accept variable amounts of credit to play with 1 to 5 credits per line being typical. The higher the amount bet, the higher the payout will be.
Of course, there are the standard 3 – 5 reel slot machines, of various types. These are the typical “one-armed bandits”.
One of the main differences between video slots and reel slots is in the way payouts are calculated. With reel slots, the only way to win the maximum jackpot is to play the maximum number of coins (usually 3, sometimes 4, or even 5 coins per spin). With video slots, the fixed payout values are multiplied by the number of coins per line that are being bet. In other words: on a reel slot, it is to the player’s advantage to play with the maximum number of coins available. On video slots, it is recommended to play as many individual lines as possible, but there is no benefit to the player in betting more than one credit per line with regards to calculating the payout amounts. (There are some isolated cases where a video slot machine requires the maximum number of credits per spin to be inserted to win the largest payout, but those are the exception.) An example: On the “Wheel of Fortune” reel slot, the player must play 3 coins per spin to be eligible to trigger the bonus round and possibly win the jackpot. On the Wheel of Fortune video slot, the chances of triggering the bonus round or winning the maximum jackpot are exactly the same regardless of the number of coins bet on each line.
Larger casinos offer slot machines with denominations from $.01 (penny slots) all the way up to $100.00 or more per credit. Large denomination slot machines are usually cordoned off from the rest of the casino into a “High Limit” area, often with a separate team of hosts to cater to the needs of the high-rollers who play there.
Slot machines common in casinos at this time are more complicated. Most allow players to accept their winnings as credits, which may be “spent” on additional spins.
In the last few years, new slot machines commonly known as “multi-denomination” have been introduced. In a multi-denomination slot machine, the player can choose the value of each credit wagered from a list of options. Based upon the player’s selection, the slot machine automatically calculates the number of credits the player receives in exchange for the cash inserted and displays the amount of available credits to the player. (For example, a player could choose to wager one dollar per game on a nickel slot machine.) This eliminates the need for a player to find a specific denomination of a particular slot machine; they can concentrate on simply finding the machine and setting the denomination once they decide to play.
Recently, some casinos have chosen to take advantage of a concept commonly known as “tokenization”: 1 token buys more than one credit. A casino can configure slot machines of numerous different denominations to accept the same type of token. (For example, all penny, nickel, quarter, and dollar slot machines could be configured to accept dollar tokens.) This significantly reduces a casino’s inventory costs and coin handling costs. A tokenized slot machine automatically calculates the number of credits the player receives in exchange for the token inserted and displays the amount of available credits to the player. When a player chooses to collect his credits (by pressing a “Cash Out” button), the slot machine will automatically divide the number of credits on the credit meter by the value of one token and return the result to the patron. Any remainder is known as “residual credits” and cannot be collected. Residual credits must be either played or abandoned.
Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine in 1891 that could be considered a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained 5 drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker. This machine proved extremely popular and soon there was hardly a bar in the city that didn’t have one or more of the machines bar-side. Players would insert a nickel and press a lever, which would spin the drums and the cards they held, the player hoping for a good poker hand. There was no direct payout mechanism, so a pair of Kings might get you a free beer, whereas a Royal Flush could payout cigars or drinks, the prizes wholly dependent on what was on offer at the local establishment. In order to make the odds better for the house, two cards were typically removed from the “deck”: the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts, which cut the odds of winning a Royal Flush by half. The drums could also be re-arranged to further reduce a player’s chance of winning.
The first “one-armed bandit” was invented in 1887 by Charles Fey of San Francisco, California, who devised a much simpler automatic mechanism [1]. Due to the vast number of possible wins with the original poker card-based game, it proved practically impossible to come up with a way to make a machine capable of making an automatic pay-out for all possible winning combinations. Charles Fey devised a machine with three spinning reels containing a total of five symbols – horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts and a Liberty Bell, which also gave the machine its name. By replacing ten cards with five symbols and using three reels instead of five drums, the complexity of reading a win was considerably reduced, allowing Fey to devise an effective automatic payout mechanism. Three bells in a row produced the biggest payoff, ten nickels. Liberty Bell was a huge success and spawned a thriving mechanical gaming device industry. Even when the use of these gambling devices was banned in his home State after a few years, Fey still couldn’t keep up with demand for the game elsewhere.
Another early machine gave out winning in the form of fruit flavoured chewing gums with pictures of the flavours as symbols on the reels. The popular cherry and melon symbols derive from this machine. The “BAR” symbol now common in slot machines was derived from an early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. In 1964, Bally developed the first fully electromechanical slot machine called Money Honey.
US gambling revenue dropped 15% in May. In Las Vegas, the percentage is 16.4%. As for Atlantic City, the casinos gambling revenue down 11% in June, comparing with the same month of the last year (a single casino shows an increase in revenue, Harrah’s Resort Casino). In Illinois, gambling revenue was down more than 20 percent in June compared to June 2007.
The analyst Robin Farley of UBS wrote in a report that “the decline in Strip revenues is worse than the period immediately following Sept. 11, 2001 and except for January 2002 is the worst monthly performance in more than 10 years…The weakness in gaming revenues was not confined exclusively to the Strip as the Las Vegas locals market declined 19.5% in May, bringing year to date revenues down 8.7%.”
Sands, Wynn, Boyd… everything is sliding.
“The decline appears to be accelerating,” said Nick Danna, an analyst with Stern Agee & Leach.
Jim Murren, president of MGM Mirage, says that this drop is a temporarily situation, an usual cycle.
For Atlantic City, the most important decline is for Trump Marina Casino, 23%.
For the casino games, the reports say that table games and slot machines fell down almost the same in Las Vegas, but slots declined more in Atlantic City.
I am not a specialist, but I think that there are some important factors, external to the gambling industry, that influence it. And one of the most important, if not the most important, is the economic crisis. Including the petrol price, unemployment, the real estate crisis, as well as the reduction in flights as airlines cut back their services.
A second factor is the tourist market, influenced also by the economic crisis but not only. The restrictions implemented last years by US for the external tourists is, maybe, more important for the tourist market than the crisis.
And, to not forget the smoking ban, that will decrease even more the gambling revenue.
The crisis in US gambling industry will be increased by the casino and hotel investments started by the operators, for which it will not be possible to make the payments to the banks (for ex., Tropicana Entertainment defaulting on $2.7bn debts).
In fact, when you start an isolationist policy, including for the online gambling market, you have to take into consideration the secondary effects that can become major effects, in time.
Online Slot Game Guide – Slot machines, and their electronic cousins, video poker, electronic keno, gamemaker’s, etc., are now the biggest revenue producer, by far, in the casino industry.
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A slot machine (American English), poker machine (Australian English), or fruit machine (British English) is a certain type of casino game. Traditional slot machines are coin-operated machines with three or more reels, which spin when a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. The machines include a currency detector that validates the coin or money inserted to play. (The slot machine is also known informally as a one-armed bandit because of its appearance and its ability to leave the gamer penniless.) The machine typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in many variations on the slot machine concept. Today, slot machines have become one of the most popular attractions in casinos.
Addiction
Slot machines, like other gambling devices and games, can be addictive to some individuals.
Trivia
The first Liberty Bell slot machine can be found at the Liberty Belle Saloon & Restaurant on 4250 S. Virginia, Reno, Nevada. Brothers Marshall and Frank Fey opened the restaurant Nov. 20, 1958. The Fey’s grandfather, Charles Fey, invented the first three-wheeled slot machine, and the restaurant has a collection of more than 200 antique machines. The Liberty Belle closed on March 17, 2006 and the location was recently purchased by the Reno-Sparks Convention Center which is located nearby.
On July 8, 2006, the Liberty Belle’s slot machine collection will be auctioned off at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
The first MegaJackpot system was introduced by International Game Technology in 1986. It is known as a Wide Area Progressive system.
Bibliography
Brisman, Andrew. The American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways (Stirling, 1999) ISBN 080694837X
Grochowski, John. The Slot Machine Answer Book: How They Work, How They’ve Changed, and How to Overcome the House Advantage (Bonus Books, 2005) ISBN 1566252350
Legato, Frank. How to Win Millions Playing Slot Machines! …Or Lose Trying (Bonus Books, 2004) ISBN 1566252164
It is about a legal way to win, but take care! Such practice is considered an advantage gambling and, if the casinos see that you are a skillfull or knowledgeable player that can gain an advantage at blackjack by using the card-counting or shuffle tracking, at video poker by using a strategy card devised or not by computer analysis of the game, or at progressive slot machines by taking advantage of a high jackpot, you can end by being listed on the Black Book. And, if you will be listed finally on the Griffin Book shared by the casinos, you will end you career as gambler much sooner that you intended to do, because you will be excluded from all the casinos that have access to the book.
Bonus hunting (bonus bagging, or bonus whoring) makes possible from a mathematically point of view to get a profit. Wikipedia shows as example the house edge in blackjack which is roughly 0.5%. In the example above, $5000 in wagering with a house edge of 0.5% will result in an expected loss of $25. Since the player received a $100 signup bonus, after subtracting the expected loss of $25, the player has an expected profit of $75.
If you play at an online casino, you will take advantage by the signup bonuses, usually one-off bonuses for signing up to the casino and opening an account. There are terms and conditions for each bonus, like restricted games or bets and wagering requirements.
Wagering requirements prevent players from withdrawing the bonus money immediately after receiving it. Before the bonus money can be withdrawn the player must wager a certain amount of money on unrestricted games. The wagering can be spread out over many bets. To meet a $2000 wagering requirement, a player could make 1000 $2 bets on blackjack, provided blackjack is not a restricted game.
Games like blackjack and video poker have a low house advantage. The house advantage for blackjack is ~0.5%. So in the example above, by playing $2000 worth of blackjack with a house advantage of 0.5%, a player is, expected to lose $10 in total. But the expected value is an average value and may be less than the actual value.
Assuming that you only lose an amount close to the expected loss, and the bonus awarded to you after meeting this wagering requirement is greater than $10 then you will have a profit. The process is mathematically calculated. Bad luck could cause a player to lose more than $10 playing blackjack in this situation.
In sports betting, by taking advantage of free bet promotions, you can back the event, and then lay the event on a betting exchange, at similar or same odds, thus ensuring that the free bet is not a bet at all, instead more like a financial trade. No matter the outcome, it is possible (by using a betting / arb calculator) to calculate both the possible outcomes before the sporting event has started. By inputting the odds, the bet calculator then tells you what amount to bet, to ensure that whether the bet wins or loses, the return is the same.
In online poker, the poker player can take advantage by the incentive bonuses offered by the site after a certain number of raked hands are played. For example, a site may offer a player who deposits $100 a bonus of $50 once he plays 500 raked hands. A poker player who can at least break even can become a long-term winner by playing with poker bonuses. This way, a winning poker player can add to their winnings with the use of bonuses.
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Fist of the North Star pachinko machine, with slot machine component in the middle
Classic pachinko machine
Pachinko parlor at night
Entrance to pachinko parlor in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Row of slot machines inside Las Vegas airport.
Queen of the Nile (manufactured by Aristocrat), one of the most popular Australian poker machine games, also very popular in some American casinos
