“Say someone wins $500,000 on a slot machine jackpot,” says Derk. “We’re going to review it but we’re just going to make sure everything’s okay — that they didn’t open the machine. Essentially, this article is going to clarify why gaming machines in Australia and New Zealand are called pokies. After this, we’re going to thoroughly explain the concept of the game and its history, and give you some fun trivia regarding different names for the game. Casino Game of Chance. Slot machines comprise a certain number of reels.
Gambling is making its way through the US as sports betting expands and states allow the construction of new casinos. What was once a tourist attraction for Vegas or Atlantic City visitors is now a popular pastime.
While sports betting is making the most headway in the US, online casinos and land-based gaming are making more gradual moves to new markets. Illinois recently allowed for the construction of six new casinos while nearby Michigan is gearing up to launch online casinos.
And where there are casinos, be they land-based or online, there are also slots. The glitzy, ring-dinging contraptions are often a source of confusion for rookie gamblers. But slots are actually fairly easy to understand, and I’ve compiled a beginner’s guide so you know how they work and what to expect when you spin the reels.
Are Slot Machines Rigged?
This is the first question many slot players have, and it’s a fair one. Slot machines are not “rigged” in the sense that the casino chooses when a jackpot or big win hits.
Slots are games of chance, just like blackjack, craps, sports betting, or poker. But the mechanics of slot games vary, and the house edge is bigger when you play slots compared to most table games.
The House Edge
The house edge is the profit a casino (or online casino site) makes on each bet you place. You can still win money; the house edge represents a percentage of all bets placed and what the casino will make on those based on the match of a given game.
Online slots and slot machines have a house edge ranging from 2% to 15%, though the 5-10% range is most common. By comparison, blackjack usually has a house edge of 0.5% and double zero roulette sits around 5%.
How To Play
It’s easy enough to sit down at a slot machine, put $20, and spin. But understanding how the actual games work makes the experience much more fun.
Understanding Denominations
You might find slots that advertise themselves as “penny slots.” Even though the name may make you think they cost a penny per spin, it’s not quite so simple. “Penny slots” mean that each pay line you’re betting on costs a penny. A pay line is a left-to-right pathway that connects symbols on the reels. Some are straight lines and some taking a more winding path, such as in the shape of a “W.”
When you play a slot, you choose how many lines to bet on, and this varies based on the slot you’re playing. Some have 243 lines, some have 50, and there are plenty of others in between. The more paylines you hit on a given spin, the more you win.
The more you bet, the more pay lines you have access to. So if you’re max betting on a penny slot with 50 pay lines, each individual spin would cost you $.50.
The cost of each bet changes from one slot to the next, so always check the machine or online slot you’re playing to be sure you know where your money is going.
Symbols And Paylines
Every unique symbol on a slot machine has a specific value. If the symbol ends up in a pay line with identical symbols, you earn a payout based on the value of each one in the pay line.
Slots typically make their highest paying symbols images of the main character on which the slot is based or something similar. Perhaps a pot of gold on a leprechaun game. Lower-paying symbols are usually A, K, Q, J, and 10, similar to cards at a table game.
Spinning The Reels
This, of course, is the ultimate draw of slot machines. The reels blur as they spin into oblivion, then slow to a stop and hopefully get you a winning pay line (or multiple). Depending on how you play, you’ll have a few options for spinning.
Most slot machines have a button that kicks off the spin, while others have the traditional mechanical lever. Some have both, giving you an option. There’s no difference in outcome with either method, but it’s a unique thrill to pull the physical lever.
For online slots players, spinning usually comes in the form of a quick tap of the screen. Certain online slot themes let you auto spin, continuously repeating spins and automatically logging any wins.
Bonuses And Jackpots
If you’ve seen someone win big on a slot game, it’s likely thanks to a bonus or a jackpot. Though you might be inclined to think they’re the same thing, there are crucial differences.
Bonuses
Bonuses are triggered by events during normal slot play. This often means landing three specific bonus symbols on a single spin. There are countless ways to trigger a bonus, though, and slot makers are always thinking of new mechanics.
Bonuses take many shapes and sizes. Many give you a number of free spins with added flair, like a whole row of wild symbols or a payout multiplier.
In many cases, bonuses also give you the opportunity to win a jackpot.
Jackpots
Jackpots are the big wins, the multi-hundred or -thousand dollar hits that you see in movies and on TV. There are two common jackpot types.
Some jackpots can be hit during normal play, and others are triggered by bonuses.
Local Progressive Jackpots
Every time you spin the reels on a slot, you’re contributing to the larger jackpot pool. Machines usually have a top box component or a special area used to display the current jackpot levels.
Local jackpots take from either a single machine or a small group of slot machines, such as a bank of five neighboring machines. As a result, these jackpots don’t get quite as high as their wide area progressive counterparts but can still reach multiple thousands of dollars.
Wide Area Progressive Or Linked Jackpots
Wide area progressive jackpots take from every dollar put into a large number of machines. Because they can pull from a wider pool of players (even across multiple casinos), these jackpots can reach much higher amounts. These are the jackpots that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher.
Need Help? Slots Have Guides Built-In
If you’re having trouble figuring out how a slot works, try clicking the “Help” or “?” button. Most video slots and all online slots have this option. It will open a page that tells you the value of each symbol, how to hit the bonuses, and more helpful info.
If you’re playing on a mechanical slot machine on the casino floor, you can always ask a casino employee for more information.
Reprinted from the American Casino Guide - 1999 edition
By Steve Bourie
Today, the average U.S. casino makes about 65% of its profits off its slot machines. Actually, that number representsall different kinds of a casino’s machines including video poker, video keno, video blackjack, and all other varietiesof electronic games. It didn’t use to be that way. In fact, it used to be just the opposite! Table games were the big revenue producers for the casinos and it was usually the men who playedthose games while their wives were kept busy at the slot machines.
Back in the 40s and early 50s, the old mechanical slots were full of gears and springs and were actually powered by pulling the handle which started the reels spinning. One of the problems withthese machines was that they were limited in the size of the jackpots they could offer because they could only accept one coin, plus the hoppers, still relying on those springs and gears, werelimited in the number of coins they could payout.
In the 60s the next generation of slots was introduced: the electromechanical. These machines still had a handle on the outside, but this time when you pulled it you activated an electricswitch which started a motor to spin the reels. These machines increased the popularity of slots because they allowed multiple coin play and they also had electrically-powered hoppers thatcould pay out much larger jackpots. In the 80s computer-controlled slots were introduced.
These new machines revolutionized the industry because everything was now controlled by a computer chip. These electronic marvels could offer progressive jackpots that were linked amongdifferent machines and it wasn’t long before this new computer technology led to the introduction of a new game called video poker.
Find A Slot Machine
Today, the technology is so advanced that it allows slot machines that are hundreds of miles apart to be linked together by computer and offer jackpots that start at $10 million (SuperMegabucks), or video poker to be played from five different decks at the same time (Five Deck Frenzy).
Although the technology constantly changes, one thing remains the same: the person responsible for the operation of the slot department is the slot manager. It is the slot manager whodetermines how the slot department will be laid out and how much the machines will be set to pay back.
As a slot player, you’ve probably had a few questions about how a slot department works: How do they decide where to put those slot machines out on the casino floor? Is winning purely luck? Aresome machines really set to pay back more than others? And, if so, where do they put those better-paying machines? Well, the person with the answer to those questions would be the slot managerand I found two who were gracious enough to sit down for an interview in early 1998 to answer some questions about how their departments work and what goes into some of their businessdecisions.
The first stop was at the office of Rich Marino, Director of Slot Operations, at Luxor, the giant pyramid-shaped casino-resort in Las Vegas. Luxor is owned by Circus Circus, one of the largestgaming companies in the world, and the hotel itself, with more than 4,400 rooms, is the world’s third-largest hotel.
Rich began his career working downtown at the Union Plaza in 1976 in the coin room pulling the buckets under the machines. He eventually became the shift manager and a few years laterhe moved to the Gold Strike which later merged with Circus Circus. After a one-year stint at the Elgin Riverboat in Illinois, Rich returned to Las Vegas to help open the Luxor casino and he’sbeen there ever since.
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Rich has more than 200 employees working for him in his slot department, including change people, floor people, money runners, booth cashiers; supervisors, assistant shift managers, andmanagers.
Rent A Slot Machine
Bourie: What are the job functions of the various people in your department?
Marino: A change person's main function is to provide our casino guests with change service without having to leave the machine. They also pay and verify jackpots on themachines. A booth cashier's function is to provide change and coin redemption service. Floor persons do minor repairs, fill empty machines, and verify jackpots. Supervisors verify the fillingof machines and the payment of jackpots up to certain amounts. Assistant Shift Managers and Shift Managers verify larger jackpots. ...and manage all operations on their particular shift.
Bourie: What goes into your decisions when you lay out the slot floor and are deciding where to put slot machines?
Marino: Traffic flow is the most important consideration when laying out a slot floor. Placing lower denomination machines in high traffic flow areas to insure that theproperty always looks busy. Also, I place the more popular machines in slower areas to draw people to those locations. I look for what types of machines people are playing and I also runreports continually: which locations are doing best, my top 10 machines, my types of machines, etc.
Bourie: What is the most popular machine?
Marino: Wheel of Fortune is the most popular right now. IGT (International Game Technology) took its reel-spinning slot machine and added a second-feature spinning wheel on topthat offers a bonus to players. They combined that with the popularity of the Wheel of Fortune game show and they now have the most successful machine on the market.
Actually, in the past 10 years, the slot industry has been kind of boring: just pull the handle and let the reels spin. Now, we have all these second-feature-type games with the WilliamsGames and the Vision IGT (International Game Technology) series. It makes it more exciting. It's not a local type of excitement, but a tourist type of excitement. Tourists like them a lot morethan the locals like them.
Bourie: I went to the gaming show recently and some of those newer slots seemed a little complicated.
Marino: In some cases, I have to actually sit down and play those games before I can figure them out. Initially, I thought that the customers would reject them, but it'snot happening. They are really taking to them. I believe a lot of the customers don't even know which combinations they’re winning on. All they know is that they’re having a good time andaccumulating a lot of credits.
Bourie: They actually don't know the winning combinations?
Marino: Yes, but they know they're having fun. They know there's money coming and they're winning credits and they're having a good time. That's the name of the game. Thereality is that the casino has the edge. You know that and I know that and everybody knows that, but what you’ve got to do is let people have as much fun as they can so that even if they don’twin, they're still having fun. It's an entertainment experience. If you're sitting there and take out a $20 bill, and you're playing and that $20 bill is gone and you don't hit anything, you'vegot a negative experience, you know what I mean?
Bourie: How about your decisions concerning the physical layout and where you want to place the machines?
Marino: What I try to do initially is create excitement by the front entrance of the casino so when a customer walks in they see people playing and having fun. I put popularnickel games upfront because it seems the nickel games always fill up first. (Pulls out the floor plan of the casino and points to various locations). As you can see I've located a couple ofnickel banks upfront and some Wheel of Fortune games next to them.
I try to draw the customers in and create a good flow through the casino. This is the entrance (pointing to a different area of the layout) from the Excalibur when you come over from the movingwalkway that links the two properties. Here, I try to create the same scenario by putting Wheel of Fortunes on this wall and the Williams games adjacent to them. And, as I said, I try to createexcitement in each area and I do that with the types of machines or denominations. The nickel games kind of shield the front areas and we also put them in the back areas because customers aregoing to find them there. They're going to find them no matter where you put them because they like playing nickel machines.
Bourie: I’d like to address some common beliefs that players have about slot machines and here’s the first one: “The casino can flip a switch to make the machines hold more.”Or, “the machines are set tighter on the weekends.” I’ve actually heard people say “there's a big convention coming this week and they're going to reset all the slots to make themtighter.” Any truth to those kinds of thoughts?
Marino: There is no magic switch. The only time we change a machine is when we convert it to a newer or more popular model. And, of course, when you get a new model, then youwould change the e-prom (the computer chip that controls the payback percentage) to that new model. The manufacturer initially sets all the percentages for the machines when ordered. Idetermine the hold percentages I want by the denomination of the machine. The hold percentage averages for the Las Vegas Strip are 11% for nickels, 6.5% for Quarters, 4.5% for dollars, and 3.5%for five dollars and above.
Also, gaming-wise to do that, it's not just going in and changing a chip. You have to go in and you actually have to take all of the money out of the machine. It's got to be returned to thecashier's cage, that money has to be counted and you have to assign a new number to that machine because that's a new machine once you change the e-prom. So, gaming regulations require you tochange the statistics on the whole new machine. It's a whole day process to do that. It's not just to go in and change the chip and leave and say “okay, I've tightened them up for the weekend.”
Bourie: Another thing many players believe is that “the best-paying machines are on the aisles.”
Marino: Not true. The best machines are on the aisle? I'll tell you what, that's a perception people have because most of them like to play machines on the aisle. They'll walkup and play the machines in the end because they don't want to play with somebody next to them. If you've got a guy playing here, here, and here, you're not going to go right next to thatguy. You're going to go to the end so there's nobody next to you. That's why we've gone to these round configurations. People don't like sitting next to each other. So, we're going moreand more to the round ones because people really like that a lot and these games do a lot better than the normal straight rows of slot machines. That's why I try to break them up with roundsdown the middle and slants.
But as far as the tighter and the looser machines, I set them up by model types. I mean, if I have a bank of quarter machines, I'll have a Double Diamond; a Red, White, and Blue; and mypercentages on those quarter machines are all the same. So, it doesn't matter which machine I put where.
Bourie: Then you wouldn’t have a situation where a high-paying machine would be sitting next to a low-paying machine?
Marino: No. If the machines were the same denomination on a particular bank the hold percentages would be virtually the same. In my dollar machines I order everything atbetween 4% and 5%. So, you're talking the difference between one percentage point and that's only because certain models are only available at certain percentages. I mean, I would never put an8% dollar machine next to one at 4%. I don't do that here. Some places might do that, I don't know. I try to give everybody an equal shot no matter what.
Bourie: So, there would be very little difference between a high machine and a low machine?
Marino: If I was going to set it up that way I would put the loosest machine in the middle as opposed to the end because they get the most play. That's why it appears tobe looser to the customer because it gets more play and more action and more people are playing it and it cycles more. And, it gets into those better cycles more often.
Bourie: Which brings us to the next question, “Do machines get ‘hot’ and payout more frequently?”
Marino: Sure they get hot, they also get cold. Through the cycle of a machine, it’s a percentage to pay out a certain amount over a period of time-based on the number ofhandles pulls the machine receives. However, the hot and cold cycles are random and indeterminable.
Bourie: When you order a slot machine do you have to tell the manufacturer what you want it to pay?
Marino: Yes.
Bourie: And, each manufacturer tells you the pre-approved percentages you can choose from?
Marino: That's correct. (goes to the shelf, pulls down a book and opens it to a page). This book contains all the available hold percentages for these particular models and thedenomination of a machine is what determines the hold percentage I would order for it.
This is what I order quarter machines at - 92.4% - which would be right around 7.5% holding for the house. If it's dollars, I order this one (around 95%) and for twenty-fives (around 97%) orhundreds (around 98%), it goes up, like that. If it's nickels, you start down here (around 89%). That's the way it works.
Now, over a period of time, this quarter machine is going to pay back 92.42% and it's going to hold around 7.5% for the house. And when I say over a period of time, that means over 10 millionhandle pulls.
Bourie: 10 million is the life cycle? On every machine?
Marino: 10 million is the number of handle pulls the manufacturer has determined it would take a particular machine to achieve that 7.5% hold calculation. Getting to thatnumber though may take a year. That means in January, that machine might be hot, or today it may be hot. So, I may be holding...it's a volatility index they call it...for the first two monthsof the cycle when that machine goes out on the floor, I may be in the negative. I may be paying out 400% or 500% on that game. But, the next month it may be tighter and at the end of thatcycle, it's going to hold at 8%.
Let me show you something else here. I just put these games on the floor last week. These are the new vision games from IGT (International Game Technology). These have been on the floorfor approximately 14 days. What I do is an analysis: the coin in, jackpots filled, and it tells me my win per day, per unit, and my payout percentage. Now, the first week, which is hardlyanything to analyze, but this machine is doing its handle per day. This is what it's handling, this is what it's winning, this is what it's holding: 5.72%. It actually should be at 4.92%.So, it's over holding by .80%. It's holding too much.
Bourie: So, you always have a variable there?
Marino: Right. There's a variance there. The next game on the row, okay, this one is not holding. It's half of what it should be holding.
Bourie: That's half of what it should be holding, based on what the manufacturer said?
Marino: Right. It should be holding 5.2%, the manufacturer said, and it's only holding 2.75%, but it's only been on the floor for two weeks. When you see a machine notholding...we do a comparison at the end of each month of winners and losers. Then we look at the coin in and we see how long they've been on the floor. Most of the time, I'll look at ayear-to-date number, or a lifetime number on the machine to see where they are actually at.
Bourie: Will this tell you how many actual pulls were made on that machine?
Marino: Sure. You just divide, or you go to the machine itself and you could see exactly how many handle pulls. Normally, you just divide it by the number of coins in and youcould tell the handle pulls. That's basically what we do, but we don't tighten them up, or loosen them up. Once they're out there, they're out there. The only time we do conversions is when wesee a model not getting enough play. Then we say it's not popular and we try something else.
Bourie: Do you ever have a problem, after a year, where a machine doesn’t make money for you?
Marino: No, usually a machine will hold what it is the percentage to hold if it’s had enough handle pulls. If they're supposed to hold 5%, they'll hold 5% after they've been onthe floor for a while Usually when they don't make money, they're holding what they are supposed to hold, but it's not enough for the house average. What you would do is take your bottom 20% ofyour machines and convert those to more popular models.
But to go back to what you were asking before, the hot and the cold factor? That's definitely true. The machine can be hot today and colder than anything tomorrow. It will pay out 400% today toyou and tomorrow it might take 400% from somebody else.
Bourie: Okay, but there's no way to tell if it’s going to stay hot, is there? It reminds me of when I talk to people about playing craps. They all say “just find a ‘hot’ crapgame.” I say, “fine, you may find a ‘hot’ crap game, but all you know is what happened in the past. You don't know what's going to happen in the future.”
Marino: Sure, It's the same as a “hot” slot machine, you just don't know what the next pull will bring.
Bourie: Right. But people say, “well if it's a ‘hot’ machine, it's going to keep paying out.” People are under the assumption that it's going to keep paying out, and I tellthem “no, it's purely luck.”
Marino: You’re right. They don't pay out forever. All it is, is luck. Being in the right place at the right time.
Bourie: How about this one: “don't play a machine that just hit a jackpot?”
Marino: Well, it doesn't matter.
Bourie: And that’s because the odds remain constant on every pull of the handle?
Marino: That's right.
Bourie: One last question. Do you have any suggestions for players?
Marino: Suggestions for players? The only suggestion I have is to just play the machine that you enjoy the most and that you have a good time at. I mean...I play a little bit.I go out with my wife and she’ll play video poker machines. I'll play video poker with her, but I just play the machines that I enjoy playing. I'll play machines that I see paying back the bestto the customer (by looking at the paytable). Those are the ones I'll look for, and locals do that. If you're a local customer, that's what you look for: the good video poker machines. Justlike Jeff (referring to Jeff Compton, author of the Las Vegas Advisor Guide to Slot Clubs) will tell you. He's an expert at video poker machines.
Rich’s answers were surprisingly candid and they certainly laid to rest some long-standing beliefs among slot players as to how slots are set up in a casino. For years slot players have alwaysbelieved that some machines were set much higher than others within a casino. Rich dispelled this myth by pointing out that all of his machines within a particular denomination were set to payback approximately the same amount. He pointed out that not all manufacturers offer the exact same percentages in their computer chips so there could be a difference of as high as 1% but youreally won’t find a situation where the one-quarter machine that’s set to return 92% would be sitting next to another quarter machine set to return 82%.
It's Like A Slot Machine In There Hands
If you look at the numbers from the Nevada Gaming Control Board regarding the returns on slot machines that are shown in this book it certainly corroborates what Rich was saying. After all, ifthe average $1 machine returns 95% how much of a difference could there be between the high and the low? Do you think half of the $1 machines are set at 99% and the other half are set at 91% inorder to get that 95% average? Sorry, but it just doesn’t work that way. Yes, there are differences among machines but, once again, the amount is minimal and it probably amounts to no more than1%.
And what about the common belief that machines at the end of an aisle are set to return the most? Well, Rich killed that idea too. He explained that it just seems that end machines pay out moreoften simply because they've played more often.
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This is somewhat akin to the “bad player” theory in blackjack. According to this theory, if there’s a bad player at the blackjack table who constantly makes poor decisions it will somehowaffect the order of the cards and cause the good players (who make correct playing decisions) to lose more often. The truth is that the bad player really has no effect on the game becausesometimes his decisions will hurt you and sometimes his decisions will help you. The problem is that you only tend to remember the situations where you lost because of his poor play and forgetthe times that you won because of his boneheaded moves.
Best Slot Machines To Play
This same theory can apply to slot machines at the end of an aisle. When you’re playing in a casino, or just walking through, you’ll only remember the times you saw people winning at machines,not losing. Since the end-of-the-aisle machines get more play, they will, of course, have more winners and people will tend to remember them as the better paying machines.
Picture Of A Slot Machine
As far as constantly changing the payback percentages on the chips to make machines “looser” or “tighter” Rich pointed out that it’s not quite that simple and that changes are rarely madebecause of all the extra work that’s involved.
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In the July 1998 issue of Las Vegas Advisor this same subject was covered in an interview with three different Las Vegas casino slot managers and two officials from the Nevada GamingControl Board. The Advisor writer discovered that there actually are some slots where the percentages can be changed by flipping a switch, but it only applies to machines that are connectedtogether in a “bank” where they all share the same centralized chip. The vast majority of the machines in a casino, however, are not capable of this function as they each have their owninternal chip.
The Advisor story also went on to point out that Nevada law requires casinos to do paperwork whenever a chip is changed and it must be completed within 24 hours. Also, the casino must completeadditional accounting paperwork for filing with the state. Evidently, the process is so time-consuming the story concluded that “ no one we talked to even had a secondhand story of aNevada casino that frequently changes chips.”