The Slot Slant

The slot department on the casino floor can be a confusing place. Hundreds of different machines greet the player. Bright colors, mindless electronic tunes and flashing lights seem to assault the senses. Different pay tables and payoff percentages; straight payoffs or progressive slot systems; win-a-car prizes or take the money and run; the choices are tremendous. Just making a decision about which machine to play often seems to be daunting.

The following quiz may clear up some of the confusion that faces a prospective slot player when deciding on where and what machines to play:

1) Can you win playing a slot machine?

2) How many coins should I play? Won't my money last longer if I play one coin at a time?

3) How can you tell which machines pay out more than the others?

4) Can the casino change the payback on a machine whenever it wants?

5) Is it better to play a machine with a progressive jackpot or one that has lower paybacks?

6) What is a random number generator?

7) Aren't slot clubs just a way for the casino to make sure you don't win too much money?

8) Why do some states require that a machine be shut down for a period after it hits a big jackpot?

9) Most progressive slot systems (Megabucks, Quartermania, Pokermania) pay out their jackpots over a 20-year period. What happens if the casino goes out of business during that time? What are the payout percentages for these systems?

10) How can you tell when a machine is due to hit?

Can you win playing a slot machine?

Yes. Slot machines are set to pay back a certain percentage. In New Jersey, by law, slot machines must pay back 83 percent of the money played. In Nevada, it's 75 percent. Most major properties in each jurisdiction, however, pay back much more than that.

But even at 75 percent, a player can hit a lucky streak and go home a winner. Sure, most players may not win anything, but there are plenty who do win if they know the secret. Somebody's got to get lucky. Why can't it be you?

The key to beating the slot machines is to quit while you're ahead. Money management is sometimes an overused term in the gamblers' world, but it applies here. Set a reasonable win goal. If you have a budget of $100, don't try to double your money. The chance of that happening is remote. Quit when you get $25 ahead. Go enjoy a show. Get a meal. Or simply watch the other players. And when you get home, you can say you beat the casino.

How many coins should I play? Won't my money last longer if I play one coin at a time?
Yes, your money will last longer, but by playing only one coin, you're giving up the chance of either hitting the big jackpot which usually pays a bonus for playing the maximum amount of coins, or you're not activating all the lines on a multi-line machine, therefore excluding yourself from the chance to hit more frequent jackpots.

Always play maximum coin. If you can't afford maximum coin at the $1 machines, drop down to 25-cent machines. But whatever you do, don't miss out on the chance to win the big of frequent prizes.

How can you tell which machines pay out more than the others?
Checking the payback of the casinos in the areas you plan to visit gives you a head start. These are often published in local newspapers or casino publications. Unless you have a favorite casino where they know you personally and you feel comfortable, why not head for the casinos with the highest payouts? It only makes sense.

It gets a little more difficult when you get to the casino. You can't tell which machines pay more than others just by looking at them. It takes study and intuition.

First decide upon your gaming budget. To play $1 machines, you should have at least a couple of hundred dollars. Less than $100? Head for the quarters.

Then take a walk around. Check out the action. Try the three-pull rule: Put the maximum number of coins in the machine three times. If you hit a small jackpot, keep playing. If you don't get anything back, move on. You'll know when you're comfortable and things are flowing.

Play the machines at the end of the aisles that are near other banks of slot machines. Sources say that slot executives place higher paying slot machines in locations that are visible to other players so that they will lure players to other, lower paying, slot machines.

Avoid slot machines surrounding the table games. Table players may get up to stretch and drop a few coins in a nearby machine. Casino executives don't want those table players to get lucky and continue to play the slot machines instead of the table games, so they put the tightest machines around the tables.

Likewise, avoid machines near the showroom or food outlets where people wait in line. Since these players merely drop a few spare coins into the machines with no expectations of winning, there's no reason for the casino to put loose machines in those locations.

If you're still confused, ask a slot attendant which machine pays off more than the others. They work the slot floor all day long. Maybe they'll steer you to a machine that they see pay out more than others. If they help in this manner, don't forget them. Slip them a few bucks, and you've found a friend for life.

Can the casino change the payback on a machine whenever it wants?
The answer is a qualified "yes." When a casino buys a slot machine, it will tell the slot manufacturer to deliver it already programmed to pay back a certain percentage. Unless there is a major change in the slot marketing policy of a casino, the percentage will not change.

If a casino does decide to change the payback percentage (and when they do this, it's usually done to increase the payoff, rather than decrease it), it is done over a period of several weeks so the change will be gradual.

Is it better to play a machine with a progressive jackpot or one that has lower paybacks?
It depends upon your objective. If you want to go for the life-changing jackpot-something that will allow you to tell your boss where he can put your job-a slot machine with a big progressive jackpot will give you a thrill. The chances of hitting that jackpot are quite remote, to say the least, but it will no doubt be exciting to dream about it.

If you want to have a chance of taking home a little more money than you arrived with, you might want to concentrate on the machines that offer lower, but more frequent, payouts. The way to determine which machines fall into this category is to read the glass. Check for multiple payout combinations and you're probably in the ballpark.

What Is A Random Number Generator?
The random number generator (RNG) is the heart of the slot machine for the player's purposes. This little computer chip determines how much the machine pays out by constantly cycling through numbers and producing combinations that comply with the payoff percentage desired by the casino.

Aren't slot clubs just a way for the casino to make sure you don't win too much money?
Slot clubs have very little to do with winning or losing. The card readers attached to nearly every modern slot machine allow casino management to compile data on the players. It tells them how much the customers play, what denomination, how many coins per pull they deposit and, yes, how much they win or lose.

How much a player wins is not the issue here, however. Casinos know that statistically they will win a set percentage from each player over the long run- and they mean the l-o-n-g r-u-n. A player could beat a casino every day for a year, and it wouldn't change how the casino treats that person.

A slot club is used to determine how many goodies (rooms, meals, shows, cash back) a casino can give individual players as a reward for their loyalty. It only makes sense to register for the slot club in a casino before you play so you qualify for its incentive programs.

Why do some states require that a machine be shut down for a period after it hits a big jackpot?
Today's slot machines are electro-mechanical wonders, with safeguards built into them to prevent tampering. But slot cheats are only one step behind the latest technology, so when large (or even smaller, hand-paid) jackpots are hit, the casino wants to examine the machine to make certain the jackpot was hit honestly, and not through some type of malfunction or player tampering. So not only do the regulatory agencies generally require it, but the casino also wants to verify the jackpot to protect itself.

Most progressive slot systems (Megabucks, Quartermania, Pokermania) pay out their jackpots over a 20-year period. What happens if the casino goes out of business during that time? What are the payout percentages for these systems?
In the case of the Megabucks, Quartermania, Fabulous 50s, High Rollers and other multi-casino linked slot systems, the manufacturer and supplier of these systems, International Game Technology, maintains a trust system. Let's say a player hits a $1 million jackpot. IGT and the system's participating casinos will deposit an amount of money in a bank account that will spin off $1 million over a 20-year period. The amount of money they deposit depends upon the prevailing interest rate, but the player is guaranteed to receive all $1 million over the course of the 20 years. Even if all the casinos and IGT went bankrupt during that period (not a very likely possibility), the jackpot winner will still receive the prize.

The participating casinos in a linked-slot system get together to decide on the payoff percentage. In Nevada, for instance, the payoff percentage for Megabucks in March 1994 (the latest available data) was 87.8 percent. When the jackpot is hit, the percentage will soar to the upper 90s or more. But averaged out for the entire year, Megabucks pays less than the typical $1 machine (89.4 percent vs. 95.7 percent). Generally, the same is true of all the progressive linked systems.

Some linked systems, by the way, pay the entire jackpot all at once. Bally's Bucks, in Atlantic City, and Fastest Cash, at the Circus Circus properties in Nevada, are just a couple of examples.

How can you tell when a machine is due to hit?

A word that should not be in any slot player's vocabulary is "due." No machine is ever "due." The RNG constantly cycles and conceivably could pay out two top awards in the space of two pulls, and then not pay another for years.

The only way to even get an idea about individual machines is to "scout" them over an extended period of time. Keep mental (or even written) notes about which machines you and other players seem to win on again and again. Those machines that pay out consistently will be the ones on which to concentrate your play. No, it's not an exact science, but even a little information can go a long way.

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Additional Learn To Play Links:
Taking the Plunge:
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