SLOT TRUTHS
Veteran slot players tell their tales
By Frank Scoblete
I am interviewing several veteran slot players. What do they have to say about their favorite game in the casino? Let’s take a look:
FRANK
Slot machines make more money for the casinos than any other playing option. Somewhere between 65 and 90 percent of the revenue probably comes from the machines. With just about all other casino games, the player knows what house edge he or she faces; not so with slot machines. It’s a blind play. How do you feel about the slot game?
KENYA
Look, I know that the machines are programmed to beat me. I don’t think slot players play thinking they have the edge over the house. But playing the slots is relaxing for me. I do not consider the table games relaxing. I find too many of those players think of themselves as experts. That I find irritable.
With slots I pick the exact machine I want to play and it is just the machine and me. The machine rewards me or it doesn’t. My game is a small game; just me and the machine. Now, I just have to convince the machine of that.
WILLIAM
Machines are machines, right? I can look around any casino in Vegas and it is no secret that slots rule the world of casinos. There are so many different kinds and yet they all do the same thing. You put your credits, which means your money, into the machine and hope for a favorable outcome.
Slot machines are simple games. You do have so many different kinds of experiences, yet they are all the same—money in, hopefully some money out. I’ve had some good sessions. Mostly, I am down. I don’t think too many slot players are ahead. Are they?
MATTIE
Slots make that much money for the house? I never knew that exactly. But upon reflection, yes, that makes total sense. The casinos are filled to bursting with slot machines. I don’t care how many people play blackjack. The casino is not bursting with blackjack tables or craps tables or roulette tables.
You go into a big casino and it is all slots. It used to be that all the sounds came from the machines; you know, the coin sounds. Now everything is recorded. The sounds aren’t as loud. But the flashing lights are still bright and they still invite you to try your luck. I kind of feel that pull. It’s almost irresistible.
KENDRA
Do you think many slot players really think they are going to win? Nope. I think slot players live on hope. That’s what drives them to the machines. It is all wrapped up in one big emotion; the hope that they might win. That is the fantasy. At least I think that is the fantasy.
I have that. I play a machine and if I am losing—after a while, a little while or a lot of while—I will go to a different machine with the hope that my luck will change on the new machine.
You can say that playing the slots is a lesson in hope. Can you win? Yes, sometimes it goes your way. But I doubt many slot players are ahead of the game. Well, maybe those lucky players who won big jackpots. The rest? They can hope.
All slot players are in a circle of hope
BRAD
Slot players are jealous types. Oh, yes, they are. If I am screaming because I hit a big one and some players come over to congratulate me, they aren’t thinking, “Oh, I am so happy for that guy.” No, they are actually thinking, “That should have been me!”
Listen, I don’t care if other players have good fortune. I want all the fortune to come to me.
You say that slot machines make a lot of money for the casinos. I want some of that money. You could say that I am greedy. I’ll admit to that. I don’t care about the world of the slot player; I care about the world of this slot player—the M-E player.
LOURIE
On the surface, it does seem ridiculous to put your money in a machine that is programmed to take your money. At times, the machine will reward you but, in the end, it is all about your money going into the machine, not the machine’s money going to you.
Do all slot players realize this? I think most do. Some might not. I don’t know how intelligent those players are but they do not have any sense about what a casino is all about. It ain’t about giving people money. It’s about getting people to think they are giving people the money when they keep the money.
You know, I have no problem with that. The casino is selling excitement. I buy it. I enjoy my time in the casino, I really do. I’d love to win a bundle but I will play whether I win a bundle or not. If I have a big win, I probably should think of that as a loan from the casino that I will eventually pay back.
I think I have paid back every win I ever had to this point. Oh, yes, there is always the future and that is what keeps me playing along with the excitement.
FRANK
All the best in and out of the casinos!
Frank Scoblete’s website is www.frankscoblete.com. Frank’s books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, kindle, e-books, libraries and bookstores.
