Jackpot Slot Machines – Everything You Wanted to Know
- Huge Slot Machine Wins
- What Frequency Makes Slot Machines Winning
- What Frequency Makes Slot Machines Windows 7
What Is RTP On Slot Machines? Slotsia.com 8 August, 2017 Casinopedia The RTP, an acronym short for Return to Player, is a figure in percent that informs you about the odds of winning while you’re playing an online slot. The hit frequency basically tells you how many times you’ll have to lose in order to win – on average. A return of a couple of coins is a hit, but it’s not much of a win. For most slot machines, the hit frequency ranges from 9 to 25 percent. This turns out to a hit average of 9-25 times for every 100 spins conducted. What penny slot machines have a high frequency of paying? Is that set by individual casinos or by the machine's manufacturer? I ask because you said that Cashman pays about 50 percent of the time. I would say that every penny slot machine that is a multi-line/multi-coin machine has a high hit frequency (more than 20 percent).
Jackpot slot machines are a staple in any online casino and a big crowd draw because of the massive flashing lights blinking million dollar prizes. They’re really like every other slot machine, but jackpot slots have one special difference, they’re pool of money is connected between several machines (this type is called progressive jackpot slots). This is how it is in both land-based casinos and online casinos. Each time someone makes a wager on a jackpot slot, a portion of their losses go into the giant jackpot.
Consider ten machines connected, one hundred machines or, in the casino of online casinos, millions of players connected. You will quickly get the idea of how the wins get into the million dollar figures. These games often have jackpots larger than national lotteries and you can spin the reels ten times in the time it takes to buy a lottery ticket. So the obvious appeal are the large jackpots, but deeper still is that instinctual gambling desire for the big payout.
Listed above are seven of the top online slot jackpots for Microgaming Games. The numbers are drawn directly from the data provided by Microgaming and is all in real time. The Mega Mega Moolah slot jackpot is currently at an estimated 3.7 million dollars and King Cashalot is begging for a payout with $574,823. The Mega Moolah progressive jackpot slot prize is a pool of funds from several online casinos that offer Microgaming. Poker texas holdem regeln split pot.
Online Slot Jackpots
Each of the slot jackpots above require that the player make max bet wagers in order to be eligible for the progressive slot jackpot. The Play now section under each of the slot jackpots above gives players an exclusive bonus to try out these games with 30 free spins and an additional $1600 in four 100% matching bonuses up to $200 each. Playthrough requirements are active on this promotion.
On each spin of an online slot set to max bet, with a jackpot or progressive jackpot reward, players instantly become eligible to win. In other words, every spin is an opportunity at a large pay like those seen on Mega Moolah and King Cashalot as mentioned above.
Microgaming Progressive Slots
Microgaming is well known for having paid out the largest known mobile casino game win at nearly 4000000. They have also held online slots tournaments with a payout to one lucky player of over 6000000. Along with those millions being paid out, Microgaming is also on record as having paid the largest win at online bingo with 5.8 million.
Some of the other online slot jackpots offered by Microgaming are attached to the following games:
WowPot™ this Microgaming progressive slot can be found as a 5 reel progressive and a 3 reel progressive slot. There are extra paylines on the version that has five reels and because of that this one gives more opportunities for players to win. Both versions of WOWPot share the same progressive pool so this makes for an often won, but always replenished progressive jackpot slot from Microgaming.
WowPot™ this Microgaming progressive slot can be found as a 5 reel progressive and a 3 reel progressive slot. There are extra paylines on the version that has five reels and because of that this one gives more opportunities for players to win. Both versions of WOWPot share the same progressive pool so this makes for an often won, but always replenished progressive jackpot slot from Microgaming.
SupaJax™ is a game of video poker that is networked across the Microgaming casino network for larger progressive pots.
Fruit Fiesta™ is one of the most liked games by players out of the Microgaming progressive collection. The game has a very high frequency for scatter symbols to hit. There are two versions, the three reel and the five reel and both are connected to several online casinos that carry or are powered by Microgaming.
Lotsaloot™ this video slot game has a classic 3 reel version as well as a brand new, 20 pay line version with 5 reels. As with the other Microgaming progressives, both versions of Lotsaloot feed into a progressive fund.
Jackpot Deuces™as with SupaJax, Jackpot Deuces is an online video poker machine. This game is different in that it has deuces set to wild. Jackpot Deuces is connected to several online casinos.
Cash Splash™ this game is widely known as the 1st progressive jackpot to ever be online. It is found in online casinos as either a three reel or five reel.
Triple 7s™ is quite different from any other type of progressive that we have ever seen. Triple 7s just so happens to be a game of Blackjack setup with a progressive pot. Pretty cool for those fans of Blacjack.
Tunzamunni™is a progressive slot featuring a theme of treasure. It's fashioned in the old style of one line with three reels. Not exactly our favorite game out there, but there has to be someone playing because the progressive jackpot is up to around $41000. That's a lot of nickels!
The Dark Knight™ this online slot is particularly interesting as it offers four progressive jackpots within the game. These jackpots are triggered with a bonus wheel.
The four progressive prizes for The Dark Knight are:
Mini Progressive starting a 10
Minor Progressive 100
Major Progressive 10000
and the Mega Progressive at an amazing 1 000 000
Minor Progressive 100
Major Progressive 10000
and the Mega Progressive at an amazing 1 000 000
King Cashalot™ this progressive slot has a theme centered in the days of King Arthur. Well, in this case, King Cashalot. With wild multipliers, five reels, scatter symbols and nine paylines, this progressive slot jackpot is huge! The slot game also features a main bonus round where players can select and collect and a mini bonus round available on all wins where players can gamble for a larger win.
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Treasure Nile™ doesn't have much to have said about it other than it's treasure, it's the Nile, it's progressive and it's a nine line payout.
Major Millions™ the very interesting thing about Major Millions is that the progressive jackpot will always start at 250000. There are three versions of this progressive jackpot slot and all are connected by Microgaming casinos and share the same jackpot.
More of the Mega Moolah Progressive Variations:
Mega Moolah™
Mega Moolah™ – 5 Reel Drive
Mega Moolah™ – Summertime
Mega Moolah™ – 5 Reel Drive
Mega Moolah™ – Summertime
Other Table Game Progressives by Microgaming:
Roulette Royale™
Poker Ride™
Cyberstud™
Caribbean Draw Poker
Poker Ride™
Cyberstud™
Caribbean Draw Poker
Tips for playing Jackpot Slot Machines
Having played thousands of online slot games over the years and hundreds in the casinos, I feel that I can offer some expert advice.
Here are some tips that you may find useful for playing jackpot slot machines:
Manage that Money: You may have thousands of dollars built up in your account, but it only takes a few hundred to play to your first win. When playing slots, the objective is to maintain a balance between wins and losses. Playing with more manageable amounts helps you to keep track of those losses in your head.
Times Vs. Luck in Slots: Take the amount of money that you have and divide it by the lowest wager amount at max bet. Then do the math on the highest wager possible. At one-hundred dollars and a three dollar wager, you get thirty-three spins. With a wager of fifty-dollars versus your one-hundred dollars, you only get two spins. The win would be immense on that fifty dollar wager, but two spins is nothing unless your luck is spot on.
Max Bet is Your Friend: With most jackpot slots, you will need to bet the max for your coin amount in order to be eligible for a jackpot win. Do not make the mistake of hitting five scatters and missing out on a jackpot because you forgot to hit max bet.
Eyes on the Prize: Even though your real reason for playing is that huge jackpot, it is important not to let that drive your next play. There will be a lot of times that you are getting to your last dollar and the machine keeps looking like it will hit. If you can afford that, press through that is fine, but if you want to stay in the game, it might be a good idea to find another slot machine. Greed is a really good motivator and the idea of winning that jackpot will keep you pressing spin, but you still need to be mindful of the win/loss balance.
A Little Casino Recon: It is always good to know how high the jackpot got to before it was last won. Has it ever been won? Playing a slot machine game with a large jackpot in the hundreds of millions may mean your chances of winning are very slim. It took a lot of spins for that game to collect that prize. Then again, chancing it and giving the spin to luck, you may possibly win, but once again, very slim chance.
Jackpot Slot Machines are Fun: If I’m being honest, I really only have fun when I am winning at slots. When I start frowning at a jackpot slot machine, I then know that it collected more from me than what I wanted.
Play for the Big Win: So, the funny thing about progressive jackpot slot machines is that sometimes the winnings from a regular win can be larger than the actual jackpot. I find this to be true a lot of times with Betsoft games. In a game like Slots Angels for instance, there was a seven-thousand-dollar jackpot and I had a spin land on a twenty-thousand-dollar win. That’s why players should just play jackpot slot machines like any other slot game and consider the jackpot a nice bonus if it happens.
Types of Jackpot Slot Machines
The first two categories for jackpot slots are online and land based. There are then subtypes of those categories. There are three subtypes of progressive jackpot slots which occur in both land based and online slots. The first type is the wide area progressive, the second being stand alone and third being single casino progressive or ‘local’.
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Wide area jackpot pool: this refers to a casino network jackpot in which several casinos participate and send money into the jackpot pool. This can be an area as large as a province, state or even globally when considering online casinos. This type of jackpot can quickly become very large and there are also more players contending for the win. Some of the largest jackpots in a wide area gaming network are the Microgaming Jackpots.
Stand-alone jackpot slot machines: these are jackpots which are slot machine specific. The money that is taken in by the house is kept to that online slot so the jackpots tend to be much smaller. This type of jackpot is oftentimes divided into three jackpot sizes of mini, medium and large depending on the software company that developed the game. These are the jackpots that you can win the most often and typically stay very low because of that fact.
In-Casino Jackpot Games: So this one gets a little complicated for online casino jackpot slots. The idea with this subtype is that there are several of the same slot game that feed the jackpot pool. With online casinos, they deal more with sessions than machines, so online casino jackpots can technically be considered this subtype. In land based casinos it is what it is, in that there can be rows of games all connected to the jackpot. That means paying into it and collecting from it. So the player sitting next to you could be making that jackpot larger for you with every spin.
Jackpot Wins are Always Newsmakers
I never understood this, but when someone hits a massive jackpot, just like a big lottery win, the local media makes it a story. Recently an older couple pulled 2.4 million dollars from a jackpot slot machine that had not paid out in well over twenty years. They of course had to put them in the spotlight.
So here’s the advice on this one, when playing a jackpot slot machine at a casino, be sure to have your best clothes on because there’s going to be a picture. Online jackpot slots winners may not have that concern immediately, but online casinos love to get their name out there. When you collect the cheque, expect to be called upon for a photo and a few words how you will spend it.
Jackpot Slot Machines from Olden Times Circa 1989
So in referring back to the couple that won all that money from the slot machine that had not paid out in years and years. It reminded me about a case in 1989 that was heard by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The case involved algorithms that were deemed as proprietary by a slot machines manufacturer in which they created “near misses” and way to many of them to be fair. Near misses are really just that, whenever you watch the symbols lining up and they are about to hit that jackpot or any win, and then “missed it by that much” to quote Maxwell Smart. So it was deemed unacceptable, for the real reel version, but surprisingly, the mapping of reels for virtual games like online slots or those now found commonly in online casinos for near misses above and below the payline are acceptable. It is a very interesting topics, especially in relation to jackpot slot machines and online slots. There is a scholarly article that covers the exact topic, in relation to a player’s reaction to a near miss.
What’s the Verdict Then?
Jackpot slots can be fun for a short thrill. In the long-game in playing online slots and slots for wins, personally I don’t seek out a jackpot. The large wins are fun to dream about winning, but I will stick to just playing for the short wins and lots of them!
What to do with Your Jackpot Winnings
Wow, ya that is totally up to you, grats! However, if you are feeling generous, the email is [email protected], I’ll be happy to count the money for you.
by John Robison
Do the slot machines on the ends of aisles pay better than the machines in the middle? How about the machines near the table games? They’re tight, right? And are the machines near the coin redemption booths loose? Join us on our journey for finding loose slot machines.
The loose slot machine is the slot player’s Holy Grail. Much as King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table searched Britain for the Holy Grail of myth, slot players search casinos for loose machines. Slot players have formulated many theories about where casinos place their loose machines to aid them in their quest.
Before we can figure out where the loose machines are, we have to figure out what they are. There is no U.S.D.A. system for grading the looseness of machines and no national or international standard that determines whether a machine is tight or loose.
Do the slot machines on the ends of aisles pay better than the machines in the middle? How about the machines near the table games? They’re tight, right? And are the machines near the coin redemption booths loose? Join us on our journey for finding loose slot machines.
The loose slot machine is the slot player’s Holy Grail. Much as King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table searched Britain for the Holy Grail of myth, slot players search casinos for loose machines. Slot players have formulated many theories about where casinos place their loose machines to aid them in their quest.
Before we can figure out where the loose machines are, we have to figure out what they are. There is no U.S.D.A. system for grading the looseness of machines and no national or international standard that determines whether a machine is tight or loose.
So, what is a loose slot machine?
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Say we have two 94% payback machines. Are they loose? I bet some people say yes and some say no. Why isn’t there agreement? Let me add a little more information to the scenario to see if it gives you an idea of why one person calls a 94% payback machine loose and another calls it tight. What if I told you that one machine was a nickel machine and the other a dollar machine? For most people who play nickel machines, a 94% machine is among the best-paying machines in their area. For most people who play dollar machines, on the other hand, a 94% machine is among the worst-paying machines in their area. The person who called 94% loose probably plays lower-denomination machines, while the person who called 94% tight probably plays higher-denomination machines.
Let me add one more piece of information. The dollar machine is a video poker machine. Dollar video poker players would rather have root canals on all their teeth with no anesthesia while their fingernails and toenails are ripped off than play a 94% payback machine. They have many adjectives for a 94% payback machine, but loose is not one of them.
You see, loose isn’t an absolute. Looseness depends on your frame of reference. Free no deposit bonus codes 2019. Looseness is actually a comparison. We shouldn’t say “loose.” We should really say “looser”. We should really be asking where the looser machines are. But let’s bow to common usage and continue using the term loose machine.
Let me add one more piece of information. The dollar machine is a video poker machine. Dollar video poker players would rather have root canals on all their teeth with no anesthesia while their fingernails and toenails are ripped off than play a 94% payback machine. They have many adjectives for a 94% payback machine, but loose is not one of them.
You see, loose isn’t an absolute. Looseness depends on your frame of reference. Free no deposit bonus codes 2019. Looseness is actually a comparison. We shouldn’t say “loose.” We should really say “looser”. We should really be asking where the looser machines are. But let’s bow to common usage and continue using the term loose machine.
So, what is a loose machine?
Quite simply, a loose machine is a machine that has a higher long-term payback percentage than another machine. The loose machines in a casino are those machines that have the highest paybacks. These are the machines that will take the smallest bites out of your bankroll in the long run. No wonder slot players are constantly searching for them.
Over the years, players have developed a number of theories about finding loose slot machines. Casinos place loose machines near the entrances, for example, so passersby can see players winning and are enticed to enter the casino and try their luck. The loose machines are also at the ends of the aisles to draw players into the aisle, where the tight machines are.
And, of course, a loose machine is always surrounded by tight machines. You never have two loose machines side by side. That’s done for players who like to play more than one machine at a time. If they should happen to stumble upon one of the loose machines, they’ll be pumping their winnings from it into the tight machines around it.
More theories. The machines near the table games are tight because table games players don’t want to hear a lot of bells and buzzers going off and happy slot players whooping it up after a big win. Another reason the machines near the table games are tight is because table games players will occasionally drop a few coins into a slot machine and they don’t expect to win anything, so why give them a high payback.
Similarly, the machines near the buffet and show lines are tight. People waiting in line are just killing time and getting rid of their spare change. They’re not going to play for a long time or develop a relationship with those machines, so the machines can be like piggy banks – for the casino! Money goes in and rarely comes back out.
The machines near the coin redemption booths, on the other hand, are loose. Players waiting in line for coin redemption are slot players and the casino wants them to see other players winning. Seeing all those players winning will make them anxious to get back on the slot floor to try their luck again.
Finally, finding loose machines in highly visible locations is most likely. Again, casinos want players to see players winning and be enticed into trying to get a piece of the casino’s bankroll themselves.
These are the theories I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe you know of some others. Most of the theories have a basis in psychology. When we see others winning, we’ll want to play too because 1) we’re greedy, 2) we’re envious, or 3) we see that at least some machines really do pay off and if we keep trying we might find one too.
Based on my own discussions with slot directors, interviews with slot directors, and seminars I’ve attended, I don’t think these theories are relevant in today’s slot world. To see why, we have to look at how slot machines and slot floors have changed.
Picture a slot floor of 10-20 years ago. Even if you don’t go back that far, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures on TV or in books. The slot machines on a casino floor in that era are arranged in long rows, much like products out for sale in a supermarket aisle. There’s no imagination used in placing the machines on the floor. The machines are placed using cold, mechanical precision.
On page 193 in Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years by Marshall Fey, there’s a great picture of Bally’s casino floor in Atlantic City that illustrates my point. The picture shows hundreds of slot machines all lined up in perfect rows like little soldiers. The caption reads, “Like a Nebraska cornfield, rows upon rows of Bally slots extend as far as the eye can see.”
Over the years, players have developed a number of theories about finding loose slot machines. Casinos place loose machines near the entrances, for example, so passersby can see players winning and are enticed to enter the casino and try their luck. The loose machines are also at the ends of the aisles to draw players into the aisle, where the tight machines are.
And, of course, a loose machine is always surrounded by tight machines. You never have two loose machines side by side. That’s done for players who like to play more than one machine at a time. If they should happen to stumble upon one of the loose machines, they’ll be pumping their winnings from it into the tight machines around it.
More theories. The machines near the table games are tight because table games players don’t want to hear a lot of bells and buzzers going off and happy slot players whooping it up after a big win. Another reason the machines near the table games are tight is because table games players will occasionally drop a few coins into a slot machine and they don’t expect to win anything, so why give them a high payback.
Similarly, the machines near the buffet and show lines are tight. People waiting in line are just killing time and getting rid of their spare change. They’re not going to play for a long time or develop a relationship with those machines, so the machines can be like piggy banks – for the casino! Money goes in and rarely comes back out.
The machines near the coin redemption booths, on the other hand, are loose. Players waiting in line for coin redemption are slot players and the casino wants them to see other players winning. Seeing all those players winning will make them anxious to get back on the slot floor to try their luck again.
Finally, finding loose machines in highly visible locations is most likely. Again, casinos want players to see players winning and be enticed into trying to get a piece of the casino’s bankroll themselves.
These are the theories I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe you know of some others. Most of the theories have a basis in psychology. When we see others winning, we’ll want to play too because 1) we’re greedy, 2) we’re envious, or 3) we see that at least some machines really do pay off and if we keep trying we might find one too.
Based on my own discussions with slot directors, interviews with slot directors, and seminars I’ve attended, I don’t think these theories are relevant in today’s slot world. To see why, we have to look at how slot machines and slot floors have changed.
Picture a slot floor of 10-20 years ago. Even if you don’t go back that far, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures on TV or in books. The slot machines on a casino floor in that era are arranged in long rows, much like products out for sale in a supermarket aisle. There’s no imagination used in placing the machines on the floor. The machines are placed using cold, mechanical precision.
On page 193 in Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years by Marshall Fey, there’s a great picture of Bally’s casino floor in Atlantic City that illustrates my point. The picture shows hundreds of slot machines all lined up in perfect rows like little soldiers. The caption reads, “Like a Nebraska cornfield, rows upon rows of Bally slots extend as far as the eye can see.”
What Frequency Makes Slot Machines Winning
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Compare that image with the slot floor layout at a casino that was designed in the last five or so years. Studies have shown that players feel very uncomfortable playing in long aisles. They feel trapped when they’re playing in the middle of a long aisle, particularly if the casino is crowded. As a result, modern casinos have shorter aisles and when a long aisle can’t be avoided, it will be wider than others so players won’t feel like they can’t get out.
One of the finding loose machines theories has casinos placing loose machines at the ends of aisles to draw people into the aisles. Having shorter aisles means having more machines at the ends of those aisles. Can all of these machines be loose?
In addition to being uncomfortable in long aisles, players are also uncomfortable being put out on display for the other players. Perhaps they feel like they might become a target if their good luck is too visible.
One slot director I heard speak said that he tried to create “comfortable niches” for his players. Instead of being in a fish bowl, visible to most of the slot floor, players in his niches can be easily seen by only the other players in that niche.
Another theory about loose machine placement is that casinos place them in highly visible areas. Modern casinos still have highly visible areas, but the areas are visible to a smaller number of players. A loose machine in this area will influence fewer players than before.
The last change in the slot floor that I want to mention is perhaps the biggest change of all. Casinos used to have hundreds of slot machines. Now they have thousands. One slot director in Las Vegas said in an interview a few years ago that with so many machines on his floor, he didn’t have time to micro-manage them. He and his management decided the hold percentage they wanted for each denomination and he ordered payback programs close to that percentage for his machines. Furthermore, he said this was the common practice in Las Vegas.
As much as the slot floor has changed, the changes on the floor are dwarfed by the changes in the slot machines themselves. One thing that struck me about that picture of Bally’s is how all the machines look alike. They really do look like soldiers being inspecting, all standing at attention and in identical uniforms, or like rows of indistinguishable corn plants. In fact, it looks like there are only three different games in the 10 machines in the first row in the picture. Granted, the majority of the machines in Bally’s casino were Bally machines. Still I’m surprised by the lack of variety in the machines in the front row in the picture.
I heard that one theory why Americans have gotten heavier is that we have access to a wider variety of foods today than we had before. When meals consisted of the same thing time after time, it was easy to pass up second helpings of gruel and eat just enough to no longer be hungry. But now we have Chinese one night, Mexican the next, followed by Thai, burgers, pizza, and pasta -- it’s easy to overeat on our culinary trip around the world.
Just as variety in food creates desire, so does variety in slot machines. “Hey, I used to watch The Munsters all the time. I’ll try that machine.” “I never miss The Apprentice. I’ll give that machine a go.” “I played Monopoly all the time as a kid.” “I have a cat and a dog and a chainsaw and a toaster.”
Not only is there more variety in themes on machines, there’s also more variety in paytables. Back in the 1920s, a revolutionary change in slot machine design was paying an extra coin for a certain combination. Adding a hopper to the machine in the electro-mechanical era made it possible for the machine to pay larger jackpots itself instead of requiring a handpay from a jackpot girl. Adding a computer to the slot machine made it possible for today’s machines to pay modest jackpots of a few thousand coins all the way up to life-changing jackpots of millions of dollars.
The computer also makes it possible to add more gimmicks to machines. Gimmicks like “spin-til-you win,” symbols that nudge up or down to the payline, haywire repeat-pays, and double spin all add more variety and interest to the games.
Today’s machines are immeasurably more interesting and fun to play than those of even just a decade ago. Each new generation of machines has crisper graphics and better sound than the prior generation. Slot designers are working overtime to devise compelling bonus rounds that will keep players playing for just one more crack at the round. How many people playing Wheel of Fortune are trying to win the jackpot? Not many. Most people keep playing to get one more spin of the wheel.
Slot directors today don’t need to pepper their slot floors with loose machines to stimulate play. Today’s machines themselves generate more desire to play than seeing a player doing well.
Now I'll finish our discussion of where slot directors place loose machines with some additional thoughts, with a few anecdotes I've heard at slot seminars, and with what I think will be the final nail in the coffin of loose machine placement philosophies.
One of the placement theories says that tight machines should be placed near the table games because the table games players don’t like a lot of noise while they’re playing. Have the people putting forth this theory ever been near a craps table? A craps table with a shooter on a hot roll has to be one of the loudest places -- if not the loudest place -- in the casino. Craps players can be a boisterous lot even when the table isn’t hot. Okay, I can see players needing peace and quiet at blackjack tables (It’s difficult to count cards even in a quiet casino.), but not at craps, roulette, Let It Ride, and other tables. In any case, the casino can adjust the volume level on a machine. The slot director can put a very quiet, loose machine near the tables and not disturb a single table games player.
Another problem with following a loose machine placement philosophy is that it limits the flexibility slot directors have in moving their machines around on the slot floor. If the directors are going to give up a little bit in payback on some machines, they certainly will want to get their money’s worth and ensure that these machines are in locations where they’ll be played, be seen being played, and entice other players to play. Slot floors have only a limited number of high visibility areas. Slot directors won’t want to waste any of their high-paying machines in the more numerous less visible areas, where the machines won’t be encouraging other players.
Now I’d like to share some anecdotes I’ve heard at panel discussions during the big gaming show (first the World Gaming Congress, then the Global Gaming Expo) that’s held in Las Vegas each year.
First, one slot director described an experiment he conducted in his casino. He had a carousel of 5 Times Pay machines that all had the same long-term payback. He ordered new chips to lower the payback percentages on a couple of the machines to see if anyone would notice. The machines with the lower long-term paybacks received just as much play as the higher-paying machines. No player, furthermore, ever complained that some of the machines in the carousel were tighter than others.
In another seminar, a slot director shared the philosophy he used to place some machines that he had inherited from another property. These machines, he said, had lower long-term paybacks than the payback he usually ordered for machines on his slot floor. He said, 'I read the same books that the players read. I put these lower payback machines in the spots that the books said should have the high payback machines.'
My last anecdote is about a decision made by the slot director at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas many years ago. He was ordering 10 Times Pay machines for his slot floor and he was concerned about the low hit frequencies available for those machines. (Machines with multiplying symbols tend to have low hit frequencies, and usually the higher the multiplier, the lower the hit frequency.) The slot director was afraid that his players would think the machines were very tight because they hit so infrequently. He said that he ordered higher paybacks than he usually does for those machines in an attempt to offset the low hit frequency. The machines would still have a low hit frequency, but at least the average value of a hit would be a little higher than if he had ordered a payback percentage nearer the percentage he usually ordered. He hoped that would be enough to keep his players from thinking these were tighter than the other machines on his slot floor.
Although I think these anecdotes are the exceptions that prove the rule that some casinos at least order the same long-term paybacks for machines of a particular denomination, there is evidence that some casinos may not. In the first edition of Casino Operations Management, for example, Kilby and Fox list a number of “general philosophies that influence specific slot placement” including: “low hold (loose) machines should be placed in busy walkways to create an atmosphere of activity” and “loose machines are normally placed at the beginning and end of traffic patterns.”
They then say that “high hit frequency machines located around the casino pit area will create an atmosphere of slot activity.” I’m not sure whether they’re saying high hit frequency should or shouldn’t be placed near the pit. In any case, note that one philosophy said that loose machines create an atmosphere of activity and another said that high hit frequency machines also create an atmosphere of activity. This is the perfect segue into what I think puts the final nail in the coffin about loose machine placement theories.
There is no correlation between long-term payback and hit frequency. A low hit frequency machine can have a high long-term payback. High hit frequency machines, in addition, can have low long-term paybacks. Larry Mak, author of Secrets of Modern Slot Playing, recently queried the Nevada Gaming Control Board to find out the payback reported on penny machines. The Board said it was 90.167%. Most of the penny video slots have very high hit frequencies, yet the overall average long-term payback is very low.
The usual reasoning behind putting loose machines in highly visible areas is so slot players can see other players winning. Maybe we should be more precise here and say that players will see other players hitting and assume that they are winning because they are playing loose machines. But because there’s no correlation between hit frequency and long-term payback, these players can actually be playing machines with low long-term paybacks.
I don’t put much stock in loose machine placement theories, but I do believe slot directors may follow a hit frequency placement philosophy. Slot directors may try to place high hit frequency machines in visible areas to encourage play. This philosophy says and implies nothing about the long-term payback of the machines.
Compare that image with the slot floor layout at a casino that was designed in the last five or so years. Studies have shown that players feel very uncomfortable playing in long aisles. They feel trapped when they’re playing in the middle of a long aisle, particularly if the casino is crowded. As a result, modern casinos have shorter aisles and when a long aisle can’t be avoided, it will be wider than others so players won’t feel like they can’t get out.
One of the finding loose machines theories has casinos placing loose machines at the ends of aisles to draw people into the aisles. Having shorter aisles means having more machines at the ends of those aisles. Can all of these machines be loose?
In addition to being uncomfortable in long aisles, players are also uncomfortable being put out on display for the other players. Perhaps they feel like they might become a target if their good luck is too visible.
One slot director I heard speak said that he tried to create “comfortable niches” for his players. Instead of being in a fish bowl, visible to most of the slot floor, players in his niches can be easily seen by only the other players in that niche.
Another theory about loose machine placement is that casinos place them in highly visible areas. Modern casinos still have highly visible areas, but the areas are visible to a smaller number of players. A loose machine in this area will influence fewer players than before.
The last change in the slot floor that I want to mention is perhaps the biggest change of all. Casinos used to have hundreds of slot machines. Now they have thousands. One slot director in Las Vegas said in an interview a few years ago that with so many machines on his floor, he didn’t have time to micro-manage them. He and his management decided the hold percentage they wanted for each denomination and he ordered payback programs close to that percentage for his machines. Furthermore, he said this was the common practice in Las Vegas.
As much as the slot floor has changed, the changes on the floor are dwarfed by the changes in the slot machines themselves. One thing that struck me about that picture of Bally’s is how all the machines look alike. They really do look like soldiers being inspecting, all standing at attention and in identical uniforms, or like rows of indistinguishable corn plants. In fact, it looks like there are only three different games in the 10 machines in the first row in the picture. Granted, the majority of the machines in Bally’s casino were Bally machines. Still I’m surprised by the lack of variety in the machines in the front row in the picture.
I heard that one theory why Americans have gotten heavier is that we have access to a wider variety of foods today than we had before. When meals consisted of the same thing time after time, it was easy to pass up second helpings of gruel and eat just enough to no longer be hungry. But now we have Chinese one night, Mexican the next, followed by Thai, burgers, pizza, and pasta -- it’s easy to overeat on our culinary trip around the world.
Just as variety in food creates desire, so does variety in slot machines. “Hey, I used to watch The Munsters all the time. I’ll try that machine.” “I never miss The Apprentice. I’ll give that machine a go.” “I played Monopoly all the time as a kid.” “I have a cat and a dog and a chainsaw and a toaster.”
Not only is there more variety in themes on machines, there’s also more variety in paytables. Back in the 1920s, a revolutionary change in slot machine design was paying an extra coin for a certain combination. Adding a hopper to the machine in the electro-mechanical era made it possible for the machine to pay larger jackpots itself instead of requiring a handpay from a jackpot girl. Adding a computer to the slot machine made it possible for today’s machines to pay modest jackpots of a few thousand coins all the way up to life-changing jackpots of millions of dollars.
The computer also makes it possible to add more gimmicks to machines. Gimmicks like “spin-til-you win,” symbols that nudge up or down to the payline, haywire repeat-pays, and double spin all add more variety and interest to the games.
Today’s machines are immeasurably more interesting and fun to play than those of even just a decade ago. Each new generation of machines has crisper graphics and better sound than the prior generation. Slot designers are working overtime to devise compelling bonus rounds that will keep players playing for just one more crack at the round. How many people playing Wheel of Fortune are trying to win the jackpot? Not many. Most people keep playing to get one more spin of the wheel.
Slot directors today don’t need to pepper their slot floors with loose machines to stimulate play. Today’s machines themselves generate more desire to play than seeing a player doing well.
Now I'll finish our discussion of where slot directors place loose machines with some additional thoughts, with a few anecdotes I've heard at slot seminars, and with what I think will be the final nail in the coffin of loose machine placement philosophies.
One of the placement theories says that tight machines should be placed near the table games because the table games players don’t like a lot of noise while they’re playing. Have the people putting forth this theory ever been near a craps table? A craps table with a shooter on a hot roll has to be one of the loudest places -- if not the loudest place -- in the casino. Craps players can be a boisterous lot even when the table isn’t hot. Okay, I can see players needing peace and quiet at blackjack tables (It’s difficult to count cards even in a quiet casino.), but not at craps, roulette, Let It Ride, and other tables. In any case, the casino can adjust the volume level on a machine. The slot director can put a very quiet, loose machine near the tables and not disturb a single table games player.
Another problem with following a loose machine placement philosophy is that it limits the flexibility slot directors have in moving their machines around on the slot floor. If the directors are going to give up a little bit in payback on some machines, they certainly will want to get their money’s worth and ensure that these machines are in locations where they’ll be played, be seen being played, and entice other players to play. Slot floors have only a limited number of high visibility areas. Slot directors won’t want to waste any of their high-paying machines in the more numerous less visible areas, where the machines won’t be encouraging other players.
Now I’d like to share some anecdotes I’ve heard at panel discussions during the big gaming show (first the World Gaming Congress, then the Global Gaming Expo) that’s held in Las Vegas each year.
First, one slot director described an experiment he conducted in his casino. He had a carousel of 5 Times Pay machines that all had the same long-term payback. He ordered new chips to lower the payback percentages on a couple of the machines to see if anyone would notice. The machines with the lower long-term paybacks received just as much play as the higher-paying machines. No player, furthermore, ever complained that some of the machines in the carousel were tighter than others.
In another seminar, a slot director shared the philosophy he used to place some machines that he had inherited from another property. These machines, he said, had lower long-term paybacks than the payback he usually ordered for machines on his slot floor. He said, 'I read the same books that the players read. I put these lower payback machines in the spots that the books said should have the high payback machines.'
My last anecdote is about a decision made by the slot director at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas many years ago. He was ordering 10 Times Pay machines for his slot floor and he was concerned about the low hit frequencies available for those machines. (Machines with multiplying symbols tend to have low hit frequencies, and usually the higher the multiplier, the lower the hit frequency.) The slot director was afraid that his players would think the machines were very tight because they hit so infrequently. He said that he ordered higher paybacks than he usually does for those machines in an attempt to offset the low hit frequency. The machines would still have a low hit frequency, but at least the average value of a hit would be a little higher than if he had ordered a payback percentage nearer the percentage he usually ordered. He hoped that would be enough to keep his players from thinking these were tighter than the other machines on his slot floor.
Although I think these anecdotes are the exceptions that prove the rule that some casinos at least order the same long-term paybacks for machines of a particular denomination, there is evidence that some casinos may not. In the first edition of Casino Operations Management, for example, Kilby and Fox list a number of “general philosophies that influence specific slot placement” including: “low hold (loose) machines should be placed in busy walkways to create an atmosphere of activity” and “loose machines are normally placed at the beginning and end of traffic patterns.”
They then say that “high hit frequency machines located around the casino pit area will create an atmosphere of slot activity.” I’m not sure whether they’re saying high hit frequency should or shouldn’t be placed near the pit. In any case, note that one philosophy said that loose machines create an atmosphere of activity and another said that high hit frequency machines also create an atmosphere of activity. This is the perfect segue into what I think puts the final nail in the coffin about loose machine placement theories.
There is no correlation between long-term payback and hit frequency. A low hit frequency machine can have a high long-term payback. High hit frequency machines, in addition, can have low long-term paybacks. Larry Mak, author of Secrets of Modern Slot Playing, recently queried the Nevada Gaming Control Board to find out the payback reported on penny machines. The Board said it was 90.167%. Most of the penny video slots have very high hit frequencies, yet the overall average long-term payback is very low.
The usual reasoning behind putting loose machines in highly visible areas is so slot players can see other players winning. Maybe we should be more precise here and say that players will see other players hitting and assume that they are winning because they are playing loose machines. But because there’s no correlation between hit frequency and long-term payback, these players can actually be playing machines with low long-term paybacks.
I don’t put much stock in loose machine placement theories, but I do believe slot directors may follow a hit frequency placement philosophy. Slot directors may try to place high hit frequency machines in visible areas to encourage play. This philosophy says and implies nothing about the long-term payback of the machines.
What Frequency Makes Slot Machines Windows 7
John Robison is the author of 'The Slot Expert's Guide
to Playing Slots.' His website iswww.slotexpert.com
to Playing Slots.' His website iswww.slotexpert.com