Casino and Slot Review

Each spin of a slot machine is a random event. The result of that spin is determined independently of the previous spin. If you have had a losing streak the machine is not able to reward you with a win.

There is no component of a Las Vegas style slot machine that forces it to pay when it has taken a specific amount of money.

Now, having said that, it is mathematical fact that the longer you play a machine the more likely you are to get the jackpot. Your likelyhood of hitting the top prize goes up the more you play it. So, from a mathematical perspective, you are statistically more likely to hit the jackpot the more you play a machine. HOWEVER, you are statistically more likely to lose all your money the more you play a game.

The facts:

1) The more you play the greater the chance of hitting the jackpot.

2) The more you play the greater the certainty that you will lose all your money.

The result:

1) People want to hit the jackpot so they feed their money in machines until they hit.

2) Casinos make lots of money.

This is the foundation of the modern slot machine casino.

The traditional mechanical reel slot machine has one line across three reels.   This middle payline in the oldest and most obvious payline.  (Appeared when Charles Fey invented the slot machine in the early 1900’s.)  Today these are usually $.25, $1 or $5+ games.

Machines were later developed with 3 lines on those same reels. These often have similar denoms to the single line games.

Some slightly more complex mechanical reel games have 5 lines on the same three reels. (Began in the 1970’s).  Again, these are usually $.25, $1 or $5+ games as well. 

Video slots initially had 8 lines or 9 lines in either a 3 reel or 5 reel format.  (These began to appear in the 1980’s and the 1990’s.)  These are often played in the nickel denomination.

Today’s video slots now have 15, 20, 25, 30 or even 100 lines.  These are most often played in the penny denomination.  Manufacturers are pushing more and more lines everyday becuase the Casinos want more lines which make more money. 

So, how many winning lines should a slot machine have? A quarter denom should have 1-5, and nickel denom should have 8 or 9,  and a penny should have 15 or more lines.  It is all a matter of preference, but that is tha basic rule of thumb considering what most people play in Casinos across the the U.S.

Do you prefer $5, $1, $0.25, $0.05 or $0.01?

Here are the 2006 statistics straight from the Nevada State Gaming Control Board.

1 Cent 14.2%
5 Cents 10.6%
25 Cents 18.4%
1 Dollar 10.1%
Megabucks 0.4%
5 Dollars 1.6%
25 Dollars 0.3%
100 Dollars 0.2%
Multi Denomination 42.6%
Other Slots 1.7%

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Would a Casino or a slot manager change a machine right before it is due to pay out?

It doesn’t make sense for the Casino to do that. The only thing that the Casino or the Slot manager looks at is the overall payout, not whether it is “due to hit.”

The operators in the industry look at what is called “coin in.” This means that they are looking at the total amount wagered in the machine.

So, for example, if you put in $10 and play for few minutes you may go up to $15 and then down to $5 and then up $20 and then down to $5 and then to zero dollars or to $20 to double your money.

Because you are winning and losing a little at a time that $10 that you put into the machine may mean that you actually bet $25 of money during your gaming session.

The slot machine manufacturers stand behind their payouts. The State or Government agency as well as the testing labs will stand by their tests of the machines as well. If they say that it will pay 90% then it will pay that and the casino will keep it in there based on that assumption. They will keep it in there even if in the short term it pays 150% or 50%.

So the answer is: Slot managers and Casinos keep machine in play as long as it is popular. They don’t care whether it pays a lot or a little in the short term as long as people are playing it.

Simple answer with no math: If you want to play while not losing too much money then play penny games at max coin, min bet per coin. (Bet $.20 or $.25 per spin for example.)

If you want to bet a lot and don’t mind losing then you should play quarter or dollar machines.

Here is the math behind it:

This means that if you play pennies and cover all lines on a 25 line game it will over time only cost you $16.50 per hour to play.

Compare that to a $3 bet on a dollar slot for a whopping $108 dollars an hour on a dollar machine and you see why pennies are so good.

BEWARE: IF YOU BET PENNY MAX LINE AND MAX COINS ON A PENNY GAME YOU WILL LOSE YOUR SHIRT!

Note: This is a simplied math model. The payback assumptions are general industry ranges and don’t illustrate what any individual machine will do. Also this would just be an average. The payout percentage is over time, not for each time that you gamble.

Some of the most successful slot machines currently are listed below. I have included choices of some of the most common slot machines that you find in casinos. (Blazing 7’s, Megabucks, Wheel of Fortune, Powerball, Cash Express/Millioniser)

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