Taking the Mystery out of the Machine
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TrueTrue oror False?False? DISPELLING POPULAR SLOT MACHINE The slot machine. MYTHS TakingTaking thethe It’s America’s favorite casino game and one of the If a slot machine hasn’t paid out for a while, it’s For more information about most widely recognized symbols of commercial due for a win. slot machines, their impact and gaming. Yet most people know very little about slots. False. Slot machines operate randomly at all times how they are regulated, read A close look at these machines reveals how they are – no matter how many wins or losses have occurred Mystery “Demystifying Slot Machines Mystery made, how they operate and how they are regulated. in the past. A machine that has not paid out for a and Their Impact in the United while has no greater chance of paying out in the future. States,” available on the AGA website. To learn more about OutOut ofof thethe A slot machine can tell the difference between different types of gaming maximum and minimum bets. machines and how they work, False. The number of coins played – or the amount read “Introduction to Slots and of a wager – does not affect the outcome of a game. Video Gaming,” available at Machine It only affects how much a player may win or lose. Machine www.igt.com. Players can determine a machine’s odds by A GUIDE TO counting the symbols on each reel. False. Because multiple numbers generated by UNDERSTANDING the RNG can correspond to the same symbol on SLOT MACHINES a reel, there are many more number combinations possible than are visible to the eye. Even though there may be only 15 symbols on a reel, there can be thousands of virtual stops. Using a player’s club card will increase the chances of winning a jackpot. False. The RNG that determines the outcome of each play is not linked to the player’s club card reader. The RNG cannot tell whether a card is inserted or not, so the outcome of the game is not affected. After hitting a jackpot, a player should move to a new slot machine. The machine currently in play is not likely to hit again. American Gaming Association False. The odds of winning another jackpot on the 1299 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW next play are the same as they were before hitting Suite 1175 the jackpot. There is no such thing as a “hot” or Washington, DC 20004 “cold” slot machine. 202-552-2675 Slot machines are highly addictive. www.americangaming.org False. Research has found no evidence that slot machines lead to greater rates of gambling addiction. TYPES OF HOW IT WORKS FROM CONCEPT TO RRESPONSIBLEESPONSIBLE MACHINES To understand how a slot machine works, it’s CASINO FLOOR PPLAYLAY important to understand the Random Number The slot machine has captured the imaginations Slot machines are created with one goal in mind Since the 1970s, the popularity of slot machines Generator (RNG), a tiny computer that determines of gamblers for more than 100 years. Modern slot – to ensure that players are entertained when has exploded. But, during that time, research from machines feature thousands of different games, as where the reels stop during each slot machine play. playing them. Machine production is a complex Harvard University and other institutions has shown many as 200 paylines and a variety of betting limits. Even before a player approaches a slot machine, process involving many decisions, from determining that the rate of gambling betting options to artwork and theme. Designers disorders has held There are two basic types of slot machines in today’s the RNG is cycling through millions of number The average customer spends pay attention to cultural and technological trends to steady at 1 to 3 percent casino – mechanical reel and video slot machines. combinations. Each number in the combination $108 when visiting a casino ensure that new games are on the cutting edge. of Americans. There is Mechanical reel machines have actual physical corresponds to the different symbols on the slot – an amount that, when no research indicating adjusted for inflation, has reels that spin when play begins, while video slot machine reels. Multiple numbers can correspond to It takes approximately 12 Once a game is crafted, it slot machines trigger changed little during the machines have virtual reels that are displayed on a the same symbol, which is called a virtual stop. to 18 months to produce a often is tested with a focus addiction. video monitor. group of customers. It then past 35 years. Here’s a look at what happens once slot machine new slot machine game. is sent to a private lab to Slot machines should Within these two play begins. confirm it works properly and meets state regulatory not be considered a way to earn money. They main categories • The player pushes a button or pulls a requirements and/or is submitted to state regulators are intended only to provide gaming customers are additional lever to initiate play. for approval. entertaining – and often exciting – experiences. types of machines, • In that instant, the RNG picks the number including combination highlighted in its system at that given progressive slot moment, and each reel stops in the position that ENSURING machines in which corresponds to that number. COMPLIANCE CONSTANT the top payout • If the numbers and accompanying symbols on the COMPLIANCE award continues payline match a winning combination, the game Every year roughly $265 million is spent on regulating EVOLUTION to grow as more processor notifies the player through the screen. the gaming industry, including slot machines. Before Slot machines have come a long way in the past money is added reaching the casino floor, • The game processor simultaneously calculates the Often, a single slot 100 years, and, as we look to the future, that to a machine, as amount won based on the odds of the game and slots are subjected to lengthy machine game must be evolution will continue. Already on today’s casino well as machines the amount wagered. compliance tests in order to be approved by regulatory floor, you can find games that allow people to play that offer interactive approved by regulators. Those • The win is paid or added to the player’s credit together and share bonus rounds, and server-based bonus games when certain symbols appear on tests make sure the games are bodies in more than meter. games that allow players to pick from a variety of the payline. fair and reliable. 200 different gaming • With each new play, this process repeats in jurisdictions. games on a single machine. Wherever technology No matter what type of machine you play, most slot exactly the same way, independent of the events Technicians perform regular takes us, the games will continue to be fair, machines operate in pretty much the same way. that happened before. maintenance on the machines once they are on the regulated and, above all, fun! floor, and regulators perform check-ups if problems arise – all to ensure the machines continue to operate as they should. BY THE NUMBERS $38.7 Million: The largest slot machine jackpot ever won. 59: The percentage of Americans who consider slot 1899: The year in which Charles Fey invented 2,250: The number of regulators who oversee the gaming machines their favorite casino game. the first slot machine, the Liberty Bell. industry. Ensuring that slot machines operate correctly is 1,200: The average number of individual parts in a slot i among their many responsibilities. machine. 88-98: The overall percentage that a machine will 30,000: The number of people employed at companies return to players in the long run. For every $100 wagered, that produce slot machines and/or other casino games. 833,000: Approximately the number of slot machines 275: Approximately the number of pounds an upright slot players might lose approximately $2 to $12 over time. These employees earn $2.1 billion annually. operating in the U.S. machine weighs..