Can Casinos Tighten Slot Machines

While a casino can tighten a slot machine, they can also loosen them which is to ensure the slot pays out more often, though in smaller increments. The decision to make either of those changes though, isn’t taken lightly and forms part of the casino’s annual and quarterly business and revenue plan. In the same sense, casinos are not going to tighten machines at a later date in the hopes you won’t notice – because we WILL notice and just go to another casino instead. They have a lot on the line too and they have to keep competitive with other casinos – not to mention they have to follow strict laws and guidelines. Without going into much detail, slot machines are programmed a certain way with certain odds, and changing that program requires physically changing the ROM chip. Given that legalized gambling has certain regulations, changing the ROM is a no-no, and given the penalties for being caught it is generally in the best interests of the casino to. But, I can assure you that anyone, anywhere would kill to have their current revenues. Last year, they did almost $200 million more in slot revenue than all 45 casinos in Reno, Nevada combined. Resorts World racino at Aqueduct tops in nation in slot machine revenue generating $57.5 million during May— New York Daily News, June 2016. Class II slot machines were devised to mimick the Las Vegas styled Class III machines for the areas where such gambling simply isn’t legal. This called for engineers from major slot machine manufacturers to develop system that would make possible to experience Class III type of gambling in a jurisdiction that would only allow Class II.

Maryland casinos are asking permission to lower the average payouts of their slot machines by as much as 3 percent. Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission formally approved the proposed change in state regulation, but timing of a final decision by state officials has not yet been decided.

A review by the News4 I-Team found Maryland casino slot machines have an average payout that trails those in some casinos in neighboring states but is higher than the average payouts in some casinos in West Virginia and New Jersey. Maryland slot machines, formally referred to as video lottery terminals, pay out slightly less on average than they did in 2012, the I-Team’s review found.

The request to allow lower payouts comes amid criticism from some gamblers about “tight slot machines” at D.C.-area casinos. Several of those formal complaints were obtained by the I-Team through state of Freedom of Information Act laws. The I-Team’s review found many of the complaints are unsupported by state data but are written in forceful language.

One Maryland casino patron wrote state officials, “These machines have a low to nonexistent payout.”

Another complained Maryland casinos are driving out “gamblers on fixed incomes.”

Casinos might opt against lowering their payouts, even if regulations allowed them to do so, state gaming officials said. Casinos are under competitive pressure with each other to lure and keep customers, officials said.

Hollywood Perryville Casino was the only one of Maryland’s casinos to agree to comment on the proposed regulation change. “There is an opportunity for additional revenue for the state and the casino,” a spokeswoman said. “We support the change but do not plan to have a specific strategy to change our operation in any way. We have to stay competitive within the state and outside our borders, and customers need to know they can win here as much as at any casino around the area.”

A regulation allowing lower slot machine payouts would negatively impact problem gamblers, health advocates said, because the state would not require the industry to spend additional money on programs to help the addicted. “The state would keep more money, because there would be more revenue from the slot machines, but there wouldn’t be more money going into the problem gambling fund,” National Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Keith Whyte said.

Can Indian Casinos Tighten Slot Machines

Problem gamblers are unlikely to notice or care if casinos lowered slot machine payouts, he said. “Problem gamblers are not very sensitive to payouts,” he said.

The regulation change, allowing casinos to lower average slot machine payouts, is better aligned with current Maryland state casino laws, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission said. 'Our research indicated that Maryland was the only jurisdiction that restricted casinos’ ability to control their floor average beyond the statutory machine minimum payout, which is 87 percent,” the spokeswoman said. “This change was made to align our regulations with the industry standard and provide the casinos with the flexibility they need to remain competitive.'

In every area of entertainment – art, films, sports, entertainment – a plethora of myths and legends have sprung over the years. This is especially true in areas such as gambling, where players are generally suspicious that the house (casino) will try and increase its already clear advantage. Today we’ll take a look at some of the popular slot machine myths, and try and separate myth from reality…

Myth: Slots are programmed for a designated payoff cycle. Even though this cycle can contain thousands of spins, once it reaches its end, the outcomes will repeat themselves in the exact same order as the last cycle.
Fact: False. Each spin is completely random, independent from all previous spins.

Myth: Slot machines are programmed to pay off a particular percentage of bets. Thus, after a jackpot is hit, the machine will tighten up to get back in the balance. On the other hand, when the jackpot has not been hit for a long time, it is overdue and more likely to hit.

Fact: Each spin is independent for past spins. Consequently, the odds are always the same – it makes no difference when the last jackpot occurred or how much the game paid out in the last hour, day or week.

Myth: Machines pay more if a player’s slot club card is not used

Fact: False. The mechanism determining the outcome of each play doesn’t consider whether a card is used or not. The odds are the same with or without one. Furthermore, by not using you player’s card you are denying yourself valuable comps and sometimes cash back from the casino.

Myth: Using a player card enables casinos to report any winnings to the IRS

Fact: If you’ve won over $1,200, the casino reports you no matter what. If you have a net losing year, the casino may have evidence of it, and such statements may be used as evidence to declare offsetting loses to jackpot wins.

Myth: Slot machines can be manipulated remotely by the casino’s slot department to tighten the slot. You better tip the staff well or else…

Fact: There is some truth to the stories that a machine’s odds can be changed remotely. What’s known as “server-based slots” are still in an experimental phase and are and in a vast minority compared to the classic one-armed bandits roaming the casinos. However, regulations are enforced to protect the player from possible abuses, and in any case, once the player inserts credits into the machine, no change can be made. For the more “traditional” machines, someone would be required to physically open the slot up to make any change.

Can Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines

Myth: the machines closer to the doors, entrance/exits and overall heavy traffic areas tend to be more “loose” while those in quieter areas tend to be “tight.”

Fact: There is no correlation between slot placement and the machine’s payouts.

Myth: Slot machines are more inclined to be “looser” during slow hours on slow days of the week. On the other hand, when the casino is busy, management tightens up the machines.

Fact: Casinos try to strike a good balance between being profitable and having players that leave the games happy. If the slots are too tight, it’s less likely the player will return to this casino, so management want the slot machines loose enough to give the player what’s called a long “time on device,” meaning that he spent enough time on the slot machine to warrant a future return to the same casino.

Myth: Some lucky SOB hit a jackpot on the machine you just left – you would have gotten that jackpot if you kept playing. #%&@!
Fact: Surprise – Not true! There’s a computer chip inside the slot machine that runs the Random Number Generator (RNG). The RNG continuously cycles through numbers even when the machine is stands idle. These numbers correspond to the stops on the wheel that display the winning or losing symbols that you see when the reels stop. When you hit the spin button or pull the slot’s handle, the RNG picks the combination at that given microsecond. If you had stayed at the machine, there’s no guarantee whatsoever that you would have stopped the RNG at the exact nanosecond to display that same combination of numbers. In the time it takes for you to sip your drink, the RNG has cycled through thousands of combinations.

Myth: The temperature of the coins will affect the machine’s payout
Fact: Not true. The machine is not affected by temperature and does not need a sweater or bathing suit. It doesn’t matter if you play hot, cold, old or new coins (unless their chocolate coins, which no machine accepts). The coin slot is a mechanical device and is impervious to name-calling, pleading, hugs or swearing.

And – perhaps the most underrated slot machine myth of all…

Myth: There are tiny leprechauns working inside the machines. If they don’t like your face – you don’t win.

Fact: completely false…slots area totally mechanized (and today, mostly computerized). Also, there’s hardly any room inside for any leprechauns.

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Can Casinos Tighten Slot Machines

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