Can Casinos Tighten Slot Machines
Dispelling Slot Myths
People still think that, in the middle of a Thursday night, casinos tighten machines for the weekend. They swear they've seen the machines open; they must be changing the payback on those machines. My wins/losses go in spurts. I win for months at a time, then lose for several visits. 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.
By Henry Tamburin
Here are some popular misconceptions about slot machines and why they are false.
'Casinos can tighten or loosen the payback on a slot machine at will'
Many slot players believe that casinos can get more money from players by decreasing their paybacks on slot machines (tighten them) before a busy holiday weekend when the casino is crowded with players. The fact of the matter is that in most gaming jurisdictions they can't change a machines payback without first notifying the state regulatory agency with a lot of paperwork. In some states the local gaming commission must be present when the change is made. It's literally too much of a pain for casinos to lower the paybacks for a short period of time and then turn around and raise them.
'She stole my jackpot'
You've either read the stories or seen it happen in person. A player is playing a machine then decides to take a break and some other player jumps in, plays, and hits the jackpot. If the first player would have played a little while longer that jackpot would have been hers. Right? Nope. The reason is that the likelihood that the first player would have hit that jackpot if she played longer is slim to none. A Random Number generator that the computer chip uses to determine the results of each spin is constantly running even if the machine is idle. The RGN spits out a sequence of random numbers hundred of times each second (remember each sequence of numbers corresponds to the symbols that you see on the reels). Whatever the RGN number was at the split second that you hit the spin button or pull the handle is used to determine the symbols on each reel. Therefore the likelihood that the first player if she stayed and played would have hit the spin button at the same exact time as the second player did is highly unlikely.
'A Machine that just hit the jackpot won't hit again soon'
The RNG determines the results of your spin. It doesn't know or care what happened in the past. Your chance of hitting the jackpot on the next spin is the same regardless of when the jackpot was hit.
'You'll get a better payback if you alternate pulling the handle and hitting the spin button'
When you do either it tells the computer in the slot machine to get the number that was generated by the RNG, which will determine the symbols you see on each reel after they stoop spinning. The results will be the same regardless of whether you hit the spin button or pull the handle.
'Looser machines are placed near entrance ways to casinos to attract more players '
Back in the old days when slot machines were not as popular as they are today, that may have been the case. But nowadays slot managers order slots machines with nearly the same paybacks as their competitors for each denomination of machine and group slot machines by denomination and types on the casino floor.
'Always ask the slot attendant where the better paying machined are located'
Slot attendants are hard working folks but they don't have any more knowledge then you or I as to which machine will pay off next. They'll offer advice on which machines to play if asked by players because if the player gets lucky and hits a jackpot they know they will receive a tip.
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.”
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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 Casinos Tighten Up 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.
Do Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
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.'