Do Casinos Tighten Slot Machines
By Bill Burton
- Do Casinos Ever Tighten Their Slot Machines
- Do Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
- How Do Casinos Tighten Slot Machines
- Can Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
- Do Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
'Tightening up' the slot machines at a casino is a matter of changing a computer chip. There is no secret button that instantly changes the 'hold'. This procedure is expensive. What casinos usually do is move the machines. You also have to understand that machines go through hot and cold times. ' Do you believe Casinos can 'flip the switch'? Last trip on the way to McCarran airport, the Uber drier told me that the casinos always tighten their slots before the weekend. I answered him: 'Well, you should have told me when I came in three days ago!' I certainly believe the Uber driver more than the Nevada Gaming Board. Slot or video poker machines that have higher payback percentages are referred to as “loose” while those with lower returns are “tight.” The slot payout percentages published in Strictly Slots and Casino Player represent the average percent of each slot wager that is returned to the players in jackpots.
Over the last year, I have heard many players complain that they are not having as many jackpots on the slot machinesas they used to have. I first heard this from a few of my friends who said they believed that the casinos were tightening the machines because the bad economy was forcing people to make fewertrips to the casino. I did not pay too much attention to this but then I started to notice other players posting the same opinions on several Internet forums.
It seems many of the players have come to believe that every casino was lowering the paybackpercentage on all of their machines.
A month ago I was contacted by a newspaper reporter from Colorado who requested an interview with me. He said he was writing a story about the casinos lowering the payback on the slot machinesthat were making it harder for the players to win. He wanted my opinion on the subject and he was surprised by my answer.
Why Players Win Fewer Jackpots
I told him I do believe that some casinos may be ordering new machines with lower payout percentages but I did not believe that this was the main reason why players may not be winning as muchas they used to. I gave him the following reasons for my answer.
Over the years there have been many myths associated with casino gambling. One of the most common ones is the belief that a casino can raise and lower a machine's payback with the flip of aswitch. This is not true because the slot machines have a computer chip in them that determines the pay back percentage. These are set at the factory.
In order for a casino to change the pay back, they would have to change the chip. In most jurisdictions, there is paperwork that has to be filled and submitted to the Casino Control Commissionfor each machine if the chip is changed. It is time-consuming and the chips are very expensive. For this reason, the cost of changing the chip in numerous machines on the casino floor does notmake economical sense.
Many of the gambling jurisdictions around the country require the casinos to report the overall payout percentages on a monthly basis. (California is not one of the States) These figures are amatter of public record and are published in some newspapers and gaming publications. I looked back on these figures over the last year and saw that there was very little change in most casinosaround the country. In some instances, there were even some of the payback percentages had increased.
A reason why some players feel that they may not be winning as often is the fact that many players are making fewer trips to the casino so they are not playing as many sessions. So because theyare playing fewer sessions they will see fewer big jackpots and fewer winning sessions overall. It is all proportional.
Some players may have decided to play lower denomination machines. Many of the nickel and penny slot machines have a higher hit frequency, which means you will have many smaller wins but not asmany big jackpots.
Do Casinos Ever Tighten Their Slot Machines
How To Help Your Payback Percentages
If you still honestly believe that your casino is lowering the return rate on the slot machines you have several courses of action. The easiest thing to do is to play the older machines. It isdoubtful that a casino would go through the expense of putting a new chip in an older machine to lower the return rate. You can try a new casino. You may find that your luck is better at adifferent casino and a change is your routine will let you enjoy some new experiences.
You can switch to video poker. It is the only machine game that will let you know the payback of the machine by readingthe pay table. However, if you do decide to try video poker, make sure you learn the strategy or get a strategy card to bring along with you when you play.
Switch to the table games. Playing table games is exciting and they offer a lower house edge than the slot machines. Many casinos give free table game lessons so you can learn the basics beforeyou sit down.
Let me close by saying again that I do believe that there will be some machines on the casino floors with lower returns, however, I do not believe that is as widespread as the rumors would haveyou believe. The casinos are in competition with each other for your business so they do not want to alienate the players by offering games where nobody can win.
As a customer/player you always have the option of taking your business elsewhere. The ultimate decision of where to play is entirely up to you.
Until next time remember, luck comes and goes.....knowledge stays forever.
Which types of slot machines make the casinos more money?
by Frank Scoblete
Slot players are always looking for their one true love. Unlike in affairs of the heart, they want that one true love to be loose.
One can take a quick glance at the slot payback tables in this issue, or any issue, of Strictly Slots to get an idea of which regions of the country have the highest slot machine payout percentages. Conversely, one can also see which areas have the lowest payout percentages. In jurisdictions that report individual percentages, you can also compare one casino to another. Slot or video poker machines that have higher payback percentages are referred to as “loose” while those with lower returns are “tight.”
Do Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
The slot payout percentages published in Strictly Slots and Casino Player represent the average percent of each slot wager that is returned to the players in jackpots. For penny, nickel, quarter, 50-cent, one-dollar and even five-dollar machines, these percentages tend to reflect a large amount of play. You can be relatively certain that the payback percentage numbers are not only accurate, but valid. However, you can’t be as confident in the statistics for the higher denomination machines such as the 25-dollar and higher limits. These machines generally receive less play and the actual returns can vary widely in the short-term making statistically valid comparisons much less reliable. However, by comparing the payout percentages over a given period of time, readers can get an idea where the loosest and tightest slots can be found.
Realize, of course, that my designations of loose and tight are relative and based on a comparative study. A loose slot is loose in relation to one that is not as loose. Read that sentence again. A loose slot is loose in relation to one that is not as loose. It makes sense doesn’t it? This is Albert Einstein’s Special Slot Theory of Relativity. Now it doesn’t take a genius or a rocket scientist to see that a quarter slot machine returning 95 percent is looser than a quarter slot machine returning 89 or 90 percent.
Let’s suppose a casino’s slot aisles are filled with machines paying back 95 percent and a competing casino’s slot inventory only had 89 to 90 percent payback machines. All other things even, which casino property would make the most money in the long run? I say the casino property with the loose machines would make more money! There are several reasons for this.
First, with looser machines, players have a tendency to have more winning sessions, or lose less during losing sessions. They can also play longer without draining their bankrolls in a short period of time – their session bankrolls last longer! When players tend to win more or lose less at a particular casino, they tend to come back to that casino. The more they win, the more they prefer to play at the casino where these wins take place. Winning makes players happy. A happy customer is one who will come back time and time again. This is the repeat business scenario. The looser casino might not make as much from a player in one visit as a tight casino would, but when that player returns for multiple visits … Let’s just say, I can literally hear the cash register ringing!
Second, a casino with looser slots might win less per player per visit, but it will have many more players to win less from. This means they stand to make more money over time than the casino winning more money from fewer players. Read that again. It makes complete sense, doesn’t it? This isn’t rocket science!
Third, the more repeat visits casino players make to a casino property, the more money they tend to spend in the restaurants, bars, and sundry shops. Not to mention they spend money on hotel rooms and in other retail venues like clothing stores or specialty shops. This can be considered the reverse of collateral damage. It’s actually collateral profitability.
Let’s not forget that happy players tend to tell other players which casinos have made them happy. In short, they spread the glad tidings to their friends, relatives, and even strangers. So our happy player not only returns to play at that casino, but often brings friends and relatives with them on these subsequent visits. One might consider this a “friendly relative enhancement” for that particular casino.
Now, how about those casinos that have relatively tight slot machines? Are they in the forefront when it comes to a player’s long-term slot play? Not hardly!
Slot aficionados tend to hunt for the better payouts. When they can’t find them or simply get tired of losing, they make fewer trips. These players stay home and eat in their own kitchens and dining rooms. A casino restaurant can’t be full of diners if those potential diners decided to stay home. I think that these tight casinos are simply asking for long-term trouble.
To the casino executives at these tight properties, I say, “Come on! No one likes a tight wad.” These “Silas Marner” properties might make some money in the short-run, but they must recruit new players all the time.* Their crop of current players will often divorce them. Slot players are always looking for their one true love. Unlike in affairs of the heart, they want that one true love to be loose.
So what can you do if you find yourself in an area of the country where your local casinos have super-tight machines? Well, you could write a letter to the slot director. Chances are that that won’t work, however. More than likely the slot directors are probably looking at their bosses for guidance and in hopes that such a boss might promote them from slot director to casino director. I’ve found that casino directors often resemble sloths when it comes to the change department. Of course, you could just moan and bare it. I’ll admit that isn’t much fun and by accepting the status quo, nothing changes. Another course of action you could choose is to save your money and take a trip where the slot sun is shining. Sure the trip will cost you money, but such a trip is a vacation. Plus, you might have more fun playing longer and might even come away a winner! Your trip will cost the tight casino some money too. If enough players choose that path, maybe that will change the slot director’s mind to loosen payouts.
So, here’s the plan. Plain and simple: you must steel your mind against any machines that are tight. Don’t play them! Look up the figures and be aware of who’s who and what’s what on the casino slot frontier. Tell your friends and relatives the good places to play. Shoo them away from those casinos where the players represent the proverbial nail and the slot machines the hammer.
I think we should have a slot players’ rebellion in this country. To heck with the Tea Party! To heck with the Occupy Wall Street folks! To heck with everything that annoys you like high gas prices and nuclear war – we want slot machines that are really, really loose! We will not settle for anything less. If slot players win more, the casinos will ultimately win more. It’s a win-win!
I proclaim that we must have freedom! “Freedom to be loose,” I say. “Let freedom ring in the form of bells, cherries, bonus spins, and Triple 7’s!”
Whew. Sorry. I got a little carried away there. By now, I’m sure you get the picture when it comes to loose versus tight slots. After all, the picture is in high-definition and in 3-D. We can’t make it any clearer, we want loose machines everywhere!
How Do Casinos Tighten Slot Machines
*Editor’s Note: Silas Marner is a friendless weaver who cares only for his cache of gold before undergoing a life-altering event in George Eliot’s 1861 novel “Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe.”
Can Casinos Tighten Up Slot Machines
Frank Scoblete’s newest books include Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines! featuring advantage-play slots; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win! which comes with a DVD showing controlled throws. Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players! and Beat Blackjack Now! These items are all available from Amazon.com or at your favorite bookstore. To order by mail or for a free brochure, simply call 1-866-SET-DICE.