Slot machines are the biggest revenue producer in the casino industry. The distinctive “ding-ding-ding” of a winning pull is perhaps the most recognizable sound players hear when they walk into a casino. Today, slots dominate casino play, vying for and sometimes pushing out table games.
Slot Machine Payout Percentages
Slot machine payout percentages are set at the factory that makes the slot machine. The manufacturer will offer a certain type of slot in various denominations in with a variety of payout percentages. For example, a casino might order .25 cent "Blazing 7's" slots with an 86.7% payback. Or it might order the same slot with an 89.5% payback percentage. The casino bases the payback percentage on several factors.
In super competitive environments like Atlantic City or Las Vegas, where results are published frequently, a casino cannot afford to lag too far behind its competition. Therefore, it has to set its machines close to the level set by nearby competitors.
See also: Slots Strategies
In general, lower denomination slot machines payout percentages are lower than the higher denomination machines. In other words, dollar machines are generally set to pay back a higher percentage than quarter and nickel machines.
Competitive gambling states like Nevada, New Jersey, and Mississippi pay back more than most other jurisdictions. In general, states where slot results are published, (for example: New Jersey, Nevada, Mississippi, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, and Quebec) invariably offer a higher payback to the player. The reverse is also true. You can safely assume that states that do not publish payback percentages run paybacks between 75% and 85%. Variations in payout percentage from casino to casino can vary widely. Generally speaking, penny and nickel slots have a lower payback percentage than quarter and dollar machines. The higher denomination slots pay back a higher percentage to the player.
Slot Machine Myths
A machine that has just paid shouldn't be played: False. Every pull is a random event. Over time a machine with a 92% payback will pay back 92% regardless of when, in its life, you begin to play.
Pulling the handle in a certain way will bring better results: False. The slot machine program does not care how the handle is pulled.
Slot machines pay off more often at maximum coin than minimum coin: False. The amount bet has nothing to do with where the reels stop. However, jackpots get progressively higher as more coins are bet. It is true that slots pay off more at maximum coin, but not more often.
Each machine has a sequence of outcomes that can be determined if the player is patient enough: False. Each outcome (pull) is a random event. The sequence of outcomes is as random as mathematics and computer programming can make them.
Slots pay more if the player plays off the credit meter rather than inserting the tokens by hand: False. The reverse, that playing off the credit meter is more profitable, is also false. The program running the slot machine has no idea how the credits arrived, and it doesn't care. The method of betting has nothing to do with where the reels stop.
Casinos control the payout and can switch the machines on and off (to pay) at will: False. There are no switches in a central office, and no dip switches in the machine. The payouts are set at the factory and can only be changed by swapping motherboards. This cannot be done without the approval of the state gaming board.
