Back when I worked security in an Atlantic City casino, patrons would often ask me, “Which slot machine is the one that’s going to hit?” My usual response was, “If I knew that, I wouldn’t be working here anymore,” followed by a knowing chuckle. Never failed to get at least a smile in return.
Now that I’m the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, every now and then someone asks me, “Which machine is the one that’s going to hit?” My usual response is the same, but I’m in a better position to explain how slots work, why people play them, and what you should know about them.
Slot machines remain the most important money-making part of casinos in the United States. In many states, casinos make between 65 and 80 percent of their gambling income from slots. In Las Vegas, the percentage varies from 88 percent in casinos that cater primarily to locals to 50 percent on the Las Vegas Strip, where high rollers betting tens of thousands a dollar a hand skews the results in favor of table games. Every day, players put millions of dollars into slot machines. Why?
A modern slot machine is simple to play. Players insert currency, decide on their bet amount, press spin, and hope for the best. There are many varieties of slot machines in casinos today, from machines with physical spinning reels (industry folks call them “steppers”) to slots that replicated spinning reels on a video screen, but they all play essentially the same way. Video poker is a special variant of video slot in which players can use some skill in holding the most advantageous cards. All other slot machines, whatever their branding, are games of pure chance.
The chance aspect of slot machines is what makes them so appealing to so many people. If you know how to put cash into a slot and push a button, you have just as good a shot at winning a jackpot as someone who’s been playing for twenty years. In the end, it all comes down to luck. And who doesn’t feel lucky, sometimes?
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