Can slot machines be cheated? The short answer to that age-old question is yes… but the more practical answer is no.
You see, slot machines in every casino, whether in the United States or internationally, run based on algorithms in order to calculate which numbers the machine will land upon. A seed number refers to the first number used, the starting point to run the casino’s Random Number Generator (RNG) system.
Just over 20 years ago in Montreal, a player figured out how to read these slot machines patterns and racked up some decent cash before getting caught.
The casino in question was shutting off their RNG system every night, so when they turned it back on in the morning, the same seed number would be used to start the RNG sequence. Most casinos today though run their RNG system 24/7, so identifying patterns and then taking action isn’t possible.
A similar, though more advanced, scheme was run more recently by Russian Murat Bliev. He used his smartphone to take photos of the numerical patterns on slot machines in the U.S., sending them back to his associates. After computer analysis, he would would be sent a smartphone program that would make his device vibrate when it was the ideal time to push the stop button on that particular machine.
Blivev was able to make about $25,000 a day duping the Aristocrat Mark VI model slot machine until the authorities caught onto Bliev and his associates and had them arrested.
And so it goes… yes, slot machines can be cheated… sort of… maybe.
