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Slot machine as we know them today are the result of the machine manufacturers applying new technology to one of the most popular forms of gambling.
I think we should all remember that exposure to any form of gambling should be limited to responsible adults of legal age.
Slots have been described as captivating by many gamblers who choose this type of gambling as their game of choice. Advertisers have been banned from using sublime seduction to induce the consumer. It is about time that slot machines be very carefully examined by experts to determine exactly what the gamblers find to be captivating about the slots.
Defining Slots-For-Tots.
The new Millennium has begun with a new controversy for legal gaming: whether some slot machines might be unduly attractive to children.
The issue became news in October, 1999, when the Nevada Gaming Commission (ANGC@) made public its growing unhappiness over gaming devices with cartoon themes. In December, the NGC circulated proposed regulations. On January 27, 2000 the NGC met and adopted amendments to NGC Regulation 14, prohibiting slot machines with themes derived from products marketed to children.
The mass media loves stories like this. Headlines of AChildren At Risk!@ always sell papers, especially tabloids. Television news shows want action and color: one slot machine is worth a thousand talking heads. Even radio could get in on this story, throwing out familiar names, like Betty Boop7 and South Park7.
Gambling is a sexy issue, so long as it does not get too complicated. It also gives rise to strong emotional reactions, especially from its opponents, the Aanti's.
The enormous success of Wheel of Fortune7 led manufacturers to look for other well-know brand-names. The issue over age-appropriate gaming devices was inevitable, since so many of our best-loved trademarks come from our childhood: Monopoly7, The Three Stooges7, Elvis Presley7. The whole point of branded slots is to tap in to our warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. Such selling-by-association is certainly nothing new: movies like Star Wars7 may make more money from toys and other products than from the movie itself. But it is relatively new to legal gambling.
Regulators face a myriad of problems when an issue like kiddie-theme slots is raised in the press.
It would be natural to think the first question to be resolved is whether the problem really exists This is not as easy as it seems. Exactly how does one discover whether children are being unduly enticed into gambling by machines with themes?
What is the standard? Would it be enough to show that merely one child in the country put money into a particular slot machine? How do we prove that the child would not have made the bet, but for the lure of the brand name?
It is very difficult to show that something is true beyond any doubt, like the claim that certain games create underage gambling. But it is nearly impossible to prove the opposite, that something is not true. What evidence would you use to show a slot machine is not unduly attractive to children?
Since we are forced to deal with probabilities, should regulators be concerned if there is only a slim possibility the claim is true? For a politically explosive issue like this, regulators will, often unconsciously, follow the path with the least downside risk to themselves.
If regulators ban certain slots that should not have been banned, the loss to casinos, manufacturers and players is small and difficult to measure. But, if they allow a device they should have outlawed, there is the possibility of scandal B such as pictures of kids playing slots on national T.V. B that will raise questions about the regulators' own competence.
Although there may be a bias in favor of imposing new standards, in the name of protecting children, there is also a bias against making any new rule. The first question a good regulator, or lawyer representing an interested party, will ask is whether these regulators have the power to issue regulations such as these.
Major constitutional challenges make news. But the day-to-day world of making regulations involves questions of procedure and delegation.
What procedures should the regulators use to guarantee due process -- that all interested parties have a fair and equal opportunity to have their say -- not just now, but when new machines are invented in the future? The easiest format is to allow presentations of evidence and arguments at hearings open to the public.
The delegation doctrine is also fundamental to our democratic system. Regulators are appointed, not elected. The only power they have is the specific, limited power given them by the legislature or governor.
The NGC found a law passed by the Nevada Legislature to justify its action. Section 463.350 of the Nevada Gaming Control Act makes it a crime for a licensed operator to allow anyone under 21 to gamble. The NGC declared its new rules Awill further the enforcement of 463.350 by establishing standards for gaming device themes.
Is it necessary to have a prohibition on these games at all? Regulators of riverboat casinos, which can easily prevent any child from boarding, will probably find it unnecessary to issue new rules about gaming themes. In other cases self-regulation will work: You are not going to see any Pokemon slot machines.
How does a regulator define what games are prohibited? A rule that simply lists cartoon characters and other kiddie attractions, obviously will not work: there are too many and they are constantly changing.
The NGC had to take three pages to describe what themes it was making illegal. The regulators used a mix of general statements and specific examples. Banned are themes Abased on a product that is currently and primarily intended or marketed for use by persons under 21." These include TV programs, cartoons, books, board games, movies and video games less than 21 years old with AG@ and similar ratings.
Exceptions are allowed where Athe theme is attractive to adults because of its nostalgic appeal.@ The regulators also gave themselves the power to Arestrict the time, place and manner in which an approved gaming device may be displayed.@ And they grandfathered-in Aany themes that were used in connection with gaming devices@ already approved.
Being a regulator may seem like child=s play, but usually it is hard work.
[Professor Rose can be reached at his Web Site: www.GamblingAndTheLaw.com]
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. Symbols pay from left to right and right to left. (for example: two barrels counted from the left and three bottles counted from the right), you are paid for both combinations. If you have five symbols in a row, you are only paid once. The sheriff badge symbol is a wild symbol – meaning it stands for any other symbol, like a joker in card games. Also, the wild symbol doubles any win in the combination it is in, but not cumulatively (that is, two wild symbols still multiply the win by 2 and not by 4). The Colt revolver symbol it is a scatter symbol – when you get 2 to 5 of these symbols on the screen, you are paid according to the table shown on the winnings table (scatter win is calculated by multiplying the number on the respective row of the scatter pay table with your TOTAL bet, not just the line bet). The symbols have to lie consecutively, starting from the leftmost or rightmost reel. They don't have to follow any pay line. Scatter wins are added to pay line wins (if you don't have any pay line wins, you are only paid the scatter win).
Here's some advice to play the slot machines,
1. Always load up a progressive machine. The progressives don't
pay as often or as many of the small winning combinations that simple
machines do, so you are actually playing for the jackpot only. In that
case, you have to load them up in order to get the jackpot. Read the
payout table!
2. Pay attention to the sound of the casino. Notice which slot
machines are hitting and which aren't. oftentimes there will seem to
be "hot" carousels and cold ones. Follow like sheep to the
hot ones.
3. Play the progressives with the highest jackpots. It makes
sense to seek the greatest reward if you're willing to take the progressive
risk. As the change person for help in locating top jackpots.
4. Stake out a seemingly hot carousel and spend an evening (between
dinner and second show time) watching how the machines do. Once
you've seen enough, go to sleep. Then come back in the very early hours
of the morning and hit the ones that have been played hard but haven't
hit yet!
5. Resist the temptation to move up the pay scale when you're losing.
Because slots have the worst odds, increasing your level of play can
be the worst bet in the house! If you must keep playing, get off the
progressives and find some simple nonprogressive (flat top) machines.
6. When you finally hit a jackpot¡ just sit there. Take a deep
breath. Don't mistakenly pull the handle again or touch a button. Most
jackpots, especially those that are $1,000 or more, are paid by an attendant
who will come over to verify your win and pay you off in cash.
There is one way to almost guarantee yourself a good time, satiate
your appetite for slots, and possibly even come out ahead , .
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