|
|
In 1887, Charles Fey brought to America what was to be one of the
jackpot of inventions.The Slot Machine.
A 29 year old mechanic from San Francisco, Fey started a craze that
thrives til this day. On the first slot machines the reels had symbols
of ordinary playing cards, not the fruit and array that we see today.
The term 'One Armed Bandit' was soon after adopted as it was thought
that the odds were not the greatest and people kept putting their money
in without much thought to how much they were actually losing. With 3
reels and 20 symbols in it's early days, the slot machine has evolved to
some that have random number generators and close to 100 symbols and
multi pay-lines.
Fey, being the inventor was also the first to actually offer the slot
machines to the public and he would rent his hand made machines to other
businesses on a 50% rental agreement. His first slot machine was called
the Liberty Bell and can be seen in a local Reno restaurant that is
owned by his family.
Casinos began putting slot machines in mainly as a distraction for the
lady friends of their male gamblers to keep them occupied and away from
the gaming tables while the men gambled. Soon the craze spread to all
peoples regardless of gender and walk of life. Along with the
introduction of slot machines came the eventual crackdown on the
gambling phenomenon by local police. Raids would ensue and slot machines
confiscated. It wasn't long before the action was moved to the backrooms
of taverns, bars and clubs.
The introduction of slot machine to Nevada has been credited to Bugsy
Seigel, notorious gangster turned casinos entrepreneur in the mid
1900's. With legalized gambling came a new love and fervor for the slot
machine and this has carried over to the internet with online casinos.
The slot machine has always held a certain fascination to gamblers
everywhere and in part is due to the bells and whistles, the sounds and
lights and the almost hypnotic quality of the game play. Slot machines
started out as simple and requiring no skill, a great way to escape
where you didn't really have to think or plan a strategy when playing.
Todays machines still require little or no skill to play, but have added
new technology, stunning graphics and sound effects, and some of the
largest jackpots of any game of chance, and have captivated the hearts
and minds millions of people worldwide and continues to attract and hook
thousands more yearly.
You can find slot machines that still have very inexpensive pulls,
starting at a nickel and going all the way up to $100 a pull and
jackpots in the millions. So there is a game out there for everyone and
every budget.
How to determine your odds? Take the number of reels, example 3 reels
and multiply the amount of symbols. This would work out to 20 x 20 x 20
= 8,000 so the odds would be 7,999 to 1.
Once a machine pays off, don't play it again because it won't pay off again for some time.
The machines have absolutely no ability to keep track of what has happened in the past. The results are totally random, the slot machine is as likely to pay off on the next pull as it would have
if a jackpot had not been won.
Slot machines near the entrances to casinos pay off more than other machines.
This belief is based on the assumption that winning machines near the entrance will attract passerby's into the casino. However, today there is no need for casino operators to attract people to
play slots, so if it was true in the past it most likely doesn't apply to today's reality.
Casinos can change the odds of a machine so beware of any casino employee fiddling around near the machines.
The payoffs on every slot machine are coded on a computer chip inserted into the machine when it's manufactured. Casinos, slot technicians, etc. cannot alter the payoffs.
If a slot machine advertises a 95% payback then I should expect a return of $95 for every $100 I put into the machine.
The payback percentages are long term percentages. The long term outlook allows the casinos to average income from the machines over time, which is much longer than the time you would
take to play $100 in a machine. In the short term (the time you would take to play $100) the machine could pay off a lot more or a lot less than the advertised amount.
You should play one coin at a time to get more chances at hitting the jackpot.
The chances of hitting a jackpot are small. In most cases, playing the maximum number of coins increases the payout rate percentage, which is actually your better bet to walking away as a winner.
|
|
 |
