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Today the largest group of casino players are playing slots. It wasn't always this way, as late as the mid-seventies slots were not thought of serious games of chance. They were often played
by the female companions of male table players, husbands were often seen giving their wives money to play the slots with while they went off to play the more serious table games. In those
days a "respectable" table player wouldn't be caught playing the slots.
The original slot machines were mechanical devices and some cheats tried various ways to beat the house. People tried everything from the use of magnets to drilling a hole through the
side of the machines, all in an attempt to influence the mechanism. There was even a legal method discovered by a few that involved a style of pulling the handle that controlled the drop of
one or more of the reels. This increased the players odds greatly, and caused the casino operators some concern until a method was devised to remove this advantage. The manufacturers
have kept modifying and refining the machines to keep the games honest.
Today the vast majority of slot machines are electronic and computer controlled so that outside manipulating of the machines by cheaters is now just a part of slot machine history.
It was the introduction and rapid acceptance of video games that changed the slot machine forever, the casino operators developed a new line of electronic slot machines, ones that offered
vivid graphics and exciting sound effects. The casino operators also added further refinements such as connecting several machines together and taking a small percentage of every play and
adding it to a jackpot total. If no one hits the jackpot for some time it can grow into a huge amount, and although the odds are small it will payoff and one lucky player will win big. These
"jackpots" also helped to increase slot popularity to where it is today.
Today slots are the most popular form of casino gambling, with up to 40% of casino revenue originating from these "one armed bandits".
Slot machines are actual free-standing "machines" easily identified by their spinning reels and pull handles. The concept is simple, drop in some coins, pull the handle and hope the reel
symbols line up. Different symbols win different amounts, and there's usually a jackpot available to be won.
Slot machines are a total game of chance. There are no rules to learn, and the outcome is totally random. The ease of play, the potential huge payoffs, the noise and the excitement level
around the slot area all contribute to a high entertainment value for some.
Slot machines come in a variety of forms with diverse symbols on the wheels and numerous payout systems. Slot machines can have from three to five reels/wheels and one to five payoff lines.
In all of them the basic idea is the same, to line up particular symbols on the payout line. The less likely a combination is to occur, the greater the payoff.
The most basic slot machines require you to bet one coin (a fixed amount such as a dollar), they have only three reels, only one payout line, and pay a multiple of the bet coins value
(e.g. Three cherries on the payout line will result in a payout 300 times the bet coins value). The player inserts the coin and pulls a handle (or presses a button on the front panel) and waits for
the wheels to stop on the payout line to see if, and how much they have won (the payout symbols and payoff values are posted on the front of the machine). The more complex machines accept
more than one coin (up to five), can have up to five wheels, and many also have up to five payout lines (three across and two diagonal).
The object of
slot machine games is to obtain a winning symbol combination
by spinning the reels. The better your symbol combination, the
bigger the payout. This game is a classic single reel 3 lines
game.
To play the game:
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Insert coins by clicking on chips right of the machine. Each
click increases your credit. Max 3 credits.
Choose the value of the coins you wish to wager each round, by
clicking on a coin left of the machine.
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