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In an attempt to bring something new and different to the slot player, some variations on the basic slot machines have been introduced. Some of these include:
Progressive machines:.
These multiple-coin machines do not payoff a set payoff rather the jackpot increases with each play. If no one has hit the jackpot for some time the jackpot can grow to gargantuan size. While
the odds are small the payoff can be huge. One note, if playing at a casino and you are lucky enough to hit a big one, do not leave the machine. The machines are programmed to pay only a
percentage in coins the rest of the winnings will be paid out by a check issued by the casino. Stay at the machine until a casino employee comes over to the machine, should you leave some
scam artists are all too willing to quickly sit at the machine and claim that the payoff is theirs.
Double or nothing machines:.
Some slots have added a wheel that can be played after a win. These doubling wheels are even bets, you have a 50/50 chance of doubling (or losing) your winnings. They do not change the
house edge on the machine, but do add a bit of spice to the game that some players enjoy.
Nudge machines:.
Have a light mounted on them that comes on occasionally. If on the player may move (nudge) a wheel forward or backward one location. Sometimes this is all that is required
for a losing hand to become a winner. The house edge on these machines is generally the same as for regular slots.
Wheel-of-Fortune Machines:.
These machines contain a wheel mounted on top of a slot machine and also a sizable progressive jackpot. When the winning symbols appears on the slot machine the wheel spins and the player has a chance at winning the wheel-of fortune jackpot.
Heavy Metal is a three reel, three payline, and three
coin slot machine. The multiple paylines increase
your chances of winning.
There are no wild symbols and the maximum payout
is 4,000 coins.
For every coin that you bet, you enable another
payline. You are paid out for winning combinations
on enabled paylines only.
Jungle Jim is a five reel, fifteen payline, and one hundred and fifty coin slot machine. The multiple paylines increase your chances of winning. Jungle Jim has a wild symbol, a scatter symbol, and a Gator Alley bonus game. The Wild symbol substitutes for other symbols to complete winning combinations. The Wild symbol does not substitute for the Scatter symbol to complete scatter winning combinations. Or the Bonus symbol to activate the Gator Alley bonus game.
Payout percentages are the most commonly used form of differentiating slot machines, and the most often used form of advertising slots by the casinos. Many casinos offer "98% payback slots " or some other high number as their payback percentage. This is most often thought of as "98% of the total amount of money deposited into the machine will be returned to the player". People tend to think this means if they play through $100, they should expect to have $98 come back to them. This is a bit of a fallacy however, because the return percentage is a theoretical one based on an infinite timeline. This means if you were to keep playing the slots game forever, you would eventually have made back 98% of what you put in. Most people don't usually play long enough to hit a big jackpot however, and winning that jackpot is part of the calculated 98%. This means if you play and don't win big, chances are you're actual return percentage will be significantly lower.
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What do I mean by traps? I mean slot machines that aren't entirely up front about what they offer you. The biggest trap by far is the full coins trap. There are many slot machines in Vegas that advertise great payback percentages and amazing jackpots, but they also advertise themselves as 'quarter slots ' or 'nickel slots ', which is a little misleading. The majority of these machines require you to play multiple coins in order to be eligible for some or any of its available jackpots. Many of them require that you are playing the maximum number of coins possible on the machine in order to be able to win the jackpot that probably convinced you to play it in the first place! So be very wary, you may find yourself in front of a machine that has three cars lined up in a row making you think you've won the grand jackpot, but no lights will flash, no sounds will erupt, if you only played one coin.
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There are many, many myths around the Internet trying to convince you that the casinos in Las Vegas have masterminded the way they place their slots , with loose slots more visible than tight slots . You will undoubtedly read about how slot machines near the isles, on raised carousels, or near the entrances and exits pay out more and more often than other slots in the casino. The logic is based on the idea that the casino wants any winner on a slot machine to be seen by as many people as possible, convincing them to play too. While this may be a fairly logical assumption, it seems as though if it was true once in the past, it sadly no longer is. Recently Michael Shackleford of the wizard of odds has done some fairly systematic tests of casinos around Vegas and found no difference between the payouts on machines located randomly, and those in previously though of 'loose' spots.
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