Slot Machine Myths

Gosh, ladies, you wouldn’t believe the outlandish comments that we hear about playing on slot machines in Vegas and elsewhere. One thing you can be sure of is that EVERYONE seems to have opinions. Fact is: it’s easy to explain a big loss or a big win with some convoluted logic. Some of these tales have been going around for so many years that people actually begin to believe them. Most of what you hear is reasonable conjecture at best and utterly ridiculous at worst. Here is a list of the most common myths, truths, and stuff we know from experience. Take it for what you will and go out and get a jackpot!

Myths:

I will make more money if I play without my player’s card: by law, the player’s card and the payout cannot be connected in any way. If you do not play with a card, you are actually losing out on perks and comps offered by the casino.

A jackpot just hit on the machine I was playing and now I lost out on that jackpot: all wins are generated randomly and each spin is independent of the previous one. The Random Number Generator is churning combinations even when the machine is not being played and a particular combination is generated at the exact split second that the button is pressed.

This machine is dead and it’s due to hit: we hear this one all the time and we guarantee that a machine can be “dead” for days. Winning combinations are generated randomly.

And conversely: this machine just hit a jackpot so it will never hit again—wrong—we’ve hit again and again on the same machine. Problem is, this doesn’t happen often enough!

Casinos place “winning” machines in certain spots: this one has been going around for a long time and we don’t think it’s true. If you frequent a favorite casino regularly you will notice that machines are moved and changed out constantly. While this may have been true years ago, most machines now are grouped by type and denomination.

You can win more if you pull the arm of a slot machine rather than press the bet button: OMG, does this make a bit of sense? No way is this true. The only thing you get from pulling the handle is a sore arm!

The machine says it pays out 98% and I didn’t get a thing: those payouts are calculated over the life of the machine—imagine how long that could be? Also, when you see a kiosk of those advertised pay out machines they could be linked together and only a few of them have that kind of payback. In a way, it’s not false advertising but it’s exaggerated for sure.

The bartender (or slot attendant, or floor manager) can tell me where the “hot” machine is: time after time a casino employee will inform you: “If I knew that, do you think I’d be working…?

The casino can turn the machines “on” or “off” on weekends, mornings, Ground Hog Day, etc: no, in order to “change” the machines the computer chip must be changed and this requires some involved regulations with Gaming Enforcement. Most chips are changed when new machines are installed as some of you may have noticed. But, ladies, don’t tell the bartender to “flip the switch”—they hate that!

If I don’t use a player’s card, my winnings will not be reported to the IRS: au contraire, my pretty, any win over $1200 is reported to the IRS whether you like it or not. Some states even take out state taxes before jackpots are paid.

Each reel on a slot machine has an equal chance of showing a certain symbol/number: not true! For instance, on Megabucks, a cherry has a much greater chance of coming in on any reels than those attractive purple Megabucks symbols.

Truths:

Since all slots seemingly have the same random chance to hit a jackpot, play where you’re comfortable—simple as that!

When you get bored, change machines or games just to keep things interesting.

Use your slot card; you might as well get something if you have a losing day.

Video poker machines usually have a speed control. If the machine is dealing too fast for you, turn it to the slowest speed and relax. Some also have a sound control.

If a machine is just TOO loud for you, ask a slot attendant to turn the sound down for you on a machine to intend to play for a while—not one you want to drop a couple of quarters in. Most casinos will accommodate you on this.

If you are playing long and a lot (usually dollars or higher) don’t be afraid to ask your server for a cigarette comp if you need one. Of course, if you haven’t been tipping your server, you can forget about that one!

When playing a video reel game many players think that if they stop the spin prematurely by touching the screen that they will get more jackpots. We have heard from casino employees that this is not true and we’ve never seen any evidence of this theory working (or we’d be doing it)!

Don’t play a poker machine with a sticky or stubborn button—you could have to fight for a jackpot. Either move or summon a slot attendant to fix the button. I had to fight for a $2000 jackpot once because of a button that “didn’t hold.” They gave it to me because I was a good customer but they didn’t have to! Remember, machine malfunctions cancel payouts.

Stuff we’ve noticed that may or may not be true:

Machines seem to have hot and cold “streaks.” Don’t be afraid to move if you are on a dead machine, sometimes it helps.

If you hit a jackpot: watch how much you put back in to that same machine. Our past experience says you might get some short lived play, but for us, the machine usually “dies” after paying a large jackpot. Another strategy is to play a smaller denomination for a while until you test the waters.

Lots of people say to change games on a multi game machine because one game might be paying when another game is dead. This has not been our experience. When a machine is asleep it seems that EVERY game on that machine is dead.

It seems that higher denomination machines do pay out more but we don’t know this to be a fact—there could be many contingencies involved in that theory.