casinos can take the
execution of that design to the bank -- which of
course they do. Most slot players approach the machines
with awe and respect for the potential gold mines
contained therein. Yet, many slot players have no
idea of how the machines work or, worse, they have
strange conceptions based on idiosyncratic experiences
and shared mythologies. Make no mistake about it,
as graveyards and old houses in every town across
America have myths and legends created about them,
so too have the slot machines. When people don’t
know the facts about a thing, they allow myths to
make the explanations.
Today’s slot machines
are programmed by computer to continually select
a series of numbers at random, whether the machine
is being played or not. The RNG or random-number
generator (some writers call this the pseudo-random-number-generator)
continually picks number series that correspond
to the various symbols on the reels or to blank
spaces. When a player puts in his or her coins and
then either pulls the handle or presses the button,
the computer spins the reels to tell the player
which number series was “it” when that
handle was pulled or that button was pushed.
Many players believe
that the independent spinning of the reels is the
selection principle. Sorry, no. In the old days
the reels operated independently and spun until
they stopped. In the old days, no one could predict
where they would stop. Today, the reels will stop
where the computer tells them to stop -- based on
the number series that had been previously selected
by the RNG for each reel. The reels have no independent
action. They are being perfectly coordinated by
the RNG and the computer. In fact, the spinning
of the reels is merely a show, a diversion, an entertainment,
as the reels could just as easily put up the symbols
that have been selected immediately. Who knows but
that in the future as slot players become more attuned
to the true nature of their machines, the spinning
of the reels will become a thing of the past. Instead,
you will put in your coin, press that button, and
instead of waiting a few seconds for reels to spin,
you will be told pronto whether you won or lost.
The time saved by eliminating the spinning reels
will reap the casinos riches far surpassing anything
they have today.
Since the modern slot
machine is programmed to select number series at
random, no amount of finessing of the handle can
change what has been decided. Nor are there built-in
win/loss cycles as some players believe. In any
series of random events -- and the selection of
the number series by the RNG is a random event --
all manner of bizarre patterns will develop. There
will be machines so hot that will pay out for hours
on end. Other machines will seem to be so cold that
they could substitute for ice-makers. Still others
will seem to hit a few, cool off a little, hit a
few, cool off a little and so on. Yet, when you
look at the performance of these machines in a given
year, you’ll note that most come in at - or
extremely close to - their programming.
And how are they programmed?
The casinos cannot make money if they return to
the player more money, or the same amount of money,
that the player originally put in them. Instead,
the machines return a percentage of the money put
in them. Thus, if a machine is returning 92 percent
that means that in the long run of that particular
machine’s programming it will give back 92
cents for every dollar played. It keeps eight cents
on the dollar.
Now, people would not
play slot machines if every time they put a dollar
in they got 92 cents back. What fun would that be?
You’d be better off playing the change machine
-- which is, after all, a 100 percent payback machine.
Still the change machine is rather dull. You put
in a dollar, you get back a dollar. Where’s
the fun in that? Where’s the adrenaline rush?
Instead, the slot machines
are programmed to return their percentages explosively.
That is, sometimes nothing comes out (more often
than not) and sometimes a hell of a lot comes pouring
out (rare, but heart-throbbingly exciting). It is
the lure of a great windfall (or even a little breeze)
that excites the slot player. After all, inside
the belly of that computerized beast are sequences
that can make you rich and richer and even richer
than that - and the heart pounds with that knowledge.
And thus the casino can return its 92 cents on the
dollar because it is giving us more than eight cents
worth of anticipatory thrills with every dollar
we plunk into the machine’s maw.
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