A Slot I Had Just Left Hits Jackpot.
Dear
Mark,
After going through two rolls of quarters, I got up from a cold
machine and moved one machine over. A lady then started playing
on the machine I had just left hits a $10,000 jackpot on her first
three quarters. Was I a day late and a dollar short? Del E.
Not
even a second late and six bits short.
Most players, Del, falsely reason; "If I had played just
three more quarters, that $10,000 jackpot would have been
mine." But even gluing your hopeful fanny to that same
machine's stool would not have given you that $10,000 jackpot.
Why? Because the results of a modern slot machine's spin depend
on exactly when the spin began. |
|
The
Random Number Generator (RGN) within the machine is constantly
generating random numbers at a rate as high as a million per second.
As soon as the lever is pulled (or the "Play" button
pressed) the most recently generated random number is used to
determine the outcome. Since results vary depending on exactly
when the handle is yanked, an earlier or later pull by you would
have created a completely different outcome.
Consequently, Del, it is highly unlikely that you would have received
the same result if you had played three additional quarters. The
only way you could have had the happy lady's booty was for her
to say to you, "It's all yours, Buster" at the end of
the down pull, and she gives you her seat while the reels were
still spinning. Sure, it's corny example, but I'm trying to drive
home the point on how improbable the 10K was of being yours.
Email to a friend 
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