Golgroove

I love that first moment when you walk into a casino when the atmosphere just immediately overwhelms your senses.

The lights, sounds, smells, and energy in a casino are unlike any other place in the world, especially as you walk between the rows and rows of slot machines on either side of the aisle. Slot machines are designed to make you feel like a winner, with their flashing lights, catchy sounds, and pop culture references.

But they were not always like that.

Original slot machines didn’t use electricity, so the flashing lights and sounds that we are accustomed to today were not even possible when they were first invented.

A child was told that he/she was going to play the 'money machine game,' asked to pull the lever of the slot machine, and reinforced for this initial response. The child was shown the reward slug, told it was 'play money,' and told that if he/she obtained enough money, he/she could exchange it for a toy of his/her choice. In the olden days, slot machines were mechanical machines with physical reels and a lever to pull, but today a vast majority of the world's slot players enjoy video slots displayed on a screen instead.

Instead, they were simple machines that used levers and springs to spin reels with simple symbols on them.

Did you know that slot machine is an abbreviation for “nickel-in-the-slot machine”? (Click here for more information on where other casino games get their names.) Or that the original prize was usually a drink at the bar instead of coins, tokens, or chips?

Slot machines have certainly come a long way since they were first invented, but they are now facing a new era of change.

Millennial gamblers are adults who grew up playing video games and games on the internet, and the simple slot machines are not able to hold their interest.

Why would they play a simple game where they push the same button or pull the same lever repeatedly while hoping for a different outcome? Especially when you consider the fact that they can build worlds, fight wars, and race cars on their PlayStation or X-box anytime they want to.

Casino operators have been noticing the anti-slot machine trend for many years, so they knew that they had to do something about it. Game developers are working on creating new types of slot machines that require problem-solving skills and can be played with other people.

Let’s take a look at how slot machines have evolved over the years and what the newest generation of gambling device will look like.

Slot machines were first invented in the late 1800s, but their design changed several times over the next decade. As they became more popular, they also became more regulated because clergymen and lawmakers were strongly opposed to gambling of any kind.

They got reinvented again in the late 1980s to become the electronic machines that we are used to today.

Here is a brief description of the history of slot machines.

There is some debate about who created the first slot machine, but most historians credit Charles August Fey. He invented the first automatic payout device, but around the same time, a company based in New York called Sittman and Pitt created the game that Fey might have used for his inspiration.

In 1891, Sittman and Pitt developed a game that cost a nickel to play. It had five drums with ten cards on each drum. Players could win if the drums landed on a poker hand after they pulled a lever.

The company removed the ten of spades and jack of hearts from the deck for two reasons.

First of all, it was easier to have an even 50 cards instead of 52, and removing those two cards, in particular, cut the possibility of getting a royal flush in half, which raised the house advantage. Royal flushes are the highest possible hand in poker, so they wanted to lower the chance that they had to pay out for a significant win.

However, at the time, the tabletop device did not have an automatic payment mechanism, so players who won had to collect their winnings from the bartender.

Most often, they did not win any money but instead earned free drinks or cigars or other non-cash prizes.

Charles August Fey created a similar machine with an automatic payment system. The exact date of his invention is unknown, but it was sometime between 1887 and 1895, which means it was either right before or right after the Sittman and Pitt device.

He needed to make the winning combinations simpler so that the machine could recognize a win and automatically pay the players, so he used three reels with only five symbols.

His machine was called the Liberty Bell because that was one of the symbols used on the reels, along with hearts, diamonds, spades, and horseshoes. The highest possible combination was three liberty bells.

This device was only one of his designs, but they were successful enough that he was able to quit his job to open a factory. He manufactured approximately 100 Liberty Bell slot machines himself, but the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 destroyed almost all of them.

Fey never patented his design, so other device manufacturers copied it.

Both the Sittmann and Pitt machine and the Liberty Bell operated the same way. They had a lever that the players had to pull to activate the device, after inserting a nickel. The lever set the reels in motion and stretched a spring that would gradually stop the reels one by one.

Many players believed that they could increase their odds of winning by pulling the lever in a specific way, which led to many of the superstitions that some people still believe today.

Almost all slot machines were operated inside bars and saloons, which gave them a bad name among clergymen and lawmakers.

In the early 1900s, slot machines were outlawed in almost every state, but the manufacturers were not ready to give up without a fight.

To avoid problems with the law, they started offering other prizes instead of coins. In most cases, this meant a return to the days before the automatic payment system, where the winners simply collected their prizes, in the form of drinks or cigars, from the bartenders.

But in 1909, the Industry Novelty Company found another alternative.

They replaced the suits and liberty bells with fruit symbols. Each fruit corresponded with a different flavor of gum that the machine would dispense whenever the player won.

The Mills Novelty Company copied their design, but they added the bar symbol that we know today, which symbolized a pack of gum.

In 1916, the Mills Novelty Company also invented the first version of the jackpot. They added a few combinations of symbols that would make the device empty out all of the coins that it had previously collected.

Slot machines continued to be popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s, but soon knowledge spread that the companies that distributed slot machines were often a part of organized crime syndicates, particularly in Chicago and Las Vegas.

So, new legislation restricted slot machines even more than they had been before. By the early 1950s, the only place you could find slot machines was in Nevada, which had legalized gambling in 1931.

Modern-Day Slot Machines

World War II left a lot of countries feeling desperate for new ways to make money, so they started taxing gambling revenue.

For the first time, slot machines became popular around the world. Advances in technology changed the devices to what we know today.

Slot machine manufacturers toyed with electromechanical designs starting in the 1940s, but they were still reliant on the lever to control the reels.

In 1963, a company called Bally created the first fully electromechanical slot machine, Money Honey. It still used the lever to start the game, but the lever did not affect the reels.

Instead, the reels operated on an electric system.

Money Honey was the first game to include a bottomless hopper, which allowed it to make automatic payments of up to 500 coins. Previous machines could not offer such high payouts without relying on an operator.

Electromechanical devices were also the first to offer 3- and 5-coin multipliers, which made the potential payouts proportional to the number of coins that had been inserted. The same concept is used today with the lines that are visible on slot machine pay tables.

For example, the coins you enter are equivalent to the number of lines that you play, and more lines mean more possible winning combinations.

The next major innovation in slot machines was the video slot machine. In 1976, Fortune Coin Company introduced the first video slot machine. It used a 19-inch Sony TV as a display system that replaced the old-fashioned spinning reels that had been used since the 1890s.

Hilton Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip was the first hotel to offer the Fortune Coin Co video slot machine.

In addition to the use of the video screen, the Fortune Coin Co used logic boards to control the reels. These logic reels were based on attempts to create a random number generator. Scientists, mathematicians, and computer programmers had been trying to create random number generators since the 1940s.

Their initial efforts were imperfect, but they led to the logic boards that Fortune Coin Co used in its video slot machines.

Super jackpots were invented in 1986 when casino operators began using an electronic system to link multiple slot machines.

A fraction of each wager played on each device goes into a shared super jackpot that you could potentially win by playing on any one of those devices.

By the 1990s, the slot machines that we know today were in full existence. They operated using a random number generator, and almost all of them used the video display as opposed to the traditional reels.

In 1996, a software developer called WMS released the game “Reel ‘Em In.” It was the first slot machine with a bonus feature on a second screen.

Today, almost all slot machines use bonus features, free spins, and other secondary games to attract new players.

Modern slot machines became an essential part of the casino environment, and up to 70% of casinos’ income came from slot machines during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Nevada is home to approximately 200,000 slot machines, and there are more than 830,000 spread throughout the United States.

What Slot Machines Will Look Like in the Future

Despite the fact that slot machines have evolved and changed drastically since they were first invented, modern slot machines cannot seem to attract younger players.

Video games, online casinos, and mobile technology have all revolutionized the entertainment industry, and casinos are going to have to figure out a way to attract millennials if they want to survive.

Since the 1970s, slot machines have accounted for approximately 70% of casino revenue. Today, that number is down to around 64%. You might think that this is not a significant drop, so it is not something to worry about.

But the issue is that that number does not tell you who is playing slots.

Baby boomers and Generation X gamblers are the ones who are playing slots, but millennials are simply not interested. Casino executives know that they will have to find a way to attract younger players before slot machines become entirely obsolete in the next few decades.

On the other hand, they do not want to completely reinvent slot machines and thereby lose all of their older customers. They need to find a balance between the traditional slot machine and new concepts.

Here are some of the ways that they are trying to do that.

As soon as the internet became widely available, casinos flocked to the world wide web to attract new customers. Many online casinos are operated in other countries, but the global access that the internet offers enables them to cater to customers around the world.

Just like their brick-and-mortar counterparts, online casinos provide dozens of choices for slot machines.

The first real-money online casino launched in 1996, which happened to be the same year that the Reel ‘Em In game introduced a second-screen bonus game.

At first, many people were nervous about the possibility of putting money into an account on a website, but as people became more comfortable with everything that the internet could offer, online casinos became popular.

At first, online slots were merely web-based versions of their land-based counterparts. But soon, game developers realized that computer programming could overcome some of the issues that restrict land-based slots. They started adding more reels and trying out a variety of layouts. Multi-line payouts that could get automatically calculated revolutionized the slots industry.

Hundreds of companies began designing their own online slots games, so today, there are thousands of options.

Another area that computer programming works in favor of online casinos is progressive jackpots. In land-based slots, a microchip has to be embedded in each machine to keep track of the jackpot and make it available on any of those machines.

Online game developers just had to add specific code for the progressive jackpot, and they can add criteria or other variables to control the jackpot.

For example, some online casinos require a minimum bet to activate the jackpot option.

In 2013, an anonymous player playing the game Mega Fortune won a jackpot of more than 17.9 million euros! It was the most massive recorded online slots win in the world.

The only other jackpot prize that came close to that win was only 13.2 million euros.

Online slots also offered a new social experience when online casinos began offering slots tournaments. Players in a tournament get linked electronically, and they compete to see who can win the most in a predetermined amount of time.

This format allows players to compete from around the world and created the first social experience for slots players.

Friends can join the same tournament and enjoy competing against each other instead of simply sitting next to each other playing their own game.

It is incredible how much the online slots industry has expanded over the past couple of decades. The wonders of computer programming and the internet opened slots to a whole new world of possibilities that had been unattainable before.

But online slots games are just the beginning of the contemporary era of slots.

When casino executives first began considering the issue of attracting millennials, skill-based games were their solution. Their thought process focused on incorporating video games or something similar because younger players are not interested in games that are based solely on luck.

But they also did not want to lose their older customers by abandoning the slot machine design entirely.

Most of the skill-based slot machines to enter both land-based and online casinos used skill games as a bonus feature.

The game would operate the same as a slot machine, but if you spun a particular combination of symbols, you could activate the bonus round. That bonus round transformed the screen to become like a video game essentially. Some bonus games involved shooting targets and racing through virtual obstacle courses.

At first, everyone thought that skill-based games in slots were the answer to the casino industry’s millennial problem.

But the reality has been far from their hopes.

People who grew up playing complex video games are still not interested in the traditional slot format. Bonus games give them a few seconds of skill-based gaming, but it is not enough to convince them to play.

If game developers want to really attract younger players, they need to create immersive skill-based games instead of traditional slots with skill-based bonuses.

Ever since video slots were invented in 1976, the graphics that represent the spinning reels have become a key component.

If a player has to choose between two slot machines that are the same in every way other than the graphics, they will always choose the one with higher-quality pictures and sounds. 3-D technology was an essential part of revolutionizing the graphics used in slot machines during the 1990s and early 2000s. Some slot machines now offer 4-D graphics, but even that is not impressive to young players.

One of the ways that they are trying to stay relevant is by paying attention to what is happening in the video gaming and technology industries.

Right now, virtual reality is the latest and greatest form of gaming tech. Online casinos have already embraced this technology by creating virtual reality slot machines.

Netent is a game developer that released virtual reality slots in 2016, like its Jack and the Beanstalk game.

Land-based casinos have not embraced virtual reality slot machines yet, but they are considering several ways that they can use slots to affect the whole casino environment.

Virtual reality slots are just the beginning. They are also considering adding sports betting options to slots so that you can bet on the game and play slots from the same machine.

Similarly, they are working on ways that players can do things like order drinks, play music, and text other players from the same screen that they play on.

There are some controversial ideas that casino executives are considering. For example, they could use biometric identification, like you use a thumbprint to open your smartphone, to keep track of players’ loyalty points. They could also use artificial intelligence to predict your actions and make in-game suggestions for you.

Voice control and digital forms of currency, like Bitcoin, create other possibilities.

Casino developers are caught up in trying to please their older clients by sticking to traditional forms of slot machines. But the truth is that the possibilities are endless.

If they would let go of the antiquated format, they just might find a way to attract a younger audience.

Conclusion

Slot machines are an ever-evolving game that started as simple as the Liberty Bell and today include sophisticated virtual reality options. The heart of the game has never changed, but it might need to if casinos are going to attract millennial customers.

There is a fine line between updating a classic and inventing an entirely new form of gambling, and that is the line that casinos are trying to walk as they consider the future.

Fortunately, technology allows us to try things that we would never have thought were possible.

Personally, I cannot wait to see how slot machines change as the future unfolds.

The phrase “slot machine strategy” causes the eyes of some
players to light up with visions of untold riches. For others,
it makes about as much sense as “skydiving without a parachute
strategy.”

This polarizing topic has long been the subject of debate
among gamblers. Some insist that employing various strategies
can give the player a long-term advantage, while others dismiss
the notion as nonsense.

No matter which side of the fence you’re on, we hope this
article is able to shed more light on the subject. We’ll be
examining a number of slots strategies, as well as explaining
how modern games work and dispelling some of the more popular
myths.

How a Slot Machine Works

Before you can even begin to think about applying a strategy,
it helps to know how a slot machine works. In this section,
we’ll offer a basic rundown on the inner workings of the games
once known as “one-armed bandits.”

The main element of any modern slot machine is the random
number generator. If we want to be entirely accurate, the random
number generator is actually the function, while the chip
installed in every slot is known as an EPROM (or “erasable
programmable read-only memory”). For the sake of simplicity,
however, most refer to the EPROM as the random number generator,
which is what we’ll be doing for the remainder of this article.

What Is a Random Number Generator?

The RNG is constantly selecting a series of numbers, and the
result can range from miniscule up to several billion. This
function takes place whether or not the machine is being played,
which means every unattended slot machine on the casino floor is
generating a flurry of numbers every millisecond.

It should also be noted that the generated numbers are in no
way determined by the size of a potential jackpot, the number of
credits deposited, or whether or not a slots club card is used.
No matter the circumstances, the computer spits out its numbers
with pure impartiality.

Once a number has been generated, it’s divided up using a
formula that’s been programmed into the heart of the slot
machine. The resulting number corresponds to a “stop” on the
reel of the machine.

What’s a Stop?

As the name would imply, a stop is a stopping point on the
reel. This could be a cherry symbol, a blank space, or the face
of some popular movie character on a licensed game.

Older slots had a smaller number of stop, often around 10 per
reel. That’s changed significantly in the last several decades,
and now anywhere from 25 to 50 stops is commonplace. The reason
for this is because old-school slots had fixed images on their
reels, while video slots can produce virtual icons as needed.

When a game is created at the factory, some symbols are
programmed to show up more often than others. This process is
known as “weighing,” and it’s the main reason why slots aren’t
paying out massive sums of money every few spins. Let’s say, for
example, that you need three “Jackpot” symbols to get a big
payday, but each of these icons only appears (on average) every
100 spins. While the odds of getting one aren’t great, the odds
of getting all three would be one in one-million.

How Do Slots Work?

The actual gameplay of a slot occurs differently than what
most players would imagine. Since the game is constantly
generating numbers, pressing the spin button simply selects the
most recent string of numbers to be randomly produced. Once this
has occurred, the reels spin and eventually stop to display the
icons that correspond with those numbers.

The real outcome of a spin takes place the moment the
customer presses the button, as a randomly generated number is
selected. These numbers correspond to various stops on the
reels, and some icons are weighted to show up more often than
others.

Common Myths (When Slots Strategies Go Wrong)

myth /a widely held but false idea or belief.

While most associate the word myth with tales of ancient gods
and epic heroes, you’d better believe that the world of gambling
has its fair share of myths and legends.

In this section, we’ll be looking at some of the most popular
and/or persistent slots myths. To make your life easier, we’ll
also verify or debunk their credibility, although anyone hoping
for the former is likely to come away disappointed.

Myth #1

At land-based casinos, loose slots are always placed
by the doors and heavy traffic areas to attract more customers.

This is inaccurate. A number of third-party studies have been
conducted about the placement of slot machines, and no evidence
has been found to suggest that casinos engage in this sort of
practice. People are already coming to the casino to gamble, so
resorting to such tricks would just be a waste of time.

Myth #2

You’re more likely to win on a slot machine by
pulling the lever instead of pressing the spin button.

Also inaccurate. Most slots no longer have a lever on the
side. Those that do, however, offer no advantage to the player
who chooses it over the spin button. All the winning
combinations are being generated internally by the RNG, so it
doesn’t matter which method you decide to use.

Myth #3

The looseness or tightness of a slot machine varies
by the hour of the day and the day of the week.

Not true! In order to ensure repeat business, casinos must
find a balance between making money and paying out a certain
amount to players. If they were to somehow tighten up their
slots during the busy times of the day or week, they would
likely notice a significant drop-off in their business. In
addition, somehow magically adjusting all the machines on the
casino floor would be a major pain in the rear.

Myth #4

In a land-based casino, employees have the inside
scoop on the loose slots.

Could A Child Pull The Lever Of A Slot Machine Jackpots

False. The average cocktail waitress has no clue about the
payout percentage of the slots. We’ve heard of some customers
offering employees a cut of their winnings if they direct them
to the loose machines, but we would certainly advise against
this. Not only do they not have the answers you’re looking for,
but some might still play along in the hopes that you’ll win and
give them a cut of the profits.

Myth #5

Using a player card reduces the potential payout of
a slot.

Don’t let this garbage trick you into skipping the slots
club. The only purpose of the player card is to keep track of
player spending for the purpose of awarding complimentary items
such as meals and show tickets. If slots actually tightened up
when club cards were used, the casinos would render these items
useless and send comp hunters to the competition.

Myth #6

If a slot machine hasn’t paid out a big win in a
while, then it’s due to hit. Conversely, a slot that just
delivered a winner is going to be cold for a while.

A slot machine’s random number generator ensures that each
spin is independent of the last one. While the odds are stacked
against getting multiple top jackpots on the same machine within
a short span of time, there’s no special internal program
designed to prevent such a thing. Ultimately, blame it on the
math.

Myth #7

The casino can remotely alter the payout percentage
of a slot.

This myth is dangerous because it is based on fact. There are
certain slots that now allow their payout percentage to be
altered remotely, but these are in the vast minority. In most
states, they don’t exist at all. But even in a market like Las
Vegas where such devices are being tested on a limited basis,
the state laws regarding a minimum payout percentage still
apply.

Myth #8

Warm coins increase your chance of winning.

False. There’s an old belief that rubbing your fingers
against a coin makes it more likely to produce a winner. This is
one of the more ridiculous slot machine myths out there,
especially since most players no longer even use coins. If you
buy into this one, you’ll just wind up looking like an imbecile.

Myth #9

Slot payoffs are produced on a predictable cycle.

False. While each slot is programmed to pay back a certain
percentage of money over the long haul, this takes place during
millions of spins. There’s also no pattern to predict, as the
RNG ensures that each spin is completely self-contained and
unrelated to what’s come before.

Myth #10

If you use a player card at a land-based casino, it
enables the establishment to report your winnings to the
Internal Revenue Service.

The casino monitors your winnings when you go to the window
to cash out. If your payout is larger than a certain amount
($1,200 in Las Vegas on slots and bingo), then the casino fills
out a W-2G form and sends it along to the IRS, along with the
size of your winnings and personal information. There’s no
escaping the tax man.

There are a significant number of myths surrounding slot
machines. Falling prey to these false beliefs can result in
everything from players looking foolish to losing money. Your
best bet is to pick a machine that looks like fun, insert your
money, and ignore the superstitious ramblings of fellow
gamblers.

Simple Slots Strategies that Work

The outcome of a slot machine is impossible to predict. In
addition, a number of the suggested ways to win are nothing more
than ridiculous myths. When these facts are combined, it might
seem as though no successful strategy can be applied to slots.
Luckily, that’s only half true.

There’s no magical way to “beat” a slot machine. Casinos and
game developers have spent a considerable amount of time and
money making sure that these games can’t be overcome on a
consistent basis. There are, however, steps that can be taken to
give yourself the best possible chance of winning.

If you prefer real-world practicality to pipe dreams, we
suggest committing the following slots strategies to memory and
utilizing them each time you set foot in the casino or log into
a virtual establishment. Even though your win/loss ratio may not
increase immediately, you’re bound to be better off in the long
term.

Watch for High Advertised Payback Percentages

In an effort to attract business, some casinos may advertise
slots with a specific payback percentage such as 98% or 97.5%.
These are always a wise decision, as the casino has just
revealed the long-term expected payout (such information is
usually closely guarded). Always watch for deceptive practices,
though, as “up to 99% return” is not the same as a guaranteed
99% return.

Manage Your Bankroll

Before you start playing at a casino, take careful stock of
your finances and determine how much money you can afford to
lose. If you can’t afford to lose any, then you shouldn’t be
playing in the first place. If you have a certain amount of
disposable income, set a number and never play beyond that
figure. This can mean the difference between a losing session
and a session that forces you to borrow money or miss a car
payment.

Always Take the Game’s Advice

An increasing number of slots are beginning to include skill
features, and it’s commonplace for these machines to offer some
basic advice on how to succeed at such in-game elements. Unless
you designed the game and know some special trick, it’s always a
good idea to follow such advice.

Play a Table Game Instead

While slots can be a lot of fun, they’re also one of the
biggest bankroll killers in the casino. They rely almost
exclusively on the element of chance, and a machine can
sometimes go years without delivering its top jackpot.
Meanwhile, table games offer better odds and interaction with
other players.

Remember Your Ticket

After you’ve hit a jackpot, the machine prints a ticket that
can be redeemed at the cashout window. While it’s natural to get
excited after a big win, don’t walk away and forget to grab your
ticket. If you do, then someone else may wind up snatching the
ticket and walking out of the casino with your winnings.

Get a Player Card and Use It

Player cards are used by the casino to keep track of how much
you’re betting at their establishment. If you’re a frequent
player, you can expect to be rewarded for your patronage in the
form of comps, which often include free meals, rooms, or tickets
to a show. Since you’re not paying for these items, comps can
turn an otherwise losing session at the casino into a profitable
gaming excursion.

Play Physical Reels

Games with actual reels are quickly becoming a thing of the
past. If you can find one, though, you’d be smart to play it.
That’s because these games almost always offer a higher payout
percentage than their virtual counterparts. That’s because fancy
video slots take longer to play, which means the casino has to
make up for this lost time by siphoning off more of your money.

Slow and Steady

By adopting a slow rate of play, you can satisfy your craving
for gambling while also limiting the amount of your losses. This
might not seem like much of a strategy, but we’ve seen people
blow their whole bankroll at a slot within five minutes of
sitting down. Don’t be that person.

Simple Games Have Better Odds

While massive games with spinning wheels and impressive video
displays are popular, they’re often not the most profitable
machines. That’s because casinos know that these games are going
to attract customers regardless, so they can get away with
setting the payback percentage lower. The more basic machines,
meanwhile, offer better odds to make up for their more
straightforward presentation.

Avoid Statewide Progressives

Sure, it would be nice to hit the Megabucks statewide
progressive in Nevada and become a multi-millionaire. The odds
are against it, however, and you’re likely to receive far fewer
payout while fishing for that top jackpot. That’s because
twenty-one cents of every dollar wagered goes toward either the
jackpot or the casino’s profits. That doesn’t leave a lot of
money to return to the player on smaller wins.

Higher Denominations Have Better Odds

Since a game with a higher denomination is ultimately making
more money from players, it can afford to offer higher payouts.
Use this to your advantage by sticking to games with a larger
minimum bet. For example, playing one coin per line on a nickel
game offers you better odds than playing five coins per line on
a penny slot (even though you’re spending the same amount of
money on both).

Could A Child Pull The Lever Of A Slot Machines

Summary

Could A Child Pull The Lever Of A Slot Machine Invented

Anyone seeking a foolproof way to beat slot machines is going
to be disappointed, as these games are consistently the biggest
revenue generators for any casino. However, by utilizing tactics
such as playing slowly and signing up for a free player card,
you can increase your chances of winning. Considering how much
the odds are stacked against you, this is about the best you can
hope for over the life of your gaming career.