Owning a vintage slot machine is one of those fun yet daunting ideas. Many old school one-armed bandits are beautifully designed and instant conversation pieces. Plus slot fans who own a machine don’t ever have to worry about losing money to the house.
- Percentage from 100% and you have the hold percentage. If a slot is designed with a 95% payback percentage, it offers the casino a 5% hold percentage. This number is the casino’s edge, just like the 0.5-1% number given earlier to describe blackjack profits. The Payout Percentage. It would be nice if every slot machine had its payout percentage listed.
- The key thing to realize, though, is that land-based slot machines cost a lot more money to keep and maintain. As mentioned earlier, their prices range anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 brand new. Of course, internet casinos must also pay for the slots that they use.
Secondly, if a person brings $100.00 for slot play, he or she usually will not limit his or her play to inserting this amount of money into the machine only one time. Most people will buy twenty dollars worth of tokens and continue to play with this money until it is gone.
Charles August Fey, a Bavaria-born inventor, was living in San Francisco when he invented his first gambling machine in 1984. His games grew to be so popular at local bars, he quit his day job and opened a factory to start mass producing them, most notably the Liberty Bell machines in 1899. A lot of the functionality from that early game remained in place through much of the 20th century. Watch this video to see the seven mechanical actions set into motion when you pull back the bandit’s arm. The inner workings are probably a little more complex than you expect.
Given that a lot of old slot machines are hand built, it isn’t surprising that coins can get jammed on their way through the mechanism. Big warning: If your machine jams, don’t force the arm or you can break, twist or damage a part inside. Different models and makes tend to have common jam points. The Mills model shown in the above video can have coins stuck in the “elevator” section that displays the last five coins dropped into the machine. Getting the slot working again can be as simple as cleaning the gunk off of an old part. You just need to be smart when you’re disassembling and reassembling the machinery.
Okay, there are plenty of more places where a coin can get stuck and the above video demonstrates how to fix a variety of jams. It also explains how to disassemble the major parts of the machine and where common problem areas are.
Curious how an antique slot machine knows how much money a winner gets? This video shows the punch-card like communication that trips payouts and how. If you ever need to replace the reel symbols or calibrate the machine you’ll need to understand how these work. Even if you don’t ever plan on owning a machine, the metallic “circuitry” is interesting to see.
Want to own a modern slot machine? New ones have plenty more bells, whistles and dings, and also a lot more advanced parts. If you plan on getting one, you may want to have an idea of what’s inside. In addition to the classic reels, there are speakers, motherboards filled with programming chips and plenty of wires. Unless you have a way with a soldering iron you probably won’t try and fix it. But in case you do, here’s a clip from Discovery showing what’s inside.
Did you know newer slot machines are smart enough to test themselves when a problem happens? This video shows you the procedure for having the machine check its own system. The host’s desert dry delivery is also enough to make this vid worth a watch.
Paylines
A payline is a lineup of specific symbols on which a payout will be awarded. Today's slots feature many symbols and paylines. Paylines can line up in horizontal, vertical, diagonal or even zigzag patterns for a win. Plus, you can bet on as many paylines as you want.
Credits and coins
When it comes to slots, your money is converted into “credits” or “coins”, which are valued from pennies to $100. That’s why players talk about penny slots or nickel slots – they’re referring to the machine’s credit value, called the denomination.
Putting money into a slot? Be sure to check how much one credit is worth on that machine.
Tip
The denomination or value of a credit is rarely the same as the cost of a spin on that machine. Even machines called “penny” or “nickel” may actually have minimum bets that are much higher. In other words your spin will never cost only one cent on a penny machine.
What’s the most important thing in slots? Know what prize you’re playing for. When it comes to prizing, every machine is different. Even if they look the same, two machines can pay very differently.
The paytable is the key to knowing your slot machine’s payouts. It shows you the prize value, winning symbol combinations, and which bet sizes correspond to each prize.
Be sure to understand the winning combinations so you’ll know how to tell a real win from a disappointment.
Tip
Find pay tables and help screens on the machines – through a ‘help’ button or “i” on the touch screens. Or ask a slot attendant for assistance. Slot attendants are always available and happy to answer any questions.
Tip
How Much Money Can A Slot Machine Hold
Check the paytable to know that machine’s top prize and your odds of winning it.
Real Wins vs. False Wins
Sometimes on slot machines, it’s not always easy to tell if you win or lose. It’s possible to get winning combinations of paylines and earn back credits, but not necessarily the full amount that you bet. Pay attention to the amount of the win versus how much you paid for that spin.
Tip
Sometimes a machine will flash and make noises that seem like a win when you’ve actually lost money on that spin.
FALSE WINS IN ACTION
When you win less than what you bet, you've actually lost.
This is called a 'False Win'.
The flashy lights, loud noises and fancy graphics, make it look like you've won, but they’re for your entertainment only. How do you tell the difference?
Hit SPIN to see the difference between a false win and a real win.
FALSE WIN
The win is less than the bet.REAL WIN
The win is more than the bet.