Are Slot Machines Due

07-03-2021

Are Slot Machines Due

Are Slot Machines Legal In Iowa
Are Slot Machines Legal In Florida

Modern slot machines use a computer to generate random numbers, and these determine the outcomes of the game. The important thing to remember is that the results are truly random. The game doesn’t work on any kind of cyclical basis, and slot machine jackpots don’t become due. Slots don’t get hot or cold, either. Some times of day are better than others. This isn’t true. Casinos aren’t able to reprogram the. Casino Slot machines for sale, IGT, Williams, Bally available. Poker machines, video bonus machines, keno machines, multi game machines. (937) 280-5904 www.gamblerschoiceonline.com. Gold Fish is one of the most popular games made by Williams due to clever bonus rounds. Many gamblers prefer playing a Williams machine as opposed to the.

In the not-too-distant past, slot-machine players were the second-class citizens of casino customers. Jackpots were small, payout percentages were horrendous, and slot players just weren't eligible for the kind of complimentary bonuses -- free rooms, shows, meals -- commonly given to table players. But in the last few decades the face of the casino industry has changed. Nowadays more than 70 percent of casino revenues comes from slot machines, and in many jurisdictions, that figure tops 80 percent.

About 80 percent of first-time visitors to casinos head for the slots. It's easy -- just drop coins into the slot and push the button or pull the handle. Newcomers can find the personal interaction with dealers or other players at the tables intimidating -- slot players avoid that. And besides, the biggest, most lifestyle-changing jackpots in the casino are offered on the slots.

The following article will tell you everything you need to know about slots, from the basics to various strategies. We'll start at square one, with a primer on how playing slot machines works.

How to Play

The most popular slots are penny and nickel video games along with quarter and dollar reel-spinning games, though there are video games in 2-cent, 10-cent, quarter, and dollar denominations and reel spinners up to $100. Most reel spinners take up to two or three coins at a time while video slots can take 45, 90, and even 500 credits at a time.

Nearly all slot machines are fitted with currency acceptors -- slide a bill into the slot, and the equivalent amount of credits is displayed on a meter. On reel-spinning slots, push a button marked 'play one credit' until you've reached the number of coins you wish to play. Then hit the 'spin reels' button, or pull the handle on those few slots that still have handles, or hit a button marked 'play max credits,' which will play the maximum coins allowed on that machine.

On video slots, push one button for the number of paylines you want to activate, and a second button for the number of credits wagered per line. One common configuration has nine paylines on which you can bet 1 to 5 credits. Video slots are also available with 5, 15, 20, 25, even 50 paylines, accepting up to 25 coins per line.

Many reel-spinning machines have a single payout line painted across the center of the glass in front of the reels. Others have three payout lines, even five payout lines, each corresponding to a coin played. The symbols that stop on a payout line determine whether a player wins. A common set of symbols might be cherries, bars, double bars (two bars stacked atop one another), triple bars, and sevens.

A single cherry on the payout line, for example, might pay back two coins; the player might get 10 coins for three of any bars (a mixture of bars, double bars, and triple bars), 30 for three single bars, 60 for three double bars, 120 for three triple bars, and the jackpot for three sevens. However, many of the stops on each reel will be blanks, and a combination that includes blanks pays nothing. Likewise, a seven is not any bar, so a combination such as bar-seven-double bar pays nothing.

Video slots typically have representations of five reels spinning on a video screen. Paylines not only run straight across the reels but also run in V's, upside down V's, and zigs and zags across the screen. Nearly all have at least five paylines, and most have more -- up to 50 lines by the mid-2000s.

In addition, video slots usually feature bonus rounds and 'scatter pays.' Designated symbols trigger a scatter pay if two, three, or more of them appear on the screen, even if they're not on the same payline.

Similarly, special symbols will trigger a bonus event. The bonus may take the form of a number of free spins, or the player may be presented with a 'second screen' bonus. An example of a second screen bonus comes in the long-popular WMS Gaming Slot 'Jackpot Party.' If three Party noisemakers appear on the video reels, the reels are replaced on the screen with a grid of packages in gift wrapping. The player touches the screen to open a package and collects a bonus payout. He or she may keep touching packages for more bonuses until one package finally reveals a 'pooper,' which ends the round. The popularity of such bonus rounds is why video slots have become the fastest growing casino game of the last decade.

When you hit a winning combination, winnings will be added to the credit meter. If you wish to collect the coins showing on the meter, hit the button marked 'Cash Out,' and on most machines, a bar-coded ticket will be printed out that can be redeemed for cash. In a few older machines, coins still drop into a tray.

Etiquette

Many slot players pump money into two or more adjacent machines at a time, but if the casino is crowded and others are having difficulty finding places to play, limit yourself to one machine. As a practical matter, even in a light crowd, it's wise not to play more machines than you can watch over easily. Play too many and you could find yourself in the situation faced by the woman who was working up and down a row of six slots. She was dropping coins into machine number six while number one, on the aisle, was paying a jackpot. There was nothing she could do as a passerby scooped a handful of coins out of the first tray.

Sometimes players taking a break for the rest room will tip a chair against the machine, leave a coat on the chair, or leave some other sign that they'll be back. Take heed of these signs. A nasty confrontation could follow if you play a machine that has already been thus staked out.

Payouts

Payout percentages have risen since the casinos figured out it's more profitable to hold 5 percent of a dollar than 8 percent of a quarter or 10 percent of a nickel. In most of the country, slot players can figure on about a 93 percent payout percentage, though payouts in Nevada run higher. Las Vegas casinos usually offer the highest average payouts of all -- better than 95 percent. Keep in mind that these are long-term averages that will hold up over a sample of 100,000 to 300,000 pulls.

In the short term, anything can happen. It's not unusual to go 20 or 50 or more pulls without a single payout on a reel-spinning slot, though payouts are more frequent on video slots. Nor is it unusual for a machine to pay back 150 percent or more for several dozen pulls. But in the long run, the programmed percentages will hold up.

The change in slots has come in the computer age, with the development of the microprocessor. Earlier slot machines were mechanical, and if you knew the number of stops -- symbols or blank spaces that could stop on the payout line--on each reel, you could calculate the odds on hitting the top jackpot. If a machine had three reels, each with ten stops, and one symbol on each reel was for the jackpot, then three jackpot symbols would line up, on the average, once every 10310310 pulls, or 1,000 pulls.

On those machines, the big payoffs were $50 or $100--nothing like the big numbers slot players expect today. On systems that electronically link machines in several casinos, progressive jackpots reach millions of dollars.

The microprocessors driving today's machines are programmed with random-number generators that govern winning combinations. It no longer matters how many stops are on each reel. If we fitted that old three-reel, ten-stop machine with a microprocessor, we could put ten jackpot symbols on the first reel, ten on the second, and nine on the third, and still program the random-number generator so that three jackpot symbols lined up only once every 1,000 times, or 10,000 times. And on video slots, reel strips can be programmed to be as long as needed to make the odds of the game hit at a desired percentage. They are not constrained by a physical reel.

Each possible combination is assigned a number, or numbers. When the random-number generator receives a signal -- anything from a coin being dropped in to the handle being pulled -- it sets a number, and the reels stop on the corresponding combination.

Between signals, the random-number generator operates continuously, running through dozens of numbers per second. This has two practical effects for slot players. First, if you leave a machine, then see someone else hit a jackpot shortly thereafter, don't fret. To hit the same jackpot, you would have needed the same split-second timing as the winner. The odds are overwhelming that if you had stayed at the machine, you would not have hit the same combination.

Second, because the combinations are random, or as close to random as is possible to set the program, the odds of hitting any particular combination are the same on every pull. If a machine is programmed to pay out its top jackpot, on the average, once every 10,000 pulls, your chances of hitting it are one in 10,000 on any given pull. If you've been standing there for days and have played 10,000 times, the odds on the next pull will still be one in 10,000. Those odds are long-term averages. In the short term, the machine could go 100,000 pulls without letting loose of the big one, or it could pay it out twice in a row.

So, is there a way to ensure that you hit it big on a slot machine? Not really, but despite the overriding elements of chance, there are some strategies you can employ. We'll cover these in the next section.

Slots are the easiest games in the casino to play -- spin the reels and take your chances. Players have no control over what combinations will show up or when a jackpot will hit. There is no way to tell when a machine will be hot or cold. Still, there are some pitfalls. It's important to read the glass and learn what type of machine it is. The three major types of reel-spinning slots are the multiplier, the buy-a-pay, and the progressive.

The multiplier. On a multiplier, payoffs are proportionate for each coin played--except, usually, for the top jackpot. If the machine accepts up to three coins at a time, and if you play one coin, three bars pay back ten. Three bars will pay back 20 for two coins and 30 for three coins. However, three sevens might pay 500 for one coin and 1,000 for two, but jump to 10,000 when all three coins are played. Read the glass to find out if that's the case before playing less than the maximum coins on this type of machine.

The buy-a-pay. Never play less than the maximum on a buy-a-pay, on which each coin 'buys' a set of symbols or a payout line. The first coin in might allow the player to win only on cherry combination, while the second coin activates the bar payouts, and the third coin activates the sevens. Woe is the player who hits three jackpot symbols on a buy-a-pay with only one coin played--the player gets nothing back. A variation is the machine with multiple payout lines, each activated by a separate coin. All symbols are active with each coin, but if a winning combination lines up on the third-coin payout line with only one or two coins played, the payoff is zero.

The progressive. You also have no reason to play less than maximum coins on a progressive machine. A player who eventually lines up the jackpot symbols gets a percentage of each coin played. The first progressive machines were self-contained--the jackpot was determined by how much that particular machine had been played since the last big hit. Today most progressives are linked electronically to other machines, with all coins played in the linked machines adding to a common jackpot.

These jackpots can be enormous -- the record is $39,710,826.26, a $1 progressive at a Las Vegas casino. The tradeoff is that frequency and size of other payouts are usually smaller. And you can't win the big jackpot without playing maximum coins.

If you must play fewer than maximum coins, look for a multiplier in which the final-coin jump in the top jackpot is fairly small. Better yet, choose a machine that allows you to stay within your budget while playing maximum coins. If your budget won't allow you to play maximum coins on a $1 machine, move to a quarter machine. If you're not comfortable playing three quarters at a time, move to a two-quarter machine. If you can't play two quarters at a time, play a nickel machine.

With so many paylines and the possibility of betting multiple coins per line, video slots are different. Some penny slots with 20 paylines take up to 25 coins per line. That's a $5 maximum bet -- a pretty penny indeed! Most players bet less than the max on video slots but are sure to cover all the paylines, even if betting only one coin per line. You want to be sure to be eligible for the bonus rounds that give video slots most of their fun. Some progressive jackpots require max coins bets, and some don't. If a max-coins bet is required to be eligible for the jackpot and you're not prepared to roll that high, find a different machine.

Money Management

Managing your money wisely is the most important part of playing any casino game, and also the most difficult part of playing the slots. Even on quarter machines, the amount of money involved runs up quickly. A dedicated slot player on a machine that plays off credits can easily get in 600 pulls an hour. At two quarters at a time, that means wagering $300 per hour -- the same amount a $5 blackjack player risks at an average table speed of 60 hands per hour.

Most of that money is recycled from smaller payouts--at a casino returning 93 percent on quarter slots, the expected average loss for $300 in play is $21. Still, you will come out ahead more often if you pocket some of those smaller payouts and don't continually put everything you get back into the machine.

One method for managing money is to divide your slot bankroll for the day into smaller-session bankrolls. If, for example, you've taken $100 on a two-and-a-half-hour riverboat cruise, allot $20 for each half-hour. Select a quarter machine -- dollar machines could devastate a $100 bankroll in minutes -- and play the $20 through once. If you've received more than $20 in payouts, pocket the excess and play with the original $20. At the end of one half-hour, pocket whatever is left and start a new session with the next $20.

If at any point the original $20 for that session is depleted, that session is over. Finish that half-hour with a walk, or a snack, or a drink until it is time for a new session. Do not dip back into money you've already pocketed.

That may seem rigid, but players who do not use a money management technique all too frequently keep pumping money into the machine until they've lost their entire bankroll. The percentages guarantee that the casino will be the winner in the long run, but lock up a portion of the money as you go along, and you'll walk out of the casino with cash on hand more frequently.

That is changing in new server-based slots that have started to appear in casinos. Operators will be able to change payback percentages at the click of a mouse, but they still must have regulatory approval to do so.

There is a lot more to slot machines than meets the eye. But if you learn the ins and outs of playing them, you can use some strategies that just might help you hit the jackpot.

^©Publications International, Ltd.

Introduction to Progressive Slot Machines

This article, Winning Strategy 2: Progressive Slot Machines, is next in a series about realistic winning strategies for slot machine casino gambling. This strategy is simple but perhaps not entirely easy, mostly due to the difficulties inherent to changing one’s own playing perspective. So, keep an open mind, be patient, and learn to win.

Lately, progressive slot machines have become quite popular, with their being up to 30% of the slot machines within a casino. Have you seen those new slot machines with Major and Minor jackpots that constantly grow? Even though they are not obviously labeled as such, those are progressive slot machines.

This relatively high level of popularity drives a real and urgent need to discuss ways to play and win at progressive slots.

So, I am meeting this real need of slots enthusiasts by explaining what is currently happening in the world of progressive slots. Here’s how.

This article has the following sections:

Introduction
What are Progressive Slot Machines?
How Many Progressive Slot Machines Make a Progressive Jackpot?
The Casino’s Business Case for Progressive Slot Machines
Should You Play Progressive Slot Machines?
Strategies for Winning on Progressive Slot Machines
Long-Term Playing: A Cautionary Tale
Summary

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What are Progressive Slot Machines?

A slot machine is considered progressive when a portion of the bets placed on it go towards increasing its maximum jackpot. When initialized, such as when first started or after the progressive jackpot has been won, a progressive slot machine is given an initial jackpot. This initial jackpot is not zero.

Starting with this initial jackpot, it “progressively” grows as the slot machine is played. The progressive jackpot increases by a percentage of whatever is bet. For example, a $1 may increase the progressive jackpot by $0.25.

Progressive slot machines also have a maximum progressive jackpot, which they cannot exceed. That is to say, the progressive jackpot must be won before or when it equals this maximum amount.

Once reset after the progressive jackpot has been won, or when initially switched on, the amount of the next winning progressive jackpot is randomly chosen. This new winning progressive jackpot is randomly chosen to be between the initial and maximum amounts mentioned.

As bets are placed on the machine and the progressive jackpot increases, it approaches the amount of this new winning progressive jackpot. When a player’s bet increases the progressive jackpot to that randomly chosen amount, that player wins the progressive slot machine jackpot. Afterwards, the process begins anew.

How Many Progressive Slot Machines Make a Progressive Jackpot?

A common misconception is that progressive slot machines always include a group of slot machines with a shared jackpot. This is simply not the case. It is not uncommon for a progressive jackpot to be available only on a single slot machine.

It is also entirely possible for a group of progressive slot machines to be grouped, linked, or networked together. However, the physical extent of a network of machines included in a progressive jackpot can vary widely, including:

Stand-Alone: A single slot machine which grows its own progressive jackpot only, is not networked to any other slot machines, and likely has the lowest maximum jackpot amount relative to networked progressive slot machines;
In-House: Slot machines having the same slot machine game theme within the casino and more substantial, if not life-changing, maximum jackpots;
In-Chain: Slot machines usually with the same slot machine game theme within all of the gaming venues owned by the same casino operator within states having gaming regulations that allow this;
Wide-Area: Slot machines owned independently from the casinos they are located within, and:
- A maximum jackpot which is massively large, life-changing jackpot;
- Each casino gets a percentage of slot machines revenue;
- Having a payout return which is lowest of all other progressive slot machines due to the relatively high setup and administrative costs.

The Casino’s Business Case for Progressive Slot Machines

Casinos are always trying new ways to both make money as well as providing new ideas to their patrons. This includes the whole business idea of progressive slot machines.

Some aspects of progressive slots are great for the casino business, such as being alluring to many casino patrons. Other aspects are driving changes at casinos, such as the legal difficulties with paying multi-property and multi-state progressive jackpots.

Stand-alone progressive slot machines are currently on the rise at casino properties. It can sometime be difficult to know if players will like new styles of slot machine play, such as skill-based slots (which are not doing well). But, progressive slot machines are definitely very popular. So, casinos have these.

Casinos also have in-house progressive slot machines, within certain limitations. It turns out that casinos only have in-house progressive slot machines in groups or carousels of slot machines. They simply are not spread all across the casino. Instead, I have observed that they are grouped together in a row or circle.

It’s interesting that in-house, networked, progressive slot machines have this limitation. It doesn’t take much inductive reasoning to figure out why. It’s due to ease of installation and building infrastructure.

Yes, newer casinos physically connect all their slot machines to a central computer with its casino operating system. Older casinos physically connect the players interface to a computer database, and also maintain a limited connection to notify the slot attendant dispatcher of any slot machines showing wins.

So, the central computer operating systems used in newer casinos are apparently not yet sufficient to handle networked progressive slot machines, where I went to research this post on progressive slot machines.

Just like older casinos, newer casinos have to physically connect in-house progressive slot machines. And, running the necessary cables under floors, over ceilings, and behind walls makes life difficult for casinos. Simply put, it is more efficient and easier to place networked slot machines together.

In part, this increased efficiency is due to how often slot machines are replaced to keep up with appealing game themes. Slot machines get moved in and out of casinos a lot, and making it difficult to do so is not of interest to casinos. Difficult, and costly. For example, pulling up flooring would disrupt, well, making money on slots in the affected areas.

In-chain and wide-area networked progressive slot machines have their own issues for casinos, so these types are being seen less and less often. While life-changing progressive jackpots have traditionally been of interest to slots enthusiasts, this is somewhat a thing of the past. Nobody expects to win on them. It’s, well, too much of a long shot.

Also, actually being awarded a large progressive jackpot is a lengthy, nightmarish process. So, you just won a huge, multi-casino progressive jackpot. Now you have to wait for 6 hours to get it. Stand-alone progressive slot machines are owned by the casino, and payouts are just like any other slot machine.

But, there are also progressive slot machines which are networked together outside of a casino, potentially across state lines and in coordination with other casinos as part owners of the jackpot. From the casino perspective, winners are unhappy with having lengthy waits in a back office while this business is transacted with other casinos.

When I was researching progressive slots machines, I was talking to a slots manager about the difficulties of progressive slot machines networked outside of a single casino property. What he said aligned well with statements within the Scientific Games and IGT annual financial reports. He said there are liability issues.

Basically, who owns the progressive jackpot being paid? Plain and simple, this is so, so difficult from a business perspective. Suffice to say, having liability issues with being able to pay out a progressive jackpot from a networked progressive slot machines is a loss of efficiency, the winner is never happy having to wait so long to be paid, and has become a no-go territory for casinos.

In other words, for the reasons given, casinos are getting out of the business of progressive slot machines networked across several properties. Casinos are currently making adjustments to increase their stand-alone and in-house progressive slot machines while reducing or entirely eliminating their out-of-house, networked progressive slot machines.

Should You Play Progressive Slot Machines?

There are effectively two strategies for winning at progressive slot machines:

Treat the progressive slot machine like a non-progressive slot machine, and try to win the smaller, non-progressive jackpots; and
Play progressive slot machines where the progressive jackpot is approaching its maximum value.

First, players can attempt to win jackpots of less than the maximum size on progressive slot machines using the winning strategies I have and will be discussing shortly for non-progressive style slot machines.

In the past, I have stated there is usually little to be gained by doing so. However, further research has helped correct this prior point-of-view. My prior reasoning has been that players of progressive slot machines are paying for the experience of playing that type of slot machine. I had assumed there is an associated price, a real monetary cost.

So, I had thought, the odds of winning non-progressive jackpots on a progressive slot machine were reduced to have the player pay some or all of this cost. This turns out to not quite be the actual case.

My prior view was incomplete, and not entirely proven out by real data. In fact, the opposite is clearly true for at least one state, and therefore reasonably true for all states. But, there is also some truth to what I had previously believed.

I had previously believed that all progressive slot machines had low payout returns. This is partially still true, but only for progressive slot machines with a truly massive wide-area network of machines. These are the progressive games having a multi-million dollar progressive jackpot.

This is clearly seen in payout return statistics of Las Vegas’s Strip area. There, according to state gaming commission, the highest payout return is the $1 denomination, non-Megabucks slot machines. The lowest payout returns are the Megabucks progressive slot machines with a $1 denomination.

But, the refinement to my previous understanding relates to the consistently relatively high actual payout returns for progressive slot machines with relatively small networks and therefore non-huge progressive jackpots. These are simply the facts.

These available facts are from, naturally, publicly available payout return statistics from a U.S. state government. Take a look at the actual payout return statistics for Mississippi.

The Mississippi Gaming Commission separates out monthly payout returns by slot machine denominations. Several states do this, as reported in Benefits of Slot Machine Payout Returns.

However, what is special about the Mississippi Gaming Commission monthly Win Percentage Report is, not only do they separate out payout returns by slot machine denomination, they also separate them out by whether or not the slot machine is progressive.

Here’s what’s interesting: The average payout return for progressive slot machines of a particular denomination are significantly better than non-progressive machines of the same denomination.

This is shown in the January 2018 report for all denominations having progressive slot machines, separately shown across all 3 gaming regions of Mississippi.

Let me repeat that. In Mississippi, all actual payout returns within all three regions as well as all denomination for progressive slots are higher than non-progressive slots. That’s pretty convincing data.

Given this single state-wide example, I am now willing to revise my previously low opinion of progressive slot machines. I now say it is reasonable to assume all progressive machines have better payout returns than non-progressive slot machines.

As I have previously discussed, improved payout returns come from several sources, and starting with the highest baseline amount is accomplished by careful selection of both casino and slot machine.

A progressive slot machine should be considered to have a relatively higher payout return relative to slot machines of the same denomination.

Simply put, based on Mississippi stats, and all other considerations and strategies aside, playing a progressive slot machine is likely to add 1% to 2% of payout return percentage to your baseline odds of winning.

Just, remember to avoid progressive slot machines with truly large, even life-changing, progressive jackpots. Those typically have the lowest odds of winning.

Strategies for Winning on Progressive Slot Machines

Now, let us consider a strategy specific for winning on progressive slot machines, rather than just if they should be played at all. In general, winning the maximum jackpot on a slot machine is a truly rare event.

Unless a specific strategy is being employed, a slots player should more-or-less ignore this possibility as nothing other than a once-in-a-lifetime event.

But, the key here is “unless a specific strategy is being employed.” Earlier, I stated:

“As bets are placed on the machine and the progressive jackpot increases, it approaches the amount of this new winning progressive jackpot. When a player’s bet increases the progressive jackpot to that randomly chosen amount, that player wins the progressive slot machine jackpot.”

This is the key to winning the progressive jackpot on a progressive slot machine: Play it when it approaches the maximum progressive jackpot allowed, when it must pay out.

Advantage players makes sure they are playing a progressive slot machine as it approaches the set maximum limit, pushing it towards and over to win.

There’s really only one problem with this strategy. What’s the maximum limit? For stand-alone progressive slot machines, it’s fairly easy to figure out. Simply look at the progressive jackpot amounts on progressive slot machines at your casino.

How much do they never go under? How much do they never go over? Those are the initial and maximum progressive jackpot amounts, respectively. Based on observations at my local casinos, a quarter machine might reset at $1,000 and reach its maximum at $1,200.

You can observe progressive slot machines yourself, and should if you want to make the most of this strategy. What you want to watch for is someone winning a progressive jackpot on what I describe elsewhere as a candidate slot machine.

That’s how you determine the reset or initial progressive jackpot. This initial jackpot provides a useful clue to the maximum progressive jackpot.

Further observations of players winning progressive jackpots on your candidate slot machines will also help you determine how large the maximum progressive jackpot might be. Eventually, you’ll have a reasonable guess for the maximum jackpot.

Once you do have that reasonable guess, only play that progressive slot machine when it is closest to its best-guess maximum jackpot and furthest from the initial jackpot.

Remember, the progressive jackpot can be won anywhere between the initial and maximum jackpots, but it is “due for a win” when it gets closer to the maximum jackpot. That’s your advantage play.

This strategy can also be applied to non-stand-alone progressive slot machines. However, doing so will require a team of 2 or more people. Networked progressive slot machines located within a casino are currently being grouped together by casinos, as discussed, so having someone at each is quite possible.

The strategy here is to have someone sitting at each of these networked slot machines when the maximum progressive jackpot is being approached, then play those machines until the progressive jackpot is driven over the maximum jackpot.

There are a couple of logistics concerns to watch out for, of course. First, these should be people you both trust and have an agreement with to share the jackpot. Who is going to pay the taxes on the jackpot, assuming it is over $1,200?

In other words, whose name will be on the W-2G? Keep in mind, agreement or not, the actual winner doesn’t legally have to share any winnings unless they choose to do so.

Second, you could just have a single person playing one of the networked slot machines, while everyone else at the other machines are not playing.

But, this will look suspicious to the casino, and should be avoided, given the lengthy time it will take for one person to add enough money to sufficiently drive up the progressive jackpot.

Are Slot Machines Legal In Iowa

Third, the highest value progressive jackpots are on the greatest number of networked progressive slot machines. Winning a $4 million progressive jackpot would mean having a very large team located at several casinos, probably across several states.

Given the inherent difficulties, such as large cash investment and team management as well as travel costs, it is perhaps more reasonable to try this strategy on a smaller bank of networked progressive slot machines.

If you don’t have a team available, or your team is fewer than the progressive machines networked together, try being the only people playing them. You’ll still win if the other machines are sitting idle. However, this may require visiting the casino at odd hours when attendance is at a minimum.

Even then, a stranger could still swoop in at near the last moment to potentially win and take your investment of time and money. On the other hand, maybe you’re the stranger doing the swooping? Either way, it is something to watch for, or plan to implement or avoid, with this strategy.

Long-Term Playing: A Cautionary Tale

I was recently told a story by an entertainment slots gambler about his brother-in-law winning a top progressive jackpot for $375,000 after 15 years of playing that and similar high limit progressive slot machines.

I was initially impressed, perhaps because of the fervor with which he told the story. But then, I got to thinking about the math.

If $375,000 was a total gross salary for 15 years of work for a job, it’d be an annual gross pay of $24,000. That would be a full-time job at a rate of $12.50 per hour, which at this time is more than any U.S. state’s minimum hourly wage.

While I didn’t get a chance to ask this during the conversation itself, later I wondered how much this brother-in-law spent on gambling per year. As a reminder for both of us, an upcoming post will be about how to and the value of keeping good gambling records.

How much did this individual with the $375,000 progressive jackpot spend gambling on the progressive slot machine each year? If he lost $25,000 per year in gambling losses, he only broke even over 15 years. Of course, this does not include any income taxes on his progressive jackpot.

Let’s say his overall tax rate was 25%, and his gambling losses in the year of the progressive jackpot was insignificant compared to $375,000. In this case, his winnings after paying income taxes was just over $280,000. Over 15 years, that is $18,750

Was this “winner” either breaking even over the long run, or losing money? How much profit, annual revenue minus annual gambling losses, had he actually gotten? One hopes that he at least broke even after 15 years of effort.

Summary of Winning Strategy 2: Progressive Slot Machines

In summary, Winning Strategy 2: Progressive Slot Machines provides the necessary background understanding to subsequently apply the provided realistic strategy for winning on progressive slots.

I first identified what a progressive slot machine is, then helped you to identify networked progressive slot machines.

This was followed by the usual question always to be asked about slot machines, which was to identify what is known about actual payout returns for this type of slot machine. Mississippi’s Gaming Commission was very helpful with this.

I next went over the strategy for winning at progressive slot machines, making use of the advantage play available due to progressive slots having a minimum jackpot at reset as well as maximum progressive jackpot which it cannot exceed.

I also talked about how to best go about teaming up to apply this strategy on small networks of progressive slot machines.

I concluded with a cautionary tale about winning a big progressive jackpot after many years of attempting to do so, and how the annual cost may well exceed, in total, what might eventually be won with a single large jackpot.

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