Changing slot percentages
for the weekender crowd doesn't happen
27 January 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Who sets the payout percentages for large
progressives like Megabucks? Do they change
those percentages on the weekends when it is
busier? Douglas D.
To eat up your latter question first, “do
casinos take a screwdriver to their slots on the
weekends to tighten them up?”, the answer is no.
It is not cost-effective for the casino to
continually alter the payouts on their machines.
To alter the percentage return in their favor,
the casino must, by law, make a hardware change.
They do this by swapping out an internal
component, the ROM portion of the microprocessor
chip. ROM, or read only memory, is a chip the
slot manufacturer provides the casino that tells
the slot machine to pay back so many coins every
time BAR BAR BAR appears. Some state gaming
commissions won’t even allow casinos to switch
chips in-house. Besides exchanging chips, Doug,
they would also have to physically change the
glass payout schedule for each machine.
As to who sets the payout percentages for
Megabucks, since the progressive jackpot is paid
out by IGT, those payout percentages are set at
the factory. Don’t ask, Doug. It’s a trade
secret what those exact percentages are. You
won’t get any hush-hush tittle-tattle from IGT.
Casinos also have their own proprietary
progressive machines, typically with their name
and logo on the facing. On their own machines,
the casino sets the percentage they want
returned to them when placing an order with a
slot manufacturer. Once they decide on the
payout percentage needed based on the payout
range received from the buyer, the makers of the
machine program each slot based upon the leasing
and/or purchasing agreement. When a casino wants
to make a change to those percentages, they
usually have to notify the gaming commission and
the manufacturer to have those changes made.
Dear Mark,
What is the casino advantage in Multiple Action
Blackjack versus regular blackjack? Greg N.
The casino advantage in blackjack is determined
by both the playing rules and the number of
decks used. So, Greg, house rules being equal,
there isn’t any difference in the house edge
between Multiple Action Blackjack and
traditional blackjack.
Dear Mark,
I just want to say “THANKS” for the brilliant
response to the question about wearing Reynolds
Wrap to block a pacemaker signal from
interfering with an electronic slot machine.
I haven’t had such a good laugh in a long time.
It was a nice break to my day! The sad thing is
the guy (Gurth) who wrote the question was
probably being sincere, if that’s possible from
a total weirdo. I’ll keep an eye out at the
slots section of the local casino to see if
someone is wearing their beanie. Katie O.
Being a certified screwball myself, it does give
me the inside track into the psychology of whack
jobs, so answering Gurth’s silvery ductile
metallic element question was a no-brainer.
Gurth over the years has sent me a whole slew of
dillies, some kooky, some pretty spooky. Look
for those in future columns.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: Having an ATM in a
casino is like having a lap-dancer at a Hell's
Angels Convention. -- Mark Twain impersonator McAvoy Layne
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