How casinos use math to make money when you play the slots

 How Casinos Use Math to Make Money when You Play the Slots

When I worked as security in Atlantic City casinos, customers would often ask me: "Which machine is going to hit?" After that, I'd reply, "If that were true, I wouldn’t be here anymore." With a knowing smile, I chuckled. Always got at least one smile back.

Since I am now the Director of Center for Gaming Research at University of Nevada Las Vegas, people ask me the same question. I have a better understanding of how they work and why people like them.

In the United States, slot machines are still the largest money-making component of casinos. The majority of casinos in the United States make 65-80% of their gambling income through slots. In Las Vegas, this percentage ranges from 88 per cent in casinos that cater primarily for locals to 50 per cent on the Las Vegas Strip. High rollers betting tens, thousands of dollars per hand can skew the results in favor ot table games. Millions of dollars are put into slot machines every day. Why?

It is easy to play a modern slot machine. It is easy to play a modern slot machine. Players just need to insert their currency and decide how much they want to bet. Then, they press the spin button. There are many kinds of slot machines at casinos today. Some have spinning reels that can be seen on the ground, while others have replica reels that appear on a TV screen. But they all function in the exact same way. Video poker, a special type of video slots, allows players to use their skill in determining which cards are the most beneficial. All other video slots, regardless of how they are branded, are games that involve pure chance.

Many people love the chance aspect of slot machines. If you can put money into a slot machine and push the button, you're just as likely to win a prize as someone who has been playing for twenty-years. All it comes down to luck. Lucky people are lucky sometimes. Slot machines attract casinos because they are stable money-makers, provided enough people play them. Bob Ambrose, who started in the industry at Tropicana at Atlantic City in 1980, was an expert on gaming and a casino management instructor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. "It's all," he said, "about the math."

Casinos look at the performance of a slot machine by looking at the drop. The money the player has put into the machines. You may also hear the handle number, which Ambrose refers to as the total amount of money a player has bet. How can a player wager more than she has invested? She can make $100, win a $50 jackpot and keep playing until she loses all of her money (including the $50 "win"), which will give her a drop of $100. Her handle is $150.

After the machine has paid its jackpots, the casino win (also known as revenue) is left.

How does a slot machine decide who wins or loses? Ambrose states that the payouts for slots are statistically calculated. By pressing spin, the random number generator activates. This algorithm determines whether each spin is win- or loss-related and how much. Ambrose said that each game has its own hold percentage, as well as a pay table which details how often and what amount games will pay out. How Las Vegas Slot Machine Games Work - Slot Machine Games