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Gaming GuruManipulating slot machines15 May 2006
Dear Bill, Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. John
Dear Gene, I too have seen machines with misaligned reel strips and even the wrong reel strips. But the reels strips have nothing to do with determining the results of a spin. One or more numbers from the RNG determines the result. The reels just display the result from the RNG. It really doesn't matter what the reels display. Moving on to your second point, there's no such thing as coming close to paying a jackpot. It's just like being pregnant — either you are or you aren't. A spin is either a jackpot or it isn't. Close doesn't count. I don't understand the scenario you described in your last paragraph. I think you're saying that we don't play or watch a machine for a great period of time, therefore we don't know if a machine has ever hit a jackpot if we don't hit one ourselves. Moreover, we don't know if it's even possible to hit a jackpot on a machine. In this case, we have to trust the casino and the regulators. I haven't seen every jurisdiction's regulations, but I would be shocked if every jurisdiction did not have a regulation stating that every winning combination on a pay table must be possible. Now, I have to ask this question. If someone believes that the results on the machines are manipulated and it may not be possible to hit a combination listed on a pay table — in short, that the machines are not honest — why do they play the slot machines? Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
Dear Nancy, One of the (dis)advantages of ticket systems is that casino's need fewer slot floorpeople because there aren't any hopper fills. My cousin once waited 45 minutes for a hopper fill at about the same time of night. And that was before tickets. I'm afraid that the problem of finding help in the wee hours is not going to get better. The best thing to do when you have a problem is to press the Attendant Call button on the machine and stay with it. Pressing the button will light the candle on the top of the machine, which alerts the floorpeople that you need assistance. Unfortunately, you just can't leave a machine unattended. Not even for a second, it seems. One time at Treasure Island in Las Vegas, I had to get up from a machine to get a coin bucket from a stack of buckets in a carousel about 20 feet away. In the five seconds I was out of the chair, someone tried to sit down in it. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't send a reply to every question. Also be advised that it may take several months for your question to appear in my column. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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