Changing Slot Play Percentages

It's wrong to think that the percentage is averaged over the life of the machine. It's just not the right thought process. The math is the math. Take roulette. 38 numbers. Probability to hit one is 1/38. There is no "over the life of the roulette wheel" caveat. Same thing with VP and slots. Just because the probability is determined by an electronic chip doesn't mean it some how knows its lifetime. Due to the nature of VP, the variation has large swings and this means that a larger number of hands is required for the sample average to approach the mean.

An individual machine's results will follow a normal distribution. Some will pay out more than average, some will pay out less average. As a whole they will pay out what they are set to pay out.

VP do not have to payback at a set %. They payback according to their paytables. That is it. The RNG is not adjusted to compensate for poor or perfect play or how well the machine has paid in the paid.

A better question to the gaming executive might be to ask what type of quality checks and monitoring they do to assure the machines operateas intended.

I still believe they can be changed easily.*

According to Michael Shackleford - of wizardofodds.com - changing the percentage payback is a matter of switching out an EPROM. At some casinos like Treasure Island and (I think) Aria, it's even easier; they can adjust the percentage from a central server.

It is however illegal in Nevada for casinos to change the payback percentage while there are credits on the machine, and they must wait for the machine to be idle for a few minutes before doing so. Whether that means they can or cannot change the payback on a progressive or on linked machines, I don't know. And machines in Nevada are required to meet minimum payback requirements.

I'm sure if I were pals with the CEO of a slot manufacturer, I'd believe what he told me. But at this point, he is an unidentified person described second hand on the Internet. Michael Shackleford is a trusted and respected gambling authority. I'm sure he has sometimes gotten things wrong, but at this point I believe Shack.

*Physically, that is. They have to report all changes to the Casino Commission, and that part probably isn't considered so easy.

I'm a slot attendant, and it amuses me how superstitious most slot players are. They will cash out every few minutes, or after a big hit, and put their voucher back in, or else stick their voucher in their pocket and put a bill in. They think this "confuses" the machine, and they think another player is now playing, and it may be able to be hit again. Some will not use a players card because it's bad luck, or it means big brother will know their every move and be able to track their play, or "turn off" the machine. They will swear that they do much better without their players' card inserted. Others think that there is somebody at a master control who will "turn on" the machines at any given moment and they will be red hot. This belief is due to the fact that ever so often, there will be alot of jackpots going off. But anybody who gambles, whether it be poker, blackjack, slots, VP, or whatever knows that there are very hot and very cold streaks and that's just the way it is. Nobody is out to get you, nothing is crooked. It's plenty crooked enough that you'll lose approximately 10% of your money in the long run, no matter what you do, so why do they need to cheat?

One other quick thing which should be touched on. I was working one day last week when a 12X machine hit for a taxable jackpot three times within 45 minutes, and they were all over $2800 jackpots. So many people will put hundreds or thousands of bucks into a machine thinking that it will certainly be due to hit soon. Whereas I do believe in the law of averages to an extent, and if they sit there for a month, surely something will hit, it is a dangerous thing to do. The random number generator is what governs whether the machine hits, and it is 100% dependent upon the billionth of a second that you hit the button or pull the handle. If you sit there and put a thousand dollars into a machine and hit nothing, and you leave, and somebody else sits down and hits the machine on their first spin, they have not "taken your money." They have just hit the button at exactly the right time. If you had stayed there, you might have played for a day and a half and never done what they just did. They hit the button at that right millionth or billionth of a second. So when this happens, instead of hating the person for taking your money, just realize that their rhythm is on today, and apparently, yours is not.

Lots of good information here. Keep in mind that changing chips take time and a slot tech (unless server based system is in place). This costs casinos money and they aren't likely to do it unless they have a very good reason. Generally, it only happens during scheduled maintenance time. They usually shut down an entire bank of machines and often put signs up to warn customers that the bank will be offline at a specified time.

For sever based systems the the machine must be idle for at least 4 minutes and a message is displayed on the screen that a change is being made. The machine is then required to be idle for another 4 minutes after downloading the change. This also takes a technician to make this happen so it will cost the casino money.

If you put yourself in the position of a casino manager why would you want to be changing returns when you already are set to get about 10%? Why would you want to keep changing the return and playing a tech real money to go from machine to machine to make the changes? Doesn't seem like a real good idea if the costs reflect on you. Also, every time a machine is opened it requires some paperwork to be filed and also could end up creating a problem to a perfectly good working machine.

Arc I was thinking along the lines of using a server to change over banks of machines at a time. I know from experience that VP is a very streaky game. Although probably bad logic, that is why I will switch to a slot machine realizing that I am playing a game with a lower percentage payout over the long run. I'm just hoping to catch a decent bonus round or a couple of small to medium jackpots.

All of my info that I glean from a couple of certain execs IS done in a purely social setting and there is usually some good wine being consumed. Plus, I am usually being kicked under the table if I am getting close to talking too much "shop", or just talking too much. And then I start to nod off or watch the waitresses when they start talking about suing over patents and being sued and who they are buying next. So, I could be a little off. I do know that they say they monitor all of their multi site progressive machines themselves from their headquarters.
I think I understand the VP payouts not being a %, just following the pay table. If this applies to the video BJ as well it has ruined my plans on breaking Vegas!

One time I asked a slot tech to bring his screw driver over here and loosen up these machines..... he just looked at me like he wanted to stab me with it.

Computer payback percentages are set by the game software chip, which is supplied to the casino (as part of the game, obviously) direct from the manufacturer. Slot buyers at casinos decide which percentage machine to buy at the time of purchase - most games come in 2 or 3 payout percentages. Casinos cannot change the payout rate from hour to hour or day to day. The only way they can do that is to swap out one full machine for another - which is a bit of hassle. They can't just change a chip in a machine, because on power on there are all sorts of internal checks the computer carries out to ensure that all parts in the machine are original and not tampered with - e.g. each chip has its own id / serial number, which is checked for.

So, the machine you play today is the same you played yesterday, and so on. The bonus points you accrue (at normal rate or 10x) are BY LAW not allowed to interfere with the game / payouts etc. You get the same odds on the slot machine game whether it gives 1 bonus point per $1 spent or 20 bonus points.

So, in the small sample of spins you mention (slot machine odds are worked out over MILLIONS of spins), your bad luck was just coincidence.

Hmmmmm. On VP machines they are able to change the paytable without changing the machines. Many of us here can attest to that.
Furthermore, I can think of the old 99er machines at Wild Wild West in AC and the "97%" slot bank there that were tightened while the machines stayed.
So I don't think you are right. Las Vegas Club and El Cortez just advertised that they loosened machines. They loosened the chips-they didn't get new machines.