First, you're correct in your conclusion that the players lose more than the casinos and bars are paying out (otherwise they'd have to close). But that doesn't dawn on most who see the big-payout proclamations and conclude that playing at that casino will lead to their being part of that big number. Consequently, these types of ads tend to be effective. In reality, there's not much of value that you can dig out of these numbers. Bigger monthly payouts tell you only that one place has more action than another (which leads to more jackpots). You can reverse-calculate based on certain assumptions to determine how much more action, but that's not useful unless you're thinking of buying the joint. If you want to gauge looseness, you have to look elsewhere.
Remember, unlike video poker, for which return percentages can be precisely calculated by analyzing paytables, the return on slots can't be accurately determined. However, there are a few tricks for determining which casinos are likely to have looser slots. These indicators aren't perfect, but they help.
o Consider the video poker returns. Casinos that offer loose video poker tend to take the same approach with their slots. So even if you don't play video poker, it's still valuable to be able to handicap schedules.
o Consider the slot club. Same logic as above-loose in one area often means loose in all.
o Consider reported return percentages. Check posted data from regulatory agencies (sometimes reprinted in gaming magazines). In Nevada, this information is reported by region, not individual casino. But you can still use it to get leads on where the best-paying machines may be-e.g., downtown or in the locals casinos.
Best, of course, would be if casinos actually posted return percentages on the machines, and back in the early '90s the Las Vegas Hilton experimented with doing that. The experiment didn't last long and, to our knowledge, wasn't repeated. However, there's a program in place right now at another casino that's just as good. At Barona Resort & Casino in San Diego, some of their machines are marked with a tag that says "Manufacturer's Best." This means that they're set to pay out the highest percentage that the manufacturer offers on that model. It's a best-pay guarantee for the slots and you won't find a looser machine (of that brand) anyplace else.
