Slot Machine Profit Margin

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A figure quoted to me a few years back said each machine in a casino generally makes $120.00 a day profit. So, if you have say 2.5 thousand slots that's and nice earner and of course you can add in the table and keno games etc. Machines do vary in their play behavior though. If multiple points were enough to turn no-skill games like slot machines into profit centers for players, the casino wouldn’t be making the offer. Let’s make a couple of assumptions and do a little arithmetic. First, let’s assume the games pay 87 percent, which is pretty normal for a penny slot. They might that a slot is very popular but has a small profit margin. This could make it a candidate for a lower RTP. This is just speculation, of course. There is no way of knowing the real reasons unless the.

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For slot machine grinders like me, the Holy Grail that motivates me to keep playing is the pursuit of loose slots.

Now, before I go any further, let’s discuss what the term loose really means in the slot machine industry.

Many players mistakenly believe that individual machines can be programmed to play loosely – paying out winning spins more frequently – while others are programmed to play tight. In fact, as you make your way through the slot world, you’ll meet players who believe with all their heart that loose machines are always placed on the end of a machine bank, or casinos loosen the games on weekdays, or any number of similar myths and misconceptions.

Fortunately for reasonable slot enthusiasts, that’s just not how it works.

Any given slot machine model is designed and manufactured by a particular company –Aristocrat, International Game Technology (IGT), WMS Industries and so on. Before a machine ever hits the casino floor, these companies build random number generators (RNGs) into the game cabinet, and these RNGs provide truly random results on the reels.

Those results are based on the game’s probability of hitting certain combinations on the reels, and the payouts are related to those combinations. That’s it, and that’s all.

A machine can be designed to payout small winners relatively often, with large jackpots sprinkled in as long shots. Or, the designer may opt for a flatter pay out scheme, with small and large wins occurring with the same frequency. That’s all up to the folks creating the game, and with thousands of slot machine models out there today, you’ll find plenty of variety when it comes to payback percentage.

When a machine arrives at the casino, operators there have no control whatsoever over those probabilities and payouts. They’ve been pre-programmed into the random number generator, and for the duration of the machine’s life, they’ll remain constant and steady.

Most slot machine beginners don’t realize this is how it works, which is where the idea of loose and tight machines, as it is commonly understood, came from. After all, wouldn’t casinos want to tightly control the odds being offered to players?

Well, they do just that.

But not by influencing an individual machine’s pay out frequency from on high. Rather, a casino can modulate its own slot machine payout rates by choosing which types of slots to carry.

Remember, some slots are designed to be “people pleasers,” paying out small winners every other spin or so. These games run with payback percentages between 93 percent and 97 percent, and can occasionally go even higher.

When I call a slot machine “loose,” I’m referring to these higher than average payback rates.

On the other hand, many machines – especially those offering progressive jackpots – pay out winners much less often. But when they do, the returns are typically larger than the people-pleaser games. For these machines, the payback percentages usually range from 87 percent to 92 percent – rates I’d refer to as “tight.”

While a casino operator can’t control each machine’s payback percentage, they can pick and choose how many of the loose and tight machines are offered on the floor. One venue may elect to spread 20 loose games to 10 tight games, while the joint next door rolls with a 20 tight/10 loose arrangement.

In this way, every casino you visit will hold an inherent payback percentage for its slot games, which is calculated by averaging the payback rates for all machines on the floor. When a casino operator wants to tinker with its own paybacks – perhaps to provide a higher profit margin for owners – it doesn’t need to reduce the “looseness” on individual machines. Instead, the operator can simply remove a few high payback machines from the floor, while replacing them with lower paying machines to bump the casino’s overall average payback rate down.

Now that you know what loose slots really are, let’s dive into the important stuff: where to find the loosest slot machine games in your area.

The following guide is intended to help players anywhere in America locate the nearest loose slot games. I’ll run through as many individual states as possible, but before I do, take a look below at a prime directive for finding loose slots:

Popular Spots = Tighter Slots

One item of advice that regular slot players will regale you with involves the old Strip vs. Downtown dichotomy.

Boiling it down, these players believe that casinos on the Las Vegas Strip run much tighter slots than you’ll find elsewhere in the Off Strip or Downtown areas of Sin City. Unlike the many slot machine myths out there, however, this one is definitely true.

Take a look at the following table, provided by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which covers July 2015 through June 2016:

$1 Slot Machines in Las Vegas

AreaAverage Payback Percentage
The Strip93.03 percent
Downtown94.78 percent
Boulder Strip95.60 percent
North Las Vegas95.74 percent

As you can tell, slots found on The Strip average a much lower payback rate (93.03 percent) than their counterparts Downtown (94.78 percent), on the Boulder Strip (95.60 percent) or in North Las Vegas (95.74 percent).

The reason for this discrepancy is quite simple to grasp, and is based entirely in economics.

Casino operators on The Strip – and any area’s most popular casino destination for that matter – know that a steady stream of recreational gamblers will be flocking to the floor. These venues are practically guaranteed to receive action from the hordes of tourists wandering about, so they don’t need to offer competitive payback percentages.

Venues on The Strip tend to spread slightly tighter machines, thereby bringing their property wide average down.

And why not?

The players will be there regardless, spinning away without paying close attention, so ensuring a slightly higher profit margin is in a business’ best interest.

On the other side of the coin, casinos in the Downtown district, the Boulder Strip, or North Las Vegas don’t receive the same guaranteed flow of patrons like venues on The Strip. These properties must compete for a smaller slice of the Las Vegas gambling market, and competition always provides a better climate for customers.

For this reason, casino operators running things at an Off Strip venue tend to purchase looser slots, increasing the average payback percentage across the property.

Knowing these facts, you should always be prepared to go off the beaten path as you pursue the loosest slots around. Generally speaking, the more popular a casino is, the tighter its machines will be – so branch out and explore some of the lesser known gambling halls in your area.

Pay the Piper for Higher Paybacks

This one’s simple, so we’ll keep it short and sweet.

No matter where you play, the coin denomination you use tends to be linked directly to average payback rates.

For penny slot players, the average will lean towards the lower end of the spectrum. High rollers, on the other hand, are afforded a higher average overall.

With this in mind, remember that the high limit slot parlor in your local casino will always offer a higher average payback than the regular machines. And even if you don’t make your way to the high limit room, moving up in stakes from penny slots to nickel, quarter, or dollar is a surefire way to increase your average payback.

State by State Slot Guide

Every state that offers legalized gambling, either in commercial or tribal casinos, is subject to its own gaming regulator.

In many cases, these regulators mandate a “floor” for slot machine payback rates, ensuring that a minimum payback is met. Otherwise, some unscrupulous casinos would simply spread the worst paying games in the world, counting on players to not know any better and blow off their bankroll in a hurry.

The Arizona Department of Gaming, for example, requires any tribal operator to run slot machines with an average payback between 80 percent and 100 percent. In Maine, the Gaming Control Board mandates an 83 percent payback rate or higher for slot games.

These statewide systems can vary wildly, so it can be useful to break things down on a state by state basis to see where the loosest slots in your area can be found.

Below, you’ll find a listing of all states that make their slot machine payback rates public, complete with venue or area specific payback rates. If you don’t see your state listed here, that’s because regulations don’t require slot machine payback information to be released.

Arkansas

The Oaklawn Racing and Gaming facility is the state’s best slot destination, with an average payback rate of 93.23 percent

Southland Park Gaming and Racing is quite close, however, averaging a payback of 93.11 percent.

Colorado

Payback rates for the three major casino regions in Colorado are below, with the highest for a given region in bold:

Slot Machine Profit Margin Calculation

CoinBlack HawkCentral CityCripple Creek
88.66 percent90.23 percent91.68 percent
93.01 percent94.34 percent93.41 percent
25¢93.01 percent94.25 percent95.17 percent
$193.86 percent95.23 percent95.12 percent
$594.32 percent93.09 percent94.94 percent
All92.51 percent92.56 percent93.55 percent
Average92.56 percent93.28 percent93.98 percent

Connecticut

The table below highlights average payback rates at the Foxwoods casino complex – and its main rival, Mohegan Sun – as recorded by the Connecticut’s Division of Special Revenue:

Foxwoods

CoinPayback
89.45 percent
91.42 percent
90.33 percent
25¢91.84 percent
50¢90.94 percent
$193.26 percent
$593.79 percent
$1094.74 percent
$2594.43 percent
$10094.75 percent
Average91.93 percent

Mohegan Sun

CoinPayback
1/4¢86.06 percent
1/2¢85.83 percent
89.13 percent
89.58 percent
88.16 percent
25¢91.76 percent
50¢92.45 percent
$193.36 percent
$593.87 percent
$1096.46 percent
$2594.15 percent
$10094.77 percent
Average91.86 percent

Delaware

Per data released by the Delaware Lottery, which covers the period between July 26, 2015 and June 26, 2016, slot machine paybacks at the state’s three “racinos” breaks down as follows:

Dover Downs92.60 percent
>Delaware Park92.31 percent
Harrington Raceway91.73 percent

Florida

Average payback rates – as recorded by the state’s Division of Pari-Mutuel Gaming from July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 – are as follows:

Magic City93.87 percent
Casino Miami93.80 percent
Hialeah Park93.49 percent
Dania Casino92.21 percent
Gulfstream Park92.39 percent
Mardi Gras91.95 percent
The Isle90.98 percent
Calder90.89 percent

Illinois

Property averages, provided by the Illinois Gaming Board, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Casino Queen92.63 percent
Harrah’s Joliet92.07 percent
Par A Dice91.22 percent
Argosy Alton91.11 percent
Grand Victoria91.08 percent
Hollywood Joliet90.96 percent
Jumer’s90.75 percent
Hollywood Aurora90.61 percent
Rivers Casino90.03 percent
Harrah’s Metropolis88.99 percent

Indiana

Property averages, provided by the Indiana Gaming Commission, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Hoosier Park91.59 percent
Rising Star91.55 percent
Indiana Grand91.53 percent
Blue Chip91.48 percent
French Lick91.38 percent
Belterra90.91 percent
Majestic Star90.42 percent
Ameristar90.38 percent
Hollywood90.38 percent
Tropicana90.11 percent
Horseshoe Casino89.92 percent
Majestic Star89.83 percent
Horseshoe Hammond89.82 percent

Iowa

Property averages, provided by the Indiana Gaming Commission, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Prairie Meadows92.02 percent
Wild Rose Jefferson91.56 percent
Wild Rose Emmetsburg91.35 percent
Catfish Bend91.09 percent
Riverside91.01 percent
Rhythm City90.84 percent
Wild Rose Clinton90.84 percent
Mystique Casino90.61 percent
Diamond Jo Dubuque90.52 percent
Grand Falls90.60 percent
Mystique Casino90.58 percent
Diamond Jo Worth90.40 percent
Ameristar90.37 percent
Lakeside Casino90.35 percent
Hard Rock90.21 percent
Isle Bettendorf90.21 percent
Lady Luck90.04 percent
Isle Waterloo89.72 percent
Harrah’s89.63 percent
Horseshoe Council Bluffs89.31 percent

Louisiana

Regional averages, provided by the Louisiana State Police Riverboat Gaming Section, can be found below:

CoinBaton RougeLake CharlesNew OrleansShreveport/Bossier City
88.74 percent88.23 percent88.60 percent88.64 percent
91.94 percent92.64 percent93.96 percent91.79 percent
25¢92.57 percent92.84 percent92.47 percent91.21 percent
$193.64 percent92.07 percent93.20 percent92.48 percent
$594.28 percent93.53 percent93.28 percent92.80 percent
All91.17 percent91.01 percent90.47 percent90.30 percent

Maine

Per the Maine Gaming Control Board, between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 the average payback percentage for the state’s various slot providers breaks down as follows:

Oxford Casino91.44 percent
Hollywood Casino89.88 percent

Mississippi

Regional* averages, provided by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, can be found below:

CoinCoastalNorthCentral
91.66 percent91.37 percent91.71 percent
94.68 percent93.97 percent95.14 percent
25¢94.45 percent92.83 percent93.55 percent
$193.88 percent94.20 percent94.11 percent
$594.39 percent95.36 percent95.38 percent
All92.50 percent92.09percent91.98 percent

*Key

  • Coastal = Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay Saint Louis
  • North = Tunica, Greenville and Lula
  • Central = Vicksburg and Natchez

Missouri

Property averages, provided by the Missouri Gaming Commission, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
River City91.00 percent
Ameristar K.C.91.00 percent
St. Jo Frontier90.80 percent
Ameristar St. Charles90.80 percent
Hollywood90.70 percent
Mark Twain90.60 percent
Isle of Capri/Booneville90.40 percent
Harrah’s K.C90.40 percent
Argosy90.30 percent
Lumiere Place90.2 percent
Isle of Capri/Girardeau89.80 percent
Lady Luck89.20 percent
Isle of Capri K.C.88.80 percent

Nevada – Las Vegas

Regional averages for The Strip, Downtown, the Boulder Strip, and North Las Vegas can be found below:

1¢ Slot Machines

The Strip88.45 percent
Downtown88.66 percent
Boulder Strip90.42 percent
Las Vegas90.71 percent

5¢ Slot Machines

The Strip91.84 percent
Downtown92.08 percent
Boulder Strip95.73 percent
North Las Vegas95.38 percent

25¢ Slot Machines

The Strip90.59 percent
Downtown94.48 percent
Boulder Strip96.39 percent
North Las Vegas96.58 percent

$1 Slot Machines

The Strip93.03 percent
Downtown94.78 percent
Boulder Strip95.60 percent
North Las Vegas95.74 percent

$1 Megabucks Machines

The Strip87.10 percent
Downtown87.55 percent
Boulder Strip88.91 percent
North Las Vegas87.53 percent

All Slot Machines

The Strip92.12 percent
Downtown92.87 percent
Boulder Strip94.42 percent
North Las Vegas93.62 percent

Nevada – Laughlin

Average payback rates by coin denomination for Laughlin’s casinos, as provided by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are as follows:

COINPAYBACK
88.94 percent
93.12 percent
25¢94.27 percent
$195.04 percent
$1 Megabucks86.98 percent
$594.91 percent
All Slots92.34 percent

Nevada – Reno

Average payback rates by coin denomination for Reno’s casinos, as provided by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are as follows:

COINPAYBACK
92.67 percent
94.14 percent
25¢93.86 percent
$195.90 percent
$1 Megabucks84.72 percent
$595.43 percent
All Slots94.83 percent

New Jersey

Property averages, provided by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Harrah’s91.70 percent
Borgata91.60 percent
Bally’s A.C.90.90 percent
Caesars90.80 percent
Golden Nugget90.70 percent
Resorts90.60 percent
Tropicana90.60 percent

New York

Property averages, provided by the New York Lottery, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Resorts World95.28 percent
Empire City92.95 percent
Monticello92.16 percent
Saratoga92.05 percent
Tioga Downs91.92 percent
Finger Lakes91.81 percent
Fairgrounds91.32 percent
Batavia Downs91.29 percent
Vernon Downs91.27 percent

Ohio

Property averages, provided by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, can be found below:

CASINOPAYBACK
JACK Cleveland92.25 percent
Hollywood Columbus91.80 percent
JACK Cincinnati91.61 percent
Belterra Park91.30 percent
Miami Valley91.28 percent
Scioto Downs91.03 percent
Hard Rock90.89 percent
Hollywood Toledo90.8 percent
JACK Thistledown90.49 percent
Hollywood Dayton90.23 percent
H wood Mahoning89.92 percent

Pennsylvania

Property averages, provided by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, can be found below:

VENUEPAYBACK
Parx Casino90.76 percent
Valley Forge90.27 percent
Mohegan Sun90.17 percent
Mount Airy90.13 percent
Harrah’s Philadelphia90.00 percent
The Meadows89.95 percent
Sands Bethlehem89.91 percent
The Rivers89.73 percent
Nemacolin89.48 percent
Sugar House89.48 percent
Presque Isle89.52 percent
Hollywood at Penn89.29 percent

Conclusion

Finding the loosest slot machine games depends on where you’re located and how far you’re willing to travel. Use this guide of where to find the loosest slot machine games right now the next time you want to venture out to play slots.

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The more you lose, the more casinos win. ( Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Gambling is good business, or at least a profitable one. According to the American Gaming Association, in 2012 the 464 commercial casinos in the U.S. served 76.1 million patrons and grossed $37.34 billion.

Each year gaming revenues in the U.S. yield more profits than the theatrical movie industry ($10.9 billion) and the recorded music industry ($7 billion) combined. Even the $22.5 billion combined revenue of the four major U.S. sports leagues is dwarfed by earnings from the commercial casinos industry.

Gambling is such good business that despite reported negative impacts — such as increased poverty and unemployment, higher crime rates, and decreased property value in nearby neighborhoods — the state of Illinois early this year passed a law to allow slot machines in all establishments that sell alcohol.

Gambling is not just common, it's also accepted. Despite the fact that for an estimated 4 percent of the population gambling represents a problematic and even pathological addiction, 85 percent of Americans feel that gambling is either perfectly acceptable for themselves or if not themselves for others in a country where more than 20 states now allow some form of commercial casino.

It's not too hard to see why casino lobbyists believe casinos make a positive contribution to the communities in which they operate.

It's far less easy to understand why so many Americans enjoy gambling even though it tends to result in the loss of money.

You lose, the casino wins

Slot Machine Profit Margin

As a general rule, we tend to repeat behavior that produces desirable results and avoid behaviors that result in loss. We repeat jokes that people laughed at, choose jobs that we enjoy and that pay the most money, and avoid behaviors that produce fines. Following this logic, one would expect a gambler to only play as long as they are winning and then cut their losses when they begin to lose.

Yet gambling appears to operate differently; players play faster after losses and bet persistently regardless of the percentage of payback, magnitude of return, or the lack of winning entirely. So what encourages gambling behavior if losing occurs more frequently, and payouts do not exceed buy-ins?

One explanation is that gamblers poorly judge the actual probability of winning, even as their pile of tokens and coins dwindles before them.

Some examples of this phenomenon can easily be seen in the language of gamblers. 'My luck is going to turn,' 'A win is coming,' or 'I am on a hot streak,' are all statements that speak to an over-confidence in one's ability to predict functionally random events.

Gamblers will often say these things after an unusual series of outcomes, for example, ten straight losses on red at roulette. The gambler may then proceed to bet more on red, in the false hope that the next spin is more likely to come up red due to the overall probability of the game (50 percent chance of red).

Slot machine profit margin definition

This flawed logic is called 'The Gambler's Fallacy.' It stems from a misunderstanding of how probabilities are assessed; in fact the outcome of the previous spin of the roulette wheel has no influence on the outcome of the next spin. The probability of red remains stubbornly fixed at 50 percent.

Missed it by that much

Another example of how gamblers misjudge losing outcomes can be seen when individuals respond to losses that are similar in appearance to a win. Receiving two out of three symbols necessary to win on a slot machine is a loss but players often respond to this 'near miss' with excitement, increased betting and more persistent play.

Winning and almost winning are such similar events to many people that they respond in the same way to both. People pause, for example, for longer after a win than a loss. This is known as a 'post-reinforcement pause.' People often pause for longer after a near-miss.

It's no accident near misses are pretty common on slot machines.Mark/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Winning and almost winning are so alike in gamblers' brains that research on the dopamine-transmitting pathways of anticipation and reward show remarkably similar activation patterns for a near-miss and a win.

Near-miss effects are not limited to outcomes that look similar to win. Outcomes that are closer to a win in a more abstract sense also cause a similar response.

For instance, the near-miss effect has been demonstrated in games where 'nearly winning' might relate to scoring a number that is close to a winning number, such as in blackjack.

Near-miss outcomes are not the only form of almost winning that contributes to the behavioral confusion faced by gamblers. Modern slot machines also present a myriad of features that are designed to confuse outcomes.

Slot confusion

One feature present in almost every modern slot machine is the partial win or 'loss disguised as a win.'

Since slot machines have gone from the traditional 3-reel 1-line slot machine to the modern 5-reel video slot, often with 25 or more winning lines, near-miss outcomes have become almost unidentifiable from other losing outcomes.

By encouraging individuals to play on more than one line, casinos have created a scenario where players are awarded a win on almost every spin.

Despite the increased frequency of winning, the proportion of money returned is often far less than the entire bet, such as winning 10 cents on a 50 cent bet. This 80 percent loss is accompanied by the same sounds on the machine as a real win and occupies the same area of the screen that wins are reported in.

Since noticing near-misses on modern slot machines is difficult, game makers have incorporated other game features such as free-spin symbols, mini-games, and progressive awards, which create new near miss situations while often not guaranteeing any increased value of a win themselves.

For example, special symbols might be placed on the reels that provide 10 free spins whenever three appear anywhere within the game screen. These symbols will often make a special sound, such as a loud thud when they land; and if two symbols land, many games will begin to play fast tempo music, display flashing lights around the remaining reels, and accelerate the rate of spin to enhance the saliency of the event.

When you win these sorts of outcomes you feel as though you have won a jackpot; after all, 10 free spins is 10 times the chances to win big money right? The reality is that those 10 free spins do not change the already small probability of winning on any given spin and are still likely to result in a loss of money. For many games, features such as this have entirely replaced standard jackpots.

These features share one important characteristic: they allow the casinos the ability to provide more outcomes that feel like a win while not increasing the actual payout. The effect of these features is so significant that in 1989 the Nevada Gaming Commission banned algorithms that purposefully increased the prevalence of near-miss outcomes. Of course, this only applied to the intentional increasing of near misses when a loss is already determined, i.e. artificially producing a near miss instead of what the reels would have normally landed on.

Unfortunately, these laws do not preclude the intentional design of reel layouts that, without additional manipulation, produce frequent near misses and losses disguised as wins. These laws also do not apply to the newer game features which either highlight the near miss, such as accelerating reels, or create entirely new topographies of outcomes, as is the case with free-spins or mini-games.

While the question of how to best manage artificial manipulations of near misses may be a topic of future regulatory discussion, the decision to play games with these illusions will ultimately fall upon the end user.

As long as you are willing to expose yourself to the game in the first place, the casino need only sit back and wait. And with increasing availability of casinos across the U.S., they won't need to wait long.

The authors do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article. They also have no relevant affiliations.

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