Casino can, will and did change winning odds on slot machine.

[Loonbeam]

That's what I meant by 'banks' (I've also heard the term 'sets') of Machines.

 

I was going for each machine not being set individually, but groups being set, some higher than others, all above the floor, but going for an overall payout percentage like posted.

 

Is that a fair summary?

 

If so, I would suspect a similar system to be in use for ships, given it wouldn't be cost effective to make a different one. In which case the casino manager can set the payout level by bank or overall, but probably not at a single machine level except by configuring that one machine as a set if possible.)

 

 

 

Loonbeam -

 

The right source for the areas you reference (locals casinos, Reno, etc. will be lower hold) but floorwide averages are far from the whole story. Hold %s will vary widely by denom, each machine within denom, casino, etc. - even within the geographic areas you reference.

 

Thanks, though, for providing others with sone tangible info.

[KruzeKrazy!]

Each machine has its own chip setting that determines its hold percentage independent of all other machines - whether on the same bank or not - and each game has a set number of options. It is not infinitely variable and there is no "switch to flip" so while the hold could be adjusted while the casino is closed it cannot on the fly nor while games are being played.

[Prof Peg]

So then the question becomes -- do you save your gambling money and use it in ports that have a casino? Or do you try for your luck on the ship? :rolleyes:

[beg3yrs]

So then the question becomes -- do you save your gambling money and use it in ports that have a casino? Or do you try for your luck on the ship? :rolleyes:

 

LOL, "Save your gambling money"? The only way to do that is to keep it out of any casino, anywhere!

[Loonbeam]

Is that true for shared progressive games? There has to be some coordination so that a payout would affect the overall hold accordingly?

 

Each machine has its own chip setting that determines its hold percentage independent of all other machines - whether on the same bank or not - and each game has a set number of options. It is not infinitely variable and there is no "switch to flip" so while the hold could be adjusted while the casino is closed it cannot on the fly nor while games are being played.

[triple7tahoe]

Even with the old mechanical one-armed bandits in Las Vagas casinos could alter the payouts. It is no surprise that it is done with today's current machines.

All but one of the 15 slot machines I own are of the "old mechanical..." type, I can assure you it is no easy task; i.e simple as turning a screw, to alter the payout. One would have to put plugs in the discs or stops on the reel ends to alter them. Either is illegal in Las Vegas or any other licensed casino in the USA. I guess you could pull the entire workings and replace them but to what end? The casino edge is strictly determined by the combination of symbols available and the odds involved. Even a machine that pays 95% return eventually takes all of you money. YOU put in 100 coins and get back 95-Put the 95 back in and you get around 82 back. You win you must hit big early and quit.

The computer with Random Number generators (RNG) changed all that. Just put in a different chip.

Something else that ship casinos have that is illegal in Nevada is a "just missed" chip. Watch how many times the big winning combination shows up just one line off (up or down) and compare it to the times it shows up on the pay line. On this particular cruise, after my machine was worked on, the top two ($6K and 4.6K) payouts showed up well over 50 times, just one line off, in 6 days of playing. NOt once on the pay line:confused:

[geoherb]

The OP has a much higher gambling limit than I do. I try to limit myself to $10 per cruise. I can't imagine playing $30k in six days.

[DougH]

The OP has a much higher gambling limit than I do. I try to limit myself to $10 per cruise. I can't imagine playing $30k in six days.

 

I can't imagine 30K in 6 years, or even 60 lol

[KruzeKrazy!]

Response to 2 earlier postings:

 

Linked progressives are linked in funding the big jackpot, not in their settings. That said, the hold on each of those games should be set higher to pay for funding the larger jackpot.

 

The $30k was meant as "played" not spent. In casino jargon it is "coin in" - as posted earlier play $100 returning $95, play $95 returning $91, play $91... is $100 spent but $286 in coin in.

[triple7tahoe]

The OP has a much higher gambling limit than I do. I try to limit myself to $10 per cruise. I can't imagine playing $30k in six days.

30K was not what I gambled. If are playing slots on Princess you will see, somewhere, a point count. It indicates a point for each 3-4 dollars that you put through the machine. If you play $100 and during that time get any wins those will be counted, when you put them back into the machine (and most of us do) Under normal casino statistics, $100 initial put in will yield around 90+/-. If you continue to play until you reach $0 you put through around $700. This would give you 250 points. Throw in a few big wins, as I got and the points go up rapidly. At the end of the cruise I had well over 12000 points, which would indicate I had put $36K through the machine. Well above what I would normally play but with the big wins early and then further play until I realized things had changed. In 18 days my total loss was just under $1K. Still a large amount but the first few day sure were fun :p

[paddingtonbear]

In Australia the payout ratio varies by state but it can be as low as 70%.

 

If you read trip advisor Las Vegas there are people who walk around with $25k cash!!

This is how people get comped rooms I guess. Spend big get free comps.

[triple7tahoe]

Response to 2 earlier postings:

 

Linked progressives are linked in funding the big jackpot, not in their settings. That said, the hold on each of those games should be set higher to pay for funding the larger jackpot.

 

The $30k was meant as "played" not spent. In casino jargon it is "coin in" - as posted earlier play $100 returning $95, play $95 returning $91, play $91... is $100 spent but $286 in coin in.

I should have read this before my answer-Sounds like a shorter version:D

[triple7tahoe]

Your thread is not the easiest one I have read to follow...

 

You say you quit after either losing or winning $300 in one day. So why did you keep playing after you won $720 if you say you quit winning after you have win $300 for the day??

Sorry that I rambled on (much too long). When I set a limit, I round it to the lower 100 number. Yes, I should have quit when I was above $700-($782 to be exact) but I set my limit at that time t0 $700. Before I could go that low, I hit the next $720. If I had quit at $780 and taken my money out I might still be playing. The machine would not have reached the "above $1199" and not set off the hand pay alert.

You don't think I had many a sleepless night think about that:)

[paddingtonbear]

In 18 days my total loss was just under $1K. Still a large amount but the first few day sure were fun :p

 

I am glad you had fun. Must have been exciting. Thank you for telling us all these things I have absolutely no idea about casinos, but I am determined to spend me allocated $10 onboard the ship. :)

Edited December 22, 2014 by paddingtonbear

[Colo Cruiser]

Your thread is not the easiest one I have read to follow...

 

You say you quit after either losing or winning $300 in one day. So why did you keep playing after you won $720 if you say you quit winning after you have win $300 for the day??

 

I gave up.

[Dcshener]

You're not gambling. The house is not gambling. You're buying entertainment. All of the activities have a house percentage. A relentless, merciless, house percentage. Imagine a closed room, nothing in and nothing out except the house takes 1% of every transaction. Inevitably the house ends up with the lot. Because the room is not closed, and new money is coming in and old money is temporarily going out this isn't obvious but it is still what is happening. People recall the wins and the losses just fade into the background. I will decide how much entertainment I am going to buy, don't kid myself that I have a system (cos, if there was one that worked the house would gave closed up shop long ago) and go a play black jack where your entertainment purchase lasts longer.

[Thrak]

I have been known to run through $20 on occasion but very rarely do I do so. There has to be someone who makes up for the winners. That's me. I only lose so I decided quite some time back not to even try.

 

I'm the "great balancing agent" of the universe. I'm the guy who always loses in a casino. I'm the guy who doesn't like crab. I'm the guy who has never purchased Starbuck's coffee. Somebody has to be "that guy". :rolleyes:

[KruzeKrazy!]

Thrak -

 

You're not alone! I don't gamble, am not a fan of crab, and don't buy Starbucks (let alone even drink coffee at all) either!

 

I also tend to be the one that helps make the long lines long, the slow lanes slow, the last one to follow a new trend/fad, as well as be the 'more you like something the greater the likelihood it gets discontinued' guy.

 

But nonetheless I'm happy anyway... :- )

[MTJSR]

Something else that ship casinos have that is illegal in Nevada is a "just missed" chip. Watch how many times the big winning combination shows up just one line off (up or down) and compare it to the times it shows up on the pay line.:

 

 

I often hear the term "Near Miss" used for jackpot showing up one line away up or down. The RNG is like a deck of cards, it has alot more combinations that are "near misses" than the "One Big Hit" you are looking for. Now with thousands and thousands of combinations possible on a three wheel machine, it is possible the highest jackpot will "NEVER" appear in the life of that machine. However, it "Will" payout over it's lifetime the Pre-Set odds!

 

 

.

Edited December 23, 2014 by MTJSR

[KruzeKrazy!]

No such thing as a setting for "near misses."

 

Chips are set to payout the big jackpot over X number of spins. It's not based on machine life. The number could be more than once in a machine lifetime - all depends on the X and how much the game is played.

 

Of course, since a RNG is just that - random - it is mathematically possible it wouldn't but that is not the goal of the casino. If it goes that long and not hit the big payout the game will have funded it so it in the presumed financials to pay it.

[zaos]

No such thing as a setting for "near misses."

 

Chips are set to payout the big jackpot over X number of spins. It's not based on machine life. The number could be more than once in a machine lifetime - all depends on the X and how much the game is played.

 

Of course, since a RNG is just that - random - it is mathematically possible it wouldn't but that is not the goal of the casino. If it goes that long and not hit the big payout the game will have funded it so it in the presumed financials to pay it.

 

I'd wager that there's no near miss, and the code for determining what ends up on the wheels if you lost might be different from the code that determines if you won or lost.

 

I owned an IGT Triple Triple Diamond slot machine and purchased the "RNG" that the Nevada Gaming Commission placed on the mother board, at delivery time to the original leasing Casino. The RNG (random number generator) is a pre-programmed chip (brain) placed and then safety sealed to the board (no tamper seal) to prevent removal. The odds in Nevada are of course set by the Casino Slot Manager and the Gaming Commission by state law guidelines. Typically a small percent to the house only.

 

At sea, how could a low paid, long hour working and un-policed (per se') person be given control to make such a potentially lethal public relations decision, in this entertainment/cruise industry?

 

Its just not going to happen!

 

Please Google the numerical science behind the "RNG", computer slot operations and plain old luck.

 

 

 

.

 

What a waste of money. A PRNG is perfectly good enough for such things as slots.

 

It's perfectly easy to have a odds setting where you could set it the payout percentage from 1-10, from high to low.

[RMM34667]

Cruise Casino Jobs - Casino Manager

 

In charge of the department aboard the cruise ship. Supervising the subordinate casino positions. Creating and maintaining an entertaining gaming environment. Responsible for the training of casino staff. Observation and control over all casino games, slot machines and casino cage in order to minimize security threats and fraud cases. High school diploma is a must. Bachelor’s degree in management, business administration or related field and managerial experience is a plus. Good English. Additional languages. Basic computer software required.

Salary: $2800-3600 per month.

 

 

Plus free room and board. $33600 to $43200 annually is certainly not high.

 

They need to add "personality" to the job requirements. Some have it spades (Roberto - Emerald) and others are quite lacking (but I will not name names as it might be held against me..)

[MTJSR]

No such thing as a setting for "near misses."

 

Chips are set to payout the big jackpot over X number of spins. It's not based on machine life. The number could be more than once in a machine lifetime - all depends on the X and how much the game is played.

 

Of course, since a RNG is just that - random - it is mathematically possible it wouldn't but that is not the goal of the casino. If it goes that long and not hit the big payout the game will have funded it so it in the presumed financials to pay it.

 

Exactly, and (from a casino manager directly) they are not obligated to keep a machine until it "coughs up it guts" either. Leasing, trade ins and new game contracts can gets machines pulled and sold.

 

 

.

Edited December 23, 2014 by MTJSR

[long cruiser]

I went to school with the owner of atlantic city coin and slot which is a division of igt.

His best advice to any one on a cruise ship is not to play.

Long cruiser

[triple7tahoe]

No such thing as a setting for "near misses."

 

Chips are set to payout the big jackpot over X number of spins. It's not based on machine life. The number could be more than once in a machine lifetime - all depends on the X and how much the game is played.

 

Of course, since a RNG is just that - random - it is mathematically possible it wouldn't but that is not the goal of the casino. If it goes that long and not hit the big payout the game will have funded it so it in the presumed financials to pay it.

On the old mechanical machines you could figure the odds by knowing the number of stops and number of symbols on each reel. If this held true in RNG slots wouldn't the "odds" of a 7 stopping in the payout position be the same as it would be for it stopping on a line above or below? Or does the RNG actually indicate how many times the winning 7 will stop on each lind individually?