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Payback Scale Question

#1

Sorry that this is not a VP-centric question, but this is the group
that I believe can help me understand it the best.

I have a slot machine payback question.
Most experts explain / agree that slot machines' payback percentages
get slightly better as the denominations increase. So $1 slots pay
slightly higher payback than $.25 which pay slightly higher than $.05,
etc.

So with the proliferation of "penny" machines, which you can play as
little as a few cents or as much as $50 in one pull, where do these
machines stack up on this frequently accepted scale? Am I playing a
penny slot or a dollar slot? Could it be possible that the payback
percentage is being calculated based on the level of coin-in for each
pull? Or, are these machines' paybacks set at the manufacturer just
like any traditional reel machine is?

Thanks,

Scott

#2

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has statistics which show that except for the progressive slot machines (they keep tabs on Megabucks but it is also true of the others) the higher denominations have higher payouts until you get to the $25 or $100 plus area where they flatten or even invert.
   
  If you load up a penny machine to the max you may be playing more per pull than a nickel or quarter machine but it is still counted as a penny machine by the Board. There is a website that has some of the Board's numbers on it called VegasMadeEasy.com which also has some other info such as the back door ways to get to the big casinos, etc.

···

nonntt99 <nonntt99@yahoo.com> wrote:
          Sorry that this is not a VP-centric question, but this is the group
that I believe can help me understand it the best.

I have a slot machine payback question.
Most experts explain / agree that slot machines' payback percentages
get slightly better as the denominations increase. So $1 slots pay
slightly higher payback than $.25 which pay slightly higher than $.05,
etc.

So with the proliferation of "penny" machines, which you can play as
little as a few cents or as much as $50 in one pull, where do these
machines stack up on this frequently accepted scale? Am I playing a
penny slot or a dollar slot? Could it be possible that the payback
percentage is being calculated based on the level of coin-in for each
pull? Or, are these machines' paybacks set at the manufacturer just
like any traditional reel machine is?

Thanks,

Scott

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#3

In general, the paybacks for multi-line penny machines will be as poor
as the payout for conventional penny machines, due to the fact that
the casinos know that you CAN play these machines for very small
amounts/play (3 or 5 cents), and therefore wish to penalize anyone who
plays that small amount by retaining large percentages of their wagers.

You would THINK that the fair thing to do would be to offer higher
payback percentages when the machine was "loaded up", since a player
who does that is actually playing MORE $/pull than a player on a
conventional .25 machine. But fairness never had anything to do with
casino policy.

The trend has been to set multi-line low-denomination machines,
particularly ones with a bonus game and/or a "theme", such as the
Monopoly or Deal or No Deal games, at the highest payback available
from the manufacturer---INITIALLY. Then, as interest in the game
peaks, the casinos gradually lower the payout percentages--this, of
course, is not visible to the customer, expect inferentially, as his
results become worse and worse on the same machine.