They’ve been entertaining everyone from your grandmother to the excited couple walking into the casino for the first time. They’ve also generated billions of dollars in revenue for “the house” for more than a century. I’m talking, of course, about slot machines!

Slot Machine Results Are Determined by Random Number Generators. One of the most important.

These loud, often brightly-colored contraptions promise a chance at the jackpot, which can be life-changing…if you’re lucky. For many, a modest win is enough to feel successful.

For all their familiarity, what do people really know about slot machines? In this article, I’ll lay out interesting facts you’ve likely never heard.

1 – They Go Way Back

It might seem like slot machines are a somewhat-modern invention, given that they include lights, sounds, and other technological accessories. However, the first slot machine was developed all the way back in 1891!

The very first slot machine included a 52-card deck. Players would place their nickel in the machine and would get paid out based on the poker hand that the machine produced. Unfortunately, it was very difficult for the designers of the machine to determine which combinations should result in which payouts.

When Charles Fey invented a machine in 1895 that more closely resembles what we know today as the slot machine, he incorporated a three-drum system that had just 5 symbols instead of the 52-card deck. This made it much easier to standardize the payouts. With Mr. Fey’s new invention, the modern slot machine was born.

2 – Video Killed the Mechanical Slot Machine

The slot machine powered by electricity burst onto the scene in 1963. It would be several years until the video component would also come into play.

It was with the invention of the video slot machine in 1976 that the country’s obsession with the casino staple truly began to take off. The new video slots started popping up in casinos all over Las Vegas, and their potential for making huge amounts of money was starting to become more obvious.

3 – The Average Cost to Play Varies Greatly

Most casino-regulars are familiar with slots that require hardly any money. For this reason, there’s an argument to be made about their effectiveness for those players who are conscious about their bankroll (which should be everyone).

The lowest amount that a slot will accept in order to allow a spin is a penny. These appropriately named “penny slots” are fairly common, and are a staple in major casinos across the world.

The penny slots are obviously as low as it goes, but what about the other end of the spectrum?

For the high rollers who want to really take a shot at winning the big bucks, some machines take up to $100…just for a single spin! Yes, the payout is certainly going to be attractive, but for most players this amount of money is simply too much to risk.

Now that you’ve seen the least amount that can be played, as well as the insanely higher amounts that can be played, what’s the typical slot look like? For most players, somewhere between a quarter and a dollar would be the standard risk. This will give you a shot at winning healthy jackpot, but won’t put your bankroll in jeopardy in the process.

4 – A High Percentage of Money Is Returned

If I were to tell you that slot machines rake in billions of dollars annually for casinos, it’s hard to imagine that the players’ odds are too favorable. In fact, more than 90% of money that is put into a slot machine is returned to players.

Now, it’s important to keep in mind that this is just an average number, so don’t think that just because you put $100 into the machine that you’re guaranteed to get at least $90 back. The RTP (return-to-play) indicates that out of all the money put in, 90% of it will be paid out to a number of different players over the life of the machine. Because of the huge jackpots, there is plenty of room for huge losses as well.

As a side note, if you visit a casino to play slots, always check to see if you can find a better deal on your overall return. Some slots have an RTP that dips below 90%, while some can get as high as 94%.

If you’re wondering how casinos can make such a huge profit off of a game that returns the vast majority of its money to gamblers, all you have to do is think of the volume of spins. Each active machine can be responsible for several hundred spins per hour.

This immense number will slowly but surely build up huge revenue over time. To give some numbers, the slot machines on the Las Vegas strip earn roughly $226 per day, per machine. That means that with nearly 40,000 machines in operation, revenues come out to more than $3 billion…and that’s just in Vegas.

5 – Pros Actually Exist

Slot machines seem like the ultimate game of chance, but apparently some devoted players have found a way to turn the tides in their favor, with some even making a living from the machines.

Although there are people out there who managed to put together slot betting strategies that somehow pay the bills, it’s important to mention that there is no agreed-upon system. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that these people are just riding a lucky streak. The unfortunate reality with lucky streaks is that they always run out.

The bottom line is that while you might hear about these pro slot machine players from time to time, it’s probably going to be a better use of your energy to focus on games like blackjack or poker…or you know, a real job.

6 – Online Slots Are Huge

First there were the 52-card mechanical machines, then the upgrade to Fey’s system, before finally settling on the video version most players know and love. The future of slots might be found on the device you’re currently reading this article on.

Real money online slots have taken off in the past decade as they’re able to offer certain perks that just can’t be beat by their physical casino counterparts. First, online systems don’t require any machine upkeep. Most slots don’t require a great deal of maintenance, but they do break down occasionally.

Another reason why online slots are gaining so much popularity is simply due to the odds. While the 90% (or more) return-to-player that you’ll find in your downtown casino sounds attractive, online casinos can offer up to 98% RTP.

Finally, online slots, or rather the platforms that offer them, are able to include very favorable bonuses that just real casinos just cannot compete with. For example, upon signing up for an online gaming platform, a player might receive a deposit match in which the site will give them the same amount of money as their initial deposit in the form of a credit.

These online bonuses can be used just like real money, with the only difference being you can’t actually cash them out. Some online sites even give out a not-insignificant amount of free spins.

How do they do it? The online sites simply don’t have the same overhead costs of maintaining rooms, paying staff, building repairs, and everything else that comes with running a huge hospitality operation.

If you have tried online slots for yourself, give it a try! Most offer relatively low-risk options for first timers, and you might just hit it big.

Conclusion

Slot machines are the quintessential casino game, and have been for the last half-century. Although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend making it your main money-maker at the casino, it can’t hurt to take a few spins and see what happens.

One final word that I must mention: they aren’t rigged. If you find yourself losing, it’s just not your day. Come back tomorrow and try your luck again…at least that’s what they’ll tell you.

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These ten facts you are about to see have often be disputed, but I have done my research and what you are about to read are ten of the best tips and facts about slot machines, both in the real world and online…

10 – Slot machines located near the entrance doors of a casino do pay out more than others located within the casino. This is indeed true, but not for the reason you might have heard. It’s not to draw people in as some people think, it’s because these are ‘prime’ seat locations. People will often sit near the exits and entrances so they can see friends coming and walk out ASAP when they have had enough.

9 – The odds of winning a big jackpot increase the more you play! This is not a myth, it’s a simple mathematical algorithm. But it doesn’t come down by a lot and it only works with percentage set machines, not fixed odds. So if the odds are of winning the jackpot are 100 – 1 (it is usually within the hundreds of millions) and you don’t win on that spin, then on the next spin you do have a slightly increased chance of winning. Why? Because most casino slot machines have a fixed percentage payout, but it only goes down by a microscopical amount. That 100 -1 on the next spin then becomes 99.999999999999999 – 1. Not much, but it does get smaller none the less.

8 – Where you play can depend on how much you win. This is totally true. Some darker online pokie sites often significantly decrease the odds of winning to earn the site more money. After all, it’s a set algorithm. So make sure you pick a reputable gambling site, or real world casino. Most good casinos both real world and online sign up to a code of practice and stick to it like it was the gambling bible. Lesser known ones might well not accept what those code of practice guidelines are.

7 – There is no such thing as secret machines or apps that can help you win. These machines often send a “signal” to the machine to get it to pay out more often. If you believe this is a real thing, you deserve to lose your money both spent on the machine and putting it into the machine in the hope of cheating.

6 – Real world slots payout more often than online ones! This is indeed true, but only with regards to certain machines. Many casino machines are set percentage. So let’s say 80%. But many online machines are Fixed odds which mean’s you have the same odds with every single spin. The two things are not the same, so it might be the case that machines pay out more in casinos, but much, much lower wins that with online slots.

5 – There are things you can do to improve your odds of winning! I’m not talking warming up the coins, or playing lesser known online slot machines, but what I am saying if that you can increase the odds of winning by not drinking, not overspending, playing something you understand, rather than something more complicated. Play what you like, stay compos mentis and only spend what you have set yourself!

4 – Joined progressive jackpot machines are the best to play. Ever seen those large machines that 3, 4 or even more people can play all at once? Those machines really are the most likely to payout at peak times, but only because you have more people filling that payout percentage quicker and more frequently. Mostly it is down to more money, more payouts, but if you happen to be playing as a group, someone will win in the end, even if it’s a small percentage of everyone else’s money.

Slot Machine Fun Facts Games

3 – There is such thing as a professional slot player! Both in the real world casinos and online slots, there are players that play them all day, every day. While it is more like a hobby than an actual job title, some people don’t just play their machines, they study them, know where they were made and also the exact odds of winning on them. It is knowing those odds that helps them win more times than the average player.

2 – Some machines are looser than others! Yep, you heard me right. Even with online slots, certain games are sometimes set to pay out more frequently than others. They might be fixed odds, but the odds can be changed. This is to get new players using them and get better feedback for the machine/site owners.

Fun Slot Machine Games

1 – There are no patterns, no secrets, no hacks. While continued playing will decrease the odds ever so slightly, it is basically each spin at the same odds. You could win 100 jackpots in a row, or the machine might not pay out anything for the rest of its life. Those are the odds, that why it is classed as a gambling machine.